Scriptures

New Living Translation (NLT)

Hosea 7
¹² But as they fly about, I will throw my net over them and bring them down like a bird from the sky. I will punish them for all the evil they do.
¹³ “What sorrow awaits those who have deserted me! Let them die, for they have rebelled against me. I wanted to redeem them, but they have told lies about me.
¹⁴ They do not cry out to me with sincere hearts. Instead, they sit on their couches and wail. They cut themselves, begging foreign gods for grain and new wine, and they turn away from me.
¹⁵ I trained them and made them strong, yet now they plot evil against me.
¹⁶ They look everywhere except to the Most High. They are as useless as a crooked bow. Their leaders will be killed by their enemies because of their insolence toward me. Then the people of Egypt will laugh at them.
Hosea 8
¹ “Sound the alarm! The enemy descends like an eagle on the people of the LORD, for they have broken my covenant and revolted against my law.
² Now Israel pleads with me, ‘Help us, for you are our God!’
³ But it is too late. The people of Israel have rejected what is good, and now their enemies will chase after them.
⁴ The people have appointed kings without my consent, and princes without my knowledge. By making idols for themselves from their silver and gold, they have brought about their own destruction.
⁵ “O Samaria, I reject this calf— this idol you have made. My fury burns against you. How long will you be incapable of innocence?
⁶ This calf you worship, O Israel, was crafted by your own hands! It is not God! Therefore, it must be smashed to bits.