Hosea 8

1 'Unto thy mouth — a trumpet, As an eagle against the house of Jehovah, Because they transgressed My covenant, And against My law they have rebelled.

Put the horn to your mouth! An eagle swoops down upon the house of the Lord because they have transgressed my covenant, trespassed against my law.

2 To Me they cry, 'My God, we — Israel — have known Thee.'

To me they continually cry, ‘My God, we Israel, we know you!’

3 Cast off good hath Israel, an enemy pursueth him.

But Israel has spurned that which is good, so let the foe pursue him.

4 They have made kings, and not by Me, They have made princes, and I have not known, Their silver and their gold they have made to them idols, So that they are cut off.

They themselves have made kings but without my consent. They have made princes but without my knowledge. Out of their silver and gold, they have made idols to their destruction!

5 Cast off hath thy calf, O Samaria, Burned hath Mine anger against them, Till when are they not capable of purity?

Your calf idol, O Samaria, is distasteful. My anger is kindled against them. How long will they escape punishment?

6 For even it [is] of Israel; an artificer made it, And it [is] not God, For the calf of Samaria is fragments!

Israel made the thing: a workman made it. It is not a god! Samaria’s calf will become mere splinters.

7 For wind they sow, and a hurricane they reap, Stalk it hath none — a shoot not yielding grain, If so be it yield — strangers do swallow it up.

They sow the wind and will reap the whirlwind. A shoot which has no stalk, yields no fruit If it should yield, strangers would devour it.

8 Israel hath been swallowed up, Now they have been among nations, As a vessel in which is no delight.

Israel is devoured. Already it lies discarded among the nations like a worthless pot.

9 For they — they have gone up [to] Asshur, A wild ass alone by himself [is] Ephraim, They have hired lovers!

For by themselves they have gone up to Assyria like a wild donkey which wanders by itself. Ephraim pays for love

10 Also though they hire among nations, Now I gather them, and they are pained a little, From the burden of a king of princes.

but even if they sell themselves among the nations, I will round them up. Soon the kings and princes will writhe under the burden of tribute!

11 Because Ephraim did multiply altars to sin, They have been to him altars to sin.

For as many altars as Ephraim has erected, they are to him altars for sinning,

12 I write for him numerous things of My law, As a strange thing they have been reckoned.

were I to write for him ever so many instructions, they would be regarded as from a stranger.

13 The sacrifices of Mine offerings! They sacrifice flesh, and they eat, Jehovah hath not accepted them, Now doth He remember their iniquity, And inspect their sin, They — [to] Egypt they turn back.

The people love sacrifice, and so they offer sacrifices, meat, and so they eat it, although the Lord is not pleased with them, so now he will remember their guilt, and punish their sins. Back to Egypt with them!

14 And forget doth Israel his Maker, and buildeth temples, And Judah hath multiplied cities of defence, And I have sent a fire into his cities, And it hath consumed their palaces!

For Israel forgot his Maker and built palaces, and Judah multiplied fortified cities. But I will send fire upon her cities, and it will devour her strongholds.