Israel Ignores God’s Wishes

Hosea 8:3–6, 11–14

Biblical Period

3Israel rejects what is good;
An enemy shall pursue him.
4They have made kings,
But not with My sanction;
They have made officers,
But not of My choice.
Of their silver and gold
They have made themselves images,
To their own undoing.
5He rejects your calf, Samaria!
Will they never be capable of purity?
6For it was Israel’s doing [ . . . ].
11For Ephraim has multiplied altars—for guilt;
His altars have redounded to his guilt:
12The many teachings I wrote for him
Have been treated as something alien.
13When they present sacrifices to Me,
It is but flesh for them to eat:
The Lord has not accepted them.
Behold, He remembers their iniquity,
He will punish their sins:
Back to Egypt with them!
14Israel has ignored his Maker
And built temples
(And Judah has fortified many cities).
So I will set fire to his cities,
And it shall consume their fortresses.

Credits

Reprinted from Tanakh: The Holy Scriptures by permission of the University of Nebraska Press. Copyright 1985 by the Jewish Publication Society, Philadelphia.

Published in: The Posen Library of Jewish Culture and Civilization, vol. 1.

Engage with this Source

Related Guide

Hosea Calls for Israel’s Repentance

The prophet Hosea chastises Israel for its religious and social offenses and warns of impending destruction.

You may also like

Samson

The Israelites again did what was offensive to the Lord, and the Lord delivered them into the hands of the Philistines for forty years. There was a certain man from Zorah, of the stock…
View Source

Jezebel

The days of my life pass by, dissolve like mist. I don’t know the what and when; I don’t know the who. Baal and Astarte have grown alien to me. My kingdom and my foes grow alien, too. I don’t…
View Source

Naboth’s Vineyard

Act II, Scene 3Jezebel [Goes up to meet Ahab]:You have seen a conversion yourself? Do tell me!Ahab [Bewildered]:Oh Jezebel! I am dying! I cannot breathe![Sinks into a chair.]What is this? Am I seeing…
View Source