אֶל־חִכְּךָ שֹׁפָר כַּנֶּשֶׁר עַל־בֵּית ה' יַעַן עָבְרוּ בְרִיתִי וְעַל־תּוֹרָתִי פָּשָׁעוּ

God addresses the prophet: To your mouth, set a shofar, in order to sound a warning of the powerful enemy’s speedy approach. Like a vulture he comes upon the House of the Lord and the house of Israel, because they violated My covenant and rebelled against My law.

לִי יִזְעָקוּ אֱלֹהַי יְדַעֲנוּךָ יִשְׂרָאֵל

To Me, Israel will cry: My God, we know You to be our savior!

זָנַח יִשְׂרָאֵל טוֹב אוֹיֵב יִרְדְּפוֹ

However, I will not listen to them, as Israel has forsaken the good path, and therefore, the enemy will pursue him.

הֵם הִמְלִיכוּ וְלֹא מִמֶּנִּי הֵשִׂירוּ וְלֹא יָדָעְתִּי כַּסְפָּם וּזְהָבָם עָשׂוּ לָהֶם עֲצַבִּים לְמַעַן יִכָּרֵת

They crowned kings, but not from Me or with My permission, or in accordance with My will. The vast majority of the kings of Israel were crowned by their supporters, not by prophetic decree. Likewise, they appointed princes, but I did not know about it, as they did not consult Me. I am unconcerned about the people, because they made their silver and gold into idols for themselves, so that it, their wealth, would go lost.

זָנַח עֶגְלֵךְ שֹׁמְרוֹן חָרָה אַפִּי בָּם עַד־מָתַי לֹא יוּכְלוּ נִקָּיֹן !

Your calf has forsaken you, Samaria. The golden calf that you worship has abandoned rather than saved you, as you had hoped. My wrath is enflamed against them, for until when will they be incapable of cleansing? How long will it be until they are able to cleanse themselves from these sins?

כִּי מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל וְהוּא חָרָשׁ עָשָׂהוּ וְלֹא אֱלֹהִים הוּא כִּי שְׁבָבִים יִהְיֶה עֵגֶל שֹׁמְרוֹן

For it is from Israel; a human craftsman made it, this golden calf; it was not formed by divine instruction, and it is not a god, as ultimately the calf of Samaria will be splinters. The idolatrous rites of the Kingdom of Israel will be destroyed.

כִּי רוּחַ יִזְרָעוּ וְסוּפָתָה יִקְצֹרוּ קָמָה אֵין־לוֹ צֶמַח בְּלִי יַעֲשֶׂה קֶּמַח אוּלַי יַעֲשֶׂה זָרִים יִבְלָעֻהוּ

For they sow wind, and they will reap a storm. They provoke Me and so will receive an unexpectedly harsh response. It, the nation of Israel, has no ripe stalk of grain; it is like an emaciated bud that will produce no flour. Even if it perhaps will produce some flour, strangers will swallow it. There is no hope for Israel.

נִבְלַע יִשְׂרָאֵל עַתָּה הָיוּ בַגּוֹיִם כִּכְלִי אֵין־חֵפֶץ בּוֹ

Israel is swallowed up, intermingled and assimilated among the gentiles; now they have become among the nations like an unwanted vessel.

כִּי־הֵמָּה עָלוּ אַשּׁוּר פֶּרֶא בּוֹדֵד לוֹ אֶפְרַיִם הִתְנוּ אֲהָבִים

For they, the Israelites, have gone up to establish diplomatic ties with Assyria. However, they acted as a solitary wild ass, which by its very nature cannot keep its word, to him, Assyria. Also, Israel maintained parallel relations with Assyria and Egypt, despite the tension between those two powers. In his treachery, Ephraim has hired lovers by paying a prostitute’s fee, that is, by bribing both Assyria and Egypt.

גַּם כִּי־יִתְנוּ בַגּוֹיִם עַתָּה אֲקַבְּצֵם וַיָּחֵלּוּ מְּעָט מִמַּשָּׂא מֶלֶךְ שָׂרִים

Even as they pay tribute among the nations, now I will gather them, the nations, up to the Land of Israel, to exile Israel, and they will begin to complain a little from the burden of the king of Egypt and the princes.

כִּי הִרְבָּה אֶפְרַיִם מִזְבְּחוֹת לַחֲטֹא הָיוּ־לוֹ מִזְבְּחוֹת לַחֲטֹא

For Ephraim has increased for itself altars to sin with idolatry; he indeed had altars to sin. These altars did not serve to atone for sin, but were themselves a sin, and now nothing remains of them.

אֶכְתָּב־לוֹ רֻבֵּי תּוֹרָתִי כְּמוֹ זָר נֶחְשָׁבוּ

I could write for him much of My Torah, but what use would such a volume be, as it, My word, is regarded like a strange matter, in which they have no interest.

זִבְחֵי הַבְהָבַי יִזְבְּחוּ בָשָׂר וַיֹּאכֵלוּ ה' לֹא רָצָם עַתָּה יִזְכֹּר עֲוֹנָם וְיִפְקֹד חַטֹּאתָם הֵמָּה מִצְרַיִם יָשׁוּבוּ

Those animal sacrifices slaughtered for burning to Me, which are supposed to be burnt whole on the altar and not eaten, they, the Israelites, slaughter for meat, and eat them, and therefore, the Lord does not want them and does not accept these offerings. Now, He will remember their iniquity and reckon their sins; they will also return to Egypt to seek its patronage.

וַיִּשְׁכַּח יִשְׂרָאֵל אֶת־עֹשֵׂהוּ וַיִּבֶן הֵיכָלוֹת וִיהוּדָה הִרְבָּה עָרִים בְּצֻרוֹת וְשִׁלַּחְתִּי־אֵשׁ בְּעָרָיו וְאָכְלָה אַרְמְנֹתֶיהָ

Israel forgot his Maker and built sanctuaries, and the inhabitants of Judah, who did not have much money, sought to build something beneficial and therefore multiplied fortified cities, but the Kingdom of Judah will not escape Israel’s fate, for I will send forth fire in his, Judah’s, cities, and it shall consume his palaces in those cities, rendering all he built utterly useless.