Hosea 9

1 Do not rejoice, Israel, with joy like the other peoples. For you have been unfaithful, forsaking your God. You love to pay the wages a prostitute requires on all the threshing floors.

Have no joy, O Israel, and do not be glad like the nations; for you have been untrue to your God; your desire has been for the loose woman's reward on every grain-floor.

2 But the threshing floor and the winepress will not feed them; the new wine will fail them.

The grain-floor and the place where the grapes are crushed will not give them food; there will be no new wine for them.

3 They will not continue to live in Yahweh's land; instead, Ephraim will return to Egypt, and one day they will eat unclean food in Assyria.

They will have no resting-place in the Lord's land, but Ephraim will go back to Egypt, and they will take unclean food in Assyria.

4 They will pour out no wine offerings to Yahweh, neither will they be pleasing to him. Their sacrifices will be to them like mourners' food: all who eat it will be defiled. For their food will be for themselves only; it will not come into the house of Yahweh.

They will give no wine offering to the Lord, they will not make offerings ready for him; their bread will be like the bread of those in sorrow; all who take it will be unclean, because their bread will be only for their desire, it will not come into the house of the Lord.

5 What will you do on the day of an appointed festival, on the day of a festival for Yahweh?

What will you do on the day of worship, and on the day of the feast of the Lord?

6 For, look, if they escape from destruction, Egypt will gather them, and Memphis will bury them. As for their treasures of silver— sharp briers will possess them, and thorns will fill their tents.

For see, they are going away into Assyria; Egypt will get them together, Memphis will be their last resting-place; their fair silver vessels will be covered over with field plants, and thorns will come up in their tents.

7 The days for punishment are coming; the days for retribution are coming. Let all Israel know these things. The prophet is a fool, and the inspired man is insane, because of your great iniquity and great hostility.

The days of punishment, the days of reward are come; Israel will be put to shame; the prophet is foolish, the man who has the spirit is off his head, because of your great sin.

8 The prophet is the watchman for my God over Ephraim. But a bird snare is on all of his paths, and hostility toward him is in the house of his God.

There is great hate against the watchman of Ephraim, the people of my God; as for the prophet, there is a net in all his ways, and hate in the house of his God.

9 They have deeply corrupted themselves as in the days of Gibeah. God will call to mind their iniquity, and he will punish their sins.

They have gone deep in evil as in the days of Gibeah; he will keep in mind their wrongdoing, he will give them punishment for their sins.

10 Yahweh says, “When I found Israel, it was like finding grapes in the wilderness. Like the very first fruit of the season on the fig tree, I found your fathers. But they went to Baal Peor, and they devoted themselves to that shameful idol. They became as detestable as the idol they loved.

I made discovery of Israel as of grapes in the waste land; I saw your fathers as the first-fruits of the fig-tree in her early fruit time; but they came to Baal-peor, and made themselves holy to the thing of shame, and became disgusting like that to which they gave their love.

11 As for Ephraim, their glory will fly away like a bird. There will be no birth, no pregnancy, and no conception.

As for Ephraim, their glory will go in flight like a bird: there will be no birth and no one with child and no giving of life.

12 Though they have brought up children, I will take them away so that none of them is left. Woe to them when I turn away from them!

Even though their children have come to growth I will take them away, so that not a man will be there; for their evil-doing will be complete and they will be put to shame because of it.

13 I have seen Ephraim, just like Tyre, planted in a meadow, but Ephraim will bring out his children to someone who will slaughter them.”

As I have seen a beast whose young have been taken from her, so Ephraim will give birth to children only for them to be put to death.

14 Give them, Yahweh—what will you give them? Give them a miscarrying womb and breasts that give no milk.

O Lord, what will you give them? Give them bodies which may not give birth and breasts without milk.

15 “Because of all their wickedness in Gilgal, that is where I began to hate them. Because of their sinful deeds, I will drive them out of my house. I will love them no more; all their officials are rebels.

All their evil-doing is in Gilgal; there I had hate for them; because of their evil-doing I will send them out of my house; they will no longer be dear to me; all their rulers are uncontrolled.

16 Ephraim is diseased, and their root is dried up; they bear no fruit. Even if they have children, I will put their beloved children to death.”

The rod has come on Ephraim, their root is dry, let them have no fruit; even though they give birth, I will put to death the dearest fruit of their bodies.

17 My God will reject them because they have not obeyed him. They will become wanderers among the nations.

My God will give them up because they did not give ear to him; they will be wandering among the nations.