Hosea 8
1 To thy mouth, with a horn! Like an eagle, on the house of Yahweh, —because they have violated my covenant, and, against my law, have they transgressed.
Put a trumpet to your lips! An eagle swoops over the house of the Lord because they have broken my agreement and rebelled against my law.
2 Unto me, shall they make outcry, My God! we acknowledge thee—[we], Israel!
Israel calls out to me, “Our God, we know you!”
3 Israel hath cast away what is good, —an enemy, shall pursue him.
But Israel has rejected what is good. An enemy will chase after them.
4 They, have appointed kings, but not from me, have made rulers, but I have not acknowledged them: of their silver and their gold, they made themselves idols, to the end they might be cut off.
They appointed kings without my consent and chose princes without my knowledge. With their silver and gold they made idols for their own destruction.
5 He hath cast away thy calf, O Samaria, kindled is mine anger upon them, —How long shall they not endure to be innocent?
Samaria, I reject this calf idol you have made! My anger burns against them! How long will you be incapable of being good?
6 For, of Israel, is even that thing! A craftsman, made it, and, a No-god, it is! For, into fragments, shall the Calf of Samaria be broken.
This idol is from Israel! A craftsman made it—it's not God! The calf of Samaria will be broken in pieces!
7 For, to the wind, they sow, and, to the whirlwind, they reap: stalk, hath it none, That which shooteth forth, shall yield no meal, If so be it yield, foreigners, swallow it lip,
Those who sow the wind will reap the whirlwind. The stalk has no head of grain; it will produce no flour. Even if it did produce grain, foreigners would swallow it all up.
8 Swallowed up, is Israel; Now, have they gone among the nations, like a vessel in which no man taketh, delight.
Israel is swallowed up; among the nations they are like something nobody wants.
9 For, they, have gone up to Assyria, A wild ass going alone for himself, is Ephraim! They have hired lovers!
They have gone up to Assyria like a donkey wandering alone. Ephraim has hired lovers.
10 Even though they hire them among the nations, at once, will I gather them, when they have begun to be diminished by reason of the burden of the king of rulers.
Even though they have hired allies among the nations, I will gather them together. Then they will writhe under the burden of the great king.
11 Because Ephraim hath multiplied altars sinfully, they have become to him the altars of sin.
Though Ephraim built many altars to make sin offerings, they instead became altars of sin!
12 I have been wont to write for him the myriad things of my law, —Like something alien, have they been accounted.
I wrote down for them the many aspects of my law, but they looked on them as foreign.
13 My sacrificial gifts, have they been sacrificing as [common] flesh, and have eaten, Yahweh, hath not accepted them, —Now, will he call to mind their iniquity, that he may punish their sin, they, to Egypt, will return.
They present me with their sacrifices, and they eat the meat, but I the Lord do not accept them. Now he will remember their wickedness, and punish them for their sins. They will return to Egypt.
14 And so Israel hath forgotten his Maker, and hath built temples, and, Judah, hath multiplied fortified cities, —Therefore will I send a fire upon his cities, and it shall consume the palaces thereof.
Israel has forgotten his maker, and built palaces; Judah has built many fortified cities. But I will rain fire down on their cities and burn up their fortresses.
