Hosea 5

1 Hear this, O ye priests, and hearken, O house of Israel, and give ear, O house of the king; for unto you pertaineth the judgment; for ye have been a snare at Mizpah, and a net spread upon Tabor.2 And the revolters are gone deep in making slaughter; but I am a rebuker of them all.3 I know Ephraim, and Israel is not hid from me; for now, O Ephraim, thou hast played the harlot, Israel is defiled.4 Their doings will not suffer them to turn unto their God; for the spirit of whoredom is within them, and they know not Jehovah.5 And the pride of Israel doth testify to his face: therefore Israel and Ephraim shall stumble in their iniquity; Judah also shall stumble with them.6 They shall go with their flocks and with their herds to seek Jehovah; but they shall not find him: he hath withdrawn himself from them.7 They have dealt treacherously against Jehovah; for they have borne strange children: now shall the new moon devour them with their fields.8 Blow ye the cornet in Gibeah, and the trumpet in Ramah: sound an alarm at Beth-aven; behind thee, O Benjamin.9 Ephraim shall become a desolation in the day of rebuke: among the tribes of Israel have I made known that which shall surely be.10 The princes of Judah are like them that remove the landmark: I will pour out my wrath upon them like water.11 Ephraim is oppressed, he is crushed in judgment; because he was content to walk after man’s command.12 Therefore am I unto Ephraim as a moth, and to the house of Judah as rottenness.13 When Ephraim saw his sickness, and Judah saw his wound, then went Ephraim to Assyria, and sent to king Jareb: but he is not able to heal you, neither will he cure you of your wound.14 For I will be unto Ephraim as a lion, and as a young lion to the house of Judah: I, even I, will tear and go away; I will carry off, and there shall be none to deliver.15 I will go and return to my place, till they acknowledge their offence, and seek my face: in their affliction they will seek me earnestly.

HOSEA 5

Israel and Judah //Will Be Judged

The [Lord] said:

1 Listen, you priests!
Pay attention, Israel!t
Listen, you members
of the royal family.
Justice was your duty.
Butt at Mizpah and Mount Tabor
you trapped the people.

2 At the place of worship
you were a treacherous pit, t
and I will punish you.

3 Israel, I know all about you,
and because of your unfaithfulness,
I find you unacceptable.

4 Your evil deeds are the reason
you won't return to me,
your [Lord] God.
And your constant craving for sex
keeps you from knowing me.

5 Israel, your pride
testifies to your guilt;
it makes you stumble,
and Judah stumbles too.

6 You offer sheep and cattle
as sacrifices to me,
but I have turned away
and refuse to be found.

7 You have been unfaithful
to me, your [Lord];
you have had children
by prostitutes.t
So at the New Moon Festival,
you and your crops
will be destroyed.t

The [Lord] Warns //Israel and Judah

8 Give a warning on the trumpet!
Let it be heard in Gibeah,
Ramah, and sinful Bethel.t
Benjamin, watch out!t

9 I, the [Lord], will punish
and wipe out Israel.
This is my solemn promise
to every tribe of Israel.

10 Judah's leaders are like crooks
who move boundary markers;
that's why I will flood them
with my anger.

11 Israel was brutally crushed.
They got what they deserved
for worshiping useless idols.t

12 Now I, the [Lord],
will fill Israel with maggots
and make Judah rot.

13 When Israel and Judah saw
their sickness and wounds,
Israel asked help from Assyria
and its mighty king.t
But the king cannot cure them
or heal their wounds.

14 So I'll become a fierce lion
attacking Israel and Judah.
I'll snatch and carry off
what I want,
and no one can stop me.

15 Then I'll return to my temple
until they confess their guilt
and worship me,
until they are desperate
and beg for my help.