Hosea 7

1 When I would have healed Israel, then the iniquity of Ephraim was discovered, and the wickedness of Samaria: for they commit falsehood; and the thief cometh in, [and] the troop of robbers spoileth without.

“and when I wanted to heal them [again], [I did not do it, ] [because] I saw the wicked things that [the people of] Samaria [city] and [other places in] Israel [DOU] have done. They constantly deceive others; bandits rob people in the streets.

2 And they consider not in their hearts [that] I remember all their wickedness: now their own doings have beset them about; they are before my face.

But they do not realize that I do not forget all the evil things that they do. [It is as though] they are surrounded by [all] the sins that they commit; and [it is though] those sins are [always right] in front of me [MTY].

3 They make the king glad with their wickedness, and the princes with their lies.

Their king is delighted with the wicked things that the people do; his officials are happy about the people’s lies.

4 They [are] all adulterers, as an oven heated by the baker, [who] ceaseth from raising after he hath kneaded the dough, until it be leavened.

[The king and his officials] are all treacherous. [They are always eager to do wicked things; ] they are like [SIM] an oven that is [very] hot: a baker mixes the dough and waits for it to expand, and he does not [need to] cause the oven to become hotter.

5 In the day of our king the princes have made [him] sick with bottles of wine; he stretched out his hand with scorners.

The king and his officials get very drunk during their festivals, carousing with others who also do foolish things.

6 For they have made ready their heart like an oven, whiles they lie in wait: their baker sleepeth all the night; in the morning it burneth as a flaming fire.

The officials angrily plan to murder the king; it is like [SIM] they have an oven in their inner beings. All during the night their [eagerness/wanting to murder the king] is like a fire that is smouldering, but in the morning it becomes like [MET] a roaring fire.

7 They are all hot as an oven, and have devoured their judges; all their kings are fallen: [there is] none among them that calleth unto me.

All those officials are like [MET] hot flames that completely burn up their rulers, so all their kings are murdered, and no one pleads with me [to help them].”

8 Ephraim, he hath mixed himself among the people; Ephraim is a cake not turned.

“[The leaders of] Israel join with leaders of [godless] nations; so [the leaders of] Israel are [as worthless as] a pancake that is cooked on only one side.

9 Strangers have devoured his strength, and he knoweth [it] not: yea, gray hairs are here and there upon him, yet he knoweth not.

Joining with the rulers of foreign nations has caused Israel to be a weak [nation], but the Israelis do not realize that. Israel has become [like] [MET] a gray-haired old man, but the people of Israel do not realize it.

10 And the pride of Israel testifieth to his face: and they do not return to the LORD their God, nor seek him for all this.

Their being proud [PRS] testifies against them, but in spite of that, they do not return to [me], Yahweh, their God, or [even] try to know me.

11 Ephraim also is like a silly dove without heart: they call to Egypt, they go to Assyria.

[The people of] Israel have become foolish and stupid like [SIM] doves. [First] they called out to Egypt [to help them], [and then] they sought help from Assyria.

12 When they shall go, I will spread my net upon them; I will bring them down as the fowls of the heaven; I will chastise them, as their congregation hath heard.

But wherever they go [to get help], [I will not allow them to succeed]; [it will be as though] [MET] I will throw a net over them like [SIM] [a hunter uses a net to capture] birds; I will punish them for the evil things that they do.

13 Woe unto them! for they have fled from me: destruction unto them! because they have transgressed against me: though I have redeemed them, yet they have spoken lies against me.

Terrible things will happen to them because they abandoned/deserted me! They will be destroyed because they rebelled against me. I wanted to rescue them, but they tell lies about me.

14 And they have not cried unto me with their heart, when they howled upon their beds: they assemble themselves for corn and wine, [and] they rebel against me.

They do not cry out to me sincerely [IDM]; they [only] lie on their beds and wail. They gather together and ask [me to give them] grain and wine, but they turn away from me.

15 Though I have bound [and] strengthened their arms, yet do they imagine mischief against me.

I trained/taught them and enabled them to become strong, but now they plan [to do] evil things to me.

16 They return, [but] not to the most High: they are like a deceitful bow: their princes shall fall by the sword for the rage of their tongue: this [shall be] their derision in the land of Egypt.

They have rejected me, their Great God, and turned to their god Baal; they are [as useless] as [SIM] a crooked bow. Their leaders boast [that they are very strong], but they will be killed by [their enemies’] swords. As a result, [the people of] Egypt will laugh at them.”