11. Therefore the Lord has stirred up the adversaries [the Assyrians] of Rezin [king of Syria] against [Ephraim], and He will stir up their enemies and arm and join them together,
12. The Syrians [compelled to fight with their enemies, going] before [on the east] and the Philistines behind [on the west]; and they will devour Israel with open mouth. For all this, [God's] anger is not [then] turned away, but His hand is still stretched out [in judgment].
13. Yet the people turn not to Him Who smote them, neither do they seek [inquire for or require as their vital need] the Lord of hosts.
14. Therefore the Lord will cut off from Israel head and tail [the highest and the lowest]–[high] palm branch and [low] rush in one day;
15. The elderly and honored man, he is the head; and the prophet who teaches lies, he is the tail.
16. For they who lead this people cause them to err, and they who are led [astray] by them are swallowed up (destroyed).
17. Therefore the Lord will not rejoice over their young men, neither will He have compassion on their fatherless and widows, for everyone is profane and an evildoer, and every mouth speaks folly. For all this, [God's] anger is not turned away, but His hand is still stretched out [in judgment].
18. For wickedness burns like a fire; it devours the briers and thorns, and it kindles in the thickets of the forest; they roll upward in a column of smoke.
19. Through the wrath of the Lord of hosts the land is darkened and burned up, and the people are like fuel for the fire; no man spares his brother.
20. They snatch in discord on the right hand, but are still hungry [their cruelty not diminished]; and they devour and destroy on the left hand, but are not satisfied. Each devours and destroys his own flesh [and blood] or his neighbor's.
21. Manasseh [thirsts for the blood of his brother] Ephraim, and Ephraim [for that of] Manasseh; but together they are against Judah. For all this, [God's] anger is not turned away, but His hand is still stretched out [in judgment].