Hosea 8

1 “To your mouth—a horn, As an eagle against the house of YHWH, Because they transgressed My covenant, And against My law they have rebelled.

Put the horn to your mouth. He comes like an eagle against the house of the Lord; because they have gone against my agreement, they have not kept my law.

2 To Me they cry, My God, we—Israel—have known You.

They will send up to me a cry for help: We, Israel, have knowledge of you, O God of Israel.

3 Israel has cast off good, an enemy pursues him.

Israel has given up what is good; his haters will go after him.

4 They have made kings, and not by Me, They have made princes, and I have not known, Their silver and their gold they have made to them idols, So that they are cut off.

They have put up kings, but not by me; they have made princes, but I had no knowledge of it; they have made images of silver and gold, so that they may be cut off.

5 Your calf has cast off, O Samaria, My anger has burned against them; Until when are they not capable of purity?

I will have nothing to do with your young ox, O Samaria; my wrath is burning against them; how long will it be before the children of Israel make themselves clean?

6 For even it [is] of Israel; a craftsman made it, And it [is] not God, For the calf of Samaria is fragments!

The workman made it, it is no god; the ox of Samaria will be broken into bits.

7 For wind they sow, and a windstorm they reap, Stalk it has none—a shoot not yielding grain, If so be it yield—strangers swallow it up.

For they have been planting the wind, and their fruit will be the storm; his grain has no stem, it will give no meal, and if it does, a strange nation will take it.

8 Israel has been swallowed up, Now they have been among nations, As a vessel in which is no delight.

Israel has come to destruction; now they are among the nations like a cup in which there is no pleasure.

9 For they have gone up [to] Asshur, A wild donkey alone by himself [is] Ephraim, They have hired lovers!

For they have gone up to Assyria like an ass going by himself; Ephraim has given money to get lovers.

10 Also though they hire among nations, Now I gather them, and they are pained a little, From the burden of a king of princes.

But though they give money to the nations for help, still I will send them in all directions; and in a short time they will be without a king and rulers.

11 Because Ephraim multiplied altars to sin, They have been to him altars to sin.

Because Ephraim has been increasing altars for sin, altars have become a cause of sin to him.

12 I write for him numerous things of My law, As a strange thing they have been reckoned.

Though I put my law in writing for him in ten thousand rules, they are to him as a strange thing.

13 The sacrifices of My offerings! They sacrifice flesh, and they eat, YHWH has not accepted them, Now He remembers their iniquity, And inspects their sin, They return [to] Egypt.

He gives the offerings of his lovers, and takes the flesh for food; but the Lord has no pleasure in them; now he will keep in mind their evil-doing and give them the punishment of their sins; they will go back to Egypt.

14 And Israel forgets his Maker, and builds temples, And Judah has multiplied cities of defense, And I have sent a fire into his cities, And it has consumed their palaces!”

For Israel has no memory of his Maker, and has put up the houses of kings; and Judah has made great the number of his walled towns. But I will send a fire on his towns and put an end to his great houses.