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The Lord Condemns Israel for Idol Worship

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. Even though they call me their God and claim that they are my people and that they know me, they have rejected what is good. Because of this their enemies will pursue them.

“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. 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? 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! 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. Israel has become like any other nation and is as useless as a broken pot. 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.”

Notas al pie

  1. Hosea 8:13 They offer … the sacrifices; Hebrew unclear.

Israel’s Apostasy

Set the trumpet to your lips!
    One like a vulture[a] is over the house of the Lord,
because they have broken my covenant
    and transgressed my law.(A)
They cry to me,
    “My God, we know you!”[b](B)
Israel has spurned the good;
    the enemy shall pursue him.

They made kings but not through me;
    they set up princes but without my knowledge.
With their silver and gold they made idols
    for their own destruction.(C)
Your calf is rejected, O Samaria.
    My anger burns against them.
How long will they be incapable of innocence?(D)
    For it is from Israel,
an artisan made it;
    it is not God.
The calf of Samaria
    shall be broken to pieces.(E)

For they sow the wind,
    and they shall reap the whirlwind.
The standing grain has no heads;
    it shall yield no meal;
if it were to yield,
    foreigners would devour it.(F)
Israel is swallowed up;
    now they are among the nations
    as a useless vessel.(G)
For they have gone up to Assyria,
    a wild ass wandering alone;
    Ephraim has bargained for lovers.(H)
10 Though they bargain with the nations,
    I will now gather them up.
They shall soon writhe
    under the burden of kings and princes.(I)

11 When Ephraim multiplied altars to expiate sin,
    they became to him altars for sinning.
12 Though I write for him the multitude of my instructions,
    they are regarded as a strange thing.(J)
13 Though they offer choice sacrifices,[c]
    though they eat flesh,
    the Lord does not accept them.
Now he will remember their iniquity
    and punish their sins;
    they shall return to Egypt.(K)
14 Israel has forgotten his Maker
    and built palaces,
and Judah has multiplied fortified cities,
    but I will send a fire upon his cities,
    and it shall devour his strongholds.(L)

Notas al pie

  1. 8.1 Meaning of Heb uncertain
  2. 8.2 Gk Syr: Heb adds Israel
  3. 8.13 Cn: Meaning of Heb uncertain

“Put the shofar to your lips!
Like a vulture [he swoops down] on the house of Adonai,
because they have violated my covenant
and sinned intentionally against my Torah.
Will they cry out to me,
‘We are Isra’el, God, we know you’?
Isra’el has thrown away what is good;
the enemy will pursue him.
They make kings, but without my authority;
they appoint leaders, but without my knowledge.
With their silver and gold they make themselves idols,
but these can lead only to their own destruction.
Your calf, Shomron, has been thrown away;
my fury burns against them.
How long will it be until they are able
to make themselves clean?
Here is what Isra’el produces:
a craftsman makes something — it’s a non-god;
the calf of Shomron will be broken to pieces.
For they sow the wind,
so they will reap the whirlwind.
The standing grain has no ears,
so it will yield no flour;
and if it does yield any,
foreigners will swallow it up.
Isra’el is swallowed up;
now they are among the Goyim
like a vessel nobody wants.
For they have gone up to Ashur;
like a wild donkey, alone by itself,
Efrayim has bargained for lovers.
10 But even if they bargain among the Goyim,
now I will round them up.
Soon they will start to feel the burden
of these kings and leaders.
11 For Efrayim keeps building altars for sin;
yes, altars are sinful for him.
12 I write him so many things from my Torah,
yet he considers them foreign.
13 They offer me sacrifices of flesh and eat them,
but Adonai does not accept them.
Now he will recall their crimes and punish their sins —
they will return to Egypt.
14 For Isra’el forgot his maker and built palaces;
and Y’hudah made more fortified cities;
but I will send fire on his cities,
and it will consume their strongholds.”

Altars for Sinning

1-3 “Blow the trumpet! Sound the alarm!
    Vultures are circling over God’s people
Who have broken my covenant
    and defied my revelation.
Predictably, Israel cries out, ‘My God! We know you!’
    But they don’t act like it.
Israel will have nothing to do with what’s good,
    and now the enemy is after them.

4-10 “They crown kings, but without asking me.
    They set up princes but don’t let me in on it.
Instead, they make idols, using silver and gold,
    idols that will be their ruin.
Throw that gold calf-god on the trash heap, Samaria!
    I’m seething with anger against that rubbish!
How long before they shape up?
    And they’re Israelites!
A sculptor made that thing—
    it’s not God.
That Samaritan calf
    will be broken to bits.
Look at them! Planting wind-seeds,
    they’ll harvest tornadoes.
Wheat with no head
    produces no flour.
And even if it did,
    strangers would gulp it down.
Israel is swallowed up and spit out.
    Among the pagans they’re a piece of junk.
They trotted off to Assyria:
    Why, even wild donkeys stick to their own kind,
    but donkey-Ephraim goes out and pays to get lovers.
Now, because of their whoring life among the pagans,
    I’m going to gather them together and confront them.
They’re going to reap the consequences soon,
    feel what it’s like to be oppressed by the big king.

11-14 “Ephraim has built a lot of altars,
    and then uses them for sinning.
    Can you believe it? Altars for sinning!
I write out my revelation for them in detail
    and they pretend they can’t read it.
They offer sacrifices to me
    and then they feast on the meat.
    God is not pleased!
I’m fed up—I’ll keep remembering their guilt.
    I’ll punish their sins
    and send them back to Egypt.
Israel has forgotten his Maker
    and gotten busy making palaces.
    Judah has gone in for a lot of fortress cities.
I’m sending fire on their cities
    to burn down their fortifications.”

Israel to Reap the Whirlwind

“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)
Israel cries out to me,
    ‘Our God, we acknowledge you!’
But Israel has rejected what is good;
    an enemy will pursue him.(E)
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.
Samaria, throw out your calf-idol!(H)
    My anger burns against them.
How long will they be incapable of purity?(I)
    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)

“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)
Israel is swallowed up;(P)
    now she is among the nations
    like something no one wants.(Q)
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)