10

Israel’s Sin and Captivity

¹Israel ⚓empties his vine;
He brings forth fruit for himself.
According to the multitude of his fruit
⚓He has increased the altars;
According to the bounty of his land
They have embellished his sacred pillars.
²Their heart is ⚓divided;
Now they are held guilty.
He will break down their altars;
He will ruin their sacred pillars.
³For now they say,
“We have no king,
Because we did not fear the Lord.
And as for a king, what would he do for us?”
⁴They have spoken words,
Swearing falsely in making a covenant.
Thus judgment springs up ⚓like hemlock in the furrows of the field.
⁵The inhabitants of Samaria fear
Because of the ⚓calf of Beth Aven.
For its people mourn for it,
And its priests shriek for it—
Because its ⚓glory has departed from it.
⁶The idol also shall be carried to Assyria
As a present for King ⚓Jareb.
Ephraim shall receive shame,
And Israel shall be ashamed of his own counsel.
⁷As for Samaria, her king is cut off
Like a twig on the water.
⁸Also the ⚓high places of Aven, ⚓the sin of Israel,
Shall be destroyed.
The thorn and thistle shall grow on their altars;
⚓They shall say to the mountains, “Cover us!”
And to the hills, “Fall on us!”
⁹“O Israel, you have sinned from the days of ⚓Gibeah;
There they stood.
The ⚓battle in Gibeah against the children of iniquity
Did not overtake them.
¹⁰When it is My desire, I will chasten them.
⚓Peoples shall be gathered against them
When I bind them for their two transgressions.
¹¹Ephraim is⚓a trained heifer
That loves to thresh grain;
But I harnessed her fair neck,
I will make Ephraim pull a plow.
Judah shall plow;
Jacob shall break his clods.”
¹²Sow for yourselves righteousness;
Reap in mercy;
⚓Break up your fallow ground,
For it is time to seek the Lord,
Till He ⚓comes and rains righteousness on you.
¹³⚓You have plowed wickedness;
You have reaped iniquity.
You have eaten the fruit of lies,
Because you trusted in your own way,
In the multitude of your mighty men.
¹⁴Therefore tumult shall arise among your people,
And all your fortresses shall be plundered
As Shalman plundered Beth Arbel in the day of battle—
A mother dashed in pieces upon her children.
¹⁵Thus it shall be done to you, O Bethel,
Because of your great wickedness.
At dawn the king of Israel
Shall be cut off utterly.

10

¹以色列是茂盛的葡萄樹，
結果繁多。
果子越多，
就越增添祭壇；
土地越肥美，
就越建造美麗的柱像。
²他們心懷二意，
現今要定為有罪。
耶和華必拆毀他們的祭壇，
粉碎他們的柱像。

³現在他們要說：
「我們沒有王；
因為我們不敬畏耶和華，
王又能為我們做甚麼呢？」
⁴他們講空話，
以假誓立約；
因此，懲罰如苦菜滋生
在田間的犁溝中。

⁵撒瑪利亞的居民必因伯‧亞文的牛犢驚恐；
它的百姓為它悲哀，
它的祭司為它戰兢，
因為榮耀已經離開它。
⁶人必將牛犢帶到亞述，
當作禮物獻給大王。
以法蓮必蒙羞，
以色列必因自己的計謀慚愧。
⁷撒瑪利亞的王要滅亡，
如水面上的泡沫一般。
⁸亞文的丘壇，
以色列犯罪的地方必毀壞，
荊棘和蒺藜必長在他們的祭壇上。
他們要向大山說：遮蓋我們！
向小山說：倒在我們身上！

上帝審判以色列

⁹以色列啊，
你從基比亞的日子以來就時常犯罪，
他們仍停留在那裏。
攻擊罪孽之輩的戰事豈不會臨到基比亞嗎？
¹⁰我必隨己意懲罰他們，
他們為雙重的罪所纏；
萬民必聚集攻擊他們。

¹¹以法蓮是馴良的母牛犢，喜愛踹穀，
我要將軛套在牠肥美的頸項上，
我要使以法蓮被套住；
猶大必耕田，
雅各必耙地。
¹²你們要為自己栽種公義，
收割慈愛。
你們要開墾荒地，
現今正是尋求耶和華的時候；
等他臨到，公義必如雨降給你們。

¹³你們耕種奸惡，
收割罪孽，
吃的是謊言的果實。
因你倚靠自己的行為，
仰賴你眾多的勇士，
¹⁴所以在你百姓中必掀起鬧鬨，
你一切的堡壘必被拆毀，
就如沙勒幔在爭戰的日子拆毀伯‧亞比勒，
將城中的母子一同摔碎。
¹⁵伯特利⚓啊，因你們的大惡，
你們必遭遇如此。
黎明來臨，以色列的王必全然滅絕。