1. When Ephraim spoke, people trembled;he was exalted in Israel.But he became guilty of Baal worship and died.
2. Now they sin more and more;they make idols for themselves from their silver,cleverly fashioned images,all of them the work of craftsmen.It is said of these people,‘They offer human sacrifices!They kiss calf-idols!’
3. Therefore they will be like the morning mist,like the early dew that disappears,like chaff swirling from a threshing-floor,like smoke escaping through a window.
4. ‘But I have been the Lord your Godever since you came out of Egypt.You shall acknowledge no God but me,no Saviour except me.
5. I cared for you in the wilderness,in the land of burning heat.
6. When I fed them, they were satisfied;when they were satisfied, they became proud;then they forgot me.
7. So I will be like a lion to them,like a leopard I will lurk by the path.
8. Like a bear robbed of her cubs,I will attack them and rip them open;like a lion I will devour them –a wild animal will tear them apart.