Hosea 5

1 “Listen, you priests! And you [other] Israeli people, you also pay attention! And you who are members of the king’s family, [you also need to] listen, because [I am going to] judge you! Your [worshiping idols] has been [like] [MET] a trap for [the people at] Mizpah [town]; it has been [like][MET] a net spread out [to catch people] at Tabor [Mountain].

Hear this, O ye priests, and hearken, O house of Israel, and give ear, O house of the king, for to you pertains the judgment. For ye have been a snare at Mizpah, and a net spread upon Tabor.

2 You have done many evil things, so I will punish all of you.

And the revolters have gone deep in making slaughter, but I am a rebuker of them all.

3 I know [everything about the people of] Israel; nothing that they have done is hidden from me. Because [the people of] Israel have given themselves [to worshiping idols] like [MET] prostitutes [give themselves to the men they sleep with], they have become unacceptable to me.

I know Ephraim, and Israel is not hid from me. For now, O Ephraim, thou have played the harlot; Israel is defiled.

4 Because they [like to do evil] things, they will not return to [me], their God. Like prostitutes [who have abandoned their husbands] [MET], they have [IDM] abandoned [MET] me; they do not [even] know me, Yahweh.

Their doings will not allow them to turn to their God, for the spirit of whoredom is within them, and they do not know Jehovah.

5 [It is as though] their being proud testifies [PRS] against them. The sins that [the people of] Israel have committed [are like a heavy load that] causes them to stumble, and [the people of] Judah stumble with them.

And the pride of Israel testifies to his face. Therefore Israel and Ephraim shall stumble in their iniquity. Judah also shall stumble with them.

6 They will come to worship [me], Yahweh, bringing their herds of sheep and cattle, but they will not [be able to] find me, because I have abandoned them.

They shall go with their flocks and with their herds to seek Jehovah, but they shall not find him. He has withdrawn himself from them.

7 They have abandoned me; and their children do not belong to me [MET]. So [they will not be able to celebrate their festivals at] the new moons [because I] will destroy them and [the crops in] their fields.

They have dealt treacherously against Jehovah, for they have borne strange sons. Now the new moon shall devour them with their fields.

8 Blow the [rams’] horns in Gibeah [town] [and blow] the trumpets in Ramah [town]! Warn [the people at] Beth-Aven [town]; you warriors of the tribe of Benjamin, lead the troops [into the battle].

Blow ye the cornet in Gibeah, and the trumpet in Ramah. Sound an alarm at Beth-aven, behind thee, O Benjamin.

9 Israel will be ruined on the day that [I] destroy them. What I am telling to the tribes of Israel will certainly [happen].

Ephraim shall become a desolation in the day of rebuke. I have made known that which shall surely be among the tribes of Israel.

10 [Because] the leaders of Judah [seized some land that belonged to Israel], they are like [SIM] those who move boundary markers [to get more land for themselves]; [so] I will punish them severely [MET].

The rulers of Judah are like those who remove the landmark. I will pour out my wrath upon them like water.

11 And [the people of] Israel will suffer greatly when I punish them, because they are [very] determined to worship idols.

Ephraim is oppressed. He is crushed in judgment, because he was content to walk after man's command.

12 I will destroy [the people of] Israel like [SIM] ([larvae of] moths/cockroaches) destroy wool, and I will cause [the people of] Judah to be like [SIM] rotten wood.

Therefore I am to Ephraim as a moth, and to the house of Judah as rottenness.

13 When [the leaders of] Israel and Judah saw that the people were suffering because of what [their enemies were doing to them] [MET], they sent [messages] to the great King of Assyria requesting [his help]. But he cannot help you; he cannot cause you to stop suffering, [because I am the one who is punishing Israel and Judah].

When Ephraim saw his sickness, and Judah saw his wound, then Ephraim went to Assyria, and sent to king Jareb. But he is not able to heal you, nor will he cure you of your wound.

14 I will become like [SIM] a lion [DOU] to both nations; I will [attack them and] tear them to pieces. I will drag them away, and no one will [be able to] rescue them.

For I will be to 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.

15 [After that], I will return to my place [in heaven] until they admit that they have sinned [MTY] and return to me; when they will experience [many] troubles, they will request me [to help them].”

I will go and return to my place, till they acknowledge their offense, and seek my face. In their affliction they will seek me earnestly.