Hosea 9

1 Israel, don't rejoice! Don't celebrate like other nations! For you have practiced prostitution; you have loved a prostitute's wages on every threshing floor of grain.

Rejoice not, O Israel, for gladness, as other people; for thou art gone astray, unfaithful to thy God: thou hast loved the wages of sin upon every corn-filled threshing-floor.

2 Your threshing floors and winepresses will not feed you; the land will fail to produce your new wine.

The threshing-floor and the wine-press shall not feed them, and the new wine shall deceive them.

3 You will not stay in the Lord's land, instead Ephraim will return to Egypt, and will eat unclean food in Assyria.

They shall not dwell in the land of the Lord; but Ephraim shall return to Egypt, and in Assyria will they eat unclean things.

4 You won't pour out any drink offerings to the Lord. None of your sacrifices will please him. Your sacrifices will be like food eaten by a person in mourning—all who eat will be unclean. You will eat this food yourselves, but it will not enter the house of the Lord.

They shall not pour out wine to the Lord, and [their offerings] shall not be pleasing unto him; their sacrifices shall be unto them as the bread of mourners; all that eat thereof shall be polluted: for this their food can only be for themselves, it shall not come into the house of the Lord.

5 What are you going to do on the days of your appointed religious feasts, on the days of the festivals of the Lord?

What will ye do on the day of the appointed festival, and on the day of the feast of the Lord?

6 Look, they have left because of the destruction: Egypt with gather them, and Memphis will bury them. They gain a “valued possession” for their silver. Weeds will possess them, and thorns will grow over their tents.

For, lo, they are gone forth because of the desolation: Egypt will gather them up, Moph will bury them: the pleasant chambers for their silver, —these shall nettles take possession of; thorns shall [grow] in their tents.

7 The time of punishment has come; the day of retribution has arrived. Let Israel know! You say the prophet is a fool, the man of the Spirit is mad, because your sin and hostility is so great.

Come are the days of the visitation, come are the days of thy recompense; this shall Israel experience: a fool was the prophet, mad the inspired man, because of the greatness of thy iniquity, and the great hatefulness.

8 The watchman over Ephraim is with my God, and a prophet is a birdcatcher's snare on all his ways. Hatred is in the house of his God

The watchman of Ephraim with my God, the prophet, was a snare of the fowler on all his ways, a hateful thing in the house of his god.

9 for they have corrupted themselves so deeply, as in the time of Gibeah. He will remember their sin; he will punish their wickedness.

They are deeply corrupt, as in the days of Gib'ah: he will remember their iniquity, he will visit their sins.

10 When I found Israel, it was like finding grapes in the desert. When I saw your forefathers it was like seeing early fruit on the fig tree. But when they came to Baal Peor, they gave themselves over to that shameful idol, becoming as filthy as the filthy thing they loved.

Like grapes in the wilderness had I found Israel; as the first ripe fruit on the fig-tree in the first of the season had I seen your fathers; but they too went to Ba'al-pe'or: and devoted themselves unto that shameful idol, and became abominations as those they loved.

11 Ephraim! Like a bird that flies away so shall your glory—no births, no pregnancies, no conceptions.

As for Ephraim, their glory shall fly away like a bird: there is no more birth, and no pregnancy, and no conception.

12 Even if they bring up children, I will make sure they do not survive. What a disaster for you when I turn away from you!

But though they were to bring up their children, yet would I bereave them, that there should be no man: yea, woe also to themselves, when I depart from them!

13 Ephraim! Just as I saw Tyre planted in a meadow, so too Ephraim will lead out his children to the murderer.

Ephraim, as I have seen him like Tyre, planted in a pleasant meadow, —yet this Ephraim shall lead forth to the murderer his children.

14 Give them—well, Lord, what should you give them? Give them wombs that miscarry and dry breasts.

Give them, O Lord, what thou wilt give! give them a miscarrying womb and dried-up breasts.

15 All of their evil began at Gilgal, and that's where I began to hate them. I will drive them out of my house because of their wickedness. I will love them no longer; all their leaders are rebels.

All their wickedness is in Gilgal; for there I [learnt to] hate them; for the wickedness of their doings will I drive them out of my house: I will love them no farther; all their princes are rebels.

16 Ephraim, you are blighted, dried up from the roots. You shall bear no fruit. Even if you have children, I will slaughter your beloved offspring.

Smitten is Ephraim, their root is dried up, they shall bear no fruit; yea, though they should bring forth, yet would I slay the beloved fruit of their body.

17 My God will reject you because you have not listened to him, and you will become homeless wanderers among the nations.

My God will reject them, because they did not hearken unto him: and they shall be wanderers among the nations.