Hos 11:1-8 | ESV | STEP | When Israel was a child , I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son .

Hosea 11:1-8

The Lord’s Love for Israel

1 ^aWhen Israel was a child, ^bI loved him,
and out of Egypt I ^ccalled ^dmy son.
2 ^eThe more they were called,
the more they went away;
^fthey kept sacrificing to the Baals
and burning offerings to idols.
3 Yet it was ^gI who taught Ephraim to walk;
I took them up by their arms,
but they did not know that ^hI healed them.
4 ⁱI led them with cords of kindness, ^{▼▼Or humaneness; Hebrew man}
with the bands of love,
and ^kI became to them as one who eases the yoke on their jaws,
and ^lI bent down to them and fed them.
5 ^mThey shall not ^{▼▼Or surely} return to the land of Egypt,
but ^oAssyria shall be their king,
^pbecause ^qthey have refused to return to me.
6 ^rThe sword shall rage against their cities,
consume the bars of their gates,
and devour them ^sbecause of their own counsels.
7 My people are bent ^ton turning away from me,
and though ^uthey call out to the Most High,
he shall not raise them up at all.
8 How can I give you up, O Ephraim?
How can I hand you over, O Israel?
^vHow can I make you ^wlike Admah?
How can I treat you ^xlike Zeboiim?
^yMy heart recoils within me;
my compassion grows warm and tender.