Hosea 5-6
Christian Standard Bible
5 Hear this, priests!(A)
Pay attention, house of Israel!
Listen, royal house!
For the judgment applies to you
because you have been a snare at Mizpah(B)
and a net spread out on Tabor.
2 Rebels(C) are deeply involved in slaughter;(D)
I will be a punishment for all of them.[a]
3 I know Ephraim,(E)
and Israel is not hidden from me.
For now, Ephraim,(F)
you have acted promiscuously;
Israel is defiled.
4 Their actions do not allow them
to return to their God,(G)
for a spirit of promiscuity is among them,(H)
and they do not know the Lord.(I)
5 Israel’s arrogance testifies against them.[b](J)
Both Israel and Ephraim stumble
because of their iniquity;(K)
even Judah will stumble with them.(L)
6 They go with their flocks and herds
to seek the Lord(M)
but do not find him;(N)
he has withdrawn from them.(O)
7 They betrayed the Lord;(P)
indeed, they gave birth to illegitimate children.(Q)
Now the New Moon(R) will devour them
along with their fields.(S)
8 Blow the ram’s horn in Gibeah,(T)
the trumpet in Ramah;(U)
raise the war cry in Beth-aven:(V)
Look behind you,[c] Benjamin!(W)
9 Ephraim will become a desolation(X)
on the day of punishment;(Y)
I announce what is certain
among the tribes of Israel.(Z)
10 The princes of Judah are like those
who move boundary markers;(AA)
I will pour out my fury(AB) on them like water.(AC)
11 Ephraim is oppressed, crushed in judgment,(AD)
for he is determined to follow what is worthless.[d]
12 So I am like rot to Ephraim(AE)
and like decay to the house of Judah.
13 When Ephraim saw his sickness
and Judah his wound,
Ephraim went to Assyria(AF)
and sent a delegation to the great king.[e](AG)
But he cannot cure you or heal your wound.(AH)
14 For I am like a lion to Ephraim(AI)
and like a young lion to the house of Judah.
Yes, I will tear them to pieces and depart.(AJ)
I will carry them off,
and no one can rescue them.(AK)
15 I will depart and return to my place
until they recognize their guilt and seek my face;(AL)
they will search for me in their distress.(AM)
A Call to Repentance
6 Come, let’s return to the Lord.(AN)
For he has torn us,(AO)
and he will heal us;(AP)
he has wounded us,
and he will bind up our wounds.(AQ)
2 He will revive us after two days,(AR)
and on the third day he will raise us up
so we can live in his presence.(AS)
3 Let’s strive to know the Lord.(AT)
His appearance is as sure as the dawn.(AU)
He will come to us like the rain,(AV)
like the spring showers that water the land.
The Lord’s First Lament
4 What am I going to do with you, Ephraim?(AW)
What am I going to do with you, Judah?
Your love is like the morning mist(AX)
and like the early dew that vanishes.
5 This is why I have used the prophets
to cut them down;[f](AY)
I have killed them with the words from my mouth.
My judgment strikes like lightning.[g]
6 For I desire faithful love and not sacrifice,
the knowledge of God(AZ) rather than burnt offerings.(BA)
8 Gilead is a city of evildoers,(BD)
tracked with bloody footprints.(BE)
9 Like raiders who wait in ambush for someone,(BF)
a band of priests murders on the road to Shechem.(BG)
They commit atrocities.(BH)
10 I have seen something horrible(BI) in the house of Israel:
Ephraim’s promiscuity is there;(BJ) Israel is defiled.
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