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Hosea 4-7
English Standard Version
Hosea 4-7
English Standard Version
The Lord Accuses Israel
4 (A)Hear the word of the Lord, O children of Israel,
for (B)the Lord has a controversy with the inhabitants of the land.
There is no faithfulness or steadfast love,
and (C)no knowledge of God in the land;
2 (D)there is swearing, lying, murder, stealing, and committing adultery;
they break all bounds, and (E)bloodshed follows bloodshed.
3 Therefore (F)the land mourns,
and all who dwell in it languish,
(G)and also the beasts of the field
and the birds of the heavens,
(H)and even the fish of the sea are taken away.
4 (I)Yet let no one contend,
and let none accuse,
for with you is (J)my contention, O priest.[a]
5 You shall stumble by day;
the prophet also shall stumble with you by night;
and I will destroy (K)your mother.
6 My people are destroyed (L)for lack of knowledge;
(M)because you have rejected knowledge,
I reject you (N)from being a priest to me.
And since you have forgotten the law of your God,
(O)I also will forget your children.
7 (P)The more they increased,
the more they sinned against me;
(Q)I will change their glory into shame.
8 (R)They feed on the sin[b] of my people;
they are greedy for their iniquity.
9 (S)And it shall be like people, like priest;
I will punish them for their ways
and repay them for their deeds.
10 (T)They shall eat, but not be satisfied;
they shall play the whore, but not multiply,
because they have forsaken the Lord
to cherish 11 whoredom, wine, and new wine,
which (U)take away the understanding.
12 My people (V)inquire of a piece of wood,
and their walking staff gives them oracles.
For (W)a spirit of whoredom has led them astray,
and they have left their God to play the whore.
13 (X)They sacrifice on the tops of the mountains
and burn offerings on the hills,
(Y)under oak, poplar, and terebinth,
because their shade is good.
Therefore your daughters play the whore,
and your brides commit adultery.
14 I will not punish your daughters when they play the whore,
nor your brides when they commit adultery;
for (Z)the men themselves go aside with prostitutes
and sacrifice with (AA)cult prostitutes,
and a people (AB)without understanding shall come to ruin.
15 Though you play the whore, O (AC)Israel,
let not (AD)Judah become guilty.
(AE)Enter not into (AF)Gilgal,
nor go up to (AG)Beth-aven,
and swear not, “As the Lord lives.”
16 Like a stubborn heifer,
Israel is stubborn;
can the Lord now feed them
like a lamb in a broad pasture?
17 (AH)Ephraim is joined to idols;
(AI)leave him alone.
18 When their drink is gone, they give themselves to whoring;
(AJ)their rulers[c] dearly love shame.
19 (AK)A wind has wrapped them[d] in its wings,
and they shall (AL)be ashamed because of their sacrifices.
Punishment Coming for Israel and Judah
5 (AM)Hear this, O priests!
Pay attention, O house of Israel!
Give ear, O house of the king!
For the judgment is for you;
for (AN)you have been a snare at Mizpah
and a net spread upon (AO)Tabor.
2 And (AP)the revolters (AQ)have gone deep into slaughter,
but (AR)I will discipline all of them.
3 (AS)I know Ephraim,
and Israel is not hidden from me;
for now, O Ephraim, you have played the whore;
Israel is defiled.
4 (AT)Their deeds do not permit them
to return to their God.
For (AU)the spirit of whoredom is within them,
and they know not the Lord.
5 (AV)The pride of Israel testifies to his face;[e]
Israel and (AW)Ephraim shall stumble in his guilt;
(AX)Judah also shall stumble with them.
6 (AY)With their flocks and herds they shall go
to seek the Lord,
(AZ)but they will not find him;
(BA)he has withdrawn from them.
7 (BB)They have dealt faithlessly with the Lord;
for they have borne alien children.
Now the new moon shall devour them with their fields.
8 (BC)Blow the horn in (BD)Gibeah,
the trumpet in (BE)Ramah.
Sound the alarm at (BF)Beth-aven;
we follow you,[f] O Benjamin!
9 Ephraim shall become a desolation
in the day of punishment;
among the tribes of Israel
I make known what is sure.
10 The princes of Judah have become
like (BG)those who move the landmark;
upon them I will pour out
my wrath like water.
11 Ephraim is (BH)oppressed, crushed in judgment,
because he was determined to go after filth.[g]
12 But I am (BI)like a moth to Ephraim,
and (BJ)like dry rot to the house of Judah.
13 When Ephraim saw his sickness,
and Judah (BK)his wound,
then Ephraim went (BL)to Assyria,
and sent to the great king.[h]
(BM)But he is not able to cure you
or heal (BN)your wound.
14 For I will be (BO)like a lion to (BP)Ephraim,
and like a young lion to the house of (BQ)Judah.
(BR)I, even I, will tear and go away;
I will carry off, and no one shall rescue.
15 (BS)I will return again to my place,
until they acknowledge their guilt and seek my face,
and (BT)in their distress earnestly seek me.
Israel and Judah Are Unrepentant
6 “Come, let us (BU)return to the Lord;
for (BV)he has torn us, that he may heal us;
he has struck us down, and (BW)he will bind us up.
2 After two days (BX)he will revive us;
on the third day he will raise us up,
that we may live before him.
3 (BY)Let us know; (BZ)let us press on to know the Lord;
(CA)his going out is sure as the dawn;
he will come to us (CB)as the showers,
(CC)as the spring rains that water the earth.”
4 What shall I do with you, (CD)O (CE)Ephraim?
What shall I do with you, O (CF)Judah?
Your love is (CG)like a morning cloud,
(CH)like the dew that goes early away.
5 Therefore I have hewn them by the prophets;
I have slain them (CI)by the words of my mouth,
and my judgment goes forth as the light.
6 For (CJ)I desire steadfast love[i] and not sacrifice,
(CK)the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.
7 But (CL)like Adam they (CM)transgressed the covenant;
(CN)there they dealt faithlessly with me.
8 (CO)Gilead is a city of evildoers,
(CP)tracked with blood.
9 As robbers (CQ)lie in wait for a man,
so the priests band together;
they murder on the way to (CR)Shechem;
they commit villainy.
10 In the house of Israel I have seen a horrible thing;
(CS)Ephraim's whoredom is there; (CT)Israel is defiled.
When (CW)I restore the fortunes of my people,
7 (CX)when I would heal Israel,
the iniquity of Ephraim is revealed,
and the evil deeds of (CY)Samaria,
for (CZ)they deal falsely;
the thief breaks in,
and the bandits raid outside.
2 But they do not consider
that (DA)I remember all their evil.
Now (DB)their deeds surround them;
(DC)they are before my face.
3 By their evil (DD)they make (DE)the king glad,
and the princes by their treachery.
4 (DF)They are all adulterers;
they are like a heated oven
whose baker ceases to stir the fire,
from the kneading of the dough
until it is leavened.
5 On the day of (DG)our king, the princes
became sick with the heat of wine;
he stretched out his hand with mockers.
6 For with hearts like an oven (DH)they approach their intrigue;
all night their anger smolders;
in the morning it blazes like a flaming fire.
7 All of them are hot as an oven,
and they devour their rulers.
All (DI)their kings (DJ)have fallen,
and none of them calls upon me.
8 Ephraim (DK)mixes himself with the peoples;
Ephraim is a cake not turned.
9 (DL)Strangers devour his strength,
and (DM)he knows it not;
gray hairs are sprinkled upon him,
and (DN)he knows it not.
10 (DO)The pride of Israel testifies to his face;[j]
(DP)yet they do not return to the Lord their God,
nor seek him, for all this.
11 Ephraim is like a dove,
(DQ)silly and without sense,
calling to (DR)Egypt, going to (DS)Assyria.
12 As they go, (DT)I will spread over them my net;
I will bring them down like birds of the heavens;
(DU)I will discipline them (DV)according to the report made to their congregation.
13 (DW)Woe to them, for they have strayed from me!
Destruction to them, for they have rebelled against me!
(DX)I would redeem them,
but (DY)they speak lies against me.
14 (DZ)They do not cry to me from the heart,
but (EA)they wail upon their beds;
for grain and wine they gash themselves;
they rebel against me.
15 Although (EB)I trained and strengthened their arms,
yet they devise evil against me.
16 They (EC)return, but not upward;[k]
they are (ED)like a treacherous bow;
their princes shall fall by the sword
because of (EE)the insolence of their tongue.
This shall be their derision (EF)in the land of Egypt.
Footnotes
- Hosea 4:4 Or for your people are like those who contend with the priest
- Hosea 4:8 Or sin offering
- Hosea 4:18 Hebrew shields
- Hosea 4:19 Hebrew her
- Hosea 5:5 Or in his presence
- Hosea 5:8 Or after you
- Hosea 5:11 Or to follow human precepts
- Hosea 5:13 Or to King Jareb
- Hosea 6:6 Septuagint mercy
- Hosea 7:10 Or in his presence
- Hosea 7:16 Or to the Most High
Hosea 4-7
New International Version
Hosea 4-7
New International Version
The Charge Against Israel
4 Hear the word of the Lord, you Israelites,
because the Lord has a charge(A) to bring
against you who live in the land:(B)
“There is no faithfulness,(C) no love,
no acknowledgment(D) of God in the land.(E)
2 There is only cursing,[a] lying(F) and murder,(G)
stealing(H) and adultery;(I)
they break all bounds,
and bloodshed follows bloodshed.(J)
3 Because of this the land dries up,(K)
and all who live in it waste away;(L)
the beasts of the field, the birds in the sky
and the fish in the sea are swept away.(M)
4 “But let no one bring a charge,
let no one accuse another,
for your people are like those
who bring charges against a priest.(N)
5 You stumble(O) day and night,
and the prophets stumble with you.
So I will destroy your mother(P)—
6 my people are destroyed from lack of knowledge.(Q)
“Because you have rejected knowledge,
I also reject you as my priests;
because you have ignored the law(R) of your God,
I also will ignore your children.
7 The more priests there were,
the more they sinned against me;
they exchanged their glorious God[b](S) for something disgraceful.(T)
8 They feed on the sins of my people
and relish their wickedness.(U)
9 And it will be: Like people, like priests.(V)
I will punish both of them for their ways
and repay them for their deeds.(W)
10 “They will eat but not have enough;(X)
they will engage in prostitution(Y) but not flourish,
because they have deserted(Z) the Lord
to give themselves 11 to prostitution;(AA)
old wine(AB) and new wine
take away their understanding.(AC)
12 My people consult a wooden idol,(AD)
and a diviner’s rod speaks to them.(AE)
A spirit of prostitution(AF) leads them astray;(AG)
they are unfaithful(AH) to their God.
13 They sacrifice on the mountaintops
and burn offerings on the hills,
under oak,(AI) poplar and terebinth,
where the shade is pleasant.(AJ)
Therefore your daughters turn to prostitution(AK)
and your daughters-in-law to adultery.(AL)
14 “I will not punish your daughters
when they turn to prostitution,
nor your daughters-in-law
when they commit adultery,
because the men themselves consort with harlots(AM)
and sacrifice with shrine prostitutes(AN)—
a people without understanding(AO) will come to ruin!(AP)
15 “Though you, Israel, commit adultery,
do not let Judah become guilty.
“Do not go to Gilgal;(AQ)
do not go up to Beth Aven.[c](AR)
And do not swear, ‘As surely as the Lord lives!’(AS)
16 The Israelites are stubborn,(AT)
like a stubborn heifer.(AU)
How then can the Lord pasture them
like lambs(AV) in a meadow?
17 Ephraim is joined to idols;
leave him alone!
18 Even when their drinks are gone,
they continue their prostitution;
their rulers dearly love shameful ways.
19 A whirlwind(AW) will sweep them away,
and their sacrifices will bring them shame.(AX)
Judgment Against Israel
5 “Hear this, you priests!
Pay attention, you Israelites!
Listen, royal house!
This judgment(AY) is against you:
You have been a snare(AZ) at Mizpah,
a net(BA) spread out on Tabor.
2 The rebels are knee-deep in slaughter.(BB)
I will discipline all of them.(BC)
3 I know all about Ephraim;
Israel is not hidden(BD) from me.
Ephraim, you have now turned to prostitution;
Israel is corrupt.(BE)
4 “Their deeds do not permit them
to return(BF) to their God.
A spirit of prostitution(BG) is in their heart;
they do not acknowledge(BH) the Lord.
5 Israel’s arrogance testifies(BI) against them;
the Israelites, even Ephraim, stumble(BJ) in their sin;
Judah also stumbles with them.(BK)
6 When they go with their flocks and herds
to seek the Lord,(BL)
they will not find him;
he has withdrawn(BM) himself from them.
7 They are unfaithful(BN) to the Lord;
they give birth to illegitimate(BO) children.
When they celebrate their New Moon feasts,(BP)
he will devour[d](BQ) their fields.
8 “Sound the trumpet(BR) in Gibeah,(BS)
the horn in Ramah.(BT)
Raise the battle cry in Beth Aven[e];(BU)
lead on, Benjamin.
9 Ephraim will be laid waste(BV)
on the day of reckoning.(BW)
Among the tribes of Israel
I proclaim what is certain.(BX)
10 Judah’s leaders are like those
who move boundary stones.(BY)
I will pour out my wrath(BZ) on them
like a flood of water.
11 Ephraim is oppressed,
trampled in judgment,
intent on pursuing idols.[f](CA)
12 I am like a moth(CB) to Ephraim,
like rot(CC) to the people of Judah.
13 “When Ephraim(CD) saw his sickness,
and Judah his sores,
then Ephraim turned to Assyria,(CE)
and sent to the great king for help.(CF)
But he is not able to cure(CG) you,
not able to heal your sores.(CH)
14 For I will be like a lion(CI) to Ephraim,
like a great lion to Judah.
I will tear them to pieces(CJ) and go away;
I will carry them off, with no one to rescue them.(CK)
15 Then I will return to my lair(CL)
until they have borne their guilt(CM)
and seek my face(CN)—
in their misery(CO)
they will earnestly seek me.(CP)”
Israel Unrepentant
6 “Come, let us return(CQ) to the Lord.
He has torn us to pieces(CR)
but he will heal us;(CS)
he has injured us
but he will bind up our wounds.(CT)
2 After two days he will revive us;(CU)
on the third day(CV) he will restore(CW) us,
that we may live in his presence.
3 Let us acknowledge the Lord;
let us press on to acknowledge him.
As surely as the sun rises,
he will appear;
he will come to us like the winter rains,(CX)
like the spring rains that water the earth.(CY)”
4 “What can I do with you, Ephraim?(CZ)
What can I do with you, Judah?
Your love is like the morning mist,
like the early dew that disappears.(DA)
5 Therefore I cut you in pieces with my prophets,
I killed you with the words of my mouth(DB)—
then my judgments go forth like the sun.[g](DC)
6 For I desire mercy, not sacrifice,(DD)
and acknowledgment(DE) of God rather than burnt offerings.(DF)
7 As at Adam,[h] they have broken the covenant;(DG)
they were unfaithful(DH) to me there.
8 Gilead is a city of evildoers,(DI)
stained with footprints of blood.
9 As marauders lie in ambush for a victim,(DJ)
so do bands of priests;
they murder(DK) on the road to Shechem,
carrying out their wicked schemes.(DL)
10 I have seen a horrible(DM) thing in Israel:
There Ephraim is given to prostitution,
Israel is defiled.(DN)
11 “Also for you, Judah,
a harvest(DO) is appointed.
“Whenever I would restore the fortunes(DP) of my people,
7 1 whenever I would heal Israel,
the sins of Ephraim are exposed
and the crimes of Samaria revealed.(DQ)
They practice deceit,(DR)
thieves break into houses,(DS)
bandits rob in the streets;(DT)
2 but they do not realize
that I remember(DU) all their evil deeds.(DV)
Their sins engulf them;(DW)
they are always before me.
3 “They delight the king with their wickedness,
the princes with their lies.(DX)
4 They are all adulterers,(DY)
burning like an oven
whose fire the baker need not stir
from the kneading of the dough till it rises.
5 On the day of the festival of our king
the princes become inflamed with wine,(DZ)
and he joins hands with the mockers.(EA)
6 Their hearts are like an oven;(EB)
they approach him with intrigue.
Their passion smolders all night;
in the morning it blazes like a flaming fire.
7 All of them are hot as an oven;
they devour their rulers.
All their kings fall,(EC)
and none of them calls(ED) on me.
8 “Ephraim mixes(EE) with the nations;
Ephraim is a flat loaf not turned over.
9 Foreigners sap his strength,(EF)
but he does not realize it.
His hair is sprinkled with gray,
but he does not notice.
10 Israel’s arrogance testifies against him,(EG)
but despite all this
he does not return(EH) to the Lord his God
or search(EI) for him.
11 “Ephraim is like a dove,(EJ)
easily deceived and senseless—
now calling to Egypt,(EK)
now turning to Assyria.(EL)
12 When they go, I will throw my net(EM) over them;
I will pull them down like the birds in the sky.
When I hear them flocking together,
I will catch them.
13 Woe(EN) to them,
because they have strayed(EO) from me!
Destruction to them,
because they have rebelled against me!
I long to redeem them
but they speak about me(EP) falsely.(EQ)
14 They do not cry out to me from their hearts(ER)
but wail on their beds.
They slash themselves,[i] appealing to their gods
for grain and new wine,(ES)
but they turn away from me.(ET)
15 I trained(EU) them and strengthened their arms,
but they plot evil(EV) against me.
16 They do not turn to the Most High;(EW)
they are like a faulty bow.(EX)
Their leaders will fall by the sword
because of their insolent(EY) words.
For this they will be ridiculed(EZ)
in the land of Egypt.(FA)
Footnotes
- Hosea 4:2 That is, to pronounce a curse on
- Hosea 4:7 Syriac (see also an ancient Hebrew scribal tradition); Masoretic Text me; / I will exchange their glory
- Hosea 4:15 Beth Aven means house of wickedness (a derogatory name for Bethel, which means house of God).
- Hosea 5:7 Or Now their New Moon feasts / will devour them and
- Hosea 5:8 Beth Aven means house of wickedness (a derogatory name for Bethel, which means house of God).
- Hosea 5:11 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
- Hosea 6:5 The meaning of the Hebrew for this line is uncertain.
- Hosea 6:7 Or Like Adam; or Like human beings
- Hosea 7:14 Some Hebrew manuscripts and Septuagint; most Hebrew manuscripts They gather together
English Standard Version (ESV) 
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