Hosea 7
1 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.
'When I give healing to Israel, Then revealed is the iniquity of Ephraim, And the wickedness of Samaria, For they have wrought falsehood, And a thief doth come in, Stript off hath a troop in the street,
2 But it never crosses their minds that I remember their wickedness. Now their misdeeds surround them, they are always before my face.
And they do not say to their heart, [That] all their evil I have remembered, Now compassed them have their doings, Over-against My face they have been.
3 Their wickedness amuses the king, and their lying gladdens the princes,
With their wickedness they make glad a king, And with their lies — princes.
4 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.
All of them [are] adulterers, Like a burning oven of a baker, He ceaseth from stirring up after kneading the dough, till its leavening.
5 On our king’s festival day, the princes are flushed with fever from wine. He stretched forth his hand with the contemptuous,
A day of our king! Princes have polluted themselves [with] the poison of wine, He hath drawn out his hand with scorners.
6 for like an oven their heart burns with treachery, all night their anger smoulders, in the morning it blazes into a flame of fire.
For they have drawn near, As an oven [is] their heart, In their lying in wait all the night sleep doth their baker, Morning! he is burning as a flaming fire.
7 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.
All of them are warm as an oven, And they have devoured their judges, All their kings have fallen, There is none calling unto Me among them.
8 Ephraim – he lets himself be mixed among the peoples, Ephraim – he has become a cake unturned.
Ephraim! among peoples he mixeth himself, Ephraim hath been a cake unturned.
9 Strangers have devoured his strength, but he does not know it. His hair is sprinkled with grey, but he does not notice.
Devoured have strangers his power, And he hath not known, Also old age hath sprinkled [itself] on him, And he hath not known.
10 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.
And humbled hath been the excellency of Israel to his face, And they have not turned back unto Jehovah their God, Nor have they sought Him for all this.
11 Ephraim is like a simple, silly dove: to Egypt they call, after Assyria they go,
And Ephraim is as a simple dove without heart, Egypt they called on — [to] Asshur they have gone.
12 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.
When they go I spread over them My net, As the fowl of the heavens I bring them down, I chastise them as their company hath heard.
13 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.
Woe to them, for they wandered from Me, Destruction to them, for they transgressed against Me, And I — I ransom them, and they have spoken lies against Me,
14 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.
And have not cried unto Me with their heart, but howl on their beds, For corn and new wine they assemble themselves, They turn aside against Me.
15 Although it was I who trained and strengthened their arms, concerning me they plan only evil.
And I instructed — I strengthened their arms, And concerning Me they think evil!
16 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.
They turn back — not to the Most High, They have been as a deceitful bow, Fall by sword do their princes, From the insolence of their tongue, This [is] their derision in the land of Egypt!
