Hosea 7
Christian Standard Bible
7 when I heal Israel,(A)
the iniquity of Ephraim(B) and the crimes of Samaria(C)
will be exposed.
For they practice fraud;(D)
a thief breaks in;
a raiding party pillages outside.(E)
2 But they never consider that I remember all their evil.(F)
Now their actions are all around them;(G)
they are right in front of my face.
Israel’s Corruption
4 All of them commit adultery;(J)
they are like an oven heated by a baker
who stops stirring the fire
from the kneading of the dough until it is leavened.
5 On the day of our king,
the princes are sick with the heat of wine(K)—
there is a conspiracy with traitors.[a]
6 For they—their hearts like an oven—
draw him into their oven.
Their anger smolders all night;
in the morning it blazes like a flaming fire.
7 All of them are as hot as an oven,(L)
and they consume their rulers.(M)
All their kings fall;
not one of them calls on me.[b]
8 Ephraim has allowed himself to get mixed up with the nations.
Ephraim is unturned bread baked on a griddle.
9 Foreigners consume his strength,(N)
but he does not notice.(O)
Even his hair is streaked with gray,
but he does not notice.
10 Israel’s arrogance testifies against them,[c](P)
yet they do not return to the Lord their God,(Q)
and for all this, they do not seek him.
11 So Ephraim has become like a silly, senseless dove;(R)
they call to Egypt,(S) and they go to Assyria.(T)
12 As they are going, I will spread my net over them;(U)
I will bring them down like birds of the sky.
I will discipline them in accordance
with the news that reaches[d] their assembly.
The Lord’s Second Lament
13 Woe to them,(V) for they fled from me;(W)
destruction to them, for they rebelled against me!
Though I want to redeem them,(X)
they speak lies against me.
14 They do not cry to me from their hearts;
rather, they wail on their beds.
They slash themselves[e](Y) for grain and new wine;(Z)
they turn away from me.
15 I trained and strengthened their arms,(AA)
but they plot evil against me.(AB)
16 They turn, but not to what is above;[f]
they are like a faulty bow.(AC)
Their leaders will fall by the sword
because of their insolent tongue.(AD)
They will be ridiculed for this in the land of Egypt.(AE)
Hosea 7
Evangelical Heritage Version
Israel’s Corruption
7 Whenever I want to heal Israel,
the guilt of Ephraim is uncovered,
and the evil deeds of Samaria are exposed,
because they deal dishonestly.
Thieves come inside,
and bandits raid outside.
2 In their hearts Ephraim does not realize that I remember all their wickedness.
Now their deeds are all around them.
They are in front of my face.
3 The people of Ephraim make the king glad with their wickedness.
They make their officials happy with their lies.
4 They are all adulterers,
burning like an oven.
The baker does not need to stoke the fire
from the time the dough is kneaded until it is leavened.
5 On the day[a] of our[b] king, the officials became sick from the intoxicating wine.
He reaches out his hand to the blasphemers.
6 Indeed, their hearts are like an oven.
They approach him, while plotting against him.
Their anger sleeps all night,
but in the morning it burns like a blazing fire.
7 They are all hot as an oven.
They devour their rulers.
All their kings have fallen.
Not one of them calls on me.
8 Ephraim mixes itself with the nations.
Ephraim is a flatbread not turned over.
9 Strangers have devoured his strength,
but he does not realize it.
There are gray hairs on his head,
but he does not realize it.
10 The arrogance of Israel testifies against him,
yet they have not returned to the Lord their God,
and they have not sought him, despite all this.
Israel’s Instability
11 Ephraim is like a gullible dove, without sense.
They call to Egypt.
Then they appeal to Assyria.
12 When they go out, I will spread my net over them.
I will bring them down like birds from the sky.
I will discipline them, on the basis of the report about their assembly.[c]
13 Woe to them,
because they have strayed from me!
Destruction comes upon them,
because they have rebelled against me!
I want to redeem them,
but they speak lies against me.
14 They do not cry out to me with their hearts,
but they howl on their beds.
They gather together[d] for grain and new wine.
They turn away from me.
15 Though I trained and strengthened their arms,
they plot evil against me.
16 They return, but not upward.[e]
They are like an unreliable bow.
Their officials will fall by the sword because of their angry tongues.
Because of this, they will be ridiculed in the land of Egypt.
Footnotes
- Hosea 7:5 The birthday or the coronation day
- Hosea 7:5 The Targum reads their.
- Hosea 7:12 Or I will discipline them when I hear them flocking together. The meaning of the line is uncertain.
- Hosea 7:14 Or they cut themselves, a reference to heathen religious practices
- Hosea 7:16 Or not for the better. The translation above is literal. Many translations suggest the emendations return to the Most High or turn to Baal.
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The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.