The People’s Apostasy Rebuked

Hear this, you priests!
Pay attention, house of Israel!
Listen, you of the house of the king!
For the judgment applies to you,
Because you have been a (A)trap at Mizpah,
And a net spread out on Tabor.
And the (B)rebels have (C)gone deep in [a]depravity,
But I will discipline all of them.
I (D)know Ephraim, and Israel is not hidden from Me;
Because now, Ephraim, you have been unfaithful,
Israel has defiled itself.
Their deeds will not allow them
To return to their God.
For a (E)spirit of [b]infidelity is within them,
And they (F)do not know the Lord.
Moreover, the (G)pride of Israel testifies against him,
And Israel and Ephraim stumble in their wrongdoing;
(H)Judah also has stumbled with them.
They will (I)go with their flocks and herds
To seek the Lord, but they will (J)not find Him;
He has (K)withdrawn from them.
They have (L)dealt treacherously with the Lord,
For they have given birth to [c](M)illegitimate children.
Now the (N)new moon will devour them with their [d]land.

(O)Blow the horn in (P)Gibeah,
And the trumpet in Ramah.
Sound an alarm at Beth-aven:
(Q)Behind you, Benjamin!”
Ephraim will become a (R)desolation in the (S)day of rebuke;
Among the tribes of Israel I (T)make known what is trustworthy.
10 The leaders of Judah have become like those who (U)displace a boundary marker;
On them I will (V)pour out My anger (W)like water.
11 Ephraim is (X)oppressed, broken by judgment,
(Y)Because he was determined to follow [e]man’s command.
12 Therefore I am like a (Z)moth to Ephraim,
And like rottenness to the house of Judah.
13 When Ephraim saw his sickness,
And Judah his [f]sore,
Ephraim then went to (AA)Assyria
And sent word to [g](AB)King Jareb.
But he is (AC)unable to heal you,
Or to cure you of your [h]sore.
14 For I will be (AD)like a lion to Ephraim
And like a young lion to the house of Judah.
(AE)I, yes I, will tear to pieces and go away,
I will carry away, and there will be (AF)no one to rescue.
15 I will go away and return to My place
Until they [i](AG)acknowledge their guilt and seek My face;
In their distress they will (AH)search for Me.

The Response to God’s Rebuke

(AI)Come, let’s return to the Lord.
For (AJ)He has torn us, but (AK)He will heal us;
He has [j]wounded us, but He will (AL)bandage us.
He will (AM)revive us after two days;
He will (AN)raise us up on the third day,
That we may live before Him.
So let’s (AO)learn, let’s press on to know the Lord.
His (AP)appearance is as sure as the dawn;
And He will come to us like the (AQ)rain,
As the spring rain waters the earth.”

What shall I do with you, (AR)Ephraim?
What shall I do with you, Judah?
For your loyalty is like a (AS)morning cloud,
And like the dew which goes away early.
Therefore I have (AT)cut them in pieces by the prophets;
I have slain them by the (AU)words of My mouth;
And the judgments on you are like the light that [k]shines.
For (AV)I [l]desire loyalty (AW)rather than sacrifice,
And the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.
But (AX)like [m]Adam they have (AY)violated the covenant;
There they have (AZ)dealt treacherously with Me.
(BA)Gilead is a city of wrongdoers,
Tracked with (BB)bloody footprints.
And as a (BC)band of robbers lie in wait for a person,
So a band of priests (BD)murder on the way to Shechem;
Certainly they have committed an act of (BE)infamy.
10 In the house of Israel I have seen a (BF)horrible thing;
Ephraim’s (BG)infidelity is there, Israel has defiled itself.
11 Also, Judah, there is a (BH)harvest appointed for you,
When I (BI)restore the fortunes of My people.

Ephraim’s Wrongdoing

When I (BJ)would heal Israel,
The wrongdoing of Ephraim is uncovered,
And the evil deeds of Samaria,
For they practice (BK)deception;
The thief enters,
A band of (BL)robbers attack outside,
And they do not [n]consider in their hearts
That I (BM)remember all their wickedness.
Now their (BN)deeds surround them;
They are before My face.
(BO)With their wickedness they make the (BP)king happy,
And the officials with their (BQ)lies.
They are (BR)all adulterers,
Like an oven heated by the baker,
Who stops [o]stoking the fire
From the time the dough is kneaded until it is leavened.
On the [p]day of our king, the officials (BS)became sick with the heat of wine;
He stretched out his hand with [q](BT)scoffers,
For their hearts are like an (BU)oven
As they approach their [r]plotting;
Their [s]anger [t]smolders all night,
In the morning it burns like flaming fire.
All of them are hot like an oven,
And they consume their (BV)rulers;
All their kings have fallen.
(BW)None of them calls on Me.

Ephraim is himself (BX)thrown about with the [u]nations;
Ephraim has become a round loaf not turned over.
(BY)Strangers devour his strength,
Yet he (BZ)does not know it;
Gray hairs also are sprinkled on him,
Yet he does not know it.
10 Though the (CA)pride of Israel testifies against him,
Yet (CB)they have not returned to the Lord their God,
Nor have they sought Him, despite all this.
11 So (CC)Ephraim has become like a gullible dove, (CD)without [v]sense;
They call to (CE)Egypt, they go to (CF)Assyria.
12 When they go, I will (CG)spread My net over them;
I will bring them down like the birds of the sky.
I will (CH)discipline them in accordance with the [w]proclamation to their assembly.
13 (CI)Woe to them, for they have (CJ)strayed from Me!
Destruction is theirs, for they have rebelled against Me!
I (CK)would redeem them, but they have spoken lies against Me.
14 And (CL)they do not cry to Me from their heart
When they wail on their beds;
For the sake of grain and new wine they [x](CM)assemble themselves,
They (CN)turn against Me.
15 Although I trained and strengthened their arms,
Yet they (CO)devise evil against Me.
16 They turn, but not [y]upward,
They are like a (CP)loose bow;
Their officials will fall by the sword
Because of the [z](CQ)insolence of their tongue.
This will be their (CR)derision in the land of Egypt.

Footnotes

  1. Hosea 5:2 Or slaughter
  2. Hosea 5:4 Or prostitution
  3. Hosea 5:7 Lit strange
  4. Hosea 5:7 Lit portions
  5. Hosea 5:11 Or with some ancient versions, nothingness
  6. Hosea 5:13 Or ulcer
  7. Hosea 5:13 Or another reading is the great king; or the contentious king
  8. Hosea 5:13 Or ulcer
  9. Hosea 5:15 Or suffer their punishment
  10. Hosea 6:1 Lit struck
  11. Hosea 6:5 Lit proceeds
  12. Hosea 6:6 Or take pleasure in
  13. Hosea 6:7 Or men
  14. Hosea 7:2 Lit say to their
  15. Hosea 7:4 Lit stirring up
  16. Hosea 7:5 I.e., a festive occasion
  17. Hosea 7:5 Or rebels
  18. Hosea 7:6 Lit ambush
  19. Hosea 7:6 As in some ancient versions; MT baker
  20. Hosea 7:6 Lit is asleep
  21. Hosea 7:8 Lit peoples
  22. Hosea 7:11 Lit heart
  23. Hosea 7:12 Lit report
  24. Hosea 7:14 Or LXX and many ancient mss gash themselves
  25. Hosea 7:16 Or possibly to the Most High
  26. Hosea 7:16 Lit cursing

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