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
International Standard Version
God Accuses Israel
7 “When I was healing Israel,
Ephraim’s sin was uncovered,
along with Samaria’s wickedness.
While they craft lying schemes,
the thief invades,
and the gang of thieves plunders outside.
2 It never occurs to them that I remember all their sin.
Now their actions have caught up with them,
and they have my attention.[a]
3 They please the king with their evil,
and the princes with their dishonesty.
4 All of them are adulterers—
they burn like an oven prepared by the baker,
who has ceased stoking it
until the dough is leavened.
5 “On the king’s festival day
the princes got drunk from wine,
so the king[b] joined the mockers.
6 For they have stirred up themselves[c] like an oven
as they lie in ambush.
Their baker sleeps through the night;
in the morning, the oven[d] will be blazing like a fire.
7 They all burn like an oven;
they have consumed their judges;
all their kings have fallen—
not even one of them calls on me.
8 “Ephraim compromises with[e] the nations;
he’s a half-baked cake.[f]
9 Foreigners have consumed his strength,
and he hasn’t noticed.
Furthermore, his head is sprinkled with gray hair,
but he doesn’t realize it.
10 Israel’s arrogance testifies against him;[g]
but they do not return to the Lord their God,
nor seek him in all of this.
11 “Ephraim is also like a silly dove,
lacking sense:[h]
They call out to Egypt,
and turn toward Assyria.
12 When they go,
I’ll cast my net over them.
I’ll bring them down, as one shoots[i] birds in the sky.
I’ll chasten them,
as the assembly has already heard.
13 Woe to them—
because they have run away from me.
Ruin to them—
because they have sinned against me.
Even though I redeemed them,
they spread lies against me.
14 They will not cry to me from their heart—
instead, they wail on their beds.
They gather together to eat and drink,[j]
turning away from me.
15 “Though I have taught them
and strengthened their arms,
nevertheless they plot evil against me.
16 They return—but not to the Most High.
They are like a defective weapon.[k]
Their princes will fall by the sword
because of their raging tongue,
and they will be a laughingstock in the land of Egypt.”
Footnotes
- Hosea 7:2 Lit. they are before my face
- Hosea 7:5 Lit. so he
- Hosea 7:6 Lit. up their heart
- Hosea 7:6 Lit. morning, it
- Hosea 7:8 Or dilutes himself among
- Hosea 7:8 Lit. a cake not turned
- Hosea 7:10 Lit. testifies in his face
- Hosea 7:11 Lit. heart
- Hosea 7:12 The Heb. lacks one shoots
- Hosea 7:14 Lit. together for grain and fresh wine
- Hosea 7:16 Lit. bow
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