For their mother has committed adultery; she who conceived them has acted shamefully. For she said, "I will seek out my lovers; they are the ones who give me my bread and my water, my wool, my flax, my olive oil, and my wine.

And, when she shall pursue her lovers, and not overtake them, and shall seek them and not find, then will she say, Let me go my way now! and return unto my first husband, for it was better with me, then, than, now!

And I will put her as seed in the earth, and I will have mercy on her to whom no mercy was given; and I will say to those who were not my people, You are my people, and they will say, My God.

and said unto her, "Thou shalt bide with me a long season, but see that thou playest not the harlot, and look thou meddle with none other man, and then will I keep myself for thee."

Afterwards, shall the sons of Israel return, and seek Yahweh their God, and David their king, - and shall turn with throbbing hearts unto Yahweh and unto his goodness, in the afterpart of the days.

My people seek counsel from their piece of wood, and their diviner's rod speaks to them. For a spirit of prostitution causes them to go astray; in their immorality they desert their God.

Therefore commit whoredom do your daughters, And your spouses commit adultery, I do not see after your daughters when they commit whoredom, And after your spouses when they commit adultery, For they with the harlots are separated, And with the whores they do sacrifice, A people that doth not understand kicketh.

With their flocks and with their herds, will they go to seek Yahweh, but shall not find him; he hath withdrawn himself from them.

And see doth Ephraim his sickness, and Judah his wound, And Ephraim goeth unto Asshur, And sendeth unto a warlike king, And he is not able to give healing to you, Nor doth he remove from you a scar.

I will depart, will return unto my place! till what time they acknowledge their guilt, and seek my face, - In their trouble, will they make for me diligent search.

In their adversity they shall seek me, and say, "Come, let us turn again to the LORD: for he hath smitten us, and he shall heal us;

Then let us know - let us press on to know - Yahweh, Like the dawn, is his coming forth assured, - that he may come like a down-pour upon us, like the harvest-rain, and the seed-rain of the land.

For it is love that I seek, and not sacrifice; knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.

In the house of Israel, have I seen a horrible thing, - there, the unchastity of Ephraim, defiled is Israel.

They consider not in their hearts that I remember all their wickedness. They go about with their own inventions, but I see them well enough.

Israel's arrogance testifies against him; but they do not return to the LORD their God, nor seek him in all of this.

They have sown wind, therefore shall they reap a whirlwind. Their seed shall bear no corn, there shall no meal be made of their increase: though they reap, yet shall strangers devour it up.

They won't present wine offerings to the LORD, nor will they please him. Their sacrifices will seem like food for mourners everyone who eats them will become unclean; none of them will enter the Temple of the LORD.

For see, they are going away into Assyria; Egypt will get them together, Memphis will be their last resting-place; their fair silver vessels will be covered over with field plants, and thorns will come up in their tents.

As grapes in a wilderness I found Israel, As the first-fruit in a fig-tree, at its beginning, I have seen your fathers, They -- they have gone in to Baal-Peor, And are separated to a shameful thing, And are become abominable like their love.

Ephraim, as I see it, is like Tyre, planted in a comfortable place; Ephraim will bear children but they will be executed."

Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap ye at thc bidding of lovingkindness, furrow to yourselves the newly-ploughed soil, - then will be the time to seek Yahweh, until he come, that he may rain down righteousness for you.

And Ephraim said, Now I have got wealth and much property; in all my works no sin may be seen in me.

Yet can I see no comfort, for when he is now the goodliest among the brethren, the East wind, even the wind of the LORD, shall come down from the wilderness, and dry up his conduits, and drink up his wells: he shall spoil the treasure of all pleasant vessels.

He who is wise will see these things; he who has good sense will have knowledge of them. For the ways of the Lord are straight, and the upright will go in them, but sinners will be falling in them.