1. When Ephraim spoke, there was terror;he was exalted in Israel,but he became guilty by worshiping Baal and died.
2. Even now they persist in sin!They make metal images for themselves,idols that they skillfully fashion from their own silver;all of them are nothing but the work of craftsmen!There is a saying about them:“Those who sacrifice to the calf idol are calf kissers!”
3. Therefore they will disappear like the morning mist,like early morning dew that evaporates,like chaff that is blown away from a threshing floor,like smoke that disappears through an open window.
4. But I am the Lord your God,who brought you out of Egypt.Therefore, you must not acknowledge any God but me;except me there is no Savior.
5. I cared for you in the wilderness,in the dry desert where no water was.
6. When they were fed, they became satisfied;when they were satisfied, they became proud;as a result, they forgot me!
7. So I will pounce on them like a lion;like a leopard I will lurk by the path.
8. I will attack them like a bear robbed of her cubs – I will rip open their chests.I will devour them there like a lion – like a wild animal would tear them apart.
9. I will destroy you, O Israel!Who is there to help you?
10. Where then is your king, that he may save you in all your cities?Where are your rulers for whom you asked, saying,“Give me a king and princes”?
11. I granted you a king in my anger,and I will take him away in my wrath!