Israel Will Harvest a Windstorm
1The Lord said to me,
“Put a trumpet to your lips!
Give a warning to my people!
Assyria is like an eagle.
It is ready to attack my land.
My people have broken the covenant I made with them.
They have refused to obey my law.
2Israel shouts to me,
‘We recognize you as our God!’
3But they have turned away from what is good.
So an enemy will chase them.
4My people appoint kings I do not want.
They choose princes without my permission.
They use their silver and gold
to make statues of gods.
That is how they destroy themselves.”
5The Lord says, “People of Samaria,
throw out your god that looks like a calf!
I am very angry with them.
How long will it be until they are able
to remain faithful to me?
6Their calf is not God.
A skilled worker from Israel made it.
But that calf of Samaria will be broken to pieces.”
7The Lord says,
“Worshiping other gods is like worshiping the wind.
It is like planting worthless seeds.
Assyria is like a windstorm.
That is all my people will harvest.
There are no heads of grain
on the stems that will come up.
So they will not produce any flour.
Even if they did produce grain,
the Assyrians would eat all of it up.
8So the people of Israel are swallowed up.
Now they are among the nations
like something no one wants.
9They have gone up to Assyria for help.
They are like a wild donkey
that wanders around by itself.
Ephraim’s people have sold themselves
to their Assyrian lovers.
10They have sold themselves to the nations
to get their help.
But now I will gather them together.
They will get weaker and weaker.
The mighty kings of Assyria will crush them.
11“Ephraim built many altars where they sacrificed
sin offerings to other gods.
So their altars have become
places where they commit sin.
12In my law I wrote down many things for their good.
But they considered those things as something strange.
13They offer sacrifices as gifts to me.
They eat the meat of the animals they bring.
But the Lord is not pleased with any of this.
He will remember the evil things they have done.
He will punish them for their sins.
And they will return to Egypt.
14Israel has forgotten the God who made them.
They have built palaces for themselves.
Judah has built forts in many towns.
But I will send down fire on their cities.
It will burn up their forts.”
Siembran vientos y cosechan tempestades
1»¡Da el toque de trompeta!
¡Un águila se cierne sobre la casa del Señor!
Han quebrantado mi pacto
y se han rebelado contra mi ley,
2y ahora vienen a suplicarme:
“¡Dios de Israel, te conocemos!”
3Pero Israel ha rechazado el bien,
así que un enemigo lo perseguirá.
4Establecen reyes que yo no apruebo,
y escogen autoridades que no conozco.
Con su plata y con su oro se hacen imágenes
para su propia destrucción.
5Samaria, ¡arroja el becerro
que tienes por ídolo!
Contra vosotros se ha encendido mi ira.
¿Hasta cuándo estaréis sin purificaros?
6Oye, Israel: Ese becerro no es Dios;
es obra de un escultor.
Ese becerro de Samaria
será hecho pedazos.
7»Sembraron vientos
y cosecharán tempestades.
El tallo no tiene espiga
y no producirá harina;
si acaso llegara a producirla,
se la tragarían los extranjeros.
8Pues a Israel se lo han tragado,
y hoy es de poca estima entre las naciones.
9Los israelitas subieron a Asiria;
se apartaron como terco asno salvaje,
y Efraín se ha comprado amantes.
10Pero, aunque se los compre entre las naciones,
de allí volveré a reunirlos;
y comenzarán a retorcerse
bajo la opresión de un rey poderoso.
11»Efraín edificó muchos altares
para expiar sus pecados,
pero estos se han convertido
en altares para pecar.
12Yo podría escribirles mi ley muchas veces,
pero ellos la verían como algo extraño.
13Me han ofrecido sacrificios y ofrendas,
y se han comido la carne,
pero eso a mí no me agrada.
Voy ahora a tener en cuenta sus perversidades,
y castigaré sus pecados;
¡y tendrán que regresar a Egipto!
14Israel se olvidó de su Hacedor y se edificó palacios;
Judá multiplicó las ciudades amuralladas;
pero yo lanzaré sobre sus ciudades y fortalezas
un fuego que las consuma».
