Lectionary Calendar
Saturday, July 12th, 2025
the Week of Proper 9 / Ordinary 14
the Week of Proper 9 / Ordinary 14
video advertismenet
advertisement
advertisement
advertisement
Attention!
Take your personal ministry to the Next Level by helping StudyLight build churches and supporting pastors in Uganda.
Click here to join the effort!
Click here to join the effort!
Read the Bible
THE MESSAGE
Hosea 11:7
This verse is not available in the MSG!
Jump to:Bible Study Tools • Parallel Bible Verse • Bible Contextual Overview • Bible Cross-References • Gill's Bible Notes • Clarke's Bible Notes • Barnes' Bible Notes
Bible Study Resources
Concordances:
- Nave'sDictionaries:
- BridgewayEncyclopedias:
- InternationalParallel Translations
Christian Standard Bible®
My people are bent on turning from me.Though they call to him on high,he will not exalt them at all.
My people are bent on turning from me.Though they call to him on high,he will not exalt them at all.
Hebrew Names Version
My people are determined to turn from me. Though they call to Ha`Elyon, He certainly won't exalt them.
My people are determined to turn from me. Though they call to Ha`Elyon, He certainly won't exalt them.
King James Version
And my people are bent to backsliding from me: though they called them to the most High, none at all would exalt him.
And my people are bent to backsliding from me: though they called them to the most High, none at all would exalt him.
English Standard Version
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.
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.
New American Standard Bible
So My people are determined to turn from Me. Though they call them to the One on high, None at all exalts Him.
So My people are determined to turn from Me. Though they call them to the One on high, None at all exalts Him.
New Century Version
My people have made up their minds to turn away from me. The prophets call them to turn to me, but none of them honors me at all.
My people have made up their minds to turn away from me. The prophets call them to turn to me, but none of them honors me at all.
Amplified Bible
My people are bent on turning from Me; Though the prophets call them to the One on high, None at all exalts Him.
My people are bent on turning from Me; Though the prophets call them to the One on high, None at all exalts Him.
Geneva Bible (1587)
And my people are bent to rebellion against me: though they called them to the most hie, yet none at all would exalt him.
And my people are bent to rebellion against me: though they called them to the most hie, yet none at all would exalt him.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
So My people are bent on turning from Me. Though they call them to the One on high, None at all exalts Him.
So My people are bent on turning from Me. Though they call them to the One on high, None at all exalts Him.
Legacy Standard Bible
So My people are hung up on turning from Me.Though they call them to the One on high,None at all exalts Him.
So My people are hung up on turning from Me.Though they call them to the One on high,None at all exalts Him.
Berean Standard Bible
My people are bent on turning from Me. Though they call to the Most High, He will by no means exalt them.
My people are bent on turning from Me. Though they call to the Most High, He will by no means exalt them.
Contemporary English Version
My people are determined to reject me for a god they think is stronger, but he can't help.
My people are determined to reject me for a god they think is stronger, but he can't help.
Complete Jewish Bible
My people are hanging in suspense about returning to me; and though they call them upwards, nobody makes a move.
My people are hanging in suspense about returning to me; and though they call them upwards, nobody makes a move.
Darby Translation
Yea, my people are bent upon backsliding from me: though they call them to the Most High, none at all exalteth [him].
Yea, my people are bent upon backsliding from me: though they call them to the Most High, none at all exalteth [him].
Easy-to-Read Version
"My people expect me to come back. They will call to God above, but he will not help them."
"My people expect me to come back. They will call to God above, but he will not help them."
George Lamsa Translation
And my people are inclined to backslide from me; though they shall call to God, they will take counsel together, and none at all would exalt him.
And my people are inclined to backslide from me; though they shall call to God, they will take counsel together, and none at all would exalt him.
Good News Translation
They insist on turning away from me. They will cry out because of the yoke that is on them, but no one will lift it from them.
They insist on turning away from me. They will cry out because of the yoke that is on them, but no one will lift it from them.
Lexham English Bible
My people are bent on backsliding from me. To the Most High they call, he does not raise them at all.
My people are bent on backsliding from me. To the Most High they call, he does not raise them at all.
Literal Translation
And My people are bent on backsliding from Me. And they call him to the Most High; no one at all would exalt Him .
And My people are bent on backsliding from Me. And they call him to the Most High; no one at all would exalt Him .
American Standard Version
And my people are bent on backsliding from me: though they call them to him that is on high, none at all will exalt him.
And my people are bent on backsliding from me: though they call them to him that is on high, none at all will exalt him.
Bible in Basic English
My people are given up to sinning against me; though their voice goes up on high, no one will be lifting them up.
My people are given up to sinning against me; though their voice goes up on high, no one will be lifting them up.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
And My people are in suspense about returning to Me; and though they call them upwards, none at all will lift himself up.
And My people are in suspense about returning to Me; and though they call them upwards, none at all will lift himself up.
King James Version (1611)
And my people are bent to backesliding from mee: though they called them to the most High, none at all would exalt him.
And my people are bent to backesliding from mee: though they called them to the most High, none at all would exalt him.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
And my people shall stande in a doubt whither to turne them: for when the [prophetes] called them to the most hyest, not one yet woulde geue him his glorie.
And my people shall stande in a doubt whither to turne them: for when the [prophetes] called them to the most hyest, not one yet woulde geue him his glorie.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
and his people shall cleave fondly to their habitation; but God shall be angry with his precious things, and shall not at all exalt him.
and his people shall cleave fondly to their habitation; but God shall be angry with his precious things, and shall not at all exalt him.
English Revised Version
And my people are bent to backsliding from me: though they call them to him that is on high, none at all will exalt him.
And my people are bent to backsliding from me: though they call them to him that is on high, none at all will exalt him.
World English Bible
My people are determined to turn from me. Though they call to the Most High, He certainly won't exalt them.
My people are determined to turn from me. Though they call to the Most High, He certainly won't exalt them.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And my puple schal hange, at my comynge ayen. But a yok schal be put to hem togidere, that schal not be takun awei.
And my puple schal hange, at my comynge ayen. But a yok schal be put to hem togidere, that schal not be takun awei.
Update Bible Version
And my people are bent on backsliding from me: though they call them to [him that is] on high, none at all will exalt [him].
And my people are bent on backsliding from me: though they call them to [him that is] on high, none at all will exalt [him].
Webster's Bible Translation
And my people are bent to backsliding from me: though they called them to the most High, none at all would exalt [him].
And my people are bent to backsliding from me: though they called them to the most High, none at all would exalt [him].
New English Translation
My people are obsessed with turning away from me; they call to Baal, but he will never exalt them!
My people are obsessed with turning away from me; they call to Baal, but he will never exalt them!
New King James Version
My people are bent on backsliding from Me.Though they call to the Most High, [fn] None at all exalt Him.
My people are bent on backsliding from Me.Though they call to the Most High, [fn] None at all exalt Him.
New Living Translation
For my people are determined to desert me. They call me the Most High, but they don't truly honor me.
For my people are determined to desert me. They call me the Most High, but they don't truly honor me.
New Life Bible
My people are always turning from Me. Even when those who speak for the Lord call them to the Most High, no one honors Him.
My people are always turning from Me. Even when those who speak for the Lord call them to the Most High, no one honors Him.
New Revised Standard
My people are bent on turning away from me. To the Most High they call, but he does not raise them up at all.
My people are bent on turning away from me. To the Most High they call, but he does not raise them up at all.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
But, my people, are bent towards turning from me, though upwards they call them, none of them can lift them.
But, my people, are bent towards turning from me, though upwards they call them, none of them can lift them.
Douay-Rheims Bible
And my people shall long for my return: but a yoke shall be put upon them together, which shall not be taken off.
And my people shall long for my return: but a yoke shall be put upon them together, which shall not be taken off.
Revised Standard Version
My people are bent on turning away from me; so they are appointed to the yoke, and none shall remove it.
My people are bent on turning away from me; so they are appointed to the yoke, and none shall remove it.
Young's Literal Translation
And My people are hanging in suspense, about My returning, And unto the Most High they do call, Together they exalt not.
And My people are hanging in suspense, about My returning, And unto the Most High they do call, Together they exalt not.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
My people hath no lust to turne vnto me, their prophetes laye the yocke vpon the, but they ease them not of their burthen.
My people hath no lust to turne vnto me, their prophetes laye the yocke vpon the, but they ease them not of their burthen.
Contextual Overview
1 "When Israel was only a child, I loved him. I called out, ‘My son!'—called him out of Egypt. But when others called him, he ran off and left me. He worshiped the popular sex gods, he played at religion with toy gods. Still, I stuck with him. I led Ephraim. I rescued him from human bondage, But he never acknowledged my help, never admitted that I was the one pulling his wagon, That I lifted him, like a baby, to my cheek, that I bent down to feed him. Now he wants to go back to Egypt or go over to Assyria— anything but return to me! That's why his cities are unsafe—the murder rate skyrockets and every plan to improve things falls to pieces. My people are hell-bent on leaving me. They pray to god Baal for help. He doesn't lift a finger to help them. But how can I give up on you, Ephraim? How can I turn you loose, Israel? How can I leave you to be ruined like Admah, devastated like luckless Zeboim? I can't bear to even think such thoughts. My insides churn in protest. And so I'm not going to act on my anger. I'm not going to destroy Ephraim. And why? Because I am God and not a human. I'm The Holy One and I'm here—in your very midst.
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
are bent: Hosea 4:16, Hosea 14:4, Psalms 78:57, Psalms 78:58, Proverbs 14:14, Jeremiah 3:6, Jeremiah 3:8, Jeremiah 3:11, Jeremiah 8:5, Jeremiah 14:7, they called me, Hosea 11:2, Hosea 7:16, 2 Chronicles 30:1-11, Psalms 81:11, Amos 5:4-6, Amos 5:14, Amos 5:15
none at all would exalt him: Heb. together they exalted not
Reciprocal: Psalms 99:5 - Exalt Isaiah 26:10 - and will not Isaiah 27:8 - thou wilt Isaiah 50:2 - when I came Jeremiah 2:19 - and thy Jeremiah 5:23 - a revolting Jeremiah 6:29 - in vain Jeremiah 7:13 - and I called Jeremiah 14:10 - have they Jeremiah 15:6 - thou art Jeremiah 31:22 - backsliding Zephaniah 1:6 - turned Matthew 22:3 - and they would not Matthew 23:37 - and ye Luke 13:34 - and ye
Cross-References
Genesis 1:26
God spoke: "Let us make human beings in our image, make them reflecting our nature So they can be responsible for the fish in the sea, the birds in the air, the cattle, And, yes, Earth itself, and every animal that moves on the face of Earth." God created human beings; he created them godlike, Reflecting God's nature. He created them male and female. God blessed them: "Prosper! Reproduce! Fill Earth! Take charge! Be responsible for fish in the sea and birds in the air, for every living thing that moves on the face of Earth."
God spoke: "Let us make human beings in our image, make them reflecting our nature So they can be responsible for the fish in the sea, the birds in the air, the cattle, And, yes, Earth itself, and every animal that moves on the face of Earth." God created human beings; he created them godlike, Reflecting God's nature. He created them male and female. God blessed them: "Prosper! Reproduce! Fill Earth! Take charge! Be responsible for fish in the sea and birds in the air, for every living thing that moves on the face of Earth."
Genesis 3:22
God said, "The Man has become like one of us, capable of knowing everything, ranging from good to evil. What if he now should reach out and take fruit from the Tree-of-Life and eat, and live forever? Never—this cannot happen!"
God said, "The Man has become like one of us, capable of knowing everything, ranging from good to evil. What if he now should reach out and take fruit from the Tree-of-Life and eat, and live forever? Never—this cannot happen!"
Genesis 10:20
These are the descendants of Ham by family, language, country, and nation.
These are the descendants of Ham by family, language, country, and nation.
Genesis 10:32
This is the family tree of the sons of Noah as they developed into nations. From them nations developed all across the Earth after the flood.
This is the family tree of the sons of Noah as they developed into nations. From them nations developed all across the Earth after the flood.
Genesis 11:4
Then they said, "Come, let's build ourselves a city and a tower that reaches Heaven. Let's make ourselves famous so we won't be scattered here and there across the Earth."
Then they said, "Come, let's build ourselves a city and a tower that reaches Heaven. Let's make ourselves famous so we won't be scattered here and there across the Earth."
Genesis 11:5
God came down to look over the city and the tower those people had built.
God came down to look over the city and the tower those people had built.
Genesis 11:12
When Arphaxad was thirty-five years old, he had Shelah. After Arphaxad had Shelah, he lived 403 more years and had other sons and daughters.
When Arphaxad was thirty-five years old, he had Shelah. After Arphaxad had Shelah, he lived 403 more years and had other sons and daughters.
Genesis 42:23
Joseph had been using an interpreter, so they didn't know that Joseph was understanding every word. Joseph turned away from them and cried. When he was able to speak again, he took Simeon and had him tied up, making a prisoner of him while they all watched.
Joseph had been using an interpreter, so they didn't know that Joseph was understanding every word. Joseph turned away from them and cried. When he was able to speak again, he took Simeon and had him tied up, making a prisoner of him while they all watched.
Deuteronomy 28:49
If you listen obediently to the Voice of God , your God, and heartily obey all his commandments that I command you today, God , your God, will place you on high, high above all the nations of the world. All these blessings will come down on you and spread out beyond you because you have responded to the Voice of God , your God: God 's blessing inside the city, God 's blessing in the country; God 's blessing on your children, the crops of your land, the young of your livestock, the calves of your herds, the lambs of your flocks. God 's blessing on your basket and bread bowl; God 's blessing in your coming in, God 's blessing in your going out. God will defeat your enemies who attack you. They'll come at you on one road and run away on seven roads. God will order a blessing on your barns and workplaces; he'll bless you in the land that God , your God, is giving you. God will form you as a people holy to him, just as he promised you, if you keep the commandments of God , your God, and live the way he has shown you. All the peoples on Earth will see you living under the Name of God and hold you in respectful awe. God will lavish you with good things: children from your womb, offspring from your animals, and crops from your land, the land that God promised your ancestors that he would give you. God will throw open the doors of his sky vaults and pour rain on your land on schedule and bless the work you take in hand. You will lend to many nations but you yourself won't have to take out a loan. God will make you the head, not the tail; you'll always be the top dog, never the bottom dog, as you obediently listen to and diligently keep the commands of God , your God, that I am commanding you today. Don't swerve an inch to the right or left from the words that I command you today by going off following and worshiping other gods. Here's what will happen if you don't obediently listen to the Voice of God , your God, and diligently keep all the commandments and guidelines that I'm commanding you today. All these curses will come down hard on you: God 's curse in the city, God 's curse in the country; God 's curse on your basket and bread bowl; God 's curse on your children, the crops of your land, the young of your livestock, the calves of your herds, the lambs of your flocks. God 's curse in your coming in, God 's curse in your going out. God will send The Curse, The Confusion, The Contrariness down on everything you try to do until you've been destroyed and there's nothing left of you—all because of your evil pursuits that led you to abandon me. God will infect you with The Disease, wiping you right off the land that you're going in to possess. God will set consumption and fever and rash and seizures and dehydration and blight and jaundice on you. They'll hunt you down until they kill you. The sky over your head will become an iron roof, the ground under your feet, a slab of concrete. From out of the skies God will rain ash and dust down on you until you suffocate. God will defeat you by enemy attack. You'll come at your enemies on one road and run away on seven roads. All the kingdoms of Earth will see you as a horror. Carrion birds and animals will boldly feast on your dead body with no one to chase them away. God will hit you hard with the boils of Egypt, hemorrhoids, scabs, and an incurable itch. He'll make you go crazy and blind and senile. You'll grope around in the middle of the day like a blind person feeling his way through a lifetime of darkness; you'll never get to where you're going. Not a day will go by that you're not abused and robbed. And no one is going to help you. You'll get engaged to a woman and another man will take her for his mistress; you'll build a house and never live in it; you'll plant a garden and never eat so much as a carrot; you'll watch your ox get butchered and not get a single steak from it; your donkey will be stolen from in front of you and you'll never see it again; your sheep will be sent off to your enemies and no one will lift a hand to help you. Your sons and daughters will be shipped off to foreigners; you'll wear your eyes out looking vainly for them, helpless to do a thing. Your crops and everything you work for will be eaten and used by foreigners; you'll spend the rest of your lives abused and knocked around. What you see will drive you crazy. God will hit you with painful boils on your knees and legs and no healing or relief from head to foot. God will lead you and the king you set over you to a country neither you nor your ancestors have heard of; there you'll worship other gods, no-gods of wood and stone. Among all the peoples where God will take you, you'll be treated as a lesson or a proverb—a horror! You'll plant sacks and sacks of seed in the field but get almost nothing—the grasshoppers will devour it. You'll plant and hoe and prune vineyards but won't drink or put up any wine—the worms will devour them. You'll have groves of olive trees everywhere, but you'll have no oil to rub on your face or hands—the olives will have fallen off. You'll have sons and daughters but they won't be yours for long—they'll go off to captivity. Locusts will take over all your trees and crops. The foreigner who lives among you will climb the ladder, higher and higher, while you go deeper and deeper into the hole. He'll lend to you; you won't lend to him. He'll be the head; you'll be the tail. All these curses are going to come on you. They're going to hunt you down and get you until there's nothing left of you because you didn't obediently listen to the Voice of God , your God, and diligently keep his commandments and guidelines that I commanded you. The curses will serve as signposts, warnings to your children ever after. Because you didn't serve God , your God, out of the joy and goodness of your heart in the great abundance, you'll have to serve your enemies whom God will send against you. Life will be famine and drought, rags and wretchedness; then he'll put an iron yoke on your neck until he's destroyed you. Yes, God will raise up a faraway nation against you, swooping down on you like an eagle, a nation whose language you can't understand, a mean-faced people, cruel to grandmothers and babies alike. They'll ravage the young of your animals and the crops from your fields until you're destroyed. They'll leave nothing behind: no grain, no wine, no oil, no calves, no lambs—and finally, no you. They'll lay siege to you while you're huddled behind your town gates. They'll knock those high, proud walls flat, those walls behind which you felt so safe. They'll lay siege to your fortified cities all over the country, this country that God , your God, has given you. And you'll end up cannibalizing your own sons and daughters that God , your God, has given you. When the suffering from the siege gets extreme, you're going to eat your own babies. The most gentle and caring man among you will turn hard, his eye evil, against his own brother, his cherished wife, and even the rest of his children who are still alive, refusing to share with them a scrap of meat from the cannibal child-stew he is eating. He's lost everything, even his humanity, in the suffering of the siege that your enemy mounts against your fortified towns. And the most gentle and caring woman among you, a woman who wouldn't step on a wildflower, will turn hard, her eye evil, against her cherished husband, against her son, against her daughter, against even the afterbirth of her newborn infants; she plans to eat them in secret—she does eat them!—because she has lost everything, even her humanity, in the suffering of the siege that your enemy mounts against your fortified towns. If you don't diligently keep all the words of this Revelation written in this book, living in holy awe before This Name glorious and terrible, God , your God, then God will pound you with catastrophes, you and your children, huge interminable catastrophes, hideous interminable illnesses. He'll bring back and stick you with every old Egyptian malady that once terrorized you. And yes, every disease and catastrophe imaginable—things not even written in the Book of this Revelation— God will bring on you until you're destroyed. Because you didn't listen obediently to the Voice of God , your God, you'll be left with a few pitiful stragglers in place of the dazzling stars-in-the-heavens multitude you had become. And this is how things will end up: Just as God once enjoyed you, took pleasure in making life good for you, giving you many children, so God will enjoy getting rid of you, clearing you off the Earth. He'll weed you out of the very soil that you are entering in to possess. He'll scatter you to the four winds, from one end of the Earth to the other. You'll worship all kinds of other gods, gods neither you nor your parents ever heard of, wood and stone no-gods. But you won't find a home there, you'll not be able to settle down. God will give you a restless heart, longing eyes, a homesick soul. You will live in constant jeopardy, terrified of every shadow, never knowing what you'll meet around the next corner. In the morning you'll say, "I wish it were evening." In the evening you'll say, "I wish it were morning." Afraid, terrorized at what's coming next, afraid of the unknown, because of the sights you've witnessed. God will ship you back to Egypt by a road I promised you'd never see again. There you'll offer yourselves for sale, both men and women, as slaves to your enemies. And not a buyer to be found.
If you listen obediently to the Voice of God , your God, and heartily obey all his commandments that I command you today, God , your God, will place you on high, high above all the nations of the world. All these blessings will come down on you and spread out beyond you because you have responded to the Voice of God , your God: God 's blessing inside the city, God 's blessing in the country; God 's blessing on your children, the crops of your land, the young of your livestock, the calves of your herds, the lambs of your flocks. God 's blessing on your basket and bread bowl; God 's blessing in your coming in, God 's blessing in your going out. God will defeat your enemies who attack you. They'll come at you on one road and run away on seven roads. God will order a blessing on your barns and workplaces; he'll bless you in the land that God , your God, is giving you. God will form you as a people holy to him, just as he promised you, if you keep the commandments of God , your God, and live the way he has shown you. All the peoples on Earth will see you living under the Name of God and hold you in respectful awe. God will lavish you with good things: children from your womb, offspring from your animals, and crops from your land, the land that God promised your ancestors that he would give you. God will throw open the doors of his sky vaults and pour rain on your land on schedule and bless the work you take in hand. You will lend to many nations but you yourself won't have to take out a loan. God will make you the head, not the tail; you'll always be the top dog, never the bottom dog, as you obediently listen to and diligently keep the commands of God , your God, that I am commanding you today. Don't swerve an inch to the right or left from the words that I command you today by going off following and worshiping other gods. Here's what will happen if you don't obediently listen to the Voice of God , your God, and diligently keep all the commandments and guidelines that I'm commanding you today. All these curses will come down hard on you: God 's curse in the city, God 's curse in the country; God 's curse on your basket and bread bowl; God 's curse on your children, the crops of your land, the young of your livestock, the calves of your herds, the lambs of your flocks. God 's curse in your coming in, God 's curse in your going out. God will send The Curse, The Confusion, The Contrariness down on everything you try to do until you've been destroyed and there's nothing left of you—all because of your evil pursuits that led you to abandon me. God will infect you with The Disease, wiping you right off the land that you're going in to possess. God will set consumption and fever and rash and seizures and dehydration and blight and jaundice on you. They'll hunt you down until they kill you. The sky over your head will become an iron roof, the ground under your feet, a slab of concrete. From out of the skies God will rain ash and dust down on you until you suffocate. God will defeat you by enemy attack. You'll come at your enemies on one road and run away on seven roads. All the kingdoms of Earth will see you as a horror. Carrion birds and animals will boldly feast on your dead body with no one to chase them away. God will hit you hard with the boils of Egypt, hemorrhoids, scabs, and an incurable itch. He'll make you go crazy and blind and senile. You'll grope around in the middle of the day like a blind person feeling his way through a lifetime of darkness; you'll never get to where you're going. Not a day will go by that you're not abused and robbed. And no one is going to help you. You'll get engaged to a woman and another man will take her for his mistress; you'll build a house and never live in it; you'll plant a garden and never eat so much as a carrot; you'll watch your ox get butchered and not get a single steak from it; your donkey will be stolen from in front of you and you'll never see it again; your sheep will be sent off to your enemies and no one will lift a hand to help you. Your sons and daughters will be shipped off to foreigners; you'll wear your eyes out looking vainly for them, helpless to do a thing. Your crops and everything you work for will be eaten and used by foreigners; you'll spend the rest of your lives abused and knocked around. What you see will drive you crazy. God will hit you with painful boils on your knees and legs and no healing or relief from head to foot. God will lead you and the king you set over you to a country neither you nor your ancestors have heard of; there you'll worship other gods, no-gods of wood and stone. Among all the peoples where God will take you, you'll be treated as a lesson or a proverb—a horror! You'll plant sacks and sacks of seed in the field but get almost nothing—the grasshoppers will devour it. You'll plant and hoe and prune vineyards but won't drink or put up any wine—the worms will devour them. You'll have groves of olive trees everywhere, but you'll have no oil to rub on your face or hands—the olives will have fallen off. You'll have sons and daughters but they won't be yours for long—they'll go off to captivity. Locusts will take over all your trees and crops. The foreigner who lives among you will climb the ladder, higher and higher, while you go deeper and deeper into the hole. He'll lend to you; you won't lend to him. He'll be the head; you'll be the tail. All these curses are going to come on you. They're going to hunt you down and get you until there's nothing left of you because you didn't obediently listen to the Voice of God , your God, and diligently keep his commandments and guidelines that I commanded you. The curses will serve as signposts, warnings to your children ever after. Because you didn't serve God , your God, out of the joy and goodness of your heart in the great abundance, you'll have to serve your enemies whom God will send against you. Life will be famine and drought, rags and wretchedness; then he'll put an iron yoke on your neck until he's destroyed you. Yes, God will raise up a faraway nation against you, swooping down on you like an eagle, a nation whose language you can't understand, a mean-faced people, cruel to grandmothers and babies alike. They'll ravage the young of your animals and the crops from your fields until you're destroyed. They'll leave nothing behind: no grain, no wine, no oil, no calves, no lambs—and finally, no you. They'll lay siege to you while you're huddled behind your town gates. They'll knock those high, proud walls flat, those walls behind which you felt so safe. They'll lay siege to your fortified cities all over the country, this country that God , your God, has given you. And you'll end up cannibalizing your own sons and daughters that God , your God, has given you. When the suffering from the siege gets extreme, you're going to eat your own babies. The most gentle and caring man among you will turn hard, his eye evil, against his own brother, his cherished wife, and even the rest of his children who are still alive, refusing to share with them a scrap of meat from the cannibal child-stew he is eating. He's lost everything, even his humanity, in the suffering of the siege that your enemy mounts against your fortified towns. And the most gentle and caring woman among you, a woman who wouldn't step on a wildflower, will turn hard, her eye evil, against her cherished husband, against her son, against her daughter, against even the afterbirth of her newborn infants; she plans to eat them in secret—she does eat them!—because she has lost everything, even her humanity, in the suffering of the siege that your enemy mounts against your fortified towns. If you don't diligently keep all the words of this Revelation written in this book, living in holy awe before This Name glorious and terrible, God , your God, then God will pound you with catastrophes, you and your children, huge interminable catastrophes, hideous interminable illnesses. He'll bring back and stick you with every old Egyptian malady that once terrorized you. And yes, every disease and catastrophe imaginable—things not even written in the Book of this Revelation— God will bring on you until you're destroyed. Because you didn't listen obediently to the Voice of God , your God, you'll be left with a few pitiful stragglers in place of the dazzling stars-in-the-heavens multitude you had become. And this is how things will end up: Just as God once enjoyed you, took pleasure in making life good for you, giving you many children, so God will enjoy getting rid of you, clearing you off the Earth. He'll weed you out of the very soil that you are entering in to possess. He'll scatter you to the four winds, from one end of the Earth to the other. You'll worship all kinds of other gods, gods neither you nor your parents ever heard of, wood and stone no-gods. But you won't find a home there, you'll not be able to settle down. God will give you a restless heart, longing eyes, a homesick soul. You will live in constant jeopardy, terrified of every shadow, never knowing what you'll meet around the next corner. In the morning you'll say, "I wish it were evening." In the evening you'll say, "I wish it were morning." Afraid, terrorized at what's coming next, afraid of the unknown, because of the sights you've witnessed. God will ship you back to Egypt by a road I promised you'd never see again. There you'll offer yourselves for sale, both men and women, as slaves to your enemies. And not a buyer to be found.
Psalms 33:10
God takes the wind out of Babel pretense, he shoots down the world's power-schemes. God 's plan for the world stands up, all his designs are made to last. Blessed is the country with God for God; blessed are the people he's put in his will.
God takes the wind out of Babel pretense, he shoots down the world's power-schemes. God 's plan for the world stands up, all his designs are made to last. Blessed is the country with God for God; blessed are the people he's put in his will.
Gill's Notes on the Bible
And my people are bent to backsliding from me,.... There is a propensity in thorn to it, through prevailing corruption in them; they are inclined unto it, the bias of their minds is that way; they are bent upon it, and pertinaciously abide in it; nor will they be reclaimed from it, by all the means and methods made use of, even though they had been, and professed themselves to be the people of God. Some understand this, not of their backsliding and aversion from God; but either of his return to them, or of their return to him, rendering the words, "and my people are in suspense" a; like a man that hangs in the air, as Aben Ezra, neither ascends nor descends; that is, they are in doubt of what should be done to thorn, or they themselves should do: either "about my return" b; that is, to them; whether after all they may expect that God would be kind and merciful to them, so Abarbinel: or "about return to me" c; whether they should or not, inclining rather not to return. So the Targum,
"my people divide (or hesitate) to return to my law;''
with which Jarchi agrees, paraphrasing it,
"when the prophets instruct them to return unto me, they are in suspense whether to return or not;''
but Aben Ezra and Kimchi observe the word is always used in a bad sense, of aversion or backsliding, and that the word is in another form when used for repentance or returning;
though they called them to the most High; that is, the prophets of the Lord called them to turn from their idols, and return to the most high God, the true and the living God, from whom they had backslidden, and to his true worship, they had neglected and forsaken:
none at all would exalt [him]; the most high God, and give him the praise and glory due to his name; but, on the other hand, extolled their idols, and ascribed all their good things to them: or "none would exalt them" d the prophets of the Lord that called them; would not give that honour to them that was due to their office, or pay any regard to them, or to their admonitions and advice, but depreciated them, and reproached and persecuted them: or "none at all would lift up": that is, their head, as Aben Ezra, toward the heaven, and to God in it, to whom they were called; but kept looking on the earth, and to earthly things, particularly to their idols; and did not lift up or erect their ears, to hearken to what was said to them, but were deaf to all counsel and reproof. The Targum is,
"they walked not in an erect stature.''
Agreeably to which the former clause may be rendered, as by some, "and they called them to things above"; but none would look upwards;
:-.
a תלואים "suspensi haerent", Junius Tremellius "suspensi", Montanus, Schmidt. b למשובתי "ad reditum meum", V. L. c "Circa redire ad me", Castalio. d לא ירומם "eos non exaltabit", Schmidt.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
And My people are bent to backsliding from Me - Literally, “are hung to it!” as we say, “a man’s whole being “hangs” on a thing.” A thing “hung to” or “on” another, sways to and fro within certain limits, but its relation to that on which it is hung, remains immovable. Its power of motion is restrained within those limits. So Israel, so the sinner, however he veer to and fro in the details and circumstances of his sin, is fixed and immovable in his adherence to his sin itself. Whatever else Israel did, on one thing his whole being, as a nation, depended, on “backsliding” or aversion from God. The political existence of Israel, as a separate kingdom, depended on his worship of the calves, “the sin wherewith” Jeroboam “made Israel to sin.” This was the ground of their “refusing to return” Hosea 11:5, that, through habitual sin, they were no longer in their own power: they were fixed in evil.
Though they called them to the most High - Literally, “called him.” As one man, the prophets called Israel; as one man, Israel refused to return; “none at all would exalt” Him, literally, “together he exalteth Him not.”
Clarke's Notes on the Bible
Verse Hosea 11:7. Though they called them to the Most High — Newcome is better: "And though they call on him together because of the yoke, he will not raise it. He shall receive no refreshment." See the metaphor, Hosea 11:4.
