Hosea 10–12

The Vine and the Calf

10Israel is a lush ^dvine; ^e

it yields fruit for itself.

The more his fruit increased,

the more he increased the altars. ^f

The better his land produced,

the better they made the sacred pillars. ^g

²Their hearts are devious; ^hi

now they must bear their guilt. ^j

The Lord will break down their altars ^k

and demolish their sacred pillars.

³In fact, they are now saying,

“We have no king!

For we do not fear the Lord. ^l

What can a king do for us?”

⁴They speak mere words,

taking false oaths while making covenants. ^m

So lawsuits break out

like poisonous weeds in the furrows of a field. ⁿ

⁵The residents of Samaria ^owill have anxiety

over the calf ^pof Beth-aven. ^q

Indeed, its idolatrous priests rejoiced over it;

the people will mourn over it,

over its glory. ^r

It will certainly depart from them.

⁶The calf itself will be taken to Assyria ^s

as an offering to the great king. ^tu

Ephraim will experience shame; ^v

Israel will be ashamed of its counsel. ^w

⁷Samaria’s king will disappear ^xy

like foam ^zon the surface of the water.

⁸The high places ^aof Aven, the sin of Israel, ^b

will be destroyed;

thorns and thistles will grow over their altars. ^c

They will say to the mountains, ^d“Cover us!”

and to the hills, “Fall on us!” ^e

Israel’s Defeat because of Sin

⁹Israel, you have sinned

since the days of Gibeah; ^f

they have taken their stand there.

Will not war against the unjust

overtake them in Gibeah?

¹⁰I will discipline ^gthem at My discretion; ^h

nations will be gathered against them

to put them in bondage ⁱ

for their two crimes. ^j

¹¹Ephraim is a well-trained calf ^k

that loves to thresh,

but I will place a yoke on ^lher fine neck. ^m

I will harness Ephraim; ⁿ

Judah will plow;

Jacob will do the final plowing.

¹²Sow righteousness for yourselves ^o

and reap faithful love;

break up your unplowed ground. ^p

It is time to seek the Lord ^q

until He comes ^rand sends righteousness

on you like the rain. ^s

¹³You have plowed wickedness and reaped injustice; ^t

you have eaten the fruit of lies. ^u

Because you have trusted in your own way ^v

and in your large number of soldiers, ^w

¹⁴the roar of battle will rise against your people,

and all your fortifications will be demolished ^x

in a day of war,

like Shalman’s destruction of Beth-arbel.

Mothers will be dashed to pieces

along with their children. ^y

¹⁵So it will be done to you, Bethel, ^z

because of your extreme evil.

At dawn the king of Israel will be totally destroyed.

The Lord’s Love for Israel

11When Israel was a child, I loved him, ^a

and out of Egypt I called My son. ^b

²The more they ^ccalled them, ^de

the more they ^fdeparted from Me. ^g

They kept sacrificing to the Baals ^h

and burning offerings to idols. ⁱ

³It was I who taught Ephraim to walk, ^j

taking them ^kin My arms, ^l

but they never knew that I healed them. ^m

⁴I led them with human cords,

with ropes of love. ⁿ

To them I was like one

who eases the yoke from their jaws; ^o

I bent down to give them food. ^p

⁵Israel will not return to the land of Egypt

and Assyria will be his king, ^q

because they refused to repent. ^r

⁶A sword will whirl through his cities; ^s

it will destroy and devour the bars of his gates, ^tu

because of their schemes. ^v

⁷My people are bent on turning from Me. ^w

Though they call to Him on high,

He will not exalt them at all.

⁸How can I give you up, Ephraim? ^x

How can I surrender you, Israel?

How can I make you like Admah? ^y

How can I treat you like Zeboiim? ^z

I have had a change of heart;

My compassion is stirred!

⁹I will not vent the full fury of My anger; ^a

I will not turn back to destroy Ephraim. ^b

For I am God and not man,

the Holy One among you; ^c

I will not come in rage. ^d

¹⁰They will follow the Lord; ^e

He will roar like a lion. ^f

When He roars,

His children will come trembling from the west. ^g

¹¹They will be roused like birds from Egypt

and like doves ^hfrom the land of Assyria. ⁱ

Then I will settle them in their homes. ^j

This is the Lord’s declaration.

^12k Ephraim surrounds me with lies, ^l

the house of Israel, with deceit.

Judah still wanders with God

and is faithful to the holy ones. ^mn

God’s Case against Jacob’s Heirs

12Ephraim chases ^othe wind ^p

and pursues the east wind. ^q

He continually multiplies lies and violence.

He makes a covenant with Assyria, ^r

and olive oil is carried to Egypt. ^s

²The Lord also has a dispute with Judah.

He is about to punish Jacob according to his ways; ^t

He will repay him based on his actions.

³In the womb he grasped his brother’s heel, ^u

and as an adult he wrestled with God. ^v

⁴Jacob struggled with the Angel and prevailed;

he wept and sought His favor. ^w

He found him ^xat Bethel, ^y

and there He spoke with him. ^za

⁵Yahweh is the God of Hosts;

Yahweh is His name. ^b

⁶But you must return to your God. ^c

Maintain love and justice, ^d

and always put your hope in God. ^e

⁷A merchant loves to extort ^f

with dishonest scales in his hands. ^g

⁸But Ephraim says:

“How rich I have become; ^h

I made it all myself.

In all my earnings,

no one can find any crime in me ⁱ

that I can be punished for!” ^j

Judgment on Apostate Israel

⁹I have been Yahweh your God

ever since ^kthe land of Egypt. ^l

I will make you live in tents again, ^m

as in the festival days.

¹⁰I spoke through the prophets ⁿ

and granted many visions;

I gave parables through the prophets. ^o

¹¹Since Gilead is full of evil, ^p

they will certainly come to nothing.

They sacrifice bulls in Gilgal; ^q

even their altars will be like heaps of rocks ^r

on the furrows of a field.

Further Indictment of Jacob’s Heirs

¹²Jacob fled to the land of Aram. ^s

Israel worked to earn a wife; ^t

he tended flocks for a wife. ^u

¹³The Lord brought Israel from Egypt by a prophet, ^v

and Israel was tended by a prophet.

¹⁴Ephraim has provoked bitter anger, ^w

so his Lord will leave his bloodguilt on him ^x

and repay him for his contempt. ^y