Hosea 5:14-13:9

14For I will be like a lion to Ephraim, like a great lion to Judah. I will tear them to pieces and go away; I will carry them off, with no one to rescue them. 15Then I will return to my lair until they have borne their guilt and seek my face— in their misery they will earnestly seek me.”

Israel Unrepentant 1“Come, let us return to the LORD . He has torn us to pieces but he will heal us; he has injured us but he will bind up our wounds.

2After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will restore us, that we may live in his presence.

3Let us acknowledge the LORD ; let us press on to acknowledge him. As surely as the sun rises, he will appear; he will come to us like the winter rains, like the spring rains that water the earth.”

4“What can I do with you, Ephraim? What can I do with you, Judah? Your love is like the morning mist, like the early dew that disappears.

5Therefore I cut you in pieces with my prophets, I killed you with the words of my mouth— then my judgments go forth like the sun. The meaning of the Hebrew for this line is uncertain.

6For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings.

7As at Adam, Or Like Adam; or Like human beings they have broken the covenant; they were unfaithful to me there.

8Gilead is a city of evildoers, stained with footprints of blood.

9As marauders lie in ambush for a victim, so do bands of priests; they murder on the road to Shechem, carrying out their wicked schemes.

10I have seen a horrible thing in Israel: There Ephraim is given to prostitution, Israel is defiled. 11“Also for you, Judah, a harvest is appointed. “Whenever I would restore the fortunes of my people,

1whenever I would heal Israel, the sins of Ephraim are exposed and the crimes of Samaria revealed. They practice deceit, thieves break into houses, bandits rob in the streets;

2but they do not realize that I remember all their evil deeds. Their sins engulf them; they are always before me.

3“They delight the king with their wickedness, the princes with their lies.

4They are all adulterers, burning like an oven whose fire the baker need not stir from the kneading of the dough till it rises.

5On the day of the festival of our king the princes become inflamed with wine, and he joins hands with the mockers.

6Their hearts are like an oven; they approach him with intrigue. Their passion smolders all night; in the morning it blazes like a flaming fire.

7All of them are hot as an oven; they devour their rulers. All their kings fall, and none of them calls on me.

8“Ephraim mixes with the nations; Ephraim is a flat loaf not turned over.

9Foreigners sap his strength, but he does not realize it. His hair is sprinkled with gray, but he does not notice.

10Israel’s arrogance testifies against him, but despite all this he does not return to the LORD his God or search for him.

11“Ephraim is like a dove, easily deceived and senseless— now calling to Egypt, now turning to Assyria.

12When they go, I will throw my net over them; I will pull them down like the birds in the sky. When I hear them flocking together, I will catch them.

13Woe to them, because they have strayed from me! Destruction to them, because they have rebelled against me! I long to redeem them but they speak about me falsely.

14They do not cry out to me from their hearts but wail on their beds. They slash themselves, Some Hebrew manuscripts and Septuagint; most Hebrew manuscripts They gather together appealing to their gods for grain and new wine, but they turn away from me.

15I trained them and strengthened their arms, but they plot evil against me. 16They do not turn to the Most High; they are like a faulty bow. Their leaders will fall by the sword because of their insolent words. For this they will be ridiculed in the land of Egypt.

Israel to Reap the Whirlwind 1“Put the trumpet to your lips! An eagle is over the house of the LORD because the people have broken my covenant and rebelled against my law.

2Israel cries out to me, ‘Our God, we acknowledge you!’

3But Israel has rejected what is good; an enemy will pursue him.

4They set up kings without my consent; they choose princes without my approval. With their silver and gold they make idols for themselves to their own destruction.

5Samaria, throw out your calf-idol! My anger burns against them. How long will they be incapable of purity?

6They are from Israel! This calf—a metalworker has made it; it is not God. It will be broken in pieces, that calf of Samaria.

7“They sow the wind and reap the whirlwind. The stalk has no head; it will produce no flour. Were it to yield grain, foreigners would swallow it up.

8Israel is swallowed up; now she is among the nations like something no one wants.

9For they have gone up to Assyria like a wild donkey wandering alone. Ephraim has sold herself to lovers.

10Although they have sold themselves among the nations, I will now gather them together. They will begin to waste away under the oppression of the mighty king.

11“Though Ephraim built many altars for sin offerings, these have become altars for sinning.

12I wrote for them the many things of my law, but they regarded them as something foreign.

13Though they offer sacrifices as gifts to me, and though they eat the meat, the LORD is not pleased with them. Now he will remember their wickedness and punish their sins: They will return to Egypt. 14Israel has forgotten their Maker and built palaces; Judah has fortified many towns. But I will send fire on their cities that will consume their fortresses.”

Punishment for Israel 1Do not rejoice, Israel; do not be jubilant like the other nations. For you have been unfaithful to your God; you love the wages of a prostitute at every threshing floor.

2Threshing floors and winepresses will not feed the people; the new wine will fail them.

3They will not remain in the LORD ’s land; Ephraim will return to Egypt and eat unclean food in Assyria.

4They will not pour out wine offerings to the LORD, nor will their sacrifices please him. Such sacrifices will be to them like the bread of mourners; all who eat them will be unclean. This food will be for themselves; it will not come into the temple of the LORD .

5What will you do on the day of your appointed festivals, on the feast days of the LORD ?

6Even if they escape from destruction, Egypt will gather them, and Memphis will bury them. Their treasures of silver will be taken over by briers, and thorns will overrun their tents.

7The days of punishment are coming, the days of reckoning are at hand. Let Israel know this. Because your sins are so many and your hostility so great, the prophet is considered a fool, the inspired person a maniac.

8The prophet, along with my God, is the watchman over Ephraim, Or The prophet is the watchman over Ephraim, / the people of my God yet snares await him on all his paths, and hostility in the house of his God.

9They have sunk deep into corruption, as in the days of Gibeah. God will remember their wickedness and punish them for their sins.

10“When I found Israel, it was like finding grapes in the desert; when I saw your ancestors, it was like seeing the early fruit on the fig tree. But when they came to Baal Peor, they consecrated themselves to that shameful idol and became as vile as the thing they loved.

11Ephraim’s glory will fly away like a bird— no birth, no pregnancy, no conception.

12Even if they rear children, I will bereave them of every one. Woe to them when I turn away from them!

13I have seen Ephraim, like Tyre, planted in a pleasant place. But Ephraim will bring out their children to the slayer.”

14Give them, LORD — what will you give them? Give them wombs that miscarry and breasts that are dry.

15“Because of all their wickedness in Gilgal, I hated them there. Because of their sinful deeds, I will drive them out of my house. I will no longer love them; all their leaders are rebellious.

16Ephraim is blighted, their root is withered, they yield no fruit. Even if they bear children, I will slay their cherished offspring.” 17My God will reject them because they have not obeyed him; they will be wanderers among the nations.

1Israel was a spreading vine; he brought forth fruit for himself. As his fruit increased, he built more altars; as his land prospered, he adorned his sacred stones.

2Their heart is deceitful, and now they must bear their guilt. The LORD will demolish their altars and destroy their sacred stones.

3Then they will say, “We have no king because we did not revere the LORD . But even if we had a king, what could he do for us?”

4They make many promises, take false oaths and make agreements; therefore lawsuits spring up like poisonous weeds in a plowed field.

5The people who live in Samaria fear for the calf-idol of Beth Aven. Beth Aven means house of wickedness (a derogatory name for Bethel, which means house of God). Its people will mourn over it, and so will its idolatrous priests, those who had rejoiced over its splendor, because it is taken from them into exile.

6It will be carried to Assyria as tribute for the great king. Ephraim will be disgraced; Israel will be ashamed of its foreign alliances.

7Samaria’s king will be destroyed, swept away like a twig on the surface of the waters.

8The high places of wickedness Hebrew aven, a reference to Beth Aven (a derogatory name for Bethel); see verse 5. will be destroyed— it is the sin of Israel. Thorns and thistles will grow up and cover their altars. Then they will say to the mountains, “Cover us!” and to the hills, “Fall on us!”

9“Since the days of Gibeah, you have sinned, Israel, and there you have remained. Or there a stand was taken Will not war again overtake the evildoers in Gibeah?

10When I please, I will punish them; nations will be gathered against them to put them in bonds for their double sin.

11Ephraim is a trained heifer that loves to thresh; so I will put a yoke on her fair neck. I will drive Ephraim, Judah must plow, and Jacob must break up the ground.

12Sow righteousness for yourselves, reap the fruit of unfailing love, and break up your unplowed ground; for it is time to seek the LORD, until he comes and showers his righteousness on you.

13But you have planted wickedness, you have reaped evil, you have eaten the fruit of deception. Because you have depended on your own strength and on your many warriors,

14the roar of battle will rise against your people, so that all your fortresses will be devastated— as Shalman devastated Beth Arbel on the day of battle, when mothers were dashed to the ground with their children. 15So will it happen to you, Bethel, because your wickedness is great. When that day dawns, the king of Israel will be completely destroyed.

God’s Love for Israel 1“When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son.

2But the more they were called, the more they went away from me. Septuagint; Hebrew them They sacrificed to the Baals and they burned incense to images.

3It was I who taught Ephraim to walk, taking them by the arms; but they did not realize it was I who healed them.

4I led them with cords of human kindness, with ties of love. To them I was like one who lifts a little child to the cheek, and I bent down to feed them.

5“Will they not return to Egypt and will not Assyria rule over them because they refuse to repent?

6A sword will flash in their cities; it will devour their false prophets and put an end to their plans.

7My people are determined to turn from me. Even though they call me God Most High, I will by no means exalt them.

8“How can I give you up, Ephraim? How can I hand you over, Israel? How can I treat you like Admah? How can I make you like Zeboyim? My heart is changed within me; all my compassion is aroused.

9I will not carry out my fierce anger, nor will I devastate Ephraim again. For I am God, and not a man— the Holy One among you. I will not come against their cities.

10They will follow the LORD ; he will roar like a lion. When he roars, his children will come trembling from the west.

11They will come from Egypt, trembling like sparrows, from Assyria, fluttering like doves. I will settle them in their homes,” declares the LORD . Israel’s Sin 12Ephraim has surrounded me with lies, Israel with deceit. And Judah is unruly against God, even against the faithful Holy One. In Hebrew texts this verse (11:12) is numbered 12:1.

1In Hebrew texts 12:1-14 is numbered 12:2-15. Ephraim feeds on the wind; he pursues the east wind all day and multiplies lies and violence. He makes a treaty with Assyria and sends olive oil to Egypt.

2The LORD has a charge to bring against Judah; he will punish Jacob Jacob means he grasps the heel, a Hebrew idiom for he takes advantage of or he deceives. according to his ways and repay him according to his deeds.

3In the womb he grasped his brother’s heel; as a man he struggled with God.

4He struggled with the angel and overcame him; he wept and begged for his favor. He found him at Bethel and talked with him there—

5the LORD God Almighty, the LORD is his name!

6But you must return to your God; maintain love and justice, and wait for your God always.

7The merchant uses dishonest scales and loves to defraud.

8Ephraim boasts, “I am very rich; I have become wealthy. With all my wealth they will not find in me any iniquity or sin.”

9“I have been the LORD your God ever since you came out of Egypt; I will make you live in tents again, as in the days of your appointed festivals.

10I spoke to the prophets, gave them many visions and told parables through them.”

11Is Gilead wicked? Its people are worthless! Do they sacrifice bulls in Gilgal? Their altars will be like piles of stones on a plowed field.

12Jacob fled to the country of Aram That is, Northwest Mesopotamia ; Israel served to get a wife, and to pay for her he tended sheep.

13The LORD used a prophet to bring Israel up from Egypt, by a prophet he cared for him. 14But Ephraim has aroused his bitter anger; his Lord will leave on him the guilt of his bloodshed and will repay him for his contempt.

The LORD’s Anger Against Israel 1When Ephraim spoke, people trembled; he was exalted in Israel. But he became guilty of Baal worship and died.

2Now they sin more and more; they make idols for themselves from their silver, cleverly fashioned images, all of them the work of craftsmen. It is said of these people, “They offer human sacrifices! They kiss Or “Men who sacrifice / kiss calf-idols!”

3Therefore they will be like the morning mist, like the early dew that disappears, like chaff swirling from a threshing floor, like smoke escaping through a window.

4“But I have been the LORD your God ever since you came out of Egypt. You shall acknowledge no God but me, no Savior except me.

5I cared for you in the wilderness, in the land of burning heat.

6When I fed them, they were satisfied; when they were satisfied, they became proud; then they forgot me.

7So I will be like a lion to them, like a leopard I will lurk by the path.

8Like a bear robbed of her cubs, I will attack them and rip them open; like a lion I will devour them— a wild animal will tear them apart.

9“You are destroyed, Israel, because you are against me, against your helper.