Hosea 5:4-15
Hosea 5:4-15 TPT
They no longer even know me, YAHWEH. Their evil deeds block the way for them to return to me, their God, because they are possessed by a spirit of prostitution. Israel’s own arrogance speaks for itself. Israel and Ephraim have no one else to blame, for their own guilt makes them stumble. Judah will be dragged down with them. No matter how many animals they bring to offer as sacrifices to YAHWEH, they will not find him, for he has withdrawn himself from them. They have been proven unfaithful to YAHWEH, having fathered illegitimate children. Now, before the new moon festival, they and their fields will be devoured.” “Sound the shofar in Gibeah, blow the trumpet in Ramah, and raise the war cry at Bethel: ‘On your guard, men of Benjamin!’ When the day of reckoning comes, Ephraim will be overthrown. For I have pronounced certain doom on the tribes of Israel.” “I am angry with the leaders of Judah, for they came into the Northern Kingdom and stole their land. I will pour my wrath out on them like a flood. Ephraim is oppressed, crushed by the verdict, for having deliberately chased a lie. Because of this, I will be like a maggot in the wound of Ephraim and like gangrene for the people of Judah. Once Ephraim realized that he was sick and that Judah had an ulcer, Ephraim then turned to Assyria for help and sent messengers to the great king, but he has no power to cure you or to heal your wound. For I will attack Ephraim like a lion and the land of Judah like a young lion. I will maul my prey and drag them away, and no one will be able to snatch them from my hands. I will return to my place until they confess their guilt and seek my face. Then, in their distress, they will eagerly seek me and my grace.”