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Hosea 4-11
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Hosea 4-11
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
II. Israel’s Guilt, Punishment, and Restoration
Chapter 4
Indictment of Israel[a]
1 Hear the word of the Lord, Israelites,
for the Lord has a dispute
with the inhabitants of the land:(A)
There is no fidelity, no loyalty,
no knowledge of God in the land.
2 Swearing, lying, murder,
stealing and adultery break out;[b]
bloodshed follows bloodshed.(B)
3 Therefore the land dries up,
and everything that dwells in it languishes:
The beasts of the field,
the birds of the air,
and even the fish of the sea perish.(C)
Guilt of Priest and of People
4 But let no one accuse, let no one rebuke;
with you is my dispute, priest![c]
5 You will stumble in the day,
and the prophet will stumble with you at night;
I will make an end of your mother.[d]
6 My people are ruined for lack of knowledge!
Since you have rejected knowledge,
I will reject you from serving as my priest;
Since you have forgotten the law of your God,
I will also forget your children.
7 The more they multiplied, the more they sinned against me,
I will change their glory[e] into shame.(D)
8 They feed on the sin of my people,
and are greedy for their iniquity.[f]
9 Like people, like priest:(E)
I will punish them for their ways,
and repay them for their deeds.
10 They will eat but not be satisfied,(F)
they will promote prostitution[g] but not increase,
Because they have abandoned the Lord,
devoting themselves
11 to prostitution.
Aged wine and new wine
take away understanding.(G)
12 My people consult their piece of wood,[h]
and their wand makes pronouncements for them,
For the spirit of prostitution has led them astray;
they prostitute themselves, forsaking their God.
13 On the mountaintops they offer sacrifice
and on the hills they burn incense,
Beneath oak and poplar and terebinth,
because of their pleasant shade.[i]
Therefore your daughters prostitute themselves,
and your daughters-in-law commit adultery.
14 I will not punish your daughters for their prostitution,
nor your daughters-in-law for their adultery,
Because the men themselves consort with prostitutes,
and with temple women[j] they offer sacrifice!
Thus a people without understanding comes to ruin.
15 Though you prostitute yourself, Israel,
do not let Judah become guilty!
Do not come to Gilgal,[k]
do not go up to Beth-aven,(H)
do not swear, “As the Lord lives!”(I)
16 For like a stubborn cow,
Israel is stubborn;
Will the Lord now pasture them,
like lambs in a broad meadow?
17 Ephraim[l] is bound to idols,
let him alone!
18 [m]When their drinking is over,
they give themselves to prostitution;(J)
they love shame more than their honor.
19 A wind[n] has bound them up in its wings;(K)
they shall be ashamed because of their altars.(L)
Chapter 5
Guilt of the Religious and Political Leaders
1 Hear this, priests,
Pay attention, house of Israel,
Household of the king, give ear!(M)
For you are responsible for judgment.[o]
But you have been a snare at Mizpah,[p]
a net spread upon Tabor,
2 a pit dug deep in Shittim.
Now I will discipline them all.
3 I know Ephraim,
and Israel is not hidden from me:
Now, Ephraim, you have practiced prostitution,
Israel is defiled.
4 Their deeds do not allow them
to return to their God;(N)
For the spirit of prostitution is in them,
and they do not know the Lord.
5 The arrogance of Israel bears witness against him;
Israel and Ephraim stumble because of their iniquity,
and Judah stumbles with them.
6 With their flocks and herds they will go
to seek the Lord, but will not find him;(O)
he has withdrawn from them.
7 They have betrayed the Lord,
for they have borne illegitimate children;
Now the new moon[q] will devour them
together with their fields.
Political Upheavals[r]
8 Blow the ram’s horn in Gibeah,
the trumpet in Ramah!
Sound the alarm in Beth-aven:(P)
“Look behind you, Benjamin!”[s]
9 Ephraim shall become a wasteland
on the day of punishment:
Among the tribes of Israel
I announce what is sure to be.
10 The princes of Judah have become
like those who move a boundary line;[t](Q)
Upon them I will pour out
my wrath like water.
11 Ephraim is oppressed, crushed by judgment,
for he has willingly gone after filth![u]
12 I am like a moth for Ephraim,(R)
like rot for the house of Judah.
13 When Ephraim saw his infirmity,
and Judah his sore,
Ephraim went to Assyria,
and sent to the great king.[v](S)
But he cannot heal you,
nor take away your sore.
14 For I am like a lion to Ephraim,
like a young lion to the house of Judah;(T)
It is I who tear the prey and depart,
I carry it away and no one can save it.(U)
Insincere Conversion
15 I will go back to my place
until they make reparation
and seek my presence.
In their affliction, they shall look for me.(V)
Chapter 6
1 “Come, let us return to the Lord,(W)
For it is he who has torn, but he will heal us;
he has struck down, but he will bind our wounds.
2 He will revive us after two days;
on the third day[w] he will raise us up,(X)
to live in his presence.
3 Let us know, let us strive to know the Lord;
as certain as the dawn is his coming.
He will come to us like the rain,
like spring rain that waters the earth.”(Y)
4 What can I do with you, Ephraim?
What can I do with you, Judah?
Your loyalty is like morning mist,
like the dew that disappears early.
5 For this reason I struck them down through the prophets,
I killed them by the words of my mouth;[x](Z)
my judgment shines forth like the light.
6 For it is loyalty that I desire, not sacrifice,
and knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.(AA)
Further Crimes of Israel
7 But they, at Adam,[y] violated the covenant;
there they betrayed me.
8 Gilead[z] is a city of evildoers,
tracked with blood.
9 Like brigands lying in wait
is the band of priests.
They murder on the road to Shechem,[aa]
indeed they commit a monstrous crime.
10 In the house of Israel I have seen a horrible thing:
there is found Ephraim’s prostitution,
Israel is defiled.
11 For you also, Judah,
a harvest[ab] has been appointed!
Chapter 7
When I would have restored the fortunes of my people,
1 when I would have healed Israel,
The guilt of Ephraim was revealed,
the wickedness of Samaria:
They practiced falsehood.
Thieves break in,
bandits roam outside.
2 Yet they do not call to mind
that I remember all their wickedness.(AB)
Now their crimes surround them,
present to my sight.(AC)
Israel’s Domestic Politics[ac]
3 With their wickedness they make the king rejoice,
the princes too, with their treacherous deeds.
4 They are all adulterers,[ad]
like a blazing oven,
Which the baker quits stoking,
after the dough’s kneading until its rising.
5 On the day of our king,
they made the princes sick with poisoned wine;
he extended his hand to the scoffers.
6 For they draw near in ambush
with their hearts like an oven.
All the night their anger sleeps;
in the morning it flares like a blazing fire.
7 They are all heated like ovens,
and consume their rulers.
All their kings have fallen;
none of them calls upon me.
Israel’s Foreign Politics
8 Ephraim is mixed with the nations,[ae]
Ephraim is an unturned cake.
9 Strangers have consumed his strength,
but he does not know it;(AD)
Gray hairs are strewn on his head,
but he takes no notice of it.
10 The arrogance of Israel bears witness against him;
yet they do not return to the Lord, their God,
nor seek him, despite all this.(AE)
11 Ephraim is like a dove,
silly and senseless;
They call upon Egypt,
they go to Assyria.
12 When they go I will spread my net around them,
like birds in the air I will bring them down.(AF)
I will chastise them when I hear of their assembly.
13 Woe to them, for they have strayed from me!
Ruin to them, for they have rebelled against me!
Though I wished to redeem them,
they spoke lies against me.
14 They have not cried to me from their hearts
when they wailed upon their beds;
For wheat and wine they lacerated themselves;[af]
they rebelled against me.
15 Though I trained and strengthened their arms,
yet they devised evil against me.
16 They have again become useless,
they have been like a treacherous bow.(AG)
Their princes shall fall by the sword
because of the insolence of their tongues;
thus they shall be mocked in the land of Egypt.
Chapter 8
Corruption of Cult, Domestic and Foreign Politics
1 Put the trumpet to your lips!(AH)
One like an eagle[ag] is over the house of the Lord!
Because they have violated my covenant,
and rebelled against my law,
2 They cry out to me,
“My God! We know you!”
3 But Israel has rejected what is good;
the enemy[ah] shall pursue him.
4 [ai]They made kings, but not by my authority;
they established princes, but without my knowledge.
With their silver and gold
they made idols for themselves,
to their own destruction.
5 He has rejected your calf,[aj] Samaria!(AI)
My wrath is kindled against them;
How long will they be incapable of innocence
in Israel?
6 An artisan made it,
it is no god at all.(AJ)
The calf of Samaria
will be dashed to pieces.
7 When they sow the wind,
they will reap the whirlwind;(AK)
The stalk of grain that forms no head
can yield no flour;
Even if it could,
strangers would swallow it.
8 Israel is swallowed up;
now they are among the nations,
like a useless vessel.
9 For they went up to Assyria—[ak]
a wild ass off on its own—
Ephraim bargained for lovers.(AL)
10 Even though they bargain with the nations,
I will now gather them[al] together;
They will soon succumb
under the burden of king and princes.
11 [am]When Ephraim made many altars to expiate sin,
they became altars for sinning.
12 Though I write for him my many instructions,
they are considered like a stranger’s.
13 They love sacrifice,
they sacrifice meat and eat it,
but the Lord is not pleased with them.(AM)
Now he will remember their guilt
and punish their sins;(AN)
they shall return to Egypt.[an](AO)
14 Israel has forgotten his maker(AP)
and has built palaces.
Judah, too, has fortified many cities,
but I will send fire upon his cities,
to devour their strongholds.(AQ)
Chapter 9
From Days of Celebration to Days of Punishment
1 Do not rejoice, Israel,
do not exult like the nations!
For you have prostituted yourself, abandoning your God,
loving a prostitute’s fee
upon every threshing floor.[ao]
2 Threshing floor and wine press will not nourish them,
the new wine will fail them.
3 They will not dwell in the Lord’s land;
Ephraim will return to Egypt,
and in Assyria they will eat unclean food.
4 They will not pour libations of wine to the Lord,
and their sacrifices will not please him.
Their bread will be like mourners’ bread,[ap](AR)
that makes unclean all who eat of it;
Their food will be for their own appetites;
it cannot enter the house of the Lord.
5 What will you do on the festival day,
the day of the Lord’s feast?[aq]
6 [ar]When they flee from the devastation,
Egypt will gather them, Memphis will bury them.
Weeds will overgrow their silver treasures,
and thorns, their tents.
7 They have come, the days of punishment!
they have come, the days of recompense!
Let Israel know it!
“The prophet is a fool,(AS)
the man of the spirit is mad!”
Because your iniquity is great,
great, too, is your hostility.
8 [as]The watchman of Ephraim, the people of my God, is the prophet;(AT)
yet a fowler’s snare is on all his ways,
hostility in the house of his God.
9 They have sunk to the depths of corruption,
as in the days of Gibeah;[at](AU)
God will remember their iniquity
and punish their sins.
From Former Glory to a History of Corruption
10 Like grapes in the desert,
I found Israel;
Like the first fruits of the fig tree, its first to ripen,(AV)
I looked on your ancestors.
But when they came to Baal-peor[au](AW)
and consecrated themselves to the Shameful One,
they became as abhorrent as the thing they loved.
11 Ephraim is like a bird:
their glory flies away—
no birth, no pregnancy, no conception.(AX)
12 Even though they bring up their children,
I will make them childless, until no one is left.
Indeed, woe to them
when I turn away from them!
13 Ephraim, as I saw, was a tree
planted in a meadow;
But now Ephraim will bring out
his children to the slaughterer!
14 Give them, Lord!
give them what?
Give them a miscarrying womb,
and dry breasts!(AY)
15 All their misfortune began in Gilgal;[av]
yes, there I rejected them.
Because of their wicked deeds
I will drive them out of my house.
I will love them no longer;
all their princes are rebels.
16 [aw]Ephraim is stricken,
their root is dried up;(AZ)
they will bear no fruit.(BA)
Were they to bear children,
I would slay the beloved of their womb.
17 My God will disown them
because they have not listened to him;
they will be wanderers among the nations.(BB)
Chapter 10
Destruction of Idolatrous Cultic Objects
1 (BC)Israel is a luxuriant vine
whose fruit matches its growth.
The more abundant his fruit,
the more altars he built;
The more productive his land,
the more sacred pillars[ax] he set up.
2 Their heart is false!
Now they will pay for their guilt:
God will break down their altars
and destroy their sacred pillars.
3 For now they will say,
“We have no king![ay]
Since we do not fear the Lord,
the king—what could he do for us?”
4 They make promises,
swear false oaths, and make covenants,
While lawsuits sprout
like poisonous weeds[az] in the furrows of a field!
5 The inhabitants of Samaria are afraid
for the calf of Beth-aven;[ba]
Its people mourn for it
and its idolatrous priests wail over it,
—over its glory which has departed from it.(BD)
6 It too will be carried to Assyria,
as an offering to the great king.[bb](BE)
Ephraim will be put to shame,
Israel will be shamed by his schemes.
7 Samaria and her king will disappear,
like a twig upon the waters.
8 The high places of Aven[bc] will be destroyed,
the sin of Israel;
thorns and thistles will overgrow their altars.
Then they will cry out to the mountains, “Cover us!”
and to the hills, “Fall upon us!”(BF)
War Because of Israel’s Wickedness
9 Since the days of Gibeah(BG)
you have sinned, Israel.
There they took their stand;
will war not reach them in Gibeah?
Against a perverse people
10 I came and I chastised them;
Peoples will be gathered against them
when I bind them to their two crimes.[bd]
11 Ephraim was a trained heifer,
that loved to thresh;
I myself laid a yoke
upon her beautiful neck;
I will make Ephraim break ground, Judah must plow,
Jacob must harrow for himself:
12 “Sow for yourselves justice,
reap the reward of loyalty;
Break up for yourselves a new field,(BH)
for it is time to seek the Lord,
till he comes and rains justice upon you.”(BI)
13 But you have plowed wickedness,
reaped perversity,
and eaten the fruit of falsehood.
Because you have trusted in your own power,
and in your many warriors,(BJ)
14 The clamor of war shall break out among your people
and all your fortresses shall be ravaged
As Salman ravaged Beth-arbel[be] on the day of war,
smashing mothers along with their children.(BK)
15 So it will be done to you, Bethel,
because of your utter wickedness:
At dawn[bf] the king of Israel
will utterly disappear.
Chapter 11
The Disappointment of a Parent
1 [bg]When Israel was a child I loved him,(BL)
out of Egypt[bh] I called my son.(BM)
2 The more I called them,
the farther they went from me,
Sacrificing to the Baals
and burning incense to idols.
3 Yet it was I who taught Ephraim to walk,
who took them in my arms;(BN)
but they did not know that I cared for them.
4 I drew them with human cords,
with bands of love;[bi]
I fostered them like those
who raise an infant to their cheeks;
I bent down to feed them.(BO)
5 He shall return to the land of Egypt,(BP)
Assyria shall be his king,
because they have refused to repent.
6 The sword shall rage in his cities:
it shall destroy his diviners,
and devour them because of their schemings.
7 My people have their mind set on apostasy;
though they call on God in unison,
he shall not raise them up.
But Love Is Stronger and Restores
8 How could I give you up, Ephraim,
or deliver you up, Israel?
How could I treat you as Admah,
or make you like Zeboiim?[bj](BQ)
My heart is overwhelmed,
my pity is stirred.
9 I will not give vent to my blazing anger,
I will not destroy Ephraim again;
For I am God and not a man,(BR)
the Holy One present among you;
I will not come in wrath.
10 They shall follow the Lord,
who roars like a lion;(BS)
When he roars,
his children shall come frightened from the west,
11 Out of Egypt they shall come trembling, like birds,
like doves, from the land of Assyria;
And I will resettle them in their homes,
oracle of the Lord.
Footnotes
- 4:1–3 The introduction to the oracles (chaps. 4–11) which begin with “Hear the word of the Lord” (4:1) and end with “oracle of the Lord” (11:11).
- 4:2 Similar to the decalogue (Ex 20:1–17; cf. Jer 7:9).
- 4:4–6 Hosea is particularly severe with the priests in the Northern Kingdom who had led the way in the general apostasy from God’s law. The prophets here associated with the priests (v. 5) were doubtless cult prophets; cf. Jer 2:8; 4:9–10; 6:13–14; 23:9–40.
- 4:5 Your mother: the one who gave life to the priest, understood here as an extension of the punishment to his whole family (Am 7:17), or “mother” taken as a metaphor for the community of Israel, of which the priest is a member (Hos 2:4).
- 4:7 Their glory: possibly connoting “their children.” See 9:11: Is 22:24. Or “Glory” may refer to the Lord in contrast to Ba’al. The Hebrew word for shame, bosheth, is often substituted for Ba’al in biblical names. See Ishbaal (Heb. Ishbosheth, 2 Sm 2:8, 10, 12, 15) and Meribaal (Heb. Mephibosheth, 2 Sm 9:6, 10–13).
- 4:8 The priest receives part of the sacrifice (Lv 6:19; 7:7).
- 4:10–11 Prostitution: often a synonym for idolatry. The covenant bond was symbolized as the relationship between husband and wife (see chaps. 1–2). Thus, abandoning the Lord for a foreign god was called prostitution or adultery.
- 4:12 Piece of wood: a derogatory term for an idol. Wand: a sacred wooden object, perhaps some kind of staff, used for divination.
- 4:13 The shrines on the “high places” typically had an altar, a grove of trees, and a stone pillar representing a god (Dt 12:2; Jer 2:20).
- 4:14 Temple women: plural of Heb. qedesha; the exact import of the term is disputed. See notes on Gn 38:21 and Dt 23:18–19.
- 4:15 Gilgal: close to Jericho (Jos 4:19–20; 5:2–9). Beth-aven: (lit., “house of iniquity”) Hosea’s derogatory term for the sanctuary of Bethel (lit., “house of God”), the major shrine of the Northern Kingdom (10:5, 8; cf. Am 5:5). As the Lord lives: a legitimate oath formula (1 Sm 26:10, 16), but unacceptable here because Israel is guilty of religious syncretism and the idolatrous worship of other gods.
- 4:17 Ephraim: the name of one of the sons of Joseph, son of Jacob (Gn 41:52), also used to designate one of the tribes living in the heartland of the Northern Kingdom. Hosea often uses the name Ephraim to refer to the whole Northern Kingdom of Israel. During the latter part of his ministry, after the Assyrians occupied Galilee, Ephraim was all that remained of Israel.
- 4:18 Cf. v. 11.
- 4:19 A wind: (Heb. ruah), a metaphor for Israel’s addiction to the Baal cult, which is nothing but wind, a “spirit (ruah) of prostitution” (v. 12).
- 5:1 For you…judgment: possibly “for you are called to judgment.”
- 5:1–2 Mizpah: several places bear this name; the best known is in Benjamin (1 Sm 7:6, 16; 10:17). Perhaps this is a wordplay on mishpat, “justice,” “judgment.” Tabor: the mountain that dominates the valley of Jezreel. Shittim: in Transjordan, where Israel committed its first act of idolatry with the Baal of Peor (9:10; cf. Nm 25). At these three places the leaders had misled the people by an idolatrous cult or by an abuse of justice.
- 5:7 New moon: normally a feast day of joy (2:13), but, because of infidelity, it will be a day of destruction.
- 5:8–14 This passage describes political and military conflict between Judah and Israel. Perhaps some allusion is made to the Syro-Ephraimite war of 735–734 B.C., when a coalition of Arameans and Israelites attempted to dethrone the king of Judah (2 Kgs 16:5; Is 7:1–9). Judah repulsed the attempt with the aid of Assyria, and the latter devastated both Aram and Israel.
- 5:8 A vision of invasion, from Gibeah and Ramah in northern Judah, into Israel.
- 5:10 Move a boundary line: invasion by Judah (v. 8) is compared to a case of social injustice (Dt 19:14; 27:17; Prv 23:10–11).
- 5:11 Filth: Ephraim’s reliance on foreign nations and their gods.
- 5:13 Ephraim went…king: in 738 the Israelite king Menahem had to pay tribute to the Assyrian king Tiglath-pileser III, whose vassal he became (2 Kgs 15:19–20). Under the threat of the Syro-Ephraimite invasion King Ahaz of Judah also submitted to Tiglath-pileser (2 Kgs 16:7–9). Great king: Heb. melek-yarev; may be a proper name: King Yarev, but unknown; or “the defender king”: irony about the great king of Assyria (see note on 10:6).
- 6:2 After two days; on the third day: presumptuous Israel expects that soon God will renew them (cf. Ez 37).
- 6:5 The word of God proclaimed by the prophets is effective, it accomplished what it promised: punishment.
- 6:7 At Adam: the violation of the covenant at Adam is mentioned nowhere else in the Bible. The place Adam, the location of which is unknown, may be referred to in Jos 3:16.
- 6:8 Gilead: city in Transjordan (Gn 31:46–48; 2 Kgs 15:25).
- 6:9 Shechem: an important ancient religious and political center (Jos 24).
- 6:11 Harvest: God’s judgment, when Judah will reap what it has sown.
- 7:3–7 This passage perhaps refers to a conspiracy at the royal court. Between the death of Jeroboam II (743 B.C.) and the fall of Samaria (722/721), nearly all the kings were murdered (2 Kgs 15:10, 14, 25, 30).
- 7:4 Adulterers: the unfaithful nobles who kill the king. Their passion is compared to the fire of the oven. The point of the metaphor is that, like this oven whose fire is always ready to blaze up again, the conspirators are always ready for rebellion.
- 7:8 Is mixed with the nations: the people reject exclusive allegiance to the Lord, and they now try to find their salvation in alliances with foreign nations. An unturned cake: burnt on one side, but not baked at all on the other, and thus worthless.
- 7:14 Lacerated themselves: a ritual to obtain a good harvest from Baal (2:7–10; 1 Kgs 18:28; Jer 16:6; 41:5). This practice was forbidden (Lv 19:28; Dt 14:1).
- 8:1 Eagle: perhaps an image for Tiglath-pileser III of Assyria, who overran the land of Israel in 733 B.C. (Jer 48:40; 49:22; Ez 17:3).
- 8:3 Enemy: Assyria.
- 8:4 Hosea is not against the monarchy, but against the conspiracies at the royal court (see note on 7:3–7). The king should be chosen by God (1 Kgs 19:15–16).
- 8:5 Calf: a cultic object introduced by Jeroboam I after the separation of the Northern Kingdom from the Southern Kingdom (1 Kgs 12:26–30; cf. Ex 32).
- 8:9 They went up to Assyria: a reference to the politics of appealing to Assyria (cf. 5:13; 7:11). There is a play on the Hebrew word for “wild ass” (pere) and “Ephraim.”
- 8:10 I will now gather them: for judgment and for deportation.
- 8:11 The altars had become places of self-serving worship (cf. v. 13).
- 8:13 Return to Egypt: to punish their violation of the covenant they will experience a reversal of the exodus.
- 9:1 Threshing floor: an allusion to harvest festivals in honor of Baal, to whom the Israelites had attributed the fertility of the land; cf. 2:7.
- 9:4 Mourners’ bread: bread eaten at funeral rites (Dt 26:14). The presence of a corpse also made all food prepared in that house unclean (Jer 16:5–7).
- 9:5 The Lord’s feast: probably the important autumn feast of Booths, the most important of the Israelite public celebrations (Lv 23:34).
- 9:6 Instead of gathering for celebration (v. 5), they will be gathered for death. Memphis: known for the monumental pyramid tombs. Silver treasures: the silver statues of Baal (8:4).
- 9:8 Prophets, like Hosea himself, are called to be sentinels for Israel, warning Israel of God’s coming wrath (see Ez 3:17; 33:7), but often meet rejection.
- 9:9 The days of Gibeah: the precise allusion is not clear. Perhaps it is a reference to the outrage committed at Gibeah in the days of the judges (Jgs 19–21), or to questions surrounding Saul’s kingship at Gibeah (1 Sm 10:26; 14:2; 22:6).
- 9:10 Baal-peor: where the Israelites consecrated themselves for the first time to Baal (Nm 25; see note on Hos 5:1–2). Baal is here called the Shameful One.
- 9:15 Gilgal: possibly a reference to Saul’s disobedience to Samuel (1 Sm 13:7–14; 15), or to the idolatry practiced in that place (see note on Hos 4:15).
- 9:16 Wordplay on the Hebrew word for “fruit” (peri) and Ephraim (see note on 8:9). The whole passage (vv. 10–17) presents a reversal of Ephraim’s name (Gn 41:52). He will have no fruit, a condition which will result in extinction.
- 10:1 Sacred pillars: see note on 3:4.
- 10:3 No king: the instability of the monarchy (7:3–7) and its vassalage to foreign kings (7:8–16) render the monarchy ineffective. The kings do the opposite of what they are supposed to do (10:4).
- 10:4 Lawsuits…like poisonous weeds: the administration of justice, which should have been the mainstay of the people, has in corrupt hands become another instrument of oppression; cf. Am 6:12.
- 10:5 The calf of Beth-aven: see note on 4:15.
- 10:6 The great king: a title used by the Assyrian kings. See also note on 5:13.
- 10:8 Aven: wickedness, first of all at Bethel (v. 5), but also at all the high places.
- 10:10 Two crimes: the allusion is not clear; a possible reference is the outrage described in Jgs 19.
- 10:14 As Salman ravaged Beth-arbel: perhaps Salamanu, king of Moab, mentioned in an inscription of Tiglath-pileser III, after an invasion in Gilead (Transjordan), where there was a Beth-arbel, close to present Irbid.
- 10:15 At dawn: normally the moment of God’s victory over Israel’s enemies, and thus his salvation (Is 17:14; Ps 46:6). Here it is a reversal of this expectation.
- 11:1–3 After the image of husband-wife (chaps. 1–3), Hosea uses the image of parent-child (Ex 4:22; Is 1:2; Jer 3:19).
- 11:1 Out of Egypt: Hosea dates the real beginning of Israel from the time of the exodus. Mt 2:15 applies this text to the return of Jesus from Egypt.
- 11:4 I drew them…with bands of love: perhaps a reversal of the yoke imagery of the previous chapter, i.e., not forcing them like draft animals, but drawing them with kindness and affection.
- 11:8 Admah…Zeboiim: cities in the vicinity of Sodom and Gomorrah (Gn 14:2, 8) and destroyed with them (Gn 19:24–25; Dt 29:22).
Hosea 4-11
New International Version
Hosea 4-11
New International Version
The Charge Against Israel
4 Hear the word of the Lord, you Israelites,
because the Lord has a charge(A) to bring
against you who live in the land:(B)
“There is no faithfulness,(C) no love,
no acknowledgment(D) of God in the land.(E)
2 There is only cursing,[a] lying(F) and murder,(G)
stealing(H) and adultery;(I)
they break all bounds,
and bloodshed follows bloodshed.(J)
3 Because of this the land dries up,(K)
and all who live in it waste away;(L)
the beasts of the field, the birds in the sky
and the fish in the sea are swept away.(M)
4 “But let no one bring a charge,
let no one accuse another,
for your people are like those
who bring charges against a priest.(N)
5 You stumble(O) day and night,
and the prophets stumble with you.
So I will destroy your mother(P)—
6 my people are destroyed from lack of knowledge.(Q)
“Because you have rejected knowledge,
I also reject you as my priests;
because you have ignored the law(R) of your God,
I also will ignore your children.
7 The more priests there were,
the more they sinned against me;
they exchanged their glorious God[b](S) for something disgraceful.(T)
8 They feed on the sins of my people
and relish their wickedness.(U)
9 And it will be: Like people, like priests.(V)
I will punish both of them for their ways
and repay them for their deeds.(W)
10 “They will eat but not have enough;(X)
they will engage in prostitution(Y) but not flourish,
because they have deserted(Z) the Lord
to give themselves 11 to prostitution;(AA)
old wine(AB) and new wine
take away their understanding.(AC)
12 My people consult a wooden idol,(AD)
and a diviner’s rod speaks to them.(AE)
A spirit of prostitution(AF) leads them astray;(AG)
they are unfaithful(AH) to their God.
13 They sacrifice on the mountaintops
and burn offerings on the hills,
under oak,(AI) poplar and terebinth,
where the shade is pleasant.(AJ)
Therefore your daughters turn to prostitution(AK)
and your daughters-in-law to adultery.(AL)
14 “I will not punish your daughters
when they turn to prostitution,
nor your daughters-in-law
when they commit adultery,
because the men themselves consort with harlots(AM)
and sacrifice with shrine prostitutes(AN)—
a people without understanding(AO) will come to ruin!(AP)
15 “Though you, Israel, commit adultery,
do not let Judah become guilty.
“Do not go to Gilgal;(AQ)
do not go up to Beth Aven.[c](AR)
And do not swear, ‘As surely as the Lord lives!’(AS)
16 The Israelites are stubborn,(AT)
like a stubborn heifer.(AU)
How then can the Lord pasture them
like lambs(AV) in a meadow?
17 Ephraim is joined to idols;
leave him alone!
18 Even when their drinks are gone,
they continue their prostitution;
their rulers dearly love shameful ways.
19 A whirlwind(AW) will sweep them away,
and their sacrifices will bring them shame.(AX)
Judgment Against Israel
5 “Hear this, you priests!
Pay attention, you Israelites!
Listen, royal house!
This judgment(AY) is against you:
You have been a snare(AZ) at Mizpah,
a net(BA) spread out on Tabor.
2 The rebels are knee-deep in slaughter.(BB)
I will discipline all of them.(BC)
3 I know all about Ephraim;
Israel is not hidden(BD) from me.
Ephraim, you have now turned to prostitution;
Israel is corrupt.(BE)
4 “Their deeds do not permit them
to return(BF) to their God.
A spirit of prostitution(BG) is in their heart;
they do not acknowledge(BH) the Lord.
5 Israel’s arrogance testifies(BI) against them;
the Israelites, even Ephraim, stumble(BJ) in their sin;
Judah also stumbles with them.(BK)
6 When they go with their flocks and herds
to seek the Lord,(BL)
they will not find him;
he has withdrawn(BM) himself from them.
7 They are unfaithful(BN) to the Lord;
they give birth to illegitimate(BO) children.
When they celebrate their New Moon feasts,(BP)
he will devour[d](BQ) their fields.
8 “Sound the trumpet(BR) in Gibeah,(BS)
the horn in Ramah.(BT)
Raise the battle cry in Beth Aven[e];(BU)
lead on, Benjamin.
9 Ephraim will be laid waste(BV)
on the day of reckoning.(BW)
Among the tribes of Israel
I proclaim what is certain.(BX)
10 Judah’s leaders are like those
who move boundary stones.(BY)
I will pour out my wrath(BZ) on them
like a flood of water.
11 Ephraim is oppressed,
trampled in judgment,
intent on pursuing idols.[f](CA)
12 I am like a moth(CB) to Ephraim,
like rot(CC) to the people of Judah.
13 “When Ephraim(CD) saw his sickness,
and Judah his sores,
then Ephraim turned to Assyria,(CE)
and sent to the great king for help.(CF)
But he is not able to cure(CG) you,
not able to heal your sores.(CH)
14 For I will be like a lion(CI) to Ephraim,
like a great lion to Judah.
I will tear them to pieces(CJ) and go away;
I will carry them off, with no one to rescue them.(CK)
15 Then I will return to my lair(CL)
until they have borne their guilt(CM)
and seek my face(CN)—
in their misery(CO)
they will earnestly seek me.(CP)”
Israel Unrepentant
6 “Come, let us return(CQ) to the Lord.
He has torn us to pieces(CR)
but he will heal us;(CS)
he has injured us
but he will bind up our wounds.(CT)
2 After two days he will revive us;(CU)
on the third day(CV) he will restore(CW) us,
that we may live in his presence.
3 Let us acknowledge the Lord;
let us press on to acknowledge him.
As surely as the sun rises,
he will appear;
he will come to us like the winter rains,(CX)
like the spring rains that water the earth.(CY)”
4 “What can I do with you, Ephraim?(CZ)
What can I do with you, Judah?
Your love is like the morning mist,
like the early dew that disappears.(DA)
5 Therefore I cut you in pieces with my prophets,
I killed you with the words of my mouth(DB)—
then my judgments go forth like the sun.[g](DC)
6 For I desire mercy, not sacrifice,(DD)
and acknowledgment(DE) of God rather than burnt offerings.(DF)
7 As at Adam,[h] they have broken the covenant;(DG)
they were unfaithful(DH) to me there.
8 Gilead is a city of evildoers,(DI)
stained with footprints of blood.
9 As marauders lie in ambush for a victim,(DJ)
so do bands of priests;
they murder(DK) on the road to Shechem,
carrying out their wicked schemes.(DL)
10 I have seen a horrible(DM) thing in Israel:
There Ephraim is given to prostitution,
Israel is defiled.(DN)
11 “Also for you, Judah,
a harvest(DO) is appointed.
“Whenever I would restore the fortunes(DP) of my people,
7 1 whenever I would heal Israel,
the sins of Ephraim are exposed
and the crimes of Samaria revealed.(DQ)
They practice deceit,(DR)
thieves break into houses,(DS)
bandits rob in the streets;(DT)
2 but they do not realize
that I remember(DU) all their evil deeds.(DV)
Their sins engulf them;(DW)
they are always before me.
3 “They delight the king with their wickedness,
the princes with their lies.(DX)
4 They are all adulterers,(DY)
burning like an oven
whose fire the baker need not stir
from the kneading of the dough till it rises.
5 On the day of the festival of our king
the princes become inflamed with wine,(DZ)
and he joins hands with the mockers.(EA)
6 Their hearts are like an oven;(EB)
they approach him with intrigue.
Their passion smolders all night;
in the morning it blazes like a flaming fire.
7 All of them are hot as an oven;
they devour their rulers.
All their kings fall,(EC)
and none of them calls(ED) on me.
8 “Ephraim mixes(EE) with the nations;
Ephraim is a flat loaf not turned over.
9 Foreigners sap his strength,(EF)
but he does not realize it.
His hair is sprinkled with gray,
but he does not notice.
10 Israel’s arrogance testifies against him,(EG)
but despite all this
he does not return(EH) to the Lord his God
or search(EI) for him.
11 “Ephraim is like a dove,(EJ)
easily deceived and senseless—
now calling to Egypt,(EK)
now turning to Assyria.(EL)
12 When they go, I will throw my net(EM) over them;
I will pull them down like the birds in the sky.
When I hear them flocking together,
I will catch them.
13 Woe(EN) to them,
because they have strayed(EO) from me!
Destruction to them,
because they have rebelled against me!
I long to redeem them
but they speak about me(EP) falsely.(EQ)
14 They do not cry out to me from their hearts(ER)
but wail on their beds.
They slash themselves,[i] appealing to their gods
for grain and new wine,(ES)
but they turn away from me.(ET)
15 I trained(EU) them and strengthened their arms,
but they plot evil(EV) against me.
16 They do not turn to the Most High;(EW)
they are like a faulty bow.(EX)
Their leaders will fall by the sword
because of their insolent(EY) words.
For this they will be ridiculed(EZ)
in the land of Egypt.(FA)
Israel to Reap the Whirlwind
8 “Put the trumpet(FB) to your lips!
An eagle(FC) is over the house of the Lord
because the people have broken my covenant(FD)
and rebelled against my law.(FE)
2 Israel cries out to me,
‘Our God, we acknowledge you!’
3 But Israel has rejected what is good;
an enemy will pursue him.(FF)
4 They set up kings without my consent;
they choose princes without my approval.(FG)
With their silver and gold
they make idols(FH) for themselves
to their own destruction.
5 Samaria, throw out your calf-idol!(FI)
My anger burns against them.
How long will they be incapable of purity?(FJ)
6 They are from Israel!
This calf—a metalworker has made it;
it is not God.(FK)
It will be broken in pieces,
that calf(FL) of Samaria.(FM)
7 “They sow the wind
and reap the whirlwind.(FN)
The stalk has no head;
it will produce no flour.(FO)
Were it to yield grain,
foreigners would swallow it up.(FP)
8 Israel is swallowed up;(FQ)
now she is among the nations
like something no one wants.(FR)
9 For they have gone up to Assyria(FS)
like a wild donkey(FT) wandering alone.
Ephraim has sold herself to lovers.(FU)
10 Although they have sold themselves among the nations,
I will now gather them together.(FV)
They will begin to waste away(FW)
under the oppression of the mighty king.
11 “Though Ephraim built many altars for sin offerings,
these have become altars for sinning.(FX)
12 I wrote for them the many things of my law,
but they regarded them as something foreign.(FY)
13 Though they offer sacrifices as gifts to me,
and though they eat(FZ) the meat,
the Lord is not pleased with them.(GA)
Now he will remember(GB) their wickedness
and punish their sins:(GC)
They will return to Egypt.(GD)
14 Israel has forgotten(GE) their Maker(GF)
and built palaces;
Judah has fortified many towns.
But I will send fire on their cities
that will consume their fortresses.”(GG)
Punishment for Israel
9 Do not rejoice, Israel;
do not be jubilant(GH) like the other nations.
For you have been unfaithful(GI) to your God;
you love the wages of a prostitute(GJ)
at every threshing floor.
2 Threshing floors and winepresses will not feed the people;
the new wine(GK) will fail them.
3 They will not remain(GL) in the Lord’s land;
Ephraim will return to Egypt(GM)
and eat unclean food in Assyria.(GN)
4 They will not pour out wine offerings(GO) to the Lord,
nor will their sacrifices please(GP) him.
Such sacrifices will be to them like the bread of mourners;(GQ)
all who eat them will be unclean.(GR)
This food will be for themselves;
it will not come into the temple of the Lord.(GS)
5 What will you do(GT) on the day of your appointed festivals,(GU)
on the feast days of the Lord?
6 Even if they escape from destruction,
Egypt will gather them,(GV)
and Memphis(GW) will bury them.(GX)
Their treasures of silver(GY) will be taken over by briers,
and thorns(GZ) will overrun their tents.
7 The days of punishment(HA) are coming,
the days of reckoning(HB) are at hand.
Let Israel know this.
Because your sins(HC) are so many
and your hostility so great,
the prophet is considered a fool,(HD)
the inspired person a maniac.(HE)
8 The prophet, along with my God,
is the watchman over Ephraim,[j]
yet snares(HF) await him on all his paths,
and hostility in the house of his God.(HG)
9 They have sunk deep into corruption,(HH)
as in the days of Gibeah.(HI)
God will remember(HJ) their wickedness
and punish them for their sins.(HK)
10 “When I found Israel,
it was like finding grapes in the desert;
when I saw your ancestors,
it was like seeing the early fruit(HL) on the fig(HM) tree.
But when they came to Baal Peor,(HN)
they consecrated themselves to that shameful idol(HO)
and became as vile as the thing they loved.
11 Ephraim’s glory(HP) will fly away like a bird(HQ)—
no birth, no pregnancy, no conception.(HR)
12 Even if they rear children,
I will bereave(HS) them of every one.
Woe(HT) to them
when I turn away from them!(HU)
13 I have seen Ephraim,(HV) like Tyre,
planted in a pleasant place.(HW)
But Ephraim will bring out
their children to the slayer.”(HX)
14 Give them, Lord—
what will you give them?
Give them wombs that miscarry
and breasts that are dry.(HY)
15 “Because of all their wickedness in Gilgal,(HZ)
I hated them there.
Because of their sinful deeds,(IA)
I will drive them out of my house.
I will no longer love them;(IB)
all their leaders are rebellious.(IC)
16 Ephraim(ID) is blighted,
their root is withered,
they yield no fruit.(IE)
Even if they bear children,
I will slay(IF) their cherished offspring.”
17 My God will reject(IG) them
because they have not obeyed(IH) him;
they will be wanderers among the nations.(II)
10 Israel was a spreading vine;(IJ)
he brought forth fruit for himself.
As his fruit increased,
he built more altars;(IK)
as his land prospered,(IL)
he adorned his sacred stones.(IM)
2 Their heart is deceitful,(IN)
and now they must bear their guilt.(IO)
The Lord will demolish their altars(IP)
and destroy their sacred stones.(IQ)
3 Then 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?”
4 They make many promises,
take false oaths(IR)
and make agreements;(IS)
therefore lawsuits spring up
like poisonous weeds(IT) in a plowed field.
5 The people who live in Samaria fear
for the calf-idol(IU) of Beth Aven.[k](IV)
Its people will mourn over it,
and so will its idolatrous priests,(IW)
those who had rejoiced over its splendor,
because it is taken from them into exile.(IX)
6 It will be carried to Assyria(IY)
as tribute(IZ) for the great king.(JA)
Ephraim will be disgraced;(JB)
Israel will be ashamed(JC) of its foreign alliances.
7 Samaria’s king will be destroyed,(JD)
swept away like a twig on the surface of the waters.
8 The high places(JE) of wickedness[l](JF) will be destroyed—
it is the sin of Israel.
Thorns(JG) and thistles will grow up
and cover their altars.(JH)
Then they will say to the mountains, “Cover us!”(JI)
and to the hills, “Fall on us!”(JJ)
9 “Since the days of Gibeah,(JK) you have sinned,(JL) Israel,
and there you have remained.[m]
Will not war again overtake
the evildoers in Gibeah?
10 When I please, I will punish(JM) them;
nations will be gathered against them
to put them in bonds for their double sin.
11 Ephraim is a trained heifer
that loves to thresh;
so I will put a yoke(JN)
on her fair neck.
I will drive Ephraim,
Judah must plow,
and Jacob must break up the ground.
12 Sow(JO) righteousness(JP) for yourselves,
reap the fruit of unfailing love,
and break up your unplowed ground;(JQ)
for it is time to seek(JR) the Lord,
until he comes
and showers his righteousness(JS) on you.
13 But you have planted wickedness,
you have reaped evil,(JT)
you have eaten the fruit of deception.(JU)
Because you have depended on your own strength
and on your many warriors,(JV)
14 the roar of battle will rise against your people,
so that all your fortresses will be devastated(JW)—
as Shalman(JX) devastated Beth Arbel on the day of battle,
when mothers were dashed to the ground with their children.(JY)
15 So will it happen to you, Bethel,
because your wickedness is great.
When that day dawns,
the king of Israel will be completely destroyed.(JZ)
God’s Love for Israel
11 “When Israel was a child,(KA) I loved(KB) him,
and out of Egypt I called my son.(KC)
2 But the more they were called,
the more they went away from me.[n](KD)
They sacrificed to the Baals(KE)
and they burned incense to images.(KF)
3 It was I who taught Ephraim to walk,
taking them by the arms;(KG)
but they did not realize
it was I who healed(KH) them.
4 I led them with cords of human kindness,
with ties of love.(KI)
To them I was like one who lifts
a little child to the cheek,
and I bent down to feed(KJ) them.(KK)
5 “Will they not return to Egypt(KL)
and will not Assyria(KM) rule over them
because they refuse to repent?(KN)
6 A sword(KO) will flash in their cities;
it will devour(KP) their false prophets
and put an end to their plans.
7 My people are determined to turn(KQ) from me.(KR)
Even though they call me God Most High,
I will by no means exalt them.
8 “How can I give you up,(KS) Ephraim?(KT)
How can I hand you over, Israel?
How can I treat you like Admah?
How can I make you like Zeboyim?(KU)
My heart is changed within me;
all my compassion(KV) is aroused.(KW)
9 I will not carry out my fierce anger,(KX)
nor will I devastate(KY) Ephraim again.
For I am God, and not a man(KZ)—
the Holy One(LA) among you.
I will not come against their cities.
10 They will follow the Lord;
he will roar(LB) like a lion.(LC)
When he roars,
his children will come trembling(LD) from the west.(LE)
11 They will come from Egypt,
trembling like sparrows,
from Assyria,(LF) fluttering like doves.(LG)
I will settle them in their homes,”(LH)
declares the Lord.
Israel’s Sin
Footnotes
- Hosea 4:2 That is, to pronounce a curse on
- Hosea 4:7 Syriac (see also an ancient Hebrew scribal tradition); Masoretic Text me; / I will exchange their glory
- Hosea 4:15 Beth Aven means house of wickedness (a derogatory name for Bethel, which means house of God).
- Hosea 5:7 Or Now their New Moon feasts / will devour them and
- Hosea 5:8 Beth Aven means house of wickedness (a derogatory name for Bethel, which means house of God).
- Hosea 5:11 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
- Hosea 6:5 The meaning of the Hebrew for this line is uncertain.
- Hosea 6:7 Or Like Adam; or Like human beings
- Hosea 7:14 Some Hebrew manuscripts and Septuagint; most Hebrew manuscripts They gather together
- Hosea 9:8 Or The prophet is the watchman over Ephraim, / the people of my God
- Hosea 10:5 Beth Aven means house of wickedness (a derogatory name for Bethel, which means house of God).
- Hosea 10:8 Hebrew aven, a reference to Beth Aven (a derogatory name for Bethel); see verse 5.
- Hosea 10:9 Or there a stand was taken
- Hosea 11:2 Septuagint; Hebrew them
- Hosea 11:12 In Hebrew texts this verse (11:12) is numbered 12:1.
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