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Hosea 9-12
New American Standard Bible
Hosea 9-12
New American Standard Bible
Ephraim Punished
9 (A)Do not rejoice, Israel, [a]with jubilation like the [b]nations!
For you have (B)been unfaithful, [c]abandoning your God.
You have loved the earnings of unfaithfulness on [d]every threshing floor.
2 Threshing floor and wine press will (C)not feed them,
And the new wine will fail [e]them.
3 They will not remain in (D)the Lord’s land,
But Ephraim will return to (E)Egypt,
And in (F)Assyria they will eat (G)unclean food.
4 They will not pour out drink offerings of (H)wine to the Lord,
(I)Nor will [f]their sacrifices please Him.
Their bread will be to them like [g]mourners’ bread;
All who eat it will be (J)defiled,
Because their bread will be for [h]themselves alone;
It will not enter the house of the Lord.
5 (K)What will you do on the day of the appointed festival
And on the day of the (L)feast of the Lord?
6 For behold, they will be gone because of destruction;
Egypt will gather them together, (M)Memphis will bury them.
Weeds will take possession of their treasures of silver;
(N)Thorns will be in their tents.
7 The days of (O)punishment have come,
The days of (P)retribution have come;
[i]Let Israel know this!
The prophet is a (Q)fool,
The [j]inspired person is (R)insane,
Because of the grossness of your (S)wrongdoing,
And because your [k]hostility is so great.
8 Ephraim was a watchman with my God, a prophet;
Yet the snare of a bird catcher is in all his ways,
And there is only [l]hostility in the house of his God.
9 They are (T)deeply depraved
As in the days of (U)Gibeah;
He will (V)remember their guilt,
He will punish their sins.
10 I found Israel like (W)grapes in the wilderness;
I saw your forefathers as the (X)earliest fruit on the fig tree in its first season.
But they came to (Y)Baal-peor and devoted themselves to [m](Z)shame,
And they became as (AA)detestable as that which they loved.
11 As for Ephraim, their (AB)glory will fly away like a bird—
No birth, no pregnancy, and no conception!
12 Though they bring up their children,
Yet I will bereave them of their children [n]until not a person is left.
Yes, (AC)woe to them indeed when I depart from them!
13 Ephraim, as I have seen,
Is planted in a pasture like (AD)Tyre;
But Ephraim is going to bring out his children for slaughter.
14 Give to them, Lord—what will You give?
Give them a (AE)miscarrying womb and dried-up breasts.
15 All their evil is at (AF)Gilgal;
Indeed, I came to hate them there!
Because of the (AG)wickedness of their deeds
I will drive them out of My house!
I will no longer love them;
All their leaders are (AH)rebels.
16 (AI)Ephraim is stricken, their root is dried up,
They will produce (AJ)no fruit.
Even though they give birth to children,
I will put to death the (AK)precious ones of their womb.
17 My God will reject them
Because they have (AL)not listened to Him;
And they will be (AM)wanderers among the nations.
Retribution for Israel’s Sin
10 Israel is a luxuriant (AN)vine;
He produces fruit for himself.
The more his fruit,
The more altars he (AO)made;
The [o]richer his land,
The better [p]he made the (AP)memorial stones.
2 Their heart is [q](AQ)deceitful;
Now they must suffer for their (AR)guilt.
[r]The Lord will (AS)break down their altars
And destroy their memorial stones.
3 Certainly now they will say, “We have (AT)no king,
For we do not revere the Lord.
As for the king, what can he do for us?”
4 They speak mere words,
[s]With (AU)worthless oaths they make covenants;
And (AV)judgment sprouts like poisonous weeds in the furrows of the field.
5 The inhabitants of Samaria will fear
For the [t](AW)calf of (AX)Beth-aven.
Indeed, its people will mourn for it,
And its (AY)idolatrous priests [u]will cry out over it,
Over its (AZ)glory, since it has left it.
6 The thing itself will be brought to (BA)Assyria
As a gift of tribute to [v](BB)King Jareb;
Ephraim will [w]be (BC)seized with shame,
And Israel will be ashamed of its (BD)own plan.
7 Samaria will be (BE)destroyed with her king,
Like a twig on the surface of the water.
8 Also the (BF)high places of Aven, the (BG)sin of Israel, will be destroyed;
(BH)Thorns and thistles will grow on their altars;
Then they will (BI)say to the mountains,
“Cover us!” And to the hills, “Fall on us!”
9 Since the days of Gibeah you have sinned, Israel;
There they stand!
Will the battle against the sons of injustice not overtake them in Gibeah?
10 When it is My (BJ)desire, I will [x](BK)discipline them;
And (BL)the peoples will be gathered against them
When they are bound for their double guilt.
11 Ephraim is a trained (BM)heifer that loves to thresh,
[y]And I (BN)passed over her lovely neck;
I will harness Ephraim,
Judah will plow, Jacob will [z]harrow for himself.
12 (BO)Sow for yourselves, with a view to righteousness;
Harvest in accordance with [aa]kindness.
(BP)Break up your uncultivated ground,
For it is time to (BQ)seek the Lord
Until He (BR)comes and (BS)rains righteousness on you.
13 You have (BT)plowed wickedness, you have harvested injustice,
You have eaten the fruit of (BU)lies.
Because you have trusted in your way, in your (BV)many warriors,
14 An uproar will arise among your people,
And all your (BW)fortresses will be destroyed,
As Shalman destroyed Beth-arbel on the day of battle,
When (BX)mothers were [ab]slaughtered with their children.
15 So it will be done to you at Bethel because of your great wickedness.
At dawn the king of Israel will be completely destroyed.
God Yearns over His People
11 When Israel was a youth I loved him,
And (BY)out of Egypt I (BZ)called My son.
2 The more [ac](CA)they called them,
The more they went away from [ad]them;
They kept (CB)sacrificing to the Baals
And (CC)burning incense to idols.
3 Yet it is I who taught Ephraim to walk,
[ae]I (CD)took them in My arms;
But they did not know that I (CE)healed them.
4 I (CF)pulled them along with cords of a man, with ropes of love,
And (CG)I became to them as one who lifts the yoke from their jaws;
And I bent down and (CH)fed them.
5 [af]They will not return to the land of Egypt;
But Assyria—he will be [ag]their king
Because they (CI)refused to return to Me.
6 And the (CJ)sword will whirl against [ah]their cities,
And will destroy [ai]their oracle priests
And (CK)consume them, because of their (CL)counsels.
7 So My people are determined to (CM)turn from Me.
Though [aj]they call [ak]them to the One on high,
None at all exalts Him.
8 (CN)How can I give you up, Ephraim?
How can I surrender you, Israel?
How can I [al]make you like (CO)Admah?
How can I treat you like (CP)Zeboiim?
My heart is turned over within Me,
[am]All My compassions are kindled.
9 I will (CQ)not carry out My fierce anger;
I will not destroy Ephraim (CR)again.
For (CS)I am God and not a man, the (CT)Holy One in your midst,
And I will not come in [an]wrath.
10 They will (CU)walk after the Lord,
He will (CV)roar like a lion;
Indeed He will roar,
And His sons will come (CW)trembling from the west.
11 They will come trembling like birds from (CX)Egypt,
And like (CY)doves from the land of (CZ)Assyria;
And I will (DA)settle them in their houses, declares the Lord.
12 [ao]Ephraim surrounds Me with (DB)lies
And the house of Israel with deceit;
[ap]Judah is still unruly against God,
Even against the Holy One who is faithful.
Ephraim Reminded
12 [aq]Ephraim feeds on (DC)wind,
And pursues the (DD)east wind continually;
He multiplies lies and violence.
Moreover, [ar]he makes a covenant with Assyria,
And oil is brought to Egypt.
2 The Lord also has a (DE)case against Judah,
And will punish Jacob (DF)according to his ways;
He will repay him according to his deeds.
3 In the womb he (DG)took his brother by the heel,
And in his mature strength he (DH)contended with God.
4 Yes, he wrestled with the angel and prevailed;
He wept and (DI)implored His favor.
He found Him at (DJ)Bethel,
And there He spoke with us,
5 And the Lord, the God of armies,
The Lord is His [as](DK)name.
6 So as for you, (DL)return to your God,
(DM)Maintain [at]kindness and justice,
And (DN)wait for your God continually.
7 A [au]merchant, in whose hands are fraudulent (DO)balances,
Loves to exploit.
8 And Ephraim said, “I have certainly become (DP)rich,
I have found wealth for myself;
In all my labors they will find in me
(DQ)No wrongdoing, which would be sin.”
9 But I have been the Lord your God since the land of Egypt;
I will make you (DR)live in tents again,
As in the days of the appointed festival.
10 I have also spoken to the (DS)prophets,
And I [av]provided many visions,
And through the prophets I spoke in (DT)parables.
11 Is there injustice in Gilead?
Certainly they are worthless.
In Gilgal they sacrifice bulls,
Yes, (DU)their altars are like stone heaps
Beside the furrows of a field.
12 Now (DV)Jacob fled to the [aw]land of Aram,
And (DW)Israel worked for a wife,
And for a wife he kept sheep.
13 But by a (DX)prophet the Lord brought Israel up from Egypt,
And by a prophet he was protected.
14 (DY)Ephraim has provoked God to bitter anger;
So his Lord will leave his (DZ)guilt for bloodshed on him
And bring his (EA)disgrace back to him.
Footnotes
- Hosea 9:1 Lit to
- Hosea 9:1 Lit peoples
- Hosea 9:1 Lit away from your God
- Hosea 9:1 Lit all threshing floors of grain
- Hosea 9:2 Lit her
- Hosea 9:4 Or they offer to Him their
- Hosea 9:4 Lit bread of mourning
- Hosea 9:4 Lit their soul
- Hosea 9:7 Or Israel will know this
- Hosea 9:7 Lit man of the spirit
- Hosea 9:7 Or persecution
- Hosea 9:8 Or persecution
- Hosea 9:10 I.e., Baal
- Hosea 9:12 Lit without a person
- Hosea 10:1 Lit better
- Hosea 10:1 Lit they
- Hosea 10:2 Lit slippery; or divided
- Hosea 10:2 Lit He
- Hosea 10:4 Or Swearing falsely in making a covenant
- Hosea 10:5 As in some ancient versions; MT calves
- Hosea 10:5 Or who used to rejoice over
- Hosea 10:6 Another reading is the great king; or the contentious king
- Hosea 10:6 Lit receive shame
- Hosea 10:10 Or instruct
- Hosea 10:11 Or But I put a yoke on her lovely
- Hosea 10:11 I.e., pull a harrow, a farming device
- Hosea 10:12 Or loyalty
- Hosea 10:14 Lit shattered
- Hosea 11:2 I.e., God’s prophets
- Hosea 11:2 I.e., God’s prophets
- Hosea 11:3 As in ancient versions; MT He...His
- Hosea 11:5 Lit He
- Hosea 11:5 Lit his
- Hosea 11:6 Lit his
- Hosea 11:6 Lit his
- Hosea 11:7 I.e., God’s prophets
- Hosea 11:7 Lit him; i.e., Israel
- Hosea 11:8 Lit give
- Hosea 11:8 Lit Together
- Hosea 11:9 Lit agitation
- Hosea 11:12 Ch 12:1 in Heb
- Hosea 11:12 Or But Judah still goes about with God, even with
- Hosea 12:1 Ch 12:2 in Heb
- Hosea 12:1 Lit they make
- Hosea 12:5 Lit invocation
- Hosea 12:6 Or loyalty
- Hosea 12:7 Or Canaanite
- Hosea 12:10 Lit multiplied the vision
- Hosea 12:12 Lit field
Hosea 9-12
New International Version
Hosea 9-12
New International Version
Punishment for Israel
9 Do not rejoice, Israel;
do not be jubilant(A) like the other nations.
For you have been unfaithful(B) to your God;
you love the wages of a prostitute(C)
at every threshing floor.
2 Threshing floors and winepresses will not feed the people;
the new wine(D) will fail them.
3 They will not remain(E) in the Lord’s land;
Ephraim will return to Egypt(F)
and eat unclean food in Assyria.(G)
4 They will not pour out wine offerings(H) to the Lord,
nor will their sacrifices please(I) him.
Such sacrifices will be to them like the bread of mourners;(J)
all who eat them will be unclean.(K)
This food will be for themselves;
it will not come into the temple of the Lord.(L)
5 What will you do(M) on the day of your appointed festivals,(N)
on the feast days of the Lord?
6 Even if they escape from destruction,
Egypt will gather them,(O)
and Memphis(P) will bury them.(Q)
Their treasures of silver(R) will be taken over by briers,
and thorns(S) will overrun their tents.
7 The days of punishment(T) are coming,
the days of reckoning(U) are at hand.
Let Israel know this.
Because your sins(V) are so many
and your hostility so great,
the prophet is considered a fool,(W)
the inspired person a maniac.(X)
8 The prophet, along with my God,
is the watchman over Ephraim,[a]
yet snares(Y) await him on all his paths,
and hostility in the house of his God.(Z)
9 They have sunk deep into corruption,(AA)
as in the days of Gibeah.(AB)
God will remember(AC) their wickedness
and punish them for their sins.(AD)
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(AE) on the fig(AF) tree.
But when they came to Baal Peor,(AG)
they consecrated themselves to that shameful idol(AH)
and became as vile as the thing they loved.
11 Ephraim’s glory(AI) will fly away like a bird(AJ)—
no birth, no pregnancy, no conception.(AK)
12 Even if they rear children,
I will bereave(AL) them of every one.
Woe(AM) to them
when I turn away from them!(AN)
13 I have seen Ephraim,(AO) like Tyre,
planted in a pleasant place.(AP)
But Ephraim will bring out
their children to the slayer.”(AQ)
14 Give them, Lord—
what will you give them?
Give them wombs that miscarry
and breasts that are dry.(AR)
15 “Because of all their wickedness in Gilgal,(AS)
I hated them there.
Because of their sinful deeds,(AT)
I will drive them out of my house.
I will no longer love them;(AU)
all their leaders are rebellious.(AV)
16 Ephraim(AW) is blighted,
their root is withered,
they yield no fruit.(AX)
Even if they bear children,
I will slay(AY) their cherished offspring.”
17 My God will reject(AZ) them
because they have not obeyed(BA) him;
they will be wanderers among the nations.(BB)
10 Israel was a spreading vine;(BC)
he brought forth fruit for himself.
As his fruit increased,
he built more altars;(BD)
as his land prospered,(BE)
he adorned his sacred stones.(BF)
2 Their heart is deceitful,(BG)
and now they must bear their guilt.(BH)
The Lord will demolish their altars(BI)
and destroy their sacred stones.(BJ)
3 Then 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?”
4 They make many promises,
take false oaths(BK)
and make agreements;(BL)
therefore lawsuits spring up
like poisonous weeds(BM) in a plowed field.
5 The people who live in Samaria fear
for the calf-idol(BN) of Beth Aven.[b](BO)
Its people will mourn over it,
and so will its idolatrous priests,(BP)
those who had rejoiced over its splendor,
because it is taken from them into exile.(BQ)
6 It will be carried to Assyria(BR)
as tribute(BS) for the great king.(BT)
Ephraim will be disgraced;(BU)
Israel will be ashamed(BV) of its foreign alliances.
7 Samaria’s king will be destroyed,(BW)
swept away like a twig on the surface of the waters.
8 The high places(BX) of wickedness[c](BY) will be destroyed—
it is the sin of Israel.
Thorns(BZ) and thistles will grow up
and cover their altars.(CA)
Then they will say to the mountains, “Cover us!”(CB)
and to the hills, “Fall on us!”(CC)
9 “Since the days of Gibeah,(CD) you have sinned,(CE) Israel,
and there you have remained.[d]
Will not war again overtake
the evildoers in Gibeah?
10 When I please, I will punish(CF) them;
nations will be gathered against them
to put them in bonds for their double sin.
11 Ephraim is a trained heifer
that loves to thresh;
so I will put a yoke(CG)
on her fair neck.
I will drive Ephraim,
Judah must plow,
and Jacob must break up the ground.
12 Sow(CH) righteousness(CI) for yourselves,
reap the fruit of unfailing love,
and break up your unplowed ground;(CJ)
for it is time to seek(CK) the Lord,
until he comes
and showers his righteousness(CL) on you.
13 But you have planted wickedness,
you have reaped evil,(CM)
you have eaten the fruit of deception.(CN)
Because you have depended on your own strength
and on your many warriors,(CO)
14 the roar of battle will rise against your people,
so that all your fortresses will be devastated(CP)—
as Shalman(CQ) devastated Beth Arbel on the day of battle,
when mothers were dashed to the ground with their children.(CR)
15 So will it happen to you, Bethel,
because your wickedness is great.
When that day dawns,
the king of Israel will be completely destroyed.(CS)
God’s Love for Israel
11 “When Israel was a child,(CT) I loved(CU) him,
and out of Egypt I called my son.(CV)
2 But the more they were called,
the more they went away from me.[e](CW)
They sacrificed to the Baals(CX)
and they burned incense to images.(CY)
3 It was I who taught Ephraim to walk,
taking them by the arms;(CZ)
but they did not realize
it was I who healed(DA) them.
4 I led them with cords of human kindness,
with ties of love.(DB)
To them I was like one who lifts
a little child to the cheek,
and I bent down to feed(DC) them.(DD)
5 “Will they not return to Egypt(DE)
and will not Assyria(DF) rule over them
because they refuse to repent?(DG)
6 A sword(DH) will flash in their cities;
it will devour(DI) their false prophets
and put an end to their plans.
7 My people are determined to turn(DJ) from me.(DK)
Even though they call me God Most High,
I will by no means exalt them.
8 “How can I give you up,(DL) Ephraim?(DM)
How can I hand you over, Israel?
How can I treat you like Admah?
How can I make you like Zeboyim?(DN)
My heart is changed within me;
all my compassion(DO) is aroused.(DP)
9 I will not carry out my fierce anger,(DQ)
nor will I devastate(DR) Ephraim again.
For I am God, and not a man(DS)—
the Holy One(DT) among you.
I will not come against their cities.
10 They will follow the Lord;
he will roar(DU) like a lion.(DV)
When he roars,
his children will come trembling(DW) from the west.(DX)
11 They will come from Egypt,
trembling like sparrows,
from Assyria,(DY) fluttering like doves.(DZ)
I will settle them in their homes,”(EA)
declares the Lord.
Israel’s Sin
12 Ephraim has surrounded me with lies,(EB)
Israel with deceit.
And Judah is unruly against God,
even against the faithful(EC) Holy One.[f](ED)
12 [g]1 Ephraim(EE) feeds on the wind;(EF)
he pursues the east wind all day
and multiplies lies and violence.(EG)
He makes a treaty with Assyria(EH)
and sends olive oil to Egypt.(EI)
2 The Lord has a charge(EJ) to bring against Judah;(EK)
he will punish(EL) Jacob[h] according to his ways
and repay him according to his deeds.(EM)
3 In the womb he grasped his brother’s heel;(EN)
as a man he struggled(EO) with God.
4 He struggled with the angel and overcame him;
he wept and begged for his favor.
He found him at Bethel(EP)
and talked with him there—
5 the Lord God Almighty,
the Lord is his name!(EQ)
6 But you must return(ER) to your God;
maintain love and justice,(ES)
and wait for your God always.(ET)
7 The merchant uses dishonest scales(EU)
and loves to defraud.
8 Ephraim boasts,(EV)
“I am very rich; I have become wealthy.(EW)
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;(EX)
I will make you live in tents(EY) again,
as in the days of your appointed festivals.
10 I spoke to the prophets,
gave them many visions
and told parables(EZ) through them.”(FA)
11 Is Gilead wicked?(FB)
Its people are worthless!
Do they sacrifice bulls in Gilgal?(FC)
Their altars will be like piles of stones
on a plowed field.(FD)
12 Jacob fled to the country of Aram[i];(FE)
Israel served to get a wife,
and to pay for her he tended sheep.(FF)
13 The Lord used a prophet to bring Israel up from Egypt,(FG)
by a prophet he cared for him.(FH)
14 But Ephraim has aroused his bitter anger;
his Lord will leave on him the guilt of his bloodshed(FI)
and will repay him for his contempt.(FJ)
Footnotes
- Hosea 9:8 Or The prophet is the watchman over Ephraim, / the people of my God
- Hosea 10:5 Beth Aven means house of wickedness (a derogatory name for Bethel, which means house of God).
- Hosea 10:8 Hebrew aven, a reference to Beth Aven (a derogatory name for Bethel); see verse 5.
- Hosea 10:9 Or there a stand was taken
- 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
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