< Hosea 9 >

1 'Rejoice not, O Israel, be not joyful like the peoples, For thou hast gone a-whoring from thy God, Thou hast loved a gift near all floors of corn.
Rejoice not, O Israel, Exult not, like the nations! For thou committest fornication, forsaking thy God! Thou lovest hire on every corn-floor.
2 Floor and wine-press do not delight them, And new wine doth fail in her,
The floor and the vat shall not feed them, And the new wine shall deceive them.
3 They do not abide in the land of Jehovah, And turned back hath Ephraim [to] Egypt, And in Asshur an unclean thing they eat.
They shall not dwell in the land of Jehovah; To Egypt shall Ephraim go back, And eat unclean things in Assyria.
4 They pour not out wine to Jehovah, Nor are they sweet to Him, Their sacrifices [are] as bread of mourners to them, All eating it are unclean: For their bread [is] for themselves, It doth not come into the house of Jehovah.
They shall pour out no offerings of wine to Jehovah, Nor shall their sacrifices please him; They shall be to them as the bread of mourners; All that eat thereof shall be polluted. Their bread shall be for their own hunger; It shall not come into the house of Jehovah.
5 What do ye at the day appointed? And at the day of Jehovah's festival?
What will ye do in the festal day, In the day of the feast of Jehovah?
6 For, lo, they have gone because of destruction, Egypt gathereth them, Moph burieth them, The desirable things of their silver, Nettles possess them — a thorn [is] in their tents.
For, behold, they go forth from a wasted land; Egypt shall gather them; Memphis shall bury them; The precious places of their silver, Nettles shall possess them; Thorns shall spring up in their habitations.
7 Come in have the days of inspection, Come in have the days of recompence, Israel doth know! a fool [is] the prophet, Mad [is] the man of the Spirit, Because of the abundance of thine iniquity, And great [is] the hatred.
The days of visitation are come; The days of retribution are come— Israel shall know that the prophet was foolish, That the man of the spirit was mad— For the greatness of` thy iniquity, and thy great hatred.
8 Ephraim is looking [away] from My God, The prophet! a snare of a fowler [is] over all his ways, Hatred [is] in the house of his God.
If Ephraim seek an answer from my God, The prophet is as the snare of the fowler in all his ways, A net in the house of his God.
9 They have gone deep — have done corruptly, As [in] the days of Gibeah, He doth remember their iniquity, He doth inspect their sins.
They have deeply corrupted themselves, as in the days of Gibeah; He will remember their iniquity; He will requite their sins.
10 As grapes in a wilderness I found Israel, As the first-fruit in a fig-tree, at its beginning, I have seen your fathers, They — they have gone in [to] Baal-Peor, And are separated to a shameful thing, And are become abominable like their love.
I found Israel as grapes in the wilderness; As the early fruit on the fig-tree, at its first time of bearing, I saw your fathers. But they went to Baal Peor, And separated themselves to shame, And had abominable idols according to their love.
11 Ephraim [is] as a fowl, Fly away doth their honour, without birth, And without womb, and without conception.
The glory of Ephraim shall fly away as a bird; They shall not bring forth, nor bear in the womb, nor conceive;
12 For though they nourish their sons, I have made them childless — without man, Surely also, woe to them, when I turn aside from them.
Yea, if they bring up children, I will utterly bereave them; Yea, woe to them when I depart from them!
13 Ephraim! when I have looked to the rock, Is planted in comeliness, And Ephraim [is] to bring out unto a slayer his sons.
I have seen Ephraim planted, like Tyre, in a rich pasture, Yet shall Ephraim bring out his children to the murderer.
14 Give to them, Jehovah — what dost Thou give? Give to them miscarrying womb, and dry breasts.
Give them, O Jehovah! What wilt thou give them? Give them a miscarrying womb, And dry breasts!
15 All their evil [is] in Gilgal, Surely there I have hated them, Because of the evil of their doings, Out of My house I do drive them, I add not to love them, all their heads [are] apostates.
All their wickedness is in Gilgal; Yea, there have I hated them for the wickedness of their doings; I will drive them from my house; I will love them no more; All their princes are revolters.
16 Ephraim hath been smitten, Their root hath dried up, fruit they yield not, Yea, though they bring forth, I have put to death the desired of their womb.
Ephraim is smitten; Their root is dried up; they shall bear no fruit; Yea, though they should beget children, I will destroy the beloved fruit of the womb.
17 Reject them doth my God, Because they have not hearkened to Him, And they are wanderers among nations!
My God shall cast them away, Because they have not hearkened to him, And they shall be wanderers among the nations.

< Hosea 9 >