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.

Let there be a trumpet in thy throat like an eagle upon the house of the Lord: because they have transgressed my covenant, and have violated my law.

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

They shall call upon me: O my God, we, Israel, know thee.

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

Israel hath cast off the thing that is good, the enemy shall pursue 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 reigned, but not by me: they have been princes, and I knew not: of their silver, and their gold they have made idols to themselves, that they might perish.

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

Thy calf, O Samaria, is cast off, my wrath is kindled against them. How long will they be incapable of being cleansed?

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

For itself also is the invention of Israel: a workman made it, and it is no god: for the calf of Samaria shall be turned to spiders’ webs.

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 shall sow wind, and reap a whirlwind, there is no standing stalk in it, the bud shall yield no meal; and if it should yield, strangers shall eat it.

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

Israel is swallowed up: now is he become among the nations like an unclean vessel.

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

For they are gone up to Assyria, a wild ass alone by himself: Ephraim hath given gifts to his 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 even though they shall have hired the nations, now will I gather them together: and they shall rest a while from the burden of the king, and the princes.

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

Because Ephraim hath made many altars to sin: altars are become to him unto sin.

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

I shall write to him my manifold laws, which have been accounted as foreign.

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.

They shall offer victims, they shall sacrifice flesh, and shall eat it, and the Lord will not receive them: now will he remember their iniquity, and will visit their sins: they shall return 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!”

And Israel hath forgotten his Maker, and hath built temples: and Juda hath built many fenced cities: and I will send a fire upon his cities, and it shall devour the houses thereof.