Hosea 7
1 “and when I wanted to heal them [again], [I did not do it, ] [because] I saw the wicked things that [the people of] Samaria [city] and [other places in] Israel [DOU] have done. They constantly deceive others; bandits rob people in the streets.
When I heal Israel, the iniquity of Ephraim will be exposed, as well as the crimes of Samaria. For they practice deceit and thieves break in; bandits raid in the streets.
2 But they do not realize that I do not forget all the evil things that they do. [It is as though] they are surrounded by [all] the sins that they commit; and [it is though] those sins are [always right] in front of me [MTY].
But they fail to consider in their hearts that I remember all their evil. Now their deeds are all around them; they are before My face.
3 Their king is delighted with the wicked things that the people do; his officials are happy about the people’s lies.
They delight the king with their evil, and the princes with their lies.
4 [The king and his officials] are all treacherous. [They are always eager to do wicked things; ] they are like [SIM] an oven that is [very] hot: a baker mixes the dough and waits for it to expand, and he does not [need to] cause the oven to become hotter.
They are all adulterers, like an oven heated by a baker who needs not stoke the fire from the kneading to the rising of the dough.
5 The king and his officials get very drunk during their festivals, carousing with others who also do foolish things.
The princes are inflamed with wine on the day of our king; so he joins hands with those who mock him.
6 The officials angrily plan to murder the king; it is like [SIM] they have an oven in their inner beings. All during the night their [eagerness/wanting to murder the king] is like a fire that is smouldering, but in the morning it becomes like [MET] a roaring fire.
For they prepare their heart like an oven while they lie in wait; all night their anger smolders; in the morning it blazes like a flaming fire.
7 All those officials are like [MET] hot flames that completely burn up their rulers, so all their kings are murdered, and no one pleads with me [to help them].”
All of them are hot as an oven, and they devour their rulers. All their kings fall; not one of them calls upon Me.
8 “[The leaders of] Israel join with leaders of [godless] nations; so [the leaders of] Israel are [as worthless as] a pancake that is cooked on only one side.
Ephraim mixes with the nations; Ephraim is an unturned cake.
9 Joining with the rulers of foreign nations has caused Israel to be a weak [nation], but the Israelis do not realize that. Israel has become [like] [MET] a gray-haired old man, but the people of Israel do not realize it.
Foreigners consume his strength, but he does not notice. Even his hair is streaked with gray, but he does not know.
10 Their being proud [PRS] testifies against them, but in spite of that, they do not return to [me], Yahweh, their God, or [even] try to know me.
Israel’s arrogance testifies against them, yet they do not return to the LORD their God; despite all this, they do not seek Him.
11 [The people of] Israel have become foolish and stupid like [SIM] doves. [First] they called out to Egypt [to help them], [and then] they sought help from Assyria.
So Ephraim has become like a silly, senseless dove— calling out to Egypt, then turning to Assyria.
12 But wherever they go [to get help], [I will not allow them to succeed]; [it will be as though] [MET] I will throw a net over them like [SIM] [a hunter uses a net to capture] birds; I will punish them for the evil things that they do.
As they go, I will spread My net over them; I will bring them down like birds of the air. I will chastise them when I hear them flocking together.
13 Terrible things will happen to them because they abandoned/deserted me! They will be destroyed because they rebelled against me. I wanted to rescue them, but they tell lies about me.
Woe to them, for they have strayed from Me! Destruction to them, for they have rebelled against Me! Though I would redeem them, they speak lies against Me.
14 They do not cry out to me sincerely [IDM]; they [only] lie on their beds and wail. They gather together and ask [me to give them] grain and wine, but they turn away from me.
They do not cry out to Me from their hearts when they wail upon their beds. They slash themselves for grain and new wine, but turn away from Me.
15 I trained/taught them and enabled them to become strong, but now they plan [to do] evil things to me.
Although I trained and strengthened their arms, they plot evil against Me.
16 They have rejected me, their Great God, and turned to their god Baal; they are [as useless] as [SIM] a crooked bow. Their leaders boast [that they are very strong], but they will be killed by [their enemies’] swords. As a result, [the people of] Egypt will laugh at them.”
They turn, but not to the Most High; they are like a faulty bow. Their leaders will fall by the sword for the cursing of their tongue; for this they will be ridiculed in the land of Egypt.
