Hosea 9
1 “Do not rejoice, O Israel, do not be joyful like the peoples, For you have gone whoring from your God, You have loved a wage near all floors of grain.
Do not rejoice, O Israel, with exultation like the nations, for you have played the harlot against your God; you have made love for hire on every threshing floor.
2 Floor and winepress do not feed them, And new wine fails in her,
The threshing floor and winepress will not feed them, and the new wine will fail them.
3 They do not abide in the land of YHWH, And Ephraim has turned back [to] Egypt, And they eat an unclean thing in Asshur.
They will not remain in the land of the LORD; Ephraim will return to Egypt and eat unclean food in Assyria.
4 They do not pour out wine to YHWH, Nor are they sweet to Him, Their sacrifices [are] as bread of mourners to them, All eating it are unclean: For their bread [is] for themselves, It does not come into the house of YHWH.
They will not pour out wine offerings to the LORD, and their sacrifices will not please Him, but will be to them like the bread of mourners; all who eat will be defiled. For their bread will be for themselves; it will not enter the house of the LORD.
5 What do you do at the day appointed? And at the day of YHWH’s festival?
What will you do on the appointed day, on the day of the LORD’s feast?
6 For behold, they have gone because of destruction, Egypt gathers them, Moph buries them, The desirable things of their silver, Nettles possess them—a thorn [is] in their tents.
For even if they flee destruction, Egypt will gather them and Memphis will bury them. Their precious silver will be taken over by thistles, and thorns will overrun their tents.
7 The days of inspection have come in, The days of repayment have come in, Israel knows! The prophet [is] a fool, Mad [is] the man of the spirit, Because of the abundance of your iniquity, And great [is] the hatred.
The days of punishment have come; the days of retribution have arrived— let Israel know it. The prophet is called a fool, and the inspired man insane, because of the greatness of your iniquity and hostility.
8 Ephraim is looking [away] from My God, The prophet! A snare of a fowler [is] over all his ways, Hatred [is] in the house of his God.
The prophet is Ephraim’s watchman, along with my God, yet the snare of the fowler lies on all his paths. Hostility is in the house of his God!
9 They have gone deep—have done corruptly, As [in] the days of Gibeah, He remembers their iniquity, He inspects their sins.
They have deeply corrupted themselves as in the days of Gibeah; He will remember their guilt; He will punish their sins.
10 As grapes in a wilderness I found Israel, As the first-fruit in a fig tree, at its beginning, I have seen your fathers, They have gone in [to] Ba‘al-Peor, And are separated to a shameful thing, And have become abominable like their love.
I found Israel like grapes in the wilderness. I saw your fathers as the firstfruits of the fig tree in its first season. But they went to Baal-peor, and consecrated themselves to Shame; so they became as detestable as the thing they loved.
11 Ephraim [is] as a bird, their glory flies away, without birth, and without womb, and without conception.
Ephraim’s glory will fly away like a bird, with no birth, no pregnancy, and no conception.
12 For though they nourish their sons, I have made them childless—without man, Surely also, woe to them when I turn aside from them.
Even if they raise their children, I will bereave them of each one. Yes, woe be to them when I turn away from them!
13 Ephraim! When I have looked to the rock, Is planted in comeliness, And Ephraim [is] to bring out his sons to a slayer.
I have seen Ephraim, like Tyre, planted in a meadow. But Ephraim will bring out his children for slaughter.
14 Give to them, YHWH—what do You give? Give to them miscarrying womb, and dry breasts.
Give them, O LORD— what will You give? Give them wombs that miscarry and breasts that dry up!
15 All their evil [is] in Gilgal, Surely there I have hated them, Because of the evil of their doings, Out of My house I drive them, I no longer love them, All their heads [are] apostates.
All their evil appears at Gilgal, for there I hated them. I will drive them from My house for the wickedness of their deeds. I will no longer love them; all their leaders are rebellious.
16 Ephraim has been struck, Their root has dried up, they do not yield fruit, Indeed, though they bring forth, I have put to death the desired of their womb.
Ephraim is struck down; their root is withered; they cannot bear fruit. Even if they bear children, I will slay the darlings of their wombs.
17 My God rejects them, Because they have not listened to Him, And they are wanderers among nations!”
My God will reject them because they have not obeyed Him; and they shall be wanderers among the nations.
