Hosea 8

1[Put] a ram’s horn to your mouth—Like an eagle over the House of GOD; Because they have transgressed My covenantAnd been faithless to My teaching.

2Israel cries out to Me,“O my God, we are devoted to You.”

3Israel rejects what is good;An enemy shall pursue him.

4They have made kings,But not with My sanction;They have made officers,But not of My choice.Of their silver and goldThey have made themselves images,To their own undoing.

5I reject your calf, Samaria!I am furious with them!Will they never be capable of purity?

6For it was Israel’s doing; It was only made by a joiner,It is not a god.No, the calf of Samaria shall beReduced to splinters!

7They sow wind,And they shall reap whirlwind—Standing stalks devoid of earsAnd yielding no flour.If they do yield any,Strangers shall devour it.

8Israel is bewildered;, which means “bewildered” here (cf. Isa. 28.7), is a homonym of the verb that means “devour” in the preceding verse. They have now become among the nationsLike an unwanted vessel,

9[Like] a lonely wild ass.For they have gone up to Assyria,Ephraim has courted friendship.

10And while they are courting among the nations,There I will hold them fast; And they shall begin to diminish in numberFrom the burden of king [and] officers.

11For Ephraim has multiplied altars—for guilt;His altars have redounded to his guilt:

12The many teachings I wrote for himHave been treated as something alien.

13When they present sacrifices to Me, It is but flesh for them to eat: GOD has not accepted them.Behold, their iniquities will be remembered,Their sins will be punished:Back to Egypt with them!

14Israel has ignored his MakerAnd built temples(And Judah has fortified many cities).So I will set fire to his cities,And it shall consume their fortresses.