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 was willing to heal Israel, the iniquity of Ephraim was discovered, and the malice of Samaria, for they had been manufacturing lies. And the thief steals from inside, the robber from outside.

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, so that they may not say in their hearts that I am the one who has called to mind all of their wickedness: now their own inventions have encircled them. These things have happened in my presence.

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

The king has rejoiced at their wickedness, and the leaders have rejoiced in 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 heating up before baking, the city rested a little before the leaven was mixed in, until the whole was 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 leaders began to be mad with wine; he extended his hand with those who fabricate illusions.

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 used their heart like an oven, while he laid snares for them; he slept through the night baking them, and by morning he himself was heated like a burning 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 have all become hot like an oven, and they have devoured their judges. All their kings have fallen. There is no one who calls to me among them.

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

Ephraim himself has been mingled with the nations. Ephraim has become like bread, baked under ashes, that has not been turned over.

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

Strangers have devoured his strength, and he did not know it. And grey hairs also have spread across him, and he is ignorant 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 will be brought low before his face, for they have not returned to the Lord their God, nor have they sought him in all of this.

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

And Ephraim has become like a pigeon that has been led astray, not having a heart; for they called upon Egypt, they went to the Assyrians.

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.

And when they will set out, I will spread my net over them. I will pull them down like the birds of the sky; I will cut them down in accordance with the reports of their meetings.

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 withdrawn from me. They will waste away because they have been dishonest with me. And I redeemed them, and they have spoken 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.

And they have not cried out to me in their heart, but they howled on their beds. They have obsessed about wheat and wine; they have withdrawn from me.

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

And I have educated them, and I have reinforced their arms; and they have imagined 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 returned so that they might be without a yoke. They have become like a deceitful bow. Their leaders will fall by the sword because of the madness of their words. This is their derision in the land of Egypt.