Hosea 11

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.