Hosea 5
New Living Translation
The Failure of Israel’s Leaders
5 “Hear this, you priests.
Pay attention, you leaders of Israel.
Listen, you members of the royal family.
Judgment has been handed down against you.
For you have led the people into a snare
by worshiping the idols at Mizpah and Tabor.
2 You have dug a deep pit to trap them at Acacia Grove.[a]
But I will settle with you for what you have done.
3 I know what you are like, O Ephraim.
You cannot hide yourself from me, O Israel.
You have left me as a prostitute leaves her husband;
you are utterly defiled.
4 Your deeds won’t let you return to your God.
You are a prostitute through and through,
and you do not know the Lord.
5 “The arrogance of Israel testifies against her;
Israel and Ephraim will stumble under their load of guilt.
Judah, too, will fall with them.
6 When they come with their flocks and herds
to offer sacrifices to the Lord,
they will not find him,
because he has withdrawn from them.
7 They have betrayed the honor of the Lord,
bearing children that are not his.
Now their false religion will devour them
along with their wealth.[b]
8 “Sound the alarm in Gibeah!
Blow the trumpet in Ramah!
Raise the battle cry in Beth-aven[c]!
Lead on into battle, O warriors of Benjamin!
9 One thing is certain, Israel[d]:
On your day of punishment,
you will become a heap of rubble.
10 “The leaders of Judah have become like thieves.[e]
So I will pour my anger on them like a waterfall.
11 The people of Israel will be crushed and broken by my judgment
because they are determined to worship idols.[f]
12 I will destroy Israel as a moth consumes wool.
I will make Judah as weak as rotten wood.
13 “When Israel and Judah saw how sick they were,
Israel turned to Assyria—
to the great king there—
but he could neither help nor cure them.
14 I will be like a lion to Israel,
like a strong young lion to Judah.
I will tear them to pieces!
I will carry them off,
and no one will be left to rescue them.
15 Then I will return to my place
until they admit their guilt and turn to me.
For as soon as trouble comes,
they will earnestly search for me.”
Footnotes
- 5:2 Hebrew at Shittim. The meaning of the Hebrew for this sentence is uncertain.
- 5:7 The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain.
- 5:8 Beth-aven means “house of wickedness”; it is being used as another name for Bethel, which means “house of God.”
- 5:9 Hebrew Ephraim, referring to the northern kingdom of Israel; also in 5:11, 12, 13, 14.
- 5:10 Hebrew like those who move a boundary marker.
- 5:11 Or determined to follow human commands. The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain.
Hosea 5
Legacy Standard Bible
Yahweh Withdraws from Israel
5 Hear this, O priests!
Give heed, O house of Israel!
Give ear, O house of the king!
For the judgment is for you,
For you have been a (A)snare at Mizpah
And a net spread out on Tabor.
2 And the (B)revolters have (C)dug deep into slaughtering,
But I will chastise all of them.
3 I (D)know Ephraim, and Israel is not hidden from Me;
For now, O Ephraim, you have played the harlot;
Israel has defiled itself.
4 Their deeds will not allow them
To return to their God.
For a (E)spirit of harlotry is within them,
And they (F)do not know Yahweh.
5 Moreover, the (G)pride of Israel answers against him,
And Israel and Ephraim stumble in their iniquity;
(H)Judah also has stumbled with them.
6 They will (I)go with their flocks and herds
To seek Yahweh, but they will (J)not find Him;
He has (K)withdrawn from them.
7 They have (L)dealt treacherously against Yahweh,
For they have borne (M)children of strangers.
Now the (N)new moon will devour them with their portions.
8 (O)Blow the horn in (P)Gibeah,
The trumpet in Ramah.
Make a loud shout at Beth-aven:
“(Q)Behind you, Benjamin!”
9 Ephraim will become a (R)desolation in the (S)day of reproof;
Among the tribes of Israel I (T)will make known what is true.
10 The princes of Judah have become like those who (U)move a boundary;
On them I will (V)pour out My wrath (W)like water.
11 Ephraim is (X)oppressed, crushed in judgment,
(Y)Because he was determined to [a]walk after man’s command.
12 Therefore I am like a (Z)moth to Ephraim
And like rottenness to the house of Judah.
13 Then Ephraim saw his sickness,
And Judah his sore,
So Ephraim went to (AA)Assyria
And sent to [b](AB)King Jareb.
But he is (AC)unable to heal you
Or to cure you of your sore.
14 For I will be (AD)like a lion to Ephraim
And like a young lion to the house of Judah.
(AE)I, even I, will tear to pieces and go away;
I will carry away, and there will be (AF)none to deliver.
15 I will go away and return to My place
Until they [c](AG)acknowledge their guilt and seek My face;
In their affliction they will (AH)seek Me earnestly.
Footnotes
- Hosea 5:11 Some ancient versions follow nothingness
- Hosea 5:13 Or the avenging king, the great king
- Hosea 5:15 Or bear their punishment
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