Hosea 5

1 “Hear [listen carefully, pay attention] this, O priests [spiritual leaders, mediators between God and people]! Take heed [be aware, give ear], O house [family, descendants] of Israel [God’s chosen people]! Give ear [listen, obey], O royal house [king’s family, rulers]! For this judgment [justice, verdict] is against you because you have been a snare [trap, deceit] at Mizpah [watchtower, place of observation], a net [trap, device for catching] spread out [stretched, extended] on Tabor [mountain, high place]. word study 2 The rebels [revolters, those who turn away from what is right] are deep [profound, having gone far into sin] in slaughter [to massacre, making victims]; but I [the Lord, the one who disciplines] will chastise [discipline, correct] them all [everything, the entirety of their being]. word study 3 I [personally, intimately] know all about Ephraim [doubly fruitful, a tribe of Israel], and Israel [God’s chosen people] is not hidden [concealed, unseen] from Me. For now [at this time, currently], O Ephraim, you have turned to [committed, engaged in] prostitution [fornication, idolatry, spiritual adultery]; Israel [the nation, God’s people] is defiled [morally contaminated, ceremonially unclean]. word study 4 Their deeds [actions, practices] do not permit them to return [to turn back, to repent] to their God [Elohim, the supreme Lord], for a spirit [the breath of life] of prostitution [fornication, idolatry] is within them, and they do not know [are ignorant of, have not experienced] the LORD [Yehovah, the covenant God]. word study 5 Israel’s [national, arrogant] arrogance [pride, self-exaltation] testifies [bears witness, gives an answer] against them; Israel [the descendants of Jacob] and Ephraim [doubly fruitful, a tribe of Israel] stumble [fall, lose their balance] in their [moral, wicked] iniquity; even [also, too] Judah [the tribe of Judah] stumbles [falls, is overthrown] with them. word study 6 They go [with their possessions, alongside] with their flocks [sheep or goats] and herds [cattle, domesticated animals] to seek [search diligently, inquire of] the LORD [Yehovah, The covenant Name of God], but they do not find [discover, attain] Him; He has withdrawn [removed, hidden] Himself from them. word study 7 They have been unfaithful [dealt treacherously, acted deceitfully] to the LORD [Yehovah, The covenant Name of God]; for they have borne [begotten, given birth to] illegitimate [strange, foreign] children. Now [at this time, in this moment] the New Moon [a month, a lunar cycle] will devour [eat, consume] them along with their land [fields, portions, inheritance]. word study 8 Blow the ram’s horn [trumpet] in Gibeah, the trumpet [cornet, a signal for battle] in Ramah; raise the battle cry [sound an alarm, shout a warning] in Beth-aven [house of vanity, a place of idolatry]: Lead on [go ahead, take the lead], O Benjamin [son of the right hand, a tribe of Israel]! word study 9 Ephraim [the doubly fruitful tribe] will be laid waste [desolate, in a state of horror] on the day [a literal 24-hour period or a figurative space of time] of rebuke [correction, verbal chastisement]. Among the tribes [clans] of Israel [Jacob’s descendants] I proclaim [make known, reveal] what is certain [faithful, trustworthy, a sure thing]. word study 10 The princes [rulers, leaders] of Judah are like those who [illegally] move boundary stones [landmarks, borders]; I will pour out My fury [anger, wrath] upon them like water [a spring or watercourse]. word study 11 Ephraim [the doubly fruitful tribe] is oppressed [crushed by injustice], crushed [broken in spirit] in judgment [justice, righteous verdict], for he is determined [willingly, with intent] to follow [walk after, pursue] worthless [empty, vain] idols [false gods, commandments]. word study 12 So I am like a moth [a fragile, easily destroyed creature] to Ephraim, and like decay [rottenness, moral corruption] to the house [dwelling place, family] of Judah [the tribe descended from Judah, the son of Jacob]. word study 13 When Ephraim [saw his spiritual disease] saw his sickness [or infirmity] and Judah [a deep hurt] his wound, then Ephraim [turned away from God] turned to Assyria [the great king’s empire] and sent to the great king [a powerful ruler, Jareb]. But he [the king, a mere man] cannot cure you [or heal your spiritual disease] or heal your wound [or remove the bandage of suffering]. word study 14 For I [the divine speaker] am like a lion [a fierce and powerful predator] to Ephraim and like a young lion [a strong and agile hunter] to the house [family or tribe] of Judah. I, even I [the Lord, emphasizing personal responsibility], will tear them to pieces [utterly destroy and rend] and then go away [depart, leaving them to their fate]. I will carry them off [take them captive, removing them from their land] where no one [none, without exception] can rescue them [deliver or save]. word study 15 Then I will return [go back, turn away] to My place [dwelling, abode] until they admit [acknowledge, recognize] their guilt [offense, wrongdoing] and seek [search for, inquire about] My face [presence, countenance]; in their affliction [trouble, distress] they will earnestly [diligently, with urgency] seek [search for, look to] Me.” word study