American Standard Version of 1901
Versliste
Then the king of Assyria came up throughout all the land, and went up to Samaria, and besieged it three years.
In the ninth year of Hoshea the king of Assyria took Samaria, and carried Israel away unto Assyria, and placed them in Halah, and on the Habor, the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes.
Send thou men, that they may spy out the land of Canaan, which I give unto the children of Israel: of every tribe of their fathers shall ye send a man, every one a prince among them.
Of the tribe of Ephraim, Hoshea the son of Nun.
These are the names of the men that Moses sent to spy out the land. And Moses called Hoshea the son of Nun Joshua.
{Or, Jacob}James, a {Greek: bondservant.}servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are of the Dispersion, {Greek: wisheth joy.}greeting.
unto which promise our twelve tribes, earnestly serving God night and day, hope to attain. And concerning this hope I am accused by the Jews, O king!
And he will set up an ensign for the nations, and will assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.
and shalt return unto Jehovah thy God, and shalt obey his voice according to all that I command thee this day, thou and thy children, with all thy heart, and with all thy soul;
that then Jehovah thy God will {Or, return to}turn thy captivity, and have compassion upon thee, and will return and gather thee from all the peoples, whither Jehovah thy God hath scattered thee.
If any of thine outcasts be in the uttermost parts of heaven, from thence will Jehovah thy God gather thee, and from thence will he fetch thee:
Jehovah doth build up Jerusalem;He gathereth together the outcasts of Israel.
The Lord Jehovah, who gathereth the outcasts of Israel, saith, Yet will I gather others to him, {Hebrew: to his gathered ones.}besides his own that are gathered.
When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and called my son out of Egypt.
The more the prophets called them, the more they went from them: they sacrificed unto the Baalim, and burned incense to graven images.
Yet I taught Ephraim to walk; {Hebrew: he took them on his arms.}I took them on my arms; but they knew not that I healed them.
I drew them with cords of a man, with bands of love; and I was to them as they that lift up the yoke on their jaws; and I laid food before them.
They shall not return into the land of Egypt; but the Assyrian shall be their king, because they refused to return to me.
And the sword shall {Or, rage against}fall upon their cities, and shall consume their bars, and devour them, because of their own counsels.
And my people are bent on backsliding from me: though they call them to him that is on high, none at all will {Or, lift himself up}exalt him.
How shall I give thee up, Ephraim? how shall I cast thee off, Israel? how shall I make thee as Admah? how shall I set thee as Zeboiim? my heart is turned within me, my compassions are kindled together.
I will not execute the fierceness of mine anger, I will not return to destroy Ephraim: for I am God, and not man; the Holy One in the midst of thee; and I will not {Or, enter into the city}come in wrath.
They shall walk after Jehovah, who will roar like a lion; for he will roar, and the children shall come trembling from the west.
They shall come trembling as a bird out of Egypt, and as a dove out of the land of Assyria; and I will make them to dwell in their houses, saith Jehovah.
{[Chapter 12:1 in Hebrew]}Ephraim compasseth me about with falsehood, and the house of Israel with deceit; {Or, and Judah is yet unstedfast with God and with the Holy One who is faithful} but Judah yet ruleth with God, and is faithful with the Holy One.
How shall I give thee up, Ephraim? how shall I cast thee off, Israel? how shall I make thee as Admah? how shall I set thee as Zeboiim? my heart is turned within me, my compassions are kindled together.
When Ephraim {Or, spake with trembling &c.}spake, there was trembling; he exalted himself in Israel; but when he {Or, became guilty}offended in Baal, he died.
And now they sin more and more, and have made them molten images of their silver, even idols according to their own understanding, all of them the work of the craftsmen: they say of them, Let {Or, the sacrificers of men}the men that sacrifice kiss the calves.
Therefore they shall be as the morning cloud, and as the dew that passeth early away, as the chaff that is driven with the whirlwind out of the threshing-floor, and as the smoke out of the chimney.
Yet I am Jehovah thy God from the land of Egypt; and thou {Or, knowest}shalt know no god but me, and besides me there is no saviour.
I did know thee in the wilderness, in the land of great drought.
According to their pasture, so were they filled; they were filled, and their heart was exalted: therefore have they forgotten me.
Therefore am I unto them as a lion; as a leopard will I watch by the way;
I will meet them as a bear that is bereaved of her whelps, and will rend the caul of their heart; and there will I devour them like a lioness; the wild beast shall tear them.
{Or, Thou art destroyed, O Israel; for thou &c.}It is thy destruction, O Israel, {Or, for in me, in thy help – Or, but in me is thy help}that thou art against me, against thy help.
Where now is thy king, that he may save thee in all thy cities? and thy judges, of whom thou saidst, Give me a king and princes?
I have given thee a king in mine anger, and have taken him away in my wrath.
The iniquity of Ephraim is bound up; his sin is laid up in store.
The sorrows of a travailing woman shall come upon him: he is an unwise son; {Or, when it is time, he standeth not in &c.}for it is time he should not tarry in the place of the breaking forth of children.
I will ransom them from the {Hebrew: hand.}power of Sheol; I will redeem them from death: O death, {Or, I will be}where are thy plagues? O Sheol, {Or, I will be}where is thy destruction? repentance shall be hid from mine eyes.
Though he be fruitful among his brethren, an east wind shall come, the {Or, wind}breath of Jehovah coming up from the wilderness; and his spring shall become dry, and his fountain shall be dried up: {Or, it}he shall make spoil of the treasure of all goodly vessels. {[Chapter 14:1 in Hebrew]}
Samaria shall {Or, become desolate}bear her guilt; for she hath rebelled against her God: they shall fall by the sword; their infants shall be dashed in pieces, and their women with child shall be ripped up.
I will ransom them from the {Hebrew: hand.}power of Sheol; I will redeem them from death: O death, {Or, I will be}where are thy plagues? O Sheol, {Or, I will be}where is thy destruction? repentance shall be hid from mine eyes.
O Israel, return unto Jehovah thy God; for thou hast fallen by thine iniquity.
Take with you words, and return unto Jehovah: say unto him, Take away all iniquity, and {Or, receive us graciously}accept that which is good: so will we render as bullocks the offering of our lips.
Assyria shall not save us; we will not ride upon horses; neither will we say any more to the work of our hands, Ye are our gods; for in thee the fatherless findeth mercy.
I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely; for mine anger is turned away from him.
I will be as the dew unto Israel; he shall blossom as the lily, and cast forth his roots as Lebanon.
His branches shall spread, and his beauty shall be as the olive-tree, and his smell as Lebanon.
They that dwell under his shadow shall return; they shall revive as the grain, and blossom as the vine: {Or, his memorial}the scent thereof shall be as the wine of Lebanon.
{Or, O Ephraim, what &c.}Ephraim shall say, What have I to do any more with idols? I have answered, and will regard him: I am like a green fir-tree; from me is thy fruit found.
Who is wise, that he may understand these things? prudent, that he may know them? for the ways of Jehovah are right, and the just shall walk in them; but transgressors shall fall therein.
I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely; for mine anger is turned away from him.
I will be as the dew unto Israel; he shall blossom as the lily, and cast forth his roots as Lebanon.
His branches shall spread, and his beauty shall be as the olive-tree, and his smell as Lebanon.
They that dwell under his shadow shall return; they shall revive as the grain, and blossom as the vine: {Or, his memorial}the scent thereof shall be as the wine of Lebanon.
{Or, O Ephraim, what &c.}Ephraim shall say, What have I to do any more with idols? I have answered, and will regard him: I am like a green fir-tree; from me is thy fruit found.
Who is wise, that he may understand these things? prudent, that he may know them? for the ways of Jehovah are right, and the just shall walk in them; but transgressors shall fall therein.