She will pursue her lovers but not catch them;
she will seek them but not find them.
Then she will think,
“I will go back to my former husband,
for then it was better for me than now.”

Now I will expose her shame
in the sight of her lovers,
and no one will rescue her from My hands.

For Israel is as obstinate as a stubborn cow.
Can the Lord now shepherd them
like a lamb in an open meadow?

I know Ephraim,
and Israel is not hidden from Me.
For now, Ephraim,
you have acted promiscuously;
Israel is defiled.

They betrayed the Lord;
indeed, they gave birth to illegitimate children.
Now the New Moon will devour them
along with their fields.

But they never consider that I remember all their evil.
Now their sins are all around them;
they are right in front of My face.

Israel is swallowed up!
Now they are among the nations
like discarded pottery.

Even though they hire lovers among the nations,
I will now round them up,
and they will begin to decrease in number
under the burden of the king and leaders.

Though they offer sacrificial gifts
and eat the flesh,
the Lord does not accept them.
Now He will remember their guilt
and punish their sins;
they will return to Egypt.

Their hearts are devious;
now they must bear their guilt.
The Lord will break down their altars
and demolish their sacred pillars.

In fact, they are now saying,
“We have no king!
For we do not fear the Lord.
What can a king do for us?”

Now they continue to sin
and make themselves a cast image,
idols skillfully made from their silver,
all of them the work of craftsmen.
People say about them,
“Let the men who sacrifice kiss the calves.”

Where now is your king,
that he may save you in all your cities,
and the rulers you demanded, saying,
“Give me a king and leaders”?