131 When Ephraim spoke , there was trembling . He exalted himself in Israel , But through Baal he did wrong and died . 2 And now they sin more and more , And make for themselves molten images , Idols skillfully made from their silver , All of them the work of craftsmen . They say of them, "Let the men who sacrifice kiss the calves !" 3 Therefore they will be like the morning cloud And like dew which soon disappears , Like chaff which is blown away from the threshing floor And like smoke from a chimney . 4 Yet I have been the Lord your God Since the land of Egypt ; And you were not to know any god except Me, For there is no savior besides Me.
5 I cared for you in the wilderness , In the land of drought . 6 As they had their pasture , they became satisfied , And being satisfied , their heart became proud ; Therefore e they forgot Me. 7 So I will be like a lion to them; Like a leopard I will lie in wait by the wayside . 8 I will encounter them like a bear robbed of her cubs , And I will tear open their chests e ; There I will also devour them like a lioness , As a wild beast would tear them.
9 It is your destruction , O Israel , That you are against Me, against your help . 10 Where now is your king That he may save you in all your cities , And your judges of whom you requested , "Give me a king and princes "? 11 I gave you a king in My anger And took him away in My wrath . 12 The iniquity of Ephraim is bound up; His sin is stored up. 13 The pains of childbirth come upon him; He is not a wise son , For it is not the time that he should delay at the opening e of the womb . 14 Shall I ransom them from the power of Sheol ? Shall I redeem them from death ? O Death , where are your thorns ? O Sheol , where is your sting ? Compassion will be hidden from My sight . 15 Though he flourishes among the reeds , An east wind will come , The wind of the Lord coming up from the wilderness ; And his fountain will become dry And his spring will be dried up; It will plunder his treasury of every precious article . 16 Samaria will be held guilty , For she has rebelled against her God . They will fall by the sword , Their little ones will be dashed in pieces , And their pregnant women will be ripped open .
