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Hosea 11-14
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Hosea 11-14
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
God’s Compassion Despite Israel’s Ingratitude
11 When Israel was a child, I loved him,
and out of Egypt I called my son.(A)
2 The more I[a] called them,
the more they went from me;[b]
they kept sacrificing to the Baals
and offering incense to idols.(B)
3 Yet it was I who taught Ephraim to walk;
I took them up in my[c] arms,
but they did not know that I healed them.(C)
4 I led them with cords of human kindness,
with bands of love.
I was to them like those
who lift infants to their cheeks.[d]
I bent down to them and fed them.(D)
5 They shall return to the land of Egypt,
and Assyria shall be their king,
because they have refused to return to me.(E)
6 The sword rages in their cities;
it consumes their oracle priests
and devours because of their schemes.(F)
7 My people are bent on turning away from me.
To the Most High they call,
but he does not raise them up at all.[e](G)
8 How can I give you up, Ephraim?
How can I hand you over, O Israel?
How can I make you like Admah?
How can I treat you like Zeboiim?
My heart recoils within me;
my compassion grows warm and tender.(H)
9 I will not execute my fierce anger;
I will not again destroy Ephraim,
for I am God and no mortal,
the Holy One in your midst,
and I will not come in wrath.[f](I)
10 They shall go after the Lord,
who roars like a lion;
when he roars,
his children shall come trembling from the west.(J)
11 They shall come trembling like birds from Egypt
and like doves from the land of Assyria,
and I will return them to their homes, says the Lord.(K)
12 [g]Ephraim has surrounded me with lies
and the house of Israel with deceit,
but Judah still walks[h] with God
and is faithful to the Holy One.(L)
12 Ephraim herds the wind
and pursues the east wind all day long;
they multiply falsehood and violence;
they make a treaty with Assyria,
and oil is carried to Egypt.(M)
The Long History of Rebellion
2 The Lord has an indictment against Judah
and will punish Jacob according to his ways
and repay him according to his deeds.(N)
3 In the womb he tried to supplant his brother,
and in his manhood he strove with God.(O)
4 He strove with the angel and prevailed;
he wept and sought his favor;
he met him at Bethel,
and there he spoke with him.[i](P)
5 The Lord the God of hosts,
the Lord is his name!
6 But as for you, return to your God;
hold fast to love and justice,
and wait continually for your God.(Q)
7 A trader in whose hands are false balances,
he loves to oppress.(R)
8 Ephraim has said, “Ah, I am rich;
I have gained wealth for myself;
in all of my gain
no offense has been found in me
that would be sin.”[j](S)
9 I am the Lord your God
from the land of Egypt;
I will make you live in tents again,
as in the days of the appointed festival.(T)
10 I spoke to the prophets;
it was I who multiplied visions,
and through the prophets I will bring destruction.(U)
11 In[k] Gilead there is iniquity;
they shall surely come to nothing.
In Gilgal they sacrifice bulls,
so their altars shall be like stone heaps
on the furrows of the field.(V)
12 Jacob fled to the land of Aram;
there Israel served for a wife,
and for a wife he guarded sheep.[l](W)
13 By a prophet the Lord brought Israel up from Egypt,
and by a prophet he was guarded.(X)
14 Ephraim has given bitter offense,
so his Lord will bring his crimes down on him
and pay him back for his insults.(Y)
Relentless Judgment on Israel
13 When Ephraim spoke, there was trembling;
he was exalted in Israel,
but he incurred guilt through Baal and died.(Z)
2 And now they keep on sinning
and make a cast image for themselves,
idols of silver made according to their understanding,
all of them the work of artisans.
“Sacrifice to these,” they say.[m]
People are kissing calves!(AA)
3 Therefore they shall be like the morning mist
or like the dew that goes away early,
like chaff that swirls from the threshing floor
or like smoke from a window.(AB)
4 Yet I have been the Lord your God
ever since the land of Egypt;
you know no God but me,
and besides me there is no savior.(AC)
5 It was I who fed[n] you in the wilderness,
in the land of drought.(AD)
6 When I fed[o] them, they were satisfied;
they were satisfied, and their heart was proud;
therefore they forgot me.(AE)
7 So I will become like a lion to them;
like a leopard I will lurk beside the way.(AF)
8 I will fall upon them like a bear robbed of her cubs
and will tear open the covering of their heart;
there I will devour them like a lion,
as a wild animal would mangle them.
9 I will destroy you, O Israel;
who can help you?[p]
10 Where now is[q] your king, that he may save you?
Where in all your cities are your rulers,
of whom you said,
“Give me a king and rulers”?(AG)
11 I gave you a king in my anger,
and I took him away in my wrath.(AH)
12 Ephraim’s iniquity is bound up;
his sin is kept in store.(AI)
13 The pangs of childbirth come for him,
but he is an unwise son,
for at the proper time he does not present himself
at the mouth of the womb.(AJ)
14 Shall I ransom them from the power of Sheol?
Shall I redeem them from Death?
O Death, where are[r] your plagues?
O Sheol, where is[s] your destruction?
Compassion is hidden from my eyes.(AK)
15 Although he may flourish among rushes,[t]
the east wind shall come, a blast from the Lord,
rising from the wilderness,
and his fountain shall dry up;
his spring shall be parched.
It shall strip his treasury
of every precious thing.(AL)
16 [u]Samaria shall bear her guilt
because she has rebelled against her God;
they shall fall by the sword;
their little ones shall be dashed in pieces,
and their pregnant women ripped open.(AM)
A Plea for Repentance
14 Return, O Israel, to the Lord your God,
for you have stumbled because of your iniquity.(AN)
2 Take words with you
and return to the Lord;
say to him,
“Take away all guilt;
accept that which is good,
and we will offer
the fruit[v] of our lips.(AO)
3 Assyria shall not save us;
we will not ride upon horses;
we will say no more, ‘Our God,’
to the work of our hands.
In you the orphan finds mercy.”(AP)
Assurance of Forgiveness
4 I will heal their disloyalty;
I will love them freely,
for my anger has turned from them.(AQ)
5 I will be like the dew to Israel;
he shall blossom like the lily;
he shall strike root like the forests of Lebanon.[w](AR)
6 His shoots shall spread out;
his beauty shall be like the olive tree
and his fragrance like that of Lebanon.(AS)
7 They shall again live beneath my[x] shadow;
they shall flourish as a garden;[y]
they shall blossom like the vine;
their fragrance shall be like the wine of Lebanon.(AT)
8 O Ephraim, what have I[z] to do with idols?
It is I who answer and look after you.[aa]
I am like an evergreen cypress;
your fruit comes from me.(AU)
9 Those who are wise understand these things;
those who are discerning know them.
For the ways of the Lord are right,
and the upright walk in them,
but transgressors stumble in them.(AV)
Footnotes
- 11.2 Gk: Heb they
- 11.2 Gk: Heb them
- 11.3 Gk Syr Vg: Heb his
- 11.4 Or who ease the yoke on their jaws
- 11.7 Meaning of Heb uncertain
- 11.9 Meaning of Heb uncertain
- 11.12 12.1 in Heb
- 11.12 Heb roams or rules
- 12.4 Gk Syr: Heb us
- 12.8 Meaning of Heb uncertain
- 12.11 Syr: Heb If
- 12.12 Heb lacks sheep
- 13.2 Cn Compare Gk: Heb To these they say sacrifices of people
- 13.5 Gk Syr: Heb knew
- 13.6 Cn: Heb according to their pasture
- 13.9 Gk Syr: Heb for in me is your help
- 13.10 Gk Syr Vg: Heb I will be
- 13.14 Gk Syr: Heb I will be
- 13.14 Gk Syr: Heb I will be
- 13.15 Or among brothers
- 13.16 14.1 in Heb
- 14.2 Gk Syr: Heb bulls
- 14.5 Cn: Heb like Lebanon
- 14.7 Heb his
- 14.7 Cn: Heb they shall grow grain
- 14.8 Or What more has Ephraim
- 14.8 Heb him
Hosea 11-14
New International Version
Hosea 11-14
New International Version
God’s Love for Israel
11 “When Israel was a child,(A) I loved(B) him,
and out of Egypt I called my son.(C)
2 But the more they were called,
the more they went away from me.[a](D)
They sacrificed to the Baals(E)
and they burned incense to images.(F)
3 It was I who taught Ephraim to walk,
taking them by the arms;(G)
but they did not realize
it was I who healed(H) them.
4 I led them with cords of human kindness,
with ties of love.(I)
To them I was like one who lifts
a little child to the cheek,
and I bent down to feed(J) them.(K)
5 “Will they not return to Egypt(L)
and will not Assyria(M) rule over them
because they refuse to repent?(N)
6 A sword(O) will flash in their cities;
it will devour(P) their false prophets
and put an end to their plans.
7 My people are determined to turn(Q) from me.(R)
Even though they call me God Most High,
I will by no means exalt them.
8 “How can I give you up,(S) Ephraim?(T)
How can I hand you over, Israel?
How can I treat you like Admah?
How can I make you like Zeboyim?(U)
My heart is changed within me;
all my compassion(V) is aroused.(W)
9 I will not carry out my fierce anger,(X)
nor will I devastate(Y) Ephraim again.
For I am God, and not a man(Z)—
the Holy One(AA) among you.
I will not come against their cities.
10 They will follow the Lord;
he will roar(AB) like a lion.(AC)
When he roars,
his children will come trembling(AD) from the west.(AE)
11 They will come from Egypt,
trembling like sparrows,
from Assyria,(AF) fluttering like doves.(AG)
I will settle them in their homes,”(AH)
declares the Lord.
Israel’s Sin
12 Ephraim has surrounded me with lies,(AI)
Israel with deceit.
And Judah is unruly against God,
even against the faithful(AJ) Holy One.[b](AK)
12 [c]1 Ephraim(AL) feeds on the wind;(AM)
he pursues the east wind all day
and multiplies lies and violence.(AN)
He makes a treaty with Assyria(AO)
and sends olive oil to Egypt.(AP)
2 The Lord has a charge(AQ) to bring against Judah;(AR)
he will punish(AS) Jacob[d] according to his ways
and repay him according to his deeds.(AT)
3 In the womb he grasped his brother’s heel;(AU)
as a man he struggled(AV) with God.
4 He struggled with the angel and overcame him;
he wept and begged for his favor.
He found him at Bethel(AW)
and talked with him there—
5 the Lord God Almighty,
the Lord is his name!(AX)
6 But you must return(AY) to your God;
maintain love and justice,(AZ)
and wait for your God always.(BA)
7 The merchant uses dishonest scales(BB)
and loves to defraud.
8 Ephraim boasts,(BC)
“I am very rich; I have become wealthy.(BD)
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;(BE)
I will make you live in tents(BF) again,
as in the days of your appointed festivals.
10 I spoke to the prophets,
gave them many visions
and told parables(BG) through them.”(BH)
11 Is Gilead wicked?(BI)
Its people are worthless!
Do they sacrifice bulls in Gilgal?(BJ)
Their altars will be like piles of stones
on a plowed field.(BK)
12 Jacob fled to the country of Aram[e];(BL)
Israel served to get a wife,
and to pay for her he tended sheep.(BM)
13 The Lord used a prophet to bring Israel up from Egypt,(BN)
by a prophet he cared for him.(BO)
14 But Ephraim has aroused his bitter anger;
his Lord will leave on him the guilt of his bloodshed(BP)
and will repay him for his contempt.(BQ)
The Lord’s Anger Against Israel
13 When Ephraim spoke, people trembled;(BR)
he was exalted(BS) in Israel.
But he became guilty of Baal worship(BT) and died.
2 Now they sin more and more;
they make(BU) idols for themselves from their silver,(BV)
cleverly fashioned images,
all of them the work of craftsmen.(BW)
It is said of these people,
“They offer human sacrifices!
They kiss[f](BX) calf-idols!(BY)”
3 Therefore they will be like the morning mist,
like the early dew that disappears,(BZ)
like chaff(CA) swirling from a threshing floor,(CB)
like smoke(CC) escaping through a window.
4 “But I have been the Lord your God
ever since you came out of Egypt.(CD)
You shall acknowledge(CE) no God but me,(CF)
no Savior(CG) except me.
5 I cared for you in the wilderness,(CH)
in the land of burning heat.
6 When I fed them, they were satisfied;
when they were satisfied, they became proud;(CI)
then they forgot(CJ) me.(CK)
7 So I will be like a lion(CL) to them,
like a leopard I will lurk by the path.
8 Like a bear robbed of her cubs,(CM)
I will attack them and rip them open;
like a lion(CN) I will devour them—
a wild animal will tear them apart.(CO)
9 “You are destroyed, Israel,
because you are against me,(CP) against your helper.(CQ)
10 Where is your king,(CR) that he may save you?
Where are your rulers in all your towns,
of whom you said,
‘Give me a king and princes’?(CS)
11 So in my anger I gave you a king,(CT)
and in my wrath I took him away.(CU)
12 The guilt of Ephraim is stored up,
his sins are kept on record.(CV)
13 Pains as of a woman in childbirth(CW) come to him,
but he is a child without wisdom;
when the time(CX) arrives,
he doesn’t have the sense to come out of the womb.(CY)
14 “I will deliver this people from the power of the grave;(CZ)
I will redeem them from death.(DA)
Where, O death, are your plagues?
Where, O grave, is your destruction?(DB)
“I will have no compassion,
15 even though he thrives(DC) among his brothers.
An east wind(DD) from the Lord will come,
blowing in from the desert;
his spring will fail
and his well dry up.(DE)
His storehouse will be plundered(DF)
of all its treasures.
16 The people of Samaria(DG) must bear their guilt,(DH)
because they have rebelled(DI) against their God.
They will fall by the sword;(DJ)
their little ones will be dashed(DK) to the ground,
their pregnant women(DL) ripped open.”[g]
Repentance to Bring Blessing
14 [h]Return,(DM) Israel, to the Lord your God.
Your sins(DN) have been your downfall!(DO)
2 Take words with you
and return to the Lord.
Say to him:
“Forgive(DP) all our sins
and receive us graciously,(DQ)
that we may offer the fruit of our lips.[i](DR)
3 Assyria cannot save us;(DS)
we will not mount warhorses.(DT)
We will never again say ‘Our gods’(DU)
to what our own hands have made,(DV)
for in you the fatherless(DW) find compassion.”
4 “I will heal(DX) their waywardness(DY)
and love them freely,(DZ)
for my anger has turned away(EA) from them.
5 I will be like the dew(EB) to Israel;
he will blossom like a lily.(EC)
Like a cedar of Lebanon(ED)
he will send down his roots;(EE)
6 his young shoots will grow.
His splendor will be like an olive tree,(EF)
his fragrance like a cedar of Lebanon.(EG)
7 People will dwell again in his shade;(EH)
they will flourish like the grain,
they will blossom(EI) like the vine—
Israel’s fame will be like the wine(EJ) of Lebanon.(EK)
8 Ephraim, what more have I[j] to do with idols?(EL)
I will answer him and care for him.
I am like a flourishing juniper;(EM)
your fruitfulness comes from me.”
Footnotes
- Hosea 11:2 Septuagint; Hebrew them
- Hosea 11:12 In Hebrew texts this verse (11:12) is numbered 12:1.
- Hosea 12:1 In Hebrew texts 12:1-14 is numbered 12:2-15.
- Hosea 12:2 Jacob means he grasps the heel, a Hebrew idiom for he takes advantage of or he deceives.
- Hosea 12:12 That is, Northwest Mesopotamia
- Hosea 13:2 Or “Men who sacrifice / kiss
- Hosea 13:16 In Hebrew texts this verse (13:16) is numbered 14:1.
- Hosea 14:1 In Hebrew texts 14:1-9 is numbered 14:2-10.
- Hosea 14:2 Or offer our lips as sacrifices of bulls
- Hosea 14:8 Or Hebrew; Septuagint What more has Ephraim
Hosea 11-14
King James Version
Hosea 11-14
King James Version
11 When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and called my son out of Egypt.
2 As they called them, so they went from them: they sacrificed unto Baalim, and burned incense to graven images.
3 I taught Ephraim also to go, taking them by their arms; but they knew not that I healed them.
4 I drew them with cords of a man, with bands of love: and I was to them as they that take off the yoke on their jaws, and I laid meat unto them.
5 He shall not return into the land of Egypt, and the Assyrian shall be his king, because they refused to return.
6 And the sword shall abide on his cities, and shall consume his branches, and devour them, because of their own counsels.
7 And my people are bent to backsliding from me: though they called them to the most High, none at all would exalt him.
8 How shall I give thee up, Ephraim? how shall I deliver thee, Israel? how shall I make thee as Admah? how shall I set thee as Zeboim? mine heart is turned within me, my repentings are kindled together.
9 I will not execute the fierceness of mine anger, I will not return to destroy Ephraim: for I am God, and not man; the Holy One in the midst of thee: and I will not enter into the city.
10 They shall walk after the Lord: he shall roar like a lion: when he shall roar, then the children shall tremble from the west.
11 They shall tremble as a bird out of Egypt, and as a dove out of the land of Assyria: and I will place them in their houses, saith the Lord.
12 Ephraim compasseth me about with lies, and the house of Israel with deceit: but Judah yet ruleth with God, and is faithful with the saints.
12 Ephraim feedeth on wind, and followeth after the east wind: he daily increaseth lies and desolation; and they do make a covenant with the Assyrians, and oil is carried into Egypt.
2 The Lord hath also a controversy with Judah, and will punish Jacob according to his ways; according to his doings will he recompense him.
3 He took his brother by the heel in the womb, and by his strength he had power with God:
4 Yea, he had power over the angel, and prevailed: he wept, and made supplication unto him: he found him in Bethel, and there he spake with us;
5 Even the Lord God of hosts; the Lord is his memorial.
6 Therefore turn thou to thy God: keep mercy and judgment and wait on thy God continually.
7 He is a merchant, the balances of deceit are in his hand: he loveth to oppress.
8 And Ephraim said, Yet I am become rich, I have found me out substance: in all my labours they shall find none iniquity in me that were sin.
9 And I that am the Lord thy God from the land of Egypt will yet make thee to dwell in tabernacles, as in the days of the solemn feast.
10 I have also spoken by the prophets, and I have multiplied visions, and used similitudes, by the ministry of the prophets.
11 Is there iniquity in Gilead? surely they are vanity: they sacrifice bullocks in Gilgal; yea, their altars are as heaps in the furrows of the fields.
12 And Jacob fled into the country of Syria, and Israel served for a wife, and for a wife he kept sheep.
13 And by a prophet the Lord brought Israel out of Egypt, and by a prophet was he preserved.
14 Ephraim provoked him to anger most bitterly: therefore shall he leave his blood upon him, and his reproach shall his Lord return unto him.
13 When Ephraim spake trembling, he exalted himself in Israel; but when he offended in Baal, he died.
2 And now they sin more and more, and have made them molten images of their silver, and idols according to their own understanding, all of it the work of the craftsmen: they say of them, Let the men that sacrifice kiss the calves.
3 Therefore they shall be as the morning cloud and as the early dew that passeth away, as the chaff that is driven with the whirlwind out of the floor, and as the smoke out of the chimney.
4 Yet I am the Lord thy God from the land of Egypt, and thou shalt know no god but me: for there is no saviour beside me.
5 I did know thee in the wilderness, in the land of great drought.
6 According to their pasture, so were they filled; they were filled, and their heart was exalted; therefore have they forgotten me.
7 Therefore I will be unto them as a lion: as a leopard by the way will I observe them:
8 I will meet them as a bear that is bereaved of her whelps, and will rend the caul of their heart, and there will I devour them like a lion: the wild beast shall tear them.
9 O Israel, thou hast destroyed thyself; but in me is thine help.
10 I will be thy king: where is any other that may save thee in all thy cities? and thy judges of whom thou saidst, Give me a king and princes?
11 I gave thee a king in mine anger, and took him away in my wrath.
12 The iniquity of Ephraim is bound up; his sin is hid.
13 The sorrows of a travailing woman shall come upon him: he is an unwise son; for he should not stay long in the place of the breaking forth of children.
14 I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death: O death, I will be thy plagues; O grave, I will be thy destruction: repentance shall be hid from mine eyes.
15 Though he be fruitful among his brethren, an east wind shall come, the wind of the Lord shall come up from the wilderness, and his spring shall become dry, and his fountain shall be dried up: he shall spoil the treasure of all pleasant vessels.
16 Samaria shall become desolate; for she hath rebelled against her God: they shall fall by the sword: their infants shall be dashed in pieces, and their women with child shall be ripped up.
14 O israel, return unto the Lord thy God; for thou hast fallen by thine iniquity.
2 Take with you words, and turn to the Lord: say unto him, Take away all iniquity, and receive us graciously: so will we render the calves of our lips.
3 Asshur shall not save us; we will not ride upon horses: neither will we say any more to the work of our hands, Ye are our gods: for in thee the fatherless findeth mercy.
4 I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely: for mine anger is turned away from him.
5 I will be as the dew unto Israel: he shall grow as the lily, and cast forth his roots as Lebanon.
6 His branches shall spread, and his beauty shall be as the olive tree, and his smell as Lebanon.
7 They that dwell under his shadow shall return; they shall revive as the corn, and grow as the vine: the scent thereof shall be as the wine of Lebanon.
8 Ephraim shall say, What have I to do any more with idols? I have heard him, and observed him: I am like a green fir tree. From me is thy fruit found.
9 Who is wise, and he shall understand these things? prudent, and he shall know them? for the ways of the Lord are right, and the just shall walk in them: but the transgressors shall fall therein.
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition (NRSVUE)
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New International Version (NIV) 
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