A drought will come upon her land; her rivers and canals will be dried up. ¹  All of this will happen because her land is filled with idols. ²  Her people act like madmen because of ³  those idols they fear. ⁴ 

ק (Qof) I called for my lovers, ¹  but they had deceived me. My priests and my elders perished in the city. Truly they had ²  searched for food to ³  keep themselves ⁴  alive. ⁵ 

מ (Mem) But it happened ¹  due to the sins of her prophets ²  and the iniquities of her priests, who poured out in her midst the blood of the righteous.

נ (Nun) They ¹  wander blindly ²  through the streets, defiled by the blood they shed, ³  while no one dares ⁴  to touch their garments.

ע (Ayin) Our eyes continually failed us as we looked in vain for help. ¹  From our watchtowers we watched for a nation that could not rescue us.

“Son of man, what is this proverb you have in the land of Israel, ‘The days pass slowly, and every vision fails’?

“Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel who are now prophesying. Say to the prophets who prophesy from their imagination: ¹  ‘Hear the word of the Lord!

This is what the sovereign Lord says: Woe to the foolish prophets who follow their own spirit but have seen nothing!

those prophets of Israel who would prophesy about Jerusalem ¹  and would see visions of peace for it, when there was no peace,” declares the sovereign Lord.’

“Son of man, these men have erected their idols in their hearts and placed the obstacle leading to their iniquity ¹  right before their faces. Should I really allow them to seek ²  me?

“Therefore say to the house of Israel, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: Return! Turn from your idols, and turn your faces away from your abominations.

I will set my face against that person and will make him an object lesson and a byword ¹  and will cut him off from among my people. Then you will know that I am the Lord.

And with all your abominable practices and prostitution you did not remember the days of your youth when you were naked and bare, kicking around in your blood.

Slanderous men shed blood within you. ¹  Those who live within you eat pagan sacrifices on the mountains; ²  they commit obscene acts among you. ³ 

But upright men will punish them appropriately for their adultery and bloodshed, ¹  because they are adulteresses and blood is on their hands.

Then all those living in Egypt will know that I am the Lord because they were a reed staff ¹  for the house of Israel;

After ¹  entering into an alliance with him, he will behave treacherously; he will ascend to power with only a small force. ² 

Then I told her, “You must live with me many days; you must not commit adultery or have sexual intercourse with ¹  another man, and I also will wait for you.”

There is only cursing, lying, murder, stealing, and adultery. They resort to violence and bloodshed. ¹ 

I know Ephraim all too well; ¹  the evil of ²  Israel is not hidden from me. For you have engaged in prostitution, O Ephraim; Israel has defiled itself. ³