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Hear this, O ye priests, and hearken, O house of Israel, and give ear, O house of the king; for [a]unto you pertaineth the judgment; for ye have been a snare at Mizpah, and a net spread upon Tabor. And the revolters are gone deep [b]in making slaughter; but I am a [c]rebuker of them all. I know Ephraim, and Israel is not hid from me; for now, O Ephraim, thou hast played the harlot, Israel is defiled. [d]Their doings will not suffer them to turn unto their God; for the spirit of whoredom is [e]within them, and they know not Jehovah. And the [f]pride of Israel doth testify to his face: therefore Israel and Ephraim shall stumble in their iniquity; Judah also shall stumble with them. They shall go with their flocks and with their herds to seek Jehovah; but they shall not find him: he hath withdrawn himself from them. They have dealt treacherously against Jehovah; for they have [g]borne strange children: now shall [h]the new moon devour them with their [i]fields.

Blow ye the cornet in Gibeah, and the trumpet in Ramah: sound an alarm at Beth-aven; [j]behind thee, O Benjamin. Ephraim shall become a desolation in the day of rebuke: among the tribes of Israel have I made known that which shall surely be. 10 The princes of Judah are like them that remove the landmark: I will pour out my wrath upon them like water. 11 Ephraim is oppressed, he is crushed in judgment; because he was content to walk after man’s command. 12 [k]Therefore am I unto Ephraim as a moth, and to the house of Judah as rottenness. 13 When Ephraim saw his sickness, and Judah saw his wound, then went Ephraim to Assyria, and sent to [l]king Jareb: but he is not able to heal you, neither will he cure you of your wound. 14 For I will be unto Ephraim as a lion, and as a young lion to the house of Judah: I, even I, will tear and go away; I will carry off, and there shall be none to deliver. 15 I will go and return to my place, till they [m]acknowledge their offence, and seek my face: in their affliction they will seek me [n]earnestly.

Come, and let us return unto Jehovah; for he hath torn, and he will heal us; he hath smitten, and he will bind us up. After two days will he revive us: on the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live before him. And let us know, let us follow on to know Jehovah: his going forth is sure as the morning; and he will come unto us as the rain, as the latter rain that watereth the earth.

O Ephraim, what shall I do unto thee? O Judah, what shall I do unto thee? for your [o]goodness is as a morning cloud, and as the dew that goeth early away. Therefore have I hewed them by the prophets; I have slain them by the words of my mouth: and [p]thy judgments are as the light that goeth forth. For I desire [q]goodness, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt-offerings. But they [r]like [s]Adam have transgressed the covenant: there have they dealt treacherously against me. Gilead is a city of them that work iniquity; it is stained with blood. [t]And as troops of robbers wait for a man, so the company of priests murder in the way toward Shechem; yea, they have committed lewdness. 10 In the house of Israel I have seen a horrible thing: there whoredom is found in Ephraim, Israel is defiled. 11 Also, O Judah, there is a harvest appointed for thee, when I [u]bring back the captivity of my people.

When I would heal Israel, then is the iniquity of Ephraim uncovered, and the wickedness of Samaria; for they commit falsehood, and the thief entereth in, and the troop of robbers [v]ravageth without. And they consider not in their hearts that I remember all their wickedness: now have their own doings beset them about; they are before my face. They make the king glad with their wickedness, and the princes with their lies. They are all adulterers; they are as an oven heated by the baker; he ceaseth to stir the fire, from the kneading of the dough, until it be leavened. On the day of our king the princes made [w]themselves sick with the heat of wine; he stretched out his hand with scoffers. For they have [x]made ready their heart like an oven, while they lie in wait: their baker sleepeth all the night; in the morning it burneth as a flaming fire. They are all hot as an oven, and devour their judges; all their kings are fallen: there is none among them that calleth unto me.

Ephraim, he mixeth himself among the peoples; Ephraim is a cake not turned. Strangers have devoured his strength, and he knoweth it not: yea, gray hairs are [y]here and there upon him, and he knoweth it not. 10 And the [z]pride of Israel doth testify to his face: yet they have not returned unto Jehovah their God, nor sought him, for all this. 11 And Ephraim is like a silly dove, without [aa]understanding: they call unto Egypt, they go to Assyria. 12 When they shall go, I will spread my net upon them; I will bring them down as the birds of the heavens; I will chastise them, [ab]as their congregation hath heard. 13 Woe unto them! for they have wandered from me; destruction unto them! for they have trespassed against me: though I would redeem them, yet they have spoken lies against me. 14 And they have not cried unto me with their heart, but they howl upon their beds: they assemble themselves for grain and new wine; they rebel against me. 15 Though I have [ac]taught and strengthened their arms, yet do they devise mischief against me. 16 They return, but not to him that is on high; they are like a deceitful bow; their princes shall fall by the sword for the rage of their tongue: this shall be their derision in the land of Egypt.

[ad]Set the trumpet to thy mouth. As an eagle he cometh against the house of Jehovah, because they have transgressed my covenant, and trespassed against my law. They shall cry unto me, My God, we Israel know thee. Israel hath cast off that which is good: the enemy shall pursue him. They have set up kings, but not by me; [ae]they have made princes, and I knew it not: of their silver and their gold have they made them idols, that they may be cut off. He hath cast off thy calf, O Samaria; mine anger is kindled against them: how long will it be ere they attain to innocency? For from Israel is even this; the workman made it, and it is no God; yea, the calf of Samaria shall be broken in pieces. For they sow the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind: [af]he hath no standing grain; the blade shall yield no meal; if so be it yield, strangers shall swallow it up.

Israel is swallowed up: now are they among the nations as a vessel wherein none delighteth. For they are gone up to Assyria, like a wild ass alone by himself: Ephraim hath hired [ag]lovers. 10 Yea, though they hire among the nations, now will I gather them; and they [ah]begin to be diminished by reason of the burden of the king of princes.

11 Because Ephraim hath multiplied altars for sinning, altars have been unto him for sinning. 12 I wrote for him the ten thousand things of my law; but they are counted as a strange thing. 13 As for the sacrifices of mine offerings, they sacrifice flesh and eat it; but Jehovah accepteth them not: now will he remember their iniquity, and visit their sins; they shall return to Egypt. 14 For Israel hath forgotten his Maker, and builded [ai]palaces; and Judah hath multiplied fortified cities: but I will send a fire upon his cities, and it shall devour the [aj]castles thereof.

Footnotes

  1. Hosea 5:1 Or, against you is the judgment
  2. Hosea 5:2 Or, in corruption
  3. Hosea 5:2 Hebrew rebuke.
  4. Hosea 5:4 Or, They will not frame their doings
  5. Hosea 5:4 Or, in the midst of
  6. Hosea 5:5 Or, excellency
  7. Hosea 5:7 Or, begotten
  8. Hosea 5:7 Or, a month
  9. Hosea 5:7 Hebrew portions.
  10. Hosea 5:8 Or, After thee, Benjamin!
  11. Hosea 5:12 Or, And I was
  12. Hosea 5:13 Or, a king that should contend
  13. Hosea 5:15 Or, have borne their guilt
  14. Hosea 5:15 Or, earnestly, saying
  15. Hosea 6:4 Or, kindness
  16. Hosea 6:5 Or, according to another reading, my
  17. Hosea 6:6 Or, kindness
  18. Hosea 6:7 Or, are as men that have transgressed a covenant
  19. Hosea 6:7 Or, men
  20. Hosea 6:9 Or, And as robbers lying in wait, so etc.
  21. Hosea 6:11 Or, return to
  22. Hosea 7:1 Or, maketh a raid
  23. Hosea 7:5 Or, him
  24. Hosea 7:6 Hebrew brought near.
  25. Hosea 7:9 Hebrew sprinkled.
  26. Hosea 7:10 Or, excellency
  27. Hosea 7:11 Hebrew heart.
  28. Hosea 7:12 Or, when the report cometh to their congregation
  29. Hosea 7:15 Or, chastened them
  30. Hosea 8:1 Or, The trumpet to thy mouth! As an eagle against the house of Jehovah!
  31. Hosea 8:4 Or, they have removed them
  32. Hosea 8:7 Or, it hath no stalk
  33. Hosea 8:9 Hebrew loves.
  34. Hosea 8:10 Or, as otherwise read, shall sorrow a little (or for a little while)
  35. Hosea 8:14 Or, temples
  36. Hosea 8:14 Or, palaces