Hosea 7

1 when I heal Israel,  * 7:1 Ezk 24:13; Hs 6:4; 7:13; 11:8

the iniquity of Ephraim  * 7:1 Hs 5:3 and the crimes of Samaria  * 7:1 Hs 8:5–6; 10:5,7; 13:16

will be exposed.

For they practice fraud;  * 7:1 Hs 4:2

a thief breaks in;

a raiding party pillages outside.  * 7:1 Hs 6:9

2 But they never consider that I remember all their evil.  * 7:2 Ps 25:7; Jr 14:10; 17:1; Am 8:7

Now their actions are all around them;  * 7:2 Jr 2:19; 4:18; Hs 4:9

they are right in front of my face.

Israel’s Corruption

3 They please the king with their evil,  * 7:3 Jr 28:1–4; Mc 7:3

the princes with their lies.  * 7:3 Hs 4:2; 11:12

4 All of them commit adultery;  * 7:4 Jr 9:2; 23:10

they are like an oven heated by a baker

who stops stirring the fire

from the kneading of the dough until it is leavened.

5 On the day of our king,

the princes are sick with the heat of wine  * 7:5 Is 28:1,7–8  —

there is a conspiracy with traitors.  * 7:5 Lit wine — he stretches out his hand to scorners; Hb obscure

6 For they — their hearts like an oven —

draw him into their oven.

Their anger smolders all night;

in the morning it blazes like a flaming fire.

7 All of them are as hot as an oven,  * 7:7 Ps 21:9

and they consume their rulers.  * 7:7 Hs 13:10

All their kings fall;

not one of them calls on me.  * 7:3–7 These vv. may refer to a king’s assassination; Hb obscure.

8 Ephraim has allowed himself to get mixed up with the nations.

Ephraim is unturned bread baked on a griddle.

9 Foreigners consume his strength,  * 7:9 Is 1:7

but he does not notice.  * 7:9 Hs 4:6

Even his hair is streaked with gray,

but he does not notice.

10 Israel’s arrogance testifies against them,  * 7:10 Lit against his face,* 7:10 Hs 5:5

yet they do not return to the Lord their God,  * 7:10 Hs 5:4

and for all this, they do not seek him.

11 So Ephraim has become like a silly, senseless dove;  * 7:11 Hs 4:6,11,14; 5:4

they call to Egypt,  * 7:11 Hs 8:13; 9:3,6 and they go to Assyria.  * 7:11 Hs 5:13; 8:9; 12:1

12 As they are going, I will spread my net over them;  * 7:12 Ezk 12:13

I will bring them down like birds of the sky.

I will discipline them in accordance

with the news that reaches  * 7:12 Lit news to their assembly.

The Lord’s Second Lament

13 Woe to them,  * 7:13 Hs 9:12 for they fled from me;  * 7:13 Jr 14:10; Hs 9:17

destruction to them, for they rebelled against me!

Though I want to redeem them,  * 7:13 Jr 51:9; Hs 7:1; Mt 23:37

they speak lies against me.

14 They do not cry to me from their hearts;

rather, they wail on their beds.

They slash themselves  * 7:14 Some Hb mss, LXX; other Hb mss read They stay,* 7:14 1Kg 18:28 for grain and new wine;  * 7:14 Am 2:8

they turn away from me.

15 I trained and strengthened their arms,  * 7:15 Hs 11:3

but they plot evil against me.  * 7:15 Nah 1:9

16 They turn, but not to what is above;  * 7:16 Some emend to turn to what is useless

they are like a faulty bow.  * 7:16 Ps 78:57

Their leaders will fall by the sword

because of their insolent tongue.  * 7:16 Ps 12:3–4; 17:10; Dn 7:25; Mal 3:13–14

They will be ridiculed for this in the land of Egypt.  * 7:16 Ezk 23:32