Hosea 11-14
New American Standard Bible
God Yearns over His People
11 When Israel was a youth I loved him,
And (A)out of Egypt I (B)called My son.
2 The more [a](C)they called them,
The more they went away from [b]them;
They kept (D)sacrificing to the Baals
And (E)burning incense to idols.
3 Yet it is I who taught Ephraim to walk,
[c]I (F)took them in My arms;
But they did not know that I (G)healed them.
4 I (H)pulled them along with cords of a man, with ropes of love,
And (I)I became to them as one who lifts the yoke from their jaws;
And I bent down and (J)fed them.
5 [d]They will not return to the land of Egypt;
But Assyria—he will be [e]their king
Because they (K)refused to return to Me.
6 And the (L)sword will whirl against [f]their cities,
And will destroy [g]their oracle priests
And (M)consume them, because of their (N)counsels.
7 So My people are determined to (O)turn from Me.
Though [h]they call [i]them to the One on high,
None at all exalts Him.
8 (P)How can I give you up, Ephraim?
How can I surrender you, Israel?
How can I [j]make you like (Q)Admah?
How can I treat you like (R)Zeboiim?
My heart is turned over within Me,
[k]All My compassions are kindled.
9 I will (S)not carry out My fierce anger;
I will not destroy Ephraim (T)again.
For (U)I am God and not a man, the (V)Holy One in your midst,
And I will not come in [l]wrath.
10 They will (W)walk after the Lord,
He will (X)roar like a lion;
Indeed He will roar,
And His sons will come (Y)trembling from the west.
11 They will come trembling like birds from (Z)Egypt,
And like (AA)doves from the land of (AB)Assyria;
And I will (AC)settle them in their houses, declares the Lord.
12 [m]Ephraim surrounds Me with (AD)lies
And the house of Israel with deceit;
[n]Judah is still unruly against God,
Even against the Holy One who is faithful.
Ephraim Reminded
12 [o]Ephraim feeds on (AE)wind,
And pursues the (AF)east wind continually;
He multiplies lies and violence.
Moreover, [p]he makes a covenant with Assyria,
And oil is brought to Egypt.
2 The Lord also has a (AG)case against Judah,
And will punish Jacob (AH)according to his ways;
He will repay him according to his deeds.
3 In the womb he (AI)took his brother by the heel,
And in his mature strength he (AJ)contended with God.
4 Yes, he wrestled with the angel and prevailed;
He wept and (AK)implored His favor.
He found Him at (AL)Bethel,
And there He spoke with us,
5 And the Lord, the God of armies,
The Lord is His [q](AM)name.
6 So as for you, (AN)return to your God,
(AO)Maintain [r]kindness and justice,
And (AP)wait for your God continually.
7 A [s]merchant, in whose hands are fraudulent (AQ)balances,
Loves to exploit.
8 And Ephraim said, “I have certainly become (AR)rich,
I have found wealth for myself;
In all my labors they will find in me
(AS)No wrongdoing, which would be sin.”
9 But I have been the Lord your God since the land of Egypt;
I will make you (AT)live in tents again,
As in the days of the appointed festival.
10 I have also spoken to the (AU)prophets,
And I [t]provided many visions,
And through the prophets I spoke in (AV)parables.
11 Is there injustice in Gilead?
Certainly they are worthless.
In Gilgal they sacrifice bulls,
Yes, (AW)their altars are like stone heaps
Beside the furrows of a field.
12 Now (AX)Jacob fled to the [u]land of Aram,
And (AY)Israel worked for a wife,
And for a wife he kept sheep.
13 But by a (AZ)prophet the Lord brought Israel up from Egypt,
And by a prophet he was protected.
14 (BA)Ephraim has provoked God to bitter anger;
So his Lord will leave his (BB)guilt for bloodshed on him
And bring his (BC)disgrace back to him.
Ephraim’s Idolatry
13 (BD)When Ephraim [v]spoke, there was trembling.
He (BE)exalted himself in Israel,
But through (BF)Baal he incurred guilt and died.
2 And now they sin more and more,
And make for themselves (BG)cast metal images,
Idols [w](BH)skillfully made from their silver,
All of them the (BI)work of craftsmen.
They say of them, “Let the [x]people who sacrifice kiss the (BJ)calves!”
3 Therefore they will be like the (BK)morning cloud
And like dew which [y]soon disappears,
Like (BL)chaff which is blown away from the threshing floor,
And like (BM)smoke from a chimney.
4 Yet I have been the (BN)Lord your God
Since the land of Egypt;
And you were not to know (BO)any god except Me,
For there is no savior (BP)besides Me.
5 I [z](BQ)cared for you in the wilderness,
(BR)In the land of drought.
6 As they had their pasture, they became (BS)satisfied,
And as they became satisfied, their (BT)heart became proud;
Therefore they (BU)forgot Me.
7 So I will be (BV)like a lion to them;
Like a (BW)leopard I will [aa]lie in wait by the wayside.
8 I will confront them (BX)like a bear deprived of her cubs,
And I will tear open [ab]their chests;
I will also (BY)devour them there like a lioness,
As a wild animal would tear them to pieces.
9 [ac]It is to your own destruction, Israel,
That you are (BZ)against Me, against your (CA)help.
10 Where then is your (CB)king,
That he might save you in all your cities;
And your (CC)judges, to whom you said,
“Give me a king and princes”?
11 I (CD)gave you a king in My anger,
And (CE)took him away in My wrath.
12 The guilt of Ephraim is wrapped up;
His sin is (CF)stored up.
13 The pains of (CG)childbirth come on him;
He is (CH)not a wise son,
For [ad]it is not the time that he should (CI)delay at the opening of the womb.
14 Shall I (CJ)ransom them from the [ae]power of Sheol?
Shall I redeem them from death?
(CK)Death, where are your [af]thorns?
Sheol, where is your sting?
(CL)Compassion will be hidden from My sight.
15 Though he (CM)flourishes among the [ag]reeds,
An (CN)east wind will come,
The wind of the Lord coming up from the wilderness;
And his fountain will (CO)become dry
And his spring will dry up;
It will (CP)plunder his treasury of every precious article.
16 [ah]Samaria will pay the penalty for her (CQ)guilt,
Because she has (CR)rebelled against her God.
(CS)They will fall by the (CT)sword,
Their children will be [ai](CU)slaughtered,
And their pregnant (CV)women will be ripped open.
Israel’s Future Blessing
14 [aj](CW)Return, Israel, to the Lord your God,
For you have stumbled [ak]because of your (CX)wrongdoing.
2 Take words with you and return to the Lord.
Say to Him, “(CY)Take away all guilt
And [al]receive us graciously,
So that we may (CZ)present [am]the fruit of our lips.
3 Assyria will not save us,
We will (DA)not ride on horses;
Nor will we say again, ‘(DB)Our god’
To the (DC)work of our hands;
For in (DD)You the [an]orphan finds mercy.”
4 I will (DE)heal their apostasy,
I will (DF)love them freely,
Because My anger has (DG)turned away from them.
5 I will be like the (DH)dew to Israel;
He will blossom like the (DI)lily,
And he will [ao]take root like the cedars of (DJ)Lebanon.
6 His shoots will [ap]sprout,
His [aq]majesty will be like the (DK)olive tree,
And his fragrance like the cedars of (DL)Lebanon.
7 Those who (DM)live in his shadow
Will [ar]again raise (DN)grain,
And they will blossom like the vine.
His fame will be like the wine of Lebanon.
8 Ephraim, what more have I to do with (DO)idols?
It is I who answer and look after [as]you.
I am like a luxuriant (DP)juniper;
From (DQ)Me [at]comes your fruit.
9 (DR)Whoever is wise, let him understand these things;
Whoever is discerning, let him know them.
For the (DS)ways of the Lord are right,
And the (DT)righteous will walk in them,
But (DU)wrongdoers will stumble in them.
Footnotes
- Hosea 11:2 I.e., God’s prophets
- Hosea 11:2 I.e., God’s prophets
- Hosea 11:3 As in ancient versions; MT He...His
- Hosea 11:5 Lit He
- Hosea 11:5 Lit his
- Hosea 11:6 Lit his
- Hosea 11:6 Lit his
- Hosea 11:7 I.e., God’s prophets
- Hosea 11:7 Lit him; i.e., Israel
- Hosea 11:8 Lit give
- Hosea 11:8 Lit Together
- Hosea 11:9 Lit agitation
- Hosea 11:12 Ch 12:1 in Heb
- Hosea 11:12 Or But Judah still goes about with God, even with
- Hosea 12:1 Ch 12:2 in Heb
- Hosea 12:1 Lit they make
- Hosea 12:5 Lit invocation
- Hosea 12:6 Or loyalty
- Hosea 12:7 Or Canaanite
- Hosea 12:10 Lit multiplied the vision
- Hosea 12:12 Lit field
- Hosea 13:1 Or spoke with trembling, he exalted
- Hosea 13:2 Or according to their skill
- Hosea 13:2 Lit sacrificers of; or among mankind
- Hosea 13:3 Lit goes away early
- Hosea 13:5 Or knew
- Hosea 13:7 Or watch
- Hosea 13:8 Lit the enclosure of their heart
- Hosea 13:9 Lit It has destroyed you
- Hosea 13:13 Lit it is the time that he should not remain at the opening of children
- Hosea 13:14 Lit hand
- Hosea 13:14 Or stings
- Hosea 13:15 Another reading is brothers
- Hosea 13:16 Ch 14:1 in Heb
- Hosea 13:16 Lit shattered
- Hosea 14:1 Ch 14:2 in Heb
- Hosea 14:1 Or in
- Hosea 14:2 Or accept that which is good
- Hosea 14:2 As in ancient versions; MT our lips as bulls
- Hosea 14:3 Or fatherless
- Hosea 14:5 Lit strike his roots
- Hosea 14:6 Lit go
- Hosea 14:6 Lit splendor
- Hosea 14:7 Or return, they will raise grain
- Hosea 14:8 Lit him
- Hosea 14:8 Lit is found
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