OET-RV HOS Chapter 9

9 Don’t celebrate, Yisrael, with joy like the peoples,

because you’ve prostituted yourself—forsaking your God.

≈You’ve loved the wages of a sex-worker on all the threshing floors.

2 The grain threshing floor and the winepress won’t provide enough

≈and the grape harvest will fail them.

3 The people won’t remain on Yahweh’s land,

instead, Efrayim/Yisrael will return to Egypt,

≈and they’ll eat non-kosher food in Assyria.

4 They won’t pour out wine offerings to Yahweh,

≈and their sacrifices won’t please him.

To them, it’ll be like the food at a funeral—

everyone who eats it will become defiled.

Their food will only be for themselves to eat—

it won’t be allowed into Yahweh’s residence.

5 So what will you do on the day of a scheduled celebration,

and on the day of a festival for Yahweh?

6 Listen, even if they avoid destruction,

Egypt will gather them.

≈Mof (Memphis) city will bury them.

Nettles will possess their valuable silver.

≈Thornbushes will be in their tents.

7 The days of punishment have come.

≈The days of retribution have come.

Let Yisrael know these things.

The prophet is a fool,

≈the man of the spirit is insane,

because of the extent of your disobedience

≈and your intense hostility.[ref]

8 The prophet is the watchman over Efrayim/Yisrael with my God,

but the bird-catcher’s traps are on all of his paths,

and there’s hostility in his God’s house.

9 They have deeply corrupted themselves as in the time of Gibeah.

He will remember their iniquity.

≈He will punish their sins.[ref]

10 I found Yisrael like someone finding grapes there in the wilderness.

≈Like the first fruit on the fig tree in its first season, I saw your ancestors.

But they came to Baal-Peor and they devoted themselves to that shameful thing.

≈They became detestable like that which they loved.[ref]

11 As for Efrayim/Yisrael, their splendour will fly away like a bird—

no birth, no pregnancy, and no conception.

12 Even if they bring up their children, I’ll cause them all to die one by one.

≈Yes, it certainly won’t end well when I turn away from them!

13 Efrayim, as I have seen, is like Tsor (Tyre) planted in a meadow,

yet Efrayim will bring his children out to the slaughterman.”

14 Give them something, Yahweh—what will you give?

Give them a womb that miscarries, and breasts with no milk.

15 “All their evil is in Gilgal—indeed I came to hate them there.

Because of the wickedness of their deeds, I’ll drive them out of my house.

I won’t love them any more—all their leaders are rebels.

16 Efrayim is stricken—it’s root has withered so now it can’t bear any fruit.

≈Even if they give birth, I will kill the precious ones of their womb.”

17 My God will reject them because they haven’t listened to him.

→They will become wanderers among the nations.