Hosea 8

Modern

Literal

Israel Will Reap the Whirlwind

¹Put the ram’s horn to your lips!

An eagle looms over the house of the LORD,

because the people have transgressed My covenant

and rebelled against My law.

¹To your mouth set the shofar, as an eagle over the house of YHWH, because they have transgressed My covenant, and against My law they have rebelled.

²Israel cries out to Me,

“O our God, we know You!”

²To Me they cry, “O My God, Israel, we know You.”

³But Israel has rejected good;

an enemy will pursue him.

³Israel has rejected the good; an enemy will pursue him.

⁴They set up kings, but not by Me.

They make princes, but without My approval.

With their silver and gold they make themselves idols,

to their own destruction.

⁴They set up kings, and not from Me; they made princes, and not ones I knew. With their silver and gold they made for themselves idols, that it might be cut off.

⁵He has rejected your calf,^a O Samaria.

My anger burns against them.

How long will they be

incapable of innocence?

⁵He has rejected your calf, O Samaria; My anger burns against them. Until when will they not be capable of innocence?

⁶For this thing is from Israel—

a craftsman made it, and it is not God.

It will be broken to pieces,

that calf of Samaria.

⁶For it is from Israel. A workman made it, and it is not God. Surely the calf of Samaria will be broken to pieces.

⁷For they sow the wind,

and they shall reap the whirlwind.

There is no standing grain;

what sprouts fails to yield flour.

Even if it should produce,

the foreigners would swallow it up.

⁷For the wind they sow and they shall reap the whirlwind. The stalk is not unto it, a shoot not yielding flour; even if it should produce, strangers would swallow it up!

⁸Israel is swallowed up!

Now they are among the nations

like a worthless vessel.

⁸Israel is swallowed up; now they are among the Gentiles, like a vessel with no delight in it.

⁹For they have gone up to Assyria

like a wild donkey on its own.

Ephraim^a has hired lovers.

⁹For they have gone up to Assyria; a wild donkey isolated by himself; Ephraim, they have hired lovers.

¹⁰Though they hire allies among the nations,

I will now round them up,

and they will begin to diminish

under the oppression of the king of princes.

¹⁰Even though they have hired among the nations, I will now gather them. And they will begin to diminish from the burden of the king of princes.

¹¹Though Ephraim multiplied the altars for sin,

they became his altars for sinning.

¹¹Because Ephraim has multiplied altars for sin, they have become unto him altars for sinning.

¹²Though I wrote for them the great things of My law,

they regarded them as something strange.

¹²Were I to write for him the myriad things of My law, they would be regarded as a strange thing.

¹³Though they offer sacrifices as gifts to Me,

and though they eat the meat,

the LORD does not accept them.

Now He will remember their iniquity and punish their sins:

They will return to Egypt.

¹³The sacrifices of My gifts they sacrifice, and the flesh they eat—YHWH does not accept them. Now He has in mind their iniquity, and He will attend to their sins: They will return to Egypt.

¹⁴Israel has forgotten his Maker and built palaces;

Judah has multiplied its fortified cities.

But I will send fire upon their cities,

and it will consume their citadels.

¹⁴And Israel has forgotten his Maker and has built palaces, and Judah has multiplied fortified cities; and I will send fire upon his cities, and it will devour his palaces.