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שִׁמְעוּ־זֹ֨את הַכֹּהֲנִ֜ים וְהַקְשִׁ֣יבוּ׀ בֵּ֣ית יִשְׂרָאֵ֗ל וּבֵ֤ית הַמֶּ֙לֶךְ֙ הַאֲזִ֔ינוּ כִּ֥י לָכֶ֖ם הַמִּשְׁפָּ֑ט כִּֽי־פַח֙ הֱיִיתֶ֣ם לְמִצְפָּ֔ה וְרֶ֖שֶׁת פְּרוּשָׂ֥ה עַל־תָּבֽוֹר׃

וְשַׁחֲטָ֥ה שֵׂטִ֖ים הֶעְמִ֑יקוּ וַאֲנִ֖י מוּסָ֥ר לְכֻלָּֽם׃

אֲנִי֙ יָדַ֣עְתִּי אֶפְרַ֔יִם וְיִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל לֹֽא־נִכְחַ֣ד מִמֶּ֑נִּי כִּ֤י עַתָּה֙ הִזְנֵ֣יתָ אֶפְרַ֔יִם נִטְמָ֖א יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃

לֹ֤א יִתְּנוּ֙ מַ֣עַלְלֵיהֶ֔ם לָשׁ֖וּב אֶל־אֱלֹֽהֵיהֶ֑ם כִּ֣י ר֤וּחַ זְנוּנִים֙ בְּקִרְבָּ֔ם וְאֶת־יְהוָ֖ה לֹ֥א יָדָֽעוּ׃

וְעָנָ֥ה גְאֽוֹן־יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל בְּפָנָ֑יו וְיִשְׂרָאֵ֣ל וְאֶפְרַ֗יִם יִכָּֽשְׁלוּ֙ בַּעֲוֺנָ֔ם כָּשַׁ֥ל גַּם־יְהוּדָ֖ה עִמָּֽם׃

בְּצֹאנָ֣ם וּבִבְקָרָ֗ם יֵֽלְכ֛וּ לְבַקֵּ֥שׁ אֶת־יְהוָ֖ה וְלֹ֣א יִמְצָ֑אוּ חָלַ֖ץ מֵהֶֽם׃

בַּיהוָ֣ה בָּגָ֔דוּ כִּֽי־בָנִ֥ים זָרִ֖ים יָלָ֑דוּ עַתָּ֛ה יֹאכְלֵ֥ם חֹ֖דֶשׁ אֶת־חֶלְקֵיהֶֽם׃ ס

תִּקְע֤וּ שׁוֹפָר֙ בַּגִּבְעָ֔ה חֲצֹצְרָ֖ה בָּרָמָ֑ה הָרִ֙יעוּ֙ בֵּ֣ית אָ֔וֶן אַחֲרֶ֖יךָ בִּנְיָמִֽין׃

אֶפְרַ֙יִם֙ לְשַׁמָּ֣ה תִֽהְיֶ֔ה בְּי֖וֹם תּֽוֹכֵחָ֑ה בְּשִׁבְטֵי֙ יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל הוֹדַ֖עְתִּי נֶאֱמָנָֽה׃

10 הָיוּ֙ שָׂרֵ֣י יְהוּדָ֔ה כְּמַסִּיגֵ֖י גְּב֑וּל עֲלֵיהֶ֕ם אֶשְׁפּ֥וֹךְ כַּמַּ֖יִם עֶבְרָתִֽי׃

11 עָשׁ֥וּק אֶפְרַ֖יִם רְצ֣וּץ מִשְׁפָּ֑ט כִּ֣י הוֹאִ֔יל הָלַ֖ךְ אַחֲרֵי־צָֽו׃

12 וַאֲנִ֥י כָעָ֖שׁ לְאֶפְרָ֑יִם וְכָרָקָ֖ב לְבֵ֥ית יְהוּדָֽה׃

13 וַיַּ֨רְא אֶפְרַ֜יִם אֶת־חָלְי֗וֹ וִֽיהוּדָה֙ אֶת־מְזֹר֔וֹ וַיֵּ֤לֶךְ אֶפְרַ֙יִם֙ אֶל־אַשּׁ֔וּר וַיִּשְׁלַ֖ח אֶל־מֶ֣לֶךְ יָרֵ֑ב וְה֗וּא לֹ֤א יוּכַל֙ לִרְפֹּ֣א לָכֶ֔ם וְלֹֽא־יִגְהֶ֥ה מִכֶּ֖ם מָזֽוֹר׃

14 כִּ֣י אָנֹכִ֤י כַשַּׁ֙חַל֙ לְאֶפְרַ֔יִם וְכַכְּפִ֖יר לְבֵ֣ית יְהוּדָ֑ה אֲנִ֨י אֲנִ֤י אֶטְרֹף֙ וְאֵלֵ֔ךְ אֶשָּׂ֖א וְאֵ֥ין מַצִּֽיל׃

15 אֵלֵ֤ךְ אָשׁ֙וּבָה֙ אֶל־מְקוֹמִ֔י עַ֥ד אֲשֶֽׁר־יֶאְשְׁמ֖וּ וּבִקְשׁ֣וּ פָנָ֑י בַּצַּ֥ר לָהֶ֖ם יְשַׁחֲרֻֽנְנִי׃

Judgment Against Israel

“Hear this, you priests!
    Pay attention, you Israelites!
Listen, royal house!
    This judgment(A) is against you:
You have been a snare(B) at Mizpah,
    a net(C) spread out on Tabor.
The rebels are knee-deep in slaughter.(D)
    I will discipline all of them.(E)
I know all about Ephraim;
    Israel is not hidden(F) from me.
Ephraim, you have now turned to prostitution;
    Israel is corrupt.(G)

“Their deeds do not permit them
    to return(H) to their God.
A spirit of prostitution(I) is in their heart;
    they do not acknowledge(J) the Lord.
Israel’s arrogance testifies(K) against them;
    the Israelites, even Ephraim, stumble(L) in their sin;
    Judah also stumbles with them.(M)
When they go with their flocks and herds
    to seek the Lord,(N)
they will not find him;
    he has withdrawn(O) himself from them.
They are unfaithful(P) to the Lord;
    they give birth to illegitimate(Q) children.
When they celebrate their New Moon feasts,(R)
    he will devour[a](S) their fields.

“Sound the trumpet(T) in Gibeah,(U)
    the horn in Ramah.(V)
Raise the battle cry in Beth Aven[b];(W)
    lead on, Benjamin.
Ephraim will be laid waste(X)
    on the day of reckoning.(Y)
Among the tribes of Israel
    I proclaim what is certain.(Z)
10 Judah’s leaders are like those
    who move boundary stones.(AA)
I will pour out my wrath(AB) on them
    like a flood of water.
11 Ephraim is oppressed,
    trampled in judgment,
    intent on pursuing idols.[c](AC)
12 I am like a moth(AD) to Ephraim,
    like rot(AE) to the people of Judah.

13 “When Ephraim(AF) saw his sickness,
    and Judah his sores,
then Ephraim turned to Assyria,(AG)
    and sent to the great king for help.(AH)
But he is not able to cure(AI) you,
    not able to heal your sores.(AJ)
14 For I will be like a lion(AK) to Ephraim,
    like a great lion to Judah.
I will tear them to pieces(AL) and go away;
    I will carry them off, with no one to rescue them.(AM)
15 Then I will return to my lair(AN)
    until they have borne their guilt(AO)
    and seek my face(AP)
in their misery(AQ)
    they will earnestly seek me.(AR)

Footnotes

  1. Hosea 5:7 Or Now their New Moon feasts / will devour them and
  2. Hosea 5:8 Beth Aven means house of wickedness (a derogatory name for Bethel, which means house of God).
  3. Hosea 5:11 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.

“Listen to this, you priests! Pay attention, people of Israel! Listen, you that belong to the royal family! You are supposed to judge with justice—so judgment will fall on you! You have become a trap at Mizpah, a net spread on Mount Tabor, a deep pit at Acacia City,[a] and I will punish all of you. I know what Israel is like—she cannot hide from me. She has been unfaithful, and her people are unfit to worship me.”

Hosea Warns against Idolatry

The evil that the people have done keeps them from returning to their God. Idolatry has a powerful hold on them, and they do not acknowledge the Lord. The arrogance of the people of Israel cries out against them. Their sins make them stumble and fall, and the people of Judah fall with them. They take their sheep and cattle to offer as sacrifices to the Lord, but it does them no good. They cannot find him, for he has left them. They have been unfaithful to the Lord; their children do not belong to him. So now they and their lands will soon be destroyed.

War between Judah and Israel

Blow the war trumpets in Gibeah! Sound the alarm in Ramah! Raise the war cry at Bethaven![b] Into battle, men of Benjamin! The day of punishment is coming, and Israel will be ruined. People of Israel, this will surely happen!

10 The Lord says, “I am angry because the leaders of Judah have invaded Israel and stolen land from her. So I will pour out punishment on them like a flood. 11 Israel is suffering oppression; she has lost land that was rightfully hers, because she insisted on going for help to those who had none to give.[c] 12 I will bring destruction on Israel and ruin on the people of Judah.

13 “When Israel saw how sick she was and when Judah saw her own wounds, then Israel went to Assyria to ask the great emperor for help, but he could not cure them or heal their wounds. 14 I will attack the people of Israel and Judah like a lion. I myself will tear them to pieces and then leave them. When I drag them off, no one will be able to save them.

15 “I will abandon my people until they have suffered enough for their sins and come looking for me. Perhaps in their suffering they will try to find me.”

Footnotes

  1. Hosea 5:2 Probable text a deep pit at Acacia City; Hebrew unclear.
  2. Hosea 5:8 This name means “house of evil” or “house of idolatry” and in this passage refers to the city of Bethel, a name which means “house of God.” See also 10.8.
  3. Hosea 5:11 Probable text those who had none to give; Hebrew command.

They Wouldn’t Recognize God If They Saw Him

1-2 “Listen to this, priests!
    Attention, people of Israel!
Royal family—all ears!
    You’re in charge of justice around here.
But what have you done? Exploited people at Mizpah,
    ripped them off on Tabor,
Victimized them at Shittim.
    I’m going to punish the lot of you.

3-4 “I know you, Ephraim, inside and out.
    Yes, Israel, I see right through you!
Ephraim, you’ve played your sex-and-religion games long enough.
    All Israel is thoroughly polluted.
They couldn’t turn to God if they wanted to.
    Their evil life is a bad habit.
Every breath they take is a whore’s breath.
    They wouldn’t recognize God if they saw me.

5-7 “Bloated by arrogance, big as a house,
    they’re a public disgrace,
The lot of them—Israel, Ephraim, Judah—
    lurching and weaving down their guilty streets.
When they decide to get their lives together
    and go off looking for God once again,
They’ll find it’s too late.
    I, God, will be long gone.
They’ve played fast and loose with me for too long,
    filling the country with their bastard offspring.
A plague of locusts will
    devastate their violated land.

8-9 “Blow the ram’s horn shofar in Gibeah,
    the bugle in Ramah!
Signal the invasion of Sin City!
    Scare the daylights out of Benjamin!
Ephraim will be left wasted,
    a lifeless moonscape.
I’m telling it straight, the unvarnished truth,
    to the tribes of Israel.

10 “Israel’s rulers are crooks and thieves,
    cheating the people of their land,
And I’m angry, good and angry.
    Every inch of their bodies is going to feel my anger.

11-12 “Brutal Ephraim is himself brutalized—
    a taste of his own medicine!
He was so determined
    to do it his own worthless way.
Therefore I’m pus to Ephraim,
    dry rot in the house of Judah.

13 “When Ephraim saw he was sick
    and Judah saw his pus-filled sores,
Ephraim went running to Assyria,
    went for help to the big king.
But he can’t heal you.
    He can’t cure your oozing sores.

14-15 “I’m a grizzly charging Ephraim,
    a grizzly with cubs charging Judah.
I’ll rip them to pieces—yes, I will!
    No one can stop me now.
I’ll drag them off.
    No one can help them.
Then I’ll go back to where I came from
    until they come to their senses.
When they finally hit rock bottom,
    maybe they’ll come looking for me.”

Eternal One: Hear this, you priests! Pay attention, you leaders of Israel!
        Hear all of you in the royal court, My judgment is against you!
    You’ve been a snare at Mizpah, a net spread out on Mount Tabor;
        you’ve led the people astray:
    Those who have revolted against Me have dug a deep pit of slaughter,
        so I’m going to punish all of you.

God is describing the fate of those rebellious leaders who have dug a deep hole: because of their depravity, they will be led to slavery in shackles.

Hosea’s prophecy is fulfilled in 722 b.c., when Shalmaneser V leads his Assyrian army to conquer Samaria, the capital city of Israel. But leveling the city and slaughtering countless citizens isn’t what ends Israel’s legacy. In the years following the war, Sargon II systematically deports the remaining Israelites to cities in the Assyrian Empire and repopulates Samaria with foreigners to suppress future rebellions. This policy decimates the cultures of the ten tribes who inhabited the Northern Kingdom and leads to the fabled “Lost Tribes of Israel.”

It may be assumed that the members of the ten tribes assimilate into their new cultures and abandon their history and religion; they simply blend into their surroundings to survive. However, in the third century a.d., Christian poet Commodian compiles the writings of several early rabbis and weaves the story of the ten tribes’ post-deportation lives. These ten tribes reside in a sort of paradise beyond a river, where everyone lives long lives, experiences no pain, and follows God’s laws. One day, the story goes, these tribes will return to Jerusalem, recapture her, and dwell in her.

    I know Ephraim; Israel isn’t hiding from Me.
        Even now Ephraim plays the part of a whore;
        Israel is covering herself in impurity.
    They’re so caught up in their way of life
        that they can’t return to their God.
    They have a spirit of prostitution within them,
        so they don’t know Me; I am the Eternal One.

    The pride of Israel testifies against her to her very face.
        Israel (which is called Ephraim) will stagger because of its guilt.
        Judah, too, will stagger with them.
    They’ll go with their flocks and their herds to seek Me,
        offering a multitude of sacrifices, but they won’t find Me because they are abandoned.
    They’ve been unfaithful to Me, the Eternal,
        and produced defiled, illegitimate children.
    Now at a new moon, a foreign nation will devour them and their fields.

    Blow the ram’s horn in Gibeah,
        sound the trumpet in Ramah, and raise a war cry in Beth-aven.
    Even as your cities fall, Benjamin, more armies are behind you!
    Ephraim will be devastated when they are punished with this invasion from the south.
        (This is sure to happen, and I’m announcing it to all the tribes of Israel!)
10     But I’ll also punish the leaders of Judah—
        I’ll pour out My wrath on them like water—
    Because they’re trying to snatch this territory of Benjamin’s.
        They’ve become like the dishonest people who move boundary-stones.
11     Ephraim is oppressed, crushed by punishment,
        because he insists on pursuing empty ways and trusting others to save him.

12     In My judgments I’m like a disease that devours Ephraim as a moth eats wool,
        like an infected wound to the people of Judah.
13     But when Ephraim saw how sick he was
        and Judah saw his open sore,
    Ephraim went to Assyria and sent to the great king for relief.
        But a foreign ruler can’t cure you; he can’t heal your sore.

The great king is the king of Assyria from whom both Israel and Judah eventually seek help.

14     I’ll be like a lion to Ephraim,
        like a young lion to the people of Judah.
    I’ll tear them to pieces myself and make off with My kill.
        I’ll carry it away, and no one will be able to take it from Me.
15     I’ll go back to My lair and stay there until they admit their guilt and come looking for Me.
        In their distress, they’ll desperately try to find Me.