Hosea 5
Expanded Bible
God’s Word Against the Leaders
5 “·Listen [Hear this], you priests.
Pay attention, ·people [L house] of Israel.
Listen, ·royal family [L house of the king],
because you will all be judged.
You have been like a ·trap [snare] at Mizpah
and like a net spread out at Mount Tabor [C hunting places in Israel].
2 ·You have done many evil things [L The rebels are deep into slaughter; or You have dug a deep pit at Shittim/Acacia],
so I will ·punish [discipline] you all.
3 I know all about Ephraim [C Israel; 4:17];
what Israel has done is not hidden from me.
Now Ephraim acts like a prostitute,
and Israel has ·made itself unclean [L defiled himself].
4 “·They will not give up their deeds
and [or Their deeds won’t let them] return to their God.
·They are determined to be unfaithful to me [L For a spirit of prostitution is within them];
they do not know the Lord.
5 Israel’s ·pride [arrogance] testifies against them.
·The people of Israel [L Israel and Ephraim; 4:17] will stumble because of their ·sin [iniquity],
and ·the people of Judah [L Judah] will stumble with them.
6 They will come to ·worship [L seek] the Lord,
bringing their flocks and herds,
but they will not be able to find him,
because he has ·left [withdrawn from] them.
7 They have ·not been true to [been unfaithful to; dealt treacherously with] the Lord;
they ·are children who do not belong to him [or bear illegitimate/alien children].
So ·their false worship [L a new moon; C a festival]
will ·destroy [L devour] them and their ·land [wealth; portion].
8 “Blow the ·horn [trumpet; ram’s horn] in Gibeah
and the trumpet in Ramah [C used to sound a warning or call to battle].
·Give the warning [Sound the alarm; Raise the battle cry] at Beth Aven [4:15],
·and be first into battle [or lead on; or we are with you], ·people of Benjamin [L Benjamin].
9 ·Israel [L Ephraim; 4:17] will be ·ruined [laid waste; desolate]
on the day of ·punishment [rebuke; reckoning].
To the tribes of Israel
I ·tell the truth [L make known what is certain].
10 The ·leaders [princes] of Judah are like those
who ·steal other people’s land [L move boundary markers; C a serious crime in the ancient world; Deut. 19:14; 27:17; Prov. 15:25].
I will pour my ·punishment over [wrath on] them
like ·a flood of water [L water].
11 ·Israel [L Ephraim; 4:17] is ·beaten down [oppressed] and crushed by the ·punishment [judgment],
because it ·decided [was determined] to follow ·idols [or worthless things; or human precepts].
12 I am like a moth to ·Israel [L Ephraim; 4:17],
like ·a rot [wood rot; decay] to the ·people [L house] of Judah.
13 “When ·Israel [L Ephraim; 4:17] saw its illness
and Judah saw its ·wounds [or sores],
·Israel [L Ephraim] went to Assyria for help
and sent to the great ·king of Assyria [L king].
But he cannot heal you
or cure your wounds.
14 I will be like a lion to ·Israel [L Ephraim; 4:17],
like a young lion to ·Judah [L the house of Judah].
·I will attack them
and tear them to pieces [L I, even I, will tear them and go away].
I will drag them off,
and no one will be able to ·save [rescue] them.
15 Then I will go back to my ·place [lair; dwelling place]
until they ·suffer for [or admit] their guilt and ·turn back to me [L seek my face].
In their ·trouble [distress; affliction] they will look for me.”
Hosea 5
English Standard Version
Punishment Coming for Israel and Judah
5 (A)Hear this, O priests!
Pay attention, O house of Israel!
Give ear, O house of the king!
For the judgment is for you;
for (B)you have been a snare at Mizpah
and a net spread upon (C)Tabor.
2 And (D)the revolters (E)have gone deep into slaughter,
but (F)I will discipline all of them.
3 (G)I know Ephraim,
and Israel is not hidden from me;
for now, O Ephraim, you have played the whore;
Israel is defiled.
4 (H)Their deeds do not permit them
to return to their God.
For (I)the spirit of whoredom is within them,
and they know not the Lord.
5 (J)The pride of Israel testifies to his face;[a]
Israel and (K)Ephraim shall stumble in his guilt;
(L)Judah also shall stumble with them.
6 (M)With their flocks and herds they shall go
to seek the Lord,
(N)but they will not find him;
(O)he has withdrawn from them.
7 (P)They have dealt faithlessly with the Lord;
for they have borne alien children.
Now the new moon shall devour them with their fields.
8 (Q)Blow the horn in (R)Gibeah,
the trumpet in (S)Ramah.
Sound the alarm at (T)Beth-aven;
we follow you,[b] O Benjamin!
9 Ephraim shall become a desolation
in the day of punishment;
among the tribes of Israel
I make known what is sure.
10 The princes of Judah have become
like (U)those who move the landmark;
upon them I will pour out
my wrath like water.
11 Ephraim is (V)oppressed, crushed in judgment,
because he was determined to go after filth.[c]
12 But I am (W)like a moth to Ephraim,
and (X)like dry rot to the house of Judah.
13 When Ephraim saw his sickness,
and Judah (Y)his wound,
then Ephraim went (Z)to Assyria,
and sent to the great king.[d]
(AA)But he is not able to cure you
or heal (AB)your wound.
14 For I will be (AC)like a lion to (AD)Ephraim,
and like a young lion to the house of (AE)Judah.
(AF)I, even I, will tear and go away;
I will carry off, and no one shall rescue.
15 (AG)I will return again to my place,
until they acknowledge their guilt and seek my face,
and (AH)in their distress earnestly seek me.
Footnotes
- Hosea 5:5 Or in his presence
- Hosea 5:8 Or after you
- Hosea 5:11 Or to follow human precepts
- Hosea 5:13 Or to King Jareb
The Expanded Bible, Copyright © 2011 Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved.
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
