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Hosea 8
English Standard Version
Hosea 8
English Standard Version
Israel Will Reap the Whirlwind
8 Set (A)the trumpet to your lips!
One (B)like a vulture is over the house of the Lord,
because (C)they have transgressed my covenant
and rebelled against my law.
2 To me they cry,
(D)“My God, we—Israel—know you.”
3 Israel has spurned the good;
the enemy shall pursue him.
4 (E)They made kings, (F)but not through me.
They set up princes, but I knew it not.
With their silver and gold they made idols
for their own destruction.
5 (G)I have[a] spurned your calf, O Samaria.
My anger burns against them.
(H)How long will they be incapable of innocence?
6 For it is from Israel;
a craftsman made it;
it is not God.
(I)The calf of Samaria
(J)shall be broken to pieces.[b]
7 For (K)they sow the wind,
and they shall reap the whirlwind.
The standing grain has no heads;
it shall yield no flour;
if it were to yield,
(L)strangers would devour it.
8 (M)Israel is swallowed up;
already they are among the nations
as (N)a useless vessel.
9 For (O)they have gone up to Assyria,
(P)a wild donkey wandering alone;
Ephraim has hired lovers.
10 Though they hire allies among the nations,
I will soon gather them up.
And (Q)the king and princes (R)shall soon writhe
because of the tribute.
11 Because Ephraim (S)has multiplied altars for sinning,
they have become to him altars for sinning.
12 (T)Were I to write for him my laws by the ten thousands,
they would be regarded as a strange thing.
13 As for my sacrificial offerings,
(U)they sacrifice meat and eat it,
but the Lord does not accept them.
(V)Now he will remember their iniquity
and punish their sins;
(W)they shall return to Egypt.
14 For (X)Israel has forgotten (Y)his Maker
and (Z)built palaces,
and (AA)Judah has multiplied fortified cities;
so (AB)I will send a fire upon his cities,
and it shall devour her strongholds.
Hosea 8
Good News Translation
Hosea 8
Good News Translation
The Lord Condemns Israel for Idol Worship
8 The Lord says, “Sound the alarm! Enemies are swooping down on my land like eagles! My people have broken the covenant I made with them and have rebelled against my teaching. 2 Even though they call me their God and claim that they are my people and that they know me, 3 they have rejected what is good. Because of this their enemies will pursue them.
4 “My people chose kings, but they did it on their own. They appointed leaders, but without my approval. They took their silver and gold and made idols—for their own destruction. 5 I hate the gold bull worshiped by the people of the city of Samaria. I am furious with them. How long will it be before they give up their idolatry? 6 An Israelite craftsman made the idol, and it is not a god at all! The gold bull worshiped in Samaria will be smashed to pieces! 7 When they sow the wind, they will reap a storm! A field of grain that doesn't ripen can never produce any bread. But even if it did, foreigners would eat it up. 8 Israel has become like any other nation and is as useless as a broken pot. 9 Stubborn as wild donkeys, the people of Israel go their own way. They have gone off to seek help from Assyria and have paid other nations to protect them. 10 But now I am going to gather them together and punish them. Soon they will writhe in pain when the emperor of Assyria oppresses them.
11 “The more altars the people of Israel build for removing sin, the more places they have for sinning! 12 I write down countless teachings for the people, but they reject them as strange and foreign. 13 They offer sacrifices to me and eat the meat of the sacrifices.[a] But I, the Lord, am not pleased with them, and now I will remember their sin and punish them for it; I will send them back to Egypt!
14 “The people of Israel have built palaces, but they have forgotten their own Maker. The people of Judah have built fortified cities. But I will send fire that will burn down their palaces and their cities.”
Footnotes
- Hosea 8:13 They offer … the sacrifices; Hebrew unclear.
Hosea 8
Tree of Life Version
Hosea 8
Tree of Life Version
Idols Thrown Down
8 “Put a shofar to your mouth!
Like a vulture he comes
against the house of Adonai.
For they overstepped My covenant
and transgressed My Torah.
2 Will they cry out to Me,
‘My God, we—Israel—knew You’?[a]
3 Israel has rejected goodness—
an adversary will pursue him.
4 They crowned kings, but not by Me.
They appointed princes
I did not approve.
Their silver and gold they made into idols—
just so they would be cut down.
5 Samaria! Your calf is thrown down!
My anger is kindled against them!
How long will they be incapable of innocence?
6 For a craftsman from Israel made it,
so it is no god.
For the calf of Samaria will be splinters.
7 “For they sow wind, and reap a whirlwind.
There is no mature grain—
the sprout yields no meal.
Should it produce anything,
strangers would swallow it up.
8 Israel has been swallowed up!
Now they are among the nations,
like an ornament with no delight in it.
9 For they have gone up to Assyria,
like a wild donkey alone by itself.
Ephraim has hired lovers.
10 Although they hire among the nations,
I will now round them up.
So they will begin to decrease
under the burden of king and princes.
11 “When Ephraim multiplied altars
for making sin offerings,
they became his altars for sinning.
12 Though I were to write out for him
ten thousand things from My Torah,
they are regarded as something strange.
13 Sacrifices are gifts for Me—
should they sacrifice meat and then eat it?
Adonai will not accept them.
Now He will remember their iniquity
and punish their sin—
they will return to Egypt.
14 For Israel has forgotten his Maker and built temples,
while Judah has multiplied fortified cities.
So I will send fire upon its cities
that will consume their citadels.”
Footnotes
- Hosea 8:2 Cf. Ps. 78:34; Hos. 7:14; Matt. 7:23; Titus 1:16.
Hosea 8
New International Version
Hosea 8
New International Version
Israel to Reap the Whirlwind
8 “Put the trumpet(A) to your lips!
An eagle(B) is over the house of the Lord
because the people have broken my covenant(C)
and rebelled against my law.(D)
2 Israel cries out to me,
‘Our God, we acknowledge you!’
3 But Israel has rejected what is good;
an enemy will pursue him.(E)
4 They set up kings without my consent;
they choose princes without my approval.(F)
With their silver and gold
they make idols(G) for themselves
to their own destruction.
5 Samaria, throw out your calf-idol!(H)
My anger burns against them.
How long will they be incapable of purity?(I)
6 They are from Israel!
This calf—a metalworker has made it;
it is not God.(J)
It will be broken in pieces,
that calf(K) of Samaria.(L)
7 “They sow the wind
and reap the whirlwind.(M)
The stalk has no head;
it will produce no flour.(N)
Were it to yield grain,
foreigners would swallow it up.(O)
8 Israel is swallowed up;(P)
now she is among the nations
like something no one wants.(Q)
9 For they have gone up to Assyria(R)
like a wild donkey(S) wandering alone.
Ephraim has sold herself to lovers.(T)
10 Although they have sold themselves among the nations,
I will now gather them together.(U)
They will begin to waste away(V)
under the oppression of the mighty king.
11 “Though Ephraim built many altars for sin offerings,
these have become altars for sinning.(W)
12 I wrote for them the many things of my law,
but they regarded them as something foreign.(X)
13 Though they offer sacrifices as gifts to me,
and though they eat(Y) the meat,
the Lord is not pleased with them.(Z)
Now he will remember(AA) their wickedness
and punish their sins:(AB)
They will return to Egypt.(AC)
14 Israel has forgotten(AD) their Maker(AE)
and built palaces;
Judah has fortified many towns.
But I will send fire on their cities
that will consume their fortresses.”(AF)
English Standard Version (ESV) 
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
Good News Translation (GNT) 
Good News Translation® (Today’s English Version, Second Edition) © 1992 American Bible Society. All rights reserved. For more information about GNT, visit www.bibles.com and www.gnt.bible.
Tree of Life Version (TLV)
Tree of Life (TLV) Translation of the Bible. Copyright © 2015 by The Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.