Osee 9

1 Rejoice not, O Israel, neither make merry, as [other] nations: for you have gone a-whoring from your God; you have loved gifts upon every threshing floor.

'Rejoice not, O Israel, be not joyful like the peoples, For thou hast gone a-whoring from thy God, Thou hast loved a gift near all floors of corn.

2 The threshing floor and wine-press knew them not, and the wine disappointed them.

Floor and wine-press do not delight them, And new wine doth fail in her,

3 They lived not in the Lord's land: Ephraim lived in Egypt, and they shall eat unclean things among the Assyrians.

They do not abide in the land of Jehovah, And turned back hath Ephraim [to] Egypt, And in Asshur an unclean thing they eat.

4 They have not offered wine to the Lord, neither have their sacrifices been sweet to him, [but] as the bread of mourning to them; all that eat them shall be defiled; for their bread for their soul shall not enter into the house of the Lord.

They pour not out wine to Jehovah, Nor are they sweet to Him, Their sacrifices [are] as bread of mourners to them, All eating it are unclean: For their bread [is] for themselves, It doth not come into the house of Jehovah.

5 What will you do in the day of the general assembly, and in the day of the feast of the Lord?

What do ye at the day appointed? And at the day of Jehovah's festival?

6 Therefore, behold, they go forth from the trouble of Egypt, and Memphis shall receive them, and Machmas shall bury them: [as for] their silver, destruction shall inherit it; thorns [shall be] in their tents.

For, lo, they have gone because of destruction, Egypt gathereth them, Moph burieth them, The desirable things of their silver, Nettles possess them — a thorn [is] in their tents.

7 The days of vengeance are come, the days of your recompense are come; and Israel shall be afflicted as the prophet that is mad, as a man deranged: by reason of the multitude of your iniquities your madness has abounded.

Come in have the days of inspection, Come in have the days of recompence, Israel doth know! a fool [is] the prophet, Mad [is] the man of the Spirit, Because of the abundance of thine iniquity, And great [is] the hatred.

8 The watchman of Ephraim [was] with God: the prophet is a crooked snare in all his ways: they have established madness in the house of God.

Ephraim is looking [away] from My God, The prophet! a snare of a fowler [is] over all his ways, Hatred [is] in the house of his God.

9 They have corrupted themselves according to the days of the hill: he will remember their iniquities, he will take vengeance on their sins.

They have gone deep — have done corruptly, As [in] the days of Gibeah, He doth remember their iniquity, He doth inspect their sins.

10 I found Israel as grapes in the wilderness, and I saw their fathers as an early watchman in a fig tree: they went in to Beel-phegor, and were shamefully estranged, and the abominable became as the beloved.

As grapes in a wilderness I found Israel, As the first-fruit in a fig-tree, at its beginning, I have seen your fathers, They — they have gone in [to] Baal-Peor, And are separated to a shameful thing, And are become abominable like their love.

11 Ephraim has flown away as a bird; their glories from the birth, and the travail, and the conception.

Ephraim [is] as a fowl, Fly away doth their honour, without birth, And without womb, and without conception.

12 For even if they should rear their children, yet shall they be utterly bereaved: therefore also there is woe to them, [though] my flesh is of them.

For though they nourish their sons, I have made them childless — without man, Surely also, woe to them, when I turn aside from them.

13 Ephraim, [even] as I saw, gave their children for a prey; yes, Ephraim [was ready] to bring out his children to slaughter.

Ephraim! when I have looked to the rock, Is planted in comeliness, And Ephraim [is] to bring out unto a slayer his sons.

14 Give them, O Lord: what will you give them? a miscarrying womb, and dry breasts.

Give to them, Jehovah — what dost Thou give? Give to them miscarrying womb, and dry breasts.

15 All their wickedness is in Galgal: for there I hated them: because of the wickedness of their practices, I will cast them out of my house, I will not love them any more: all their princes are disobedient.

All their evil [is] in Gilgal, Surely there I have hated them, Because of the evil of their doings, Out of My house I do drive them, I add not to love them, all their heads [are] apostates.

16 Ephraim is sick, he is dried up at his roots, he shall in no wise any more bear fruit: therefore even if they should beget [children], I will kill the desired [fruit] of their womb.

Ephraim hath been smitten, Their root hath dried up, fruit they yield not, Yea, though they bring forth, I have put to death the desired of their womb.

17 God shall reject them, because they have not listened to him: and they shall be wanderers among the nations.

Reject them doth my God, Because they have not hearkened to Him, And they are wanderers among nations!