Hosea 5
1 Hear this, you priests! Pay attention, house of Israel! Listen, members of the royal family!
“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 Judgment belongs with you because you have been a snare set at Mizpah and a net spread out on Tabor. You dug a deep trap in Shittim, but I will punish you for all these things you have done.
You have done many evil things, so I will punish all of you.
3 I know Ephraim very well, and Israel cannot hide from me, for now Ephraim is a prostitute and 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 Your actions stop you from coming back to your God for a spirit of prostitution is within you and you 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 Israel's pride speaks against them, right in the face. Israel and Ephraim will stumble because of their guilt, and Judah will stumble along 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 to seek the Lord with their herds and flocks, but they will not find him, for he has given up on 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 have been unfaithful to the Lord and have had children that are not his. Now the New Moon will destroy them along 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 horn in Gibeah! Sound the trumpet in Ramah! Shout an alarm in Beth-aven! Lead the way, 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 be left desolate on the day of punishment. Among the tribes of Israel I will reveal what is the real truth.
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 rulers of Judah have become thieves like those who illegally move boundaries. I will pour out my anger like water upon them.
[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 The people of Ephraim are crushed, smashed to pieces in judgment because they were determined to follow human commands.
And [the people of] Israel will suffer greatly when I punish them, because they are [very] determined to worship idols.
12 I am like a maggot to Ephraim, and like something rotten to the people of Judah.
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 how sick they were, and Judah saw how wounded they were, Ephraim turned to the great king of Assyria for help, but he could not heal them or cure their wounds.
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 like a lion to Ephraim, like a fierce lion to the people of Judah. I will come and tear them to pieces, and carry them off, and no one will be able to rescue them.
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 Then I will leave and return to where I came from until they acknowledge their wrongs, and in their distress they will seek my face and beg for my help.”
[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].”
