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 about to deliver my people from captivity, When I would have healed Israel, Then the iniquity of Ephraim was discovered, And the wickedness of Samaria; For they practise fraud, And the thief entereth in, And the band of robbers spoileth 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 think not in their hearts, That I remember all their wickedness. Now shall their doings encompass them; They are before my face.

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

With their wickedness they gladden the king, And with their falsehoods the princes; All of them are adulterers;

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 as an oven heated by the baker; He ceaseth to stir the fire, Until the dough which he hath kneaded 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 feast-day of our king, the princes are sick with the heat of wine, And he stretcheth out his hand with revilers.

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 like an oven, while they lie in wait; All night the baker sleepeth; In the morning it gloweth 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 all glow as an oven; They have devoured their judges; All their kings have fallen; And none among them calleth upon me.

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

Ephraim hath mixed himself with 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 have devoured his strength, And he knoweth it not; Yea, gray hairs are sprinkled upon him, Yet he knoweth it 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.

The pride of Israel testifieth to his face; Yet do not they return to Jehovah their God, Nor seek him, for all this.

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

Ephraim is like a silly dove, without understanding; They call upon 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, I will spread my net over them; As birds of heaven will I bring them down. I will chastise them, as hath been proclaimed in 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 to them, for they have wandered from me! Destruction upon them, for they have rebelled against me! Though I myself would redeem them, they speak falsely to 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 cry not to me from their heart, But howl upon their beds; For corn and wine they assemble themselves; They rebel against me.

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

I have chastened them; I have also strengthened their arms; Yet do 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 return, but not to the Most High; They are like a deceitful bow; Their princes shall fall by the sword for the haughtiness of their tongues; This shall be their reproach in the land of Egypt.