Hosea 9
1 Do not rejoice, O Israel, with exultation, like the peoples, for thou hast gone away unchastely from beside thy God, —thou hast loved a present, upon all the threshing-floors of corn!
Israel, don't rejoice! Don't celebrate like other nations! For you have practiced prostitution; you have loved a prostitute's wages on every threshing floor of grain.
2 Threshing-floor and wine-vat, will not feed them, and, new wine, will deny them.
Your threshing floors and winepresses will not feed you; the land will fail to produce your new wine.
3 They shall not dwell in the land of Yahweh, but Ephraim shall return to Egypt, and, in Assyria—that which is unclean, shall they eat.
You will not stay in the Lord's land, instead Ephraim will return to Egypt, and will eat unclean food in Assyria.
4 They shall not pour out to Yahweh—wine, neither shall they be pleasing to him, their sacrifices, are as the food of mourning to them, all that eat thereof, shall defile themselves, because, their food for their appetite, entereth not into the house of Yahweh.
You won't pour out any drink offerings to the Lord. None of your sacrifices will please him. Your sacrifices will be like food eaten by a person in mourning—all who eat will be unclean. You will eat this food yourselves, but it will not enter the house of the Lord.
5 What will ye do, for the day of appointed meeting? and in the day of the festival of Yahweh?
What are you going to do on the days of your appointed religious feasts, on the days of the festivals of the Lord?
6 For, though they have gone from destruction, yet, Egypt, shall gather them, Memphis, shall bury them, —as for their silver favorites! thistles, shall possess them, thorns in their tents.
Look, they have left because of the destruction: Egypt with gather them, and Memphis will bury them. They gain a “valued possession” for their silver. Weeds will possess them, and thorns will grow over their tents.
7 Come are the days of visitation, come are the days of recompense, Let Israel know! The prophet is foolish, the man of the spirit doth rave, because of the greatness of thine iniquity, therefore great is the prosecution.
The time of punishment has come; the day of retribution has arrived. Let Israel know! You say the prophet is a fool, the man of the Spirit is mad, because your sin and hostility is so great.
8 The watchman of Ephraim, [should have been] with my God: As for the prophet, the snare of the fowler, is on all his ways, a prosecution [awaiteth him], in the house of his God.
The watchman over Ephraim is with my God, and a prophet is a birdcatcher's snare on all his ways. Hatred is in the house of his God
9 They have deeply corrupted themselves, like the days of Gibeah: he will call to mind their iniquity, he will punish their sins.
for they have corrupted themselves so deeply, as in the time of Gibeah. He will remember their sin; he will punish their wickedness.
10 Like grapes in the desert, found I Israel, like the first-ripe in the fig-tree when it is young, saw I your fathers, —they, entered Baal-peor, and devoted themselves to the Shameful Thing, Then became their abominations like their lusts.
When I found Israel, it was like finding grapes in the desert. When I saw your forefathers it was like seeing early fruit on the fig tree. But when they came to Baal Peor, they gave themselves over to that shameful idol, becoming as filthy as the filthy thing they loved.
11 As for Ephraim! like a bird, did their glory, fly away, —no birth, and none with child, no conception.
Ephraim! Like a bird that flies away so shall your glory—no births, no pregnancies, no conceptions.
12 Yea, though they rear their children, yet will I make them childless, till there be no human being, —for it is, nothing less than woe, to them when I depart from them!
Even if they bring up children, I will make sure they do not survive. What a disaster for you when I turn away from you!
13 Ephraim! just as I provided for Tyre, was planted in a meadow, —yet, Ephraim, must needs bring forth for a murderer his children.
Ephraim! Just as I saw Tyre planted in a meadow, so too Ephraim will lead out his children to the murderer.
14 Give them, O Yahweh—what wilt thou give? Give them, a miscarrying womb, and breasts dried up.
Give them—well, Lord, what should you give them? Give them wombs that miscarry and dry breasts.
15 All their wickedness, is in Gilgal, yea, there, have I come to hate them, For the wickedness of their doings—out of my house, will I drive them forth, —no more will I love them, all their rulers, are unruly.
All of their evil began at Gilgal, and that's where I began to hate them. I will drive them out of my house because of their wickedness. I will love them no longer; all their leaders are rebels.
16 Smitten is Ephraim, their root, hath dried up, fruit, shall they not bear, —yea, though they do bring forth, yet will I slay the darlings of their womb.
Ephraim, you are blighted, dried up from the roots. You shall bear no fruit. Even if you have children, I will slaughter your beloved offspring.
17 My God will reject them, because they hearkened not unto him, —that they may become wanderers throughout the nations.
My God will reject you because you have not listened to him, and you will become homeless wanderers among the nations.
