Hosea 8
Expanded Bible
Israel Has Trusted Wrong Things
8 “Put the trumpet to your lips [C to warn of danger or call to battle]!
The enemy ·swoops down on [or circles over] the Lord’s ·people [or temple; L house] like an eagle.
The Israelites have broken my ·agreement [covenant; treaty]
and have ·turned [rebelled] against my ·teachings [law; L Torah].
2 Israel cries out to me,
‘Our God, we in Israel ·know [acknowledge] you!’
3 But Israel has rejected what is good,
so the enemy will ·chase [pursue] them.
4 They ·chose their own [appointed; enthroned] kings
·without asking my permission [L but not from me].
They chose their own ·leaders [princes],
people I did not ·know [acknowledge; approve].
They made their silver and gold into idols,
and for all this they will be destroyed.
5 I ·hate [have rejected] ·the calf-shaped idol of Israel [L your calf, Samaria; Ex. 32; 1 Kin. 12:26–30]!
·I am very angry with the people [L My anger burns against them].
How long will they remain ·unclean [impure; guilty]?
6 The idol is something a craftsman made;
it is not God.
·Israel’s calf-shaped idol [L The calf of Samaria; v. 5]
will surely be smashed to pieces.
7 “·Israel’s foolish plans are like planting the wind [L They sow the wind],
·but they will harvest a storm [L and reap the whirlwind].
Like a stalk with no head of grain,
it produces ·nothing [L no flour].
Even if it produced something,
·other nations [foreigners] would ·eat [devour] it.
8 Israel is ·eaten [swallowed] up;
the people are ·mixed among [L among] the other nations
and have become ·useless to me [a useless pot/utensil/vessel].
9 Israel is like a wild donkey ·all by itself [wandering alone].
They have ·run [L gone up] to Assyria;
·They have hired other nations to protect them [L Ephraim has hired lovers; or Ephraim has sold herself to lovers].
10 Although Israel ·is mixed [or hired; or hired herself out] among the nations,
I will gather them together.
They will ·become weaker and weaker [begin to waste away]
·as they suffer under [from the burden/oppression of] the ·great king of Assyria [L king of princes].
11 “Although ·Israel [L Ephraim; 4:17] built more altars to remove sin,
they have become altars for sinning.
12 I have written many ·teachings [laws; instructions] for them,
but they think the teachings are ·strange and foreign [alien; irrelevant].
13 The Israelites offer sacrifices to me as gifts
and eat the meat,
but the Lord ·is not pleased with [does not accept] them.
He remembers ·the evil they have done [their wickedness/iniquity],
and he will punish them for their sins.
They will ·be slaves again as they were in [L return to] Egypt.
14 Israel has forgotten its Maker and has built palaces;
Judah has built many ·strong, walled [fortified] cities.
But I will send fire on their cities
and ·destroy [L it will devour/consume] their ·strong buildings [strongholds; citadels].”
Hosea 8
Amplified Bible
Israel Reaps the Whirlwind
8 Set the trumpet to your lips [announcing impending judgment]!
Like a [great] vulture the enemy comes against the house of the Lord,
Because they have broken My covenant
And transgressed and rebelled against My law.
2
Then they will cry out to Me,
“My God, we of Israel know You!”
3
Israel has rejected the good;
The enemy shall pursue him.
4
They set up kings, but not from Me [therefore without My blessing];
They have appointed princes, but I did not know it.
With their silver and their gold they made idols for themselves,
That they might be cut off.
5
He has rejected your [pagan] calf, O Samaria, saying,
“My wrath burns against them.”
How long will they be incapable of innocence?
6
For even this [loathsome calf] is from Israel.
A craftsman made it, so it is not God;
Surely the calf of Samaria will be broken to pieces and go up in flames.
7
For they sow the wind [in evil]
And they reap the whirlwind [in disaster].
The standing grain has no growth;
It yields no grain.
If it were to yield, strangers would swallow it up.
8
Israel is [as if] swallowed up [by enemies];
They are now among the nations
Like a vessel [of cheap, coarse pottery] that is useless.
9
For they have gone up to Assyria,
Like a wild donkey wandering alone and taking her own way;
Ephraim has hired lovers (pagan allies).
10
Yes, even though [with presents] they hire allies among the nations,
Now I will gather them up;
And [in a little while] they will begin [a]to grow weak and diminish
Because of the burden imposed by the king of princes [the king of Assyria].
11
For Ephraim has constructed many altars for sin;
They are altars intended for sinning [which multiply his guilt].
12
I wrote for him the ten thousand precepts of My law,
But they are regarded as a strange thing [which does not concern him].
13
As for My sacrificial offerings,
They sacrifice the meat [as a mere formality] and eat it,
But the Lord is not pleased with them and does not accept them.
Now He will remember and take into account their wickedness and guilt,
And punish them for their sins.
They will return [in captivity] to [another] Egypt [that is, Assyria].(A)
14
For Israel has forgotten his Maker and built palaces [and pagan temples],
And Judah has built many fortified cities;
But I will send a fire upon their cities so that it may consume their palaces and fortresses.(B)
Footnotes
- Hosea 8:10 Lit to be small.
The Expanded Bible, Copyright © 2011 Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, CA 90631. All rights reserved.
