Hosea 7

1 “When I give healing to Israel, Then the iniquity of Ephraim is revealed, And the wickedness of Samaria, For they have worked falsehood, And a thief comes in, A troop has stripped off in the street,

When I heal Israel, the iniquity of Ephraim will be exposed, as well as the crimes of Samaria. For they practice deceit and thieves break in; bandits raid in the streets.

2 And they do not say to their heart, [That] I have remembered all their evil, Now their doings have surrounded them, They have been before My face.

But they fail to consider in their hearts that I remember all their evil. Now their deeds are all around them; they are before My face.

3 With their wickedness they make a king glad, And with their lies—princes.

They delight the king with their evil, and the princes with their lies.

4 All of them [are] adulterers, Like a burning oven of a baker, He ceases from stirring up after kneading the dough, until its leavening.

They are all adulterers, like an oven heated by a baker who needs not stoke the fire from the kneading to the rising of the dough.

5 A day of our king! Princes have defiled themselves [with] the poison of wine, He has drawn out his hand with scorners.

The princes are inflamed with wine on the day of our king; so he joins hands with those who mock him.

6 For they have drawn near, Their heart [is] as an oven In their lying in wait—their baker sleeps all night, Morning! He is burning as a flaming fire.

For they prepare their heart like an oven while they lie in wait; all night their anger smolders; in the morning it blazes like a flaming fire.

7 All of them are warm as an oven, And they have devoured their judges, All their kings have fallen, There is none calling to Me among them.

All of them are hot as an oven, and they devour their rulers. All their kings fall; not one of them calls upon Me.

8 Ephraim! He mixes himself among peoples, Ephraim has been an unturned cake.

Ephraim mixes with the nations; Ephraim is an unturned cake.

9 Strangers have devoured his power, And he has not known, Also old age has sprinkled [itself] on him, And he has not known.

Foreigners consume his strength, but he does not notice. Even his hair is streaked with gray, but he does not know.

10 And the excellence of Israel has been humbled to his face, And they have not turned back to their God YHWH, Nor have they sought Him for all this.

Israel’s arrogance testifies against them, yet they do not return to the LORD their God; despite all this, they do not seek Him.

11 And Ephraim is as a simple dove without heart, Egypt they called on—[to] Asshur they have gone.

So Ephraim has become like a silly, senseless dove— calling out to Egypt, then turning to Assyria.

12 When they go I spread over them My net, As the bird of the heavens I bring them down, I discipline them as their congregation has heard.

As they go, I will spread My net over them; I will bring them down like birds of the air. I will chastise them when I hear them flocking together.

13 Woe to them, for they wandered from Me, Destruction to them, for they transgressed against Me, And I ransom them, and they have spoken lies against Me,

Woe to them, for they have strayed from Me! Destruction to them, for they have rebelled against Me! Though I would redeem them, they speak lies against Me.

14 And have not cried to Me with their heart, but howl on their beds; They assemble themselves for grain and new wine, They turn aside against Me.

They do not cry out to Me from their hearts when they wail upon their beds. They slash themselves for grain and new wine, but turn away from Me.

15 And I instructed—I strengthened their arms, And concerning Me they think evil!

Although I trained and strengthened their arms, they plot evil against Me.

16 They turn back—not to the Most High, They have been as a deceitful bow, Their princes fall by sword, From the insolence of their tongue, This [is] their derision in the land of Egypt!”

They turn, but not to the Most High; they are like a faulty bow. Their leaders will fall by the sword for the cursing of their tongue; for this they will be ridiculed in the land of Egypt.