Judgment Against Israel

“Hear this, you priests!
    Pay attention, you Israelites!
Listen, royal house!
    This judgment(A) is against you:
You have been a snare(B) at Mizpah,
    a net(C) spread out on Tabor.
The rebels are knee-deep in slaughter.(D)
    I will discipline all of them.(E)
I know all about Ephraim;
    Israel is not hidden(F) from me.
Ephraim, you have now turned to prostitution;
    Israel is corrupt.(G)

“Their deeds do not permit them
    to return(H) to their God.
A spirit of prostitution(I) is in their heart;
    they do not acknowledge(J) the Lord.
Israel’s arrogance testifies(K) against them;
    the Israelites, even Ephraim, stumble(L) in their sin;
    Judah also stumbles with them.(M)
When they go with their flocks and herds
    to seek the Lord,(N)
they will not find him;
    he has withdrawn(O) himself from them.
They are unfaithful(P) to the Lord;
    they give birth to illegitimate(Q) children.
When they celebrate their New Moon feasts,(R)
    he will devour[a](S) their fields.

“Sound the trumpet(T) in Gibeah,(U)
    the horn in Ramah.(V)
Raise the battle cry in Beth Aven[b];(W)
    lead on, Benjamin.
Ephraim will be laid waste(X)
    on the day of reckoning.(Y)
Among the tribes of Israel
    I proclaim what is certain.(Z)
10 Judah’s leaders are like those
    who move boundary stones.(AA)
I will pour out my wrath(AB) on them
    like a flood of water.
11 Ephraim is oppressed,
    trampled in judgment,
    intent on pursuing idols.[c](AC)
12 I am like a moth(AD) to Ephraim,
    like rot(AE) to the people of Judah.

13 “When Ephraim(AF) saw his sickness,
    and Judah his sores,
then Ephraim turned to Assyria,(AG)
    and sent to the great king for help.(AH)
But he is not able to cure(AI) you,
    not able to heal your sores.(AJ)
14 For I will be like a lion(AK) to Ephraim,
    like a great lion to Judah.
I will tear them to pieces(AL) and go away;
    I will carry them off, with no one to rescue them.(AM)
15 Then I will return to my lair(AN)
    until they have borne their guilt(AO)
    and seek my face(AP)
in their misery(AQ)
    they will earnestly seek me.(AR)

Footnotes

  1. Hosea 5:7 Or Now their New Moon feasts / will devour them and
  2. Hosea 5:8 Beth Aven means house of wickedness (a derogatory name for Bethel, which means house of God).
  3. Hosea 5:11 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.

Hear ye this, O priests; and hearken, ye house of Israel; and give ye ear, O house of the king; for judgment is toward you, because ye have been a snare on Mizpah, and a net spread upon Tabor.

And the revolters are profound to make slaughter, though I have been a rebuker of them all.

I know Ephraim, and Israel is not hid from me: for now, O Ephraim, thou committest whoredom, and Israel is defiled.

They will not frame their doings to turn unto their God: for the spirit of whoredoms is in the midst of them, and they have not known the Lord.

And the pride of Israel doth testify to his face: therefore shall Israel and Ephraim fall in their iniquity: Judah also shall fall with them.

They shall go with their flocks and with their herds to seek the Lord; but they shall not find him; he hath withdrawn himself from them.

They have dealt treacherously against the Lord: for they have begotten strange children: now shall a month devour them with their portions.

Blow ye the cornet in Gibeah, and the trumpet in Ramah: cry aloud at Bethaven, after thee, O Benjamin.

Ephraim shall be desolate in the day of rebuke: among the tribes of Israel have I made known that which shall surely be.

10 The princes of Judah were like them that remove the bound: therefore I will pour out my wrath upon them like water.

11 Ephraim is oppressed and broken in judgment, because he willingly walked after the commandment.

12 Therefore will I be unto Ephraim as a moth, and to the house of Judah as rottenness.

13 When Ephraim saw his sickness, and Judah saw his wound, then went Ephraim to the Assyrian, and sent to king Jareb: yet could he not heal you, nor cure you of your wound.

14 For I will be unto Ephraim as a lion, and as a young lion to the house of Judah: I, even I, will tear and go away; I will take away, and none shall rescue him.

15 I will go and return to my place, till they acknowledge their offence, and seek my face: in their affliction they will seek me early.

Israel Unrepentant

“Come, let us return(A) to the Lord.
He has torn us to pieces(B)
    but he will heal us;(C)
he has injured us
    but he will bind up our wounds.(D)
After two days he will revive us;(E)
    on the third day(F) he will restore(G) us,
    that we may live in his presence.
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,(H)
    like the spring rains that water the earth.(I)

“What can I do with you, Ephraim?(J)
    What can I do with you, Judah?
Your love is like the morning mist,
    like the early dew that disappears.(K)
Therefore I cut you in pieces with my prophets,
    I killed you with the words of my mouth(L)
    then my judgments go forth like the sun.[a](M)
For I desire mercy, not sacrifice,(N)
    and acknowledgment(O) of God rather than burnt offerings.(P)
As at Adam,[b] they have broken the covenant;(Q)
    they were unfaithful(R) to me there.
Gilead is a city of evildoers,(S)
    stained with footprints of blood.
As marauders lie in ambush for a victim,(T)
    so do bands of priests;
they murder(U) on the road to Shechem,
    carrying out their wicked schemes.(V)
10 I have seen a horrible(W) thing in Israel:
    There Ephraim is given to prostitution,
    Israel is defiled.(X)

11 “Also for you, Judah,
    a harvest(Y) is appointed.

“Whenever I would restore the fortunes(Z) of my people,

Footnotes

  1. Hosea 6:5 The meaning of the Hebrew for this line is uncertain.
  2. Hosea 6:7 Or Like Adam; or Like human beings

Come, and let us return unto the Lord: for he hath torn, and he will heal us; he hath smitten, and he will bind us up.

After two days will he revive us: in the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight.

Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the Lord: his going forth is prepared as the morning; and he shall come unto us as the rain, as the latter and former rain unto the earth.

O Ephraim, what shall I do unto thee? O Judah, what shall I do unto thee? for your goodness is as a morning cloud, and as the early dew it goeth away.

Therefore have I hewed them by the prophets; I have slain them by the words of my mouth: and thy judgments are as the light that goeth forth.

For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.

But they like men have transgressed the covenant: there have they dealt treacherously against me.

Gilead is a city of them that work iniquity, and is polluted with blood.

And as troops of robbers wait for a man, so the company of priests murder in the way by consent: for they commit lewdness.

10 I have seen an horrible thing in the house of Israel: there is the whoredom of Ephraim, Israel is defiled.

11 Also, O Judah, he hath set an harvest for thee, when I returned the captivity of my people.