Hosea 7
Holman Christian Standard Bible
7 when I heal Israel,(A)
the sins of Ephraim(B) and the crimes of Samaria(C)
will be exposed.
For they practice fraud;(D)
a thief breaks in;
a raiding party pillages outside.(E)
2 But they never consider that I remember all their evil.(F)
Now their sins are all around them;(G)
they are right in front of My face.
Israel’s Corruption
3 They please the king with their evil,(H)
the princes with their lies.(I)
4 All of them commit adultery;(J)
they are like an oven heated by a baker
who stops stirring the fire
from the kneading of the dough until it is leavened.
5 On the day of our king,
the princes are sick with the heat of wine(K)—
there is a conspiracy with traitors.[a]
6 For they—their hearts like an oven—
draw him into their oven.
Their anger smolders all night;
in the morning it blazes like a flaming fire.
7 All of them are as hot as an oven,(L)
and they consume their rulers.(M)
All their kings fall;
not one of them calls on Me.[b]
8 Ephraim has allowed himself to get mixed up with the nations.
Ephraim is unturned bread baked on a griddle.
9 Foreigners consume his strength,(N)
but he does not notice.(O)
Even his hair is streaked with gray,
but he does not notice.
10 Israel’s arrogance testifies against them,[c](P)
yet they do not return to Yahweh their God,(Q)
and for all this, they do not seek Him.
11 So Ephraim has become like a silly, senseless dove;(R)
they call to Egypt,(S) and they go to Assyria.(T)
12 As they are going, I will spread My net over them;(U)
I will bring them down like birds of the sky.
I will discipline them in accordance
with the news that reaches[d] their assembly.
The Lord’s Second Lament
13 Woe to them,(V) for they fled from Me;(W)
destruction to them, for they rebelled against Me!
Though I want to redeem them,(X)
they speak lies against Me.
14 They do not cry to Me from their hearts;
rather, they wail on their beds.
They slash themselves[e](Y) for grain and new wine;(Z)
they turn away from Me.
15 I trained and strengthened their arms,(AA)
but they plot evil against Me.(AB)
16 They turn, but not to what is above;[f]
they are like a faulty bow.(AC)
Their leaders will fall by the sword
because of the cursing of their tongue.(AD)
They will be ridiculed for this in the land of Egypt.(AE)
Footnotes
- Hosea 7:5 Lit wine—he stretches out his hand to scorners; Hb obscure
- Hosea 7:7 These vv. may refer to a king’s assassination; Hb obscure.
- Hosea 7:10 Lit against his face
- Hosea 7:12 Lit news to
- Hosea 7:14 Some Hb mss, LXX; other Hb mss read They stay
- Hosea 7:16 Some emend to turn to what is useless
Hosea 7
Common English Bible
7 When I would heal Israel,
the evil acts of Ephraim are exposed,
and the wicked deeds of Samaria;
for they deceive and steal,
a thief breaks in;
a group of bandits raid outside.
2 But they don’t consider within their hearts
that I remember all their wickedness.
Now their deeds show who they are,
right in front of my face.
3 By their wickedness they make the king glad,
and give joy to the officials with their lies.
4 They all act like adulterers;
they are like a heated oven,
whose baker doesn’t need to stoke the fire,
from the kneading of the dough until it is leavened.
5 On the day of our king,
the officials became sick with the heat of wine;
he stretched out his hand to those who mocked him.
6 They approach like a hot oven, their hearts burning.
Throughout the night, their anger smolders;
in the morning, it continues to burn like a flaming fire.
7 All of them are hot as an oven;
they devour their rulers.
All their kings have fallen;
none of them call upon me.
8 Ephraim mixes himself among the people;
Ephraim is like flatbread that is cooked on only one side.
9 Strangers have eaten up his strength,
yet he doesn’t know it;
gray hairs are sprinkled here and there upon him,
yet he doesn’t know it.
10 Israel’s pride is a witness against him;
yet they don’t return to the Lord their God,
or seek him because of all this.
Foolishness and God’s wrath
11 Ephraim has become like a dove,
silly and without common sense;
they call upon Egypt; they go to Assyria.
12 As they go, I will spread my net over them;
like birds in the sky, I will bring them down;
I will judge them according to the report made to their assembly.
13 Doom to them, for they have strayed from me;
destruction will be their lot because they have rebelled against me.
I would redeem them,
but they speak lies against me.
14 They don’t cry to me from the heart,
but they sob upon their beds;
they fight[a] over grain and wine;
they resist me.
15 It was I who gave them their strength,
yet they plot evil against me.
16 They return, but not to the Most High;[b]
they have become like a worthless bow;
their officials will fall by the sword
because of the rage of their tongues;
in Egypt they will make fun of them.[c]
Footnotes
- Hosea 7:14 Or cut themselves
- Hosea 7:16 Heb uncertain
- Hosea 7:16 Or they will be scorned in the land of Egypt.
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