Hosea 11

The Lord's Love for Israel

1 u When Israel was a child, v I loved him,
and out of Egypt I w called x my son.
2 y The more they were called,
the more they went away;
z they kept sacrificing to the Baals
and burning offerings to idols.

3 Yet it was a I who taught Ephraim to walk;
I took them up by their arms,
but they did not know that b I healed them.
4 c I led them with cords of kindness, 1
with the bands of love,
and d I became to them as one who eases the yoke on their jaws,
and e I bent down to them and fed them.

5 f They shall not 2 return to the land of Egypt,
but g Assyria shall be their king,
h because i they have refused to return to me.
6 j The sword shall rage against their cities,
consume the bars of their gates,
and devour them k because of their own counsels.
7 My people are bent l on turning away from me,
and though m they call out to the Most High,
he shall not raise them up at all.

8 How can I give you up, O Ephraim?
How can I hand you over, O Israel?
n How can I make you o like Admah?
How can I treat you o like Zeboiim?
p My heart recoils within me;
my compassion grows warm and tender.
9 I will not execute my burning anger;
I will not again destroy Ephraim;
q for I am God and not a man,
r the Holy One in your midst,
and I will not come in wrath. 3

10 s They shall go after the Lord;
t he will roar like a lion;
when he roars,
his children shall come trembling u from the west;
11 they shall come trembling like birds v from Egypt,
and w like doves x from the land of Assyria,
and I will return them to their homes, declares the Lord.
12 4 Ephraim y has surrounded me with lies,
and the house of Israel with deceit,
but Judah still walks with God
and is faithful to the Holy One.

  1. Cross References
    Hosea 2:15
    And there I will give her her vineyards and make the Valley of Achor a door of hope. And there she shall answer as in the days of her youth, as at the time when she came out of the land of Egypt.
  2. Cross References
    Deuteronomy 7:8
    But it is because the Lord loves you and is keeping the oath that he swore to your fathers, that the Lord has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.
    Hosea 14:4
    I will heal their apostasy; I will love them freely, for my anger has turned from them.
  3. Cross References
    Matthew 2:15
    And remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, "Out of Egypt I called my son.
  4. Cross References
    Exodus 4:22
    Then you shall say to Pharaoh, 'Thus says the Lord, Israel is my firstborn son.
    Malachi 1:6
    "A son honors his father, and a servant his master. If then I am a father, where is my honor? And if I am a master, where is my fear? says the Lord of hosts to you, O priests, who despise my name. But you say, 'How have we despised your name?'
  5. Cross References
    Hosea 11:7
    My people are bent on turning away from me, and though they call out to the Most High, he shall not raise them up at all.
  6. Cross References
    Hosea 2:13
    And I will punish her for the feast days of the Baals when she burned offerings to them and adorned herself with her ring and jewelry, and went after her lovers and forgot me, declares the Lord.
    Hosea 13:1 - 2
    When Ephraim spoke, there was trembling; he was exalted in Israel, but he incurred guilt through Baal and died.
  7. Cross References
    Hosea 7:15
    Although I trained and strengthened their arms, yet they devise evil against me.
    Deuteronomy 1:31
    And in the wilderness, where you have seen how the Lord your God carried you, as a man carries his son, all the way that you went until you came to this place.
  8. Cross References
    Exodus 15:26
    Saying, "If you will diligently listen to the voice of the Lord your God, and do that which is right in his eyes, and give ear to his commandments and keep all his statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you that I put on the Egyptians, for I am the Lord, your healer.
  9. Cross References
    Jeremiah 31:3
    The Lord appeared to him from far away. I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you.
    John 6:44
    No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day.
    John 12:32
    And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.
  10. Cross References
    Leviticus 26:13
    I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that you should not be their slaves. And I have broken the bars of your yoke and made you walk erect.
  11. Cross References
    Psalms 78:24 - 29
    And he rained down on them manna to eat and gave them the grain of heaven.
  12. Cross References
    Hosea 8:13
    As for my sacrificial offerings, they sacrifice meat and eat it, but the Lord does not accept them. Now he will remember their iniquity and punish their sins; they shall return to Egypt.
  13. Cross References
    Hosea 10:3
    For now they will say: "We have no king, for we do not fear the Lord ; and a king - what could he do for us?
  14. Cross References
    2 Kings 17:13 - 14
    Yet the Lord warned Israel and Judah by every prophet and every seer, saying, "Turn from your evil ways and keep my commandments and my statutes, in accordance with all the Law that I commanded your fathers, and that I sent to you by my servants the prophets.
  15. Cross References
    Hosea 4:16
    Like a stubborn heifer, Israel is stubborn; can the Lord now feed them like a lamb in a broad pasture?
    Hosea 7:16
    They return, but not upward; they are like a treacherous bow; their princes shall fall by the sword because of the insolence of their tongue. This shall be their derision in the land of Egypt.
  16. Cross References
    Hosea 10:14
    Therefore the tumult of war shall arise among your people, and all your fortresses shall be destroyed, as Shalman destroyed Beth-arbel on the day of battle; mothers were dashed in pieces with their children.
  17. Cross References
    Hosea 10:6
    The thing itself shall be carried to Assyria as tribute to the great king. Ephraim shall be put to shame, and Israel shall be ashamed of his idol.
  18. Cross References
    Hosea 14:4
    I will heal their apostasy; I will love them freely, for my anger has turned from them.
  19. Cross References
    Hosea 11:2
    The more they were called, the more they went away; they kept sacrificing to the Baals and burning offerings to idols.
  20. Cross References
    Genesis 19:24 - 25
    Then the Lord rained on Sodom and Gomorrah sulfur and fire from the Lord out of heaven.
    Jeremiah 49:18
    As when Sodom and Gomorrah and their neighboring cities were overthrown, says the Lord, no man shall dwell there, no man shall sojourn in her.
    Jeremiah 50:40
    As when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah and their neighboring cities, declares the Lord, so no man shall dwell there, and no son of man shall sojourn in her.
    Amos 4:11
    I overthrew some of you, as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, and you were as a brand plucked out of the burning; yet you did not return to me," declares the Lord.
    Jude 1:7
    Just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities, which likewise indulged in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural desire, serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire.
  21. Cross References
    Genesis 14:8
    Then the king of Sodom, the king of Gomorrah, the king of Admah, the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar) went out, and they joined battle in the Valley of Siddim
    Deuteronomy 29:23
    The whole land burned out with brimstone and salt, nothing sown and nothing growing, where no plant can sprout, an overthrow like that of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim, which the Lord overthrew in his anger and wrath -
  22. Cross References
    Genesis 14:8
    Then the king of Sodom, the king of Gomorrah, the king of Admah, the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar) went out, and they joined battle in the Valley of Siddim
    Deuteronomy 29:23
    The whole land burned out with brimstone and salt, nothing sown and nothing growing, where no plant can sprout, an overthrow like that of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim, which the Lord overthrew in his anger and wrath -
  23. Cross References
    Deuteronomy 32:36
    For the Lord will vindicate his people and have compassion on his servants, when he sees that their power is gone and there is none remaining, bond or free.
  24. Cross References
    Numbers 23:19
    God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?
  25. Cross References
    Isaiah 12:6
    Shout, and sing for joy, O inhabitant of Zion, for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.
  26. Cross References
    Hosea 3:5
    Afterward the children of Israel shall return and seek the Lord their God, and David their king, and they shall come in fear to the Lord and to his goodness in the latter days.
  27. Cross References
    Isaiah 31:4
    For thus the Lord said to me, "As a lion or a young lion growls over his prey, and when a band of shepherds is called out against him he is not terrified by their shouting or daunted at their noise, so the Lord of hosts will come down to fight on Mount Zion and on its hill.
    Jeremiah 25:30
    You, therefore, shall prophesy against them all these words, and say to them: "'The Lord will roar from on high, and from his holy habitation utter his voice; he will roar mightily against his fold, and shout, like those who tread grapes, against all the inhabitants of the earth.
    Joel 3:16
    The Lord roars from Zion, and utters his voice from Jerusalem, and the heavens and the earth quake. But the Lord is a refuge to his people, a stronghold to the people of Israel.
    Amos 1:2
    And he said: "The Lord roars from Zion and utters his voice from Jerusalem; the pastures of the shepherds mourn, and the top of Carmel withers.
  28. Cross References
    Isaiah 11:11
    In that day the Lord will extend his hand yet a second time to recover the remnant that remains of his people, from Assyria, from Egypt, from Pathros, from Cush, from Elam, from Shinar, from Hamath, and from the coastlands of the sea.
    Zechariah 8:7
    Thus says the Lord of hosts: behold, I will save my people from the east country and from the west country.
  29. Cross References
    Hosea 8:13
    As for my sacrificial offerings, they sacrifice meat and eat it, but the Lord does not accept them. Now he will remember their iniquity and punish their sins; they shall return to Egypt.
  30. Cross References
    Isaiah 60:8
    Who are these that fly like a cloud, and like doves to their windows?
  31. Cross References
    Zechariah 10:6
    I will strengthen the house of Judah, and I will save the house of Joseph. I will bring them back because I have compassion on them, and they shall be as though I had not rejected them, for I am the Lord their God and I will answer them.
    Zechariah 10:10
    I will bring them home from the land of Egypt, and gather them from Assyria, and I will bring them to the land of Gilead and to Lebanon, till there is no room for them.
    Hosea 9:3
    They shall not remain in the land of the Lord, but Ephraim shall return to Egypt, and they shall eat unclean food in Assyria.
  32. Cross References
    Hosea 7:13
    Woe to them, for they have strayed from me! Destruction to them, for they have rebelled against me! I would redeem them, but they speak lies against me.
English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.
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