The Lord's Love for Israel

11 (A)When Israel was a child, (B)I loved him,
    and out of Egypt I (C)called (D)my son.
(E)The more they were called,
    the more they went away;
(F)they kept sacrificing to the Baals
    and burning offerings to idols.

Yet it was (G)I who taught Ephraim to walk;
    I took them up by their arms,
    but they did not know that (H)I healed them.
(I)I led them with cords of kindness,[a]
    with the bands of love,
and (J)I became to them as one who eases the yoke on their jaws,
    and (K)I bent down to them and fed them.

(L)They shall not[b] return to the land of Egypt,
    but (M)Assyria shall be their king,
    (N)because (O)they have refused to return to me.
(P)The sword shall rage against their cities,
    consume the bars of their gates,
    and devour them (Q)because of their own counsels.
My people are bent (R)on turning away from me,
    and though (S)they call out to the Most High,
    he shall not raise them up at all.

How can I give you up, O Ephraim?
    How can I hand you over, O Israel?
(T)How can I make you (U)like Admah?
    How can I treat you (V)like Zeboiim?
(W)My heart recoils within me;
    my compassion grows warm and tender.
I will not execute my burning anger;
    I will not again destroy Ephraim;
(X)for I am God and not a man,
    (Y)the Holy One in your midst,
    and I will not come in wrath.[c]

10 (Z)They shall go after the Lord;
    (AA)he will roar like a lion;
when he roars,
    his children shall come trembling (AB)from the west;
11 they shall come trembling like birds (AC)from Egypt,
    and (AD)like doves (AE)from the land of Assyria,
    and I will return them to their homes, declares the Lord.
12 [d] Ephraim (AF)has surrounded me with lies,
    and the house of Israel with deceit,
but Judah still walks with God
    and is faithful to the Holy One.

Footnotes

  1. Hosea 11:4 Or humaneness; Hebrew man
  2. Hosea 11:5 Or surely
  3. Hosea 11:9 Or into the city
  4. Hosea 11:12 Ch 12:1 in Hebrew

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)
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)
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.
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)

“Will they not return to Egypt(L)
    and will not Assyria(M) rule over them
    because they refuse to repent?(N)
A sword(O) will flash in their cities;
    it will devour(P) their false prophets
    and put an end to their plans.
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.

“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)
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)

Footnotes

  1. Hosea 11:2 Septuagint; Hebrew them
  2. Hosea 11:12 In Hebrew texts this verse (11:12) is numbered 12:1.

The Flight to Egypt

13 Now when they had departed, behold, (A)an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.” 14 And he rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed to Egypt 15 and remained there until the death of Herod. (B)This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, (C)“Out of Egypt I called my son.”

Herod Kills the Children

16 Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, became furious, and he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had ascertained from the wise men. 17 (D)Then was fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Jeremiah:

18 (E)“A voice was heard in Ramah,
    weeping and loud lamentation,
Rachel weeping for her children;
    she refused to be comforted, because they (F)are no more.”

The Return to Nazareth

19 But when Herod died, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, 20 saying, “Rise, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for (G)those who sought the child's life are dead.” 21 And he rose and took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel. 22 But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there, and (H)being warned in a dream he withdrew to the district of Galilee. 23 And he went and lived in a city called (I)Nazareth, (J)so that what was spoken by the prophets might be fulfilled, that he would be called a Nazarene.

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The Escape to Egypt

13 When they had gone, an angel(A) of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream.(B) “Get up,” he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.”(C)

14 So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, 15 where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled(D) what the Lord had said through the prophet: “Out of Egypt I called my son.”[a](E)

16 When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi. 17 Then what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled:(F)

18 “A voice is heard in Ramah,
    weeping and great mourning,
Rachel(G) weeping for her children
    and refusing to be comforted,
    because they are no more.”[b](H)

The Return to Nazareth

19 After Herod died, an angel(I) of the Lord appeared in a dream(J) to Joseph in Egypt 20 and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who were trying to take the child’s life are dead.”(K)

21 So he got up, took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel. 22 But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning in Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. Having been warned in a dream,(L) he withdrew to the district of Galilee,(M) 23 and he went and lived in a town called Nazareth.(N) So was fulfilled(O) what was said through the prophets, that he would be called a Nazarene.(P)

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Footnotes

  1. Matthew 2:15 Hosea 11:1
  2. Matthew 2:18 Jer. 31:15