3 I know Ephraim, and Israel is not hid from Me; for now, O Ephraim, you have played the harlot and have worshiped idols; Israel is defiled.
4 Their doings will not permit them to return to their God, for the spirit of harlotry is within them and they know not the Lord [they do not recognize, appreciate, give heed to, or cherish the Lord].
5 But the pride and self-reliance of Israel testifies before his [own] face. Therefore shall [all] Israel, and [especially] Ephraim [the northern ten tribes], totter and fall in their iniquity and guilt, and Judah shall stumble and fall with them.
6 They shall go with their flocks and with their herds to seek the Lord [inquiring for and requiring Him], but they will not find Him; He has withdrawn Himself from them.
7 They have dealt faithlessly and treacherously with the Lord [their espoused Husband], for they have borne alien children. Now shall a [single] New Moon (one month) devour them with their fields.
8 Blow the horn in Gibeah and the trumpet in Ramah [both lofty hills on Benjamin's northern border]. Sound the alarm at Beth-aven: [the enemy is] behind you and after you, O Benjamin [be on your guard]!
9 Ephraim shall become a desolation in the day of rebuke and punishment. Among the tribes of Israel I declare what shall surely be.