4. The Lord says, "People of Israel, I am the Lord your God. I brought you out of Egypt. You must not recognize any God but me. You must not have any Savior except me.
5. I took care of you in the desert. It was a land of burning heat.
6. I fed you until you were satisfied. Then you became proud. You forgot all about me.
7. So I will leap on you like a lion. I will hide and wait beside the road like a leopard.
8. I will attack you like a bear that is robbed of her cubs. I will rip you wide open. Like a lion I will eat you up. Like a wild animal I will tear you apart.
9. "Israel, you will be destroyed. I helped you. But you turned against me.
10. Where is your king? Wasn't he supposed to save you? Where are the rulers in all of your towns? You said, 'Give us a king and princes.'
11. So I became angry and gave you a king. Then I took him away from you.
12. Ephraim, your guilt is piling up. I am keeping a record of all of your sins.