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Hosea 5
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Hosea 5
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 5
Guilt of the Religious and Political Leaders
1 Hear this, priests,
Pay attention, house of Israel,
Household of the king, give ear!(A)
For you are responsible for judgment.[a]
But you have been a snare at Mizpah,[b]
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;(B)
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;(C)
he has withdrawn from them.
7 They have betrayed the Lord,
for they have borne illegitimate children;
Now the new moon[c] will devour them
together with their fields.
Political Upheavals[d]
8 Blow the ram’s horn in Gibeah,
the trumpet in Ramah!
Sound the alarm in Beth-aven:(D)
“Look behind you, Benjamin!”[e]
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;[f](E)
Upon them I will pour out
my wrath like water.
11 Ephraim is oppressed, crushed by judgment,
for he has willingly gone after filth![g]
12 I am like a moth for Ephraim,(F)
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.[h](G)
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;(H)
It is I who tear the prey and depart,
I carry it away and no one can save it.(I)
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.(J)
Footnotes
- 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).
Hosea 5
New International Version
Hosea 5
New International Version
Judgment Against Israel
5 “Hear this, you priests!
Pay attention, you Israelites!
Listen, royal house!
This judgment(A) is against you:
You have been a snare(B) at Mizpah,
a net(C) spread out on Tabor.
2 The rebels are knee-deep in slaughter.(D)
I will discipline all of them.(E)
3 I know all about Ephraim;
Israel is not hidden(F) from me.
Ephraim, you have now turned to prostitution;
Israel is corrupt.(G)
4 “Their deeds do not permit them
to return(H) to their God.
A spirit of prostitution(I) is in their heart;
they do not acknowledge(J) the Lord.
5 Israel’s arrogance testifies(K) against them;
the Israelites, even Ephraim, stumble(L) in their sin;
Judah also stumbles with them.(M)
6 When they go with their flocks and herds
to seek the Lord,(N)
they will not find him;
he has withdrawn(O) himself from them.
7 They are unfaithful(P) to the Lord;
they give birth to illegitimate(Q) children.
When they celebrate their New Moon feasts,(R)
he will devour[a](S) their fields.
8 “Sound the trumpet(T) in Gibeah,(U)
the horn in Ramah.(V)
Raise the battle cry in Beth Aven[b];(W)
lead on, Benjamin.
9 Ephraim will be laid waste(X)
on the day of reckoning.(Y)
Among the tribes of Israel
I proclaim what is certain.(Z)
10 Judah’s leaders are like those
who move boundary stones.(AA)
I will pour out my wrath(AB) on them
like a flood of water.
11 Ephraim is oppressed,
trampled in judgment,
intent on pursuing idols.[c](AC)
12 I am like a moth(AD) to Ephraim,
like rot(AE) to the people of Judah.
13 “When Ephraim(AF) saw his sickness,
and Judah his sores,
then Ephraim turned to Assyria,(AG)
and sent to the great king for help.(AH)
But he is not able to cure(AI) you,
not able to heal your sores.(AJ)
14 For I will be like a lion(AK) to Ephraim,
like a great lion to Judah.
I will tear them to pieces(AL) and go away;
I will carry them off, with no one to rescue them.(AM)
15 Then I will return to my lair(AN)
until they have borne their guilt(AO)
and seek my face(AP)—
in their misery(AQ)
they will earnestly seek me.(AR)”
Footnotes
- 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.
New American Bible (Revised Edition) (NABRE)
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