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 give healing to Israel, Then the iniquity of Ephraim is revealed, And the wickedness of Samaria, For they have worked falsehood, And a thief comes in, A troop has stripped off in the street,
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].
And they do not say to their heart, [That] I have remembered all their evil, Now their doings have surrounded them, They have been 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.
With their wickedness they make a king glad, And with their lies—princes.
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.
All of them [are] adulterers, Like a burning oven of a baker, He ceases from stirring up after kneading the dough, until its leavening.
5 The king and his officials get very drunk during their festivals, carousing with others who also do foolish things.
A day of our king! Princes have defiled themselves [with] the poison of wine, He has drawn out his hand with scorners.
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 have drawn near, Their heart [is] as an oven In their lying in wait—their baker sleeps all night, Morning! He is burning as 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 warm as an oven, And they have devoured their judges, All their kings have fallen, There is none calling to Me among them.
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! He mixes himself among peoples, Ephraim has been 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.
Strangers have devoured his power, And he has not known, Also old age has sprinkled [itself] on him, And he has not known.
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.
And the excellence of Israel has been humbled to his face, And they have not turned back to their God YHWH, Nor have they sought Him for all this.
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.
And Ephraim is as a simple dove without heart, Egypt they called on—[to] Asshur they have gone.
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.
When they go I spread over them My net, As the bird of the heavens I bring them down, I discipline them as their congregation has heard.
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 wandered from Me, Destruction to them, for they transgressed against Me, And I ransom them, and they have spoken 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.
And have not cried to Me with their heart, but howl on their beds; They assemble themselves for grain and new wine, They turn aside against Me.
15 I trained/taught them and enabled them to become strong, but now they plan [to do] evil things to me.
And I instructed—I strengthened their arms, And concerning Me they think evil!
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 back—not to the Most High, They have been as a deceitful bow, Their princes fall by sword, From the insolence of their tongue, This [is] their derision in the land of Egypt!”
