God Yearns over His People

11 When Israel was a youth I loved him,
And (A)out of Egypt I (B)called My son.
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.
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.
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.

[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.
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.
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.

(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.
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.
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.
In the womb he (AI)took his brother by the heel,
And in his mature strength he (AJ)contended with God.
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,
And the Lord, the God of armies,
The Lord is His [q](AM)name.
So as for you, (AN)return to your God,
(AO)Maintain [r]kindness and justice,
And (AP)wait for your God continually.
A [s]merchant, in whose hands are fraudulent (AQ)balances,
Loves to exploit.
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.”
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.
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!”
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.

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.
I [z](BQ)cared for you in the wilderness,
(BR)In the land of drought.
As they had their pasture, they became (BS)satisfied,
And as they became satisfied, their (BT)heart became proud;
Therefore they (BU)forgot Me.
So I will be (BV)like a lion to them;
Like a (BW)leopard I will [aa]lie in wait by the wayside.
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.

[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.
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.
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.”

I will (DE)heal their apostasy,
I will (DF)love them freely,
Because My anger has (DG)turned away from them.
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.
His shoots will [ap]sprout,
His [aq]majesty will be like the (DK)olive tree,
And his fragrance like the cedars of (DL)Lebanon.
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.

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.

(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

  1. Hosea 11:2 I.e., God’s prophets
  2. Hosea 11:2 I.e., God’s prophets
  3. Hosea 11:3 As in ancient versions; MT He...His
  4. Hosea 11:5 Lit He
  5. Hosea 11:5 Lit his
  6. Hosea 11:6 Lit his
  7. Hosea 11:6 Lit his
  8. Hosea 11:7 I.e., God’s prophets
  9. Hosea 11:7 Lit him; i.e., Israel
  10. Hosea 11:8 Lit give
  11. Hosea 11:8 Lit Together
  12. Hosea 11:9 Lit agitation
  13. Hosea 11:12 Ch 12:1 in Heb
  14. Hosea 11:12 Or But Judah still goes about with God, even with
  15. Hosea 12:1 Ch 12:2 in Heb
  16. Hosea 12:1 Lit they make
  17. Hosea 12:5 Lit invocation
  18. Hosea 12:6 Or loyalty
  19. Hosea 12:7 Or Canaanite
  20. Hosea 12:10 Lit multiplied the vision
  21. Hosea 12:12 Lit field
  22. Hosea 13:1 Or spoke with trembling, he exalted
  23. Hosea 13:2 Or according to their skill
  24. Hosea 13:2 Lit sacrificers of; or among mankind
  25. Hosea 13:3 Lit goes away early
  26. Hosea 13:5 Or knew
  27. Hosea 13:7 Or watch
  28. Hosea 13:8 Lit the enclosure of their heart
  29. Hosea 13:9 Lit It has destroyed you
  30. Hosea 13:13 Lit it is the time that he should not remain at the opening of children
  31. Hosea 13:14 Lit hand
  32. Hosea 13:14 Or stings
  33. Hosea 13:15 Another reading is brothers
  34. Hosea 13:16 Ch 14:1 in Heb
  35. Hosea 13:16 Lit shattered
  36. Hosea 14:1 Ch 14:2 in Heb
  37. Hosea 14:1 Or in
  38. Hosea 14:2 Or accept that which is good
  39. Hosea 14:2 As in ancient versions; MT our lips as bulls
  40. Hosea 14:3 Or fatherless
  41. Hosea 14:5 Lit strike his roots
  42. Hosea 14:6 Lit go
  43. Hosea 14:6 Lit splendor
  44. Hosea 14:7 Or return, they will raise grain
  45. Hosea 14:8 Lit him
  46. Hosea 14:8 Lit is found

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