1-4. Doom to the pretentious drunks of Ephraim,shabby and washed out and seedy—Tipsy, sloppy-fat, beer-bellied parodiesof a proud and handsome past.Watch closely: God has someone picked out,someone tough and strong to flatten them.Like a hailstorm, like a hurricane, like a flash flood,one-handed he’ll throw them to the ground.Samaria, the party hat on Israel’s head,will be knocked off with one blow.It will disappear quicker thana piece of meat tossed to a dog.
11-12. But that’s exactly how you will be addressed.God will speak to this peopleIn baby talk, one syllable at a time—and he’ll do it through foreign oppressors.He said before, “This is the time and place to rest,to give rest to the weary.This is the place to lay down your burden.”But they won’t listen.
13. So God will start over with the simple basicsand address them in baby talk, one syllable at a time—“Da, da, da, da,blah, blah, blah, blah.That’s a good little girl,that’s a good little boy.”And like toddlers, they will get up and fall down,get bruised and confused and lost.
14-15. Now listen to God’s Message, you scoffers,you who rule this people in Jerusalem.You say, “We’ve taken out good life insurance.We’ve hedged all our bets, covered all our bases.No disaster can touch us. We’ve thought of everything.We’re advised by the experts. We’re set.”
16-17. But the Master, God, has something to say to this:“Watch closely. I’m laying a foundation in Zion,a solid granite foundation, squared and true.And this is the meaning of the stone:a trusting life won’t topple.I’ll make justice the measuring stickand righteousness the plumb line for the building.A hailstorm will knock down the shantytown of lies,and a flash flood will wash out the rubble.