Hos 5 | BSB | STEP | Hear this, O priests! Take heed, O house of Israel! Give ear, O royal house! For the judgment is against you because you have been a snare at Mizpah and a net spread out on Tabor.

Hosea 5

God's Judgment on Israel and Judah

1 Hear this, O priests! Take heed, O house of Israel! Give ear, O royal house! For the judgment is against you because you have been a snare at Mizpah and a net spread out on Tabor. 2 The rebels are deep in slaughter; but I will chastise all of them. 3 I know Ephraim, and Israel is not hidden from Me. For now, O Ephraim, you have turned to prostitution; Israel is defiled. 4 Their deeds do not permit them to return to their God, for a spirit of prostitution is within them, and they do not know the LORD. 5 Israel’s arrogance testifies against them; both Israel and Ephraim stumble in their iniquity; even Judah stumbles with them. 6 They go with their flocks and herds to seek the LORD, but they do not find Him; He has withdrawn Himself from them. 7 They have been unfaithful to the LORD; for they have borne illegitimate children. Now the New Moon ^{▼▼Or their New Moon feasts} will devour them along with their land. 8 Blow the horn in Gibeah, the trumpet in Ramah; raise the battle cry in Beth-aven: ^{▼▼Beth-aven means house of wickedness. This is a derogatory term for Bethel, which means house of God} Lead on, O Benjamin! 9 Ephraim will be laid waste on the day of rebuke; among the tribes of Israel I declare what is certain. 10 The princes of Judah are like those who move boundary stones; I will pour out My fury upon them like water. 11 Ephraim is oppressed, crushed in judgment, for he is determined to follow what is worthless. ^{▼▼Or to follow human precepts} 12 So I am like a moth to Ephraim, and like decay to the house of Judah. 13 When Ephraim saw his sickness and Judah his wound, then Ephraim turned to Assyria and sent to the great king. ^{▼▼Or to King Jareb} But he cannot cure you [or] heal your wound. 14 For I am like a lion to Ephraim and like a young lion to the house of Judah. I, [even] I, will tear them to pieces and go away. I will carry them off [where] no one can rescue them. 15 Then I will return to My place until they admit their guilt and seek My face; in their affliction they will earnestly seek Me.”