Judgment on Leaders and Nation
Hosea 5:1-15
Hos.5.1 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- שמעו: VERB,qal,impv,2,m,pl
- זאת: DEM,f,sg
- הכהנים: NOUN,m,pl,def
- והקשיבו: VERB,hiph,imp,2,m,pl
- בית: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ישראל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ובית: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,cs
- המלך: NOUN,m,sg,def
- האזינו: VERB,hiph,imp,2,m,pl
- כי: CONJ
- לכם: PREP,2,m,pl
- המשפט: NOUN,m,sg,def
- כי: CONJ
- פח: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- הייתם: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,pl
- למצפה: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ורשת: CONJ+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- פרושה: ADJ,ptc,pass,f,sg
- על: PREP
- תבור: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Hosea 4:1 (verbal): Same prophetic summons — 'Hear the word' addressing Israel and announcing God’s contention and impending judgment for covenant unfaithfulness.
- Isaiah 1:10 (verbal): Opening address to leaders and people ('Hear the word... give ear') calling out the nation’s guilt and announcing judgment, a comparable prophetic mode.
- Ezekiel 22:26 (thematic): Condemns corrupt priests and leaders and pronounces judgment on them — parallels Hosea’s charge against priests and the house of the king.
- Psalm 7:15-16 (thematic): Uses hunting/trap imagery (digging a pit/they fall into the pit) similar to Hosea’s 'snare on Mizpah' and 'net upon Tabor' motif of deceit and divine retribution.
- Amos 3:2 (thematic): Addresses Israel’s special accountability and impending punishment — like Hosea’s direct charge to Israel and its leaders that judgment is coming for their sin.
Alternative generated candidates
- Hear this, O priests; give ear, O house of Israel; and house of the king, listen: for judgment is with you— for you are a snare at Mizpah and a net spread on Tabor.
- Hear this, O priests, and give ear, O house of Israel; O house of the king, listen— for judgment is for you. You have been a snare at Mizpah and a net spread on Tabor.
Hos.5.2 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- ושחטה: CONJ+VERB,qal,perf,3,f,sg
- שטים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- העמיקו: VERB,hiph,perf,3,m,pl
- ואני: PRON,1,sg
- מוסר: NOUN,m,sg,const
- לכלם: PREP+PRON,3,m,pl
Parallels
- Hosea 5:14 (verbal): Same chapter: God declares he will be like a lion to Ephraim, tearing and taking them away—parallel threat of violent punishment/being handed over.
- Ezekiel 9:6 (structural): Scene of divinely‑ordered execution of inhabitants as judgment; parallels the image of slaughter/handing over the guilty for destruction.
- Psalm 2:9 (verbal): Messianic oracle about breaking and dashing foes like a potter’s vessel; parallels the motif of decisive, crushing divine judgment.
- Zephaniah 1:14-18 (thematic): Day of the LORD imagery announcing sudden judgment, terror and widespread slaughter; parallels Hosea’s announcement of comprehensive punishment.
Alternative generated candidates
- They deepen the slaughter; they make the ruin profound— I will chastise them all.
- They offer slaughter; their schemes deepen— I will discipline them all.
Hos.5.3 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- אני: PRON,1,sg
- ידעתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,?,sg
- אפרים: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- וישראל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- לא: PART_NEG
- נכחד: VERB,niph,perf,3,m,sg
- ממני: PREP,suff,1,m,sg
- כי: CONJ
- עתה: ADV
- הזנית: VERB,hiphil,perf,2,m,sg
- אפרים: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- נטמא: VERB,niphal,perf,3,m,sg
- ישראל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Hosea 4:1 (thematic): Same prophetic context: accuses Israel/Ephraim of unfaithfulness and lack of knowledge of God (both verses locate moral/relational corruption in the nation).
- Psalm 139:1-4 (verbal): Expresses God’s intimate knowledge of a person’s inner life—parallels Hosea’s assertion ‘I know Ephraim… not hidden from me’ (divine omniscience theme).
- Ezekiel 16:15-16 (allusion): Uses prostitution/harlotry imagery to depict Israel’s unfaithfulness and defilement, closely resembling Hosea’s marital-metaphor denunciation.
- Jeremiah 3:6-10 (thematic): God’s indictment of Israel’s spiritual adultery and the consequences mirrors Hosea’s charge that Ephraim/Israel has prostituted itself and is defiled.
Alternative generated candidates
- I know Ephraim, and Israel is not hidden from me; for now Ephraim has gone whoring, Israel is defiled.
- I know Ephraim, and Israel is not hidden from me; for now Ephraim has played the harlot, Israel is defiled.
Hos.5.4 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- לא: PART_NEG
- יתנו: VERB,qal,impf,3,pl
- מעלליהם: NOUN,m,pl,abs+3mp
- לשוב: INF,qal
- אל: NEG
- אלהיהם: NOUN,m,pl,abs+3mp
- כי: CONJ
- רוח: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- זנונים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- בקרבם: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs+PRON,3,pl
- ואת: CONJ
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- לא: PART_NEG
- ידעו: VERB,qal,perf,3,pl
Parallels
- Hosea 4:12 (verbal): Same phraseology and image: a 'spirit of harlotry' leads the people astray and they abandon/cease to know the LORD—an immediate parallel within Hosea.
- Ezekiel 16:32-34 (thematic): Ezekiel uses prostitution/adultery imagery to portray Israel/Jerusalem's unfaithfulness to YHWH, paralleling the 'spirit of harlotry' and apostasy in Hosea.
- Jeremiah 3:6-8 (structural): Portrays the northern kingdom as a faithless wife who will not return—echoes Hosea's emphasis on Israel's refusal to return to their God.
- Isaiah 1:3 (verbal): The lament that 'Israel does not know' (contrasted with animals that know their owners) parallels Hosea's statement that they 'do not know the LORD.'
- Romans 1:21-25 (allusion): Paul's account of humanity's failure to honor/know God and turning to idolatry echoes Hosea's charge of spiritual prostitution and refusal to acknowledge the LORD.
Alternative generated candidates
- They will not give up their deeds to return to their God; for a spirit of harlotry is within them and they do not know the LORD.
- They will not return to their God, for a spirit of whoredom is within them, and they do not know the LORD.
Hos.5.5 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- וענה: CONJ+PN,m,sg,abs
- גאון: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ישראל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- בפניו: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,abs,3ms
- וישראל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ואפרים: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יכשלו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- בעונם: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,const+PRON,3,pl,m
- כשל: VERB,qal,perf,3,pl
- גם: ADV
- יהודה: NOUN,m,sg,prop
- עמם: PREP+PRON,3,m,pl
Parallels
- Hosea 5:6 (structural): Immediate context: vv.5–7 continue the theme — Israel’s pride and guilt bring divine judgment; they will seek the LORD but not find him, linking their stumbling to forfeited access to God.
- Hosea 4:6 (thematic): Same prophetic indictment: lack of knowledge and faithlessness of priests/people leads to destruction — connects Israel’s guilt and resulting downfall.
- Proverbs 16:18 (thematic): Classic wisdom parallel: 'Pride goes before destruction' — echoes the motif that Israel’s 'ga'on' (pride) precipitates stumbling and ruin.
- Proverbs 29:23 (thematic): Another wisdom saying linking pride to humiliation — reinforces Hosea’s point that lofty pride (ga'on) brings a nation low.
- Isaiah 2:11 (thematic): Prophetic theme of the humbling of human loftiness: the haughty and lofty will be abased, paralleling Hosea’s announcement that Israel’s pride will be answered and lead to stumbling.
Alternative generated candidates
- The pride of Israel will testify against him; Israel and Ephraim shall stumble in their guilt— yes, even Judah shall stumble with them.
- The arrogance of Israel will testify against him; Israel and Ephraim stumble in their guilt, and even Judah staggers with them.
Hos.5.6 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- בצאנם: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,abs,3,m,pl
- ובבקרם: CONJ+PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs,3,m,pl
- ילכו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- לבקש: PREP+VERB,qal,infc
- את: PRT,acc
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- ולא: CONJ
- ימצאו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- חלץ: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- מהם: PREP+PRON,3,m,pl
Parallels
- Amos 5:6 (verbal): Uses the same language of seeking the LORD and not finding him; both passages warn of divine withdrawal in response to Israel's sins.
- Amos 8:11-12 (verbal): Foretells a famine of hearing God's word: people will 'seek' the word of the LORD but 'shall not find' it—closely parallels Hosea's motif of fruitless seeking.
- Micah 3:4 (thematic): Speaks of people crying to the LORD when he will not answer and will hide his face—echoes Hosea's theme of God's hiddenness and refusal to be found.
- Deuteronomy 31:17 (allusion): God warns that he will 'hide his face' from the people when they turn to other gods; background legal/theological motif for the withdrawal described in Hosea 5:6.
Alternative generated candidates
- In their flocks and in their herds they shall go to seek the LORD, but they will not find him; he will withdraw from them.
- With their flocks and herds they will go seeking the LORD, but they will not find him; he has withdrawn from them.
Hos.5.7 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- ביהוה: PREP+PN,sg
- בגדו: NOUN,m,sg,abs+3ms
- כי: CONJ
- בנים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- זרים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- ילדו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- עתה: ADV
- יאכלם: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg+3mp
- חדש: ADJ,m,sg,abs
- את: PRT,acc
- חלקיהם: NOUN,m,pl,abs+3mp
Parallels
- Isaiah 1:2-4 (thematic): Both passages open with an accusation of Israel's treachery against YHWH and use the image of wayward children/the next generation to describe national corruption and estrangement from God.
- Jeremiah 3:6-10 (thematic): Jeremiah judges Israel/Judah for spiritual adultery and unfaithfulness to the LORD; like Hosea 5:7 it portrays covenant betrayal (’going after other lovers’) and consequent loss/judgment.
- Ezekiel 16:32-34 (thematic): Ezekiel depicts Jerusalem as an unfaithful wife who follows foreign lovers and suffers disgrace and loss—paralleling Hosea’s ‘born to strange children’ motif and the theme of punishment for covenant prostitution.
- Deuteronomy 32:21 (verbal): Moses’ song condemns Israel’s idolatry—‘I will provoke them to jealousy by a people that are not a people’—echoing Hosea’s contrast between faithfulness to YHWH and being given over to ‘strange/foreign’ influences and their consequences.
Alternative generated candidates
- They have betrayed the LORD, for they have begotten alien children; now the new moon will devour their portion.
- They have betrayed the LORD, for they have begotten pagan children; now the new moon will devour their portion.
Hos.5.8 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- תקעו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- שופר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- בגבעה: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- חצצרה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- ברמה: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- הריעו: VERB,qal,impv,2,pl
- בית: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- און: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אחריך: NOUN,m,sg,abs,2,m
- בנימין: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Joel 2:1 (verbal): “Blow the trumpet in Zion…” — the direct command to sound the alarm/trumpet as a warning of coming judgment echoes Hosea’s shofar/trumpet summons.
- Jeremiah 4:19 (verbal): “For I hear the sound of the trumpet, the alarm of war” — expresses the same trumpet‑alarm motif and the accompanying anguish/wailing.
- Ezekiel 33:3 (structural): The watchman who blows the trumpet to warn of danger parallels Hosea’s call to sound alarm on the heights as a communal warning.
- Judges 19–20 (structural): The atrocity at Gibeah and the civil war of Benjamin connect the place (Gibeah) and the tribe (Benjamin) invoked in Hosea, tying the prophecy to historical violence and communal lament.
- Jeremiah 51:27 (thematic): “Set up a banner… blow the trumpet among the nations” — trumpet on the heights to summon/alert nations echoes the image of blowing a horn on the hilltops in Hosea.
Alternative generated candidates
- Blow the trumpet in Gibeah, sound the horn at Ramah; shout, O house of wickedness—behind you, Benjamin!
- Blow the trumpet on the hill; sound the horn at Ramah. Proclaim, O Beth-aven; Benjamin, follow after!
Hos.5.9 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- אפרים: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- לשמה: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- תהיה: VERB,qal,imperfect,3,f,sg
- ביום: PREP
- תוכחה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- בשבטי: NOUN,m,pl,cons
- ישראל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- הודעתי: VERB,hiphil,perf,1,_,sg
- נאמנה: ADJ,f,sg
Parallels
- Hos.5.3 (verbal): Same chapter/theme: God declares His knowledge of Ephraim/Israel (“I know Ephraim… Israel is not hid from me”), paralleling Hos.5:9’s emphasis on Ephraim’s fate and God’s revelation among the tribes.
- Hos.5.5 (structural): Immediate context: links Ephraim’s pride and impending fall — both verses announce judgment on Ephraim/Israel as consequence of their sin.
- Amos 3:2 (thematic): Shared theological pattern: God’s special knowledge or relationship with Israel (‘You only have I known’) is the basis for issuing punishment — echoes Hos.5:9’s ‘day of rebuke’ tied to God’s disclosed decision.
- Hos.8:1 (thematic): Calls for alarm and impending judgment on Israel/Ephraim (‘Set the trumpet… he shall come like an eagle’), thematically parallel to the announcement of desolation in Hos.5:9.
Alternative generated candidates
- Ephraim shall be desolate on the day of punishment; among the tribes of Israel I have declared what is sure.
- Ephraim shall be desolate on the day of punishment; among the tribes of Israel I have made known what is certain.
Hos.5.10 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- היו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- שרי: NOUN,m,pl,cs
- יהודה: NOUN,m,sg,prop
- כמסיגי: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,cons
- גבול: NOUN,m,sg,cs
- עליהם: PREP,3,m,pl
- אשפוך: VERB,qal,imprf,1,m,sg
- כמים: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,abs
- עברתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,m,sg
Parallels
- Deuteronomy 19:14 (verbal): Direct legal prohibition against moving a neighbor’s boundary marker (’not remove your neighbor’s landmark’), which the Hosea verse condemns the princes for doing.
- Job 24:2 (verbal): Job accuses people of removing landmarks (boundary stones); uses the same motif of illicitly seizing land as in Hosea’s charge against Judah’s leaders.
- Proverbs 22:28 (verbal): “Do not move the ancient landmark” — proverbial injunction preserving inherited boundaries, thematically countering the conduct attributed to Judah’s princes in Hosea 5:10.
- Nahum 1:8 (thematic): God’s judgment pictured with overwhelming water/ flood imagery (“with an overflowing flood he will make a full end”), paralleling Hosea’s image of pouring out divine wrath like water on the offenders.
- Jeremiah 25:15 (thematic): The prophet is instructed to take and make nations drink a cup of God’s wrath (a pouring metaphor); thematically related to Hosea’s promise to pour out anger upon those who transgress borders.
Alternative generated candidates
- The princes of Judah are like those who remove a boundary; I will pour out my wrath like water upon them.
- The princes of Judah are like those who move a boundary; on them I will pour out my anger like water.
Hos.5.11 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- עשוק: ADJ,m,sg,abs
- אפרים: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- רצוץ: ADJ,m,sg,abs
- משפט: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- כי: CONJ
- הואיל: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- הלך: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- אחרי: PREP
- צו: VERB,qal,imp,2,m,sg
Parallels
- Hosea 4:12 (verbal): Same prophetic context: Israel/Ephraim turns to idols/diviners and harlotry; the book links apostasy to imminent judgment—parallels the cause (following other gods/idolatry) of Ephraim's being crushed in judgment.
- Hosea 8:14 (thematic): Declares that Israel has forgotten its maker and will face exile and devastation—continues Hosea's theme that apostasy leads to national crushing and judicial ruin like Ephraim in 5:11.
- Jeremiah 2:13 (allusion): 'They have forsaken me... and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns'—a characteristic prophetic indictment of exchanging the Lord for worthless things; explains why Israel/Ephraim suffers judgment and oppression.
- Amos 5:12 (thematic): Amos pronounces judgment on Israel for injustice and covenant unfaithfulness; the image of judicial breakdown and punishment echoes Ephraim being 'oppressed/ crushed in judgment' because of sinful pursuits.
Alternative generated candidates
- Ephraim is oppressed, crushed by justice, for he was eager to follow command.
- Ephraim is oppressed, his justice crushed, for he willingly followed a command.
Hos.5.12 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- ואני: PRON,1,sg
- כעש: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- לאפרים: PREP+NOUN,prop,m,pl,abs
- וכרקב: CONJ+PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- לבית: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,cns
- יהודה: NOUN,m,sg,prop
Parallels
- Isaiah 51:8 (verbal): Uses moth/worm imagery of being eaten like a garment (מַלְמָד), a direct verbal parallel to God as a consuming 'moth'—both portray divine judgment as corrosive consumption.
- Matthew 6:19 (verbal): Jesus warns that 'moth and rust destroy' earthly treasures; echoes OT motif of moth as an agent of decay/destruction used here to signify impermanence and judgment.
- Luke 12:33 (verbal): Parallel NT saying (like Matthew 6:19) employing moth-and-rust imagery to represent destructive forces—connects Hosea’s image of divine consumption to later ethical teaching about vanities subject to decay.
- Hoshea (Hosea) 13:16 (thematic): Within Hosea’s corpus—another pronouncement of judgment on Ephraim/Samaria describing violent ruin and loss of honor; thematically parallels 5:12’s announcement that God will bring consuming destruction on Ephraim (and Judah).
Alternative generated candidates
- And I am to Ephraim as a moth, and to the house of Judah like decay.
- And I am to Ephraim like a moth, and to the house of Judah like rot.
Hos.5.13 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- וירא: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- אפרים: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- את: PRT,acc
- חליו: NOUN,m,sg,abs+PRON,3,m,sg
- ויהודה: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- את: PRT,acc
- מזרו: NOUN,m,sg,abs,suff,3,m,sg
- וילך: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,m,sg
- אפרים: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אל: NEG
- אשור: NOUN,prop,m,sg
- וישלח: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- אל: NEG
- מלך: NOUN,m,sg,cons
- ירב: VERB,qal,juss,3,m,sg
- והוא: CONJ+PRON,3,m,sg
- לא: PART_NEG
- יוכל: VERB,qal,impf,3,ms
- לרפא: VERB,qal,inf
- לכם: PREP,2,m,pl
- ולא: CONJ
- יגהה: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- מכם: PREP,2,m,pl
- מזור: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Hosea 7:11 (verbal): Uses the same motif of Ephraim seeking foreign powers—'they call to Egypt, they go to Assyria'—highlighting political-religious unfaithfulness and dependence on allies instead of God.
- Hosea 8:9 (verbal): Explicitly states that Ephraim 'has gone up to Assyria' and likens Israel's foreign alliances to illicit lovers; echoes the charge that Assyria cannot truly heal Israel's moral/spiritual sickness.
- Isaiah 30:1-3 (thematic): Condemns reliance on foreign help (here Egypt) rather than trusting the LORD; parallels Hosea's warning that seeking other kings (Assyria) will not cure the nation's plight and brings shame.
- 2 Kings 17:6, 7-23 (structural): Narrates Israel's subjection and exile into Assyria as the outcome of covenant unfaithfulness and political entanglements; serves as historical fulfillment of the prophetic warning that Assyria will not 'heal' Israel but carry judgment.
Alternative generated candidates
- Ephraim saw his sickness and Judah his wound; then Ephraim went to Assyria and sent to King Jareb— but he cannot heal you, nor soothe your wound.
- When Ephraim saw his sickness and Judah his wound, Ephraim went to Assyria and sent to King Jareb; but he cannot heal you, nor cure you of your wound.
Hos.5.14 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- כי: CONJ
- אנכי: PRON,1,sg
- כשחל: CONJ+VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- לאפרים: PREP+NOUN,prop,m,pl,abs
- וככפיר: CONJ+PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- לבית: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,cns
- יהודה: NOUN,m,sg,prop
- אני: PRON,1,sg
- אני: PRON,1,sg
- אטרף: VERB,qal,impf,1,m,sg
- ואלך: CONJ+PREP+PRON,2,m,sg
- אשא: VERB,qal,impf,1,sg
- ואין: CONJ+PART,exist
- מציל: VERB,qal,part,3,m,sg
Parallels
- Hosea 13:7-8 (verbal): Near-verbatim repetition later in Hosea: God declares Himself ‘like a lion’ to Ephraim/Judah, will tear and go, carrying off with none to deliver (same imagery and wording).
- Psalm 7:2 (verbal): Uses the image of being torn like a lion and the phrase ‘while there is none to deliver’—similar language of a lion’s fatal attack and absence of rescue.
- Isaiah 31:4 (thematic): Portrays the LORD as like a lion or young lion confronting enemies—uses lion imagery to describe God’s fierce, decisive action on behalf of Zion.
- Amos 3:8 (thematic): Speaks of the LORD’s roar like a lion as a divine act that elicits fear and prophecy—parallel use of lion metaphor to signify God’s authoritative, intimidating judgment.
- Ezekiel 19:2-9 (thematic): An extended lament that uses lion and young-lion imagery to depict Israelite leaders and the devastation brought upon them—comparable motif of predatory violence and downfall.
Alternative generated candidates
- For I am like a lion to Ephraim and like a young lion to the house of Judah: I myself will tear and go away; I will carry them off, and none shall rescue.
- For I am like a lion to Ephraim, like a young lion to the house of Judah. I—I will tear and go; I will carry them off, and none shall rescue.
Hos.5.15 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- אלך: VERB,qal,impf,1,_,sg
- אשובה: VERB,qal,impf,1,?,sg
- אל: NEG
- מקומי: NOUN,m,sg,abs,+1cs
- עד: PREP
- אשר: PRON,rel
- יאשמו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- ובקשו: CONJ+VERB,qal,imp,2,pl
- פני: NOUN,m,sg,cons
- בצר: PREP
- להם: PREP+PRON,3,m,pl
- ישחרנני: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl+1cs
Parallels
- Hos.14:1-2 (13-2 LXX) (thematic): Both passages close Hosea with a call to return/repent and to seek the Lord; the hope of reconciliation follows confession and seeking God's face.
- Joel 2:12-13 (thematic): Urges heartfelt return to the LORD with fasting and repentance—like Hos.5:15, seeking God is the response God intends to evoke by judgment/affliction.
- 2 Chronicles 7:14 (verbal): Uses the phrase 'seek my face' and links repentance to restoration—parallels Hosea's demand that Israel seek God's face after judgment.
- Isaiah 55:6 (thematic): Calls people to 'seek the LORD' urgently—resonates with Hosea's expectation that in distress the people will seek God.
- Deuteronomy 4:29 (allusion): Promises that if Israel seeks the LORD with heart, they will find him—echoes Hosea's conditional hope that confession and seeking will lead to reconciliation.
Alternative generated candidates
- I will go and return to my place until they acknowledge their guilt; then they will seek my face— in their distress they will diligently seek me.
- I will go and return to my place until they acknowledge their guilt and seek my face; in their distress they will seek me.
Hear this, O priests; give ear, O house of Israel; and house of the king, listen. For the judgment is for you: you have been a snare at Mizpah and a net spread on Tabor.
They hunt for guilt; their plots run deep—yet I will discipline them all.
I know Ephraim, and Israel is not hidden from me; now Ephraim has played the harlot, Israel is defiled.
They will not abandon their deeds to return to their God; a spirit of prostitution is within them, and they do not know the LORD.
The arrogance of Israel will testify against him; Israel and Ephraim shall stumble in their guilt—Judah shall stumble with them also.
With their flocks and their herds they will go to seek the LORD, but they will not find a deliverer from him.
They have been faithless to the LORD: for they have borne alien children. Now the New Moon will devour them and take away their portions.
Blow the horn at Gibeah; sound the trumpet at Ramah. Cry aloud, O house of On; Benjamin, behind you!
Ephraim shall be put to shame on the day of punishment; among the tribes of Israel I have faithfully declared it.
The princes of Judah were like those who move a boundary; upon them I will pour out my wrath like water.
Ephraim is oppressed and justice is crushed, because he willingly followed the command. And I am like a moth to Ephraim, like rottenness to the house of Judah.
Ephraim saw his sickness and Judah his wound; Ephraim went to Assyria and sent to the king Jareb— but he cannot heal you, nor can he cure your wound.
For I am like a lion to Ephraim and like a young lion to the house of Judah: I—yes, I—will tear and go; I will carry them off, and there is no one to deliver.
I will go and return to my place until they acknowledge their guilt; in their distress they will seek my face, and earnestly seek me.