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7:1  “I wanted to forgive Israel, but her sins were far too great—no one can even live in Samaria without being a liar, thief, and bandit!
7:2  “Her people never seem to recognize that I am watching them. Their sinful deeds give them away on every side; I see them all.
7:3  The king is glad about their wickedness; the princes laugh about their lies.
7:4  They are all adulterers; as a baker’s oven is constantly aflame—except after he kneads the dough and waits for it to rise again—so are these people constantly aflame with lust.
7:5  “On the king’s birthday, the princes get him drunk; he makes a fool of himself and drinks with those who mock him.
7:6  Their hearts blaze like a furnace with intrigue. Their plot smolders through the night, and in the morning it flames forth like raging fire.
7:7  “They kill their kings one after another, and no one cries out to me for help.
7:8  “My people mingle with the heathen, picking up their evil ways; thus they become as good-for-nothing as a half-baked cake!
7:9  “Worshiping foreign gods has sapped their strength, but they don’t know it. Ephraim’s hair is turning gray, and he doesn’t even realize how weak and old he is.
7:10  His pride in other gods has openly condemned him; yet he doesn’t return to his God, nor even try to find him.
7:11  “Ephraim is a silly, witless dove, calling to Egypt, flying to Assyria.
7:12  But as she flies, I throw my net over her and bring her down like a bird from the sky; I will punish her for all her evil ways.
7:13  “Woe to my people for deserting me; let them perish, for they have sinned against me. I wanted to redeem them but their hard hearts would not accept the truth.
7:14  They lie there sleepless with anxiety but won’t ask my help. Instead, they worship heathen gods, asking them for crops and for prosperity.
7:15  “I have helped them and made them strong, yet now they turn against me.
7:16  “They look everywhere except to heaven, to the Most High God. They are like a crooked bow that always misses targets; their leaders will perish by the sword of the enemy for their insolence to me. And all Egypt will laugh at them.