CHAPTER 5
1 Priests, hear ye this, and the house of Israel, perceive ye, and the house of the king, harken ye; for why doom is to you, for ye be made a snare to looking afar, and as a net spread abroad on Tabor, (or because now judgement is for you, for ye be made a snare at Mizpah, and like a net spread abroad upon Tabor).
2 And ye bowed down sacrifices into (the) depth; and I am the learner of all them. (And ye made the most base, or wretched, sacrifices; and so I shall punish all of you.)
3 I know Ephraim, and Israel is not hid from me; for now Ephraim did fornication, Israel is defouled. (I know Ephraim, yea, Israel is not hid from me; for now Ephraim hath done adultery, or idolatry, Israel is now defiled.)
4 They shall not give their thoughts that they turn again to their God; for the spirit of fornication is in the midst of them, and they knew not the Lord. (They shall not turn their thoughts so that they return to their God; for the spirit of adultery, or of idolatry, is in their midst, and they do not know, or acknowledge, the Lord.)
5 And the boast of Israel shall answer into the face thereof, and Israel and Ephraim shall fall in their wickedness; also Judah shall fall with them. (And the boast of Israel crieth out against them, and Israel, yea, Ephraim, shall fall by their own wickedness; and Judah shall fall with them.)
6 In their flocks and in their droves, they go to seek the Lord, and they shall not find (him); he is taken away from them. (With their flocks and their herds, they go to seek the Lord, but they shall not find him; for he hath taken himself away from them.)
7 They trespassed against the Lord, for they engendered alien sons; now the month shall devour them with their parts. (They trespassed against the Lord, for they have begotten children who be strange, or foreign, to him; and soon they and their fields shall be devoured, or destroyed.)
8 Sound ye with a clarion in Gibeah, with a trump in Ramah; yell ye in Bethaven, after thy back, Benjamin.
9 Ephraim shall be into desolation, in the day of amending, and in the lineages of Israel I showed faith. (Ephraim shall be into desolation, on the day of correction; ye tribes of Israel, I have made known what shall surely be!)
10 The princes of Judah be made as (those) taking (over the) term; I shall shed out on them my wrath as water. (Judah’s rulers be made just like those who take over the land; I shall pour out my anger upon them like water.)
11 Ephraim suffereth false challenge, and is broken by doom, (or Ephraim suffereth oppression, and is broken by injustice); for he began to go after filths.
12 And I am as a moth to Ephraim, and as rot to the house of Judah. (And I am like a moth to Ephraim, or Israel, and like rot to the house of Judah.)
13 And Ephraim saw his sickness, and Judah saw his bond. And Ephraim went to Assur, and sent to the king venger. And he may not save you, neither he may unbind the bond from you. (And Ephraim saw his sickness, and Judah saw his wound. And Ephraim went to Assyria, and sent to the great king for help. But he cannot save you, nor can he cure you of your wound.)
14 For I am as a lioness to Ephraim, and as a whelp of a lion to the house of Judah. I myself shall take, and go, and take away, and none is that shall deliver. (For I (am) like a lioness to Ephraim, and like a lion’s cub to the house of Judah. I myself shall go, and shall tear them apart, and then shall carry them away, and no one shall be able to save, (or rescue), them.)
15 I shall go, and turn again to my place, till ye fail, and seek my face. In their tribulation they shall rise early to me. (I shall go, and return to my place, until they fail, or suffer enough, and then seek my face. In their tribulation, they shall rise early in the morning to seek me.)