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When I heal Israel,
    Israel’s sin will go away,
    and so will Samaria’s evil.

“They cheat a lot!
    Thieves break into houses,
    and robbers are in the streets.
It never enters their minds
    that I remember all their evil deeds.
The bad things they do are all around them;
    they are right in front of me.

Israel’s Evil Kings

“They make the king happy with their wickedness;
    their rulers are glad with their lies.
But all of them are traitors.
    They are like an oven heated by a baker.
While he mixes the dough,
    he does not need to stir up the fire.
The kings get so drunk they get sick every day.
    The rulers become crazy with wine;
    they make agreements with those who do not know the true God.
They burn like an oven;
    their hearts burn inside them.
All night long their anger is low,
    but when morning comes, it becomes a roaring fire.
All these people are as hot as an oven;
    they burn up their rulers.
All their kings fall,
    and no one calls on me.

Israel and the Other Nations

“Israel mixes with other nations;
    he is like a pancake cooked only on one side.
Foreign nations have eaten up his strength,
    but he doesn’t know it.
Israel is weak and feeble, like an old man,
    but he doesn’t know it.
10 Israel’s pride will cause their defeat;
    they will not turn back to the Lord their God
    or look to him for help in all this.
11 Israel has become like a pigeon—
    easy to fool and stupid.
First they call to Egypt for help.
    Then they run to Assyria.
12 When they go, I will catch them in a net,
    I will bring them down like birds from the sky;
    I will punish them countless times for their evil.
13 How terrible for them because they left me!
    They will be destroyed, because they turned against me.
I want to save them,
    but they have spoken lies against me.
14 They do not call to me from their hearts.
    They just lie on their beds and cry.
They come together to ask for grain and new wine,
    but they really turn away from me.
15 Though I trained them and gave them strength,
    they have made evil plans against me.
16 They did not turn to the Most High God.
    They are like a loose bow that can’t shoot.
Because their leaders brag about their strength,
    they will be killed with swords,
and the people in Egypt
    will laugh at them.

whenever I would heal Israel,
the sins of Ephraim are exposed
    and the crimes of Samaria revealed.(A)
They practice deceit,(B)
    thieves break into houses,(C)
    bandits rob in the streets;(D)
but they do not realize
    that I remember(E) all their evil deeds.(F)
Their sins engulf them;(G)
    they are always before me.

“They delight the king with their wickedness,
    the princes with their lies.(H)
They are all adulterers,(I)
    burning like an oven
whose fire the baker need not stir
    from the kneading of the dough till it rises.
On the day of the festival of our king
    the princes become inflamed with wine,(J)
    and he joins hands with the mockers.(K)
Their hearts are like an oven;(L)
    they approach him with intrigue.
Their passion smolders all night;
    in the morning it blazes like a flaming fire.
All of them are hot as an oven;
    they devour their rulers.
All their kings fall,(M)
    and none of them calls(N) on me.

“Ephraim mixes(O) with the nations;
    Ephraim is a flat loaf not turned over.
Foreigners sap his strength,(P)
    but he does not realize it.
His hair is sprinkled with gray,
    but he does not notice.
10 Israel’s arrogance testifies against him,(Q)
    but despite all this
he does not return(R) to the Lord his God
    or search(S) for him.

11 “Ephraim is like a dove,(T)
    easily deceived and senseless—
now calling to Egypt,(U)
    now turning to Assyria.(V)
12 When they go, I will throw my net(W) over them;
    I will pull them down like the birds in the sky.
When I hear them flocking together,
    I will catch them.
13 Woe(X) to them,
    because they have strayed(Y) from me!
Destruction to them,
    because they have rebelled against me!
I long to redeem them
    but they speak about me(Z) falsely.(AA)
14 They do not cry out to me from their hearts(AB)
    but wail on their beds.
They slash themselves,[a] appealing to their gods
    for grain and new wine,(AC)
    but they turn away from me.(AD)
15 I trained(AE) them and strengthened their arms,
    but they plot evil(AF) against me.
16 They do not turn to the Most High;(AG)
    they are like a faulty bow.(AH)
Their leaders will fall by the sword
    because of their insolent(AI) words.
For this they will be ridiculed(AJ)
    in the land of Egypt.(AK)

Footnotes

  1. Hosea 7:14 Some Hebrew manuscripts and Septuagint; most Hebrew manuscripts They gather together