Therefore they will be like morning clouds, like early morning dew that evaporates, like chaff blown away from the threshing floor, or like smoke from a chimney."

I will be like the dew to Israel; Israel will blossom like a lily, growing roots like the cedars of Lebanon.

So it will be: like people, like priest. I will punish them for their lifestyles, rewarding them according to their behavior.

The princes of Judah have become like those who move boundary markers: I will pour out my anger on them like water.

Therefore I will be like a lion to Ephraim, and like a young lion to the house of Judah. I even I will tear them to pieces, and then I will leave. I will take them away, and there will be no rescue.

Let us know, let us pursue knowledge of the LORD; his coming is as certain as the dawn. He will come to us like the rain, like the autumn and spring rains come on the earth.

"What am I to do with you, Ephraim? What am I to do with you, Judah? Your love is like a morning rain cloud it passes away like the morning dew.

For they have stirred up themselves like an oven as they lie in ambush. Their baker sleeps through the night; in the morning, the oven will be blazing like a fire.

"I found Israel, as one finds grapes in the wilderness; Your ancestors seemed to me like the fruit gleaned from a fig tree's first harvest. When they went to Baal-peor, they devoted themselves to that filth, and they became loathsome, like what they loved.

"How can I give up on you, Ephraim? I will deliver you, will I not, Israel? How can I treat you like Admah? I can't make you like Zeboim, can I? My heart stirs within me; my compassion also fans into flame!

"So I will be like a lion to them. Like a leopard I will stalk them along the road.

I will confront them like a bear deprived of her cubs; I will tear open their ribs. I will devour them like a lion the wild beasts will rip them apart.

Israel's branches will spread out, and its beauty will be like an olive tree, with its scent like that of Lebanon.

Those who live under its protection will surely return. Their grain will flourish; they will blossom like a vine, and Israel's scent will be like wine from Lebanon.