New American Standard Bible (NASB)

The Response to God’s Rebuke

1 “Come, let us return to the Lord.

For He has tornus,but He will heal us;

He has woundedus,but He will bandage us.

2 “He will revive us after two days;

He will raise us up on the third day,

That we may live before Him.

3 “So let us know, let us press on to know the Lord.

His going forth is as certain as the dawn;

And He will come to us like the rain,

Like the spring rain watering the earth.”

4 What shall I do with you, O Ephraim?

What shall I do with you, O Judah?

For your loyalty is like a morning cloud

And like the dew which goes away early.

5 Therefore I have hewnthemin pieces by the prophets;

I have slain them by the words of My mouth;

And the judgments on you arelikethe light that goes forth.

6 For I delight in loyalty rather than sacrifice,

And in the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.

7 But like Adam they have transgressed the covenant;

There they have dealt treacherously against Me.

8 Gilead is a city of wrongdoers,

Tracked with bloodyfootprints.

9 And as raiders wait for a man,

Soa band of priests murder on the way to Shechem;

Surely they have committed crime.

10 In the house of Israel I have seen a horrible thing;

Ephraim’s harlotry is there, Israel has defiled itself.

11 Also, O Judah, there is a harvest appointed for you,

When I restore the fortunes of My people.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/80/32k/HOS/6-0b781dda336640ced5a21a17ad02b225.mp3?version_id=100—

Ephraim’s Iniquity

1 When I would heal Israel,

The iniquity of Ephraim is uncovered,

And the evil deeds of Samaria,

For they deal falsely;

The thief enters in,

Bandits raid outside,

2 And they do not consider in their hearts

That I remember all their wickedness.

Now their deeds are all around them;

They are before My face.

3 With their wickedness they make the king glad,

And the princes with their lies.

4 They are all adulterers,

Like an oven heated by the baker

Who ceases to stir upthe fire

From the kneading of the dough until it is leavened.

5 On the day of our king, the princes became sick with the heat of wine;

He stretched out his hand with scoffers,

6 For their hearts are like an oven

Asthey approach their plotting;

Their anger smolders all night,

In the morning it burns like a flaming fire.

7 All of them are hot like an oven,

And they consume their rulers;

All their kings have fallen.

None of them calls on Me.

8 Ephraim mixes himself with the nations;

Ephraim has become a cake not turned.

9 Strangers devour his strength,

Yet he does not knowit;

Gray hairs also are sprinkled on him,

Yet he does not knowit.

10 Though the pride of Israel testifies against him,

Yet they have not returned to the Lordtheir God,

Nor have they sought Him, for all this.

11 So Ephraim has become like a silly dove, without sense;

They call to Egypt, they go to Assyria.

12 When they go, I will spread My net over them;

I will bring them down like the birds of the sky.

I will chastise them in accordance with the proclamation to their assembly.

13 Woe to them, for they have strayed from Me!

Destruction is theirs, for they have rebelled against Me!

I would redeem them, but they speak lies against Me.

14 And they do not cry to Me from their heart

When they wail on their beds;

For the sake of grain and new wine they assemble themselves,

They turn away from Me.

15 Although I trainedandstrengthened their arms,

Yet they devise evil against Me.

16 They turn,butnot upward,

They are like a deceitful bow;

Their princes will fall by the sword

Because of the insolence of their tongue.

Thiswill betheir derision in the land of Egypt.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/80/32k/HOS/7-80227695961cd1aeed40a14c9ec710bc.mp3?version_id=100—

Israel Reaps the Whirlwind

1 Putthe trumpet to your lips!

Like an eaglethe enemy comesagainst the house of the Lord,

Because they have transgressed My covenant

And rebelled against My law.

2 They cry out to Me,

“My God, we of Israel know You!”

3 Israel has rejected the good;

The enemy will pursue him.

4 They have set up kings, but not by Me;

They have appointed princes, but I did not knowit.

With their silver and gold they have made idols for themselves,

That they might be cut off.

5 He has rejected your calf, O Samaria,saying,

“My anger burns against them!”

How long will they be incapable of innocence?

6 For from Israel is even this!

A craftsman made it, so it is not God;

Surely the calf of Samaria will be broken to pieces.

7 For they sow the wind

And they reap the whirlwind.

The standing grain has no heads;

It yields no grain.

Should it yield, strangers would swallow it up.

8 Israel is swallowed up;

They are now among the nations

Like a vessel in which no one delights.

9 For they have gone up to Assyria,

Likea wild donkey all alone;

Ephraim has hired lovers.

10 Even though they hirealliesamong the nations,

Now I will gather them up;

And they will begin to diminish

Because of the burden of the king of princes.

11 Since Ephraim has multiplied altars for sin,

They have become altars of sinning for him.

12 Though I wrote for him ten thousandpreceptsof My law,

They are regarded as a strange thing.

13 As for My sacrificial gifts,

They sacrifice the flesh and eatit,

Butthe Lordhas taken no delight in them.

Now He will remember their iniquity,

And punishthemfor their sins;

They will return to Egypt.

14 For Israel has forgotten his Maker and built palaces;

And Judah has multiplied fortified cities,

But I will send a fire on its cities that it may consume its palatial dwellings.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/80/32k/HOS/8-f71e413960493a9bac35ae5668ddc0f3.mp3?version_id=100—

Ephraim Punished

1 Do not rejoice, O Israel, with exultation like the nations!

For you have played the harlot, forsaking your God.

You have lovedharlots’ earnings on every threshing floor.

2 Threshing floor and wine press will not feed them,

And the new wine will fail them.

3 They will not remain in the Lord’sland,

But Ephraim will return to Egypt,

And in Assyria they will eat uncleanfood.

4 They will not pour out drink offerings of wine to the Lord,

Their sacrifices will not please Him.

Their bread willbelike mourners’ bread;

All who eat of it will be defiled,

For their bread will be for themselvesalone;

It will not enter the house of the Lord.

5 What will you do on the day of the appointed festival

And on the day of the feast of the Lord?

6 For behold, they will go because of destruction;

Egypt will gather them up, Memphis will bury them.

Weeds will take over their treasures of silver;

Thornswill bein their tents.

7 The days of punishment have come,

The days of retribution have come;

Let Israel knowthis!

The prophet is a fool,

The inspired man is demented,

Because of the grossness of your iniquity,

Andbecauseyour hostility issogreat.

8 Ephraimwasa watchman with my God, a prophet;

Yetthe snare of a bird catcher is in all his ways,

Andthere isonlyhostility in the house of his God.

9 They have gone deep in depravity

As in the days of Gibeah;

He will remember their iniquity,

He will punish their sins.

10 I found Israel like grapes in the wilderness;

I saw your forefathers as the earliest fruit on the fig tree in its firstseason.

# Butthey came to Baal-peor and devoted themselves toshame,

And they became as detestable as that which they loved.

11 As for Ephraim, their glory will fly away like a bird-

No birth, no pregnancy and no conception!

12 Though they bring up their children,

Yet I will bereave them until not a man is left.

Yes, woe to them indeed when I depart from them!

13 Ephraim, as I have seen,

Is planted in a pleasant meadow like Tyre;

But Ephraim will bring out his children for slaughter.

14 Give them, O Lord-what will You give?

Give them a miscarrying womb and dry breasts.

15 All their evil is at Gilgal;

Indeed, I came to hate them there!

Because of the wickedness of their deeds

I will drive them out of My house!

I will love them no more;

All their princes are rebels.

16 Ephraim is stricken, their root is dried up,

They will bear no fruit.

Even though they bear children,

I will slay the precious ones of their womb.

17 My God will cast them away

Because they have not listened to Him;

And they will be wanderers among the nations.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/80/32k/HOS/9-2c9bfa00740731e2f73a255b0a938ec1.mp3?version_id=100—

Retribution for Israel’s Sin

1 Israel is a luxuriant vine;

He produces fruit for himself.

The more his fruit,

The more altars he made;

The richer his land,

The better he made thesacredpillars.

2 Their heart is faithless;

Now they must bear their guilt.

The Lordwill break down their altars

Anddestroy theirsacredpillars.

3 Surely now they will say, “We have no king,

For we do not revere the Lord.

As for the king, what can he do for us?”

4 They speakmerewords,

With worthless oaths they make covenants;

And judgment sprouts like poisonous weeds in the furrows of the field.

5 The inhabitants of Samaria will fear

For the calf of Beth-aven.

Indeed, its people will mourn for it,

And its idolatrous priests will cry out over it,

Over its glory, since it has departed from it.

6 The thing itself will be carried to Assyria

As tribute to King Jareb;

Ephraim will be seized with shame

And Israel will be ashamed of its own counsel.

7 Samaria will be cut offwithher king

Like a stick on the surface of the water.

8 Also the high places of Aven, the sin of Israel, will be destroyed;

Thorn and thistle will grow on their altars;

Then they will say to the mountains,

“Cover us!” And to the hills, “Fall on us!”

9 From the days of Gibeah you have sinned, O Israel;

There they stand!

Will not the battle against the sons of iniquity overtake them in Gibeah?

10 When it is My desire, I will chastise them;

And the peoples will be gathered against them

When they are bound for their double guilt.

11 Ephraim is a trained heifer that loves to thresh,

But I will come over her fair neckwith a yoke;

I will harness Ephraim,

Judah will plow, Jacob will harrow for himself.

12 Sow with a view to righteousness,

Reap in accordance with kindness;

Break up your fallow ground,

For it is time to seek the Lord

Until He comes to rain righteousness on you.

13 You have plowed wickedness, you have reaped injustice,

You have eaten the fruit of lies.

Because you have trusted in your way, in your numerous warriors,

14 Therefore a tumult will arise among your people,

And all your fortresses will be destroyed,

As Shalman destroyed Beth-arbel on the day of battle,

Whenmothers were dashed in pieces withtheirchildren.

15 Thus it will be done to you at Bethel because of your great wickedness.

At dawn the king of Israel will be completely cut off.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/80/32k/HOS/10-d10b5d78c501c172f0cde06bb99f1fca.mp3?version_id=100—

God Yearns over His People

1 When Israelwasa youth I loved him,

And out of Egypt I called My son.

2 The more they called them,

The more they went from them;

They kept sacrificing to the Baals

And burning incense to idols.

3 Yet it is I who taught Ephraim to walk,

I took them in My arms;

But they did not know that I healed them.

4 I led them with cords of a man, with bonds of love,

And I became to them as one who lifts the yoke from their jaws;

And I bent downandfed them.

5 They will not return to the land of Egypt;

But Assyria-he will be their king

Because they refused to returnto Me.

6 The sword will whirl against their cities,

And will demolish their gate bars

And consumethembecause of their counsels.

7 So My people are bent on turning from Me.

Though they call them tothe Oneon high,

None at all exaltsHim.

8 How can I give you up, O Ephraim?

How can I surrender you, O Israel?

How can I make you like Admah?

How can I treat you like Zeboiim?

My heart is turned over within Me,

All My compassions are kindled.

9 I will not execute My fierce anger;

I will not destroy Ephraim again.

For I am God and not man, the Holy One in your midst,

And I will not come in wrath.

10 They will walk after the Lord,

He will roar like a lion;

Indeed He will roar

AndHissons will come trembling from the west.

11 They will come trembling like birds from Egypt

And like doves from the land of Assyria;

And I will settle them in their houses, declares the Lord.

12 Ephraim surrounds Me with lies

And the house of Israel with deceit;

Judah is also unruly against God,

Even against the Holy One who is faithful.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/80/32k/HOS/11-c479527d105ce492025b3b71d7a0b2c2.mp3?version_id=100—

Ephraim Reminded

1 Ephraim feeds on wind,

And pursues the east wind continually;

He multiplies lies and violence.

Moreover, he makes a covenant with Assyria,

And oil is carried to Egypt.

2 The Lordalso has a dispute with Judah,

And will punish Jacob according to his ways;

He will repay him according to his deeds.

3 In the womb he took his brother by the heel,

And in his maturity he contended with God.

4 Yes, he wrestled with the angel and prevailed;

He wept and sought His favor.

He found Him at Bethel

And there He spoke with us,

5 Even the Lord, the God of hosts,

The Lordis His name.

6 Therefore, return to your God,

Observe kindness and justice,

And wait for your God continually.

7 A merchant, in whose hands are false balances,

He loves to oppress.

8 And Ephraim said, “Surely I have become rich,

I have found wealth for myself;

In all my labors they will find in me

No iniquity, whichwould besin.”

9 But Ihave beenthe Lordyour God since the land of Egypt;

I will make you live in tents again,

As in the days of the appointed festival.

10 I have also spoken to the prophets,

And I gave numerous visions,

And through the prophets I gave parables.

11 Is there iniquityinGilead?

Surely they are worthless.

In Gilgal they sacrifice bulls,

Yes, their altars are like the stone heaps

Beside the furrows of the field.

12 Now Jacob fled to the land of Aram,

And Israel worked for a wife,

And for a wife he keptsheep.

13 But by a prophet the Lordbrought Israel from Egypt,

And by a prophet he was kept.

14 Ephraim has provoked to bitter anger;

So his Lord will leave his bloodguilt on him

And bring back his reproach to him.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/80/32k/HOS/12-c3442c0b33f5b01055af0e459c041825.mp3?version_id=100—

Ephraim’s Idolatry

1 When Ephraim spoke,there wastrembling.

He exalted himself in Israel,

But through Baal he did wrong and died.

2 And now they sin more and more,

And make for themselves molten images,

Idols skillfully made from their silver,

All of them the work of craftsmen.

They say of them, “Let the men who sacrifice kiss the calves!”

3 Therefore they will be like the morning cloud

And like dew which soon disappears,

Like chaff which is blown away from the threshing floor

And like smoke from a chimney.

4 Yet Ihave beenthe Lordyour God

Since the land of Egypt;

And you were not to know any god except Me,

For there is no savior besides Me.

5 I cared for you in the wilderness,

In the land of drought.

6 Asthey hadtheir pasture, they became satisfied,

And being satisfied, their heart became proud;

Therefore they forgot Me.

7 So I will be like a lion to them;

Like a leopard I will lie in wait by the wayside.

8 I will encounter them like a bear robbed of her cubs,

And I will tear open their chests;

There I will also devour them like a lioness,

Asa wild beast would tear them.

9 It isyour destruction, O Israel,

Thatyou areagainst Me, against your help.

10 Where now is your king

That he may save you in all your cities,

And your judges of whom you requested,

“Give me a king and princes”?

11 I gave you a king in My anger

And took him away in My wrath.

12 The iniquity of Ephraim is bound up;

His sin is stored up.

13 The pains of childbirth come upon him;

He is not a wise son,

For it is not the time that he should delay at the opening of the womb.

14 Shall I ransom them from the power of Sheol?

Shall I redeem them from death?

O Death, where are your thorns?

O Sheol, where is your sting?

Compassion will be hidden from My sight.

15 Though he flourishes among the reeds,

An east wind will come,

The wind of the Lordcoming up from the wilderness;

And his fountain will become dry

And his spring will be dried up;

It will plunderhistreasury of every precious article.

16 Samaria will be held guilty,

For she has rebelled against her God.

They will fall by the sword,

Their little ones will be dashed in pieces,

And their pregnant women will be ripped open.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/80/32k/HOS/13-d8cd0cc9dc22e8ec72cbce84c4e4d869.mp3?version_id=100—

Israel’s Future Blessing

1 Return, O Israel, to the Lordyour God,

For you have stumbled because of your iniquity.

2 Take words with you and return to the Lord.

Say to Him, “Take away all iniquity

And receiveusgraciously,

That we may present the fruit of our lips.

3 “Assyria will not save us,

We will not ride on horses;

Nor will we say again, ‘Our god,’

To the work of our hands;

For in You the orphan finds mercy.”

4 I will heal their apostasy,

I will love them freely,

For My anger has turned away from them.

5 I will be like the dew to Israel;

He will blossom like the lily,

And he will take root likethe cedars ofLebanon.

6 His shoots will sprout,

And his beauty will be like the olive tree

And his fragrance likethe cedars ofLebanon.

7 Those who live in his shadow

Will again raise grain,

And they will blossom like the vine.

His renownwill belike the wine of Lebanon.

8 O Ephraim, what more have I to do with idols?

It is I who answer and look after you.

I am like a luxuriant cypress;

From Me comes your fruit.

9 Whoever is wise, let him understand these things;

Whoeveris discerning, let him know them.

For the ways of the Lordare right,

And the righteous will walk in them,

But transgressors will stumble in them.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/80/32k/HOS/14-fb26246d712bfda977d52afc8911a148.mp3?version_id=100—