Hosea 8
Lexham English Bible
Israel Rejects the Good
8 Put to your lips the trumpet
like a vulture over the house of Yahweh,
because they have broken my covenant[a]
and rebelled against my law.
2 They cry out to me,
“My God! We, Israel, know you!”
3 Israel has spurned the good;
the enemy will pursue him.
4 They appointed kings, but not through me;
they made officials, but without my knowledge.
With their silver and gold
they made idols for themselves
for their[b] own destruction.[c]
5 Your calf is rejected,[d] O Samaria;
my anger burns against them.
How long[e] will they be incapable of innocence?
6 Because it is from Israel,
an artisan made it,
it is not a god;
for the calf of Samaria
will be broken to pieces.
7 Because they sow the wind,
they will reap the whirlwind.
The standing grain does not have heads;[f]
it will not yield flour.
And if it would yield,
strangers would devour it.
8 Israel is swallowed up;
now they are among the nations,
like an object that no one desires.
9 For they have gone up to Assyria,
a wild donkey alone to itself;
Ephraim has sold itself for lovers.
10 Even though they have sold themselves to the nations,
now I will gather them.
They will soon writhe
from the burden of kings[g] and princes.
11 When Ephraim multiplied altars
to expiate sins,
they became to him altars to sin on.
12 I write for him myriads of my instruction;[h]
they are regarded as a strange thing.
13 They offer sacrifices of my choice[i]
and they eat flesh;
Yahweh does not accept them.
Now he will remember their iniquity
and punish their sins;
they will return to Egypt.
14 Israel has forgotten his maker and built palaces,
and Judah has multiplied fortified cities;
but I will send fire on his cities
and it will devour her strongholds.
Footnotes
- Hosea 8:1 Literally “transgressed my covenant”
- Hosea 8:4 Hebrew “his”
- Hosea 8:4 Literally “cut off”
- Hosea 8:5 Hebrew “he rejects” or “has rejected you”
- Hosea 8:5 Hebrew “Until when”
- Hosea 8:7 Hebrew “head”
- Hosea 8:10 Hebrew “king”
- Hosea 8:12 Or “my law”
- Hosea 8:13 Hebrew uncertain; or “loved ones”
Hosea 8
Common English Bible
Divine proclamation about Israel’s idolatry
8 Put a trumpet to your lips!
It’s as if a bird of prey has flown over the Lord’s house,
because they have broken my covenant,
and have not kept my Instruction.
2 Israel cries to me,
“My God, we know you!”
3 Israel has turned away from the good;
the enemy will pursue him.
4 They set up kings, but not through me;
they chose princes, but without my knowledge.
With silver and gold they crafted idols
for their own destruction.
5 Your calf is rejected, Samaria.
My anger burns against them.
How long will they remain guilty?
6 The calf is from Israel,
a person made it;
it is not God.
The calf of Samaria will be smashed.
7 Because they sow the wind,
they will get the whirlwind.
Standing grain, but no fresh growth;
it will yield no meal;
if it were to yield,
strangers would devour it.
Bargains, apostasy, and coming punishment
8 Israel is swallowed up;
among the nations, they are now
like a useless jar.
9 They have gone up to Assyria,
a wild ass wandering alone;
Ephraim has hired lovers.
10 Though they have bargained with the nations,
I will now gather them up.
They will soon be diminished
due to the burden of kings and princes.
11 When Ephraim added more altars to take away sin,
they became altars to him for sinning.
12 Even though I write out for him a large number of my instructions,
they are regarded as strange.
13 Though they offer choice sacrifices,[a]
though they eat flesh,
the Lord doesn’t accept them.
Now he will remember their wickedness
and punish their sins;
they will return to Egypt.
14 Israel has forgotten his maker,
and built palaces;
and Judah has multiplied walled cities;
but I will send a fire upon his cities,
and it will devour his fortresses.
Footnotes
- Hosea 8:13 Correction; Heb uncertain
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