Hosea 11–14

The Lord’s Love for Israel

11^uWhen Israel was a child, ^vI loved him,

and out of Egypt I ^wcalled ^xmy son.

^2yThe more they were called,

the more they went away;

^zthey kept sacrificing to the Baals

and burning offerings to idols.

³Yet it was ^aI who taught Ephraim to walk;

I took them up by their arms,

but they did not know that ^bI healed them.

^4cI led them with cords of kindness,¹

with the bands of love,

and ^dI became to them as one who eases the yoke on their jaws,

and ^eI bent down to them and fed them.

^5fThey shall not² return to the land of Egypt,

but ^gAssyria shall be their king,

^hbecause ⁱthey have refused to return to me.

^6jThe sword shall rage against their cities,

consume the bars of their gates,

and devour them ^kbecause of their own counsels.

⁷My people are bent ^lon turning away from me,

and though ^mthey call out to the Most High,

he shall not raise them up at all.

⁸How can I give you up, O Ephraim?

How can I hand you over, O Israel?

ⁿHow can I make you ^olike Admah?

How can I treat you ^olike Zeboiim?

^pMy heart recoils within me;

my compassion grows warm and tender.

⁹I will not execute my burning anger;

I will not again destroy Ephraim;

^qfor I am God and not a man,

^rthe Holy One in your midst,

and I will not come in wrath.³

^10sThey shall go after the Lord;

^the will roar like a lion;

when he roars,

his children shall come trembling ^ufrom the west;

¹¹they shall come trembling like birds ^vfrom Egypt,

and ^wlike doves ^xfrom the land of Assyria,

and I will return them to their homes, declares the Lord.

¹²⁴ Ephraim ^yhas surrounded me with lies,

and the house of Israel with deceit,

but Judah still walks with God

and is faithful to the Holy One.

12Ephraim feeds on the wind

and pursues ^zthe east wind all day long;

they multiply ^yfalsehood and violence;

^athey make a covenant with Assyria,

and ^boil is carried to Egypt.

The Lord’s Indictment of Israel and Judah

^2cThe Lord has an indictment against Judah

and will punish Jacob according to his ways;

he will repay him according to his deeds.

^3dIn the womb he took his brother by the heel,

and in his manhood he strove with God.

⁴He strove with the angel and prevailed;

he wept and sought his favor.

^eHe met God¹ at Bethel,

and there God spoke with us—

⁵the Lord, the God of hosts,

^fthe Lord is his memorial name:

⁶“So you, ^gby the help of your God, return,

^hhold fast to love and justice,

and wait continually for your God.”

⁷A merchant, in whose hands are ⁱfalse balances,

he loves ^jto oppress.

⁸Ephraim has said, “Ah, but ^kI am rich;

I have found wealth for myself;

in all my labors ^lthey cannot find in me iniquity or sin.”

^9mI am the Lord your God

from the land of Egypt;

I will again make you ⁿdwell in tents,

as in the days of the appointed feast.

^10oI spoke to the prophets;

it was I who multiplied ^pvisions,

and through the prophets gave parables.

^11qIf there is iniquity in Gilead,

they shall surely come to nothing:

^rin Gilgal they sacrifice bulls;

^stheir altars also are like stone heaps

^ton the furrows of the field.

^12uJacob fled to the land of Aram;

there Israel ^vserved for a wife,

and for a wife he guarded sheep.

¹³By ^wa prophet ^xthe Lord brought Israel up from Egypt,

and by a prophet he was guarded.

^14yEphraim has given bitter provocation;

so his Lord ^zwill leave his bloodguilt on him

^aand will repay him for his disgraceful deeds.

The Lord’s Relentless Judgment on Israel

13When Ephraim spoke, there was trembling;

^bhe was exalted in Israel,

but he incurred guilt ^cthrough Baal and died.

²And now they sin more and more,

and ^dmake for themselves metal images,

idols skillfully made of their silver,

^eall of them the work of craftsmen.

It is said of them,

“Those who offer human sacrifice ^fkiss calves!”

³Therefore they shall be ^glike the morning mist

or ^glike the dew that goes early away,

^hlike the chaff that swirls from the threshing floor

or ⁱlike smoke from a window.

⁴But ^jI am the Lord your God

from the land of Egypt;

^kyou know no God but me,

and ^lbesides me there is no savior.

^5mIt was I who knew you in the wilderness,

in the land of drought;

⁶ⁿbut when they had grazed,¹ they became full,

^othey were filled, and their heart was lifted up;

^otherefore they forgot me.

⁷So ^pI am to them like a lion;

^qlike a leopard I will lurk beside the way.

⁸I will fall upon them ^rlike a bear robbed of her cubs;

I will tear open their breast,

and there I will devour them like a lion,

^sas a wild beast would rip them open.

⁹He destroys² you, O Israel,

for you are against me, against ^tyour helper.

^10uWhere now is your king, to save you in all your cities?

Where are all your rulers—

those of whom ^vyou said,

“Give me a king and princes”?

^11wI gave you a king in my anger,

and ^xI took him away in my wrath.

¹²The iniquity of Ephraim is ^ybound up;

his sin is ^ykept in store.

^13zThe pangs of childbirth come for him,

but he is an unwise son,

for at the right time he does not present himself

^aat the opening of the womb.

^14bI shall ransom them from the power of Sheol;

^bI shall redeem them from Death.³

^cO ^dDeath, where are your plagues?

^cO ^dSheol, where is your sting?

^eCompassion is hidden from my eyes.

¹⁵Though ^fhe may flourish among his brothers,

^gthe east wind, the wind of the Lord, shall come,

rising from the wilderness,

^hand his fountain shall dry up;

his spring shall be parched;

it shall strip ⁱhis treasury

of every precious thing.

¹⁶⁴ Samaria ^jshall bear her guilt,

because ^kshe has rebelled against her God;

they shall fall by the sword;

^ltheir little ones shall be dashed in pieces,

and their ^mpregnant women ripped open.

A Plea to Return to the Lord

14ⁿReturn, O Israel, to the Lord your God,

for ^oyou have stumbled because of your iniquity.

²Take with you words

and return to the Lord;

say to him,

“Take away all iniquity;

accept ^pwhat is good,

and we will pay with bulls

^qthe vows¹ of our lips.

^3rAssyria shall not save us;

^swe will not ride on horses;

and ^twe will say no more, ‘Our God,’

to the work of our hands.

^uIn you the orphan finds mercy.”

⁴I ^vwill heal their apostasy;

^wI will love them freely,

for my anger has turned from them.

^5xI will be like the dew to Israel;

^yhe shall blossom like the lily;

he shall take root like the trees ^zof Lebanon;

⁶his shoots shall spread out;

his beauty shall be ^alike the olive,

and his fragrance like Lebanon.

⁷They shall return and ^bdwell beneath my² shadow;

they shall flourish like the grain;

they shall blossom like the vine;

their fame shall be like the wine of Lebanon.

⁸O ^cEphraim, what have I to do with idols?

It is I who answer and look after you.³

I am like an evergreen cypress;

^dfrom me comes your fruit.

^9eWhoever is wise, let him understand these things;

whoever is discerning, let him know them;

for the ways of the Lord are right,

and ^fthe upright walk in them,

^fbut transgressors stumble in them.