Hosea 7
New International Version - UK
7 whenever I would heal Israel,
the sins of Ephraim are exposed
and the crimes of Samaria revealed.
They practise deceit,
thieves break into houses,
bandits rob in the streets;
2 but they do not realise
that I remember all their evil deeds.
Their sins engulf them;
they are always before me.
3 ‘They delight the king with their wickedness,
the princes with their lies.
4 They are all adulterers,
burning like an oven
whose fire the baker need not stir
from the kneading of the dough till it rises.
5 On the day of the festival of our king
the princes become inflamed with wine,
and he joins hands with the mockers.
6 Their hearts are like an oven;
they approach him with intrigue.
Their passion smoulders all night;
in the morning it blazes like a flaming fire.
7 All of them are hot as an oven;
they devour their rulers.
All their kings fall,
and none of them calls on me.
8 ‘Ephraim mixes with the nations;
Ephraim is a flat loaf not turned over.
9 Foreigners sap his strength,
but he does not realise it.
His hair is sprinkled with grey,
but he does not notice.
10 Israel’s arrogance testifies against him,
but despite all this
he does not return to the Lord his God
or search for him.
11 ‘Ephraim is like a dove,
easily deceived and senseless –
now calling to Egypt,
now turning to Assyria.
12 When they go, I will throw my net over them;
I will pull them down like the birds in the sky.
When I hear them flocking together,
I will catch them.
13 Woe to them,
because they have strayed from me!
Destruction to them,
because they have rebelled against me!
I long to redeem them
but they speak about me falsely.
14 They do not cry out to me from their hearts
but wail on their beds.
They slash themselves,[a] appealing to their gods
for grain and new wine,
but they turn away from me.
15 I trained them and strengthened their arms,
but they plot evil against me.
16 They do not turn to the Most High;
they are like a faulty bow.
Their leaders will fall by the sword
because of their insolent words.
For this they will be ridiculed
in the land of Egypt.
Footnotes
- Hosea 7:14 Some Hebrew manuscripts and Septuagint; most Hebrew manuscripts They gather together
Hosea 7
New American Standard Bible
Ephraim’s Wrongdoing
7 When I (A)would heal Israel,
The wrongdoing of Ephraim is uncovered,
And the evil deeds of Samaria,
For they practice (B)deception;
The thief enters,
A band of (C)robbers attack outside,
2 And they do not [a]consider in their hearts
That I (D)remember all their wickedness.
Now their (E)deeds surround them;
They are before My face.
3 (F)With their wickedness they make the (G)king happy,
And the officials with their (H)lies.
4 They are (I)all adulterers,
Like an oven heated by the baker,
Who stops [b]stoking the fire
From the time the dough is kneaded until it is leavened.
5 On the [c]day of our king, the officials (J)became sick with the heat of wine;
He stretched out his hand with [d](K)scoffers,
6 For their hearts are like an (L)oven
As they approach their [e]plotting;
Their [f]anger [g]smolders all night,
In the morning it burns like flaming fire.
7 All of them are hot like an oven,
And they consume their (M)rulers;
All their kings have fallen.
(N)None of them calls on Me.
8 Ephraim is himself (O)thrown about with the [h]nations;
Ephraim has become a round loaf not turned over.
9 (P)Strangers devour his strength,
Yet he (Q)does not know it;
Gray hairs also are sprinkled on him,
Yet he does not know it.
10 Though the (R)pride of Israel testifies against him,
Yet (S)they have not returned to the Lord their God,
Nor have they sought Him, despite all this.
11 So (T)Ephraim has become like a gullible dove, (U)without [i]sense;
They call to (V)Egypt, they go to (W)Assyria.
12 When they go, I will (X)spread My net over them;
I will bring them down like the birds of the sky.
I will (Y)discipline them in accordance with the [j]proclamation to their assembly.
13 (Z)Woe to them, for they have (AA)strayed from Me!
Destruction is theirs, for they have rebelled against Me!
I (AB)would redeem them, but they have spoken lies against Me.
14 And (AC)they do not cry to Me from their heart
When they wail on their beds;
For the sake of grain and new wine they [k](AD)assemble themselves,
They (AE)turn against Me.
15 Although I trained and strengthened their arms,
Yet they (AF)devise evil against Me.
16 They turn, but not [l]upward,
They are like a (AG)loose bow;
Their officials will fall by the sword
Because of the [m](AH)insolence of their tongue.
This will be their (AI)derision in the land of Egypt.
Footnotes
- Hosea 7:2 Lit say to their
- Hosea 7:4 Lit stirring up
- Hosea 7:5 I.e., a festive occasion
- Hosea 7:5 Or rebels
- Hosea 7:6 Lit ambush
- Hosea 7:6 As in some ancient versions; MT baker
- Hosea 7:6 Lit is asleep
- Hosea 7:8 Lit peoples
- Hosea 7:11 Lit heart
- Hosea 7:12 Lit report
- Hosea 7:14 Or LXX and many ancient mss gash themselves
- Hosea 7:16 Or possibly to the Most High
- Hosea 7:16 Lit cursing
Hosea 7
New Century Version
7 When I heal Israel,
Israel’s sin will go away,
and so will Samaria’s evil.
“They cheat a lot!
Thieves break into houses,
and robbers are in the streets.
2 It never enters their minds
that I remember all their evil deeds.
The bad things they do are all around them;
they are right in front of me.
Israel’s Evil Kings
3 “They make the king happy with their wickedness;
their rulers are glad with their lies.
4 But all of them are traitors.
They are like an oven heated by a baker.
While he mixes the dough,
he does not need to stir up the fire.
5 The kings get so drunk they get sick every day.
The rulers become crazy with wine;
they make agreements with those who do not know the true God.
6 They burn like an oven;
their hearts burn inside them.
All night long their anger is low,
but when morning comes, it becomes a roaring fire.
7 All these people are as hot as an oven;
they burn up their rulers.
All their kings fall,
and no one calls on me.
Israel and the Other Nations
8 “Israel mixes with other nations;
he is like a pancake cooked only on one side.
9 Foreign nations have eaten up his strength,
but he doesn’t know it.
Israel is weak and feeble, like an old man,
but he doesn’t know it.
10 Israel’s pride will cause their defeat;
they will not turn back to the Lord their God
or look to him for help in all this.
11 Israel has become like a pigeon—
easy to fool and stupid.
First they call to Egypt for help.
Then they run to Assyria.
12 When they go, I will catch them in a net,
I will bring them down like birds from the sky;
I will punish them countless times for their evil.
13 How terrible for them because they left me!
They will be destroyed, because they turned against me.
I want to save them,
but they have spoken lies against me.
14 They do not call to me from their hearts.
They just lie on their beds and cry.
They come together to ask for grain and new wine,
but they really turn away from me.
15 Though I trained them and gave them strength,
they have made evil plans against me.
16 They did not turn to the Most High God.
They are like a loose bow that can’t shoot.
Because their leaders brag about their strength,
they will be killed with swords,
and the people in Egypt
will laugh at them.
Hosea 7
New International Reader's Version
7 I would like to heal Israel.
But when I try to, Ephraim’s sins
are brought out into the open.
The crimes of Samaria
are made known to everyone.
The people tell lies.
They break into houses and steal.
They rob others in the streets.
2 But they do not realize
that I remember all the evil things they do.
Their sins pile up and cover them.
I am always aware of their sins.
3 “Their evil conduct even makes the king glad.
Their lies make the princes happy.
4 But all the people are unfaithful to the king.
Their anger against him burns
like the coals in an oven.
The baker does not even need to stir up the fire
until the dough is ready.”
5 On special days to honor our king,
the princes get drunk with wine.
And the king enjoys the party.
He joins hands with those
who pretend to be faithful to him.
6 Their hearts are as hot as an oven.
They make evil plans to get rid of him.
Their anger burns like a slow fire all night.
In the morning it blazes out like a flaming fire.
7 All of them are as hot as an oven.
They destroy their rulers.
All their kings fall from power.
But none of them calls on the Lord for help.
8 The people of Ephraim mix with the nations.
They are like a thin loaf of bread
that is baked on only one side.
9 People from other lands make them weaker and weaker.
But they don’t realize it.
Their hair is becoming gray.
But they don’t even notice it.
10 The pride of Israel proves that they are guilty.
But in spite of everything,
they don’t return to the Lord their God.
They don’t go to him for help.
11 The Lord says,
“The people of Ephraim are like a dove.
They are easily tricked.
They do not have any sense at all.
First they call out to Egypt for help.
Then they turn to Assyria.
12 When they send for help,
I will throw my net over them.
I will capture them like the birds in the sky.
When I hear them gathering like birds,
I will catch them.
13 How terrible it will be for them!
They have wandered away from me.
So they will be destroyed.
That’s because they have refused to obey me.
I long to save them.
But they tell lies about me.
14 They do not cry out to me from their hearts.
Instead, they just lie on their beds and sob.
They cut themselves when they pray to their gods
for grain and fresh wine.
But they turn away from me.
15 I brought them up and made them strong.
But they make evil plans against me.
16 I am the Most High God. But they do not turn to me.
They are like a bow that does not shoot straight.
Their leaders will be killed by swords.
They will die because they have spoken too proudly.
The people of Egypt
will make fun of them.”
Hosea 7
21st Century King James Version
7 “When I would have healed Israel, then the iniquity of Ephraim was uncovered, and the wickedness of Samaria. For they commit falsehood; and the thief cometh in, and the troop of robbers despoileth without.
2 And they consider not in their hearts that I remember all their wickedness. Now their own doings have beset them about; they are before My face.
3 They make the king glad with their wickedness, and the princes with their lies.
4 They are all adulterers, as an oven heated by the baker, who ceaseth from raising after he hath kneaded the dough, until it be leavened.
5 In the day of our king, the princes have made him sick with bottles of wine; he stretched out his hand with scorners.
6 For they have made ready their heart like an oven, while theylie in wait; their baker sleepeth all the night; in the morning it burneth as a flaming fire.
7 They are all hot as an oven, and have devoured their judges; all their kings are fallen; there is none among them that calleth unto Me.
8 “Ephraim, he hath mixed himself among the people; Ephraim is a cake not turned.
9 Strangers have devoured his strength, and he knoweth it not; yea, gray hairs are here and there upon him, yet he knoweth not.
10 And the pride of Israel testifieth to his face; and they do not return to the Lord their God, nor seek Him for all this.
11 “Ephraim also is like a silly dove without heart; they call to Egypt, they go to Assyria.
12 When they shall go, I will spread My net upon them; I will bring them down as the fowls of the heaven; I will chastise them, as their congregation hath heard.
13 Woe unto them, for they have fled from Me! Destruction unto them, because they have transgressed against Me! Though I have redeemed them, yet they have spoken lies against Me.
14 And they have not cried unto Me with their heart, when they howled upon their beds; they assemble themselves for corn and wine, and they rebel against Me.
15 Though I have bound and strengthened their arms, yet do they contrive evil against Me.
16 They return, but not to the Most High; they are like a deceitful bow. Their princes shall fall by the sword for the rage of their tongue; this shall be their derision in the land of Egypt.
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