The Lord Will Punish Israel

Rejoice not, O Israel!
    Exult not like the peoples;
(A)for you have played the whore, forsaking your God.
    (B)You have loved a prostitute's wages
    on all threshing floors.
(C)Threshing floor and wine vat shall not feed them,
    and (D)the new wine shall fail them.
They shall not remain in (E)the land of the Lord,
    but (F)Ephraim shall return to Egypt,
    and (G)they shall eat unclean food in Assyria.

(H)They shall not pour drink offerings of wine to the Lord,
    (I)and their sacrifices shall not please him.
It shall be like (J)mourners' bread to them;
    all who eat of it shall be defiled;
for their bread shall be for their hunger only;
    (K)it shall not come to the house of the Lord.

(L)What will you do on the day of the appointed festival,
    and on the day of the feast of the Lord?
For behold, they are going away from destruction;
    but (M)Egypt shall gather them;
    Memphis shall bury them.
Nettles shall possess (N)their precious things of silver;
    (O)thorns shall be in their tents.

(P)The days of punishment have come;
    the days of recompense have come;
    Israel shall know it.
(Q)The prophet is a fool;
    the man of the spirit is mad,
because of your great iniquity
    and great hatred.
The prophet is (R)the watchman of Ephraim with my God;
yet (S)a fowler's snare is on all his ways,
    and hatred in the house of his God.
(T)They have deeply corrupted themselves
    as (U)in the days of Gibeah:
(V)he will remember their iniquity;
    he will punish their sins.

10 Like grapes in the wilderness,
    (W)I found Israel.
Like the first fruit on the fig tree
    in its first season,
    I saw your fathers.
But (X)they came to Baal-peor
    and (Y)consecrated themselves to the thing of shame,
    and (Z)became detestable like the thing they loved.
11 Ephraim's (AA)glory shall fly away like a bird—
    (AB)no birth, no pregnancy, no conception!
12 (AC)Even if they bring up children,
    I will bereave them till none is left.
(AD)Woe to them
    when (AE)I depart from them!
13 Ephraim, (AF)as I have seen, was like a young palm[a] planted in a meadow;
    but (AG)Ephraim must lead his children out to slaughter.[b]
14 Give them, O Lord
    what will you give?
Give them (AH)a miscarrying womb
    and dry breasts.

15 Every evil of theirs is in (AI)Gilgal;
    there I began to hate them.
Because of the wickedness of their deeds
    I will drive them out of my house.
I will love them no more;
    all (AJ)their princes are (AK)rebels.

16 Ephraim is stricken;
    (AL)their root is dried up;
    they shall bear no fruit.
Even (AM)though they give birth,
    (AN)I will put their beloved children to death.
17 (AO)My God will reject them
    because they have not listened to him;
    (AP)they shall be wanderers among the nations.

Footnotes

  1. Hosea 9:13 Or like Tyre
  2. Hosea 9:13 Hebrew to him who slaughters

Punishment for Israel

Do not rejoice, Israel;
    do not be jubilant(A) like the other nations.
For you have been unfaithful(B) to your God;
    you love the wages of a prostitute(C)
    at every threshing floor.
Threshing floors and winepresses will not feed the people;
    the new wine(D) will fail them.
They will not remain(E) in the Lord’s land;
    Ephraim will return to Egypt(F)
    and eat unclean food in Assyria.(G)
They will not pour out wine offerings(H) to the Lord,
    nor will their sacrifices please(I) him.
Such sacrifices will be to them like the bread of mourners;(J)
    all who eat them will be unclean.(K)
This food will be for themselves;
    it will not come into the temple of the Lord.(L)

What will you do(M) on the day of your appointed festivals,(N)
    on the feast days of the Lord?
Even if they escape from destruction,
    Egypt will gather them,(O)
    and Memphis(P) will bury them.(Q)
Their treasures of silver(R) will be taken over by briers,
    and thorns(S) will overrun their tents.
The days of punishment(T) are coming,
    the days of reckoning(U) are at hand.
    Let Israel know this.
Because your sins(V) are so many
    and your hostility so great,
the prophet is considered a fool,(W)
    the inspired person a maniac.(X)
The prophet, along with my God,
    is the watchman over Ephraim,[a]
yet snares(Y) await him on all his paths,
    and hostility in the house of his God.(Z)
They have sunk deep into corruption,(AA)
    as in the days of Gibeah.(AB)
God will remember(AC) their wickedness
    and punish them for their sins.(AD)

10 “When I found Israel,
    it was like finding grapes in the desert;
when I saw your ancestors,
    it was like seeing the early fruit(AE) on the fig(AF) tree.
But when they came to Baal Peor,(AG)
    they consecrated themselves to that shameful idol(AH)
    and became as vile as the thing they loved.
11 Ephraim’s glory(AI) will fly away like a bird(AJ)
    no birth, no pregnancy, no conception.(AK)
12 Even if they rear children,
    I will bereave(AL) them of every one.
Woe(AM) to them
    when I turn away from them!(AN)
13 I have seen Ephraim,(AO) like Tyre,
    planted in a pleasant place.(AP)
But Ephraim will bring out
    their children to the slayer.”(AQ)

14 Give them, Lord
    what will you give them?
Give them wombs that miscarry
    and breasts that are dry.(AR)

15 “Because of all their wickedness in Gilgal,(AS)
    I hated them there.
Because of their sinful deeds,(AT)
    I will drive them out of my house.
I will no longer love them;(AU)
    all their leaders are rebellious.(AV)
16 Ephraim(AW) is blighted,
    their root is withered,
    they yield no fruit.(AX)
Even if they bear children,
    I will slay(AY) their cherished offspring.”

17 My God will reject(AZ) them
    because they have not obeyed(BA) him;
    they will be wanderers among the nations.(BB)

Footnotes

  1. Hosea 9:8 Or The prophet is the watchman over Ephraim, / the people of my God