Hosea 11

English Standard Version

The Lord's Love for Israel

11 ^(A)When Israel was a child, ^(B)I loved him,
    and out of Egypt I ^(C)called ^(D)my son.
²^(E)The more they were called,
    the more they went away;
^(F)they kept sacrificing to the Baals
    and burning offerings to idols.

³Yet it was ^(G)I who taught Ephraim to walk;
    I took them up by their arms,
    but they did not know that ^(H)I healed them.
⁴^(I)I led them with cords of kindness,^[a]
    with the bands of love,
and ^(J)I became to them as one who eases the yoke on their jaws,
    and ^(K)I bent down to them and fed them.

⁵^(L)They shall not^[b] return to the land of Egypt,
    but ^(M)Assyria shall be their king,
    ^(N)because ^(O)they have refused to return to me.
⁶^(P)The sword shall rage against their cities,
    consume the bars of their gates,
    and devour them ^(Q)because of their own counsels.
⁷My people are bent ^(R)on turning away from me,
    and though ^(S)they call out to the Most High,
    he shall not raise them up at all.

⁸How can I give you up, O Ephraim?
    How can I hand you over, O Israel?
^(T)How can I make you ^(U)like Admah?
    How can I treat you ^(V)like Zeboiim?
^(W)My heart recoils within me;
    my compassion grows warm and tender.
⁹I will not execute my burning anger;
    I will not again destroy Ephraim;
^(X)for I am God and not a man,
    ^(Y)the Holy One in your midst,
    and I will not come in wrath.^[c]

¹⁰^(Z)They shall go after the Lord;
    ^(AA)he will roar like a lion;
when he roars,
    his children shall come trembling ^(AB)from the west;
¹¹they shall come trembling like birds ^(AC)from Egypt,
    and ^(AD)like doves ^(AE)from the land of Assyria,
    and I will return them to their homes, declares the Lord.
¹²^[d] Ephraim ^(AF)has surrounded me with lies,
    and the house of Israel with deceit,
but Judah still walks with God
    and is faithful to the Holy One.

Footnotes

Hosea 11:4 Or humaneness; Hebrew man
Hosea 11:5 Or surely
Hosea 11:9 Or into the city
Hosea 11:12 Ch 12:1 in Hebrew

Hosea 14

English Standard Version

A Plea to Return to the Lord

14 ^(A)Return, O Israel, to the Lord your God,
    for ^(B)you have stumbled because of your iniquity.
²Take with you words
    and return to the Lord;
say to him,
    “Take away all iniquity;
accept ^(C)what is good,
    and we will pay with bulls
    ^(D)the vows^[a] of our lips.
³^(E)Assyria shall not save us;
    ^(F)we will not ride on horses;
and ^(G)we will say no more, ‘Our God,’
    to the work of our hands.
^(H)In you the orphan finds mercy.”

⁴I ^(I)will heal their apostasy;
    ^(J)I will love them freely,
    for my anger has turned from them.
⁵^(K)I will be like the dew to Israel;
    ^(L)he shall blossom like the lily;
    he shall take root like the trees ^(M)of Lebanon;
⁶his shoots shall spread out;
    his beauty shall be ^(N)like the olive,
    and his fragrance like Lebanon.
⁷They shall return and ^(O)dwell beneath my^[b] shadow;
    they shall flourish like the grain;
they shall blossom like the vine;
    their fame shall be like the wine of Lebanon.

⁸O ^(P)Ephraim, what have I to do with idols?
It is I who answer and look after you.^[c]
I am like an evergreen cypress;
^(Q)from me comes your fruit.

⁹^(R)Whoever is wise, let him understand these things;
    whoever is discerning, let him know them;
for the ways of the Lord are right,
    and ^(S)the upright walk in them,
    ^(T)but transgressors stumble in them.