Judgment on Leaders and People
Study note
God calls out the priests, the people of Israel, and the royal family. He accuses them of being a trap and a snare, leading others into sin at the sacred places of Mizpah and Tabor. They have rebelled deeply, and God has warned them all. Their pride proves them guilty, and even when they bring their flocks to sacrifice, they will not find the LORD because He has left them.
1 Pay attention, you priests! Listen carefully, people of Israel! Royal family, take note! This judgment is aimed at you. You set a trap for people at Mizpah and spread your net wide on Mount Tabor. Hear ye this, O priests; and hearken, ye house of Israel; and give ye ear, O house of the king; for judgment is toward you, because ye have been a snare on Mizpah, and a net spread upon Tabor.
2 These rebels have sunk deep into violence and bloodshed. I will punish every one of them. And the revolters are profound to make slaughter, though I have been a rebuker of them all.
3 I know Ephraim inside and out, and Israel cannot hide from me. Ephraim, you have been unfaithful, and Israel has made itself filthy with sin. I know Ephraim, and Israel is not hid from me: for now, O Ephraim, thou committest whoredom, and Israel is defiled.
4 Their sinful habits will not let them come back to their God. A stubborn spirit of rebellion has taken root deep inside them, and they have lost all knowledge of the LORD. They will not frame their doings to turn unto their God: for the spirit of whoredoms is in the midst of them, and they have not known the LORD.
5 Israel's own arrogance testifies against them to their face. Israel and Ephraim will trip and fall because of their sin, and Judah will tumble right along with them. And the pride of Israel doth testify to his face: therefore shall Israel and Ephraim fall in their iniquity; Judah also shall fall with them.
6 They will bring their sheep and cattle looking for the LORD, but they will not find him anywhere. He has pulled himself away from them. They shall go with their flocks and with their herds to seek the LORD; but they shall not find him; he hath withdrawn himself from them.
7 They broke faith with the LORD by raising children who do not belong to him. Now destruction will swallow them and their land in the blink of an eye. They have dealt treacherously against the LORD: for they have begotten strange children: now shall a month devour them with their portions.
Sound the Alarm
Study note
God tells the watchmen to blow the warning trumpet across the cities. Ephraim will be made empty on the day of punishment. The leaders of Judah are also guilty, acting like those who move boundary markers to steal land. God says He will be like a moth slowly eating away at Ephraim and like decay rotting through Judah.
8 Blast the horn in Gibeah! Sound the alarm in Ramah! Shout a warning in Beth-aven! Get ready for battle, Benjamin! Blow ye the cornet in Gibeah, and the trumpet in Ramah: cry aloud at Beth-aven, after thee, O Benjamin.
9 When the day of reckoning arrives, Ephraim will be stripped bare. I am announcing to the tribes of Israel exactly what is going to happen — and it is certain. Ephraim shall be desolate in the day of rebuke: among the tribes of Israel have I made known that which shall surely be.
10 The leaders of Judah act like thieves who secretly move boundary stones to steal other people's land. I will pour out my fury on them like a wall of water. The princes of Judah were like them that remove the bound: therefore I will pour out my wrath upon them like water.
11 Ephraim is beaten down and crushed by judgment because he stubbornly chased after worthless things. Ephraim is oppressed and broken in judgment, because he willingly walked after the commandment.
12 I am slowly eating away at Ephraim like a moth chews through fabric. I am rotting Judah from the inside like decay in wood. Therefore will I be unto Ephraim as a moth, and to the house of Judah as rottenness.
Assyria Cannot Help
Study note
When Ephraim and Judah finally realize how sick and wounded they are, they run to the powerful empire of Assyria for help. But Assyria cannot heal them. God says He will be like a lion, tearing them apart and carrying them away. Then He will return to His place and wait until they admit their guilt and come looking for Him.
13 When Ephraim finally noticed how sick he was and Judah saw his wounds, Ephraim ran to Assyria begging the great king for help. But that king cannot heal what is wrong with them or make their wounds close up. When Ephraim saw his sickness, and Judah saw his wound, then went Ephraim to the Assyrian, and sent to king Jareb: yet could he not heal you, nor cure you of your wound.
14 I will be like a lion to Ephraim — like a powerful young lion to Judah. I will tear them apart myself and carry them off, and no one will be able to stop me. For I will be unto Ephraim as a lion, and as a young lion to the house of Judah: I, even I, will tear and go away; I will take away, and none shall rescue him.
15 Then I will go back to where I came from and wait for them to own up to what they have done. When their suffering gets bad enough, they will come searching hard for me. I will go and return to my place, till they acknowledge their offence, and seek my face: in their affliction they will seek me early.