Hosea 10–12

10Israel was a spreading vine;^d

he brought forth fruit for himself.

As his fruit increased,

he built more altars;^e

as his land prospered,^f

he adorned his sacred stones.^g

²Their heart is deceitful,^h

and now they must bear their guilt.ⁱ

The Lord will demolish their altars^j

and destroy their sacred stones.^k

³Then they will say, “We have no king

because we did not revere the Lord.

But even if we had a king,

what could he do for us?”

⁴They make many promises,

take false oaths^l

and make agreements;^m

therefore lawsuits spring up

like poisonous weedsⁿ in a plowed field.

⁵The people who live in Samaria fear

for the calf-idol^o of Beth Aven.^ap

Its people will mourn over it,

and so will its idolatrous priests,^q

those who had rejoiced over its splendor,

because it is taken from them into exile.^r

⁶It will be carried to Assyria^s

as tribute^t for the great king.^u

Ephraim will be disgraced;^v

Israel will be ashamed^w of its foreign alliances.

⁷Samaria’s king will be destroyed,^x

swept away like a twig on the surface of the waters.

⁸The high places^y of wickedness^bz will be destroyed—

it is the sin of Israel.

Thorns^a and thistles will grow up

and cover their altars.^b

Then they will say to the mountains, “Cover us!”^c

and to the hills, “Fall on us!”^d

⁹“Since the days of Gibeah,^e you have sinned,^f Israel,

and there you have remained.^c

Will not war again overtake

the evildoers in Gibeah?

¹⁰When I please, I will punish^g them;

nations will be gathered against them

to put them in bonds for their double sin.

¹¹Ephraim is a trained heifer

that loves to thresh;

so I will put a yoke^h

on her fair neck.

I will drive Ephraim,

Judah must plow,

and Jacob must break up the ground.

¹²Sowⁱ righteousness^j for yourselves,

reap the fruit of unfailing love,

and break up your unplowed ground;^k

for it is time to seek^l the Lord,

until he comes

and showers his righteousness^m on you.

¹³But you have planted wickedness,

you have reaped evil,ⁿ

you have eaten the fruit of deception.^o

Because you have depended on your own strength

and on your many warriors,^p

¹⁴the roar of battle will rise against your people,

so that all your fortresses will be devastated^q—

as Shalman^r devastated Beth Arbel on the day of battle,

when mothers were dashed to the ground with their children.^s

¹⁵So will it happen to you, Bethel,

because your wickedness is great.

When that day dawns,

the king of Israel will be completely destroyed.^t

God’s Love for Israel

11“When Israel was a child,^u I loved^v him,

and out of Egypt I called my son.^w

²But the more they were called,

the more they went away from me.^ax

They sacrificed to the Baals^y

and they burned incense to images.^z

³It was I who taught Ephraim to walk,

taking them by the arms;^a

but they did not realize

it was I who healed^b them.

⁴I led them with cords of human kindness,

with ties of love.^c

To them I was like one who lifts

a little child to the cheek,

and I bent down to feed^d them.^e

⁵“Will they not return to Egypt^f

and will not Assyria^g rule over them

because they refuse to repent?^h

⁶A swordⁱ will flash in their cities;

it will devour^j their false prophets

and put an end to their plans.

⁷My people are determined to turn^k from me.^l

Even though they call me God Most High,

I will by no means exalt them.

⁸“How can I give you up,^m Ephraim?ⁿ

How can I hand you over, Israel?

How can I treat you like Admah?

How can I make you like Zeboyim?^o

My heart is changed within me;

all my compassion^p is aroused.^q

⁹I will not carry out my fierce anger,^r

nor will I devastate^s Ephraim again.

For I am God, and not a man^t—

the Holy One^u among you.

I will not come against their cities.

¹⁰They will follow the Lord;

he will roar^v like a lion.^w

When he roars,

his children will come trembling^x from the west.^y

¹¹They will come from Egypt,

trembling like sparrows,

from Assyria,^z fluttering like doves.^a

I will settle them in their homes,”^b

declares the Lord.

Israel’s Sin

¹²Ephraim has surrounded me with lies,^c

Israel with deceit.

And Judah is unruly against God,

even against the faithful^d Holy One.^be

12^aEphraim^f feeds on the wind;^g

he pursues the east wind all day

and multiplies lies and violence.^h

He makes a treaty with Assyriaⁱ

and sends olive oil to Egypt.^j

²The Lord has a charge^k to bring against Judah;^l

he will punish^m Jacob^b according to his ways

and repay him according to his deeds.ⁿ

³In the womb he grasped his brother’s heel;^o

as a man he struggled^p with God.

⁴He struggled with the angel and overcame him;

he wept and begged for his favor.

He found him at Bethel^q

and talked with him there—

⁵the Lord God Almighty,

the Lord is his name!^r

⁶But you must return^s to your God;

maintain love and justice,^t

and wait for your God always.^u

⁷The merchant uses dishonest scales^v

and loves to defraud.

⁸Ephraim boasts,^w

“I am very rich; I have become wealthy.^x

With all my wealth they will not find in me

any iniquity or sin.”

⁹“I have been the Lord your God

ever since you came out of Egypt;^y

I will make you live in tents^z again,

as in the days of your appointed festivals.

¹⁰I spoke to the prophets,

gave them many visions

and told parables^a through them.”^b

¹¹Is Gilead wicked?^c

Its people are worthless!

Do they sacrifice bulls in Gilgal?^d

Their altars will be like piles of stones

on a plowed field.^e

¹²Jacob fled to the country of Aram^c;^f

Israel served to get a wife,

and to pay for her he tended sheep.^g

¹³The Lord used a prophet to bring Israel up from Egypt,^h

by a prophet he cared for him.ⁱ

¹⁴But Ephraim has aroused his bitter anger;

his Lord will leave on him the guilt of his bloodshed^j

and will repay him for his contempt.^k