Hosea 10–11

Chapter 10

Retribution for Israel’s Sin

¹Israel is a ¹luxuriant ^avine;

He produces fruit for himself.

The more his fruit,

The more altars he ^bmade;

The ²richer his land,

The better ³he made the sacred ^cpillars.

²Their heart is ^1afaithless;

Now they must bear their ^bguilt.

²The Lord will ^cbreak down their altars

And destroy their sacred pillars.

³Surely now they will say, “We have ^ano king,

For we do not revere the Lord.

As for the king, what can he do for us?”

⁴They speak mere words,

¹With ^aworthless oaths they make covenants;

And ^bjudgment sprouts like poisonous weeds in the furrows of the field.

⁵The inhabitants of Samaria will fear

For the ^1acalf of ^bBeth-aven.

Indeed, its people will mourn for it,

And its ^cidolatrous priests ²will cry out over it,

Over its ^dglory, since it has departed from it.

⁶The thing itself will be carried to ^aAssyria

As tribute to ^1bKing Jareb;

Ephraim will ²be ^cseized with shame

And Israel will be ashamed of its ^down counsel.

⁷Samaria will be ^acut off with her king

Like a stick on the surface of the water.

⁸Also the ^ahigh places of Aven, the ^bsin of Israel, will be destroyed;

^cThorn and thistle will grow on their altars;

Then they will ^dsay to the mountains,

“Cover us!” And to the hills, “Fall on us!”

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

There they stand!

Will not the battle against the sons of iniquity overtake them in Gibeah?

¹⁰When it is My ^adesire, I will ^1bchastise them;

And ^cthe peoples will be gathered against them

When they are bound for their double guilt.

¹¹Ephraim is a trained ^aheifer that loves to thresh,

But I will ^bcome over her fair neck with a yoke;

I will harness Ephraim,

Judah will plow, Jacob will harrow for himself.

^12aSow with a view to righteousness,

Reap in accordance with ¹kindness;

^bBreak up your fallow ground,

For it is time to ^cseek the Lord

Until He ^dcomes to ^2erain righteousness on you.

¹³You have ^aplowed wickedness, you have reaped injustice,

You have eaten the fruit of ^blies.

Because you have trusted in your way, in your ^cnumerous warriors,

¹⁴Therefore a tumult will arise among your people,

And all your ^afortresses will be destroyed,

As Shalman destroyed Beth-arbel on the day of battle,

When ^bmothers were dashed in pieces with their children.

¹⁵Thus it will be done to you at Bethel because of your great wickedness.

At dawn the king of Israel will be completely cut off.

Chapter 11

God Yearns over His People

¹When Israel was a youth I loved him,

And ^aout of Egypt I ^bcalled My son.

²The more ^1athey called them,

The more they went from them;

They kept ^bsacrificing to the Baals

And ^cburning incense to idols.

³Yet it is I who taught Ephraim to walk,

¹I ^atook them in My arms;

But they did not know that I ^bhealed them.

⁴I ^aled them with cords of a man, with bonds of love,

And ^bI became to them as one who lifts the yoke from their jaws;

And I bent down and ^cfed them.

⁵¹They will not return to the land of Egypt;

But Assyria—he will be ²their king

Because they ^arefused to return to Me.

⁶The ^asword will whirl against ¹their cities,

And will demolish their gate bars

And ^bconsume them because of their ^ccounsels.

⁷So My people are bent on ^aturning from Me.

Though ¹they call ²them to the One on high,

None at all exalts Him.

^8aHow can I give you up, O Ephraim?

How can I surrender you, O Israel?

How can I ¹make you like ^bAdmah?

How can I treat you like Zeboiim?

My heart is turned over within Me,

²All My compassions are kindled.

⁹I will ^anot execute My fierce anger;

I will not destroy Ephraim ^bagain.

For ^cI am God and not man, the ^dHoly One in your midst,

And I will not come in ¹wrath.

¹⁰They will ^awalk after the Lord,

He will ^broar like a lion;

Indeed He will roar

And His sons will come ^ctrembling from the west.

¹¹They will come trembling like birds from ^aEgypt

And like ^bdoves from the land of Assyria;

And I will ^csettle them in their houses, declares the Lord.

¹²¹Ephraim surrounds Me with ^alies

And the house of Israel with deceit;

Judah is also unruly against God,

Even against the Holy One who is faithful.