Pay attention, house of Israel!
Listen, royal house!
For the judgment applies to you
because you have been a snare at Mizpah
and a net spread out on Tabor.
2 Rebels are deeply involved in slaughter;
I will be a punishment for all of them.[a]
3 I know Ephraim,
and Israel is not hidden from Me.
For now, Ephraim,
you have acted promiscuously;
Israel is defiled.
4 Their actions do not allow them
to return to their God,
for a spirit of promiscuity is among them,
and they do not know the Lord.
5 Israel’s arrogance testifies against them.[b]
Both Israel and Ephraim stumble
because of their wickedness;
even Judah will stumble with them.
6 They go with their flocks and herds
to seek the Lord
but do not find Him;
He has withdrawn from them.
7 They betrayed the Lord;
indeed, they gave birth to illegitimate children.
Now the New Moon will devour them
along with their fields.
the trumpet in Ramah;
raise the war cry in Beth-aven:
After you, Benjamin!
9 Ephraim will become a desolation
on the day of punishment;
I announce what is certain
among the tribes of Israel.
10 The princes of Judah are like those
who move boundary markers;
I will pour out My fury on them like water.
11 Ephraim is oppressed, crushed in judgment,
for he is determined to follow what is worthless.[c]
12 So I am like rot to Ephraim
and like decay to the house of Judah.
13 When Ephraim saw his sickness
and Judah his wound,
Ephraim went to Assyria
and sent a delegation to the great king.[d]
But he cannot cure you or heal your wound.
14 For I am like a lion to Ephraim
and like a young lion to the house of Judah.
Yes, I will tear them to pieces and depart.
I will carry them off,
and no one can rescue them.
15 I will depart and return to My place
until they recognize their guilt and seek My face;
they will search for Me in their distress.
Footnotes
- Hosea 5:2 Hb obscure
- Hosea 5:5 Lit against his face
- Hosea 5:11 Or follow a command; Hb obscure
- Hosea 5:13 Or to King Yareb