שִׁמְעוּ־זֹאת הַכֹּהֲנִים וְהַקְשִׁיבוּ בֵּית יִשְׂרָאֵל וּבֵית הַמֶּלֶךְ הַאֲזִינוּ כִּי לָכֶם הַמִּשְׁפָּט כִּי־פַח הֱיִיתֶם   5:1      לְמִצְפָּה וְרֶשֶׁת פְּרוּשָׂה עַל־תָּבֹור׃

Hose. 5:1   “Hear this, you who are priests,

                             and pay attention, you of the house of Israel,

                     and listen, you of the house of the king!

                             For yours is the judgment,

                     for you are a snare to Mizpah

                             and a net spread over Tabor.”

All the second-person pronouns in this verse are plural.  So the Lord is chastising everyone in Israel.  As for the places Mizpah and Tabor, the sages have related the tradition that pilgrims to the Temple from Israel were slaughtered there, as may be implied by the next verse.

וְשַׁחֲטָה שֵׂטִים הֶעְמִיקוּ וַאֲנִי מוּסָר לְכֻלָּם׃   5:2

Hose. 5:2   “And the rebels have made a profound slaughter,

                              so I shall be a Chastening to all of them.”

אֲנִי יָדַעְתִּי אֶפְרַיִם וְיִשְׂרָאֵל לֹא־נִכְחַד מִמֶּנִּי כִּי עַתָּה הִזְנֵיתָ אֶפְרַיִם נִטְמָא יִשְׂרָאֵל׃   5:3

Hose. 5:3   “I know Ephraim,

                              and Israel is not hidden from Me,

                     for now you, Ephraim, are a harlot,

                               Israel is defiled.”

לֹא יִתְּנוּ מַעַלְלֵיהֶם לָשׁוּב אֶל־אֱלֹהֵיהֶם כִּי רוּחַ זְנוּנִים בְּקִרְבָּם וְאֶת־יְהוָה לֹא יָדָעוּ׃   5:4

Hose. 5:4   Their practices will not permit a turning back to their God,

                              for a spirit of harlotry is in their midst,

                      that they would not understand the Lord.

I believe that Hosea IS SAYING THIS VERSE AND VSS. 5:5, 5:6, 5:7, and 5:8 so I have omitted the quotation marks from them.

וְעָנָה גְאֹון־יִשְׂרָאֵל בְּפָנָיו וְיִשְׂרָאֵל וְאֶפְרַיִם יִכָּשְׁלוּ בַּעֲוֹנָם כָּשַׁל גַּם־יְהוּדָה עִםָּם׃   5:5

Hose. 5:5   And the arrogance of Israel shall testify in his face,

                              and Israel and Ephraim shall stumble in their iniquity,

                     Judah also stumbling with them.

בְּצֹאנָם וּבִבְקָרָם יֵלְכוּ לְבַקֵּשׁ אֶת־יְהוָה וְלֹא יִמְצָאוּ חָלַץ מֵהֶם׃   5:6

Hose. 5:6   With their flocks and with their herds they shall come seeking,

                               but not be able to find, the Lord;

                     He has withdrawn from them.

בַּיהוָה בָּגָדוּ כִּי־בָנִים זָרִים יָלָדוּ עַתָּה יֹאכְלֵם חֹדֶשׁ אֶת־חֶלְקֵיהֶם׃   5:7

Hose. 5:7   They have dealt treacherously with the Lord,

                                for they have begotten estranged children;

                      now a month shall devour them with their portions.

Some rabbis have thought the last line of this verse refers to the month of Av, when both Temples were destroyed.

תִּקְעוּ שֹׁופָר בַּגִּבְעָה חֲצֹצְרָה בָּרָמָה הָרִיעוּ בֵּית אָוֶן אַחֲרֶיךָ בִּנְיָמִין׃   5:8

Hose. 5:8   Sound the horn, you in Gibeah,

                                the trumpet, you in Ramah!

                     Cry out, you of Beth-aven!

                               Behind you, Benjamin!

אֶפְרַיִם לְשַׁמָּה תִהְיֶה בְּיֹום תֹּוכֵחָה בְּשִׁבְטֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל הֹודַעְתִּי נֶאֱמָנָה׃   5:9

Hose. 5:9   “Ephraim shall be as a waste in the day of rebuke.

                                I make known what is to be with the tribes of Israel.

הָיוּ שָׂרֵי יְהוּדָה כְּמַסִּיגֵי גְּבוּל עֲלֵיהֶם אֶשְׁפֹּוךְ כַּמַּיִם עֶבְרָתִי׃   5:10

Hose. 5:10   “The princes of Judah are like the movers of a landmark

                                 I shall pour out My fury upon them like water.”

Remember that the moving of a landmark is prohibited.  See Deut. 19:14.

עָשׁוּק אֶפְרַיִם רְצוּץ מִשְׁפָּט כִּי הֹואִיל הָלַךְ אַחֲרֵי־צָו׃   5:11

Hose. 5:11   “Ephraim shall be oppressed,

                                  a crushing of judgment,

                        for he has been willing to go after false command.”

וַאֲנִי כָעָשׁ לְאֶפְרָיִם וְכָרָקָב לְבֵית יְהוּדָה׃   5:12

Hose. 5:12   “So I shall be like a moth to Ephraim

                                   and rottenness to the house of Judah.”

וַיַּרְא אֶפְרַיִם אֶת־חָלְיֹו וִיהוּדָה אֶת־מְזֹרֹו וַיֵּלֶךְ אֶפְרַיִם אֶל־אַשּׁוּר וַיִּשְׁלַח אֶל־מֶלֶךְ יָרֵב וְהוּא לֹא   5:13

  יוּכַל לִרְפֹּא לָכֶם וְלֹא־יִגְהֶה םִכֶּם מָזֹור׃

Hose. 5:13   “When Ephraim has seen his sickness,

                                   and Judah his wound,

                        then Ephraim goes to Assyria

                                   and sends to the king of contention,

                        but he will not be able to give healing to you,

                                   nor will he take the wound away from you.”

Some commentators think this verse refers to the event described in 2Kin. 15:19.  I imagine this could be a possibility, but the last two lines and the next verse, referring to the future, indicate to me that this event is taking place in Hosea’s time, long after the time depicted in 2Kings.  In fact, I translate the verbs in the first four lines of this verse in the present tense.  I assume that since no one really knows who the king of contention was (other than that he was a king of Assyria), I could just as easily conclude he was alive at this time.  Could it be that Israel was seeking help from Assyria at this time?  Yes!  See Hose. 7:11.  Then see Hose. 10:6, which seems to clinch the argument.

כִּי אָנֹכִי כַשַּׁחַל לְאֶפְרַיִם וְכַכְּפִיר לְבֵית יְהוּדָה אֲנִי אֲנִי אֶטְרֹף וְאֵלֵךְ אֶשָּׂא וְאֵין מַצִּיל׃   5:14

Hose. 5:14   “For I shall be like a lion to Ephraim

                                   and as a young lion to the house of Judah.

                        I, only I, shall tear and depart;

                                   I shall take away, and there shall be no deliverer.”

אֵלֵךְ אָשׁוּבָה אֶל־מְקֹומִי עַד אֲשֶׁר־יֶאְשְׁמוּ וּבִקְשׁוּ פָנָי בַּצַּר לָהֶם יְשַׁחֲרֻנְנִי׃   5:15

Hose. 5:15   “I shall leave, return to My own place,

                                  until when they acknowledge their guilt

                        and desire My presence;

                                   in their distress, they may diligently seek Me.”

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