Hosea 9

¹Rejoice not, O Israel, Exult not, like the nations! For thou committest fornication, forsaking thy God! Thou lovest hire on every corn-floor.

²The floor and the vat shall not feed them, And the new wine shall deceive them.

³They shall not dwell in the land of Jehovah; To Egypt shall Ephraim go back, And eat unclean things in Assyria.

⁴They shall pour out no offerings of wine to Jehovah, Nor shall their sacrifices please him; They shall be to them as the bread of mourners; All that eat thereof shall be polluted. Their bread shall be for their own hunger; It shall not come into the house of Jehovah.

⁵What will ye do in the festal day, In the day of the feast of Jehovah?

⁶For, behold, they go forth from a wasted land; Egypt shall gather them; Memphis shall bury them; The precious places of their silver, Nettles shall possess them; Thorns shall spring up in their habitations.

⁷The days of visitation are come; The days of retribution are come— Israel shall know that the prophet was foolish, That the man of the spirit was mad— For the greatness of‘ thy iniquity, and thy great hatred.

⁸If Ephraim seek an answer from my God, The prophet is as the snare of the fowler in all his ways, A net in the house of his God.

⁹They have deeply corrupted themselves, as in the days of Gibeah; He will remember their iniquity; He will requite their sins.

¹⁰I found Israel as grapes in the wilderness; As the early fruit on the fig-tree, at its first time of bearing, I saw your fathers. But they went to Baal Peor, And separated themselves to shame, And had abominable idols according to their love.

¹¹The glory of Ephraim shall fly away as a bird; They shall not bring forth, nor bear in the womb, nor conceive;

¹²Yea, if they bring up children, I will utterly bereave them; Yea, woe to them when I depart from them!

¹³I have seen Ephraim planted, like Tyre, in a rich pasture, Yet shall Ephraim bring out his children to the murderer.

¹⁴Give them, O Jehovah! What wilt thou give them? Give them a miscarrying womb, And dry breasts!

¹⁵All their wickedness is in Gilgal; Yea, there have I hated them for the wickedness of their doings; I will drive them from my house; I will love them no more; All their princes are revolters.

¹⁶Ephraim is smitten; Their root is dried up; they shall bear no fruit; Yea, though they should beget children, I will destroy the beloved fruit of the womb.

¹⁷My God shall cast them away, Because they have not hearkened to him, And they shall be wanderers among the nations.

Hosea 9

¹Rejoice not, O Israel, for joy, as other people: for thou hast gone a whoring from thy God, thou hast loved a reward upon every cornfloor.

²The floor and the winepress shall not feed them, and the new wine shall fail in her.

³They shall not dwell in the Lord’s land; but Ephraim shall return to Egypt, and they shall eat unclean things in Assyria.

⁴They shall not offer wine offerings to the Lord, neither shall they be pleasing unto him: their sacrifices shall be unto them as the bread of mourners; all that eat thereof shall be polluted: for their bread for their soul shall not come into the house of the Lord.

⁵What will ye do in the solemn day, and in the day of the feast of the Lord?

⁶For, lo, they are gone because of destruction: Egypt shall gather them up, Memphis shall bury them: the pleasant places for their silver, nettles shall possess them: thorns shall be in their tabernacles.

⁷The days of visitation are come, the days of recompence are come; Israel shall know it: the prophet is a fool, the spiritual man is mad, for the multitude of thine iniquity, and the great hatred.

⁸The watchman of Ephraim was with my God: but the prophet is a snare of a fowler in all his ways, and hatred in the house of his God.

⁹They have deeply corrupted themselves, as in the days of Gibeah: therefore he will remember their iniquity, he will visit their sins.

¹⁰I found Israel like grapes in the wilderness; I saw your fathers as the firstripe in the fig tree at her first time: but they went to Baal–peor, and separated themselves unto that shame; and their abominations were according as they loved.

¹¹As for Ephraim, their glory shall fly away like a bird, from the birth, and from the womb, and from the conception.

¹²Though they bring up their children, yet will I bereave them, that there shall not be a man left: yea, woe also to them when I depart from them!

¹³Ephraim, as I saw Tyrus, is planted in a pleasant place: but Ephraim shall bring forth his children to the murderer.

¹⁴Give them, O Lord: what wilt thou give? give them a miscarrying womb and dry breasts.

¹⁵All their wickedness is in Gilgal: for there I hated them: for the wickedness of their doings I will drive them out of mine house, I will love them no more: all their princes are revolters.

¹⁶Ephraim is smitten, their root is dried up, they shall bear no fruit: yea, though they bring forth, yet will I slay even the beloved fruit of their womb.

¹⁷My God will cast them away, because they did not hearken unto him: and they shall be wanderers among the nations.