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.
| כרפאי לישראל ונגלה עון אפרים ורעות שמרון כי פעלו שקר וגנב יבוא פשט גדוד בחוץ׃ |
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].
| ובל יאמרו ללבבם כל רעתם זכרתי עתה סבבום מעלליהם נגד פני היו׃ |
3 Their king is delighted with the wicked things that the people do; his officials are happy about the people’s lies.
| ברעתם ישמחו מלך ובכחשיהם שרים׃ |
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.
| כלם מנאפים כמו תנור בערה מאפה ישבות מעיר מלוש בצק עד חמצתו׃ |
5 The king and his officials get very drunk during their festivals, carousing with others who also do foolish things.
| יום מלכנו החלו שרים חמת מיין משך ידו את לצצים׃ |
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.
| כי קרבו כתנור לבם בארבם כל הלילה ישן אפהם בקר הוא בער כאש להבה׃ |
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].”
| כלם יחמו כתנור ואכלו את שפטיהם כל מלכיהם נפלו אין קרא בהם אלי׃ |
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.
| אפרים בעמים הוא יתבולל אפרים היה עגה בלי הפוכה׃ |
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.
| אכלו זרים כחו והוא לא ידע גם שיבה זרקה בו והוא לא ידע׃ |
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.
| וענה גאון ישראל בפניו ולא שבו אל יהוה אלהיהם ולא בקשהו בכל זאת׃ |
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.
| ויהי אפרים כיונה פותה אין לב מצרים קראו אשור הלכו׃ |
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.
| כאשר ילכו אפרוש עליהם רשתי כעוף השמים אורידם איסרם כשמע לעדתם׃ |
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.
| אוי להם כי נדדו ממני שד להם כי פשעו בי ואנכי אפדם והמה דברו עלי כזבים׃ |
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.
| ולא זעקו אלי בלבם כי יילילו על משכבותם על דגן ותירוש יתגוררו יסורו בי׃ |
15 I trained/taught them and enabled them to become strong, but now they plan [to do] evil things to me.
| ואני יסרתי חזקתי זרועתם ואלי יחשבו רע׃ |
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.”
| ישובו לא על היו כקשת רמיה יפלו בחרב שריהם מזעם לשונם זו לעגם בארץ מצרים׃ |
