Study Desk

They will not be able to give offerings of wine to the Lord . None of their sacrifices will please him. What they offer will be like food eaten at a funeral—whoever eats it will become unclean. They can eat that food for their own hunger, but it cannot be taken into the Lord's Temple.

The people of Israel left because the enemy took everything from them. But Egypt will take the people themselves. Memphis will bury them. Weeds will grow over their silver treasures, and thorns will grow where the Israelites lived.

The prophet says, "Israel, learn this: The time of punishment has come. The time has come for you to pay for the evil things you did." But the people of Israel say, "The prophet is a fool. This man with God's Spirit is crazy." The prophet says, "You will be punished for your terrible sins. You will be punished for your hate."

God and the prophet are like guards watching over Ephraim, but there are many traps along his way. And people hate the prophet, even in the house of his God.

"At the time I, the Lord, found Israel, they were like fresh grapes in the desert. They were like the first figs on a fig tree at the beginning of the season. But when they came to Baal Peor, they changed. So I had to cut them off like rotten fruit. They became like the terrible things that they loved.

But even if the Israelites do raise their children, it will not help, because I will take the children away from them. I will leave them, and they will have nothing but troubles."

Ephraim will be punished. Their root is dying. They will not have any more babies. They might give birth to babies, but I will kill the precious babies who come from their bodies.

Israel is like a vine that grows plenty of fruit. But as Israel got more and more things, he built more and more altars to honor false gods. His land became better and better, so he put up better and better stones to honor false gods.

The people of Israel tried to trick God, but now they must accept their guilt. He will break down their altars and destroy their memorial stones.

They make promises, but they are only telling lies. They don't keep their promises. They make agreements with other countries. God does not like those agreements . The judges are like poisonous weeds growing in a plowed field.

But you planted evil, and you harvested trouble. You ate the fruit of your lies, because you had trusted in your power and your soldiers.

But the more I called the Israelites, the more they left me. The Israelites gave sacrifices to the false gods and burned incense to the idols.

"But I was the one who taught Ephraim to walk. I took the Israelites in my arms. I healed them, but they don't know that.

I led them with ropes, but they were ropes of love. I was like a person who set them free. I bent down and fed them.

"My people expect me to come back. They will call to God above, but he will not help them."

"Ephraim surrounded me with false gods. The people of Israel turned against me. But Judah still walks with God and is true to the Holy One."

"But I am still the Lord your God, as I was when you left the land of Egypt. I will make you live in tents, as you do during the Festival of Shelters.

But the people in Gilead have sinned. There are many terrible idols in that place. They offer sacrifices to bulls at Gilgal. They have many altars. There are rows and rows of altars—like the rows of dirt in a plowed field.

But the Lord used a prophet and brought Israel out of Egypt. He used a prophet and kept Israel safe.

But Ephraim made the Lord very angry. Ephraim killed many people, so he will be punished for his crimes. His Lord will make him bear his shame."