Hosea 10–14

Israel Is Punished

10Israel is a luxuriant vine;^a

he yields fruit for himself.

The more his fruit increased,

the more he made numerous altars.

The more his land prospered,

the more he^b improved^c his stone pillars.

²Their heart is false;

now they must bear their guilt.

He himself^d will break down their altars;

he will destroy their stone pillars.

³For now they will say,

“We have no king;

indeed, we did not fear Yahweh,

and what can a king do for us?”

⁴They utter words of vain oaths

when making covenants,^e

and judgment blossoms like a poisonous plant

on the furrows of the field.

⁵The inhabitants^f of Samaria tremble

for the calf^g of Beth-aven.

Indeed, his people will mourn for it,

and his idolatrous priests will wail^h over it—

over its glory because it has departed from it.

⁶It will also be brought to Assyria,

as tribute to the great king.ⁱ

Ephraim will obtain disgrace

and Israel will be ashamed from his advice.^j

⁷Samaria will be destroyed;

her king is like a chip on the surface of the water.

⁸The high places of Aven,

the sin of Israel, will be destroyed.

Thorn and thistle will grow

on their altars.

They will say to the mountains, “Cover us,”

and to the hills, “Fall on us.”

⁹From the days of Gibeah you have sinned, O Israel;

there they have remained.^k

Will not war in Gibeah overtake them

against the children of evil?

¹⁰In my desire^l I will punish them;

nations will be gathered against them

when they are punished for their double iniquities.^m

¹¹Ephraim was a trained heifer,

that loved to thresh grain,

and I myself sparedⁿ

the fairness of her neck;

I will make Ephraim break the ground,

Judah will plow,

Jacob must till for himself.

¹²Sow for yourselves righteousness;

reap loyal love.^o

Break up for yourself fallow ground;

it is time to seek Yahweh

so he will come and rain

righteousness upon you.

¹³You have plowed wickedness,

you have reaped injustice,

you have eaten the fruit of lies,^p

because you have trusted in your strength,

in the multitude of your warriors.

¹⁴The tumult of war will rise up against your people,

and all your fortresses will be destroyed,

as Shalman destroyed Beth-arbel;

on the day of war

mothers were dashed to pieces with their children.^q

¹⁵So it will be done to you, O Bethel,

because of the evil of your wickedness;

at dawn, the king of Israel

will be utterly destroyed.

God Will Have Compassion

11When Israel was a child, I loved him,

and out of Egypt I called my son.

²When I called^a them, they went from my face.^b

They sacrificed to the Baals, and they sacrificed to idols.

³And I myself taught Ephraim to walk;

I took them^c in my^d arms,

but they did not know that I healed them.

⁴I drew them with human ties,^e

with the bands of love.

I was to them like one who lifted up^f a yoke on their jaws,^g

though I bent down to them^h and let themⁱ eat.

⁵He will return^j to the land of Egypt,

and Assyria will be his king,^k

because they refused to return.

⁶The sword rages in his cities;

it consumes his false prophets

and devours because of their plans.

⁷My people are bent on backsliding from me.

To the Most High they call,

he does not raise them at all.

⁸How 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 disturbed^l within me;

all^m my compassions are aroused.

⁹I will not executeⁿ 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.

¹⁰They will go after Yahweh;

he roars like a lion.

When he roars,

his children will come trembling

from the sea.^q

¹¹They will tremble like birds^r from Egypt,

and like doves^s from the land of Assyria;

and I will let them return^t to their homes—

a declaration of Yahweh.

Israel’s History

^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.

12Ephraim herds the wind^a

and is pursuing the east wind all day long;

he multiplies deception and violence

and he^b makes a treaty with Assyria,^c

and oil is brought to Egypt.

²Yahweh has a quarrel^d with Judah

and will punish Jacob according to his ways

and repay him according to his deeds.

³In the womb he deceived his brother,

and in his manhood he struggled with God.

⁴He struggled with the angel and prevailed;

he pleaded for his mercy.

He met him at Bethel,

and there he spoke with him.^e

⁵Yahweh the God of hosts,

Yahweh is his renowned name!

⁶But you, you must return to your God;

keep love and justice,

and wait continually for your God.

⁷The trader, in his hand are scales of deceit;^f

he loves to oppress.

⁸And Ephraim said, “Surely, I am rich,

I gained^g wealth for myself;

in all my toil they have not found guilt in me

that is sin.

⁹But I am Yahweh your God

since^h the land of Egypt;

I will make you live in tents again,

like the days of the appointed festival.

¹⁰I spoke to the prophets;

I myself multiplied revelationsⁱ

and through the hand of the prophets I will destroy.

¹¹If 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.

¹²Jacob fled to the open field of Aram,^j

and Israel served for a wife,

and for a wife he watched over sheep.

¹³And by a prophet Yahweh brought

Israel up from Egypt,

and by a prophet

he^k was watched over.

¹⁴Ephraim 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

13When Ephraim spoke,^a there was terror;

he was exalted in Israel,

but he incurred guilt through Baal and died.

²And now they sin again,

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.

³Therefore, 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.

⁴I am Yahweh your God

since^b the land of Egypt;

you know no god except me,

and no one saves besides me.

⁵I fed you^c in the desert,

in the land of drought.

⁶When I fed them,^d they were satisfied;

they were satisfied and their heart was lifted up;

therefore they forgot me.

⁷And I will be like a lion to them;

I lie in wait beside the way, like a leopard.

⁸I 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.

⁹I will destroy you,^e O Israel;

who will help you?^f

¹⁰Where 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?”

¹¹I gave you a king in my anger,

and I took him in my wrath.

¹²The sin of Ephraim is wrapped up;

his sin is concealed.

¹³The 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

¹⁴Should 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.

¹⁵Although 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.

Return to Yahweh

14Return to Yahweh your God, O Israel,

for you have stumbled because of your sin.

²Take words with you,

and return to Yahweh.

Say to him,

“Take away all guilt;

accept good, and we will offer

the fruit^a of our lips.

³Assyria will not save us;

we will not ride on horses,^b

and we will say no more, “Our God,”

to the work of our hands

because in you the fatherless child finds mercy.

⁴I will heal their disloyalty;^c

I will love them freely

because my anger has turned back

from them.^d

⁵I will be like the dew to Israel;

he will blossom like the lily plant,

and he will strike his roots like the trees of Lebanon.

⁶His new plant shoots will spread out;

his splendor will be like the olive tree,

and his scent like the trees of Lebanon.

⁷They will again dwell^e in my^f shadow;

they will grow grain

and they will blossom like the plant vine;

his fame will be like the wine of Lebanon.

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

I myself have answered and looked after you.^h

I am like a luxuriant cypress;

your fruitⁱ comes from me.

⁹Who is wise that he can understand these things?

Who is discerning that he knows them?

The ways of Yahweh are right,

and the righteous walk in them;

but transgressors stumble in them.