Hosea 7

¹ When I would heal Israel,
the guilt of Ephraim is exposed,
and the evil deeds of Samaria —
for they practice deceit.
The thief breaks in;
bandits raid in the streets.

² They never consider in their hearts
that I remember all their evil.
Now their deeds surround them;
they are right before my face.

³ They delight the king with their evil,
and the officials with their lies.

⁴ They are all adulterers,
burning like an oven whose fire the baker need not stir
from the kneading of the dough until it rises.

⁵ On the day of our king,
the officials became sick with the heat of wine;
he stretched out his hand with mockers.

⁶ For they draw near — their hearts are like an oven
as they lie in wait.
All night their anger smolders;
in the morning it blazes like a flaming fire.

⁷ All of them are hot as an oven;
they devour their rulers.
All their kings have fallen;
none of them calls on me.

⁸ Ephraim mixes himself among the nations;
Ephraim is a flat cake not turned over.

⁹ Foreigners devour his strength,
but he does not know it;
gray hairs are sprinkled on him,
but he does not know it.

¹⁰ Israel's arrogance testifies against him,
but they do not return to the LORD their God,
nor seek him despite all this.

¹¹ Ephraim is like a dove —
silly, without sense.
They call to Egypt;
they go to Assyria.

¹² When they go, I will spread my net over them;
I will bring them down like birds of the sky.
I will discipline them
as their assembly has heard.

¹³ Woe to them, for they have strayed from me!
Destruction to them, for they have rebelled against me!
I would redeem them,
but they speak lies against me.

¹⁴ They do not cry out to me from their hearts,
but they wail on their beds.
For grain and new wine they gash themselves;
they turn away from me.

¹⁵ Though I trained and strengthened their arms,
they plot evil against me.

¹⁶ They turn, but not upward;
they are like a treacherous bow.
Their officials will fall by the sword
because of the insolence of their tongue.
This will be their derision in the land of Egypt.