Hosea 8
8
God Will Raise Up the Assyrians to Attack Israel
1 Sound the alarm!#tn Heb “A horn unto your gums!”; NAB “A trumpet to your lips!”
An eagle#tn Or perhaps “A vulture.” Some identify the species indicated by the Hebrew term נֶשֶׁר (nesher) as the griffon vulture (cf. NEB, NRSV). looms over the temple of the Lord!
For they have broken their covenant with me,#tn Heb “my covenant” (so NAB, NIV, NRSV); TEV “the covenant I made with them.”
and have rebelled against my law.
2 Israel cries out to me,
“My God, we acknowledge you!”
3 But Israel has rejected what is morally good;
so an enemy will pursue him.
The Political and Cultic Sin of Israel
4 They enthroned kings without my consent!#tn Heb “but without me”; NCV “without asking my permission”; CEV “without consulting me.”
They appointed princes without my approval!#tn Heb “but I did not know”; NRSV “but without my knowledge.”
They made idols out of their silver and gold,
but they will be destroyed!#tn Heb “in order to be cut off.” The text gives the impression that they made the idols for this purpose, but the language is ironic and sarcastic, bringing out the futility of their efforts. One could paraphrase, “they made idols…but only so that they might be destroyed.” Though they had other plans for the idols, God’s judgment would bring their intentions to naught.
5 O Samaria, he has rejected your calf idol!
My anger burns against them!
They will not survive much longer without being punished,#tn Heb “How long will they be able to be free from punishment?” This rhetorical question affirms that Israel will not survive much longer until God punishes it.
even though they are Israelites!
6 That idol was made by a workman – it is not God!
The calf idol of Samaria will be broken to bits.
The Fertility Cultists Will Become Infertile
7 They sow the wind,
and so they will reap the whirlwind!
The stalk does not have any standing grain;
it will not produce any flour.
Even if it were to yield grain,
foreigners would swallow it all up.
8 Israel will be swallowed up among the nations;
they will be like a worthless piece of pottery.
The Willful Donkey and the Wanton Harlot
9 They have gone up to Assyria,
like a wild donkey that wanders off.
Ephraim has hired prostitutes as lovers.#tn Or “has hired herself out to lovers”; cf. NIV “has sold herself to lovers.”
10 Even though they have hired lovers among the nations,#tn Or “they have hired themselves out to lovers”; cf. NASB “they hire allies among the nations.”
I will soon gather them together for judgment.#tn The Piel stem of קָבַץ (qavats) is often used in a positive sense, meaning “to regather” a dispersed people (HALOT 1063 s.v. קבץ 3.a; BDB 868 s.v. קָבַץ 1.α). However, in Hosea 8:10 it is used in a negative sense, meaning “to assemble (people) for judgment” (e.g., Ezek 20:34; Hos 9:6; HALOT 1063 s.v. 3.e.i). Cf. JPS “I will hold them fast” (in judgment, see the parallel in 9:6).
Then#tn The vav consecutive + preterite וַיָּחֵלּוּ (vayyakhellu, Hiphil preterite 3rd person common plural from חָלַל, khalal, “to begin”]) denotes temporal subordination to the preceding clause: “then…” (so NLT); cf. TEV, CEV “Soon.” they will begin to waste away
under the oppression of a mighty king.#tn Heb “a king of princes” (cf. KJV, NASB); TEV “the emperor of Assyria.”
Sacrifices Ineffective without Moral Obedience
11 Although Ephraim has built many altars for sin offerings,
these have become altars for sinning!
12 I spelled out my law for him in great detail,
but they regard it as something totally unknown#tn Heb “foreign” or “alien”; NASB, NRSV “as a strange thing.” to them!
13 They offer up sacrificial gifts to me,
and eat the meat,
but the Lord does not accept their sacrifices.#tn Heb “does not accept them”; the referent (their sacrifices) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
Soon he will remember their wrongdoing,
he will punish their sins,
and they will return to Egypt.
14 Israel has forgotten his Maker and built royal palaces,
and Judah has built many fortified cities.
But I will send fire on their cities;
it will consume their royal citadels.
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Hosea 8
8
Israel Will Reap the Whirlwind
1Put the ram’s horn to your lips!
An eagle looms over the house of the Lord,
because the people have transgressed My covenant
and rebelled against My law.
2Israel cries out to Me,
“O our God, we know You!”
3But Israel has rejected good;
an enemy will pursue him.
4They set up kings, but not by Me.
They make princes, but without My approval.
With their silver and gold they make themselves idols,
to their own destruction.
5He has rejected your calf,#8:5 Or calf idol; see 1 Kings 12:29. O Samaria.
My anger burns against them.
How long will they be
incapable of innocence?
6For this thing is from Israel—
a craftsman made it, and it is not God.
It will be broken to pieces,
that calf of Samaria.
7For they sow the wind,
and they shall reap the whirlwind.
There is no standing grain;
what sprouts fails to yield flour.
Even if it should produce,
the foreigners would swallow it up.
8Israel is swallowed up!
Now they are among the nations
like a worthless vessel.
9For they have gone up to Assyria
like a wild donkey on its own.
Ephraim #8:9 That is, the northern kingdom of Israel; also in verse 11 has hired lovers.
10Though they hire allies among the nations,
I will now round them up,
and they will begin to diminish
under the oppression of the king of princes.
11Though Ephraim multiplied the altars for sin,
they became his altars for sinning.
12Though I wrote for them the great things of My law,
they regarded them as something strange.
13Though they offer sacrifices as gifts to Me,
and though they eat the meat,
the Lord does not accept them.
Now He will remember their iniquity and punish their sins:
They will return to Egypt.
14Israel has forgotten his Maker and built palaces;
Judah has multiplied its fortified cities.
But I will send fire upon their cities,
and it will consume their citadels.
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The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible, BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee. This text of God's Word has been dedicated to the public domain.