Hosea 5
1 “Listen to this, you priests! Listen, house of Israel, and give ear, house of the king! For the judgment is against you; for you have been a snare at Mizpah, and a net spread on Tabor.
“Listen, you priests! And you [other] Israeli people, you also pay attention! And you who are members of the king’s family, [you also need to] listen, because [I am going to] judge you! Your [worshiping idols] has been [like] [MET] a trap for [the people at] Mizpah [town]; it has been [like][MET] a net spread out [to catch people] at Tabor [Mountain].
2 The rebels are deep in slaughter, but I discipline all of them.
You have done many evil things, so I will punish all of you.
3 I know Ephraim, and Israel is not hidden from me; for now, Ephraim, you have played the prostitute. Israel is defiled.
I know [everything about the people of] Israel; nothing that they have done is hidden from me. Because [the people of] Israel have given themselves [to worshiping idols] like [MET] prostitutes [give themselves to the men they sleep with], they have become unacceptable to me.
4 Their deeds will not allow them to turn to their God, for the spirit of prostitution is within them, and they do not know the LORD.
Because they [like to do evil] things, they will not return to [me], their God. Like prostitutes [who have abandoned their husbands] [MET], they have [IDM] abandoned [MET] me; they do not [even] know me, Yahweh.
5 The pride of Israel testifies to his face. Therefore Israel and Ephraim will stumble in their iniquity. Judah also will stumble with them.
[It is as though] their being proud testifies [PRS] against them. The sins that [the people of] Israel have committed [are like a heavy load that] causes them to stumble, and [the people of] Judah stumble with them.
6 They will go with their flocks and with their herds to seek the LORD, but they will not find him. He has withdrawn himself from them.
They will come to worship [me], Yahweh, bringing their herds of sheep and cattle, but they will not [be able to] find me, because I have abandoned them.
7 They are unfaithful to the LORD; for they have borne illegitimate children. Now the new moon will devour them with their fields.
They have abandoned me; and their children do not belong to me [MET]. So [they will not be able to celebrate their festivals at] the new moons [because I] will destroy them and [the crops in] their fields.
8 “Blow the cornet in Gibeah, and the trumpet in Ramah! Sound a battle cry at Beth Aven, behind you, Benjamin!
Blow the [rams’] horns in Gibeah [town] [and blow] the trumpets in Ramah [town]! Warn [the people at] Beth-Aven [town]; you warriors of the tribe of Benjamin, lead the troops [into the battle].
9 Ephraim will become a desolation in the day of rebuke. Among the tribes of Israel, I have made known that which will surely be.
Israel will be ruined on the day that [I] destroy them. What I am telling to the tribes of Israel will certainly [happen].
10 The princes of Judah are like those who remove a landmark. I will pour out my wrath on them like water.
[Because] the leaders of Judah [seized some land that belonged to Israel], they are like [SIM] those who move boundary markers [to get more land for themselves]; [so] I will punish them severely [MET].
11 Ephraim is oppressed, he is crushed in judgment, because he is intent in his pursuit of idols.
And [the people of] Israel will suffer greatly when I punish them, because they are [very] determined to worship idols.
12 Therefore I am to Ephraim like a moth, and to the house of Judah like rottenness.
I will destroy [the people of] Israel like [SIM] ([larvae of] moths/cockroaches) destroy wool, and I will cause [the people of] Judah to be like [SIM] rotten wood.
13 “When Ephraim saw his sickness, and Judah his wound, then Ephraim went to Assyria, and sent to King Jareb: but he is not able to heal you, neither will he cure you of your wound.
When [the leaders of] Israel and Judah saw that the people were suffering because of what [their enemies were doing to them] [MET], they sent [messages] to the great King of Assyria requesting [his help]. But he cannot help you; he cannot cause you to stop suffering, [because I am the one who is punishing Israel and Judah].
14 For I will be to Ephraim like a lion, and like a young lion to the house of Judah. I myself will tear in pieces and go away. I will carry off, and there will be no one to deliver.
I will become like [SIM] a lion [DOU] to both nations; I will [attack them and] tear them to pieces. I will drag them away, and no one will [be able to] rescue them.
15 I will go and return to my place, until they acknowledge their offense, and seek my face. In their affliction they will seek me earnestly.”
[After that], I will return to my place [in heaven] until they admit that they have sinned [MTY] and return to me; when they will experience [many] troubles, they will request me [to help them].”
