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“Listen to this, you priests!

    Listen, house of Israel,
    and give ear, house of the king!
For the judgment is against you;
    for you have been a snare at Mizpah,
    and a net spread on Tabor.
The rebels are deep in slaughter;
    but I discipline all of them.
I know Ephraim,
    and Israel is not hidden from me;
for now, Ephraim, you have played the prostitute.
    Israel is defiled.
Their deeds won’t allow them to turn to their God;
    for the spirit of prostitution is within them,
    and they don’t know Yahweh.
The pride of Israel testifies to his face.
    Therefore Israel and Ephraim will stumble in their iniquity.
    Judah also will stumble with them.
They will go with their flocks and with their herds to seek Yahweh;
    but they won’t find him.
    He has withdrawn himself from them.
They are unfaithful to Yahweh;
    for they have borne illegitimate children.
    Now the new moon will devour them with their fields.

“Blow the cornet in Gibeah,
    and the trumpet in Ramah!
    Sound a battle cry at Beth Aven, behind you, Benjamin!
Ephraim will become a desolation in the day of rebuke.
    Among the tribes of Israel, I have made known that which will surely be.
10 The princes of Judah are like those who remove a landmark.
    I will pour out my wrath on them like water.
11 Ephraim is oppressed,
    he is crushed in judgment;
    Because he is intent in his pursuit of idols.
12 Therefore I am to Ephraim like a moth,
    and to the house of Judah like rottenness.

13 “When Ephraim saw his sickness,
    and Judah his wound,
    Then Ephraim went to Assyria,
    and sent to king Jareb:
but he is not able to heal you,
    neither will he cure you of your wound.
14 For I will be to Ephraim like a lion,
    and like a young lion to the house of Judah.
I myself will tear in pieces and go away.
    I will carry off, and there will be no one to deliver.
15 I will go and return to my place,
    until they acknowledge their offense,
    and seek my face.
    In their affliction they will seek me earnestly.”

The Priests Are a Snare

Hear this, O priests!
Give heed, O house of Israel!
Listen, O house of the king!
    Because the judgment applies to you;
because you have been a snare for Mizpah,
    and a net spread out on Tabor;
they dug a deep pit[a] in Shittim,
    but I am a punishment for all of them.
I myself know Ephraim,
    and Israel is not hidden from me;
because now you have played the whore, O Ephraim—
    Israel is defiled.
Their deeds do not permit them
    to return them to God.
Because a spirit of whoredom is in their midst,
    they do not know Yahweh.
The pride of Israel testifies against him,[b]
    and Israel and Ephraim stumble in their guilt,
        and Judah stumbles with them.
With their flocks[c] and herds[d] they will go
    to seek Yahweh, but they will not find him;
        he has withdrawn from them.
They have dealt faithlessly with Yahweh
    because they have borne illegitimate children.
Now the new moon will devour them with their fields.
Blow the horn[e] in Gibeah,
    the trumpet in Ramah.
Sound the alarm in Beth-aven;
    look behind you, Benjamin.
Ephraim will be a desolation
    in the day of punishment;
among the tribes of Israel
    I will reveal what is true.
10 The princes of Judah have become
    like those who remove a landmark;
on them I will pour out
    my wrath like water.
11 Ephraim is oppressed,
    crushed in judgment,
because he was determined
    to go after filth.[f]
12 But I am like a maggot to Ephraim
    and like rottenness to the house of Judah.
13 And when Ephraim saw his illness,
    and Judah his wound,
Ephraim went to Assyria,
    he sent to the great king.[g]
But he was unable to cure you
    and heal your wound.
14 Because I will be like a lion to Ephraim
    and like a fierce strong lion to the house of Judah.
I myself will tear and I will go;
    I will carry off, and there is no one who delivers.
15 I will return again[h] to my place
    until they acknowledge their guilt
        and seek my face;
    in their distress they will search[i] me.

Footnotes

  1. Hosea 5:2 Hebrew uncertain
  2. Hosea 5:5 Literally “against his face;” see 7:10
  3. Hosea 5:6 Hebrew “flock”
  4. Hosea 5:6 Hebrew “herd”
  5. Hosea 5:8 Hebrew “shofar”
  6. Hosea 5:11 Hebrew uncertain; another possible translation is “that he follows human commands”
  7. Hosea 5:13 Some translate literally “King Jareb” (see the NASB, NKJV)
  8. Hosea 5:15 Literally “I will go, I will return”
  9. Hosea 5:15 Or “they will beg favor of”