Hosea 9
Expanded Bible
Israel’s Punishment
9 Israel, do not rejoice;
don’t shout for joy as the other nations do.
You have been ·like a prostitute against [unfaithful to] your God.
You love the pay of prostitutes on every threshing floor.
2 But the threshing floor and the winepress will not feed the people,
and ·there won’t be enough new wine [or the new wine will deceive them].
3 The people will not stay in the Lord’s land.
·Israel [L Ephraim] will return ·to being captives as they were in [L to] Egypt,
and in Assyria they will eat ·food that they are not allowed to eat [L unclean food; C food forbidden by the law; Lev. 11].
4 The Israelites will not ·give [pour out] offerings of wine to the Lord;
and their sacrifices will not please him.
Their sacrifices will be like ·food that is eaten at a funeral [mourners bread; Deut. 26:14];
it is unclean, and everyone who eats it becomes unclean [C because touched by someone who has touched a dead body; Num. 19:22].
Their food will only satisfy their hunger;
·they cannot sacrifice it in [L it will not come into] the Temple.
5 What will you do then on the day of ·feasts [your appointed festivals]
and on the day of the Lord’s festival?
6 [L Look; T Behold] Even if the people ·are not destroyed [escape destruction],
Egypt will ·capture [or receive; L gather] them;
Memphis [C a city in Egypt famous for its tombs] will bury them.
·Weeds [Briers; Nettles] will grow over their silver treasures,
and thorns will ·drive them out of [possess; inherit] their tents.
7 The time of punishment has come,
the ·time to pay for sins [L days of recompense/vengeance].
Let Israel know this:
·You think the [L The] prophet is a fool,
and ·you say the [L the] ·spiritual person [Spirit-inspired person] is crazy.
·You [or This is because you] have sinned very much,
and your hatred is great.
8 ·Is Israel a watchman?
Are God’s people prophets? [or The prophet is a watchman over Ephraim on God’s behalf]
·Everywhere Israel goes, traps are set for him [or …yet traps/snares await him on all his paths].
·He is an enemy [or …and hatred even] in God’s house.
9 ·The people of Israel [L They] have gone deep into ·sin [depravity; corruption]
as ·the people of Gibeah did [L in the days of Gibeah; Judg. 19–20].
The Lord will remember ·the evil things they have done [their wickedness/iniquity],
and he will punish their sins.
10 “When I found Israel,
it was like finding grapes in the ·desert [wilderness].
Your ·ancestors [fathers; forefathers] were like
finding the first figs on the fig tree.
But when they came to Baal Peor,
they ·began worshiping an idol [L consecrated/dedicated themselves to a shameful thing; Num. 25:3–18],
and they became as ·hateful [detestable] as the thing they ·worshiped [L loved].
11 ·Israel’s [L Ephraim’s; 4:17] glory will fly away like a bird;
there will be no more pregnancy, no more births, no more conception.
12 But even if ·the Israelites [L they] bring up children,
I will take them all away.
·How terrible it will be for [L Woe to] them
when I ·go away [turn away; depart] from them!
13 I have seen Israel, like ·Tyre [or a young palm],
·given [L planted in] a pleasant place.
But ·the people of Israel [L Ephraim; 4:17] will soon bring out
their children to ·be killed [slaughter; or the slayer].”
14 Lord, ·give them what they should have [L give them].
What will you give them?
·Make their women unable to have children [L Give them wombs that miscarry];
give them ·dried-up breasts that cannot feed their babies [L dry breasts].
15 “The Israelites were very wicked in Gilgal [C a center of false worship in Israel; 4:15],
so I have hated them there.
Because of the sinful things they have done,
I will ·force them to leave [drive them out of] my land.
I will no longer love them;
their ·leaders [princes] ·have turned against me [are rebels/rebellious].
16 ·Israel [L Ephraim] is ·beaten down [struck down; or blighted];
its root is ·dying [withered; dried up], and it ·has [bears] no fruit.
If they have more children,
I will kill the ·children they love [L cherished offspring of their womb].”
17 My God will reject them,
because they have not obeyed him;
they will ·wander [be wanderers/fugitives] among the nations.
Hosea 9
New American Standard Bible
Ephraim Punished
9 (A)Do not rejoice, Israel, [a]with jubilation like the [b]nations!
For you have (B)been unfaithful, [c]abandoning your God.
You have loved the earnings of unfaithfulness on [d]every threshing floor.
2 Threshing floor and wine press will (C)not feed them,
And the new wine will fail [e]them.
3 They will not remain in (D)the Lord’s land,
But Ephraim will return to (E)Egypt,
And in (F)Assyria they will eat (G)unclean food.
4 They will not pour out drink offerings of (H)wine to the Lord,
(I)Nor will [f]their sacrifices please Him.
Their bread will be to them like [g]mourners’ bread;
All who eat it will be (J)defiled,
Because their bread will be for [h]themselves alone;
It will not enter the house of the Lord.
5 (K)What will you do on the day of the appointed festival
And on the day of the (L)feast of the Lord?
6 For behold, they will be gone because of destruction;
Egypt will gather them together, (M)Memphis will bury them.
Weeds will take possession of their treasures of silver;
(N)Thorns will be in their tents.
7 The days of (O)punishment have come,
The days of (P)retribution have come;
[i]Let Israel know this!
The prophet is a (Q)fool,
The [j]inspired person is (R)insane,
Because of the grossness of your (S)wrongdoing,
And because your [k]hostility is so great.
8 Ephraim was a watchman with my God, a prophet;
Yet the snare of a bird catcher is in all his ways,
And there is only [l]hostility in the house of his God.
9 They are (T)deeply depraved
As in the days of (U)Gibeah;
He will (V)remember their guilt,
He will punish their sins.
10 I found Israel like (W)grapes in the wilderness;
I saw your forefathers as the (X)earliest fruit on the fig tree in its first season.
But they came to (Y)Baal-peor and devoted themselves to [m](Z)shame,
And they became as (AA)detestable as that which they loved.
11 As for Ephraim, their (AB)glory will fly away like a bird—
No birth, no pregnancy, and no conception!
12 Though they bring up their children,
Yet I will bereave them of their children [n]until not a person is left.
Yes, (AC)woe to them indeed when I depart from them!
13 Ephraim, as I have seen,
Is planted in a pasture like (AD)Tyre;
But Ephraim is going to bring out his children for slaughter.
14 Give to them, Lord—what will You give?
Give them a (AE)miscarrying womb and dried-up breasts.
15 All their evil is at (AF)Gilgal;
Indeed, I came to hate them there!
Because of the (AG)wickedness of their deeds
I will drive them out of My house!
I will no longer love them;
All their leaders are (AH)rebels.
16 (AI)Ephraim is stricken, their root is dried up,
They will produce (AJ)no fruit.
Even though they give birth to children,
I will put to death the (AK)precious ones of their womb.
17 My God will reject them
Because they have (AL)not listened to Him;
And they will be (AM)wanderers among the nations.
Footnotes
- Hosea 9:1 Lit to
- Hosea 9:1 Lit peoples
- Hosea 9:1 Lit away from your God
- Hosea 9:1 Lit all threshing floors of grain
- Hosea 9:2 Lit her
- Hosea 9:4 Or they offer to Him their
- Hosea 9:4 Lit bread of mourning
- Hosea 9:4 Lit their soul
- Hosea 9:7 Or Israel will know this
- Hosea 9:7 Lit man of the spirit
- Hosea 9:7 Or persecution
- Hosea 9:8 Or persecution
- Hosea 9:10 I.e., Baal
- Hosea 9:12 Lit without a person
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New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
