Israel will Reap the Whirlwind
1 “Put the trumpet to your lips!
An eagle is over the house of the Lord,
because they have broken my covenant,
and rebelled against my law.
2 They cry to me, ‘My God, we–Israel–acknowledge you!’
3 But Israel has rejected that which is good,
and the enemy will pursue him.
4 They have set up kings, but not through me.
They have made princes, and I did not approve it.
From their silver and gold they have made themselves idols,
for their own destruction.
5 Let Samaria throw out his calf idol!
My anger is burning against them!
How long will it be until they are capable of purity?
6 For this is from Israel!
The workman made it, and it is no God,
indeed, the calf of Samaria shall be broken in pieces.
7 For they sow the wind,
and they will reap the whirlwind.
He has no standing grain.
The stalk will yield no head.
If it does yield, strangers will swallow it up.
8 Israel is swallowed up.
Now, among the nations,
they are like a worthless thing.
9 For they have gone up to Assyria,
like a wild donkey wandering alone.
Ephraim has hired lovers.
10 But although they sold themselves among the nations,
I will now gather them,
and they begin to waste away
because of the oppression of the king of mighty ones.
11 Although Ephraim made many altars for sin offering,
they became for him altars for sinning.
12 I spelled out for him 10,000 details of my law,
but they regarded them as something strange.
13 As for the sacrifices of my offerings,
they sacrifice meat and eat it,
but the Lord does not accept them.
Now he will remember their iniquity,
and punish their sins.
They will return to Egypt.
14 For Israel has forgotten his Maker and built palaces,
and Judah has multiplied fortified cities,
but I will send a fire on his cities,
and it will devour its fortresses.”