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Hosea 10-14
New International Version
Hosea 10-14
New International Version
10 Israel was a spreading vine;(A)
he brought forth fruit for himself.
As his fruit increased,
he built more altars;(B)
as his land prospered,(C)
he adorned his sacred stones.(D)
2 Their heart is deceitful,(E)
and now they must bear their guilt.(F)
The Lord will demolish their altars(G)
and destroy their sacred stones.(H)
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(I)
and make agreements;(J)
therefore lawsuits spring up
like poisonous weeds(K) in a plowed field.
5 The people who live in Samaria fear
for the calf-idol(L) of Beth Aven.[a](M)
Its people will mourn over it,
and so will its idolatrous priests,(N)
those who had rejoiced over its splendor,
because it is taken from them into exile.(O)
6 It will be carried to Assyria(P)
as tribute(Q) for the great king.(R)
Ephraim will be disgraced;(S)
Israel will be ashamed(T) of its foreign alliances.
7 Samaria’s king will be destroyed,(U)
swept away like a twig on the surface of the waters.
8 The high places(V) of wickedness[b](W) will be destroyed—
it is the sin of Israel.
Thorns(X) and thistles will grow up
and cover their altars.(Y)
Then they will say to the mountains, “Cover us!”(Z)
and to the hills, “Fall on us!”(AA)
9 “Since the days of Gibeah,(AB) you have sinned,(AC) Israel,
and there you have remained.[c]
Will not war again overtake
the evildoers in Gibeah?
10 When I please, I will punish(AD) 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(AE)
on her fair neck.
I will drive Ephraim,
Judah must plow,
and Jacob must break up the ground.
12 Sow(AF) righteousness(AG) for yourselves,
reap the fruit of unfailing love,
and break up your unplowed ground;(AH)
for it is time to seek(AI) the Lord,
until he comes
and showers his righteousness(AJ) on you.
13 But you have planted wickedness,
you have reaped evil,(AK)
you have eaten the fruit of deception.(AL)
Because you have depended on your own strength
and on your many warriors,(AM)
14 the roar of battle will rise against your people,
so that all your fortresses will be devastated(AN)—
as Shalman(AO) devastated Beth Arbel on the day of battle,
when mothers were dashed to the ground with their children.(AP)
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.(AQ)
God’s Love for Israel
11 “When Israel was a child,(AR) I loved(AS) him,
and out of Egypt I called my son.(AT)
2 But the more they were called,
the more they went away from me.[d](AU)
They sacrificed to the Baals(AV)
and they burned incense to images.(AW)
3 It was I who taught Ephraim to walk,
taking them by the arms;(AX)
but they did not realize
it was I who healed(AY) them.
4 I led them with cords of human kindness,
with ties of love.(AZ)
To them I was like one who lifts
a little child to the cheek,
and I bent down to feed(BA) them.(BB)
5 “Will they not return to Egypt(BC)
and will not Assyria(BD) rule over them
because they refuse to repent?(BE)
6 A sword(BF) will flash in their cities;
it will devour(BG) their false prophets
and put an end to their plans.
7 My people are determined to turn(BH) from me.(BI)
Even though they call me God Most High,
I will by no means exalt them.
8 “How can I give you up,(BJ) Ephraim?(BK)
How can I hand you over, Israel?
How can I treat you like Admah?
How can I make you like Zeboyim?(BL)
My heart is changed within me;
all my compassion(BM) is aroused.(BN)
9 I will not carry out my fierce anger,(BO)
nor will I devastate(BP) Ephraim again.
For I am God, and not a man(BQ)—
the Holy One(BR) among you.
I will not come against their cities.
10 They will follow the Lord;
he will roar(BS) like a lion.(BT)
When he roars,
his children will come trembling(BU) from the west.(BV)
11 They will come from Egypt,
trembling like sparrows,
from Assyria,(BW) fluttering like doves.(BX)
I will settle them in their homes,”(BY)
declares the Lord.
Israel’s Sin
12 Ephraim has surrounded me with lies,(BZ)
Israel with deceit.
And Judah is unruly against God,
even against the faithful(CA) Holy One.[e](CB)
12 [f]1 Ephraim(CC) feeds on the wind;(CD)
he pursues the east wind all day
and multiplies lies and violence.(CE)
He makes a treaty with Assyria(CF)
and sends olive oil to Egypt.(CG)
2 The Lord has a charge(CH) to bring against Judah;(CI)
he will punish(CJ) Jacob[g] according to his ways
and repay him according to his deeds.(CK)
3 In the womb he grasped his brother’s heel;(CL)
as a man he struggled(CM) with God.
4 He struggled with the angel and overcame him;
he wept and begged for his favor.
He found him at Bethel(CN)
and talked with him there—
5 the Lord God Almighty,
the Lord is his name!(CO)
6 But you must return(CP) to your God;
maintain love and justice,(CQ)
and wait for your God always.(CR)
7 The merchant uses dishonest scales(CS)
and loves to defraud.
8 Ephraim boasts,(CT)
“I am very rich; I have become wealthy.(CU)
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;(CV)
I will make you live in tents(CW) again,
as in the days of your appointed festivals.
10 I spoke to the prophets,
gave them many visions
and told parables(CX) through them.”(CY)
11 Is Gilead wicked?(CZ)
Its people are worthless!
Do they sacrifice bulls in Gilgal?(DA)
Their altars will be like piles of stones
on a plowed field.(DB)
12 Jacob fled to the country of Aram[h];(DC)
Israel served to get a wife,
and to pay for her he tended sheep.(DD)
13 The Lord used a prophet to bring Israel up from Egypt,(DE)
by a prophet he cared for him.(DF)
14 But Ephraim has aroused his bitter anger;
his Lord will leave on him the guilt of his bloodshed(DG)
and will repay him for his contempt.(DH)
The Lord’s Anger Against Israel
13 When Ephraim spoke, people trembled;(DI)
he was exalted(DJ) in Israel.
But he became guilty of Baal worship(DK) and died.
2 Now they sin more and more;
they make(DL) idols for themselves from their silver,(DM)
cleverly fashioned images,
all of them the work of craftsmen.(DN)
It is said of these people,
“They offer human sacrifices!
They kiss[i](DO) calf-idols!(DP)”
3 Therefore they will be like the morning mist,
like the early dew that disappears,(DQ)
like chaff(DR) swirling from a threshing floor,(DS)
like smoke(DT) escaping through a window.
4 “But I have been the Lord your God
ever since you came out of Egypt.(DU)
You shall acknowledge(DV) no God but me,(DW)
no Savior(DX) except me.
5 I cared for you in the wilderness,(DY)
in the land of burning heat.
6 When I fed them, they were satisfied;
when they were satisfied, they became proud;(DZ)
then they forgot(EA) me.(EB)
7 So I will be like a lion(EC) to them,
like a leopard I will lurk by the path.
8 Like a bear robbed of her cubs,(ED)
I will attack them and rip them open;
like a lion(EE) I will devour them—
a wild animal will tear them apart.(EF)
9 “You are destroyed, Israel,
because you are against me,(EG) against your helper.(EH)
10 Where is your king,(EI) that he may save you?
Where are your rulers in all your towns,
of whom you said,
‘Give me a king and princes’?(EJ)
11 So in my anger I gave you a king,(EK)
and in my wrath I took him away.(EL)
12 The guilt of Ephraim is stored up,
his sins are kept on record.(EM)
13 Pains as of a woman in childbirth(EN) come to him,
but he is a child without wisdom;
when the time(EO) arrives,
he doesn’t have the sense to come out of the womb.(EP)
14 “I will deliver this people from the power of the grave;(EQ)
I will redeem them from death.(ER)
Where, O death, are your plagues?
Where, O grave, is your destruction?(ES)
“I will have no compassion,
15 even though he thrives(ET) among his brothers.
An east wind(EU) from the Lord will come,
blowing in from the desert;
his spring will fail
and his well dry up.(EV)
His storehouse will be plundered(EW)
of all its treasures.
16 The people of Samaria(EX) must bear their guilt,(EY)
because they have rebelled(EZ) against their God.
They will fall by the sword;(FA)
their little ones will be dashed(FB) to the ground,
their pregnant women(FC) ripped open.”[j]
Repentance to Bring Blessing
14 [k]Return,(FD) Israel, to the Lord your God.
Your sins(FE) have been your downfall!(FF)
2 Take words with you
and return to the Lord.
Say to him:
“Forgive(FG) all our sins
and receive us graciously,(FH)
that we may offer the fruit of our lips.[l](FI)
3 Assyria cannot save us;(FJ)
we will not mount warhorses.(FK)
We will never again say ‘Our gods’(FL)
to what our own hands have made,(FM)
for in you the fatherless(FN) find compassion.”
4 “I will heal(FO) their waywardness(FP)
and love them freely,(FQ)
for my anger has turned away(FR) from them.
5 I will be like the dew(FS) to Israel;
he will blossom like a lily.(FT)
Like a cedar of Lebanon(FU)
he will send down his roots;(FV)
6 his young shoots will grow.
His splendor will be like an olive tree,(FW)
his fragrance like a cedar of Lebanon.(FX)
7 People will dwell again in his shade;(FY)
they will flourish like the grain,
they will blossom(FZ) like the vine—
Israel’s fame will be like the wine(GA) of Lebanon.(GB)
8 Ephraim, what more have I[m] to do with idols?(GC)
I will answer him and care for him.
I am like a flourishing juniper;(GD)
your fruitfulness comes from me.”
Footnotes
- 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
- 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 10-14
New King James Version
Hosea 10-14
New King James Version
Israel’s Sin and Captivity
10 Israel (A)empties his vine;
He brings forth fruit for himself.
According to the multitude of his fruit
(B)He has increased the altars;
According to the bounty of his land
They have embellished his sacred pillars.
2 Their heart is (C)divided;[a]
Now they are held guilty.
He will break down their altars;
He will ruin their sacred pillars.
3 For now they say,
“We have no king,
Because we did not fear the Lord.
And as for a king, what would he do for us?”
4 They have spoken words,
Swearing falsely in making a covenant.
Thus judgment springs up (D)like hemlock in the furrows of the field.
5 The inhabitants of Samaria fear
Because of the (E)calf[b] of Beth Aven.
For its people mourn for it,
And [c]its priests shriek for it—
Because its (F)glory has departed from it.
6 The idol also shall be carried to Assyria
As a present for King (G)Jareb.
Ephraim shall receive shame,
And Israel shall be ashamed of his own counsel.
7 As for Samaria, her king is cut off
Like a twig on the water.
8 Also the (H)high places of [d]Aven, (I)the sin of Israel,
Shall be destroyed.
The thorn and thistle shall grow on their altars;
(J)They shall say to the mountains, “Cover us!”
And to the hills, “Fall on us!”
9 “O Israel, you have sinned from the days of (K)Gibeah;
There they stood.
The (L)battle in Gibeah against the children of [e]iniquity
Did not [f]overtake them.
10 When it is My desire, I will chasten them.
(M)Peoples shall be gathered against them
When I bind them [g]for their two transgressions.
11 Ephraim is (N)a trained heifer
That loves to thresh grain;
But I harnessed her fair neck,
I will make Ephraim [h]pull a plow.
Judah shall plow;
Jacob shall break his clods.”
12 Sow for yourselves righteousness;
Reap in mercy;
(O)Break up your fallow ground,
For it is time to seek the Lord,
Till He (P)comes and rains righteousness on you.
13 (Q)You have plowed wickedness;
You have reaped iniquity.
You have eaten the fruit of lies,
Because you trusted in your own way,
In the multitude of your mighty men.
14 Therefore tumult shall arise among your people,
And all your fortresses shall be plundered
As Shalman plundered Beth Arbel in the day of battle—
A mother dashed in pieces upon her children.
15 Thus it shall be done to you, O Bethel,
Because of your great wickedness.
At dawn the king of Israel
Shall be cut off utterly.
God’s Continuing Love for Israel
11 “When Israel was a [i]child, I loved him,
And out of Egypt (R)I called My (S)son.
2 [j]As they called them,
So they (T)went [k]from them;
They sacrificed to the Baals,
And burned incense to carved images.
3 “I(U) taught Ephraim to walk,
Taking them by [l]their arms;
But they did not know that (V)I healed them.
4 I drew them with [m]gentle cords,
With bands of love,
And (W)I was to them as those who take the yoke from their [n]neck.
(X)I stooped and fed them.
5 “He shall not return to the land of Egypt;
But the Assyrian shall be his king,
Because they refused to repent.
6 And the sword shall slash in his cities,
Devour his districts,
And consume them,
Because of their own counsels.
7 My people are bent on (Y)backsliding from Me.
Though [o]they call [p]to the Most High,
None at all exalt Him.
8 “How(Z) can I give you up, Ephraim?
How can I hand you over, Israel?
How can I make you like (AA)Admah?
How can I set you like Zeboiim?
My heart [q]churns within Me;
My sympathy is stirred.
9 I will not execute the fierceness of My anger;
I will not again destroy Ephraim.
(AB)For I am God, and not man,
The Holy One in your midst;
And I will not [r]come with terror.
10 “They shall walk after the Lord.
(AC)He will roar like a lion.
When He roars,
Then His sons shall come trembling from the west;
11 They shall come trembling like a bird from Egypt,
(AD)Like a dove from the land of Assyria.
(AE)And I will let them dwell in their houses,”
Says the Lord.
God’s Charge Against Ephraim
12 “Ephraim has encircled Me with lies,
And the house of Israel with deceit;
But Judah still walks with God,
Even with the [s]Holy One who is faithful.
Ephraim’s Sins Rebuked by God
12 “Ephraim (AF)feeds on the wind,
And pursues the east wind;
He daily increases lies and [t]desolation.
(AG)Also they make a [u]covenant with the Assyrians,
And (AH)oil is carried to Egypt.
2 “The(AI) Lord also brings a [v]charge against Judah,
And will punish Jacob according to his ways;
According to his deeds He will recompense him.
3 He took his brother (AJ)by the heel in the womb,
And in his strength he (AK)struggled with God.
4 Yes, he struggled with the Angel and prevailed;
He wept, and sought favor from Him.
He found Him in (AL)Bethel,
And there He spoke to us—
5 That is, the Lord God of hosts.
The Lord is His (AM)memorable name.
6 (AN)So you, by the help of your God, return;
Observe mercy and justice,
And wait on your God continually.
7 “A cunning [w]Canaanite!
(AO)Deceitful scales are in his hand;
He loves to oppress.
8 And Ephraim said,
(AP)‘Surely I have become rich,
I have found wealth for myself;
In all my labors
They shall find in me no iniquity that is sin.’
9 “But I am the Lord your God,
Ever since the land of Egypt;
(AQ)I will again make you dwell in tents,
As in the days of the appointed feast.
10 (AR)I have also spoken by the prophets,
And have multiplied visions;
I have given [x]symbols [y]through the witness of the prophets.”
11 Though (AS)Gilead has idols—
Surely they are [z]vanity—
Though they sacrifice bulls in (AT)Gilgal,
Indeed their altars shall be heaps in the furrows of the field.
12 Jacob (AU)fled to the country of Syria;
(AV)Israel served for a spouse,
And for a wife he tended sheep.
13 (AW)By a prophet the Lord brought Israel out of Egypt,
And by a prophet he was preserved.
14 Ephraim (AX)provoked Him to anger most bitterly;
Therefore his Lord will leave the guilt of his bloodshed upon him,
(AY)And return his reproach upon him.
Relentless Judgment on Israel
13 When Ephraim spoke, trembling,
He exalted himself in Israel;
But when he offended through Baal worship, he died.
2 Now they sin more and more,
And have made for themselves molded images,
Idols of their silver, according to their skill;
All of it is the work of craftsmen.
They say of them,
“Let [aa]the men who sacrifice [ab]kiss the calves!”
3 Therefore they shall be like the morning cloud
And like the early dew that passes away,
(AZ)Like chaff blown off from a threshing floor
And like smoke from a chimney.
4 “Yet (BA)I am the Lord your God
Ever since the land of Egypt,
And you shall know no God but Me;
For (BB)there is no savior besides Me.
5 (BC)I [ac]knew you in the wilderness,
(BD)In the land of [ad]great drought.
6 (BE)When they had pasture, they were filled;
They were filled and their heart was exalted;
Therefore they forgot Me.
7 “So (BF)I will be to them like a lion;
Like (BG)a leopard by the road I will lurk;
8 I will meet them (BH)like a bear deprived of her cubs;
I will tear open their rib cage,
And there I will devour them like a lion.
The [ae]wild beast shall tear them.
9 “O Israel, [af]you are destroyed,
But [ag]your help is from Me.
10 [ah]I will be your King;
(BI)Where is any other,
That he may save you in all your cities?
And your judges to whom (BJ)you said,
‘Give me a king and princes’?
11 (BK)I gave you a king in My anger,
And took him away in My wrath.
12 “The(BL) iniquity of Ephraim is bound up;
His sin is stored up.
13 (BM)The sorrows of a woman in childbirth shall come upon him.
He is an unwise son,
For he should not stay long where children are born.
14 “I will ransom them from the [ai]power of [aj]the grave;
I will redeem them from death.
(BN)O Death, [ak]I will be your plagues!
O [al]Grave, [am]I will be your destruction!
(BO)Pity is hidden from My eyes.”
15 Though he is fruitful among his brethren,
(BP)An east wind shall come;
The wind of the Lord shall come up from the wilderness.
Then his spring shall become dry,
And his fountain shall be dried up.
He shall plunder the treasury of every desirable prize.
16 Samaria [an]is held guilty,
For she has (BQ)rebelled against her God.
They shall fall by the sword,
Their infants shall be dashed in pieces,
And their women with child (BR)ripped open.
Israel Restored at Last
14 O Israel, (BS)return to the Lord your God,
For you have stumbled because of your iniquity;
2 Take words with you,
And return to the Lord.
Say to Him,
“Take away all iniquity;
Receive us graciously,
For we will offer the (BT)sacrifices[ao] of our lips.
3 Assyria shall (BU)not save us,
(BV)We will not ride on horses,
Nor will we say anymore to the work of our hands, ‘You are our gods.’
(BW)For in You the fatherless finds mercy.”
4 “I will heal their (BX)backsliding,
I will (BY)love them freely,
For My anger has turned away from him.
5 I will be like the (BZ)dew to Israel;
He shall [ap]grow like the lily,
And [aq]lengthen his roots like Lebanon.
6 His branches shall [ar]spread;
(CA)His beauty shall be like an olive tree,
And (CB)his fragrance like Lebanon.
7 (CC)Those who dwell under his shadow shall return;
They shall be revived like grain,
And [as]grow like a vine.
Their [at]scent shall be like the wine of Lebanon.
8 “Ephraim shall say, ‘What have I to do anymore with idols?’
I have heard and observed him.
I am like a green cypress tree;
(CD)Your fruit is found in Me.”
9 Who is wise?
Let him understand these things.
Who is prudent?
Let him know them.
For (CE)the ways of the Lord are right;
The righteous walk in them,
But transgressors stumble in them.
Footnotes
- Hosea 10:2 Divided in loyalty
- Hosea 10:5 Lit. calves, images
- Hosea 10:5 idolatrous priests
- Hosea 10:8 Lit. Idolatry or Wickedness
- Hosea 10:9 So with many Heb. mss., LXX, Vg.; MT unruliness
- Hosea 10:9 Or overcome
- Hosea 10:10 Or in their two habitations
- Hosea 10:11 Lit. to ride
- Hosea 11:1 Or youth
- Hosea 11:2 So with MT, Vg.; LXX Just as I called them; Tg. interprets as I sent prophets to a thousand of them.
- Hosea 11:2 So with MT, Tg., Vg.; LXX from My face
- Hosea 11:3 Some Heb. mss., LXX, Syr., Vg. My arms
- Hosea 11:4 Lit. cords of a man
- Hosea 11:4 Lit. jaws
- Hosea 11:7 The prophets
- Hosea 11:7 Or upward
- Hosea 11:8 Lit. turns over
- Hosea 11:9 Or enter a city
- Hosea 11:12 Or holy ones
- Hosea 12:1 ruin
- Hosea 12:1 Or treaty
- Hosea 12:2 A legal complaint
- Hosea 12:7 Or merchant
- Hosea 12:10 Or parables
- Hosea 12:10 Lit. by the hand
- Hosea 12:11 worthless
- Hosea 13:2 Or those who offer human sacrifice
- Hosea 13:2 Worship with kisses
- Hosea 13:5 Cared for you
- Hosea 13:5 Lit. droughts
- Hosea 13:8 Lit. beast of the field
- Hosea 13:9 Lit. it or he destroyed you
- Hosea 13:9 Lit. in your help
- Hosea 13:10 LXX, Syr., Tg., Vg. Where is your king?
- Hosea 13:14 Lit. hand
- Hosea 13:14 Or Sheol
- Hosea 13:14 LXX where is your punishment?
- Hosea 13:14 Or Sheol
- Hosea 13:14 LXX where is your sting?
- Hosea 13:16 LXX shall be disfigured
- Hosea 14:2 Lit. bull calves; LXX fruit
- Hosea 14:5 Lit. bud or sprout
- Hosea 14:5 Lit. strike
- Hosea 14:6 Lit. go
- Hosea 14:7 Lit. bud or sprout
- Hosea 14:7 Lit. remembrance
Hosea 10-14
New American Standard Bible
Hosea 10-14
New American Standard Bible
Retribution for Israel’s Sin
10 Israel is a luxuriant (A)vine;
He produces fruit for himself.
The more his fruit,
The more altars he (B)made;
The [a]richer his land,
The better [b]he made the (C)memorial stones.
2 Their heart is [c](D)deceitful;
Now they must suffer for their (E)guilt.
[d]The Lord will (F)break down their altars
And destroy their memorial stones.
3 Certainly now they will say, “We have (G)no king,
For we do not revere the Lord.
As for the king, what can he do for us?”
4 They speak mere words,
[e]With (H)worthless oaths they make covenants;
And (I)judgment sprouts like poisonous weeds in the furrows of the field.
5 The inhabitants of Samaria will fear
For the [f](J)calf of (K)Beth-aven.
Indeed, its people will mourn for it,
And its (L)idolatrous priests [g]will cry out over it,
Over its (M)glory, since it has left it.
6 The thing itself will be brought to (N)Assyria
As a gift of tribute to [h](O)King Jareb;
Ephraim will [i]be (P)seized with shame,
And Israel will be ashamed of its (Q)own plan.
7 Samaria will be (R)destroyed with her king,
Like a twig on the surface of the water.
8 Also the (S)high places of Aven, the (T)sin of Israel, will be destroyed;
(U)Thorns and thistles will grow on their altars;
Then they will (V)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 (W)desire, I will [j](X)discipline them;
And (Y)the peoples will be gathered against them
When they are bound for their double guilt.
11 Ephraim is a trained (Z)heifer that loves to thresh,
[k]And I (AA)passed over her lovely neck;
I will harness Ephraim,
Judah will plow, Jacob will [l]harrow for himself.
12 (AB)Sow for yourselves, with a view to righteousness;
Harvest in accordance with [m]kindness.
(AC)Break up your uncultivated ground,
For it is time to (AD)seek the Lord
Until He (AE)comes and (AF)rains righteousness on you.
13 You have (AG)plowed wickedness, you have harvested injustice,
You have eaten the fruit of (AH)lies.
Because you have trusted in your way, in your (AI)many warriors,
14 An uproar will arise among your people,
And all your (AJ)fortresses will be destroyed,
As Shalman destroyed Beth-arbel on the day of battle,
When (AK)mothers were [n]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 (AL)out of Egypt I (AM)called My son.
2 The more [o](AN)they called them,
The more they went away from [p]them;
They kept (AO)sacrificing to the Baals
And (AP)burning incense to idols.
3 Yet it is I who taught Ephraim to walk,
[q]I (AQ)took them in My arms;
But they did not know that I (AR)healed them.
4 I (AS)pulled them along with cords of a man, with ropes of love,
And (AT)I became to them as one who lifts the yoke from their jaws;
And I bent down and (AU)fed them.
5 [r]They will not return to the land of Egypt;
But Assyria—he will be [s]their king
Because they (AV)refused to return to Me.
6 And the (AW)sword will whirl against [t]their cities,
And will destroy [u]their oracle priests
And (AX)consume them, because of their (AY)counsels.
7 So My people are determined to (AZ)turn from Me.
Though [v]they call [w]them to the One on high,
None at all exalts Him.
8 (BA)How can I give you up, Ephraim?
How can I surrender you, Israel?
How can I [x]make you like (BB)Admah?
How can I treat you like (BC)Zeboiim?
My heart is turned over within Me,
[y]All My compassions are kindled.
9 I will (BD)not carry out My fierce anger;
I will not destroy Ephraim (BE)again.
For (BF)I am God and not a man, the (BG)Holy One in your midst,
And I will not come in [z]wrath.
10 They will (BH)walk after the Lord,
He will (BI)roar like a lion;
Indeed He will roar,
And His sons will come (BJ)trembling from the west.
11 They will come trembling like birds from (BK)Egypt,
And like (BL)doves from the land of (BM)Assyria;
And I will (BN)settle them in their houses, declares the Lord.
12 [aa]Ephraim surrounds Me with (BO)lies
And the house of Israel with deceit;
[ab]Judah is still unruly against God,
Even against the Holy One who is faithful.
Ephraim Reminded
12 [ac]Ephraim feeds on (BP)wind,
And pursues the (BQ)east wind continually;
He multiplies lies and violence.
Moreover, [ad]he makes a covenant with Assyria,
And oil is brought to Egypt.
2 The Lord also has a (BR)case against Judah,
And will punish Jacob (BS)according to his ways;
He will repay him according to his deeds.
3 In the womb he (BT)took his brother by the heel,
And in his mature strength he (BU)contended with God.
4 Yes, he wrestled with the angel and prevailed;
He wept and (BV)implored His favor.
He found Him at (BW)Bethel,
And there He spoke with us,
5 And the Lord, the God of armies,
The Lord is His [ae](BX)name.
6 So as for you, (BY)return to your God,
(BZ)Maintain [af]kindness and justice,
And (CA)wait for your God continually.
7 A [ag]merchant, in whose hands are fraudulent (CB)balances,
Loves to exploit.
8 And Ephraim said, “I have certainly become (CC)rich,
I have found wealth for myself;
In all my labors they will find in me
(CD)No wrongdoing, which would be sin.”
9 But I have been the Lord your God since the land of Egypt;
I will make you (CE)live in tents again,
As in the days of the appointed festival.
10 I have also spoken to the (CF)prophets,
And I [ah]provided many visions,
And through the prophets I spoke in (CG)parables.
11 Is there injustice in Gilead?
Certainly they are worthless.
In Gilgal they sacrifice bulls,
Yes, (CH)their altars are like stone heaps
Beside the furrows of a field.
12 Now (CI)Jacob fled to the [ai]land of Aram,
And (CJ)Israel worked for a wife,
And for a wife he kept sheep.
13 But by a (CK)prophet the Lord brought Israel up from Egypt,
And by a prophet he was protected.
14 (CL)Ephraim has provoked God to bitter anger;
So his Lord will leave his (CM)guilt for bloodshed on him
And bring his (CN)disgrace back to him.
Ephraim’s Idolatry
13 (CO)When Ephraim [aj]spoke, there was trembling.
He (CP)exalted himself in Israel,
But through (CQ)Baal he incurred guilt and died.
2 And now they sin more and more,
And make for themselves (CR)cast metal images,
Idols [ak](CS)skillfully made from their silver,
All of them the (CT)work of craftsmen.
They say of them, “Let the [al]people who sacrifice kiss the (CU)calves!”
3 Therefore they will be like the (CV)morning cloud
And like dew which [am]soon disappears,
Like (CW)chaff which is blown away from the threshing floor,
And like (CX)smoke from a chimney.
4 Yet I have been the (CY)Lord your God
Since the land of Egypt;
And you were not to know (CZ)any god except Me,
For there is no savior (DA)besides Me.
5 I [an](DB)cared for you in the wilderness,
(DC)In the land of drought.
6 As they had their pasture, they became (DD)satisfied,
And as they became satisfied, their (DE)heart became proud;
Therefore they (DF)forgot Me.
7 So I will be (DG)like a lion to them;
Like a (DH)leopard I will [ao]lie in wait by the wayside.
8 I will confront them (DI)like a bear deprived of her cubs,
And I will tear open [ap]their chests;
I will also (DJ)devour them there like a lioness,
As a wild animal would tear them to pieces.
9 [aq]It is to your own destruction, Israel,
That you are (DK)against Me, against your (DL)help.
10 Where then is your (DM)king,
That he might save you in all your cities;
And your (DN)judges, to whom you said,
“Give me a king and princes”?
11 I (DO)gave you a king in My anger,
And (DP)took him away in My wrath.
12 The guilt of Ephraim is wrapped up;
His sin is (DQ)stored up.
13 The pains of (DR)childbirth come on him;
He is (DS)not a wise son,
For [ar]it is not the time that he should (DT)delay at the opening of the womb.
14 Shall I (DU)ransom them from the [as]power of Sheol?
Shall I redeem them from death?
(DV)Death, where are your [at]thorns?
Sheol, where is your sting?
(DW)Compassion will be hidden from My sight.
15 Though he (DX)flourishes among the [au]reeds,
An (DY)east wind will come,
The wind of the Lord coming up from the wilderness;
And his fountain will (DZ)become dry
And his spring will dry up;
It will (EA)plunder his treasury of every precious article.
16 [av]Samaria will pay the penalty for her (EB)guilt,
Because she has (EC)rebelled against her God.
(ED)They will fall by the (EE)sword,
Their children will be [aw](EF)slaughtered,
And their pregnant (EG)women will be ripped open.
Israel’s Future Blessing
14 [ax](EH)Return, Israel, to the Lord your God,
For you have stumbled [ay]because of your (EI)wrongdoing.
2 Take words with you and return to the Lord.
Say to Him, “(EJ)Take away all guilt
And [az]receive us graciously,
So that we may (EK)present [ba]the fruit of our lips.
3 Assyria will not save us,
We will (EL)not ride on horses;
Nor will we say again, ‘(EM)Our god’
To the (EN)work of our hands;
For in (EO)You the [bb]orphan finds mercy.”
4 I will (EP)heal their apostasy,
I will (EQ)love them freely,
Because My anger has (ER)turned away from them.
5 I will be like the (ES)dew to Israel;
He will blossom like the (ET)lily,
And he will [bc]take root like the cedars of (EU)Lebanon.
6 His shoots will [bd]sprout,
His [be]majesty will be like the (EV)olive tree,
And his fragrance like the cedars of (EW)Lebanon.
7 Those who (EX)live in his shadow
Will [bf]again raise (EY)grain,
And they will blossom like the vine.
His fame will be like the wine of Lebanon.
8 Ephraim, what more have I to do with (EZ)idols?
It is I who answer and look after [bg]you.
I am like a luxuriant (FA)juniper;
From (FB)Me [bh]comes your fruit.
9 (FC)Whoever is wise, let him understand these things;
Whoever is discerning, let him know them.
For the (FD)ways of the Lord are right,
And the (FE)righteous will walk in them,
But (FF)wrongdoers will stumble in them.
Footnotes
- 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 13:1 Or spoke with trembling, he exalted
- Hosea 13:2 Or according to their skill
- Hosea 13:2 Lit sacrificers of; or among mankind
- Hosea 13:3 Lit goes away early
- Hosea 13:5 Or knew
- Hosea 13:7 Or watch
- Hosea 13:8 Lit the enclosure of their heart
- Hosea 13:9 Lit It has destroyed you
- Hosea 13:13 Lit it is the time that he should not remain at the opening of children
- Hosea 13:14 Lit hand
- Hosea 13:14 Or stings
- Hosea 13:15 Another reading is brothers
- Hosea 13:16 Ch 14:1 in Heb
- Hosea 13:16 Lit shattered
- Hosea 14:1 Ch 14:2 in Heb
- Hosea 14:1 Or in
- Hosea 14:2 Or accept that which is good
- Hosea 14:2 As in ancient versions; MT our lips as bulls
- Hosea 14:3 Or fatherless
- Hosea 14:5 Lit strike his roots
- Hosea 14:6 Lit go
- Hosea 14:6 Lit splendor
- Hosea 14:7 Or return, they will raise grain
- Hosea 14:8 Lit him
- Hosea 14:8 Lit is found
Hosea 10-14
New Living Translation
Hosea 10-14
New Living Translation
The Lord’s Judgment against Israel
10 How prosperous Israel is—
a luxuriant vine loaded with fruit.
But the richer the people get,
the more pagan altars they build.
The more bountiful their harvests,
the more beautiful their sacred pillars.
2 The hearts of the people are fickle;
they are guilty and must be punished.
The Lord will break down their altars
and smash their sacred pillars.
3 Then they will say, “We have no king
because we didn’t fear the Lord.
But even if we had a king,
what could he do for us anyway?”
4 They spout empty words
and make covenants they don’t intend to keep.
So injustice springs up among them
like poisonous weeds in a farmer’s field.
5 The people of Samaria tremble in fear
for their calf idol at Beth-aven,[a]
and they mourn for it.
Though its priests rejoice over it,
its glory will be stripped away.[b]
6 This idol will be carted away to Assyria,
a gift to the great king there.
Ephraim will be ridiculed and Israel will be shamed,
because its people have trusted in this idol.
7 Samaria and its king will be cut off;
they will float away like driftwood on an ocean wave.
8 And the pagan shrines of Aven,[c] the place of Israel’s sin, will crumble.
Thorns and thistles will grow up around their altars.
They will beg the mountains, “Bury us!”
and plead with the hills, “Fall on us!”
9 The Lord says, “O Israel, ever since Gibeah,
there has been only sin and more sin!
You have made no progress whatsoever.
Was it not right that the wicked men of Gibeah were attacked?
10 Now whenever it fits my plan,
I will attack you, too.
I will call out the armies of the nations
to punish you for your multiplied sins.
11 “Israel[d] is like a trained heifer treading out the grain—
an easy job she loves.
But I will put a heavy yoke on her tender neck.
I will force Judah to pull the plow
and Israel[e] to break up the hard ground.
12 I said, ‘Plant the good seeds of righteousness,
and you will harvest a crop of love.
Plow up the hard ground of your hearts,
for now is the time to seek the Lord,
that he may come
and shower righteousness upon you.’
13 “But you have cultivated wickedness
and harvested a thriving crop of sins.
You have eaten the fruit of lies—
trusting in your military might,
believing that great armies
could make your nation safe.
14 Now the terrors of war
will rise among your people.
All your fortifications will fall,
just as when Shalman destroyed Beth-arbel.
Even mothers and children
were dashed to death there.
15 You will share that fate, Bethel,
because of your great wickedness.
When the day of judgment dawns,
the king of Israel will be completely destroyed.
The Lord’s Love for Israel
11 “When Israel was a child, I loved him,
and I called my son out of Egypt.
2 But the more I called to him,
the farther he moved from me,[f]
offering sacrifices to the images of Baal
and burning incense to idols.
3 I myself taught Israel[g] how to walk,
leading him along by the hand.
But he doesn’t know or even care
that it was I who took care of him.
4 I led Israel along
with my ropes of kindness and love.
I lifted the yoke from his neck,
and I myself stooped to feed him.
5 “But since my people refuse to return to me,
they will return to Egypt
and will be forced to serve Assyria.
6 War will swirl through their cities;
their enemies will crash through their gates.
They will destroy them,
trapping them in their own evil plans.
7 For my people are determined to desert me.
They call me the Most High,
but they don’t truly honor me.
8 “Oh, how can I give you up, Israel?
How can I let you go?
How can I destroy you like Admah
or demolish you like Zeboiim?
My heart is torn within me,
and my compassion overflows.
9 No, I will not unleash my fierce anger.
I will not completely destroy Israel,
for I am God and not a mere mortal.
I am the Holy One living among you,
and I will not come to destroy.
10 For someday the people will follow me.
I, the Lord, will roar like a lion.
And when I roar,
my people will return trembling from the west.
11 Like a flock of birds, they will come from Egypt.
Trembling like doves, they will return from Assyria.
And I will bring them home again,”
says the Lord.
Charges against Israel and Judah
12 [h]Israel surrounds me with lies and deceit,
but Judah still obeys God
and is faithful to the Holy One.[i]
12 [j]The people of Israel[k] feed on the wind;
they chase after the east wind all day long.
They pile up lies and violence;
they are making an alliance with Assyria
while sending olive oil to buy support from Egypt.
2 Now the Lord is bringing charges against Judah.
He is about to punish Jacob[l] for all his deceitful ways,
and pay him back for all he has done.
3 Even in the womb,
Jacob struggled with his brother;
when he became a man,
he even fought with God.
4 Yes, he wrestled with the angel and won.
He wept and pleaded for a blessing from him.
There at Bethel he met God face to face,
and God spoke to him[m]—
5 the Lord God of Heaven’s Armies,
the Lord is his name!
6 So now, come back to your God.
Act with love and justice,
and always depend on him.
7 But no, the people are like crafty merchants
selling from dishonest scales—
they love to cheat.
8 Israel boasts, “I am rich!
I’ve made a fortune all by myself!
No one has caught me cheating!
My record is spotless!”
9 “But I am the Lord your God,
who rescued you from slavery in Egypt.
And I will make you live in tents again,
as you do each year at the Festival of Shelters.[n]
10 I sent my prophets to warn you
with many visions and parables.”
11 But the people of Gilead are worthless
because of their idol worship.
And in Gilgal, too, they sacrifice bulls;
their altars are lined up like the heaps of stone
along the edges of a plowed field.
12 Jacob fled to the land of Aram,
and there he[o] earned a wife by tending sheep.
13 Then by a prophet
the Lord brought Jacob’s descendants[p] out of Egypt;
and by that prophet
they were protected.
14 But the people of Israel
have bitterly provoked the Lord,
so their Lord will now sentence them to death
in payment for their sins.
The Lord’s Anger against Israel
13 When the tribe of Ephraim spoke,
the people shook with fear,
for that tribe was important in Israel.
But the people of Ephraim sinned by worshiping Baal
and thus sealed their destruction.
2 Now they continue to sin by making silver idols,
images shaped skillfully with human hands.
“Sacrifice to these,” they cry,
“and kiss the calf idols!”
3 Therefore, they will disappear like the morning mist,
like dew in the morning sun,
like chaff blown by the wind,
like smoke from a chimney.
4 “I have been the Lord your God
ever since I brought you out of Egypt.
You must acknowledge no God but me,
for there is no other savior.
5 I took care of you in the wilderness,
in that dry and thirsty land.
6 But when you had eaten and were satisfied,
you became proud and forgot me.
7 So now I will attack you like a lion,
like a leopard that lurks along the road.
8 Like a bear whose cubs have been taken away,
I will tear out your heart.
I will devour you like a hungry lioness
and mangle you like a wild animal.
9 “You are about to be destroyed, O Israel—
yes, by me, your only helper.
10 Now where is[q] your king?
Let him save you!
Where are all the leaders of the land,
the king and the officials you demanded of me?
11 In my anger I gave you kings,
and in my fury I took them away.
12 “Ephraim’s guilt has been collected,
and his sin has been stored up for punishment.
13 Pain has come to the people
like the pain of childbirth,
but they are like a child
who resists being born.
The moment of birth has arrived,
but they stay in the womb!
14 “Should I ransom them from the grave[r]?
Should I redeem them from death?
O death, bring on your terrors!
O grave, bring on your plagues![s]
For I will not take pity on them.
15 Ephraim was the most fruitful of all his brothers,
but the east wind—a blast from the Lord—
will arise in the desert.
All their flowing springs will run dry,
and all their wells will disappear.
Every precious thing they own
will be plundered and carried away.
16 [t]The people of Samaria
must bear the consequences of their guilt
because they rebelled against their God.
They will be killed by an invading army,
their little ones dashed to death against the ground,
their pregnant women ripped open by swords.”
Healing for the Repentant
14 [u]Return, O Israel, to the Lord your God,
for your sins have brought you down.
2 Bring your confessions, and return to the Lord.
Say to him,
“Forgive all our sins and graciously receive us,
so that we may offer you our praises.[v]
3 Assyria cannot save us,
nor can our warhorses.
Never again will we say to the idols we have made,
‘You are our gods.’
No, in you alone
do the orphans find mercy.”
4 The Lord says,
“Then I will heal you of your faithlessness;
my love will know no bounds,
for my anger will be gone forever.
5 I will be to Israel
like a refreshing dew from heaven.
Israel will blossom like the lily;
it will send roots deep into the soil
like the cedars in Lebanon.
6 Its branches will spread out like beautiful olive trees,
as fragrant as the cedars of Lebanon.
7 My people will again live under my shade.
They will flourish like grain and blossom like grapevines.
They will be as fragrant as the wines of Lebanon.
8 “O Israel,[w] stay away from idols!
I am the one who answers your prayers and cares for you.
I am like a tree that is always green;
all your fruit comes from me.”
9 Let those who are wise understand these things.
Let those with discernment listen carefully.
The paths of the Lord are true and right,
and righteous people live by walking in them.
But in those paths sinners stumble and fall.
Footnotes
- 10:5a Beth-aven means “house of wickedness”; it is being used as another name for Bethel, which means “house of God.”
- 10:5b Or will be taken away into exile.
- 10:8 Aven is a reference to Beth-aven; see 10:5a and the note there.
- 10:11a Hebrew Ephraim, referring to the northern kingdom of Israel.
- 10:11b Hebrew Jacob. The names “Jacob” and “Israel” are often interchanged throughout the Old Testament, referring sometimes to the individual patriarch and sometimes to the nation.
- 11:2 As in Greek version; Hebrew reads the more they called to him, the farther he moved from them.
- 11:3 Hebrew Ephraim, referring to the northern kingdom of Israel; also in 11:8, 9, 12.
- 11:12a Verse 11:12 is numbered 12:1 in Hebrew text.
- 11:12b Or and Judah is unruly against God, the faithful Holy One. The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain.
- 12:1a Verses 12:1-14 are numbered 12:2-15 in Hebrew text.
- 12:1b Hebrew Ephraim, referring to the northern kingdom of Israel; also in 12:8, 14.
- 12:2 Jacob sounds like the Hebrew word for “deceiver.”
- 12:4 As in Greek and Syriac versions; Hebrew reads to us.
- 12:9 Hebrew as in the days of your appointed feast.
- 12:12 Hebrew Israel. See note on 10:11b.
- 12:13 Hebrew brought Israel. See note on 10:11b.
- 13:10 As in Greek and Syriac versions and Latin Vulgate; Hebrew reads I will be.
- 13:14a Hebrew Sheol; also in 13:14b.
- 13:14b Greek version reads O death, where is your punishment? / O grave [Hades], where is your sting? Compare 1 Cor 15:55.
- 13:16 Verse 16 is numbered 14:1 in Hebrew text.
- 14:1 Verses 14:1-9 are numbered 14:2-10 in Hebrew text.
- 14:2 As in Greek and Syriac versions, which read may repay the fruit of our lips; Hebrew reads may repay the bulls of our lips.
- 14:8 Hebrew Ephraim, referring to the northern kingdom of Israel.
Hosea 10-14
The Message
Hosea 10-14
The Message
You Thought You Could Do It All on Your Own
10 1-2 Israel was once a lush vine,
bountiful in grapes.
The more lavish the harvest,
the more promiscuous the worship.
The more money they got,
the more they squandered on gods-in-their-own-image.
Their sweet smiles are sheer lies.
They’re guilty as sin.
God will smash their worship shrines,
pulverize their god-images.
3-4 They go around saying,
“Who needs a king?
We couldn’t care less about God,
so why bother with a king?
What difference would he make?”
They talk big,
lie through their teeth,
make deals.
But their high-sounding words
turn out to be empty words, litter in the gutters.
5-6 The people of Samaria travel over to Crime City
to worship the golden calf-god.
They go all out, prancing and hollering,
taken in by their showmen priests.
They act so important around the calf-god,
but are oblivious to the sham, the shame.
They have plans to take it to Assyria,
present it as a gift to the great king.
And so Ephraim makes a fool of himself,
disgraces Israel with his stupid idols.
7-8 Samaria is history. Its king
is a dead branch floating down the river.
Israel’s favorite sin centers
will all be torn down.
Thistles and crabgrass
will decorate their ruined altars.
Then they’ll say to the mountains, “Bury us!”
and to the hills, “Fall on us!”
9-10 You got your start in sin at Gibeah—
that ancient, unspeakable, shocking sin—
And you’ve been at it ever since.
And Gibeah will mark the end of it
in a war to end all the sinning.
I’ll come to teach them a lesson.
Nations will gang up on them,
Making them learn the hard way
the sum of Gibeah plus Gibeah.
11-15 Ephraim was a trained heifer
that loved to thresh.
Passing by and seeing her strong, sleek neck,
I wanted to harness Ephraim,
Put Ephraim to work in the fields—
Judah plowing, Jacob harrowing:
Sow righteousness,
reap love.
It’s time to till the ready earth,
it’s time to dig in with God,
Until he arrives
with righteousness ripe for harvest.
But instead you plowed wicked ways,
reaped a crop of evil and ate a salad of lies.
You thought you could do it all on your own,
flush with weapons and manpower.
But the volcano of war will erupt among your people.
All your defense posts will be leveled
As viciously as king Shalman
leveled the town of Beth-arba,
When mothers and their babies
were smashed on the rocks.
That’s what’s ahead for you, you so-called people of God,
because of your off-the-charts evil.
Some morning you’re going to wake up
and find Israel, king and kingdom, a blank—nothing.
Israel Played at Religion with Toy Gods
11 1-9 “When Israel was only a child, I loved him.
I called out, ‘My son!’—called him out of Egypt.
But when others called him,
he ran off and left me.
He worshiped the popular sex gods,
he played at religion with toy gods.
Still, I stuck with him. I led Ephraim.
I rescued him from human bondage,
But he never acknowledged my help,
never admitted that I was the one pulling his wagon,
That I lifted him, like a baby, to my cheek,
that I bent down to feed him.
Now he wants to go back to Egypt or go over to Assyria—
anything but return to me!
That’s why his cities are unsafe—the murder rate skyrockets
and every plan to improve things falls to pieces.
My people are hell-bent on leaving me.
They pray to god Baal for help.
He doesn’t lift a finger to help them.
But how can I give up on you, Ephraim?
How can I turn you loose, Israel?
How can I leave you to be ruined like Admah,
devastated like luckless Zeboim?
I can’t bear to even think such thoughts.
My insides churn in protest.
And so I’m not going to act on my anger.
I’m not going to destroy Ephraim.
And why? Because I am God and not a human.
I’m The Holy One and I’m here—in your very midst.
10-12 “The people will end up following God.
I will roar like a lion—
Oh, how I’ll roar!
My frightened children will come running from the west.
Like frightened birds they’ll come from Egypt,
from Assyria like scared doves.
I’ll move them back into their homes.”
God’s Word!
Soul-Destroying Lies
Ephraim tells lies right and left.
Not a word of Israel can be trusted.
Judah, meanwhile, is no better,
addicted to cheap gods.
* * *
12 1-5 Ephraim, obsessed with god-fantasies,
chases ghosts and phantoms.
He tells lies nonstop,
soul-destroying lies.
Both Ephraim and Judah made deals with Assyria
and tried to get an inside track with Egypt.
God is bringing charges against Israel.
Jacob’s children are hauled into court to be punished.
In the womb, that heel, Jacob, got the best of his brother.
When he grew up, he tried to get the best of God.
But God would not be bested.
God bested him.
Brought to his knees,
Jacob wept and prayed.
God found him at Bethel.
That’s where he spoke with him.
God is God-of-the-Angel-Armies,
God-Revealed, God-Known.
* * *
6 What are you waiting for? Return to your God!
Commit yourself in love, in justice!
Wait for your God,
and don’t give up on him—ever!
7-8 The businessmen engage in wholesale fraud.
They love to rip people off!
Ephraim boasted, “Look, I’m rich!
I’ve made it big!
And look how well I’ve covered my tracks:
not a hint of fraud, not a sign of sin!”
9-11 “But not so fast! I’m God, your God!
Your God from the days in Egypt!
I’m going to put you back to living in tents,
as in the old days when you worshiped in the wilderness.
I speak through the prophets
to give clear pictures of the way things are.
Using prophets, I tell revealing stories.
I show Gilead rampant with religious scandal
and Gilgal teeming with empty-headed religion.
I expose their worship centers as
stinking piles of garbage in their gardens.”
12-14 Are you going to repeat the life of your ancestor Jacob?
He ran off guilty to Aram,
Then sold his soul to get ahead,
and made it big through treachery and deceit.
Your real identity is formed through God-sent prophets,
who led you out of Egypt and served as faithful pastors.
As it is, Ephraim has continually
and inexcusably insulted God.
Now he has to pay for his life-destroying ways.
His Master will do to him what he has done.
Religion Customized to Taste
13 1-3 God once let loose against Ephraim
a terrifying sentence against Israel:
Caught and convicted
in the lewd sex-worship of Baal—they died!
And now they’re back in the sin business again,
manufacturing god-images they can use,
Religion customized to taste. Professionals see to it:
Anything you want in a god you can get.
Can you believe it? They sacrifice live babies to these dead gods—
kill living babies and kiss golden calves!
And now there’s nothing left to these people:
hollow men, desiccated women,
Like scraps of paper blown down the street,
like smoke in a gusty wind.
4-6 “I’m still your God,
the God who saved you out of Egypt.
I’m the only real God you’ve ever known.
I’m the one and only God who delivers.
I took care of you during the wilderness hard times,
those years when you had nothing.
I took care of you, took care of all your needs,
gave you everything you needed.
You were spoiled. You thought you didn’t need me.
You forgot me.
7-12 “I’ll charge them like a lion,
like a leopard stalking in the brush.
I’ll jump them like a sow grizzly robbed of her cubs.
I’ll rip out their guts.
Coyotes will make a meal of them.
Crows will clean their bones.
I’m going to destroy you, Israel.
Who is going to stop me?
Where is your trusty king you thought would save you?
Where are all the local leaders you wanted so badly?
All these rulers you insisted on having,
demanding, ‘Give me a king! Give me leaders!’?
Well, long ago I gave you a king, but I wasn’t happy about it.
Now, fed up, I’ve gotten rid of him.
I have a detailed record of your infidelities—
Ephraim’s sin documented and stored in a safe-deposit box.
13-15 “When birth pangs signaled it was time to be born,
Ephraim was too stupid to come out of the womb.
When the passage into life opened up,
he didn’t show.
Shall I intervene and pull them into life?
Shall I snatch them from a certain death?
Who is afraid of you, Death?
Who cares about your threats, Tomb?
In the end I’m abolishing regret,
banishing sorrow,
Even though Ephraim ran wild,
the black sheep of the family.
15-16 “God’s tornado is on its way,
roaring out of the desert.
It will devastate the country,
leaving a trail of ruin and wreckage.
The cities will be gutted,
dear possessions gone for good.
Now Samaria has to face the charges
because she has rebelled against her God:
Her people will be killed, babies smashed on the rocks,
pregnant women ripped open.”
Come Back! Return to Your God!
14 1-3 O Israel, come back! Return to your God!
You’re down but you’re not out.
Prepare your confession
and come back to God.
Pray to him, “Take away our sin,
accept our confession.
Receive as restitution
our repentant prayers.
Assyria won’t save us;
horses won’t get us where we want to go.
We’ll never again say ‘our god’
to something we’ve made or made up.
You’re our last hope. Is it not true
that in you the orphan finds mercy?”
* * *
4-8 “I will heal their waywardness.
I will love them lavishly. My anger is played out.
I will make a fresh start with Israel.
He’ll burst into bloom like a crocus in the spring.
He’ll put down deep oak tree roots,
he’ll become a forest of oaks!
He’ll become splendid—like a giant sequoia,
his fragrance like a grove of cedars!
Those who live near him will be blessed by him,
be blessed and prosper like golden grain.
Everyone will be talking about them,
spreading their fame as the vintage children of God.
Ephraim is finished with gods that are no-gods.
From now on I’m the one who answers and satisfies him.
I am like a luxuriant fruit tree.
Everything you need is to be found in me.”
* * *
9 If you want to live well,
make sure you understand all of this.
If you know what’s good for you,
you’ll learn this inside and out.
God’s paths get you where you want to go.
Right-living people walk them easily;
wrong-living people are always tripping and stumbling.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.
New King James Version (NKJV) 
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
New American Standard Bible (NASB) 
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
The Message (MSG)
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson