Hosea 11:1–13:16
11 When Israel was a child, I loved him,
and out of Egypt I called my son.
2 When I calleda them, they went from my face.b
They sacrificed to the Baals, and they sacrificed to idols.
3 And I myself taught Ephraim to walk;
but they did not know that I healed them.
4 I drew them ⌊with human ties⌋,e
with the bands of love.
I was to them like one who lifted upf a yoke on their jaws,g
though I bent down to themh and let themi eat.
5 He will returnj to the land of Egypt,
and Assyria will be his king,k
because they refused to return.
6 The sword rages in his cities;
it consumes his false prophets
and devours because of their plans.
7 My people are bent on backsliding from me.
To the Most High they call,
he does not raise them at all.
8 How can I give you up, O Ephraim?
How can I hand you over, O Israel?
How can I make you like Admah?
How can I treat you like Zeboiim?
My heart is disturbedl within me;
⌊all⌋m my compassions are aroused.
9 ⌊I will not execute⌋n ⌊my fierce anger⌋,o
I will not again destroy Ephraim;
because I am God
and not a mortal,p
the Holy One in your midst;
and I will not come in wrath.
he roars like a lion.
When he roars,
his children will come trembling
from the sea.q
11 They will tremble like birdsr from Egypt,
and like dovess from the land of Assyria;
and I will let them returnt to their homes—
a declaration of Yahweh.
12u Ephraim has surrounded me with lies,v
and the house of Israel with deceit;
and Judah is still wandering with God
and is faithful to the Holy One.
12 Ephraim herds the winda
and is pursuing the east wind all day long;
he multiplies deception and violence
and heb ⌊makes a treaty with Assyria⌋,c
and oil is brought to Egypt.
2 Yahweh has a quarreld with Judah
and will punish Jacob according to his ways
and repay him according to his deeds.
3 In the womb he deceived his brother,
and in his manhood he struggled with God.
4 He struggled with the angel and prevailed;
he pleaded for his mercy.
He met him at Bethel,
and there he spoke with him.e
Yahweh is his renowned name!
6 But you, you must return to your God;
keep love and justice,
and wait continually for your God.
7 The trader, in his hand are scales of deceit;f
he loves to oppress.
8 And Ephraim said, “Surely, I am rich,
I gainedg wealth for myself;
in all my toil they have not found guilt in me
that is sin.
sinceh the land of Egypt;
I will make you live in tents again,
like the days of the appointed festival.
I myself multiplied revelationsi
and through the hand of the prophets I will destroy.
11 If in Gilead there is evil,
surely they will come to nothing.
In Gilgal they sacrifice bulls,
also their altars will be like stone heaps
on furrows of the field.
12 Jacob fled to the open field of Aram,j
and Israel served for a wife,
and for a wife he watched over sheep.
13 And by a prophet Yahweh brought
Israel up from Egypt,
and by a prophet
hek was watched over.
14 Ephraim has caused bitter provocation,
and his Lord will ⌊hold him responsible for his crimes⌋l
and pay back to him his insults.
Yahweh’s Judgment on Idolatrous Israel
13 When Ephraim spoke,a there was terror;
he was exalted in Israel,
but he incurred guilt through Baal and died.
and they make for themselves a molten idol,
idols from their silver metal according to their understanding,
all of them the work of skilled craftsmen.
To these they say, “Sacrifice!”
People are kissing bull calves.
3 Therefore, they will be like the morning cloud,
and like the dew of early morning going away,
like chaff swirling from the threshing floor,
or like smoke from a window.
sinceb the land of Egypt;
you know no god except me,
and no one saves besides me.
5 I fed youc in the desert,
in the land of drought.
6 When I fed them,d they were satisfied;
they were satisfied and their heart was lifted up;
therefore they forgot me.
7 And I will be like a lion to them;
I lie in wait beside the way, like a leopard.
8 I will attack them like a bear robbed of her offspring,
and I will tear open the covering of their heart;
there I will devour them like a lion,
like an animal of the field would mutilate them.
9 I will destroy you,e O Israel;
who will help you?f
10 Where now is your king that he may save you?
Where in all your cities are your judges,
of whom you said, “Give to
me a king and rulers?”
11 I gave you a king in my anger,
and I took him in my wrath.
12 The sin of Ephraim is wrapped up;
his sin is concealed.
13 The labor pains of childbirth come for him;
he is an unwise son
because at the proper time, he does not present himself
⌊at the mouth of the womb⌋.g
14 Should I redeem them from ⌊the power⌋h of Sheol? i
Should I deliver them from death?
Where are your plagues, O Death?
Where is your destruction, O Sheol?j
Compassion is hidden from my eyes.
15 Although he may flourish among reeds,k
the east wind will come, a wind of Yahweh
rising from the desert;
his fountain will dry up,
his spring will be parched.
It will plunder his treasury,l
every object of desire.
16m Samaria will be guilty,
because she has rebelled against her God;
they will fall by the sword,
their children will be dashed to pieces,
and their pregnant women will be ripped open.