1 HEAR ye this, O priests; and hearken, ye house of Israel; and give ye ear, O house of the king; for judgment is toward you, because ye have been a snare on Mizpah, and a net spread upon Tabor.
2 And the revolters are profound to make slaughter, though I have been a rebuker of them all.
3 I know Ephraim, and Israel is not hid from me: for now, O Ephraim, thou committest whoredom, and Israel is defiled.
4 They will not frame their doings to turn unto their God: for the spirit of whoredoms is in the midst of them, and they have not known the LORD.
5 And the pride of Israel doth testify to his face: therefore shall Israel and Ephraim fall in their iniquity; Judah also shall fall with them.
6 They shall go with their flocks and with their herds to seek the LORD; but they shall not find him; he hath withdrawn himself from them.
7 They have dealt treacherously against the LORD: for they have begotten strange children: now shall a month devour them with their portions.
8 Blow ye the cornet in Gibeah, and the trumpet in Ramah: cry aloud at Beth-aven, after thee, O Benjamin.
9 Ephraim shall be desolate in the day of rebuke: among the tribes of Israel have I made known that which shall surely be.
10 The princes of Judah were like them that remove the bound: therefore I will pour out my wrath upon them like water.
11 Ephraim is oppressed and broken in judgment, because he willingly walked after the commandment.
12 Therefore will I be unto Ephraim as a moth, and to the house of Judah as rottenness.
13 When Ephraim saw his sickness, and Judah saw his wound, then went Ephraim to the Assyrian, and sent to king Jareb: yet could he not heal you, nor cure you of your wound.
14 For I will be unto Ephraim as a lion, and as a young lion to the house of Judah: I, even I, will tear and go away; I will take away, and none shall rescue him.
15 I will go and return to my place, till they acknowledge their offence, and seek my face: in their affliction they will seek me early.

1Heare yee this, O priests, and hearken, ye house of Israel, and giue yee eare, O house of the king: for iudgement is toward you, because yee haue beene a snare on Mizpah, and a net spread vpon Tabor.

2And the reuolters are profound to make slaughter, though I haue bene a rebuker of them all.

3I know Ephraim, and Israel is not hid from me: for now, O Ephraim, thou committest whordome, and Israel is defiled.

4They will not frame their doings to turne vnto their God: for the spirit of whoredomes is in the midst of them, and they haue not knowen the Lord.

5And the pride of Israel doth testifie to his face: therefore shall Israel and Ephraim fall in their iniquity: Iudah also shall fall with them.

6They shall goe with their flocks, and with their heards to seeke the Lord: but they shall not finde him, he hath withdrawen himselfe from them.

7They haue dealt treacherously against the Lord: for they haue begotten strange children, now shall a moneth deuoure them with their portions.

8Blow yee the cornet in Gibeah, and the trumpet in Ramah: cry alowd at Beth-auen: after thee, O Beniamin.

9Ephraim shall be desolate in the day of rebuke: among the tribes of Israel haue I made knowen that which shall surely be.

10The Princes of Iudah were like them that remooue the bound: therefore I will powre out my wrath vpon them like water.

11Ephraim is oppressed, and broken in iudgement: because he willingly walked after the commandement.

12Therefore wil I be vnto Ephraim as a moth: and to the house of Iudah as rottennesse.

13When Ephraim saw his sicknesse, and Iudah saw his wound: then went Ephraim to the Assyrian, and sent to king Iareb; yet could he not heale you, nor cure you of your wound.

14For I will bee vnto Ephraim as a Lion, and as a yong Lion to the house of Iudah: I, euen I wil teare and goe away: I will take away, and none shall rescue him.

15 I will goe and returne to my place, till they acknowledge their offence, and seeke my face: in their affliction they will seeke me early.

II == Isa 29:15

 

 

 

 

III == Ezek 23:5 ; Hos 4:17 ; Amos 3:2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

VI == Isa 1:15 ; Jer 11:11 ; John 7:34

 

VII == Jer 3:20

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

XI == Deut 28:33

 

 

XII == Prov 12:4

XIII == 2nd Kings 15:19 ; Jer 30:12 ; Hos 7:11 ; 10:6 ; 12:1

 

 

XIV == Ps 50:22 ; Lam 3:10 ; Hos 13:7-8

 

XV == Lev 26:40-41 ; Ps 78:34 ; Jer 29:12-13 ; Ezek 6:9 ; 20:43 ; 36:31

1 Hear this, O priests, Pay attention, O house of Israel, O household of the king, give ear! It is you who are called to judgment. For you have become a snare at Mizpah, and a net spread upon Tabor.

2 In their perversity they have sunk into wickedness, and I am rejected by them all.

3 I know Ephraim, and Israel is not hidden from me; Now Ephraim has played the harlot, Israel is defiled.

4 Their deeds do not allow them to return to their God; For the spirit of harlotry is in them, and they do not recognize the LORD.

5 The arrogance of Israel bears witness against him; Ephraim stumbles in his guilt, and Judah stumbles with them.

6 With their flocks and their herds they shall go to seek the LORD, but they shall not find him; he has withdrawn himself from them.

7 They have been untrue to the LORD, for they have begotten illegitimate children; Now shall the new moon devour them together with their fields.

8 Blow the horn in Gibeah, the trumpet in Ramah! Sound the alarm in Beth-aven: "Look behind you, O Benjamin!"

9 Ephraim shall become a waste on the day of chastisement: Against the tribes of Israel I announce what is sure to be.

10 The princes of Judah have become like those that move a boundary line; Upon them I will pour out my wrath like water.

11 Is Ephraim maltreated, his rights violated? No, he has willingly gone after filth!

12 I am like a moth for Ephraim, like maggots for the house of Judah.

13 When Ephraim saw his infirmity, and Judah his sore, Ephraim went to Assyria, and Judah sent to the great king. But he cannot heal you nor take away your sore.

14 For I am like a lion to Ephraim, like a young lion to the house of Judah; It is I who rend the prey and depart, I carry it away and no one can save it from me.

15 I will go back to my place until they pay for their guilt and seek my presence.

EPHRAIM SHALL BECOME A DESOLATION

v 1-3 King, People, and Priests were revolting against God.

Israel and Judah are both warned that the immoral priesthood was luring people into wickedness throughout the land, and were due for punishment to restore them to proper actions before the Lord.

 

V 4-5 Proud of being steep in sin. Israel had become corrupt and could not hide it from God, neither would they repent. Judah was following in the same path.

 

v 6. Hypocritical offerings would do no good when the Lord withdrew from them.

 

v 7. As Hosea’s wife bore illegitimate children, children by other than husbands, these people gained children from the cult prostitution. So they would be harmed by drouth, insects and foreign armies.

 

v 8,9. Israel would soon hear the sound of invading armies from the north, and Benjamin from the south would follow, and God declares it shall come to pass.

 

v 10. Removing boundaries was a serious offense, Deut. 19:14; 27:17, and the leaders were disobeying just as seriously, so they would face God’s wrath like a flood.

 

v 11-14. Judgment had already begun on Ephraim for following after false gods. Ephraim was being eaten away like a moth, and Judah as rotting. Israel made alliance with Assyria, 2 Ki. 17 as Judah did, 2 Ki. 16, but they couldn’t cure what God wounded. The moth would become a raging lion as God brought judgment and had Assyria take Ephraim into captivity, 2 Ki. 17. Assyria overran Judah in 701 BC, but God killed 180,000 invaders in one night, but Judah was left damaged. Nebuchadnezzar finally conquered her, 2 Ki. 25, in 586 BC. Rescue looks partly on to the Millennium.

 

v 15. God would leave them to their punishment until they sincerely sought Him.