The Punishment for Israel's Persistent Unfaithfulness

91 Do not rejoice , O Israel , with exultation like the nations ! For you have played the harlot , forsaking e your God . You have loved harlots' earnings on every threshing floor . 2 Threshing floor and wine press will not feed them, And the new wine will fail them. 3 They will not remain in the Lord'S land , But Ephraim will return to Egypt , And in Assyria they will eat unclean food. 4 They will not pour out drink offerings of wine to the Lord , Their sacrifices will not please Him. Their bread will be like mourners' bread ; All who eat of it will be defiled , For their bread will be for themselves alone; It will not enter the house of the Lord . 5 What will you do on the day of the appointed festival And on the day of the feast of the Lord ? 6 For behold , they will go because of destruction ; Egypt will gather them up, Memphis will bury them. Weeds will take over their treasures of silver ; Thorns will be in their tents .

7 The days of punishment have come , The days of retribution have come ; Let Israel know this! The prophet is a fool , The inspired man is demented , Because of the grossness of your iniquity , And because your hostility is so great . 8 Ephraim was a watchman with my God , a prophet ; Yet the snare of a bird catcher is in all his ways , And there is only hostility in the house of his God . 9 They have gone deep in depravity As in the days of Gibeah ; He will remember their iniquity , He will punish their sins . 10 I found Israel like grapes in the wilderness ; I saw your forefathers as the earliest fruit on the fig tree in its first season. But they came to Baal-peor and devoted themselves to shame , And they became as detestable as that which they loved .

11 As for Ephraim , their glory will fly away like a bird - No birth , no pregnancy and no conception ! 12 Though e they bring up their children , Yet I will bereave them until not a man is left. Yes , woe to them indeed when I depart from them! 13 Ephraim , as I have seen , Is planted in a pleasant meadow like Tyre ; But Ephraim will bring out his children for slaughter . 14 Give them, O Lord -what will You give ? Give them a miscarrying womb and dry breasts . 15 All their evil is at Gilgal ; Indeed , I came to hate them there ! Because of the wickedness of their deeds I will drive them out of My house ! I will love them no more ; All their princes are rebels . 16 Ephraim is stricken , their root is dried up, They will bear no fruit . Even though they bear children, I will slay the precious ones of their womb . 17 My God will cast them away Because they have not listened to Him; And they will be wanderers among the nations .