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)
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

They please the king with their evil,(H)
the princes with their lies.(I)
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.
On the day of our king,
the princes are sick with the heat of wine(K)
there is a conspiracy with traitors.[a]
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.
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]

Ephraim has allowed himself to get mixed up with the nations.
Ephraim is unturned bread baked on a griddle.
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

  1. Hosea 7:5 Lit wine—he stretches out his hand to scorners; Hb obscure
  2. Hosea 7:7 These vv. may refer to a king’s assassination; Hb obscure.
  3. Hosea 7:10 Lit against his face
  4. Hosea 7:12 Lit news to
  5. Hosea 7:14 Some Hb mss, LXX; other Hb mss read They stay
  6. Hosea 7:16 Some emend to turn to what is useless

when I would heal Israel,
and the corruption of Ephraim is revealed,
    and the wicked deeds of Samaria;
because they deal in falsehood,
    the thief breaks in,[a]
    and the bandit raids the outside.
But they did not consider[b]
    that I remember all their wickedness.
Now their deeds surround them;
    they are before my face.
By their wickedness they make the king glad,
    and the officials by their treacheries.
All of them commit adultery,
    like a burning oven
whose baker has stopped from stirring the fire,
    and from kneading the dough until it is leavened.
On the day of our king, the princes
    became sick with the heat of wine;[c]
he stretched out his hand with mockers.
    Because they are kindled[d] like an oven,
their heart burns within them;
    all night their anger smolders,[e]
in the morning it blazes like a flaming fire.
All of them are hot as an oven,
    and they devour[f] their rulers.
All their kings have fallen;
    there is none who calls to me amongst them.
Ephraim mixes himself
    with the nations;
Ephraim is a bread cake
    not turned over.
Foreigners devour[g] his strength,
    and he does not know it;
mold[h] is also sprinkled upon him,
    and he does not know it.
10 The pride of Israel testifies against him[i]
    they do not return to Yahweh their God;
    they do not seek him for all of this.[j]
11 Ephraim was like a dove,
    silly, without sense;[k]
they call to Egypt,
    they go to Assyria.
12 Just as they go, I will cast my net
    over them;
I will bring them down
        like the birds[l] of the heavens;[m]
    I will discipline them
        according to a report to their assembly.[n]
13 Woe to them, because they have strayed from me!
    Destruction to them, because they have rebelled against me!
I myself would redeem them,
    but they speak lies against me.
14 They do not cry out to me from their heart,
    but they wail on their beds;
because of grain and new wine they lacerate[o] themselves;
    they depart from me.
15 And I myself trained
    and strengthened their arms;
        but they plan evil against me.
16 They turn, not to the Most High,[p]
    like a slack bow;
their officials will fall by the sword
    because of the anger of their tongue.
This is their scorn[q]
    in the land of Egypt.

Footnotes

  1. Hosea 7:1 Or “comes in”
  2. Hosea 7:2 Literally “But they did not say to their heart”
  3. Hosea 7:5 This phrase refers to the effects of wine on the body
  4. Hosea 7:6 Hebrew “they drew near;” other ancient translations read “they are kindled”
  5. Hosea 7:6 Literally “sleeps”
  6. Hosea 7:7 Or “they eat”
  7. Hosea 7:9 Or “Foreigners eat”
  8. Hosea 7:9 Literally “grey hair,” but in this case the word refers to the “hairs of mold” on food
  9. Hosea 7:10 Literally “answers against his face”
  10. Hosea 7:10 Or “in all of this”
  11. Hosea 7:11 Literally “without heart”
  12. Hosea 7:12 Hebrew “bird”
  13. Hosea 7:12 Or “sky”
  14. Hosea 7:12 Hebrew uncertain
  15. Hosea 7:14 Or “gash”
  16. Hosea 7:16 Hebrew uncertain; the NRSV translates “to that which does not profit”; the NASB translates “but not upward”
  17. Hosea 7:16 The NRSV translates “So much for their babbling”