Hosea 9
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Punishment for Israel’s Sin
9 Do not rejoice, O Israel!
Do not exult[a] as other nations do,
for you have prostituted yourself, departing from your God.
You have loved a prostitute’s pay
on all threshing floors.(A)
2 Threshing floor and wine vat shall not feed them,
and the new wine shall fail them.(B)
3 They shall not remain in the land of the Lord,
but Ephraim shall return to Egypt,
and in Assyria they shall eat unclean food.(C)
4 They shall not pour drink offerings of wine to the Lord,
and their sacrifices shall not please him.
Such sacrifices shall be like mourners’ bread;
all who eat of it shall be defiled,
for their bread shall be for their hunger only;
it shall not come to the house of the Lord.(D)
5 What will you do on the day of appointed festival
and on the day of the festival of the Lord?(E)
6 For even if they escape destruction,
Egypt shall gather them;
Memphis shall bury them.
Nettles shall possess their precious things of silver;[b]
thorns shall be in their tents.(F)
7 The days of punishment have come;
the days of recompense have come.
Israel will cry out,[c]
“The prophet is a fool;
the man of the spirit is mad!”
Because of your great iniquity,
your hostility is great.(G)
8 The prophet is a sentinel for my God over Ephraim,
yet a hunter’s snare is on all his ways
and hostility in the house of his God.(H)
9 They have deeply corrupted themselves
as in the days of Gibeah;
he will remember their iniquity;
he will punish their sins.(I)
10 Like grapes in the wilderness,
I found Israel.
Like the first fruit on the fig tree,
in its first season,
I saw your ancestors.
But they came to Baal-peor
and consecrated themselves to a thing of shame
and became detestable like the thing they loved.(J)
11 Ephraim’s glory shall fly away like a bird—
no birth, no pregnancy, no conception!(K)
12 Even if they bring up children,
I will bereave them until no one is left.
Woe to them indeed
when I depart from them!(L)
13 Once I saw Ephraim as a young palm planted in a lovely meadow,[d]
but now Ephraim must lead out his children for slaughter.(M)
14 Give them, O Lord—
what will you give?
Give them a miscarrying womb
and dry breasts.
15 Every evil of theirs began at Gilgal;
there I came 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 their officials are rebels.(N)
Hosea 9
Common English Bible
Arrival of divine judgment
9 Don’t rejoice, Israel!
Don’t celebrate as other nations do;
for as whores you have gone away from your God.
You have loved a prostitute’s pay
on all threshing floors of grain.
2 Threshing floor and wine vat won’t feed them;
the new wine will fail them.
3 They won’t remain in the land of the Lord;
but Ephraim will return to Egypt,
and in Assyria they will eat unclean food.
4 They won’t pour wine as an offering to the Lord;
their sacrifices won’t please him.
Such sacrifices will be like food for those who touch the dead;
all who eat of it will be unclean;
their bread will be for their hunger alone;
it will not come to the Lord’s house.
5 What will you do on the day of appointed festival,
on the day of the Lord’s festival?
6 Even if they escape destruction,
Egypt will gather them,
Memphis will bury them.
Briars will possess their precious things of silver;[a]
thorns will be in their tents.
7 The days of punishment have come;
the days of judgment have arrived;
Israel cries,
“The prophet is a fool,
the spiritual man is mad!”
Because of your great wickedness,
your rejection of me is great.
Tragic consequences
8 The prophet is God’s watchman
looking over Ephraim,
yet a hunter’s trap is set, covering all his ways,
and rejection is in his God’s house.
9 They have corrupted themselves terribly
as in the days of Gibeah;
he will remember their wickedness;
he will punish their sins.
10 Like grapes in the wilderness,
I found Israel.
In its first season,
like the first fruit on the fig tree,
I saw your ancestors.
But they came to Baal-peor,
and worshipped a thing of shame;
they became detestable like the thing they loved.[b]
11 Ephraim’s glory will fly away like a bird—
no birth, no pregnancy, no conception!
12 Though they bring up children,
I will make them childless
until no one is left.
Doom to them indeed when I leave them!
13 When I looked toward Tyre,
Ephraim was planted in a lovely meadow;
but now Ephraim must lead out his children for slaughter.
14 Give them, Lord—
what will you give them?
Give them a womb that miscarries
and breasts that are dried up.
15 Every wickedness of theirs began at Gilgal;
there I came 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 their officials are rebels.
16 Ephraim is sick,
their root is dried up,
they will bear no fruit.
Even though they give birth,
I will put to death their much-loved little ones.
17 Because they haven’t listened to him,
my God will reject them;
they will wander among the nations.
Footnotes
- Hosea 9:6 Or the proud glory pertaining to their silver; Heb uncertain
- Hosea 9:10 Heb uncertain
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible