Hosea 5
1 'Hear this, O priests, and attend, O house of Israel, And, O house of the king, give ear, For the judgment [is] for you, For, a snare ye have been on Mizpah, And a net spread out on Tabor.
Hear this, you priests! Pay attention, house of Israel! Listen, members of the royal family!
2 And to slaughter sinners have gone deep, And I [am] a fetter to them all.
Judgment belongs with you because you have been a snare set at Mizpah and a net spread out on Tabor. You dug a deep trap in Shittim, but I will punish you for all these things you have done.
3 I have known Ephraim, And Israel hath not been hid from me, For now thou hast gone a-whoring, Ephraim, Defiled is Israel.
I know Ephraim very well, and Israel cannot hide from me, for now Ephraim is a prostitute and Israel is defiled.
4 They give not up their habitual doings, To turn back unto their God, For a spirit of whoredoms [is] in their midst, And Jehovah they have not known.
Your actions stop you from coming back to your God for a spirit of prostitution is within you and you do not know the Lord.
5 And humbled hath been the excellency of Israel to his face, And Israel and Ephraim stumble by their iniquity, Stumbled also hath Judah with them.
Israel's pride speaks against them, right in the face. Israel and Ephraim will stumble because of their guilt, and Judah will stumble along with them.
6 With their flock and with their herd, They go to seek Jehovah, and do not find, He hath withdrawn from them.
They will go to seek the Lord with their herds and flocks, but they will not find him, for he has given up on them.
7 Against Jehovah they dealt treacherously, For strange sons they have begotten, Now consume them doth a month [with] their portions.
They have been unfaithful to the Lord and have had children that are not his. Now the New Moon will destroy them along with their fields.
8 Blow ye a cornet in Gibeah, a trumpet in Ramah, Shout, O Beth-Aven, after thee, O Benjamin.
Blow the horn in Gibeah! Sound the trumpet in Ramah! Shout an alarm in Beth-aven! Lead the way, Benjamin!
9 Ephraim is for a desolation in a day of reproof, Among the tribes of Israel I have made known a sure thing.
Ephraim will be left desolate on the day of punishment. Among the tribes of Israel I will reveal what is the real truth.
10 Princes of Judah have been as those removing a border, On them I do pour out as water My wrath.
The rulers of Judah have become thieves like those who illegally move boundaries. I will pour out my anger like water upon them.
11 Oppressed is Ephraim, broken in judgment, When he pleased he went after the command.
The people of Ephraim are crushed, smashed to pieces in judgment because they were determined to follow human commands.
12 And I [am] as a moth to Ephraim, And as a rotten thing to the house of Judah.
I am like a maggot to Ephraim, and like something rotten to the people of Judah.
13 And see doth Ephraim his sickness, and Judah his wound, And Ephraim goeth unto Asshur, And sendeth unto a warlike king, And he is not able to give healing to you, Nor doth he remove from you a scar.
When Ephraim saw how sick they were, and Judah saw how wounded they were, Ephraim turned to the great king of Assyria for help, but he could not heal them or cure their wounds.
14 For I [am] as a lion to Ephraim, And as a young lion to the house of Judah, I — I tear and go, I bear away, and there is no deliverer.
For I will be like a lion to Ephraim, like a fierce lion to the people of Judah. I will come and tear them to pieces, and carry them off, and no one will be able to rescue them.
15 I go — I turn back unto My place, Till that they are desolate, and have sought My face. In their distress they do seek Me speedily!'
Then I will leave and return to where I came from until they acknowledge their wrongs, and in their distress they will seek my face and beg for my help.”
