Hosea 8
New American Standard Bible
Israel Reaps the Whirlwind
8 (A)Put the trumpet to your [a]lips!
(B)Like an eagle the enemy comes (C)against the house of the Lord,
Because they have (D)violated My covenant
And rebelled against My (E)Law.
2 (F)They cry out to Me,
“My God, (G)we of Israel know You!”
3 Israel has rejected the good;
The enemy will pursue him.
4 (H)They have set up kings, but not by Me;
They have appointed officials, but I did not know it.
With their (I)silver and gold they have made idols for themselves,
So that [b]they will be eliminated.
5 [c]He has rejected your (J)calf, Samaria, saying,
“My anger burns against them!”
How long will they be incapable of (K)innocence?
6 For from Israel comes even this!
A (L)craftsman made it, so it is not God;
Assuredly, the calf of Samaria will be broken to [d]pieces.
7 For (M)they sow wind
And they harvest a (N)storm.
The standing grain has no [e]kernels;
It yields (O)no [f]grain.
If it were to yield, strangers would swallow it.
8 Israel has been (P)swallowed up;
They are now among the nations
Like a (Q)vessel in which no one delights.
9 For they have gone up to (R)Assyria,
Like (S)a wild donkey all alone;
Ephraim has (T)paid fees for [g]lovers.
10 Even though they [h]pay for allies among the nations,
I will (U)gather them up now;
And they will begin (V)to diminish
Because of the burden of the (W)king of officials.
11 Since Ephraim has (X)multiplied altars for sin,
They have become altars of sinning for him.
12 Though (Y)I wrote for him ten thousand precepts of My (Z)Law,
They are regarded as a strange thing.
13 As for My (AA)sacrificial gifts,
They (AB)sacrifice the flesh and eat it,
But the Lord has taken no delight in them.
Now He will (AC)remember their guilt,
And (AD)punish them for their sins;
They will return to (AE)Egypt.
14 For Israel has (AF)forgotten his Maker and (AG)built palaces;
And Judah has multiplied fortified cities,
But I will send a (AH)fire on its cities, and it will consume its palatial buildings.
Hosea 8
Expanded Bible
Israel Has Trusted Wrong Things
8 “Put the trumpet to your lips [C to warn of danger or call to battle]!
The enemy ·swoops down on [or circles over] the Lord’s ·people [or temple; L house] like an eagle.
The Israelites have broken my ·agreement [covenant; treaty]
and have ·turned [rebelled] against my ·teachings [law; L Torah].
2 Israel cries out to me,
‘Our God, we in Israel ·know [acknowledge] you!’
3 But Israel has rejected what is good,
so the enemy will ·chase [pursue] them.
4 They ·chose their own [appointed; enthroned] kings
·without asking my permission [L but not from me].
They chose their own ·leaders [princes],
people I did not ·know [acknowledge; approve].
They made their silver and gold into idols,
and for all this they will be destroyed.
5 I ·hate [have rejected] ·the calf-shaped idol of Israel [L your calf, Samaria; Ex. 32; 1 Kin. 12:26–30]!
·I am very angry with the people [L My anger burns against them].
How long will they remain ·unclean [impure; guilty]?
6 The idol is something a craftsman made;
it is not God.
·Israel’s calf-shaped idol [L The calf of Samaria; v. 5]
will surely be smashed to pieces.
7 “·Israel’s foolish plans are like planting the wind [L They sow the wind],
·but they will harvest a storm [L and reap the whirlwind].
Like a stalk with no head of grain,
it produces ·nothing [L no flour].
Even if it produced something,
·other nations [foreigners] would ·eat [devour] it.
8 Israel is ·eaten [swallowed] up;
the people are ·mixed among [L among] the other nations
and have become ·useless to me [a useless pot/utensil/vessel].
9 Israel is like a wild donkey ·all by itself [wandering alone].
They have ·run [L gone up] to Assyria;
·They have hired other nations to protect them [L Ephraim has hired lovers; or Ephraim has sold herself to lovers].
10 Although Israel ·is mixed [or hired; or hired herself out] among the nations,
I will gather them together.
They will ·become weaker and weaker [begin to waste away]
·as they suffer under [from the burden/oppression of] the ·great king of Assyria [L king of princes].
11 “Although ·Israel [L Ephraim; 4:17] built more altars to remove sin,
they have become altars for sinning.
12 I have written many ·teachings [laws; instructions] for them,
but they think the teachings are ·strange and foreign [alien; irrelevant].
13 The Israelites offer sacrifices to me as gifts
and eat the meat,
but the Lord ·is not pleased with [does not accept] them.
He remembers ·the evil they have done [their wickedness/iniquity],
and he will punish them for their sins.
They will ·be slaves again as they were in [L return to] Egypt.
14 Israel has forgotten its Maker and has built palaces;
Judah has built many ·strong, walled [fortified] cities.
But I will send fire on their cities
and ·destroy [L it will devour/consume] their ·strong buildings [strongholds; citadels].”
Hosea 8
King James Version
8 Set the trumpet to thy mouth. He shall come as an eagle against the house of the Lord, because they have transgressed my covenant, and trespassed against my law.
2 Israel shall cry unto me, My God, we know thee.
3 Israel hath cast off the thing that is good: the enemy shall pursue him.
4 They have set up kings, but not by me: they have made princes, and I knew it not: of their silver and their gold have they made them idols, that they may be cut off.
5 Thy calf, O Samaria, hath cast thee off; mine anger is kindled against them: how long will it be ere they attain to innocency?
6 For from Israel was it also: the workman made it; therefore it is not God: but the calf of Samaria shall be broken in pieces.
7 For they have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind: it hath no stalk; the bud shall yield no meal: if so be it yield, the strangers shall swallow it up.
8 Israel is swallowed up: now shall they be among the Gentiles as a vessel wherein is no pleasure.
9 For they are gone up to Assyria, a wild ass alone by himself: Ephraim hath hired lovers.
10 Yea, though they have hired among the nations, now will I gather them, and they shall sorrow a little for the burden of the king of princes.
11 Because Ephraim hath made many altars to sin, altars shall be unto him to sin.
12 I have written to him the great things of my law, but they were counted as a strange thing.
13 They sacrifice flesh for the sacrifices of mine offerings, and eat it; but the Lord accepteth them not; now will he remember their iniquity, and visit their sins: they shall return to Egypt.
14 For Israel hath forgotten his Maker, and buildeth temples; and Judah hath multiplied fenced cities: but I will send a fire upon his cities, and it shall devour the palaces thereof.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
The Expanded Bible, Copyright © 2011 Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved.
