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War between Israel and Judah[a]

Blow the horn in Gibeah,[b]
    the trumpet in Ramah.
Sound the alarm at Beth-aven:
    “Look behind you, O Benjamin!”
Ephraim shall become a wasteland
    on the day of punishment.
Against the tribes of Israel
    I have decreed certain doom.
10 The rulers of Judah act like men
    who move their neighbor’s boundary line.
On them I will pour out
    my wrath like a flood.

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Footnotes

  1. Hosea 5:8 In 734 B.C., the northern kingdom endeavored, with the help of Syria, to take possession of Judah. Judah called on Assyria, and the threat was removed, so much so that the Judeans pursued the armies of Israel and annexed territories not belonging to them. Both countries had entered into alliances with pagans, making pacts with nothingness instead of relying on God.
  2. Hosea 5:8 Gibeah and Ramah were in Judah; Beth-aven was in Israel. All three were on the border between the two kingdoms.

“Sound the trumpet(A) in Gibeah,(B)
    the horn in Ramah.(C)
Raise the battle cry in Beth Aven[a];(D)
    lead on, Benjamin.
Ephraim will be laid waste(E)
    on the day of reckoning.(F)
Among the tribes of Israel
    I proclaim what is certain.(G)
10 Judah’s leaders are like those
    who move boundary stones.(H)
I will pour out my wrath(I) on them
    like a flood of water.

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Footnotes

  1. Hosea 5:8 Beth Aven means house of wickedness (a derogatory name for Bethel, which means house of God).