Hosea 7

Berean Standard Bible

Chapter summary

Hosea 7 describes the exposure of the sins, crimes, and deceit of Ephraim and Samaria, whose wicked deeds remain constantly before the Lord. The population engages in adultery and political corruption, likened to a heated baker's oven where princes become inflamed with wine and internal conspiracies consume their ruling kings. Ephraim mingles with foreign nations, losing strength and growing old without realizing it, while remaining arrogant and failing to seek or return to the Lord their God. Because Ephraim turns to Egypt and Assyria like a senseless dove, the Lord declares He will spread His net over them and bring them down for straying and rebelling. Finally, despite receiving training and strength, they plot evil against God, wail on their beds for grain and wine instead of crying out from their hearts, and ultimately face the falling of their leaders by the sword and ridicule in Egypt.

Summary automatically generated from the Bible text.

Words of Jesus in red

¹When I heal Israel, the iniquity of Ephraim will be exposed, as well as the crimes of Samaria. For they practice deceit and thieves break in; bandits raid in the streets. ²But they fail to consider in their hearts that I remember all their evil. Now their deeds are all around them; they are before My face. ³They delight the king with their evil, and the princes with their lies. ⁴They are all adulterers, like an oven heated by a baker who needs not stoke the fire from the kneading to the rising of the dough. ⁵The princes are inflamed with wine on the day of our king; so he joins hands with those who mock him. ⁶For they prepare their heart like an oven while they lie in wait; all night their anger smolders; in the morning it blazes like a flaming fire. ⁷All of them are hot as an oven, and they devour their rulers. All their kings fall; not one of them calls upon Me. ⁸Ephraim mixes with the nations; Ephraim is an unturned cake. ⁹Foreigners consume his strength, but he does not notice. Even his hair is streaked with gray, but he does not know. ¹⁰Israel’s arrogance testifies against them, yet they do not return to the LORD their God; despite all this, they do not seek Him. ¹¹So Ephraim has become like a silly, senseless dove— calling out to Egypt, then turning to Assyria. ¹²As they go, I will spread My net over them; I will bring them down like birds of the air. I will chastise them when I hear them flocking together. ¹³Woe to them, for they have strayed from Me! Destruction to them, for they have rebelled against Me! Though I would redeem them, they speak lies against Me. ¹⁴They do not cry out to Me from their hearts when they wail upon their beds. They slash themselves for grain and new wine, but turn away from Me. ¹⁵Although I trained and strengthened their arms, they plot evil against Me. ¹⁶They turn, but not to the Most High; they are like a faulty bow. Their leaders will fall by the sword for the cursing of their tongue; for this they will be ridiculed in the land of Egypt.

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Louis Segond 1910 and Berean Standard Bible: public domain. Cross references: open-cross-ref, Creative Commons BY 4.0.