1The LORD said to me, ‘Put a trumpet to your lips! Give a warning to my people! Assyria is like an eagle. It is ready to attack my land. My people have broken the covenant I made with them. They have refused to obey my law.2Israel shouts to me, “We recognise you as our God!”3But they have turned away from what is good. So an enemy will chase them.4My people appoint kings I do not want. They choose princes without my permission. They use their silver and gold to make statues of gods. That is how they destroy themselves.’5The LORD says, ‘People of Samaria, throw out your god that looks like a calf! I am very angry with them. How long will it be until they are able to remain faithful to me?6Their calf is not God. A skilled worker from Israel made it. But that calf of Samaria will be broken to pieces.’7The LORD says, ‘Worshipping other gods is like worshipping the wind. It is like planting worthless seeds. Assyria is like a violent storm. That is all my people will harvest. There are no ears of corn on the stems that will come up. So they will not produce any flour. Even if they did produce corn, the Assyrians would eat all of it up.8So the people of Israel are swallowed up. Now they are among the nations like something no one wants.9They have gone up to Assyria for help. They are like a wild donkey that wanders around by itself. Ephraim’s people have sold themselves to their Assyrian lovers.10They have sold themselves to the nations to get their help. But now I will gather them together. They will get weaker and weaker. The mighty kings of Assyria will crush them.11‘Ephraim built many altars where they sacrificed sin offerings to other gods. So their altars have become places where they commit sin.12In my law I wrote down many things for their good. But they considered those things as something strange.13They offer sacrifices as gifts to me. They eat the meat of the animals they bring. But the LORD is not pleased with any of this. He will remember the evil things they have done. He will punish them for their sins. And they will return to Egypt.14Israel has forgotten the God who made them. They have built palaces for themselves. Judah has built forts in many towns. But I will send down fire on their cities. It will burn up their forts.’
Hosea 8
English Standard Version
Israel Will Reap the Whirlwind
1Set the trumpet to your lips! One like a vulture is over the house of the Lord, because they have transgressed my covenant and rebelled against my law. (De 28:49; Ho 5:8; Ho 6:7)2To me they cry, “My God, we—Israel—know you.” (Mt 7:21)3Israel has spurned the good; the enemy shall pursue him.4They made kings, but not through me. They set up princes, but I knew it not. With their silver and gold they made idols for their own destruction. (1Ki 12:20; 2Ch 13:5; Ho 7:7)5I have[1] spurned your calf, O Samaria. My anger burns against them. How long will they be incapable of innocence? (1Ki 12:28; Jer 13:27; Ho 10:5)6For it is from Israel; a craftsman made it; it is not God. The calf of Samaria shall be broken to pieces.[2] (Ho 8:5; Mic 1:6)7For they sow the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind. The standing grain has no heads; it shall yield no flour; if it were to yield, strangers would devour it. (Ho 7:9; Ho 10:12)8Israel is swallowed up; already they are among the nations as a useless vessel. (2Ki 17:6; Jer 22:28)9For they have gone up to Assyria, a wild donkey wandering alone; Ephraim has hired lovers. (Jer 2:24; Ho 5:13)10Though they hire allies among the nations, I will soon gather them up. And the king and princes shall soon writhe because of the tribute. (Eze 26:7; Ho 4:7; Ho 4:10)11Because Ephraim has multiplied altars for sinning, they have become to him altars for sinning. (Ho 10:1; Ho 12:11)12Were I to write for him my laws by the ten thousands, they would be regarded as a strange thing. (De 4:6; De 4:8)13As for my sacrificial offerings, they sacrifice meat and eat it, but the Lord does not accept them. Now he will remember their iniquity and punish their sins; they shall return to Egypt. (De 28:68; Jer 7:21; Ho 9:3; Ho 9:9; Ho 11:5; Am 4:4; Am 8:7)14For Israel has forgotten his Maker and built palaces, and Judah has multiplied fortified cities; so I will send a fire upon his cities, and it shall devour her strongholds. (Isa 17:7; Ho 6:4; Am 2:5; Am 5:11)