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 my desire was for the fate of my people to be changed and to make Israel well, then the sin of Ephraim was made clear, and the evil-doing of Samaria; for their ways are false, and the thief comes into the house, while the band of outlaws takes property by force 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.

And they do not say to themselves that I keep in mind all their sin; now their evil acts come round them on every side; they are before my face.

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

In their sin they make a king for themselves, and rulers in their deceit.

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 untrue; they are like a burning oven; the bread-maker does not make up the fire from the time when the paste is mixed till it is leavened.

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

On the day of our king, the rulers made him ill with the heat of wine; his hand was stretched out with the men of pride.

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 have made their hearts ready like an oven, while they are waiting secretly; their wrath is sleeping all night; in the morning it is burning 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.

They are all heated like an oven, and they put an end to their judges; all their kings have been made low; not one among them makes prayer to me.

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

Ephraim is mixed with the peoples; Ephraim is a cake not turned.

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

Men from other lands have made waste his strength, and he is not conscious of it; grey hairs have come on him here and there, and he has no knowledge of it.

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.

And the pride of Israel gives an answer to his face; but for all this, they have not gone back to the Lord their God, or made search for him.

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

And Ephraim is like a foolish dove, without wisdom; they send out their cry to Egypt, they go 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.

When they go, my net will be stretched out over them; I will take them like the birds of heaven, I will give them punishment, I will take them away in the net for their sin.

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,

May trouble be theirs! for they have gone far away from me; and destruction, for they have been sinning against me; I was ready to be their saviour, but they said false words 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.

And they have not made prayer to me in their hearts, but they make loud cries on their beds; they are cutting themselves for food and wine, they are turned against me.

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

Though I have given training and strength to their arms, they have evil designs 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 have gone to what is of no value; they are like a false bow; their captains will come to destruction by the sword, and their ruler by my wrath; for this, the land of Egypt will make sport of them.