Hosea 10

Retribution for Israel's Sin

1 Israel is a luxuriant vine;
He produces fruit for himself.
The more his fruit,
The more altars he made;
The richer his land,
The better he made the sacred pillars.

2 Their heart is faithless;
Now they must bear their guilt.
The LORD will break down their altars
And destroy their sacred pillars.

3 Surely now they will say, "We have no king,
For we do not revere the LORD.
As for the king, what can he do for us?"

4 They speak mere words,
With worthless oaths they make covenants;
And judgment sprouts like poisonous weeds in the furrows of the field.

5 The inhabitants of Samaria will fear
For the calf of Beth-aven.
Indeed, its people will mourn for it,
And its idolatrous priests will cry out over it,
Over its glory, since it has departed from it.

6 The thing itself will be carried to Assyria
As tribute to King Jareb;
Ephraim will be seized with shame
And Israel will be ashamed of its own counsel.

7 Samaria will be cut off with her king
Like a stick on the surface of the water.

8 Also the high places of Aven, the sin of Israel, will be destroyed;
Thorn and thistle will grow on their altars;
Then they will say to the mountains,
"Cover us!" And to the hills, "Fall on us!"

9 From 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?

10 When it is My desire, I will chastise them;
And the peoples will be gathered against them
When they are bound for their double guilt.

11 Ephraim is a trained heifer that loves to thresh,
But I will come over her fair neck with a yoke;
I will harness Ephraim,
Judah will plow, Jacob will harrow for himself.

12 Sow with a view to righteousness,
Reap in accordance with kindness;
Break up your fallow ground,
For it is time to seek the LORD
Until He comes to rain righteousness on you.

13 You have plowed wickedness, you have reaped injustice,
You have eaten the fruit of lies.
Because you have trusted in your way, in your numerous warriors,

14 Therefore a tumult will arise among your people,
And all your fortresses will be destroyed,
As Shalman destroyed Beth-arbel on the day of battle,
When mothers were dashed in pieces with their children.

15 Thus it will be done to you at Bethel because of your great wickedness.
At dawn the king of Israel will be completely cut off.

Hosea 11

God Yearns over His People

1 When Israel was a youth I loved him,
And out of Egypt I called My son.

2 The more they called them,
The more they went from them;
They kept sacrificing to the Baals
And burning incense to idols.

3 Yet it is I who taught Ephraim to walk,
I took them in My arms;
But they did not know that I healed them.

4 I led them with cords of a man, with bonds of love,
And I became to them as one who lifts the yoke from their jaws;
And I bent down and fed them.

5 They will not return to the land of Egypt;
But Assyria-he will be their king
Because they refused to return to Me.

6 The sword will whirl against their cities,
And will demolish their gate bars
And consume them because of their counsels.

7 So My people are bent on turning from Me.
Though they call them to the One on high,
None at all exalts Him.

8 How can I give you up, O Ephraim?
How can I surrender you, O Israel?
How can I make you like Admah?
How can I treat you like Zeboiim?
My heart is turned over within Me,
All My compassions are kindled.

9 I will not execute My fierce anger;
I will not destroy Ephraim again.
For I am God and not man, the Holy One in your midst,
And I will not come in wrath.

10 They will walk after the LORD,
He will roar like a lion;
Indeed He will roar
And His sons will come trembling from the west.

11 They will come trembling like birds from Egypt
And like doves from the land of Assyria;
And I will settle them in their houses, declares the LORD.

12 Ephraim surrounds Me with lies
And the house of Israel with deceit;
Judah is also unruly against God,
Even against the Holy One who is faithful.

Hosea 12

Ephraim Reminded

1 Ephraim feeds on wind,
And pursues the east wind continually;
He multiplies lies and violence.
Moreover, he makes a covenant with Assyria,
And oil is carried to Egypt.

2 The LORD also has a dispute with Judah,
And will punish Jacob according to his ways;
He will repay him according to his deeds.

3 In the womb he took his brother by the heel,
And in his maturity he contended with God.

4 Yes, he wrestled with the angel and prevailed;
He wept and sought His favor.
He found Him at Bethel
And there He spoke with us,

5 Even the LORD, the God of hosts,
The LORD is His name.

6 Therefore, return to your God,
Observe kindness and justice,
And wait for your God continually.

7 A merchant, in whose hands are false balances,
He loves to oppress.

8 And Ephraim said, "Surely I have become rich,
I have found wealth for myself;
In all my labors they will find in me
No iniquity, which would be sin."

9 But I have been the LORD your God since the land of Egypt;
I will make you live in tents again,
As in the days of the appointed festival.

10 I have also spoken to the prophets,
And I gave numerous visions,
And through the prophets I gave parables.

11 Is there iniquity in Gilead?
Surely they are worthless.
In Gilgal they sacrifice bulls,
Yes, their altars are like the stone heaps
Beside the furrows of the field.

12 Now Jacob fled to the land of Aram,
And Israel worked for a wife,
And for a wife he kept sheep.

13 But by a prophet the LORD brought Israel from Egypt,
And by a prophet he was kept.

14 Ephraim has provoked to bitter anger;
So his Lord will leave his bloodguilt on him
And bring back his reproach to him.