Hosea 6-7

New American Standard Bible

The Response to God’s Rebuke

6 “^(A)Come, let’s return to the Lord.
For ^(B)He has torn us, but ^(C)He will heal us;
He has ^[a]wounded us, but He will ^(D)bandage us.
²He will ^(E)revive us after two days;
He will ^(F)raise us up on the third day,
That we may live before Him.
³So let’s ^(G)learn, let’s press on to know the Lord.
His ^(H)appearance is as sure as the dawn;
And He will come to us like the ^(I)rain,
As the spring rain waters the earth.”

⁴What shall I do with you, ^(J)Ephraim?
What shall I do with you, Judah?
For your loyalty is like a ^(K)morning cloud,
And like the dew which goes away early.
⁵Therefore I have ^(L)cut them in pieces by the prophets;
I have slain them by the ^(M)words of My mouth;
And the judgments on you are like the light that ^[b]shines.
⁶For ^(N)I ^[c]desire loyalty ^(O)rather than sacrifice,
And the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.
⁷But ^(P)like ^[d]Adam they have ^(Q)violated the covenant;
There they have ^(R)dealt treacherously with Me.
⁸^(S)Gilead is a city of wrongdoers,
Tracked with ^(T)bloody footprints.
⁹And as a ^(U)band of robbers lie in wait for a person,
So a band of priests ^(V)murder on the way to Shechem;
Certainly they have committed an act of ^(W)infamy.
¹⁰In the house of Israel I have seen a ^(X)horrible thing;
Ephraim’s ^(Y)infidelity is there, Israel has defiled itself.
¹¹Also, Judah, there is a ^(Z)harvest appointed for you,
When I ^(AA)restore the fortunes of My people.

Ephraim’s Wrongdoing

7 When I ^(AB)would heal Israel,
The wrongdoing of Ephraim is uncovered,
And the evil deeds of Samaria,
For they practice ^(AC)deception;
The thief enters,
A band of ^(AD)robbers attack outside,
²And they do not ^[e]consider in their hearts
That I ^(AE)remember all their wickedness.
Now their ^(AF)deeds surround them;
They are before My face.
³^(AG)With their wickedness they make the ^(AH)king happy,
And the officials with their ^(AI)lies.
⁴They are ^(AJ)all adulterers,
Like an oven heated by the baker,
Who stops ^[f]stoking the fire
From the time the dough is kneaded until it is leavened.
⁵On the ^[g]day of our king, the officials ^(AK)became sick with the heat of wine;
He stretched out his hand with ^[h]^(AL)scoffers,
⁶For their hearts are like an ^(AM)oven
As they approach their ^[i]plotting;
Their ^[j]anger ^[k]smolders all night,
In the morning it burns like flaming fire.
⁷All of them are hot like an oven,
And they consume their ^(AN)rulers;
All their kings have fallen.
^(AO)None of them calls on Me.

⁸Ephraim is himself ^(AP)thrown about with the ^[l]nations;
Ephraim has become a round loaf not turned over.
⁹^(AQ)Strangers devour his strength,
Yet he ^(AR)does not know it;
Gray hairs also are sprinkled on him,
Yet he does not know it.
¹⁰Though the ^(AS)pride of Israel testifies against him,
Yet ^(AT)they have not returned to the Lord their God,
Nor have they sought Him, despite all this.
¹¹So ^(AU)Ephraim has become like a gullible dove, ^(AV)without ^[m]sense;
They call to ^(AW)Egypt, they go to ^(AX)Assyria.
¹²When they go, I will ^(AY)spread My net over them;
I will bring them down like the birds of the sky.
I will ^(AZ)discipline them in accordance with the ^[n]proclamation to their assembly.
¹³^(BA)Woe to them, for they have ^(BB)strayed from Me!
Destruction is theirs, for they have rebelled against Me!
I ^(BC)would redeem them, but they have spoken lies against Me.
¹⁴And ^(BD)they do not cry to Me from their heart
When they wail on their beds;
For the sake of grain and new wine they ^[o]^(BE)assemble themselves,
They ^(BF)turn against Me.
¹⁵Although I trained and strengthened their arms,
Yet they ^(BG)devise evil against Me.
¹⁶They turn, but not ^[p]upward,
They are like a ^(BH)loose bow;
Their officials will fall by the sword
Because of the ^[q]^(BI)insolence of their tongue.
This will be their ^(BJ)derision in the land of Egypt.