Hosea 5
1 Hear ye this, O priests; and hearken, ye house of Israel; and give ye ear, O house of the king; for judgment [is] towards you, because ye have been a snare on Mizpah, and a net spread upon Tabor.
Hear this, you priests! Pay attention, house of Israel! Listen, members of the royal family!
2 And the revolters are profound to make slaughter, though I [have been] a rebuker of them all.
Judgment belongs with you because you have been a snare set at Mizpah and a net spread out on Tabor. You dug a deep trap in Shittim, but I will punish you for all these things you have done.
3 I know Ephraim, and Israel is not hid from me: for now, O Ephraim, thou art guilty of lewdness, [and] Israel is defiled.
I know Ephraim very well, and Israel cannot hide from me, for now Ephraim is a prostitute and Israel is defiled.
4 They will not frame their doings to turn to their God: for the spirit of lewdness [is] in the midst of them, and they have not known the LORD.
Your actions stop you from coming back to your God for a spirit of prostitution is within you and you do not know the Lord.
5 And the pride of Israel doth testify to his face: therefore shall Israel and Ephraim fall in their iniquity; Judah also shall fall with them.
Israel's pride speaks against them, right in the face. Israel and Ephraim will stumble because of their guilt, and Judah will stumble along with them.
6 They shall go with their flocks and with their herds to seek the LORD; but they shall not find [him]; he hath withdrawn himself from them.
They will go to seek the Lord with their herds and flocks, but they will not find him, for he has given up on them.
7 They have dealt treacherously against the LORD: for they have begotten strange children: now shall a month devour them with their portions.
They have been unfaithful to the Lord and have had children that are not his. Now the New Moon will destroy them along with their fields.
8 Blow ye the cornet in Gibeah, [and] the trumpet in Ramah: cry aloud [at] Beth-aven, after thee, O Benjamin.
Blow the horn in Gibeah! Sound the trumpet in Ramah! Shout an alarm in Beth-aven! Lead the way, Benjamin!
9 Ephraim shall be desolate in the day of rebuke: among the tribes of Israel have I made known that which shall surely be.
Ephraim will be left desolate on the day of punishment. Among the tribes of Israel I will reveal what is the real truth.
10 The princes of Judah were like them that remove the bound: [therefore] I will pour out my wrath upon them like water.
The rulers of Judah have become thieves like those who illegally move boundaries. I will pour out my anger like water upon them.
11 Ephraim [is] oppressed [and] broken in judgment, because he willingly walked after the commandment.
The people of Ephraim are crushed, smashed to pieces in judgment because they were determined to follow human commands.
12 Therefore [will] I [be] to Ephraim as a moth, and to the house of Judah as rottenness.
I am like a maggot to Ephraim, and like something rotten to the people of Judah.
13 When Ephraim saw his sickness, and Judah [saw] his wound, then Ephraim went to the Assyrian, and sent to king Jareb: yet he could not heal you, nor cure you of your wound.
When Ephraim saw how sick they were, and Judah saw how wounded they were, Ephraim turned to the great king of Assyria for help, but he could not heal them or cure their wounds.
14 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 take away, and none shall rescue [him].
For I will be like a lion to Ephraim, like a fierce lion to the people of Judah. I will come and tear them to pieces, and carry them off, and no one will be able to rescue them.
15 I will go [and] return to my place, till they acknowledge their offense, and seek my face: in their affliction they will seek me early.
Then I will leave and return to where I came from until they acknowledge their wrongs, and in their distress they will seek my face and beg for my help.”
