1I fell in love with IsraelWhen he was still a child;And I have called [him] My sonEver since Egypt.
2aMeaning of parts of vv. 2–7 uncertain. Thus were they called,But they went their own way;They sacrifice to BaalimbBaalim Emendation yields “calves”; cf. 8.4–6; 13.2. And offer to carved images.
3I have pampered Ephraim,Taking them in MycMy Heb. “his.” arms;dpampered Ephraim, / Taking them in My arms; Or “taught Ephraim to walk, / Taking him by his arms.” But they have ignoredMy healing care.
4I drew them with human ties,ehuman ties Perhaps the ropes with which parents gently teach their children to walk; cf. Rashi, Kimhi. With cords of love;But I seemed to them as oneWho imposed a yoke on their jaws,Though I was offering them food.fBut I seemed to them as one / Who imposed a yoke on their jaws, / Though I was offering them food. Or “I became to them like those / Who lift the harness from their mouths, / And I stooped and fed them.”
5No!They return to the land of Egypt,And Assyria is their king.Because they refuse to repent,
6A sword shall descend upon their townsgtowns Emendation yields “bodies,” lit. “skins”; cf. Job 18.13. And consume their limbsAnd devour [them] because of their designs.h[them] because of their designs Emendation yields “their bones.”
7For My people persistsIn its defection from Me;When it is summoned upward,It does not rise at all.iFor My people … rise at all Meaning of Heb. uncertain.
8How can I give you up, O Ephraim?How surrender you, O Israel?How can I make you like Admah,Render you like Zeboiim?jAdmah…Zeboiim Towns that were destroyed along with neighboring Sodom and Gomorrah; cf. Gen. 10.19; 14.2, 8; Deut. 29.22. I have had a change of heart,All My tenderness is stirred.
9I will not act on My wrath,Will not turn to destroy Ephraim.For I am God—not human—The Holy One in your midst:I will not come in fury.kThe Holy One … in fury Meaning of Heb. uncertain.
10GOD
will roar like a lion—Whom they shall march behind;With that roar, God’s children shall comeFluttering out of the west.
11They shall flutter from Egypt like sparrows,From the land of Assyria like doves;And I will settle them in their homes—declares GOD.