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Hosea 8
New English Translation
Hosea 8
New English Translation
God Will Raise Up the Assyrians to Attack Israel
8 Sound the alarm![a]
An eagle[b] looms over the temple of the Lord!
For they have broken their covenant with me[c]
and have rebelled against my law.
2 Israel cries out to me,
“My God, we acknowledge you!”
3 But Israel has rejected what is morally good;
so an enemy will pursue him.
The Political and Cultic Sin of Israel
4 They enthroned kings without my consent.[d]
They appointed princes without my approval.[e]
They made idols out of their silver and gold,
but they will be destroyed![f]
5 O Samaria, he has rejected your calf idol.
My anger burns against them!
They will not survive much longer without being punished,[g]
even though they are Israelites!
6 That idol was made by a workman—it is not God!
The calf idol of Samaria will be broken to bits.
The Fertility Cultists Will Become Infertile
7 They sow the wind,
and so they will reap the whirlwind!
The stalk does not have any standing grain;
it will not produce any flour.
Even if it were to yield grain,
foreigners would swallow it all up.
8 Israel will be swallowed up among the nations;
they will be like a worthless piece of pottery.
Israel’s Hired Lovers
9 They have gone up to Assyria,
like a wild donkey that wanders off.
Ephraim has hired prostitutes as lovers.[h]
10 Even though they have hired lovers among the nations,[i]
I will soon gather them together for judgment.[j]
Then[k] they will begin to waste away
under the oppression of a mighty king.[l]
Sacrifices Ineffective without Moral Obedience
11 Although Ephraim has built many altars for sin offerings,
these have become altars for sinning.
12 I spelled out my law for him in great detail,
but they regard it as something totally unknown[m] to them.
13 They offer up sacrificial gifts to me
and eat the meat,
but the Lord does not accept their sacrifices.[n]
Soon he will remember their wrongdoing,
he will punish their sins,
and they will return to Egypt.
14 Israel has forgotten his Maker and built royal palaces,
and Judah has built many fortified cities.
But I will send fire on their cities;
it will consume their royal citadels.
Footnotes
- Hosea 8:1 tn Heb “A horn unto your gums!”; cf. NAB “A trumpet to your lips!”
- Hosea 8:1 tn Or perhaps: “A vulture.” Some identify the species indicated by the Hebrew term נֶשֶׁר (nesher) as the griffon vulture (cf. NEB, NRSV).
- Hosea 8:1 tn Heb “my covenant” (so NAB, NIV, NRSV); cf. TEV “the covenant I made with them.”
- Hosea 8:4 tn Heb “but without me”; cf. NCV “without asking my permission,” and CEV “without consulting me.”
- Hosea 8:4 tn Heb “but I did not know”; cf. NRSV “but without my knowledge.”
- Hosea 8:4 tn Heb “in order to be cut off.” The text gives the impression that they made the idols for this purpose, but the language is ironic and sarcastic, bringing out the futility of their efforts. One could paraphrase, “they made idols…but only so that they might be destroyed.” Though they had other plans for the idols, God’s judgment would bring their intentions to naught.
- Hosea 8:5 tn Heb “How long will they be able to be free from punishment?” This rhetorical question affirms that Israel will not survive much longer until God punishes it.
- Hosea 8:9 tn Or “has hired herself out to lovers”; cf. NIV “has sold herself to lovers.”
- Hosea 8:10 tn Or “they have hired themselves out to lovers”; cf. NASB “they hire allies among the nations.”
- Hosea 8:10 tn The Piel stem of קָבַץ (qavats) is often used in a positive sense, meaning “to regather” a dispersed people (HALOT 1063 s.v. קבץ 3.a; BDB 868 s.v. קָבַץ 1.α). However, in Hosea 8:10 it is used in a negative sense, meaning “to assemble (people) for judgment” (e.g., Ezek 20:34; Hos 9:6; HALOT 1063 s.v. 3.e.i). Cf. JPS “I will hold them fast” (in judgment; see the parallel in 9:6).
- Hosea 8:10 tn The vav consecutive + preterite וַיָּחֵלּוּ (vayyakhellu, Hiphil preterite third person common plural from חָלַל, khalal, “to begin”]) denotes temporal subordination to the preceding clause: “then…” (so NLT); cf. TEV, CEV “Soon.”
- Hosea 8:10 tn Heb “a king of princes” (cf. KJV, NASB); cf. TEV “the emperor of Assyria.”
- Hosea 8:12 tn Heb “foreign” or “alien”; cf. NASB, NRSV “as a strange thing.”
- Hosea 8:13 tn Heb “does not accept them”; the referent (their sacrifices) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
Hosea 8
International Standard Version
Hosea 8
International Standard Version
Reaping the Wind Storm
8 “Sound the ram’s horn!
Like a vulture[a] the enemy[b] will come against the Temple of the Lord,
because Israel[c] violated my covenant,
transgressing my Law.
2 They cry out to me,
‘God, we of Israel acknowledge you.’
3 “Israel has discarded what is good.
The enemy will pursue them.[d]
4 They set kings in place,
but not by me.
They established princes,
whom I did not recognize.
They crafted idols for themselves from their silver and gold;
as a result, they will be destroyed.
5 Your calf,[e] Samaria, has been thrown away.
My anger is burning against them.
How long until they become pure again?
6 Because from Israel it was fashioned by craftsmen,
it is not God;
therefore Samaria’s calf will be broken in pieces.
7 “Because they sow the wind,
they will reap the wind storm.
The plant has no stalk
and its bud yields no grain.
Even if there’s a harvest,
foreigners will gobble it up.
8 Israel has been devoured;
now they will live among the nations
like a worthless container.
9 “Because they went over to Assyria,
they are like a wild donkey alone by itself.
Ephraim has hired some lovers.
10 Even though they sold themselves to the nations,
I will gather them.
They will mourn for a while
for the burden they were to the king and princes.[f]
11 “The more altars Ephraim builds for sin,
the more altars there will be for sin.
12 I prescribed great things from my Law for them,[g]
but they considered them profane.
13 They offer me meat from the sacrifices of my offerings,
and they eat from it,
but the Lord does not accept them.
He will now remember their transgression
and pay them back for their sins;
to Egypt they will return.
14 “Israel has neglected its maker in building palaces.
Judah has multiplied its fortified cities,
but I will send fire to their cities,
and it will consume their fortresses.”
Footnotes
- Hosea 8:1 Or eagle
- Hosea 8:1 Lit. he
- Hosea 8:1 Lit. they
- Hosea 8:3 Lit. him
- Hosea 8:5 I.e. the idol they crafted (cf. v. 4)
- Hosea 8:10 So LXX. MT king of princes
- Hosea 8:12 Lit. him
Hosea 8
New International Version
Hosea 8
New International Version
Israel to Reap the Whirlwind
8 “Put the trumpet(A) to your lips!
An eagle(B) is over the house of the Lord
because the people have broken my covenant(C)
and rebelled against my law.(D)
2 Israel cries out to me,
‘Our God, we acknowledge you!’
3 But Israel has rejected what is good;
an enemy will pursue him.(E)
4 They set up kings without my consent;
they choose princes without my approval.(F)
With their silver and gold
they make idols(G) for themselves
to their own destruction.
5 Samaria, throw out your calf-idol!(H)
My anger burns against them.
How long will they be incapable of purity?(I)
6 They are from Israel!
This calf—a metalworker has made it;
it is not God.(J)
It will be broken in pieces,
that calf(K) of Samaria.(L)
7 “They sow the wind
and reap the whirlwind.(M)
The stalk has no head;
it will produce no flour.(N)
Were it to yield grain,
foreigners would swallow it up.(O)
8 Israel is swallowed up;(P)
now she is among the nations
like something no one wants.(Q)
9 For they have gone up to Assyria(R)
like a wild donkey(S) wandering alone.
Ephraim has sold herself to lovers.(T)
10 Although they have sold themselves among the nations,
I will now gather them together.(U)
They will begin to waste away(V)
under the oppression of the mighty king.
11 “Though Ephraim built many altars for sin offerings,
these have become altars for sinning.(W)
12 I wrote for them the many things of my law,
but they regarded them as something foreign.(X)
13 Though they offer sacrifices as gifts to me,
and though they eat(Y) the meat,
the Lord is not pleased with them.(Z)
Now he will remember(AA) their wickedness
and punish their sins:(AB)
They will return to Egypt.(AC)
14 Israel has forgotten(AD) their Maker(AE)
and built palaces;
Judah has fortified many towns.
But I will send fire on their cities
that will consume their fortresses.”(AF)
New English Translation (NET)
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