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,

Should I desire to heal Israel, then would the iniquity of Ephraim and the wickedness of Samaria be laid open; for they commit falsehood; and the thief entereth [secretly], and the troop of robbers is spread abroad without.

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 never think in their own heart that I remember all their wickedness: though now their own doings are all round about them; before my face are they present.

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

With their wickedness they make the king glad, and with their lies the princes.

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, as an oven well heated by the baker: [when] he that stirreth [the fire] resteth awhile from kneading the dough, until it be 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's [entering on his rule] the princes are made sick with the fumes of wine: [the king] joineth his hand with scorners.

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 make ready their heart for their tricky deeds, like the oven, the baker whereof sleepeth all the night, while in the morning it gloweth as 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 hot as an oven, they devour their judges; all their kings are fallen: there is none among them that calleth unto me.

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

Ephraim mixeth himself indeed among the nations: 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.

Strangers devour his strength, and he knoweth it not: yea, gray hairs are sprinkled about on his [head], yet he knoweth not.

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 humbled was the pride of Israel before his own face; but they did not return to the Lord their God, and sought him not, notwithstanding all this.

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

And Ephraim is become like a silly dove without understanding: Egypt did they call hither, to Assyria did they go.

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, so will I spread out my net over them; as the fowls of the heaven will I bring them down: I will chastise them, as it hath been announced to their congregation.

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 unto them! for they have fled from me; destruction shall come unto them, because they have transgressed against me: though I desired to redeem them, they yet spoke 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 cried not unto me with their heart, when they howled upon their beds: for corn and new wine they assemble themselves, and they rebel against me.

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

And I desired to instruct and to strengthen their arms; yet would they devise 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 never return upward: they are like a deceitful bow: by the sword shall their princes fall because of the rage of their tongue; this shall be their derision in the land of Egypt.