Hosea 7

Modern

Literal

Ephraim’s Iniquity

¹When I heal Israel,

the iniquity of Ephraim^a will be exposed,

as well as the crimes of Samaria.

For they practice deceit and thieves break in;

bandits raid in the streets.

¹In My healing of Israel, the iniquity of Ephraim is uncovered, and the wickedness of Samaria; for they practice deceit, and a thief comes in; bandits raid in the street.

²But they fail to consider in their hearts

that I remember all their evil.

Now their deeds are all around them;

they are before My face.

²And they do not tell their hearts that all their evil I remember. Now their deeds have surrounded them; they are before My face.

³They delight the king with their evil,

and the princes with their lies.

³With their evil they make glad the king, and with their lies—princes.

⁴They are all adulterers,

like an oven heated by a baker

who needs not stoke the fire

from the kneading to the rising of the dough.

⁴They are all adulterers, like an oven heated by a baker, who ceases stirring the fire after kneading the dough until it is leavened.

⁵The princes are inflamed with wine

on the day of our king;

so he joins hands

with those who mock him.

⁵On the day of our king, the princes became sick, raging from the wine; he stretched out his hand with the mockers.

⁶For they prepare their heart like an oven

while they lie in wait;

all night their anger smolders;^a

in the morning it blazes like a flaming fire.

⁶For they approach; like an oven is their heart in ambush; all night their baker is sleeping; in the morning it burns like a fire of flame.

⁷All of them are hot as an oven,

and they devour their rulers.

All their kings fall;

not one of them calls upon Me.

⁷All of them are hot like an oven, and they devour their judges; all their kings have fallen; no one among them calls to Me.

⁸Ephraim mixes with the nations;

Ephraim is an unturned cake.

⁸Ephraim, he has mixed himself with the nations; Ephraim is a cake not turned.

⁹Foreigners consume his strength,

but he does not notice.

Even his hair is streaked with gray,

but he does not know.

⁹Strangers have devoured his power, and he does not know; even gray hairs are scattered on him, and he does not know.

¹⁰Israel’s arrogance testifies against them,

yet they do not return to the LORD their God;

despite all this, they do not seek Him.

¹⁰And the pride of Israel testifies to his face; they do not return to YHWH their God, they do not seek Him in all this.

¹¹So Ephraim has become like a silly, senseless dove—

calling out to Egypt, then turning to Assyria.

¹¹And Ephraim is like a silly dove, without sense; to Egypt they call; to Assyria they go.

¹²As they go, I will spread My net over them;

I will bring them down like birds of the air.

I will chastise them

when I hear them flocking together.^a

¹²When they go, I will spread over them My net, like birds of the heavens I will bring them down; I will chastise them according to the report of their congregation.

¹³Woe to them, for they have strayed from Me!

Destruction to them, for they have rebelled against Me!

Though I would redeem them,

they speak lies against Me.

¹³Woe to them, for they have fled from Me! Destruction be to them, because they have transgressed against Me! And though I would redeem them, they have spoken lies against Me.

¹⁴They do not cry out to Me from their hearts

when they wail upon their beds.

They slash themselves^a for grain and new wine,

but turn away from Me.

¹⁴And they did not cry out to Me with their heart, when they wailed upon their beds; they slash themselves for grain and new wine; they rebel against Me.

¹⁵Although I trained and strengthened their arms,

they plot evil against Me.

¹⁵And I disciplined—I strengthened their arms; against Me they devise evil.

¹⁶They turn, but not to the Most High;

they are like a faulty bow.

Their leaders will fall by the sword

for the cursing of their tongue;

for this they will be ridiculed

in the land of Egypt.

¹⁶They return, not to the Most High; they are like a bow of slackness; their princes will fall by the sword, from the insolence of their tongue; this is their derision in the land of Egypt.