הושע 7

1 כרפאי לישראל ונגלה עון אפרים ורעות שמרון כי פעלו שקר וגנב יבוא פשט גדוד בחוץ׃

“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.

2 ובל יאמרו ללבבם כל רעתם זכרתי עתה סבבום מעלליהם נגד פני היו׃

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].

3 ברעתם ישמחו מלך ובכחשיהם שרים׃

Their king is delighted with the wicked things that the people do; his officials are happy about the people’s lies.

4 כלם מנאפים כמו תנור בערה מאפה ישבות מעיר מלוש בצק עד חמצתו׃

[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.

5 יום מלכנו החלו שרים חמת מיין משך ידו את לצצים׃

The king and his officials get very drunk during their festivals, carousing with others who also do foolish things.

6 כי קרבו כתנור לבם בארבם כל הלילה ישן אפהם בקר הוא בער כאש להבה׃

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.

7 כלם יחמו כתנור ואכלו את שפטיהם כל מלכיהם נפלו אין קרא בהם אלי׃

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].”

8 אפרים בעמים הוא יתבולל אפרים היה עגה בלי הפוכה׃

“[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.

9 אכלו זרים כחו והוא לא ידע גם שיבה זרקה בו והוא לא ידע׃

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.

10 וענה גאון ישראל בפניו ולא שבו אל יהוה אלהיהם ולא בקשהו בכל זאת׃

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.

11 ויהי אפרים כיונה פותה אין לב מצרים קראו אשור הלכו׃

[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.

12 כאשר ילכו אפרוש עליהם רשתי כעוף השמים אורידם איסרם כשמע לעדתם׃

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.

13 אוי להם כי נדדו ממני שד להם כי פשעו בי ואנכי אפדם והמה דברו עלי כזבים׃

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.

14 ולא זעקו אלי בלבם כי יילילו על משכבותם על דגן ותירוש יתגוררו יסורו בי׃

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.

15 ואני יסרתי חזקתי זרועתם ואלי יחשבו רע׃

I trained/taught them and enabled them to become strong, but now they plan [to do] evil things to me.

16 ישובו לא על היו כקשת רמיה יפלו בחרב שריהם מזעם לשונם זו לעגם בארץ מצרים׃

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.”