Hosea 10–12

10The people of Israel were like a grapevine that was full of grapes. The more prosperous they were, the more altars they built. The more productive their land was, the more beautiful they made the sacred stone pillars they worship. ²The people whose hearts are deceitful must now suffer for their sins. God will break down their altars and destroy their sacred pillars.

³These people will soon be saying, “We have no king because we did not fear the Lord. But what could a king do for us anyway?” ⁴They utter empty words and make false promises and useless treaties. Justice has become injustice, growing like poisonous weeds in a ploughed field.

⁵The people who live in the city of Samaria will be afraid and will mourn the loss of the gold bull^y at Bethaven.^z They and the priests who serve the idol will weep over it. They will wail when it is stripped of its golden splendour. ⁶The idol will be carried off to Assyria as tribute to the great emperor. The people of Israel will be disgraced and put to shame because of the advice they followed. ⁷Their king will be carried off, like a chip of wood on water. ^8*The hilltop shrines of Aven,^a where the people of Israel worship idols, will be destroyed. Thorns and weeds will grow up over their altars. The people will call out to the mountains, “Hide us!” and to the hills, “Cover us!”

The Pronounces Judgement On Israel

^9*The Lord says, “The people of Israel have not stopped sinning against me since the time of their sin at Gibeah.^b So at Gibeah war will catch up with them. ¹⁰I will attack^c this sinful people and punish them. Nations will join together against them, and they will be punished for their many sins.

¹¹“Israel was once like a well-trained young cow, ready and willing to thresh grain. But I decided to put a yoke^d on her beautiful neck and to harness her for harder work. I made Judah pull the plough and Israel pull the harrow. ^12*I said, ‘Plough new ground for yourselves, plant righteousness, and reap the blessings that your devotion to me will produce. It is time for you to turn to me, your Lord, and I will come and pour out blessings upon you.’ ¹³But instead you planted evil and reaped its harvest. You have eaten the fruit produced by your lies.

“Because you trusted in your chariots^e and in the large number of your soldiers, ¹⁴war will come to your people, and all your fortresses will be destroyed. It will be like the day when King Shalman destroyed the city of Betharbel in battle, and mothers and their children were crushed to death. ¹⁵That is what will happen to you, people of Bethel, because of the terrible evil that you have done. As soon as the battle begins, the king of Israel will die.”

God’s Love for His Rebellious People

11^*The Lord says,

“When Israel was a child, I loved him

and called him out of Egypt as my son.^f

²But the more I^g called to him,

the more he turned away from me.^h

My people sacrificed to Baal;

they burnt incense to idols.

³Yet I was the one who taught Israel to walk.

I took my people up in my arms,ⁱ

but they did not acknowledge that I took care of them.

⁴I drew them to me with affection and love.

I picked them up and held them to my cheek;

I bent down to them and fed them.^{j 5}“They refuse to return to me, and so they must return to Egypt, and Assyria will rule them. ⁶War will sweep through their cities and break down the city gates. It will destroy my people because they do what they themselves think best. ⁷They insist on turning away from me. They will cry out because of the yoke that is on them, but no one will lift it from them.^k

^8*“How can I give you up, Israel?

How can I abandon you?

Could I ever destroy you as I did Admah,

or treat you as I did Zeboiim?

My heart will not let me do it!

My love for you is too strong.

⁹I will not punish you in my anger;

I will not destroy Israel again.

For I am God and not a human being.

I, the Holy One, am with you.

I will not come to you in anger.

¹⁰“My people will follow me when I roar like a lion at their enemies. They will hurry to me from the west. ¹¹They will come from Egypt, as swiftly as birds, and from Assyria, like doves. I will bring them to their homes again. I, the Lord, have spoken.”

Israel and Judah Are Condemned

¹²The Lord says, “The people of Israel have surrounded me with lies and deceit, and the people of Judah are still rebelling against me, the faithful and holy God.

12Everything that the people of Israel do from morning to night is useless and destructive. Treachery and acts of violence increase among them. They make treaties with Assyria and do business with Egypt.”

²The Lord has an accusation to bring against the people of Judah; he is also going to punish Israel for the way her people act. He will pay them back for what they have done. ^3*Their ancestor Jacob struggled with his twin brother Esau while the two of them were still in their mother’s womb; when Jacob grew up, he fought against God- ^4*he fought against an angel and won. He wept and asked for a blessing. And at Bethel God came to our ancestor Jacob and spoke with him.^{l 5}This was the Lord God Almighty—the Lord is the name by which he is to be worshipped. ⁶So now, descendants of Jacob, trust in your God and return to him. Be loyal and just, and wait patiently for your God to act.

Further Words of Judgement

⁷The Lord says, “The people of Israel are as dishonest as the Canaanites; they love to cheat their customers with false scales. ⁸‘We are rich,’ they say. ‘We’ve made a fortune. And no one can accuse us of getting rich dishonestly.’ ^9*But I, the Lord your God who led you out of Egypt, I will make you live in tents again, as you did when I came to you in the desert.

¹⁰“I spoke to the prophets and gave them many visions, and through the prophets I gave my people warnings. ¹¹Yet idols are worshipped in Gilead, and those who worship them will die. Bulls are sacrificed in Gilgal, and the altars there will become piles of stone in the open fields.”

^12*Our ancestor Jacob had to flee to Mesopotamia, where, in order to get a wife, he worked for another man and took care of his sheep. ^13*The Lord sent a prophet to rescue the people of Israel from slavery in Egypt and to take care of them. ¹⁴The people of Israel have made the Lord bitterly angry; they deserve death for their crimes. Their Lord will punish them for the disgrace they have brought on him.