Israel Reaps the Whirlwind
1 Set the trumpet to your lips [announcing impending judgment]!
Like a [great] vulturethe enemy comesagainst the house of the Lord,
Because they have broken My covenant
And transgressedandrebelled against My law.
2 Then they will cry out to Me,
“My God, we of Israel know You!”
3 Israel has rejected the good;
The enemy shall pursue him.
4 They set up kings, but not from Me [therefore without My blessing];
They have appointed princes, but I did not know it.
With their silver and their gold they made idols for themselves,
That they might be cut off.
5 He has rejected your [pagan] calf, O Samaria,saying,
“My wrath burns against them.”
How long will they be incapable of innocence?
6 For even this [loathsome calf] is from Israel.
A craftsman made it, so it is not God;
Surely the calf of Samaria will be broken to piecesandgo up in flames.
7 For they sow the wind [in evil]
And they reap the whirlwind [in disaster].
The standing grain has no growth;
It yields no grain.
If it were to yield, strangers would swallow it up.
8 Israel is [as if] swallowed up [by enemies];
They are now among the nations
Like a vessel [of cheap, coarse pottery] that is useless.
9 For they have gone up to Assyria,
Like a wild donkey wandering aloneandtaking her own way;
Ephraim has hired lovers (pagan allies).
10 Yes, even though [with presents] they hirealliesamong the nations,
Now I will gather them up;
And [in a little while] they will beginto grow weakanddiminish
Because of the burden imposed by the king of princes [the king of Assyria].
11 For Ephraim has constructed many altars for sin;
They are altars intended for sinning [which multiply his guilt].
12 I wrote for him the ten thousandpreceptsof My law,
But they are regarded as a strange thing [which does not concern him].
13 As for My sacrificial offerings,
They sacrifice the meat [as a mere formality] and eat it,
But the Lordis not pleased with themanddoes not accept them.
Now He will rememberandtake into account their wickednessandguilt,
And punish them for their sins.
They will return [in captivity] to [another] Egypt [that is, Assyria].
14 For Israel has forgotten his Maker and built palaces [and pagan temples],
And Judah has built many fortified cities;
But I will send a fire upon their cities so that it may consume their palacesandfortresses.