Font Size
Hosea 5
EasyEnglish Bible
Hosea 5
EasyEnglish Bible
God will punish Israel and Judah for their sins
5 ‘Listen to this, you priests! Listen carefully, you Israelites! Listen, you people of the royal family! You are guilty and you deserve punishment. You have caused trouble for people with your trap at Mizpah. You have caught people in your net at Tabor mountain.[a] 2 People have turned against me and they have murdered many people. So I will warn them all and I will punish them.
3 I know what the people of Ephraim are like.[b] The Israelites cannot hide their sins from me. You are no better than prostitutes! You can no longer serve me as my people. 4 Yes, the sins of the Israelites do not allow them to return to me, the Lord their God. They are not faithful to me and they love to worship idols. They do not want to know me. 5 The Israelites are proud of what they do, and that shows that they are guilty. Their sins cause them to fall into great trouble. That will happen to the people of Israel and Ephraim. And the people of Judah will fall with them.
6 They take their sheep and cows to offer as sacrifices to the Lord. They want the Lord to help them, but he does not answer them. They cannot find him because he has gone away from them. 7 They have turned against the Lord. Their children do not belong to him. They enjoy the new moon feast. But that will soon destroy them and the crops in their fields.’
War between Judah and Israel
8 ‘Make a noise with your horns in Gibeah!
Make a noise with your trumpets in Ramah!
Warn the people in Beth Aven of danger!
Men of Benjamin's tribe, prepare to fight![c]
9 The day for Ephraim's punishment will soon come.
That will be the end of them!
I make this promise to all the tribes of Israel.
It will certainly happen!
10 The leaders of Judah are not honest.
They are like people who move the stones that show the edge of their land.
So I will punish them with my strong anger.[d]
11 Terrible trouble will come to Ephraim's people.
They will receive great punishment.
They deserve that because they chose to worship idols.
12 I will destroy the people of Ephraim,
as a moth eats cloth.
I will also destroy the people of Judah,
as ants destroy wood.
13 Ephraim's people knew that they were not well.
Judah's people knew that they had wounds.
Ephraim's leaders expected Assyria to help them.
They asked Assyria's great king for help.
But he is not able to make you well.[e]
He cannot make your wounds better.
14 I will attack Ephraim's people like a lion.
I will also attack Judah's people like a young lion.
I myself will tear them into pieces.
I will carry them away.
Nobody will be able to rescue them.
15 Then I will return to my place.
I will leave them to receive their full punishment.
When they have suffered enough, they will turn back to me.
They will want to serve me again.’
Footnotes
- 5:1 The leaders of Israel have caused trouble for their people. They have led them to worship false gods. It is like they have caught the people in a trap or a net.
- 5:3 Ephraim was the name that people used for the northern kingdom of Israel.
- 5:8 Gibeah, Ramah and Beth Aven were all near Jerusalem. Benjamin's tribe belonged to the kingdom of Judah in the south.
- 5:10 Hosea says that Judah's people have taken land that does not belong to them. To move stones that show the edge of someone's land was against God's laws. See Deuteronomy 19:14.
- 5:13 Judah's people asked Assyria for help after Syria and Israel attacked them in 734 BC.
Hosea 5
New International Version
Hosea 5
New International Version
Judgment Against Israel
5 “Hear this, you priests!
Pay attention, you Israelites!
Listen, royal house!
This judgment(A) is against you:
You have been a snare(B) at Mizpah,
a net(C) spread out on Tabor.
2 The rebels are knee-deep in slaughter.(D)
I will discipline all of them.(E)
3 I know all about Ephraim;
Israel is not hidden(F) from me.
Ephraim, you have now turned to prostitution;
Israel is corrupt.(G)
4 “Their deeds do not permit them
to return(H) to their God.
A spirit of prostitution(I) is in their heart;
they do not acknowledge(J) the Lord.
5 Israel’s arrogance testifies(K) against them;
the Israelites, even Ephraim, stumble(L) in their sin;
Judah also stumbles with them.(M)
6 When they go with their flocks and herds
to seek the Lord,(N)
they will not find him;
he has withdrawn(O) himself from them.
7 They are unfaithful(P) to the Lord;
they give birth to illegitimate(Q) children.
When they celebrate their New Moon feasts,(R)
he will devour[a](S) their fields.
8 “Sound the trumpet(T) in Gibeah,(U)
the horn in Ramah.(V)
Raise the battle cry in Beth Aven[b];(W)
lead on, Benjamin.
9 Ephraim will be laid waste(X)
on the day of reckoning.(Y)
Among the tribes of Israel
I proclaim what is certain.(Z)
10 Judah’s leaders are like those
who move boundary stones.(AA)
I will pour out my wrath(AB) on them
like a flood of water.
11 Ephraim is oppressed,
trampled in judgment,
intent on pursuing idols.[c](AC)
12 I am like a moth(AD) to Ephraim,
like rot(AE) to the people of Judah.
13 “When Ephraim(AF) saw his sickness,
and Judah his sores,
then Ephraim turned to Assyria,(AG)
and sent to the great king for help.(AH)
But he is not able to cure(AI) you,
not able to heal your sores.(AJ)
14 For I will be like a lion(AK) to Ephraim,
like a great lion to Judah.
I will tear them to pieces(AL) and go away;
I will carry them off, with no one to rescue them.(AM)
15 Then I will return to my lair(AN)
until they have borne their guilt(AO)
and seek my face(AP)—
in their misery(AQ)
they will earnestly seek me.(AR)”
Footnotes
- Hosea 5:7 Or Now their New Moon feasts / will devour them and
- Hosea 5:8 Beth Aven means house of wickedness (a derogatory name for Bethel, which means house of God).
- Hosea 5:11 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
EasyEnglish Bible (EASY)
EasyEnglish Bible Copyright © MissionAssist 2019 - Charitable Incorporated Organisation 1162807. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.