9:1 O Israel, do not rejoice jubilantly 1 like the nations,
for you are unfaithful 2 to your God.
You love to receive a prostitute's wages 3
on all the floors where you thresh your grain.
9:2 Threshing floors and wine vats will not feed the people, 4
and new wine only deceives them. 5
9:3 They will not remain in the Lord’s land.
Ephraim will return to Egypt;
they will eat ritually unclean food in Assyria.
9:4 They will not pour out drink offerings of wine to the Lord;
they will not please him with their sacrifices.
Their sacrifices will be like bread eaten while in mourning;
all those who eat them will make themselves ritually unclean.
For their bread will be only to satisfy their appetite;
it will not come into the temple of the Lord.
9:5 So what will you do on the festival day,
on the festival days of the Lord?
9:6 Look! 6 Even if 7 they flee from the destruction,
Egypt will take hold 8 of them,
and Memphis will bury them.
The weeds will inherit the silver they treasure 9 –
thorn bushes will occupy their homes. 10
9:7 The time of judgment 11 is about to arrive! 12
The time of retribution 13 is imminent! 14
Let Israel know! 15
The prophet is considered a fool 16 –
the inspired man 17 is viewed as a madman 18 –
because of the multitude of your sins
and your intense 19 animosity.
9:8 The prophet 20 is a watchman 21 over Ephraim 22 on behalf of God, 23
yet traps 24 are laid for him along all of his paths; 25
animosity rages against him in the land 26 of his God.