Hosea 9:10-11:7
New Catholic Bible
At the Roots of the Evil of Israel[a]
The Crimes of Baal-peor and Gilgal
10 It was like finding grapes in the desert
when I found Israel.
When I saw your fathers,
it was like seeing the early frost on a fig tree.
However, when they came to Baal-peor,
they consecrated themselves to a shameful idol,
and they became as loathsome as the thing they loved.
11 Ephraim’s glory will fly away like a bird—
no birth, no pregnancy, no conception.
12 Even if they were to bear children,
I will take away from them every single one.
Woe to them
when I turn away from them!
13 Ephraim once seemed to me like Tyre,
planted in a beautiful meadow.
But now Ephraim will be required
to lead out his children for slaughter.
14 Give them, O Lord—
what will you give?
Give them wombs that miscarry[b]
and dried-up breasts.
15 All of their wickedness had its root in Gilgal;[c]
it was there that I came to hate them.
Because of their evil deeds,
I will drive them out of my house.
I will no longer love them;
all of their rulers are rebels.
16 Ephraim is stricken;
their root is withered,
and they yield no fruit.
Even if they bring forth children,
I will slay the cherished offspring of their womb.
17 My God will cast them off
because they have not listened to him;
they will become wanderers among the nations.
Chapter 10
Duplicity of Heart
1 Israel is a luxuriant vine
bringing forth a great bounty of fruit.
The more his fruit increased,
the more altars he built.
The more prosperous his land became,
the richer he made the sacred pillars.
2 Their heart is false;
now they must pay the penalty for the guilt.
God himself will destroy their altars
and demolish their sacred pillars.
3 Then they will say,
“We have no king
because we did not serve the Lord.
But even if we had a king,
what could he do for us?”
4 They make many empty promises,
swear false oaths and draw up treaties.
Thus litigation spreads like poisonous weeds
in the furrows of the fields.
5 The inhabitants of Samaria tremble
for the calf of Beth-aven.
The people mourn for it,
and its idolatrous priests mourn over it,
over its glory that has departed from it.
6 It will be carried to Assyria
as an offering to the great king.
Ephraim will be disgraced,
and Israel will be shamed by his schemes.
7 The king of Samaria will float away
like a flimsy twig drifting on the water.
8 The high places of Aven will be destroyed,
the shrines where Israel sinned.
Thorns and thistles shall flourish
and cover their altars.
Then they will say to the mountains, “Cover us!”
and to the hills, “Fall on us!”
9 Since the days of Gibeah,
you have sinned, O Israel,
and there you have remained.
Did not war overtake
the evildoers in Gibeah?
10 I have come to confront the rebels
and to chastise them.
Nations shall mass against them
to punish them for their two crimes.
11 Ephraim was a trained heifer
that loved to thresh grain.
I myself laid a yoke
upon her fair neck.
However, I will harness Ephraim;
Judah will be forced to plow,
and Jacob will harrow the land.
12 Sow righteousness for yourselves,
and reap a harvest of steadfast love.
Break up your fallow ground;
it is time to seek the Lord
so that he may come and rain down righteousness upon you.
13 However, you have plowed wickedness
and reaped depravity;
you have eaten the fruit of falsehood.
Because you have trusted in your chariots
and in your multitude of warriors,
14 the tumult of war will engulf your people,
and all your fortresses will be destroyed,
as Salman[d] devastated Beth-arbel on the day of battle
when mothers were dashed to pieces with their children.
15 Thus shall it be done to you, O Bethel,
because of your great wickedness.
At dawn the king of Israel
will be utterly destroyed.
Chapter 11
With Human Attachments and with Bonds of Love
1 When Israel was a child, I loved him,
and out of Egypt I called my son.[e]
2 But the more I called them,
the further they went from me.
They offered sacrifice to the Baals
and burning incense to idols.
3 Yet it was I who taught Ephraim to walk,
I who took them up in my arms.
However, they did not know
that I was the one caring for them.
4 I led them with cords of human kindness,
with bonds of love.
I lifted them to my cheek as I would an infant,
and I bent down to feed them.
5 They shall return to the land of Egypt,
and Assyria will be their king
because they refused to return to me.
6 The sword shall be brandished in their cities;
it will destroy the bars of their gates
and devour them because of their evil schemes.
7 My people are determined to ignore me;
if they are summoned to approach me,
not one of them makes any attempt to do so.
Footnotes
- Hosea 9:10 In this last part of the Book of Hosea there are more warnings and threats occasioned by contemporary sins, but the root of the evil is looked for in the historical errors of Israel.
- Hosea 9:14 Wombs that miscarry: probably a reversal of the ancient blessing of Joseph (see Gen 49:25f) wherein the fruitfulness of the Patriarch is dignified by his son Ephraim’s name; now Hosea calls down the scourge of extinction upon the descendants of Ephraim.
- Hosea 9:15 Gilgal: the people had gathered in Gilgal to establish the monarchy (see 1 Sam 11:4ff).
- Hosea 10:14 Salman: a Moabite king who led a raid into Gilead. Beth-arbel was in the Transjordan region.
- Hosea 11:1 Out of Egypt I called my son: like most of the Prophets, Hosea dates the beginning of Israel from the time of Moses and the Exodus. In the New Testament, this text is applied to the return of the infant Jesus from Egypt (Mt 2:15).
