Logo - Feel The Words
WBT

Hosea Chapter 7 (WBT)

minutes - words.
Hosea Chapter 7 (WBT)
Tap a verse to highlight it

1 When I would have healed Israel, then the iniquity of Ephraim was disclosed, and the wickedness of Samaria: for they commit falsehood; and the thief cometh in, and the troop of robbers strippeth without.

2 And they consider not in their hearts that I remember all their wickedness: now their own doings have beset them around; they are before my face.

3 They make the king glad with their wickedness, and the princes with their lies.

4 They are all adulterers, as an oven heated by the baker, who ceaseth from raising after he hath kneaded the dough, until it is leavened.

5 In the day of our king the princes have made him sick with bottles of wine; he stretched out his hand with scorners.

6 For they have made ready their heart like an oven, while they lie in wait: their baker sleepeth all the night; in the morning it burneth as a flaming fire.

7 They are all hot as an oven, and have devoured their judges; all their kings are fallen: there is none among them that calleth to me.

8 Ephraim, he hath mixed himself among the people; Ephraim is a cake not turned.

9 Strangers have devoured his strength, and he knoweth it not: yes, gray hairs are here and there upon him, yet he knoweth not.

10 And the pride of Israel testifieth to his face: and they do not return to the LORD their God, nor seek him for all this.

11 Ephraim also is like a silly dove without heart: they call to Egypt, they go to Assyria.

12 When they shall go, I will spread my net upon them; I will bring them down as the fowls of the heaven; I will chastise them, as their congregation hath heard.

13 Woe to them! for they have fled from me: destruction to them! because they have transgressed against me: though I have redeemed them, yet they have spoken lies against me.

14 And they have not cried to me with their heart, when they howled upon their beds: they assemble themselves for corn and wine, and they rebel against me.

15 Though I have bound and strengthened their arms, yet do they imagine mischief against me.

16 They return, but not to the most High: they are like a deceitful bow: their princes shall fall by the sword for the rage of their tongue: this shall be their derision in the land of Egypt.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Hosea 7 criticizing about Israel's leaders?
It describes corrupt kings and princes made glad "with their wickedness" and "their lies" (v.3), and compares the people's simmering plots to a baker's oven that burns hot after being left overnight (v.4,6).
What does 'a cake not turned' mean in verse 8?
Hosea says "Ephraim, he hath mixed himself among the people; Ephraim is a cake not turned" - an image of something burnt on one side and raw on the other, suggesting a people compromised and half-formed.
Why does Hosea call Israel 'a silly dove' in verse 11?
Because instead of turning to God, "they call to Egypt, they go to Assyria" for help, flitting between foreign powers without judgment - a pattern of misplaced alliance also condemned in Psalms 106:35.

Today's Verse

but there is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets, and he hath made known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days. Thy dream, and the visions of thy head upon thy bed, are these:

Daniel 2:28 | ASV

Verse Of The Day