The Apostasy of Israel
“Set the trumpet to your mouth!
He shall come alike an eagle against the house of the Lord,
Because they have transgressed My covenant
And rebelled against My law.
2 aIsrael will cry to Me,
‘My God, bwe know You!’
3 Israel has rejected the good;
The enemy will pursue him.
4 “Theya set up kings, but not by Me;
They made princes, but I did not acknowledge them.
From their silver and gold
They made idols for themselves—
That they might be cut off.
5 Your calf is rejected, O Samaria!
My anger is aroused against them—
aHow long until they attain to innocence?
6 For from Israel is even this:
A aworkman made it, and it is not God;
But the calf of Samaria shall be broken to pieces.
7 “Theya sow the wind,
And reap the whirlwind.
The stalk has no bud;
It shall never produce meal.
If it should produce,
bAliens would swallow it up.
8 aIsrael is swallowed up;
Now they are among the Gentiles
bLike a vessel in which is no pleasure.
9 For they have gone up to Assyria,
Like aa wild donkey alone by itself;
Ephraim bhas hired lovers.
10 Yes, though they have hired among the nations,
Now aI will gather them;
And they shall sorrow a little,
Because of the burden of bthe king of princes.
11 “Because Ephraim has made many altars for sin,
They have become for him altars for sinning.
12 I have written for him athe great things of My law,
But they were considered a strange thing.
13 For the sacrifices of My offerings athey sacrifice flesh and eat it,
bBut the Lord does not accept them.
cNow He will remember their iniquity and punish their sins.
They shall return to Egypt.
14 “Fora Israel has forgotten bhis Maker,
And has built temples;
Judah also has multiplied cfortified cities;
But dI will send fire upon his cities,
And it shall devour his palaces.”
The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson.
All rights reserved.