1 “When Israel was a1 child, I loved him, And out of Egypt aI called My bson.
21As they called them, So they awent from them; They sacrificed to the Baals, And burned incense to carved images.
3 “Ia taught Ephraim to walk, Taking them by1 their arms; But they did not know that bI healed them.
4 I drew them with1 gentle cords, With bands of love, And aI was to them as those who take the yoke from their1 neck. bI stooped and fed them.
5 “He shall not return to the land of Egypt; But the Assyrian shall be his king, Because they refused to repent.
6 And the sword shall slash in his cities, Devour his districts, And consume them, Because of their own counsels.
7 My people are bent on abacksliding from Me. Though1 they call to the Most High, None at all exalt Him.
8 “Howa can I give you up, Ephraim? How can I hand you over, Israel? How can I make you like bAdmah? How can I set you like Zeboiim? My heart1 churns within Me; My sympathy is stirred.
9 I will not execute the fierceness of My anger; I will not again destroy Ephraim. aFor I am God, and not man, The Holy One in your midst; And I will not1 come with terror.
10 “They shall walk after the Lord. aHe will roar like a lion. When He roars, Then His sons shall come trembling from the west;
11 They shall come trembling like a bird from Egypt, aLike a dove from the land of Assyria. bAnd I will let them dwell in their houses,” Says the Lord.
God’s Charge Against Ephraim
12 “Ephraim has encircled Me with lies, And the house of Israel with deceit; But Judah still walks with God, Even with the1 Holy One whois faithful.
I taught Ephraim also to go - An allusion to a mother or nurse teaching a child to walk, directing it how to lift and lay its feet, and supporting it in the meantime by the arms, that it may use its feet with the greater ease. This is a passage truly pathetic.
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