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 would heal Israel, then Ephrain’s guilt is revealed, and Samaria’s crimes are seen, how they practise fraud and the thief enters in, while outside bandits plunder.

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 it never crosses their minds that I remember their wickedness. Now their misdeeds surround them, they are always before my face.

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

Their wickedness amuses the king, and their lying gladdens 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.

since they are all of them adulterers. Their desire to do evil burns like an oven heated by the baker, so hot that he need not stir the fire, from the kneading of the dough, until it rises.

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

On our king’s festival day, the princes are flushed with fever from wine. He stretched forth his hand with the contemptuous,

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 like an oven their heart burns with treachery, all night their anger smoulders, in the morning it blazes into a flame of 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 glow like an oven, they devour their rulers. All their kings have fallen. There is none among them who calls to me.

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

Ephraim – he lets himself be mixed among the peoples, Ephraim – he has become a cake unturned.

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, but he does not know it. His hair is sprinkled with grey, but he does not notice.

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, and in 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.

Ephraim is like a simple, silly dove: to Egypt they call, after Assyria 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.

wherever they turn I will spread my net over them, like birds of the sky I will bring them down, I will catch them when I hear them gathering.

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 been untrue to me. Although it was I who redeemed them, they speak lies about 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 have never cried to me with their hearts, but they are always wailing on their beds. They gather to beg for corn and new wine, but they turn away from me.

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

Although it was I who trained and strengthened their arms, concerning me they plan only evil.

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 away from the Most High. They have become like a bow that swerves. Their princes will fall by the sword, because of the insolence of their tongues. The land of Egypt will mock them.