Hosea 10-14

New International Version

10 Israel was a spreading vine;^(A)
    he brought forth fruit for himself.
As his fruit increased,
    he built more altars;^(B)
as his land prospered,^(C)
    he adorned his sacred stones.^(D)
²Their heart is deceitful,^(E)
    and now they must bear their guilt.^(F)
The Lord will demolish their altars^(G)
    and destroy their sacred stones.^(H)

³Then they will say, “We have no king
    because we did not revere the Lord.
But even if we had a king,
    what could he do for us?”
⁴They make many promises,
    take false oaths^(I)
    and make agreements;^(J)
therefore lawsuits spring up
    like poisonous weeds^(K) in a plowed field.
⁵The people who live in Samaria fear
    for the calf-idol^(L) of Beth Aven.^[a]^(M)
Its people will mourn over it,
    and so will its idolatrous priests,^(N)
those who had rejoiced over its splendor,
    because it is taken from them into exile.^(O)
⁶It will be carried to Assyria^(P)
    as tribute^(Q) for the great king.^(R)
Ephraim will be disgraced;^(S)
    Israel will be ashamed^(T) of its foreign alliances.
⁷Samaria’s king will be destroyed,^(U)
    swept away like a twig on the surface of the waters.
⁸The high places^(V) of wickedness^[b]^(W) will be destroyed—
    it is the sin of Israel.
Thorns^(X) and thistles will grow up
    and cover their altars.^(Y)
Then they will say to the mountains, “Cover us!”^(Z)
    and to the hills, “Fall on us!”^(AA)

⁹“Since the days of Gibeah,^(AB) you have sinned,^(AC) Israel,
    and there you have remained.^[c]
Will not war again overtake
    the evildoers in Gibeah?
¹⁰When I please, I will punish^(AD) them;
    nations will be gathered against them
    to put them in bonds for their double sin.
¹¹Ephraim is a trained heifer
    that loves to thresh;
so I will put a yoke^(AE)
    on her fair neck.
I will drive Ephraim,
    Judah must plow,
    and Jacob must break up the ground.
¹²Sow^(AF) righteousness^(AG) for yourselves,
    reap the fruit of unfailing love,
and break up your unplowed ground;^(AH)
    for it is time to seek^(AI) the Lord,
until he comes
    and showers his righteousness^(AJ) on you.
¹³But you have planted wickedness,
    you have reaped evil,^(AK)
    you have eaten the fruit of deception.^(AL)
Because you have depended on your own strength
    and on your many warriors,^(AM)
¹⁴the roar of battle will rise against your people,
    so that all your fortresses will be devastated^(AN)—
as Shalman^(AO) devastated Beth Arbel on the day of battle,
    when mothers were dashed to the ground with their children.^(AP)
¹⁵So will it happen to you, Bethel,
    because your wickedness is great.
When that day dawns,
    the king of Israel will be completely destroyed.^(AQ)

God’s Love for Israel

11 “When Israel was a child,^(AR) I loved^(AS) him,
    and out of Egypt I called my son.^(AT)
²But the more they were called,
    the more they went away from me.^[d]^(AU)
They sacrificed to the Baals^(AV)
    and they burned incense to images.^(AW)
³It was I who taught Ephraim to walk,
    taking them by the arms;^(AX)
but they did not realize
    it was I who healed^(AY) them.
⁴I led them with cords of human kindness,
    with ties of love.^(AZ)
To them I was like one who lifts
    a little child to the cheek,
    and I bent down to feed^(BA) them.^(BB)

⁵“Will they not return to Egypt^(BC)
    and will not Assyria^(BD) rule over them
    because they refuse to repent?^(BE)
⁶A sword^(BF) will flash in their cities;
    it will devour^(BG) their false prophets
    and put an end to their plans.
⁷My people are determined to turn^(BH) from me.^(BI)
    Even though they call me God Most High,
    I will by no means exalt them.

⁸“How can I give you up,^(BJ) Ephraim?^(BK)
    How can I hand you over, Israel?
How can I treat you like Admah?
    How can I make you like Zeboyim?^(BL)
My heart is changed within me;
    all my compassion^(BM) is aroused.^(BN)
⁹I will not carry out my fierce anger,^(BO)
    nor will I devastate^(BP) Ephraim again.
For I am God, and not a man^(BQ)—
    the Holy One^(BR) among you.
    I will not come against their cities.
¹⁰They will follow the Lord;
    he will roar^(BS) like a lion.^(BT)
When he roars,
    his children will come trembling^(BU) from the west.^(BV)
¹¹They will come from Egypt,
    trembling like sparrows,
    from Assyria,^(BW) fluttering like doves.^(BX)
I will settle them in their homes,”^(BY)
    declares the Lord.

Israel’s Sin

¹²Ephraim has surrounded me with lies,^(BZ)
Israel with deceit.
And Judah is unruly against God,
even against the faithful^(CA) Holy One.^[e]^(CB)

12 ^[f]¹Ephraim^(CC) feeds on the wind;^(CD)
    he pursues the east wind all day
    and multiplies lies and violence.^(CE)
He makes a treaty with Assyria^(CF)
    and sends olive oil to Egypt.^(CG)
²The Lord has a charge^(CH) to bring against Judah;^(CI)
    he will punish^(CJ) Jacob^[g] according to his ways
    and repay him according to his deeds.^(CK)
³In the womb he grasped his brother’s heel;^(CL)
    as a man he struggled^(CM) with God.
⁴He struggled with the angel and overcame him;
    he wept and begged for his favor.
He found him at Bethel^(CN)
    and talked with him there—
⁵the Lord God Almighty,
    the Lord is his name!^(CO)
⁶But you must return^(CP) to your God;
    maintain love and justice,^(CQ)
    and wait for your God always.^(CR)

⁷The merchant uses dishonest scales^(CS)
    and loves to defraud.
⁸Ephraim boasts,^(CT)
    “I am very rich; I have become wealthy.^(CU)
With all my wealth they will not find in me
    any iniquity or sin.”

⁹“I have been the Lord your God
    ever since you came out of Egypt;^(CV)
I will make you live in tents^(CW) again,
    as in the days of your appointed festivals.
¹⁰I spoke to the prophets,
    gave them many visions
    and told parables^(CX) through them.”^(CY)

¹¹Is Gilead wicked?^(CZ)
    Its people are worthless!
Do they sacrifice bulls in Gilgal?^(DA)
    Their altars will be like piles of stones
    on a plowed field.^(DB)
¹²Jacob fled to the country of Aram^[h];^(DC)
    Israel served to get a wife,
    and to pay for her he tended sheep.^(DD)
¹³The Lord used a prophet to bring Israel up from Egypt,^(DE)
    by a prophet he cared for him.^(DF)
¹⁴But Ephraim has aroused his bitter anger;
    his Lord will leave on him the guilt of his bloodshed^(DG)
    and will repay him for his contempt.^(DH)

The Lord’s Anger Against Israel

13 When Ephraim spoke, people trembled;^(DI)
    he was exalted^(DJ) in Israel.
    But he became guilty of Baal worship^(DK) and died.
²Now they sin more and more;
    they make^(DL) idols for themselves from their silver,^(DM)
cleverly fashioned images,
    all of them the work of craftsmen.^(DN)
It is said of these people,
    “They offer human sacrifices!
    They kiss^[i]^(DO) calf-idols!^(DP)”
³Therefore they will be like the morning mist,
    like the early dew that disappears,^(DQ)
    like chaff^(DR) swirling from a threshing floor,^(DS)
    like smoke^(DT) escaping through a window.

⁴“But I have been the Lord your God
    ever since you came out of Egypt.^(DU)
You shall acknowledge^(DV) no God but me,^(DW)
    no Savior^(DX) except me.
⁵I cared for you in the wilderness,^(DY)
    in the land of burning heat.
⁶When I fed them, they were satisfied;
    when they were satisfied, they became proud;^(DZ)
    then they forgot^(EA) me.^(EB)
⁷So I will be like a lion^(EC) to them,
    like a leopard I will lurk by the path.
⁸Like a bear robbed of her cubs,^(ED)
    I will attack them and rip them open;
like a lion^(EE) I will devour them—
    a wild animal will tear them apart.^(EF)

⁹“You are destroyed, Israel,
    because you are against me,^(EG) against your helper.^(EH)
¹⁰Where is your king,^(EI) that he may save you?
    Where are your rulers in all your towns,
of whom you said,
    ‘Give me a king and princes’?^(EJ)
¹¹So in my anger I gave you a king,^(EK)
    and in my wrath I took him away.^(EL)
¹²The guilt of Ephraim is stored up,
    his sins are kept on record.^(EM)
¹³Pains as of a woman in childbirth^(EN) come to him,
    but he is a child without wisdom;
when the time^(EO) arrives,
    he doesn’t have the sense to come out of the womb.^(EP)

¹⁴“I will deliver this people from the power of the grave;^(EQ)
I will redeem them from death.^(ER)
Where, O death, are your plagues?
Where, O grave, is your destruction?^(ES)

“I will have no compassion,
¹⁵    even though he thrives^(ET) among his brothers.
An east wind^(EU) from the Lord will come,
    blowing in from the desert;
his spring will fail
    and his well dry up.^(EV)
His storehouse will be plundered^(EW)
    of all its treasures.
¹⁶The people of Samaria^(EX) must bear their guilt,^(EY)
    because they have rebelled^(EZ) against their God.
They will fall by the sword;^(FA)
    their little ones will be dashed^(FB) to the ground,
    their pregnant women^(FC) ripped open.”^[j]

Repentance to Bring Blessing

14 ^[k]Return,^(FD) Israel, to the Lord your God.
    Your sins^(FE) have been your downfall!^(FF)
²Take words with you
    and return to the Lord.
Say to him:
    “Forgive^(FG) all our sins
and receive us graciously,^(FH)
    that we may offer the fruit of our lips.^[l]^(FI)
³Assyria cannot save us;^(FJ)
    we will not mount warhorses.^(FK)
We will never again say ‘Our gods’^(FL)
    to what our own hands have made,^(FM)
    for in you the fatherless^(FN) find compassion.”

⁴“I will heal^(FO) their waywardness^(FP)
    and love them freely,^(FQ)
    for my anger has turned away^(FR) from them.
⁵I will be like the dew^(FS) to Israel;
    he will blossom like a lily.^(FT)
Like a cedar of Lebanon^(FU)
    he will send down his roots;^(FV)
⁶    his young shoots will grow.
His splendor will be like an olive tree,^(FW)
    his fragrance like a cedar of Lebanon.^(FX)
⁷People will dwell again in his shade;^(FY)
    they will flourish like the grain,
they will blossom^(FZ) like the vine—
    Israel’s fame will be like the wine^(GA) of Lebanon.^(GB)
⁸Ephraim, what more have I^[m] to do with idols?^(GC)
    I will answer him and care for him.
I am like a flourishing juniper;^(GD)
    your fruitfulness comes from me.”

⁹Who is wise?^(GE) Let them realize these things.
    Who is discerning? Let them understand.^(GF)
The ways of the Lord are right;^(GG)
    the righteous walk^(GH) in them,
    but the rebellious stumble in them.

Footnotes

Hosea 10:5 Beth Aven means house of wickedness (a derogatory name for Bethel, which means house of God).
Hosea 10:8 Hebrew aven, a reference to Beth Aven (a derogatory name for Bethel); see verse 5.
Hosea 10:9 Or there a stand was taken
Hosea 11:2 Septuagint; Hebrew them
Hosea 11:12 In Hebrew texts this verse (11:12) is numbered 12:1.
Hosea 12:1 In Hebrew texts 12:1-14 is numbered 12:2-15.
Hosea 12:2 Jacob means he grasps the heel, a Hebrew idiom for he takes advantage of or he deceives.
Hosea 12:12 That is, Northwest Mesopotamia
Hosea 13:2 Or “Men who sacrifice / kiss
Hosea 13:16 In Hebrew texts this verse (13:16) is numbered 14:1.
Hosea 14:1 In Hebrew texts 14:1-9 is numbered 14:2-10.
Hosea 14:2 Or offer our lips as sacrifices of bulls
Hosea 14:8 Or Hebrew; Septuagint What more has Ephraim

Hosea 10-14

King James Version

10 Israel is an empty vine, he bringeth forth fruit unto himself: according to the multitude of his fruit he hath increased the altars; according to the goodness of his land they have made goodly images.

²Their heart is divided; now shall they be found faulty: he shall break down their altars, he shall spoil their images.

³For now they shall say, We have no king, because we feared not the Lord; what then should a king do to us?

⁴They have spoken words, swearing falsely in making a covenant: thus judgment springeth up as hemlock in the furrows of the field.

⁵The inhabitants of Samaria shall fear because of the calves of Bethaven: for the people thereof shall mourn over it, and the priests thereof that rejoiced on it, for the glory thereof, because it is departed from it.

⁶It shall be also carried unto Assyria for a present to king Jareb: Ephraim shall receive shame, and Israel shall be ashamed of his own counsel.

⁷As for Samaria, her king is cut off as the foam upon the water.

⁸The high places also of Aven, the sin of Israel, shall be destroyed: the thorn and the thistle shall come up on their altars; and they shall say to the mountains, Cover us; and to the hills, Fall on us.

⁹O Israel, thou hast sinned from the days of Gibeah: there they stood: the battle in Gibeah against the children of iniquity did not overtake them.

¹⁰It is in my desire that I should chastise them; and the people shall be gathered against them, when they shall bind themselves in their two furrows.

¹¹And Ephraim is as an heifer that is taught, and loveth to tread out the corn; but I passed over upon her fair neck: I will make Ephraim to ride; Judah shall plow, and Jacob shall break his clods.

¹²Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the Lord, till he come and rain righteousness upon you.

¹³Ye have plowed wickedness, ye have reaped iniquity; ye have eaten the fruit of lies: because thou didst trust in thy way, in the multitude of thy mighty men.

¹⁴Therefore shall a tumult arise among thy people, and all thy fortresses shall be spoiled, as Shalman spoiled Betharbel in the day of battle: the mother was dashed in pieces upon her children.

¹⁵So shall Bethel do unto you because of your great wickedness: in a morning shall the king of Israel utterly be cut off.

11 When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and called my son out of Egypt.

²As they called them, so they went from them: they sacrificed unto Baalim, and burned incense to graven images.

³I taught Ephraim also to go, taking them by their arms; but they knew not that I healed them.

⁴I drew them with cords of a man, with bands of love: and I was to them as they that take off the yoke on their jaws, and I laid meat unto them.

⁵He shall not return into the land of Egypt, and the Assyrian shall be his king, because they refused to return.

⁶And the sword shall abide on his cities, and shall consume his branches, and devour them, because of their own counsels.

⁷And my people are bent to backsliding from me: though they called them to the most High, none at all would exalt him.

⁸How shall I give thee up, Ephraim? how shall I deliver thee, Israel? how shall I make thee as Admah? how shall I set thee as Zeboim? mine heart is turned within me, my repentings are kindled together.

⁹I will not execute the fierceness of mine anger, I will not return to destroy Ephraim: for I am God, and not man; the Holy One in the midst of thee: and I will not enter into the city.

¹⁰They shall walk after the Lord: he shall roar like a lion: when he shall roar, then the children shall tremble from the west.

¹¹They shall tremble as a bird out of Egypt, and as a dove out of the land of Assyria: and I will place them in their houses, saith the Lord.

¹²Ephraim compasseth me about with lies, and the house of Israel with deceit: but Judah yet ruleth with God, and is faithful with the saints.

12 Ephraim feedeth on wind, and followeth after the east wind: he daily increaseth lies and desolation; and they do make a covenant with the Assyrians, and oil is carried into Egypt.

²The Lord hath also a controversy with Judah, and will punish Jacob according to his ways; according to his doings will he recompense him.

³He took his brother by the heel in the womb, and by his strength he had power with God:

⁴Yea, he had power over the angel, and prevailed: he wept, and made supplication unto him: he found him in Bethel, and there he spake with us;

⁵Even the Lord God of hosts; the Lord is his memorial.

⁶Therefore turn thou to thy God: keep mercy and judgment and wait on thy God continually.

⁷He is a merchant, the balances of deceit are in his hand: he loveth to oppress.

⁸And Ephraim said, Yet I am become rich, I have found me out substance: in all my labours they shall find none iniquity in me that were sin.

⁹And I that am the Lord thy God from the land of Egypt will yet make thee to dwell in tabernacles, as in the days of the solemn feast.

¹⁰I have also spoken by the prophets, and I have multiplied visions, and used similitudes, by the ministry of the prophets.

¹¹Is there iniquity in Gilead? surely they are vanity: they sacrifice bullocks in Gilgal; yea, their altars are as heaps in the furrows of the fields.

¹²And Jacob fled into the country of Syria, and Israel served for a wife, and for a wife he kept sheep.

¹³And by a prophet the Lord brought Israel out of Egypt, and by a prophet was he preserved.

¹⁴Ephraim provoked him to anger most bitterly: therefore shall he leave his blood upon him, and his reproach shall his Lord return unto him.

13 When Ephraim spake trembling, he exalted himself in Israel; but when he offended in Baal, he died.

²And now they sin more and more, and have made them molten images of their silver, and idols according to their own understanding, all of it the work of the craftsmen: they say of them, Let the men that sacrifice kiss the calves.

³Therefore they shall be as the morning cloud and as the early dew that passeth away, as the chaff that is driven with the whirlwind out of the floor, and as the smoke out of the chimney.

⁴Yet I am the Lord thy God from the land of Egypt, and thou shalt know no god but me: for there is no saviour beside me.

⁵I did know thee in the wilderness, in the land of great drought.

⁶According to their pasture, so were they filled; they were filled, and their heart was exalted; therefore have they forgotten me.

⁷Therefore I will be unto them as a lion: as a leopard by the way will I observe them:

⁸I will meet them as a bear that is bereaved of her whelps, and will rend the caul of their heart, and there will I devour them like a lion: the wild beast shall tear them.

⁹O Israel, thou hast destroyed thyself; but in me is thine help.

¹⁰I will be thy king: where is any other that may save thee in all thy cities? and thy judges of whom thou saidst, Give me a king and princes?

¹¹I gave thee a king in mine anger, and took him away in my wrath.

¹²The iniquity of Ephraim is bound up; his sin is hid.

¹³The sorrows of a travailing woman shall come upon him: he is an unwise son; for he should not stay long in the place of the breaking forth of children.

¹⁴I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death: O death, I will be thy plagues; O grave, I will be thy destruction: repentance shall be hid from mine eyes.

¹⁵Though he be fruitful among his brethren, an east wind shall come, the wind of the Lord shall come up from the wilderness, and his spring shall become dry, and his fountain shall be dried up: he shall spoil the treasure of all pleasant vessels.

¹⁶Samaria shall become desolate; for she hath rebelled against her God: they shall fall by the sword: their infants shall be dashed in pieces, and their women with child shall be ripped up.

14 O israel, return unto the Lord thy God; for thou hast fallen by thine iniquity.

²Take with you words, and turn to the Lord: say unto him, Take away all iniquity, and receive us graciously: so will we render the calves of our lips.

³Asshur shall not save us; we will not ride upon horses: neither will we say any more to the work of our hands, Ye are our gods: for in thee the fatherless findeth mercy.

⁴I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely: for mine anger is turned away from him.

⁵I will be as the dew unto Israel: he shall grow as the lily, and cast forth his roots as Lebanon.

⁶His branches shall spread, and his beauty shall be as the olive tree, and his smell as Lebanon.

⁷They that dwell under his shadow shall return; they shall revive as the corn, and grow as the vine: the scent thereof shall be as the wine of Lebanon.

⁸Ephraim shall say, What have I to do any more with idols? I have heard him, and observed him: I am like a green fir tree. From me is thy fruit found.

⁹Who is wise, and he shall understand these things? prudent, and he shall know them? for the ways of the Lord are right, and the just shall walk in them: but the transgressors shall fall therein.

2 Kings 14:17

New International Version

¹⁷Amaziah son of Joash king of Judah lived for fifteen years after the death of Jehoash son of Jehoahaz king of Israel.

Hosea 10-14 New International Version

God’s Love for Israel

Israel’s Sin

The Lord’s Anger Against Israel

Repentance to Bring Blessing

Footnotes

Cross references

Hosea 10-14 King James Version

2 Kings 14:17 New International Version

2 Kings 14:17 King James Version

2 Chronicles 25:26-28 New International Version

Footnotes

Cross references

2 Chronicles 25:26-28 King James Version

2 Kings 14:21 New International Version

Footnotes

Cross references

2 Kings 14:21 King James Version

2 Kings 15:1-2 New International Version

Azariah King of Judah(A)

Footnotes

Cross references

2 Kings 15:1-2 King James Version

2 Chronicles 26:1 New International Version

Uzziah King of Judah(A)(B)

Footnotes

Cross references

2 Chronicles 26:1 King James Version

2 Chronicles 26:3-5 New International Version

Footnotes

Cross references

2 Chronicles 26:3-5 King James Version

2 Kings 15:4 New International Version

2 Kings 15:4 King James Version

2 Chronicles 26:2 New International Version

2 Chronicles 26:2 King James Version

2 Chronicles 26:6-21 New International Version

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2 Chronicles 26:6-21 King James Version

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