The Lord Will Punish Israel

Hosea 9

1 Do a not rejoice, O Israel, with joy like other peoples,
For you have played the harlot against your God.
You have made love for b hire on every threshing floor. 2 The threshing floor and the winepress
Shall not feed them,
And the new wine shall fail in her. 3 They shall not dwell in c the LORD's land,
d But Ephraim shall return to Egypt,
And e shall eat unclean things in Assyria.

4 They shall not offer wine offerings to the LORD,
Nor f shall their g sacrifices be pleasing to Him.
It shall be like bread of mourners to them;
All who eat it shall be defiled.
For their bread shall be for their own life;
It shall not come into the house of the LORD.

5 What will you do in the appointed day,
And in the day of the feast of the LORD? 6 For indeed they are gone because of destruction.
Egypt shall gather them up;
Memphis shall bury them.
h Nettles shall possess their valuables of silver;
Thorns shall be in their tents.

7 The i days of punishment have come;
The days of recompense have come.
Israel knows!
The prophet is a j fool,
k The spiritual man is insane,
Because of the greatness of your iniquity and great enmity. 8 The l watchman of Ephraim is with my God;
But the prophet is a 1 fowler's snare in all his ways -
Enmity in the house of his God. 9 m They are deeply corrupted,
As in the days of n Gibeah.
He will remember their iniquity;
He will punish their sins.

10 "I found Israel
Like grapes in the o wilderness;
I saw your fathers
As the p firstfruits on the fig tree in its first season.
But they went to q Baal Peor,
And 2 separated themselves to that shame;
r They became an abomination like the thing they loved. 11 As for Ephraim, their glory shall fly away like a bird -
No birth, no pregnancy, and no conception! 12 Though they bring up their children,
Yet I will bereave them to the last man.
Yes, s woe to them when I depart from them! 13 Just t as I saw Ephraim like Tyre, planted in a pleasant place,
So Ephraim will bring out his children to the murderer." 14 Give them, O LORD -
What will You give?
Give them u a miscarrying womb
And dry breasts!

15 "All their wickedness is in v Gilgal,
For there I hated them.
Because of the evil of their deeds
I will drive them from My house;
I will love them no more.
w All their princes are rebellious.

16 Ephraim is x stricken,
Their root is dried up;
They shall bear no fruit.
Yes, were they to bear children,
I would kill the darlings of their womb." 17 My God will y cast them away,
Because they did not obey Him;
And they shall be z wanderers among the nations.

Hosea 10

1 Israel a empties his vine;
He brings forth fruit for himself.
According to the multitude of his fruit
b He has increased the altars;
According to the bounty of his land
They have embellished his sacred pillars. 2 Their heart is c divided; 3
Now they are held guilty.
He will break down their altars;
He will ruin their sacred pillars.

3 For now they say,
"We have no king,
Because we did not fear the LORD.
And as for a king, what would he do for us?" 4 They have spoken words,
Swearing falsely in making a covenant.
Thus judgment springs up d like hemlock in the furrows of the field. 5 The inhabitants of Samaria fear
Because of the e calf 4 of Beth Aven.
For its people mourn for it,
And 5 its priests shriek for it -
Because its f glory has departed from it. 6 The idol also shall be carried to Assyria
As a present for King g Jareb.
Ephraim shall receive shame,
And Israel shall be ashamed of his own counsel.

7 As for Samaria, her king is cut off
Like a twig on the water. 8 Also the h high places of 6 Aven, i the sin of Israel,
Shall be destroyed.
The thorn and thistle shall grow on their altars;
j They shall say to the mountains, "Cover us!"
And to the hills, "Fall on us!"

9 "O Israel, you have sinned from the days of k Gibeah;
There they stood.
The l battle in Gibeah against the children of 7 iniquity
Did not 8 overtake them. 10 When it is My desire, I will chasten them.
m Peoples shall be gathered against them
When I bind them 9 for their two transgressions.

11 Ephraim is n a trained heifer
That loves to thresh grain;
But I harnessed her fair neck,
I will make Ephraim 10 pull a plow.
Judah shall plow;
Jacob shall break his clods." 12 Sow for yourselves righteousness;
Reap in mercy;
o Break up your fallow ground,
For it is time to seek the LORD,
Till He p comes and rains righteousness on you.

13 q You have plowed wickedness;
You have reaped iniquity.
You have eaten the fruit of lies,
Because you trusted in your own way,
In the multitude of your mighty men. 14 Therefore tumult shall arise among your people,
And all your fortresses shall be plundered
As Shalman plundered Beth Arbel in the day of battle -
A mother dashed in pieces upon her children. 15 Thus it shall be done to you, O Bethel,
Because of your great wickedness.
At dawn the king of Israel
Shall be cut off utterly.

  1. Cross References
    Isaiah 22:12
    And in that day the Lord GOD of hosts Called for weeping and for mourning, For baldness and for girding with sackcloth.
    Isaiah 22:13
    But instead, joy and gladness, Slaying oxen and killing sheep, Eating meat and drinking wine: "Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die!
    Hosea 10:5
    The inhabitants of Samaria fear Because of the calf of Beth Aven. For its people mourn for it, And its priests shriek for it - Because its glory has departed from it.
  2. Cross References
    Jeremiah 44:17
    But we will certainly do whatever has gone out of our own mouth, to burn incense to the queen of heaven and pour out drink offerings to her, as we have done, we and our fathers, our kings and our princes, in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem. For then we had plenty of food, were well-off, and saw no trouble.
  3. Cross References
    Leviticus 25:23
    The land shall not be sold permanently, for the land is Mine; for you are strangers and sojourners with Me.
    Jeremiah 2:7
    I brought you into a bountiful country, To eat its fruit and its goodness. But when you entered, you defiled My land And made My heritage an abomination.
  4. Cross References
    Hosea 7:16
    They return, but not to the Most High; They are like a treacherous bow. Their princes shall fall by the sword For the cursings of their tongue. This shall be their derision in the land of Egypt.
    Hosea 8:13
    For the sacrifices of My offerings they sacrifice flesh and eat it, But the LORD does not accept them. Now He will remember their iniquity and punish their sins. They shall return to Egypt.
  5. Cross References
    Ezekiel 4:13
    Then the LORD said, "So shall the children of Israel eat their defiled bread among the Gentiles, where I will drive them.
  6. Cross References
    Jeremiah 6:20
    For what purpose to Me Comes frankincense from Sheba, And sweet cane from a far country? Your burnt offerings are not acceptable, Nor your sacrifices sweet to Me.
  7. Cross References
    Hosea 8:13
    For the sacrifices of My offerings they sacrifice flesh and eat it, But the LORD does not accept them. Now He will remember their iniquity and punish their sins. They shall return to Egypt.
    Amos 5:22
    Though you offer Me burnt offerings and your grain offerings, I will not accept them, Nor will I regard your fattened peace offerings.
  8. Cross References
    Isaiah 5:6
    I will lay it waste; It shall not be pruned or dug, But there shall come up briers and thorns. I will also command the clouds That they rain no rain on it.
    Isaiah 7:23
    It shall happen in that day, That wherever there could be a thousand vines Worth a thousand shekels of silver, It will be for briers and thorns.
    Hosea 10:8
    Also the high places of Aven, the sin of Israel, Shall be destroyed. The thorn and thistle shall grow on their altars; They shall say to the mountains, "Cover us!" And to the hills, "Fall on us!
  9. Cross References
    Isaiah 10:3
    What will you do in the day of punishment, And in the desolation which will come from afar? To whom will you flee for help? And where will you leave your glory?
    Jeremiah 10:15
    They are futile, a work of errors; In the time of their punishment they shall perish.
    Micah 7:4
    The best of them is like a brier; The most upright is sharper than a thorn hedge; The day of your watchman and your punishment comes; Now shall be their perplexity.
    Luke 21:22
    For these are the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled.
  10. Cross References
    Lamentations 2:14
    Your prophets have seen for you False and deceptive visions; They have not uncovered your iniquity, To bring back your captives, But have envisioned for you false prophecies and delusions.
    Ezekiel 13:3
    Thus says the Lord GOD: "Woe to the foolish prophets, who follow their own spirit and have seen nothing!
    Ezekiel 13:10
    Because, indeed, because they have seduced My people, saying, 'Peace!' when there is no peace - and one builds a wall, and they plaster it with untempered mortar -
  11. Cross References
    Micah 2:11
    If a man should walk in a false spirit And speak a lie, saying, 'I will prophesy to you of wine and drink,' Even he would be the prattler of this people.
  12. Cross References
    Jeremiah 6:17
    Also, I set watchmen over you, saying, 'Listen to the sound of the trumpet!' But they said, 'We will not listen.
    Jeremiah 31:6
    For there shall be a day When the watchmen will cry on Mount Ephraim, 'Arise, and let us go up to Zion, To the LORD our God.'
    Ezekiel 3:17
    Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; therefore hear a word from My mouth, and give them warning from Me:
    Ezekiel 33:7
    So you, son of man: I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; therefore you shall hear a word from My mouth and warn them for Me.
  13. Cross References
    Hosea 10:9
    O Israel, you have sinned from the days of Gibeah; There they stood. The battle in Gibeah against the children of iniquity Did not overtake them.
  14. Cross References
    Judges 19:22
    As they were enjoying themselves, suddenly certain men of the city, perverted men, surrounded the house and beat on the door. They spoke to the master of the house, the old man, saying, "Bring out the man who came to your house, that we may know him carnally!
  15. Cross References
    Jeremiah 2:2
    Go and cry in the hearing of Jerusalem, saying, 'Thus says the LORD: "I remember you, The kindness of your youth, The love of your betrothal, When you went after Me in the wilderness, In a land not sown.
  16. Cross References
    Isaiah 28:4
    And the glorious beauty is a fading flower Which is at the head of the verdant valley, Like the first fruit before the summer, Which an observer sees; He eats it up while it is still in his hand.
    Micah 7:1
    Woe is me! For I am like those who gather summer fruits, Like those who glean vintage grapes; There is no cluster to eat Of the first-ripe fruit which my soul desires.
  17. Cross References
    Numbers 25:3
    So Israel was joined to Baal of Peor, and the anger of the LORD was aroused against Israel.
    Psalms 106:28
    They joined themselves also to Baal of Peor, And ate sacrifices made to the dead.
  18. Cross References
    Psalms 81:12
    So I gave them over to their own stubborn heart, To walk in their own counsels.
  19. Cross References
    Deuteronomy 31:17
    "Then My anger shall be aroused against them in that day, and I will forsake them, and I will hide My face from them, and they shall be devoured. And many evils and troubles shall befall them, so that they will say in that day, 'Have not these evils come upon us because our God is not among us?'
    Hosea 7:13
    Woe to them, for they have fled from Me! Destruction to them, Because they have transgressed against Me! Though I redeemed them, Yet they have spoken lies against Me.
  20. Cross References
    Ezekiel 26:1
    And it came to pass in the eleventh year, on the first day of the month, that the word of the LORD came to me, saying.
    Ezekiel 28:1
    The word of the LORD came to me again, saying.
  21. Cross References
    Luke 23:29
    "For indeed the days are coming in which they will say, 'Blessed are the barren, wombs that never bore, and breasts which never nursed!'
  22. Cross References
    Hosea 4:15
    Though you, Israel, play the harlot, Let not Judah offend. Do not come up to Gilgal, Nor go up to Beth Aven, Nor swear an oath, saying, 'As the LORD lives' -
    Hosea 12:11
    Though Gilead has idols - Surely they are vanity - Though they sacrifice bulls in Gilgal, Indeed their altars shall be heaps in the furrows of the field.
  23. Cross References
    Isaiah 1:23
    Your princes are rebellious, And companions of thieves; Everyone loves bribes, And follows after rewards. They do not defend the fatherless, Nor does the cause of the widow come before them.
    Hosea 5:2
    The revolters are deeply involved in slaughter, Though I rebuke them all.
  24. Cross References
    Hosea 5:11
    Ephraim is oppressed and broken in judgment, Because he willingly walked by human precept.
  25. Cross References
    2 Kings 17:20
    And the LORD rejected all the descendants of Israel, afflicted them, and delivered them into the hand of plunderers, until He had cast them from His sight.
    Zechariah 10:6
    I will strengthen the house of Judah, And I will save the house of Joseph. I will bring them back, Because I have mercy on them. They shall be as though I had not cast them aside; For I am the LORD their God, And I will hear them.
  26. Cross References
    Leviticus 26:33
    I will scatter you among the nations and draw out a sword after you; your land shall be desolate and your cities waste.
  27. Cross References
    Nahum 2:2
    For the LORD will restore the excellence of Jacob Like the excellence of Israel, For the emptiers have emptied them out And ruined their vine branches.
  28. Cross References
    Jeremiah 2:28
    But where are your gods that you have made for yourselves? Let them arise, If they can save you in the time of your trouble; For according to the number of your cities Are your gods, O Judah.
    Hosea 8:11
    Because Ephraim has made many altars for sin, They have become for him altars for sinning.
    Hosea 12:11
    Though Gilead has idols - Surely they are vanity - Though they sacrifice bulls in Gilgal, Indeed their altars shall be heaps in the furrows of the field.
  29. Cross References
    1 Kings 18:21
    And Elijah came to all the people, and said, "How long will you falter between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him." But the people answered him not a word.
    Zephaniah 1:5
    Those who worship the host of heaven on the housetops; Those who worship and swear oaths by the LORD, But who also swear by Milcom.
    Matthew 6:24
    No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.
  30. Cross References
    Deuteronomy 31:16
    And the LORD said to Moses: "Behold, you will rest with your fathers; and this people will rise and play the harlot with the gods of the foreigners of the land, where they go to be among them, and they will forsake Me and break My covenant which I have made with them.
    Deuteronomy 31:17
    "Then My anger shall be aroused against them in that day, and I will forsake them, and I will hide My face from them, and they shall be devoured. And many evils and troubles shall befall them, so that they will say in that day, 'Have not these evils come upon us because our God is not among us?'
    2 Kings 17:3
    Shalmaneser king of Assyria came up against him; and Hoshea became his vassal, and paid him tribute money.
    2 Kings 17:4
    And the king of Assyria uncovered a conspiracy by Hoshea; for he had sent messengers to So, king of Egypt, and brought no tribute to the king of Assyria, as he had done year by year. Therefore the king of Assyria shut him up, and bound him in prison.
    Amos 5:7
    You who turn justice to wormwood, And lay righteousness to rest in the earth!
  31. Cross References
    1 Kings 12:28
    Therefore the king asked advice, made two calves of gold, and said to the people, "It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem. Here are your gods, O Israel, which brought you up from the land of Egypt!
    1 Kings 12:29
    And he set up one in Bethel, and the other he put in Dan.
    Hosea 8:5
    Your calf is rejected, O Samaria! My anger is aroused against them - How long until they attain to innocence?
    Hosea 8:6
    For from Israel is even this: A workman made it, and it is not God; But the calf of Samaria shall be broken to pieces.
    Hosea 13:2
    Now they sin more and more, And have made for themselves molded images, Idols of their silver, according to their skill; All of it is the work of craftsmen. They say of them, "Let the men who sacrifice kiss the calves!
  32. Cross References
    Hosea 9:11
    As for Ephraim, their glory shall fly away like a bird - No birth, no pregnancy, and no conception!
  33. Cross References
    Hosea 5:13
    When Ephraim saw his sickness, And Judah saw his wound, Then Ephraim went to Assyria And sent to King Jareb; Yet he cannot cure you, Nor heal you of your wound.
  34. Cross References
    Hosea 4:15
    Though you, Israel, play the harlot, Let not Judah offend. Do not come up to Gilgal, Nor go up to Beth Aven, Nor swear an oath, saying, 'As the LORD lives' -
  35. Cross References
    Deuteronomy 9:21
    Then I took your sin, the calf which you had made, and burned it with fire and crushed it and ground it very small, until it was as fine as dust; and I threw its dust into the brook that descended from the mountain.
    1 Kings 13:34
    And this thing was the sin of the house of Jeroboam, so as to exterminate and destroy it from the face of the earth.
  36. Cross References
    Isaiah 2:19
    They shall go into the holes of the rocks, And into the caves of the earth, From the terror of the LORD And the glory of His majesty, When He arises to shake the earth mightily.
    Luke 23:30
    "Then they will begin 'to say to the mountains, "Fall on us!" and to the hills, "Cover us!"'
    Revelation 6:16
    And said to the mountains and rocks, "Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb!
  37. Cross References
    Hosea 9:9
    They are deeply corrupted, As in the days of Gibeah. He will remember their iniquity; He will punish their sins.
  38. Cross References
    Judges 20:1
    So all the children of Israel came out, from Dan to Beersheba, as well as from the land of Gilead, and the congregation gathered together as one man before the LORD at Mizpah.
  39. Cross References
    Jeremiah 16:16
    Behold, I will send for many fishermen," says the LORD, "and they shall fish them; and afterward I will send for many hunters, and they shall hunt them from every mountain and every hill, and out of the holes of the rocks.
  40. Cross References
    Jeremiah 50:11
    Because you were glad, because you rejoiced, You destroyers of My heritage, Because you have grown fat like a heifer threshing grain, And you bellow like bulls.
    Hosea 4:16
    For Israel is stubborn Like a stubborn calf; Now the LORD will let them forage Like a lamb in open country.
    Micah 4:13
    "Arise and thresh, O daughter of Zion; For I will make your horn iron, And I will make your hooves bronze; You shall beat in pieces many peoples; I will consecrate their gain to the LORD, And their substance to the Lord of the whole earth."
  41. Cross References
    Jeremiah 4:3
    For thus says the LORD to the men of Judah and Jerusalem: "Break up your fallow ground, And do not sow among thorns.
  42. Cross References
    Hosea 6:3
    Let us know, Let us pursue the knowledge of the LORD. His going forth is established as the morning; He will come to us like the rain, Like the latter and former rain to the earth.
  43. Cross References
    Job 4:8
    Even as I have seen, Those who plow iniquity And sow trouble reap the same.
    Proverbs 22:8
    He who sows iniquity will reap sorrow, And the rod of his anger will fail.
    Galatians 6:7
    Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.
    Galatians 6:8
    For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life.
New King James Version (NKJV) Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.
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