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 too loudly, Israel, like the nations, for you have commited adultery, being untrue to your God. You have loved a prostitute’s wages on every threshing floor.
2 Floor and wine-press do not delight them, And new wine doth fail in her,
Threshing floor and wine vat won’t feed them, the new wine will fail 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 will not stay in the Lord’s land, but Ephraim will return to Egypt, and in Assyria they will eat what is unclean.
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 will not pour out libations of wine to the Lord, nor please him with their sacrifices. Their bread will be like the bread of mourners: all who eat it will defile themselves. For their bread will be only for their hunger, it will not come into the Lord’s temple.
5 What do ye at the day appointed? And at the day of Jehovah's festival?
What will you do on the day of the festival? Or on the day of the Lord’s feast?
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.
Even if they flee from destruction, Egypt will gather them, Memphis will bury them. Nettles will take possession of their treasure of silver, thorns will push into their tents.
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 punishment are come, the days of recompense are at hand, as soon the Israelites will know! “The prophet is a fool, the inspired man is raving mad!” It is because of the greatness of your iniquity and the greatness of your 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.
Ephraim acts the spy with my God, a prophet finds the snares of a fowler are in all his ways. In the house of his God they lay hostile plots,
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 commit crimes as in the days of Gibeah, God will remember their iniquity. He will punish their sin.
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 like finding grapes in the wilderness. I saw your ancestors like they were the first fruit on a fig tree, but as soon as they came to Baal-peor, they consecrated themselves to shamefulness, and became as abominable as the object of their love.
11 Ephraim [is] as a fowl, Fly away doth their honour, without birth, And without womb, and without conception.
Ephraim – like a bird his glory flies away. There will be no more birth, no more motherhood, no more conception.
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.
Even though they bring up their children, I will bereave them until not one is left. Woe to them when I turn away 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.
Ephraim – planted like Tyre in a meadow, But Ephraim too must lead forth their children to slaughter.
14 Give to them, Jehovah — what dost Thou give? Give to them miscarrying womb, and dry breasts.
Give them, Lord – what will you give? Give them a miscarrying womb and shrivelled up 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 evil began in Gilgal, there I learned to hate them. Because of the evil of their deeds I will drive them out of my house. I will no longer love them, for all their princes are rebels.
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 blighted, their root withered. If they do bear children, I will slay the darlings of their womb,
17 Reject them doth my God, Because they have not hearkened to Him, And they are wanderers among nations!
My God will reject them because they have not listened to him, and they will become wanderers among the nations.
