כְּרָפְאִי לְיִשְׂרָאֵל וְנִגְלָה עֲוֹן אֶפְרַיִם וְרָעֹות שֹׁמְרֹון כִּי פָעֲלוּ שָׁקֶר וְגַנָּב יָבֹוא פָּשַׁט גְּדוּד בַּחוּץ׃   7:1

Hose. 7:1   “After My healing for Israel,

                             the evil of Ephraim will then be revealed,

                     along with the wickedness of Samaria,

                             for they have woven deceit,

                     so the thief can come in;

                             a marauding band spreads out on the outside.”

וּבַל־יֹאמְרוּ לִלְבָבָם כָּל־רָעָתָם זָכָרְתִּי עַתָּה סְבָבוּם מַעַלְלֵיהֶם נֶגֶד פָּנַי הָיוּ׃   7:2

Hose. 7:2   “Then they could not say to themselves

                              I remembered all their wickedness;

                     now their deeds envelop them;

                              they are before My ‘face.’”

בְּרָעָתָם יְשַׂמְּחוּ־מֶלֶךְ וּבְכַחֲשֵׁיהֶם שָׂרִים׃   7:3

Hose. 7:3   “They could make king glad with their wickedness,

                              and princes, with their deceptions.”

כֻּלָּם מְנָאֲפִים כְּמֹו תַנּוּר בֹּעֵרָה מֵאֹפֶה יִשְׁבֹּות מֵעִיר מִלּוּשׁ בָּצֵק עַד־חֻמְצָתֹו׃   7:4

Hose. 7:4   “All of them are adulterers.

                              As an oven of a baker is kindled,

                     he would stop rousing

                              because of kneading the dough

                     until its leavening –

Here is an example of one of Hosea’s abrupt transitions.  Neither the first line of this verse nor the preceding verses prepare us for the sudden introduction of a metaphor that is completed in vss. 7:6 and 7:7 and culminates in v. 7:9 below.  As to its meaning, I can only guess what it refers to.  The picture is of a baker who starts his oven warming, and then settles down to wait until the kneaded dough leavens.  It’s possible that the idea behind the metaphor is that the princes and the people (the oven) were warming up while the baker (the king?) rested.  When the king(?) awakened from his drunken sleep the next morning (see next verse), the scorners -- the princes and the people, maybe the priests also -- were burning fiercely, that is, they carried out their destructive behavior.

יֹום מַלְכֵּנוּ הֶחֱלוּ שָׂרִים חֲמַת מִיָּיִן מָשַׁךְ יָדֹו אֶת־לֹצְצִים׃   7:5

Hose. 7:5   the day the princes made our king sick of a bottle from wine,

                               he drew out his hand with scorners;

This verse is translated in a variety of ways.  A composite of translations of the first line goes something like “(on) (the) day of our king the princes made (him) sick (with) (the) heat [of] wine, ....”  The words in parentheses do not appear in the Hebrew and the word in brackets is a mistranslation.  I believe the word for heat is also mistranslated, and should be translated as bottle.  Furthermore, because the word for the object him is missing, I find it difficult to accept that the first part of the line should translate to the day of our king, which might imply a coronation or an equivalent event.

כִּי־קֵרְבוּ כַתַּנּוּר לִבָּם בְּאָרְבָּם כָּל־הַלַּיְלָה יָשֵׁן אֹפֵהֶם בֹּקֶר הוּא בֹעֵר כְּאֵשׁ לֶהָבָה׃   7:6

Hose. 7:6   for they make their heart ready

                                like the oven in their lying in wait;

                     their baker sleeps all night;

                                the next morning it is burning with a menacing flame.”

כֻּלָּם יֵחַמּוּ כַּתַּנּוּר וְאָכְלוּ אֶת־שֹׁפְטֵיהֶם כָּל־מַלְכֵיהֶם נָפָלוּ אֵין־קֹרֵא בָהֶם אֵלָי׃   7:7

Hose. 7:7   “All of them would grow hot like the oven

                                 and consume their judges;

                     all their kings have fallen;

                                 none among them called to Me.”

אֶפְרַיִם בָּעַמִּים הוּא יִתְבֹּולָל אֶפְרַיִם הָיָה עֻגָה בְּלִי הֲפוּכָה׃   7:8

Hose. 7:8   “Ephraim, he mixed himself with the peoples;

                                 Ephraim has become a cake not turned.”

With this verse the metaphor (not a very illuminating one, I dare say) ends.  Ephraim (that is, Israel, the northern kingdom) is only partially matured.

אָכְלוּ זָרִים כֹּחֹו וְהוּא לֹא יָדָע גַּם־שֵׂיבָה זָרְקָה בֹּו וְהוּא לֹא יָדָע׃   7:9

Hose. 7:9   “Strangers consume his strength, and he does not know.

                                 Also gray hair is scattered on him, and he does not know.”

וְעָנָה גְאֹון־יִשְׂרָאֵל בְּפָנָיו וְלֹא־שָׁבוּ אֶל־יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵיהֶם וְלֹא בִקְשֻׁהוּ בְּכָל־זֹאת׃   7:10

Hose. 7:10   “And the pride of Israel testifies in his face,

                                  but they do not return to the Lord, their God,

                       or seek Him despite that.”

וַיְהִי אֶפְרַיִם כְּיֹונָה פֹותָה אֵין לֵב מִצְרַיִם קָרָאוּ אַשּׁוּר הָלָכוּ׃   7:11

Hose. 7:11   “And Ephraim has become like a naive dove without mind;

                                   they call Egypt, they go to Assyria.”                       [Return to Hose. 5:13]

כַּאֲשֶׁר יֵלֵכוּ אֶפְרֹושׂ עֲלֵיהֶם רִשְׁתִּי כְּעֹוף הַשָּׁמַיִם אֹורִידֵם אַיְסִרֵם כְּשֵׁמַע לַעֲדָתָם׃   7:12

Hose. 7:12   “As they go, I will spread My net over them;

                                   I will take them down as the fowl of the skies;

                        I will chasten them as their congregation has heard.”

אֹוי לָהֶם כִּי־נָדְדוּ מִמֶּנִּי שֹׁד לָהֶם כִּי־פָשְׁעוּ בִי וְאָנֹכִי אֶפְדֵּם וְהֵמָּה דִּבְּרוּ עָלַי כְּזָבִים׃   7:13

Hose. 7:13   “Woe to them!  For they have strayed from Me.

                                   Destruction for them!  For they have transgressed against Me.

                       So should I redeem them while they speak lies about Me,

וְלֹא־זָעֲקוּ אֵלַי בְּלִבָּם כִּי יְיֵלִילוּ עַל־מִשְׁכְּבֹותָם עַל־דָּגָן וְתִירֹושׁ יִתְגֹּורָרוּ יָסוּרוּ בִי׃   7:14

Hose. 7:14   and have not cried out to Me with their heart,

                                    but would wail upon their beds,

                       quarrel over corn and wine?

                                   They will be removed by Me.”

וַאֲנִי יִסַּרְתִּי חִזַּקְתִּי זְרֹועֹתָם וְאֵלַי יְחַשְּׁבוּ־רָע׃   7:15

Hose. 7:15   “Though I have disciplined,

                                    strengthened their shoulders,

                       still they want to plot evil against Me.”

יָשׁוּבוּ לֹא עָל הָיוּ כְּקֶשֶׁת רְמִיָּה יִפְּלוּ בַחֶרֶב שָׂרֵיהֶם מִזַּעַם לְשֹׁונָם זֹו לַעְגָּם בְּאֶרֶץ מִצְרָיִם׃   7:16

Hose. 7:16   “They would return not on high;

                                     they have become like a deceitful bow;

                        their princes shall fall by the sword

                                    because of the indignation of their tongue,

                        which shall be their derision in the land of Egypt.”

I imagine the phrase translated in the second line is intended to picture the people shooting straying arrows that do not hit their mark, because the bow is defective.

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