9
The horrors of the coming exile
Rejoice not too loudly, Israel,
like the nations,
for you have commited adultery,
being untrue to your God.
You have loved a prostitute’s wages
on every threshing floor.
Threshing floor and wine vat won’t feed them,
the new wine will fail them.
They will not stay in the Lord’s land,
but Ephraim will return to Egypt,
and in Assyria they will eat what is unclean.
 
They will not pour out libations of wine to the Lord,
nor please him with their sacrifices.
Their bread will be like the bread of mourners:
all who eat it will defile themselves.
For their bread will be only for their hunger,
it will not come into the Lord’s temple.
What will you do on the day of the festival?
Or on the day of the Lord’s feast?
 
Even if they flee from destruction,
Egypt will gather them,
Memphis will bury them.
Nettles will take possession of their treasure of silver,
thorns will push into their tents.
 
The days of punishment are come,
the days of recompense are at hand,
as soon the Israelites will know!
The prophet is a fool,
the inspired man is raving mad!’
It is because of the greatness of your iniquity
and the greatness of your hatred.
Ephraim acts the spy with my God,
a prophet finds the snares of a fowler are in all his ways.
In the house of his God they lay hostile plots,
they commit crimes as in the days of Gibeah,
God will remember their iniquity.
He will punish their sin.
Israel’s corruption
10 I found Israel
like finding grapes in the wilderness.
I saw your ancestors
like they were the first fruit on a fig tree,
but as soon as they came to Baal-peor,
they consecrated themselves to shamefulness,
and became as abominable as the object of their love.
 
11 Ephraim – like a bird his glory flies away.
There will be no more birth,
no more motherhood,
no more conception.
12 Even though they bring up their children,
I will bereave them until not one is left.
Woe to them when I turn away from them!
 
13 Ephraim – planted like Tyre in a meadow*,
But Ephraim too must lead forth their children to slaughter.
14 Give them, Lordwhat will you give?
Give them a miscarrying womb and shrivelled up breasts!
 
15 All their evil began in Gilgal,
there I learned to hate them.
Because of the evil of their deeds
I will drive them out of my house.
I will no longer love them,
for all their princes are rebels.
16 Ephraim is blighted,
their root withered.
If they do bear children,
I will slay the darlings of their womb,
17 My God will reject them
because they have not listened to him,
and they will become wanderers among the nations.
* 9:13 Heb. uncertain. LXX: as I have seen, his sons are destined to be a prey