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Hosea 8-14
Holman Christian Standard Bible
Hosea 8-14
Holman Christian Standard Bible
Israel’s False Hopes
8 Put the horn to your mouth!(A)
One like an eagle comes
against the house of the Lord,(B)
because they transgress My covenant(C)
and rebel against My law.(D)
2 Israel cries out to Me,(E)
“My God, we know You!”
3 Israel has rejected what is good;(F)
an enemy will pursue him.
4 They have installed kings,(G)
but not through Me.
They have appointed leaders,
but without My approval.
They make their silver and gold(H)
into idols for themselves
for their own destruction.[a]
5 Your calf-idol[b](I) is rejected, Samaria.(J)
My anger burns against them.
How long will they be incapable of innocence?(K)
6 For this thing is from Israel—
a craftsman made it,(L) and it is not God.
The calf of Samaria will be smashed to bits!
7 Indeed, they sow the wind(M)
and reap the whirlwind.(N)
There is no standing grain;
what sprouts fails to yield flour.(O)
Even if they did,
foreigners would swallow it up.
8 Israel is swallowed up!(P)
Now they are among the nations
like discarded pottery.(Q)
9 For they have gone up to Assyria(R)
like a wild donkey going off on its own.
Ephraim has paid for love.(S)
10 Even though they hire lovers among the nations,
I will now round them up,
and they will begin to decrease in number(T)
under the burden of the king and leaders.(U)
11 When Ephraim multiplied his altars for sin,(V)
they became his altars for sinning.
12 Though I were to write out for him
ten thousand points of My instruction,(W)
they would be[c] regarded as something strange.
13 Though they offer sacrificial gifts[d](X)
and eat the flesh,(Y)
the Lord does not accept them.
Now He will remember their guilt(Z)
and punish their sins;(AA)
they will return to Egypt.(AB)
14 Israel has forgotten his Maker(AC) and built palaces;(AD)
Judah has also multiplied fortified cities.
I will send fire on their cities,(AE)
and it will consume their citadels.
The Coming Exile
9 Israel, do not rejoice jubilantly as the nations do,(AF)
for you have acted promiscuously,(AG) leaving your God.
You have loved the wages of a prostitute
on every grain-threshing floor.(AH)
2 Threshing floor and wine vat will not sustain them,(AI)
and the new wine will fail them.
3 They will not stay in the land of the Lord.
Instead, Ephraim will return to Egypt,(AJ)
and they will eat unclean food(AK) in Assyria.(AL)
4 They will not pour out
their wine offerings to the Lord,(AM)
and their sacrifices will not please Him.
Their food will be like the bread of mourners;
all who eat it become defiled.(AN)
For their bread will be for their appetites alone;
it will not enter the house of the Lord.
5 What will you do on a festival day,(AO)
on the day of the Lord’s feast?(AP)
6 For even if they flee from devastation,
Egypt will gather them, and Memphis will bury them.(AQ)
Thistles will take possession of their precious silver;
thorns will invade their tents.(AR)
7 The days of punishment have come;(AS)
the days of retribution have come.(AT)
Let Israel recognize it!
The prophet is a fool,(AU)
and the inspired man is insane,(AV)
because of the magnitude
of your guilt and hostility.(AW)
8 Ephraim’s watchman is with my God.
The prophet encounters a fowler’s snare
on all his ways.(AX)
Hostility is in the house of his God!
9 They have deeply corrupted themselves(AY)
as in the days of Gibeah.(AZ)
He will remember their guilt;
He will punish their sins.(BA)
Ephraim Bereaved of Offspring
10 I discovered Israel
like grapes in the wilderness.(BB)
I saw your fathers
like the first fruit of the fig tree in its first season.(BC)
But they went to Baal-peor,(BD)
consecrated themselves to Shame,[e](BE)
and became detestable,(BF)
like the thing they loved.
11 Ephraim’s glory will fly away like a bird:(BG)
no birth, no gestation, no conception.(BH)
12 Even if they raise children,
I will bereave them of each one.
Yes, woe to them when I depart from them!(BI)
13 I have seen Ephraim like Tyre,(BJ)
planted in a meadow,
so Ephraim will bring out his children
to the executioner.
14 Give them, Lord—
What should You give?
Give them a womb that miscarries
and breasts that are dry!(BK)
15 All their evil appears at Gilgal,(BL)
for there I came to hate them.
I will drive them from My house
because of their evil, wicked actions.(BM)
I will no longer love them;
all their leaders are rebellious.(BN)
16 Ephraim(BO) is struck down;
their roots are withered;
they cannot bear fruit.(BP)
Even if they bear children,
I will kill the precious offspring of their wombs.(BQ)
17 My God will reject them
because they have not listened to Him;(BR)
they will become wanderers among the nations.(BS)
The Vine and the Calf
10 Israel is a lush[f] vine;(BT)
it yields fruit for itself.
The more his fruit increased,
the more he increased the altars.(BU)
The better his land produced,
the better they made the sacred pillars.(BV)
2 Their hearts are devious;[g](BW)
now they must bear their guilt.(BX)
The Lord will break down their altars(BY)
and demolish their sacred pillars.
3 In fact, they are now saying,
“We have no king!
For we do not fear the Lord.(BZ)
What can a king do for us?”
4 They speak mere words,
taking false oaths while making covenants.(CA)
So lawsuits break out
like poisonous weeds in the furrows of a field.(CB)
5 The residents of Samaria(CC) will have anxiety
over the calf(CD) of Beth-aven.(CE)
Indeed, its idolatrous priests rejoiced over it;
the people will mourn over it,
over its glory.(CF)
It will certainly depart from them.
6 The calf itself will be taken to Assyria(CG)
as an offering to the great king.[h](CH)
Ephraim will experience shame;(CI)
Israel will be ashamed of its counsel.(CJ)
7 Samaria’s king will disappear[i](CK)
like foam[j] on the surface of the water.
8 The high places(CL) of Aven, the sin of Israel,(CM)
will be destroyed;
thorns and thistles will grow over their altars.(CN)
They will say to the mountains,(CO) “Cover us!”
and to the hills, “Fall on us!”(CP)
Israel’s Defeat because of Sin
9 Israel, you have sinned
since the days of Gibeah;(CQ)
they have taken their stand there.
Will not war against the unjust
overtake them in Gibeah?
10 I will discipline(CR) them at My discretion;(CS)
nations will be gathered against them
to put them in bondage[k]
for their two crimes.(CT)
11 Ephraim is a well-trained calf(CU)
that loves to thresh,
but I will place a yoke on[l] her fine neck.(CV)
I will harness Ephraim;(CW)
Judah will plow;
Jacob will do the final plowing.
12 Sow righteousness for yourselves(CX)
and reap faithful love;
break up your unplowed ground.(CY)
It is time to seek the Lord(CZ)
until He comes(DA) and sends righteousness
on you like the rain.(DB)
13 You have plowed wickedness and reaped injustice;(DC)
you have eaten the fruit of lies.(DD)
Because you have trusted in your own way[m]
and in your large number of soldiers,(DE)
14 the roar of battle will rise against your people,
and all your fortifications will be demolished(DF)
in a day of war,
like Shalman’s destruction of Beth-arbel.
Mothers will be dashed to pieces
along with their children.(DG)
15 So it will be done to you, Bethel,(DH)
because of your extreme evil.
At dawn the king of Israel will be totally destroyed.
The Lord’s Love for Israel
11 When Israel was a child, I loved him,(DI)
and out of Egypt I called My son.(DJ)
2 The more they[n] called them,[o](DK)
the more they[p] departed from Me.[q]
They kept sacrificing to the Baals(DL)
and burning offerings to idols.(DM)
3 It was I who taught Ephraim to walk,(DN)
taking them[r] in My arms,(DO)
but they never knew that I healed them.(DP)
4 I led them with human cords,
with ropes of love.(DQ)
To them I was like one
who eases the yoke from their jaws;(DR)
I bent down to give them food.(DS)
5 Israel will not return to the land of Egypt
and Assyria will be his king,(DT)
because they refused to repent.(DU)
6 A sword will whirl through his cities;(DV)
it will destroy and devour the bars of his gates,[s](DW)
because of their schemes.(DX)
7 My people are bent on turning from Me.(DY)
Though they call to Him on high,
He will not exalt them at all.
8 How can I give you up, Ephraim?(DZ)
How can I surrender you, Israel?
How can I make you like Admah?(EA)
How can I treat you like Zeboiim?(EB)
I have had a change of heart;
My compassion is stirred!
9 I will not vent the full fury of My anger;(EC)
I will not turn back to destroy Ephraim.(ED)
For I am God and not man,
the Holy One among you;(EE)
I will not come in rage.[t]
10 They will follow the Lord;(EF)
He will roar like a lion.(EG)
When He roars,
His children will come trembling from the west.(EH)
11 They will be roused like birds from Egypt
and like doves(EI) from the land of Assyria.(EJ)
Then I will settle them in their homes.(EK)
This is the Lord’s declaration.
12 [u] Ephraim surrounds me with lies,(EL)
the house of Israel, with deceit.
Judah still wanders with God
and is faithful to the holy ones.[v][w]
God’s Case against Jacob’s Heirs
12 Ephraim chases[x] the wind(EM)
and pursues the east wind.(EN)
He continually multiplies lies and violence.
He makes a covenant with Assyria,(EO)
and olive oil is carried to Egypt.(EP)
2 The Lord also has a dispute with Judah.
He is about to punish Jacob according to his ways;(EQ)
He will repay him based on his actions.
3 In the womb he grasped his brother’s heel,(ER)
and as an adult he wrestled with God.(ES)
4 Jacob struggled with the Angel and prevailed;
he wept and sought His favor.(ET)
He found him[y] at Bethel,(EU)
and there He spoke with him.[z](EV)
5 Yahweh is the God of Hosts;
Yahweh is His name.(EW)
6 But you must return to your God.(EX)
Maintain love and justice,(EY)
and always put your hope in God.(EZ)
7 A merchant loves to extort(FA)
with dishonest scales in his hands.(FB)
8 But Ephraim says:
“How rich I have become;(FC)
I made it all myself.
In all my earnings,
no one can find any crime in me(FD)
that I can be punished for!”[aa]
Judgment on Apostate Israel
9 I have been Yahweh your God
ever since[ab] the land of Egypt.(FE)
I will make you live in tents again,(FF)
as in the festival days.
10 I spoke through the prophets(FG)
and granted many visions;
I gave parables through the prophets.(FH)
11 Since Gilead is full of evil,(FI)
they will certainly come to nothing.
They sacrifice bulls in Gilgal;(FJ)
even their altars will be like heaps of rocks(FK)
on the furrows of a field.
Further Indictment of Jacob’s Heirs
12 Jacob fled to the land of Aram.(FL)
Israel worked to earn a wife;(FM)
he tended flocks for a wife.(FN)
13 The Lord brought Israel from Egypt by a prophet,(FO)
and Israel was tended by a prophet.
14 Ephraim has provoked bitter anger,(FP)
so his Lord will leave his bloodguilt on him(FQ)
and repay him for his contempt.(FR)
13 When Ephraim spoke,(FS) there was trembling;
he was exalted in Israel.(FT)
But he incurred guilt through Baal(FU) and died.
2 Now they continue to sin
and make themselves a cast image,(FV)
idols skillfully made from their silver,(FW)
all of them the work of craftsmen.(FX)
People say about them,
“Let the men who sacrifice[ac] kiss the calves.”(FY)
3 Therefore, they will be like the morning mist,(FZ)
like the early dew that vanishes,
like chaff blown from a threshing floor,(GA)
or like smoke from a window.(GB)
Death and Resurrection
4 I have been Yahweh your God(GC)
ever since[ad] the land of Egypt;
you know no God but Me,(GD)
and no Savior exists besides Me.(GE)
5 I knew[ae] you in the wilderness,(GF)
in the land of drought.
6 When they had pasture,
they became satisfied;(GG)
they were satisfied,
and their hearts became proud.(GH)
Therefore they forgot Me.(GI)
7 So I will be like a lion(GJ) to them;
I will lurk like a leopard(GK) on the path.
8 I will attack them
like a bear robbed of her cubs
and tear open the rib cage over their hearts.
I will devour them there like a lioness,(GL)
like a wild beast that would rip them open.
9 I will destroy you, Israel;
you have no help but Me.[af](GM)
10 Where now is your king,[ag](GN)
that he may save you in all your cities,
and the[ah] rulers[ai](GO) you demanded, saying,
“Give me a king and leaders”?
11 I give you a king in My anger(GP)
and take away a king in My wrath.(GQ)
12 Ephraim’s guilt is preserved;
his sin is stored up.(GR)
13 Labor pains come on him.(GS)
He is not a wise son;(GT)
when the time comes,
he will not be born.[aj](GU)
14 I will ransom them from the power of Sheol.
I will redeem[ak] them from death.(GV)
Death, where are your barbs?
Sheol, where is your sting?(GW)
Compassion is hidden from My eyes.(GX)
The Coming Judgment
15 Although he flourishes among his brothers,[al](GY)
an east wind will come,(GZ)
a wind from the Lord rising up from the desert.
His water source will fail,
and his spring will run dry.(HA)
The wind[am] will plunder the treasury(HB)
of every precious item.
16 [an]Samaria(HC) will bear her guilt(HD)
because she has rebelled against her God.(HE)
They will fall by the sword;(HF)
their little ones will be dashed to pieces,(HG)
and their pregnant women ripped open.(HH)
A Plea to Repent
14 Israel, return to Yahweh your God,(HI)
for you have stumbled in your sin.(HJ)
2 Take words of repentance with you(HK)
and return to the Lord.
Say to Him: “Forgive all our sin
and accept what is good,
so that we may repay You
with praise[ao] from our[ap] lips.(HL)
3 Assyria will not save us,(HM)
we will not ride on horses,(HN)
and we will no longer proclaim, ‘Our gods!’(HO)
to the work of our hands.(HP)
For the fatherless receives compassion in You.”(HQ)
A Promise of Restoration
4 I will heal their apostasy;(HR)
I will freely love them,(HS)
for My anger will have turned from him.(HT)
5 I will be like the dew to Israel;(HU)
he will blossom like the lily(HV)
and take root like the cedars of Lebanon.(HW)
6 His new branches will spread,
and his splendor will be like the olive tree,(HX)
his fragrance, like the forest of Lebanon.(HY)
7 The people will return and live beneath his shade.(HZ)
They will grow grain(IA)
and blossom like the vine.
His renown will be like the wine of Lebanon.
8 Ephraim, why should I[aq] have anything more
to do with idols?(IB)
It is I who answer and watch over him.
I am like a flourishing pine tree;(IC)
your fruit comes from Me.(ID)
9 Let whoever is wise(IE) understand these things,
and whoever is insightful recognize them.
For the ways of the Lord are right,(IF)
and the righteous walk in them,(IG)
but the rebellious stumble in them.(IH)
Footnotes
- Hosea 8:4 Lit themselves that it might be cut off
- Hosea 8:5 Lit calf
- Hosea 8:12 Or Though I wrote out . . . instruction, they are
- Hosea 8:13 Hb obscure
- Hosea 9:10 = Baal
- Hosea 10:1 Or ravaged
- Hosea 10:2 Or divided
- Hosea 10:6 Or to King Yareb
- Hosea 10:7 Or will be cut off
- Hosea 10:7 Or a stick
- Hosea 10:10 LXX, Syr, Vg read against them when they are disciplined
- Hosea 10:11 Lit will pass over
- Hosea 10:13 LXX reads your chariots
- Hosea 11:2 Perhaps the prophets
- Hosea 11:2 = Israel
- Hosea 11:2 = Israel
- Hosea 11:2 LXX; MT reads them
- Hosea 11:3 LXX, Syr, Vg; MT reads him
- Hosea 11:6 Or devour his empty talkers, or devour his limbs; Hb obscure
- Hosea 11:9 Or come into any city; Hb obscure
- Hosea 11:12 Hs 12:1 in Hb
- Hosea 11:12 Or to the Holy One; Hb obscure
- Hosea 11:12 Possibly angels, or less likely, pagan gods or idols
- Hosea 12:1 Or feeds on, or tends
- Hosea 12:4 Or Him
- Hosea 12:4 LXX, Syr; MT reads us
- Hosea 12:8 Lit crime which is sin
- Hosea 12:9 LXX reads God who brought you out of
- Hosea 13:2 Or Those who make human sacrifices
- Hosea 13:4 DSS, LXX read God who brought you out of
- Hosea 13:5 LXX, Syr read fed
- Hosea 13:9 LXX reads At your destruction, Israel, who will help you?
- Hosea 13:10 LXX, Syr, Vg; MT reads I will be your king
- Hosea 13:10 Lit your
- Hosea 13:10 Or judges
- Hosea 13:13 Lit he will not present himself at the opening of the womb for sons
- Hosea 13:14 Or Should I ransom . . . Should I redeem . . . ?
- Hosea 13:15 Or among reeds
- Hosea 13:15 Probably the Assyrian king
- Hosea 13:16 Hs 14:1 in Hb
- Hosea 14:2 LXX reads with the fruit
- Hosea 14:2 Lit repay the bulls of our
- Hosea 14:8 LXX reads he
Hosea 8-14
New International Version
Hosea 8-14
New International Version
Israel to Reap the Whirlwind
8 “Put the trumpet(A) to your lips!
An eagle(B) is over the house of the Lord
because the people have broken my covenant(C)
and rebelled against my law.(D)
2 Israel cries out to me,
‘Our God, we acknowledge you!’
3 But Israel has rejected what is good;
an enemy will pursue him.(E)
4 They set up kings without my consent;
they choose princes without my approval.(F)
With their silver and gold
they make idols(G) for themselves
to their own destruction.
5 Samaria, throw out your calf-idol!(H)
My anger burns against them.
How long will they be incapable of purity?(I)
6 They are from Israel!
This calf—a metalworker has made it;
it is not God.(J)
It will be broken in pieces,
that calf(K) of Samaria.(L)
7 “They sow the wind
and reap the whirlwind.(M)
The stalk has no head;
it will produce no flour.(N)
Were it to yield grain,
foreigners would swallow it up.(O)
8 Israel is swallowed up;(P)
now she is among the nations
like something no one wants.(Q)
9 For they have gone up to Assyria(R)
like a wild donkey(S) wandering alone.
Ephraim has sold herself to lovers.(T)
10 Although they have sold themselves among the nations,
I will now gather them together.(U)
They will begin to waste away(V)
under the oppression of the mighty king.
11 “Though Ephraim built many altars for sin offerings,
these have become altars for sinning.(W)
12 I wrote for them the many things of my law,
but they regarded them as something foreign.(X)
13 Though they offer sacrifices as gifts to me,
and though they eat(Y) the meat,
the Lord is not pleased with them.(Z)
Now he will remember(AA) their wickedness
and punish their sins:(AB)
They will return to Egypt.(AC)
14 Israel has forgotten(AD) their Maker(AE)
and built palaces;
Judah has fortified many towns.
But I will send fire on their cities
that will consume their fortresses.”(AF)
Punishment for Israel
9 Do not rejoice, Israel;
do not be jubilant(AG) like the other nations.
For you have been unfaithful(AH) to your God;
you love the wages of a prostitute(AI)
at every threshing floor.
2 Threshing floors and winepresses will not feed the people;
the new wine(AJ) will fail them.
3 They will not remain(AK) in the Lord’s land;
Ephraim will return to Egypt(AL)
and eat unclean food in Assyria.(AM)
4 They will not pour out wine offerings(AN) to the Lord,
nor will their sacrifices please(AO) him.
Such sacrifices will be to them like the bread of mourners;(AP)
all who eat them will be unclean.(AQ)
This food will be for themselves;
it will not come into the temple of the Lord.(AR)
5 What will you do(AS) on the day of your appointed festivals,(AT)
on the feast days of the Lord?
6 Even if they escape from destruction,
Egypt will gather them,(AU)
and Memphis(AV) will bury them.(AW)
Their treasures of silver(AX) will be taken over by briers,
and thorns(AY) will overrun their tents.
7 The days of punishment(AZ) are coming,
the days of reckoning(BA) are at hand.
Let Israel know this.
Because your sins(BB) are so many
and your hostility so great,
the prophet is considered a fool,(BC)
the inspired person a maniac.(BD)
8 The prophet, along with my God,
is the watchman over Ephraim,[a]
yet snares(BE) await him on all his paths,
and hostility in the house of his God.(BF)
9 They have sunk deep into corruption,(BG)
as in the days of Gibeah.(BH)
God will remember(BI) their wickedness
and punish them for their sins.(BJ)
10 “When I found Israel,
it was like finding grapes in the desert;
when I saw your ancestors,
it was like seeing the early fruit(BK) on the fig(BL) tree.
But when they came to Baal Peor,(BM)
they consecrated themselves to that shameful idol(BN)
and became as vile as the thing they loved.
11 Ephraim’s glory(BO) will fly away like a bird(BP)—
no birth, no pregnancy, no conception.(BQ)
12 Even if they rear children,
I will bereave(BR) them of every one.
Woe(BS) to them
when I turn away from them!(BT)
13 I have seen Ephraim,(BU) like Tyre,
planted in a pleasant place.(BV)
But Ephraim will bring out
their children to the slayer.”(BW)
14 Give them, Lord—
what will you give them?
Give them wombs that miscarry
and breasts that are dry.(BX)
15 “Because of all their wickedness in Gilgal,(BY)
I hated them there.
Because of their sinful deeds,(BZ)
I will drive them out of my house.
I will no longer love them;(CA)
all their leaders are rebellious.(CB)
16 Ephraim(CC) is blighted,
their root is withered,
they yield no fruit.(CD)
Even if they bear children,
I will slay(CE) their cherished offspring.”
17 My God will reject(CF) them
because they have not obeyed(CG) him;
they will be wanderers among the nations.(CH)
10 Israel was a spreading vine;(CI)
he brought forth fruit for himself.
As his fruit increased,
he built more altars;(CJ)
as his land prospered,(CK)
he adorned his sacred stones.(CL)
2 Their heart is deceitful,(CM)
and now they must bear their guilt.(CN)
The Lord will demolish their altars(CO)
and destroy their sacred stones.(CP)
3 Then they will say, “We have no king
because we did not revere the Lord.
But even if we had a king,
what could he do for us?”
4 They make many promises,
take false oaths(CQ)
and make agreements;(CR)
therefore lawsuits spring up
like poisonous weeds(CS) in a plowed field.
5 The people who live in Samaria fear
for the calf-idol(CT) of Beth Aven.[b](CU)
Its people will mourn over it,
and so will its idolatrous priests,(CV)
those who had rejoiced over its splendor,
because it is taken from them into exile.(CW)
6 It will be carried to Assyria(CX)
as tribute(CY) for the great king.(CZ)
Ephraim will be disgraced;(DA)
Israel will be ashamed(DB) of its foreign alliances.
7 Samaria’s king will be destroyed,(DC)
swept away like a twig on the surface of the waters.
8 The high places(DD) of wickedness[c](DE) will be destroyed—
it is the sin of Israel.
Thorns(DF) and thistles will grow up
and cover their altars.(DG)
Then they will say to the mountains, “Cover us!”(DH)
and to the hills, “Fall on us!”(DI)
9 “Since the days of Gibeah,(DJ) you have sinned,(DK) Israel,
and there you have remained.[d]
Will not war again overtake
the evildoers in Gibeah?
10 When I please, I will punish(DL) them;
nations will be gathered against them
to put them in bonds for their double sin.
11 Ephraim is a trained heifer
that loves to thresh;
so I will put a yoke(DM)
on her fair neck.
I will drive Ephraim,
Judah must plow,
and Jacob must break up the ground.
12 Sow(DN) righteousness(DO) for yourselves,
reap the fruit of unfailing love,
and break up your unplowed ground;(DP)
for it is time to seek(DQ) the Lord,
until he comes
and showers his righteousness(DR) on you.
13 But you have planted wickedness,
you have reaped evil,(DS)
you have eaten the fruit of deception.(DT)
Because you have depended on your own strength
and on your many warriors,(DU)
14 the roar of battle will rise against your people,
so that all your fortresses will be devastated(DV)—
as Shalman(DW) devastated Beth Arbel on the day of battle,
when mothers were dashed to the ground with their children.(DX)
15 So will it happen to you, Bethel,
because your wickedness is great.
When that day dawns,
the king of Israel will be completely destroyed.(DY)
God’s Love for Israel
11 “When Israel was a child,(DZ) I loved(EA) him,
and out of Egypt I called my son.(EB)
2 But the more they were called,
the more they went away from me.[e](EC)
They sacrificed to the Baals(ED)
and they burned incense to images.(EE)
3 It was I who taught Ephraim to walk,
taking them by the arms;(EF)
but they did not realize
it was I who healed(EG) them.
4 I led them with cords of human kindness,
with ties of love.(EH)
To them I was like one who lifts
a little child to the cheek,
and I bent down to feed(EI) them.(EJ)
5 “Will they not return to Egypt(EK)
and will not Assyria(EL) rule over them
because they refuse to repent?(EM)
6 A sword(EN) will flash in their cities;
it will devour(EO) their false prophets
and put an end to their plans.
7 My people are determined to turn(EP) from me.(EQ)
Even though they call me God Most High,
I will by no means exalt them.
8 “How can I give you up,(ER) Ephraim?(ES)
How can I hand you over, Israel?
How can I treat you like Admah?
How can I make you like Zeboyim?(ET)
My heart is changed within me;
all my compassion(EU) is aroused.(EV)
9 I will not carry out my fierce anger,(EW)
nor will I devastate(EX) Ephraim again.
For I am God, and not a man(EY)—
the Holy One(EZ) among you.
I will not come against their cities.
10 They will follow the Lord;
he will roar(FA) like a lion.(FB)
When he roars,
his children will come trembling(FC) from the west.(FD)
11 They will come from Egypt,
trembling like sparrows,
from Assyria,(FE) fluttering like doves.(FF)
I will settle them in their homes,”(FG)
declares the Lord.
Israel’s Sin
12 Ephraim has surrounded me with lies,(FH)
Israel with deceit.
And Judah is unruly against God,
even against the faithful(FI) Holy One.[f](FJ)
12 [g]1 Ephraim(FK) feeds on the wind;(FL)
he pursues the east wind all day
and multiplies lies and violence.(FM)
He makes a treaty with Assyria(FN)
and sends olive oil to Egypt.(FO)
2 The Lord has a charge(FP) to bring against Judah;(FQ)
he will punish(FR) Jacob[h] according to his ways
and repay him according to his deeds.(FS)
3 In the womb he grasped his brother’s heel;(FT)
as a man he struggled(FU) with God.
4 He struggled with the angel and overcame him;
he wept and begged for his favor.
He found him at Bethel(FV)
and talked with him there—
5 the Lord God Almighty,
the Lord is his name!(FW)
6 But you must return(FX) to your God;
maintain love and justice,(FY)
and wait for your God always.(FZ)
7 The merchant uses dishonest scales(GA)
and loves to defraud.
8 Ephraim boasts,(GB)
“I am very rich; I have become wealthy.(GC)
With all my wealth they will not find in me
any iniquity or sin.”
9 “I have been the Lord your God
ever since you came out of Egypt;(GD)
I will make you live in tents(GE) again,
as in the days of your appointed festivals.
10 I spoke to the prophets,
gave them many visions
and told parables(GF) through them.”(GG)
11 Is Gilead wicked?(GH)
Its people are worthless!
Do they sacrifice bulls in Gilgal?(GI)
Their altars will be like piles of stones
on a plowed field.(GJ)
12 Jacob fled to the country of Aram[i];(GK)
Israel served to get a wife,
and to pay for her he tended sheep.(GL)
13 The Lord used a prophet to bring Israel up from Egypt,(GM)
by a prophet he cared for him.(GN)
14 But Ephraim has aroused his bitter anger;
his Lord will leave on him the guilt of his bloodshed(GO)
and will repay him for his contempt.(GP)
The Lord’s Anger Against Israel
13 When Ephraim spoke, people trembled;(GQ)
he was exalted(GR) in Israel.
But he became guilty of Baal worship(GS) and died.
2 Now they sin more and more;
they make(GT) idols for themselves from their silver,(GU)
cleverly fashioned images,
all of them the work of craftsmen.(GV)
It is said of these people,
“They offer human sacrifices!
They kiss[j](GW) calf-idols!(GX)”
3 Therefore they will be like the morning mist,
like the early dew that disappears,(GY)
like chaff(GZ) swirling from a threshing floor,(HA)
like smoke(HB) escaping through a window.
4 “But I have been the Lord your God
ever since you came out of Egypt.(HC)
You shall acknowledge(HD) no God but me,(HE)
no Savior(HF) except me.
5 I cared for you in the wilderness,(HG)
in the land of burning heat.
6 When I fed them, they were satisfied;
when they were satisfied, they became proud;(HH)
then they forgot(HI) me.(HJ)
7 So I will be like a lion(HK) to them,
like a leopard I will lurk by the path.
8 Like a bear robbed of her cubs,(HL)
I will attack them and rip them open;
like a lion(HM) I will devour them—
a wild animal will tear them apart.(HN)
9 “You are destroyed, Israel,
because you are against me,(HO) against your helper.(HP)
10 Where is your king,(HQ) that he may save you?
Where are your rulers in all your towns,
of whom you said,
‘Give me a king and princes’?(HR)
11 So in my anger I gave you a king,(HS)
and in my wrath I took him away.(HT)
12 The guilt of Ephraim is stored up,
his sins are kept on record.(HU)
13 Pains as of a woman in childbirth(HV) come to him,
but he is a child without wisdom;
when the time(HW) arrives,
he doesn’t have the sense to come out of the womb.(HX)
14 “I will deliver this people from the power of the grave;(HY)
I will redeem them from death.(HZ)
Where, O death, are your plagues?
Where, O grave, is your destruction?(IA)
“I will have no compassion,
15 even though he thrives(IB) among his brothers.
An east wind(IC) from the Lord will come,
blowing in from the desert;
his spring will fail
and his well dry up.(ID)
His storehouse will be plundered(IE)
of all its treasures.
16 The people of Samaria(IF) must bear their guilt,(IG)
because they have rebelled(IH) against their God.
They will fall by the sword;(II)
their little ones will be dashed(IJ) to the ground,
their pregnant women(IK) ripped open.”[k]
Repentance to Bring Blessing
14 [l]Return,(IL) Israel, to the Lord your God.
Your sins(IM) have been your downfall!(IN)
2 Take words with you
and return to the Lord.
Say to him:
“Forgive(IO) all our sins
and receive us graciously,(IP)
that we may offer the fruit of our lips.[m](IQ)
3 Assyria cannot save us;(IR)
we will not mount warhorses.(IS)
We will never again say ‘Our gods’(IT)
to what our own hands have made,(IU)
for in you the fatherless(IV) find compassion.”
4 “I will heal(IW) their waywardness(IX)
and love them freely,(IY)
for my anger has turned away(IZ) from them.
5 I will be like the dew(JA) to Israel;
he will blossom like a lily.(JB)
Like a cedar of Lebanon(JC)
he will send down his roots;(JD)
6 his young shoots will grow.
His splendor will be like an olive tree,(JE)
his fragrance like a cedar of Lebanon.(JF)
7 People will dwell again in his shade;(JG)
they will flourish like the grain,
they will blossom(JH) like the vine—
Israel’s fame will be like the wine(JI) of Lebanon.(JJ)
8 Ephraim, what more have I[n] to do with idols?(JK)
I will answer him and care for him.
I am like a flourishing juniper;(JL)
your fruitfulness comes from me.”
Footnotes
- Hosea 9:8 Or The prophet is the watchman over Ephraim, / the people of my God
- Hosea 10:5 Beth Aven means house of wickedness (a derogatory name for Bethel, which means house of God).
- Hosea 10:8 Hebrew aven, a reference to Beth Aven (a derogatory name for Bethel); see verse 5.
- Hosea 10:9 Or there a stand was taken
- Hosea 11:2 Septuagint; Hebrew them
- Hosea 11:12 In Hebrew texts this verse (11:12) is numbered 12:1.
- Hosea 12:1 In Hebrew texts 12:1-14 is numbered 12:2-15.
- Hosea 12:2 Jacob means he grasps the heel, a Hebrew idiom for he takes advantage of or he deceives.
- Hosea 12:12 That is, Northwest Mesopotamia
- Hosea 13:2 Or “Men who sacrifice / kiss
- Hosea 13:16 In Hebrew texts this verse (13:16) is numbered 14:1.
- Hosea 14:1 In Hebrew texts 14:1-9 is numbered 14:2-10.
- Hosea 14:2 Or offer our lips as sacrifices of bulls
- Hosea 14:8 Or Hebrew; Septuagint What more has Ephraim
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