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Hosea 8
EasyEnglish Bible
Hosea 8
EasyEnglish Bible
The Israelites worship idols instead of the Lord
8 The Lord says, ‘Warn the people of danger!
My people have not obeyed the covenant that I made with them.
They have refused to obey my laws.
So an enemy army will come to attack their land,
like an eagle that is ready to fly down and catch them.[a]
2 Israel's people call out to me for help.
They say, “We know you as our God.”
3 But they have refused to do what is good and right.
So their enemies will chase after them.
4 My people chose kings to rule them,
but they did not ask me about it.
They chose people to lead them, but I did not agree.
They used their silver and their gold
to make idols for themselves.
But that will destroy them in the end.
5 People of Samaria, you have made an image of a calf as your idol.[b]
But I hate that idol!
I am very angry with the Israelites.
How much longer will it be before I have to punish them?
6 That idol is not a true god!
An Israelite worker with special skills made it.
Samaria's idol of a calf will break into pieces!
7 Like a farmer, Israel's people have planted the wind.
So their harvest will be a strong storm!
The crops that grow in their fields will not have any grain.
So they will not be able to make flour for bread.
Even if the crops do make some grain,
foreign people will take it for themselves.
8 Israel will become lost among the other nations.
It will be like a useless pot that nobody needs.
9 Israel's rulers have gone to Assyria for help.
They are like a wild donkey that goes here and there.
Ephraim's people have paid money to get help from other nations.[c]
as if they are paying for lovers.
10 Yes, they have paid money to get friends who will help them.
But I will soon bring them together to punish them.
A great king will be cruel to them and they will receive much pain.[d]
11 Ephraim's people have built many altars to make sin offerings.
But the altars have become places where the people do even more sins![e]
12 I carefully explained my laws to my people.
But they do not accept my laws as their own.
13 Israel's people offer sacrifices to me,
and they eat the meat from those sacrifices.
But their sacrifices do not please me.
I know that they are guilty of wicked things.
Soon I will punish them for their sins.
They will have to return to Egypt.
14 Israel's people have built beautiful palaces.
But they have forgotten me, who made them into a nation!
Judah's people have built many strong cities.
But I will send fire to destroy their cities and their strong buildings.’
Footnotes
- 8:1 An eagle is a big, dangerous bird.
- 8:5 Samaria was the capital city of the northern kingdom, Israel.
- 8:9 Ephraim is another name for the northern kingdom, Israel.
- 8:10 The great king is the King of Assyria.
- 8:11 The covenant said that there should be only one altar. The people in Israel had built many altars. The altars should have been places where people asked God to forgive them for their sins. But instead, they became places where the people did bad things.
Hosea 8
New International Version
Hosea 8
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)
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