Hosea 6–7

6TH CHAPTER

Israel Rejected the Lord’s Promise

¹Let’s return to the Lord. 

Even though he has torn us to pieces, 

he will heal us. 

Even though he has wounded us, 

he will bandage our wounds. 

²After two days he will revive us. 

On the third day he will raise us 

so that we may live in his presence. 

³Let’s learn about the Lord. 

Let’s get to know the Lord. 

He will come to us as sure as the morning comes. 

He will come to us like the autumn rains and the spring rains 

that water the ground. 

⁴“What should I do with you, Ephraim? 

What should I do with you, Judah? 

Your love is like fog in the morning. 

It disappears as quickly as the morning dew. 

⁵That is why I cut ⸤you⸥ down by sending the prophets. 

I killed you with the words from my mouth. 

My judgments shined on you like light. 

⁶I want your loyalty, not your sacrifices. 

I want you to know me, not to give me burnt offerings. 

⁷“Like Adam, you rejected the promise.^a

You were unfaithful to me. 

⁸Gilead is a city filled with troublemakers. 

It is stained with bloody footprints. 

⁹The priests are like gangs of robbers who lie in ambush for a person. 

They murder on the road to Shechem. 

Certainly, they have committed a crime. 

¹⁰“I have seen horrible things in the nation of Israel. 

Ephraim is acting like a prostitute, 

and Israel is unclean.^b

¹¹“Yet, Judah, I have set a harvest time for you 

when I bring my people back from captivity. 

7TH CHAPTER

¹“Whenever I want to heal Israel, 

all I can see is Ephraim’s sin and Samaria’s wickedness. 

People cheat each other. 

They break into houses and steal. 

They rob people in the streets. 

²They don’t realize that I remember 

all the evil things they’ve done. 

Now their sins surround them. 

Their sins are in my presence. 

³“They make kings happy with the wicked things they do. 

They make officials happy with the lies they tell. 

⁴They all commit adultery. 

They are like a heated oven, 

an oven so hot that a baker doesn’t have to fan its flames 

when he makes bread. 

⁵On the day of the king’s celebration, 

the officials become drunk from wine, 

and the king joins mockers. 

⁶They become hot like an oven while they lie in ambush. 

All night long their anger smolders, 

but in the morning it burns like a raging fire. 

⁷They are all as hot as an oven. 

They consume their judges ⸤like a fire⸥. 

All their kings die in battle, and none of them calls to me. 

Israel Turns to Other Nations for Help

⁸“Ephraim mixes with other nations. 

Ephraim, you are like a half-baked loaf of bread. 

⁹Foreigners are using up your strength, but you don’t realize it. 

You have become a gray-haired, old man, but you don’t realize it. 

¹⁰Israel, your arrogance testifies against you, 

but even after all this, you don’t turn to the Lord your God 

or look to him for help. 

¹¹Ephraim, you are like a silly, senseless dove. 

You call for Egypt and run to Assyria for help. 

¹²When you go, I will spread my net over you. 

I will snatch you out of the air like a bird. 

I will punish you for all the evil things you have done. 

¹³“How horrible it will be for these people. 

They have run away from me. 

They must be destroyed because they’ve rebelled against me. 

I want to reclaim them, but they tell lies about me. 

¹⁴They don’t pray to me sincerely, 

even though they cry in their beds 

and make cuts on their bodies 

while praying for grain and new wine. 

They have turned against me. 

¹⁵I trained them and made them strong. 

Yet, they plan evil against me. 

¹⁶They don’t return to the Most High. 

They are like a defective bow. 

Their officials will die in battle 

because they curse. 

The people in Egypt will ridicule them for this.