Hosea


1:1   The word of the LORD that came to Hosea son of Beeri during the reigns
of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and during the reign
of Jeroboam son of Jehoash {[1] Hebrew <Joash,> a variant of <Jehoash>} king
of Israel: 
1:2   When the LORD began to speak through Hosea, the LORD said to him, "Go,
take to yourself an adulterous wife and children of unfaithfulness, because
the land is guilty of the vilest adultery in departing from the LORD." 
1:3  So he married Gomer daughter of Diblaim, and she conceived and bore him
a son. 
1:4   Then the LORD said to Hosea, "Call him Jezreel, because I will soon
punish the house of Jehu for the massacre at Jezreel, and I will put an end
to the kingdom of Israel. 
1:5  In that day I will break Israel's bow in the Valley of Jezreel." 
1:6   Gomer conceived again and gave birth to a daughter. Then the LORD said
to Hosea, "Call her Lo-Ruhamah, {[6] <Lo-Ruhamah> means <not loved.>} for I
will no longer show love to the house of Israel, that I should at all
forgive them. 
1:7  Yet I will show love to the house of Judah; and I will save them--not
by bow, sword or battle, or by horses and horsemen, but by the LORD their
God." 
1:8   After she had weaned Lo-Ruhamah, Gomer had another son. 
1:9  Then the LORD said, "Call him Lo-Ammi, {[9] <Lo-Ammi> means <not my
people.>} for you are not my people, and I am not your God. 
1:10   "Yet the Israelites will be like the sand on the seashore, which
cannot be measured or counted. In the place where it was said to them, `You
are not my people,' they will be called `sons of the living God.' 
1:11  The people of Judah and the people of Israel will be reunited, and
they will appoint one leader and will come up out of the land, for great
will be the day of Jezreel. 

2:1   "Say of your brothers, `My people,' and of your sisters, `My loved
one.' 
2:2       "Rebuke your mother, rebuke her, 
          for she is not my wife, 
          and I am not her husband. 
          Let her remove the adulterous look from her face 
          and the unfaithfulness from between her breasts. 
2:3       Otherwise I will strip her naked 
          and make her as bare as on the day she was born; 
          I will make her like a desert, 
          turn her into a parched land, 
          and slay her with thirst. 
2:4       I will not show my love to her children, 
          because they are the children of adultery. 
2:5       Their mother has been unfaithful 
          and has conceived them in disgrace. 
          She said, `I will go after my lovers, 
          who give me my food and my water, 
          my wool and my linen, my oil and my drink.' 
2:6       Therefore I will block her path with thornbushes; 
          I will wall her in so that she cannot find her way. 
2:7       She will chase after her lovers but not catch them; 
          she will look for them but not find them. 
          Then she will say, 
          `I will go back to my husband as at first, 
          for then I was better off than now.' 
2:8       She has not acknowledged that I was the one 
          who gave her the grain, the new wine and oil, 
          who lavished on her the silver and gold-- 
          which they used for Baal.  
2:9       "Therefore I will take away my grain when it ripens, 
          and my new wine when it is ready. 
          I will take back my wool and my linen, 
          intended to cover her nakedness. 
2:10      So now I will expose her lewdness 
          before the eyes of her lovers; 
          no one will take her out of my hands. 
2:11      I will stop all her celebrations: 
          her yearly festivals, her New Moons, 
          her Sabbath days--all her appointed feasts. 
2:12      I will ruin her vines and her fig trees, 
          which she said were her pay from her lovers; 
          I will make them a thicket, 
          and wild animals will devour them. 
2:13      I will punish her for the days 
          she burned incense to the Baals; 
          she decked herself with rings and jewelry, 
          and went after her lovers, 
          but me she forgot," 
           declares the LORD.  
2:14      "Therefore I am now going to allure her; 
          I will lead her into the desert 
          and speak tenderly to her. 
2:15      There I will give her back her vineyards, 
          and will make the Valley of Achor {[15] <Achor> means <trouble.>}
a door of hope. 
          There she will sing {[15] Or <respond>} as in the days of her
youth, 
          as in the day she came up out of Egypt.  
2:16      "In that day," declares the LORD, 
          "you will call me `my husband'; 
          you will no longer call me `my master. {[16] Hebrew <baal>}' 
2:17      I will remove the names of the Baals from her lips; 
          no longer will their names be invoked. 
2:18      In that day I will make a covenant for them 
          with the beasts of the field and the birds of the air 
          and the creatures that move along the ground. 
          Bow and sword and battle 
          I will abolish from the land, 
          so that all may lie down in safety. 
2:19      I will betroth you to me forever; 
          I will betroth you in {[19] Or <with>; also in verse 20}
righteousness and justice, 
          in {[19] Or <with>} love and compassion. 
2:20      I will betroth you in faithfulness, 
          and you will acknowledge the LORD.  
2:21      "In that day I will respond," 
          declares the LORD-- 
          "I will respond to the skies, 
          and they will respond to the earth; 
2:22      and the earth will respond to the grain, 
          the new wine and oil, 
          and they will respond to Jezreel. {[22] <Jezreel> means <God
plants.>} 
2:23      I will plant her for myself in the land; 
          I will show my love to the one I called `Not my loved one. {[23]
Hebrew <Lo-Ruhamah>}' 
          I will say to those called `Not my people, {[23] Hebrew
<Lo-Ammi>}' `You are my people'; 
          and they will say, `You are my God.'" 

3:1   The LORD said to me, "Go, show your love to your wife again, though
she is loved by another and is an adulteress. Love her as the LORD loves the
Israelites, though they turn to other gods and love the sacred raisin
cakes." 
3:2   So I bought her for fifteen shekels {[2] That is, about 6 ounces
(about 170 grams)} of silver and about a homer and a lethek {[2] That is,
probably about 10 bushels (about 330 liters)} of barley. 
3:3  Then I told her, "You are to live with {[3] Or <wait for>} me many
days; you must not be a prostitute or be intimate with any man, and I will
live with {[3] Or <wait for>} you." 
3:4   For the Israelites will live many days without king or prince, without
sacrifice or sacred stones, without ephod or idol. 
3:5  Afterward the Israelites will return and seek the LORD their God and
David their king. They will come trembling to the LORD and to his blessings
in the last days. 

4:1   Hear the word of the LORD, you Israelites, 
          because the LORD has a charge to bring 
          against you who live in the land: 
          "There is no faithfulness, no love, 
          no acknowledgment of God in the land. 
4:2       There is only cursing, {[2] That is, to pronounce a curse upon} 
          lying and murder, 
          stealing and adultery; 
          they break all bounds, 
          and bloodshed follows bloodshed. 
4:3       Because of this the land mourns, {[3] Or <dries up>} 
          and all who live in it waste away; 
          the beasts of the field and the birds of the air 
          and the fish of the sea are dying.  
4:4       "But let no man bring a charge, 
          let no man accuse another, 
          for your people are like those 
          who bring charges against a priest. 
4:5       You stumble day and night, 
          and the prophets stumble with you. 
          So I will destroy your mother-- 
4:6       my people are destroyed from lack of knowledge.  
          "Because you have rejected knowledge, 
          I also reject you as my priests; 
          because you have ignored the law of your God, 
          I also will ignore your children. 
4:7       The more the priests increased, 
          the more they sinned against me; 
          they exchanged {[7] Syriac and an ancient Hebrew scribal
tradition; Masoretic Text <I will exchange>} their {[7] Masoretic Text; an
ancient Hebrew scribal tradition <my>} Glory for something disgraceful. 
4:8       They feed on the sins of my people 
          and relish their wickedness. 
4:9       And it will be: Like people, like priests. 
          I will punish both of them for their ways 
          and repay them for their deeds.  
4:10      "They will eat but not have enough; 
          they will engage in prostitution but not increase, 
          because they have deserted the LORD 
          to give themselves 
4:11  to prostitution, 
          to old wine and new, 
          which take away the understanding 
4:12  of my people. 
          They consult a wooden idol 
          and are answered by a stick of wood. 
          A spirit of prostitution leads them astray; 
          they are unfaithful to their God. 
4:13      They sacrifice on the mountaintops 
          and burn offerings on the hills, 
          under oak, poplar and terebinth, 
          where the shade is pleasant. 
          Therefore your daughters turn to prostitution 
          and your daughters-in-law to adultery.  
4:14      "I will not punish your daughters 
          when they turn to prostitution, 
          nor your daughters-in-law 
          when they commit adultery, 
          because the men themselves consort with harlots 
          and sacrifice with shrine prostitutes-- 
          a people without understanding will come to ruin!  
4:15      "Though you commit adultery, O Israel, 
          let not Judah become guilty.  
          "Do not go to Gilgal; 
          do not go up to Beth Aven. {[15] <Beth Aven> means <house of
wickedness> (a name for Bethel, which means <house of God>).} 
          And do not swear, `As surely as the LORD lives!' 
4:16      The Israelites are stubborn, 
          like a stubborn heifer. 
          How then can the LORD pasture them 
          like lambs in a meadow? 
4:17      Ephraim is joined to idols; 
          leave him alone! 
4:18      Even when their drinks are gone, 
          they continue their prostitution; 
          their rulers dearly love shameful ways. 
4:19      A whirlwind will sweep them away, 
          and their sacrifices will bring them shame. 

5:1   "Hear this, you priests! 
          Pay attention, you Israelites! 
          Listen, O royal house! 
          This judgment is against you: 
          You have been a snare at Mizpah, 
          a net spread out on Tabor. 
5:2       The rebels are deep in slaughter. 
          I will discipline all of them. 
5:3       I know all about Ephraim; 
          Israel is not hidden from me. 
          Ephraim, you have now turned to prostitution; 
          Israel is corrupt.  
5:4       "Their deeds do not permit them 
          to return to their God. 
          A spirit of prostitution is in their heart; 
          they do not acknowledge the LORD. 
5:5       Israel's arrogance testifies against them; 
          the Israelites, even Ephraim, stumble in their sin; 
          Judah also stumbles with them. 
5:6       When they go with their flocks and herds 
          to seek the LORD, 
          they will not find him; 
          he has withdrawn himself from them. 
5:7       They are unfaithful to the LORD; 
          they give birth to illegitimate children. 
          Now their New Moon festivals 
          will devour them and their fields.  
5:8       "Sound the trumpet in Gibeah, 
          the horn in Ramah. 
          Raise the battle cry in Beth Aven {[8] <Beth Aven> means <house of
wickedness> (a name for Bethel, which means <house of God>).}; 
          lead on, O Benjamin. 
5:9       Ephraim will be laid waste 
          on the day of reckoning. 
          Among the tribes of Israel 
          I proclaim what is certain. 
5:10      Judah's leaders are like those 
          who move boundary stones. 
          I will pour out my wrath on them 
          like a flood of water. 
5:11      Ephraim is oppressed, 
          trampled in judgment, 
          intent on pursuing idols. {[11] The meaning of the Hebrew for this
word is uncertain.} 
5:12      I am like a moth to Ephraim, 
          like rot to the people of Judah.  
5:13      "When Ephraim saw his sickness, 
          and Judah his sores, 
          then Ephraim turned to Assyria, 
          and sent to the great king for help. 
          But he is not able to cure you, 
          not able to heal your sores. 
5:14      For I will be like a lion to Ephraim, 
          like a great lion to Judah. 
          I will tear them to pieces and go away; 
          I will carry them off, with no one to rescue them. 
5:15      Then I will go back to my place 
          until they admit their guilt. 
          And they will seek my face; 
          in their misery they will earnestly seek me."  

6:1   "Come, let us return to the LORD. 
          He has torn us to pieces 
          but he will heal us; 
          he has injured us 
          but he will bind up our wounds. 
6:2       After two days he will revive us; 
          on the third day he will restore us, 
          that we may live in his presence. 
6:3       Let us acknowledge the LORD; 
          let us press on to acknowledge him. 
          As surely as the sun rises, 
          he will appear; 
          he will come to us like the winter rains, 
          like the spring rains that water the earth."  
6:4       "What can I do with you, Ephraim? 
          What can I do with you, Judah? 
          Your love is like the morning mist, 
          like the early dew that disappears. 
6:5       Therefore I cut you in pieces with my prophets, 
          I killed you with the words of my mouth; 
          my judgments flashed like lightning upon you. 
6:6       For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, 
          and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings. 
6:7       Like Adam, {[7] Or <As at Adam>; or <Like men>} they have broken 
          the covenant-- 
          they were unfaithful to me there. 
6:8       Gilead is a city of wicked men, 
          stained with footprints of blood. 
6:9       As marauders lie in ambush for a man, 
          so do bands of priests; 
          they murder on the road to Shechem, 
          committing shameful crimes. 
6:10      I have seen a horrible thing 
          in the house of Israel. 
          There Ephraim is given to prostitution 
          and Israel is defiled.  
6:11      "Also for you, Judah, 
          a harvest is appointed.  

7:1   "Whenever I would restore the fortunes of my people, 
          whenever I would heal Israel, 
          the sins of Ephraim are exposed 
          and the crimes of Samaria revealed. 
          They practice deceit, 
          thieves break into houses, 
          bandits rob in the streets; 
7:2       but they do not realize 
          that I remember all their evil deeds. 
          Their sins engulf them; 
          they are always before me.  
7:3       "They delight the king with their wickedness, 
          the princes with their lies. 
7:4       They are all adulterers, 
          burning like an oven 
          whose fire the baker need not stir 
          from the kneading of the dough till it rises. 
7:5       On the day of the festival of our king 
          the princes become inflamed with wine, 
          and he joins hands with the mockers. 
7:6       Their hearts are like an oven; 
          they approach him with intrigue. 
          Their passion smolders all night; 
          in the morning it blazes like a flaming fire. 
7:7       All of them are hot as an oven; 
          they devour their rulers. 
          All their kings fall, 
          and none of them calls on me.  
7:8       "Ephraim mixes with the nations; 
          Ephraim is a flat cake not turned over. 
7:9       Foreigners sap his strength, 
          but he does not realize it. 
          His hair is sprinkled with gray, 
          but he does not notice. 
7:10      Israel's arrogance testifies against him, 
          but despite all this 
          he does not return to the LORD his God 
          or search for him.  
7:11      "Ephraim is like a dove, 
          easily deceived and senseless-- 
          now calling to Egypt, 
          now turning to Assyria. 
7:12      When they go, I will throw my net over them; 
          I will pull them down like birds of the air. 
          When I hear them flocking together, 
          I will catch them. 
7:13      Woe to them, 
          because they have strayed from me! 
          Destruction to them, 
          because they have rebelled against me! 
          I long to redeem them 
          but they speak lies against me. 
7:14      They do not cry out to me from their hearts 
          but wail upon their beds. 
          They gather together {[14] Most Hebrew manuscripts; some Hebrew
manuscripts and Septuagint <They slash themselves>} for grain and new wine 
          but turn away from me. 
7:15      I trained them and strengthened them, 
          but they plot evil against me. 
7:16      They do not turn to the Most High; 
          they are like a faulty bow. 
          Their leaders will fall by the sword 
          because of their insolent words. 
          For this they will be ridiculed 
          in the land of Egypt.  

8:1   "Put the trumpet to your lips! 
          An eagle is over the house of the LORD 
          because the people have broken my covenant 
          and rebelled against my law. 
8:2       Israel cries out to me, 
          `O our God, we acknowledge you!' 
8:3       But Israel has rejected what is good; 
          an enemy will pursue him. 
8:4       They set up kings without my consent; 
          they choose princes without my approval. 
          With their silver and gold 
          they make idols for themselves 
          to their own destruction. 
8:5       Throw out your calf-idol, O Samaria! 
          My anger burns against them. 
          How long will they be incapable of purity? 
8:6       They are from Israel! 
          This calf--a craftsman has made it; 
          it is not God. 
          It will be broken in pieces, 
          that calf of Samaria.  
8:7       "They sow the wind 
          and reap the whirlwind. 
          The stalk has no head; 
          it will produce no flour. 
          Were it to yield grain, 
          foreigners would swallow it up. 
8:8       Israel is swallowed up; 
          now she is among the nations 
          like a worthless thing. 
8:9       For they have gone up to Assyria 
          like a wild donkey wandering alone. 
          Ephraim has sold herself to lovers. 
8:10      Although they have sold themselves among the nations, 
          I will now gather them together. 
          They will begin to waste away 
          under the oppression of the mighty king.  
8:11      "Though Ephraim built many altars for sin offerings, 
          these have become altars for sinning. 
8:12      I wrote for them the many things of my law, 
          but they regarded them as something alien. 
8:13      They offer sacrifices given to me 
          and they eat the meat, 
          but the LORD is not pleased with them. 
          Now he will remember their wickedness 
          and punish their sins: 
          They will return to Egypt. 
8:14      Israel has forgotten his Maker 
          and built palaces; 
          Judah has fortified many towns. 
          But I will send fire upon their cities 
          that will consume their fortresses."  

9:1   Do not rejoice, O Israel; 
          do not be jubilant like the other nations. 
          For you have been unfaithful to your God; 
          you love the wages of a prostitute 
          at every threshing floor. 
9:2       Threshing floors and winepresses will not feed the people; 
          the new wine will fail them. 
9:3       They will not remain in the LORD's land; 
          Ephraim will return to Egypt 
          and eat unclean {[3] That is, ceremonially unclean} food in
Assyria. 
9:4       They will not pour out wine offerings to the LORD, 
          nor will their sacrifices please him. 
          Such sacrifices will be to them like the bread of mourners; 
          all who eat them will be unclean. 
          This food will be for themselves; 
          it will not come into the temple of the LORD.  
9:5       What will you do on the day of your appointed feasts, 
          on the festival days of the LORD? 
9:6       Even if they escape from destruction, 
          Egypt will gather them, 
          and Memphis will bury them. 
          Their treasures of silver will be taken over by briers, 
          and thorns will overrun their tents. 
9:7       The days of punishment are coming, 
          the days of reckoning are at hand. 
          Let Israel know this. 
          Because your sins are so many 
          and your hostility so great, 
          the prophet is considered a fool, 
          the inspired man a maniac. 
9:8       The prophet, along with my God, 
          is the watchman over Ephraim, {[8] Or <The prophet is the watchman
over Ephraim, 
           the people of my God>} 
          yet snares await him on all his paths, 
          and hostility in the house of his God. 
9:9       They have sunk deep into corruption, 
          as in the days of Gibeah. 
          God will remember their wickedness 
          and punish them for their sins.  
9:10      "When I found Israel, 
          it was like finding grapes in the desert; 
          when I saw your fathers, 
          it was like seeing the early fruit on the fig tree. 
          But when they came to Baal Peor, 
          they consecrated themselves to that shameful idol 
          and became as vile as the thing they loved. 
9:11      Ephraim's glory will fly away like a bird-- 
          no birth, no pregnancy, no conception. 
9:12      Even if they rear children, 
          I will bereave them of every one. 
          Woe to them 
          when I turn away from them! 
9:13      I have seen Ephraim, like Tyre, 
          planted in a pleasant place. 
          But Ephraim will bring out 
          their children to the slayer."  
9:14      Give them, O LORD-- 
          what will you give them? 
          Give them wombs that miscarry 
          and breasts that are dry.  
9:15      "Because of all their wickedness in Gilgal, 
          I hated them there. 
          Because of their sinful deeds, 
          I will drive them out of my house. 
          I will no longer love them; 
          all their leaders are rebellious. 
9:16      Ephraim is blighted, 
          their root is withered, 
          they yield no fruit. 
          Even if they bear children, 
          I will slay their cherished offspring."  
9:17      My God will reject them 
          because they have not obeyed him; 
          they will be wanderers among the nations.  

10:1   Israel was a spreading vine; 
          he brought forth fruit for himself. 
          As his fruit increased, 
          he built more altars; 
          as his land prospered, 
          he adorned his sacred stones. 
10:2      Their heart is deceitful, 
          and now they must bear their guilt. 
          The LORD will demolish their altars 
          and destroy their sacred stones.  
10:3      Then 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?" 
10:4      They make many promises, 
          take false oaths 
          and make agreements; 
          therefore lawsuits spring up 
          like poisonous weeds in a plowed field. 
10:5      The people who live in Samaria fear 
          for the calf-idol of Beth Aven. {[5] <Beth Aven> means <house of
wickedness> (a name for Bethel, which means <house of God>).} 
          Its people will mourn over it, 
          and so will its idolatrous priests, 
          those who had rejoiced over its splendor, 
          because it is taken from them into exile. 
10:6      It will be carried to Assyria 
          as tribute for the great king. 
          Ephraim will be disgraced; 
          Israel will be ashamed of its wooden idols. {[6] Or <its counsel>}

10:7      Samaria and its king will float away 
          like a twig on the surface of the waters. 
10:8      The high places of wickedness {[8] Hebrew <aven,> a reference to
Beth Aven (a derogatory name for Bethel)} will be destroyed-- 
          it is the sin of Israel. 
          Thorns and thistles will grow up 
          and cover their altars. 
          Then they will say to the mountains, "Cover us!" 
          and to the hills, "Fall on us!"  
10:9      "Since the days of Gibeah, you have sinned, O Israel, 
          and there you have remained. {[9] Or <there a stand was taken>} 
          Did not war overtake 
          the evildoers in Gibeah? 
10:10     When I please, I will punish them; 
          nations will be gathered against them 
          to put them in bonds for their double sin. 
10:11     Ephraim is a trained heifer 
          that loves to thresh; 
          so I will put a yoke 
          on her fair neck. 
          I will drive Ephraim, 
          Judah must plow, 
          and Jacob must break up the ground. 
10:12     Sow for yourselves righteousness, 
          reap the fruit of unfailing love, 
          and break up your unplowed ground; 
          for it is time to seek the LORD, 
          until he comes 
          and showers righteousness on you. 
10:13     But you have planted wickedness, 
          you have reaped evil, 
          you have eaten the fruit of deception. 
          Because you have depended on your own strength 
          and on your many warriors, 
10:14     the roar of battle will rise against your people, 
          so that all your fortresses will be devastated-- 
          as Shalman devastated Beth Arbel on the day of battle, 
          when mothers were dashed to the ground with their children. 
10:15     Thus will it happen to you, O Bethel, 
          because your wickedness is great. 
          When that day dawns, 
          the king of Israel will be completely destroyed.  

11:1   "When Israel was a child, I loved him, 
          and out of Egypt I called my son. 
11:2      But the more I {[2] Some Septuagint manuscripts; Hebrew <they>} 
          called Israel, 
          the further they went from me. {[2] Septuagint; Hebrew <them>} 
          They sacrificed to the Baals 
          and they burned incense to images. 
11:3      It was I who taught Ephraim to walk, 
          taking them by the arms; 
          but they did not realize 
          it was I who healed them. 
11:4      I led them with cords of human kindness, 
          with ties of love; 
          I lifted the yoke from their neck 
          and bent down to feed them.  
11:5      "Will they not return to Egypt 
          and will not Assyria rule over them 
          because they refuse to repent? 
11:6      Swords will flash in their cities, 
          will destroy the bars of their gates 
          and put an end to their plans. 
11:7      My people are determined to turn from me. 
          Even if they call to the Most High, 
          he will by no means exalt them.  
11:8      "How can I give you up, Ephraim? 
          How can I hand you over, Israel? 
          How can I treat you like Admah? 
          How can I make you like Zeboiim? 
          My heart is changed within me; 
          all my compassion is aroused. 
11:9      I will not carry out my fierce anger, 
          nor will I turn and devastate Ephraim. 
          For I am God, and not man-- 
          the Holy One among you. 
          I will not come in wrath. {[9] Or <come against any city>} 
11:10     They will follow the LORD; 
          he will roar like a lion. 
          When he roars, 
          his children will come trembling from the west. 
11:11     They will come trembling 
          like birds from Egypt, 
          like doves from Assyria. 
          I will settle them in their homes," 
          declares the LORD.  
11:12     Ephraim has surrounded me with lies, 
          the house of Israel with deceit. 
          And Judah is unruly against God, 
          even against the faithful Holy One. 

12:1   Ephraim feeds on the wind; 
          he pursues the east wind all day 
          and multiplies lies and violence. 
          He makes a treaty with Assyria 
          and sends olive oil to Egypt. 
12:2      The LORD has a charge to bring against Judah; 
          he will punish Jacob {[2] <Jacob> means <he grasps the heel>
(figuratively, <he deceives>).} according to his ways 
          and repay him according to his deeds. 
12:3      In the womb he grasped his brother's heel; 
          as a man he struggled with God. 
12:4      He struggled with the angel and overcame him; 
          he wept and begged for his favor. 
          He found him at Bethel 
          and talked with him there-- 
12:5      the LORD God Almighty, 
          the LORD is his name of renown! 
12:6      But you must return to your God; 
          maintain love and justice, 
          and wait for your God always.  
12:7      The merchant uses dishonest scales; 
          he loves to defraud. 
12:8      Ephraim boasts, 
          "I am very rich; I have become wealthy. 
          With all my wealth they will not find in me 
          any iniquity or sin."  
12:9      "I am the LORD your God, 
          [who brought you] out of {[9] Or <God 
           ever since you were in>} Egypt; 
          I will make you live in tents again, 
          as in the days of your appointed feasts. 
12:10     I spoke to the prophets, 
          gave them many visions 
          and told parables through them."  
12:11     Is Gilead wicked? 
          Its people are worthless! 
          Do they sacrifice bulls in Gilgal? 
          Their altars will be like piles of stones 
          on a plowed field. 
12:12     Jacob fled to the country of Aram {[12] That is, Northwest
Mesopotamia}; 
          Israel served to get a wife, 
          and to pay for her he tended sheep. 
12:13     The LORD used a prophet to bring Israel up from Egypt, 
          by a prophet he cared for him. 
12:14     But Ephraim has bitterly provoked him to anger; 
          his Lord will leave upon him the guilt of his bloodshed 
          and will repay him for his contempt.  

13:1   When Ephraim spoke, men trembled; 
          he was exalted in Israel. 
          But he became guilty of Baal worship and died. 
13:2      Now they sin more and more; 
          they make idols for themselves from their silver, 
          cleverly fashioned images, 
          all of them the work of craftsmen. 
          It is said of these people, 
          "They offer human sacrifice 
          and kiss {[2] Or <"Men who sacrifice 
           kiss>} the calf-idols." 
13:3      Therefore they will be like the morning mist, 
          like the early dew that disappears, 
          like chaff swirling from a threshing floor, 
          like smoke escaping through a window.  
13:4      "But I am the LORD your God, 
          [who brought you] out of {[4] Or <God 
           ever since you were in>} Egypt. 
          You shall acknowledge no God but me, 
          no Savior except me. 
13:5      I cared for you in the desert, 
          in the land of burning heat. 
13:6      When I fed them, they were satisfied; 
          when they were satisfied, they became proud; 
          then they forgot me. 
13:7      So I will come upon them like a lion, 
          like a leopard I will lurk by the path. 
13:8      Like a bear robbed of her cubs, 
          I will attack them and rip them open. 
          Like a lion I will devour them; 
          a wild animal will tear them apart.  
13:9      "You are destroyed, O Israel, 
          because you are against me, against your helper. 
13:10     Where is your king, that he may save you? 
          Where are your rulers in all your towns, 
          of whom you said, 
          `Give me a king and princes'? 
13:11     So in my anger I gave you a king, 
          and in my wrath I took him away. 
13:12     The guilt of Ephraim is stored up, 
          his sins are kept on record. 
13:13     Pains as of a woman in childbirth come to him, 
          but he is a child without wisdom; 
          when the time arrives, 
          he does not come to the opening of the womb.  
13:14     "I will ransom them from the power of the grave {[14] Hebrew
<Sheol>}; 
          I will redeem them from death. 
          Where, O death, are your plagues? 
          Where, O grave, {[14] Hebrew <Sheol>} is your destruction?  
          "I will have no compassion, 
13:15     even though he thrives among his brothers. 
          An east wind from the LORD will come, 
          blowing in from the desert; 
          his spring will fail 
          and his well dry up. 
          His storehouse will be plundered 
          of all its treasures. 
13:16     The people of Samaria must bear their guilt, 
          because they have rebelled against their God. 
          They will fall by the sword; 
          their little ones will be dashed to the ground, 
          their pregnant women ripped open."  

14:1   Return, O Israel, to the LORD your God. 
          Your sins have been your downfall! 
14:2      Take words with you 
          and return to the LORD. 
          Say to him: 
          "Forgive all our sins 
          and receive us graciously, 
          that we may offer the fruit of our lips. {[2] Or <offer our lips
as sacrifices of bulls>} 
14:3      Assyria cannot save us; 
          we will not mount war-horses. 
          We will never again say `Our gods' 
          to what our own hands have made, 
          for in you the fatherless find compassion."  
14:4      "I will heal their waywardness 
          and love them freely, 
          for my anger has turned away from them. 
14:5      I will be like the dew to Israel; 
          he will blossom like a lily. 
          Like a cedar of Lebanon 
          he will send down his roots; 
14:6      his young shoots will grow. 
          His splendor will be like an olive tree, 
          his fragrance like a cedar of Lebanon. 
14:7      Men will dwell again in his shade. 
          He will flourish like the grain. 
          He will blossom like a vine, 
          and his fame will be like the wine from Lebanon. 
14:8      O Ephraim, what more have I {[8] Or <What more has Ephraim>} to 
          do with idols? 
          I will answer him and care for him. 
          I am like a green pine tree; 
          your fruitfulness comes from me."  
14:9      Who is wise? He will realize these things. 
          Who is discerning? He will understand them. 
          The ways of the LORD are right; 
          the righteous walk in them, 
          but the rebellious stumble in them. 
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