1 How horrible it will be for the arrogant drunks of Ephraim.
2 The Lord has one who is strong and powerful.
3 The arrogant drunks of Ephraim will be trampled underfoot.
4 Their glorious beauty is ⌞like⌟ a withered flower.
5 When that day comes, the Lord of Armies will be
6 He will give a spirit of justice to those who judge.
7 Priests and prophets stagger from wine and wobble from too much liquor.
8 All the tables are covered with vomit and excrement.
9 To whom will they make the message understood?
10 They speak utter nonsense.
11 The Lord will speak to these people.
12 He will say to them,
13 The Lord speaks utter nonsense to them.
14 So hear the Lord’s word, you foolish talkers
15 You say, “We made a treaty with death
16 This is what the Almighty Lord says:
17 I will make justice a measuring line
18 Your treaty with death will be wiped away.
19 Each time it passes by it will take you.
20 The bed is too short to stretch out on.
21 The Lord will rise as he did on Mount Perazim.
22 Now stop laughing, or your chains will be tightened,
23 Open your ears, and listen to me!
24 Does a farmer go on plowing every day so he can plant?
25 When he has smoothed its surface,
26 God will guide him in judgment,
27 Black cumin isn’t threshed with a sledge,
28 Grain is ground into flour, but the grinding eventually stops.
29 All of this has come from the Lord of Armies.