Hosea 7 in plain modern English. New Ground English Translation.

Whenever I want to heal Israel, the corruption of Ephraim is laid bare and the evil of Samaria exposed — they practice deception, thieves break in, bandits raid in the streets.

It never crosses their minds that I remember all their evil. Now their actions have them surrounded — they are right in front of my face.

They make the king happy with their evil, and the officials with their lies.

They are all adulterers — like an oven heated by a baker who stops stoking the fire only from the time he kneads the dough until it rises.

On the day of our king's celebration, the officials become sick with the heat of wine. He reaches out his hand to join the mockers.

They draw near with hearts like an oven, full of scheming. Their anger smolders all night — by morning it blazes like a roaring fire.

All of them burn hot as an oven and devour their rulers. All their kings fall — not one of them calls out to me.

Ephraim mixes himself in with the nations. Ephraim is a flatbread left unturned.

Foreigners drain his strength, but he doesn't even know it. Gray hairs are scattered across his head, but he doesn't even know it.

Israel's arrogance testifies right to his face, but they do not return to Yahweh their God or look for him through any of this.

Ephraim has become like a naive dove, easily fooled and senseless — calling out to Egypt, then running to Assyria.

When they go, I will throw my net over them. I will bring them down like birds from the sky. I will discipline them, just as their own community has heard me warn.

Devastation is coming for them because they have wandered away from me! Destruction is coming for them because they have rebelled against me! I wanted to rescue them, but they speak lies about me.

They do not cry out to me from their hearts — they just wail on their beds. They slash themselves for grain and new wine but turn away from me.

I trained them and made their arms strong, but they plot evil against me.

They turn — but not upward. They are like a bow that misfires. Their leaders will fall by the sword because of their raging tongues. This will be their humiliation in the land of Egypt.