< Hosea 5 >
1 Hear this, O ye priests, and hearken, ye house of Israel, and give ear, O house of the king, for unto you pertain the judgment; for ye have been a snare at Mizpah, and a net spread upon Tabor.
Hear this, priests, and pay attention, house of Israel, and listen closely, house of the king. For there is a judgment against you, because you have become a trap for those you watched over, and a net stretched out over Tabor.
2 And the revolters are gone deep in making slaughter; but I am a rebuker of them all.
And you have led astray victims into the depths, though I am the teacher of them all.
3 I know Ephraim, and Israel is not hid from me: for now, O Ephraim, thou hast committed whoredom, Israel is defiled.
I know Ephraim, and Israel has not been hidden from me, yet now Ephraim has committed fornication, and Israel has been contaminated.
4 Their doings will not suffer them to turn unto their God: for the spirit of whoredom is within them, and they know not the LORD.
They will not set their thoughts to return to their God, for the spirit of fornication is in the midst of them, and they have not known the Lord.
5 And the pride of Israel doth testify to his face: therefore Israel and Ephraim shall stumble in their iniquity; Judah also shall stumble with them.
And the arrogance of Israel will answer to his face. And Israel and Ephraim will fall in their iniquity, and even Judah will fall with them.
6 They shall go with their flocks and with their herds to seek the LORD; but they shall not find him: he hath withdrawn himself from them.
With their flocks and their herds, they will go to seek the Lord, and they will not find him. He has taken himself away from them.
7 They have dealt treacherously against the LORD; for they have borne strange children: now shall the new moon devour them with their fields.
They have sinned against the Lord. For they have conceived sons that are strangers. Now one month will devour them with all their own.
8 Blow ye the cornet in Gibeah, and the trumpet in Ramah: sound an alarm at Beth-aven; behind thee, O Benjamin.
Sound the bugle in Gibeah, the trumpet in Ramah. Shout in Bethaven, behind your back, O Benjamin.
9 Ephraim shall become a desolation in the day of rebuke: among the tribes of Israel have I made known that which shall surely be.
Ephraim will be in desolation on the day of correction, for within the tribes of Israel, I have revealed faith.
10 The princes of Judah are like them that remove the landmark: I will pour out my wrath upon them like water.
The leaders of Judah have become like those who assume the end. I will pour my wrath over them like water.
11 Ephraim is oppressed, he is crushed in judgment; because he was content to walk after the command.
Ephraim has been enduring malicious slander and broken judgment, because he began to go after filth.
12 Therefore am I unto Ephraim as a moth, and to the house of Judah as rottenness.
And I will be like a moth to Ephraim, and like decay to the house of Judah.
13 When Ephraim saw his sickness, and Judah [saw] his wound, then went Ephraim to Assyria, and sent to king Jareb: but he is not able to heal you, neither shall he cure you of your wound.
And Ephraim saw his own weakness, and Judah his chains. And Ephraim went to Assur, and he sent to the Avenging king. But he will not be able to heal you, nor is he able to release you from your chains.
14 For I will be unto Ephraim as a lion, and as a young lion to the house of Judah: I, even I, will tear and go away; I will carry off, and there shall be none to deliver.
For I will be like a lioness to Ephraim, and like a lion’s offspring to the house of Judah. I myself will seize and go forth. I will take away, and there is no one who can rescue.
15 I will go and return to my place, till they acknowledge their offence, and seek my face: in their affliction they will seek me earnestly.
I will go and return to my place, until you shall grow faint and seek my face.