Hosea 5:4

5:4 Their wicked deeds do not allow them to return to their God;

because a spirit of idolatry 1  controls their heart, 2 

and they do not acknowledge the Lord.

Hosea 7:10

7:10 The arrogance of Israel testifies against him,

yet they refuse to return to the Lord their God!

In spite of all this they refuse to seek him!

Hosea 12:9

12:9 “I am the Lord your God 3  who brought you 4  out of Egypt;

I will make you live in tents again as in the days of old. 5 

1 tn Heb “a spirit of harlotries”; NIV “a spirit of prostitution”; TEV “Idolatry has a powerful hold on them.” However, CEV takes this literally: “your constant craving for sex keeps you from knowing me.”

2 tn Heb “is in their heart” (so NIV); NASB, NRSV “is within them.”

3 sn The Lord answers Ephraim’s self-assertion (“I am rich!”) with the self-introduction formula (“I am the Lord your God!”) which introduces judgment oracles and ethical instructions.

4 tn Or “[Ever since you came] out of Egypt”; CEV “just as I have been since the time you were in Egypt.”

5 tn Heb “as in the days of meeting” (כִּימֵי מוֹעֵד, kime mo’ed). This phrase might refer to “time of the festival” (e.g., Hos 2:13; 9:5; cf. NASB, NRSV, NLT) or the Lord’s first “meeting” with Israel in the desert (cf. NAB, TEV, CEV). In his announcements about Israel’s future, Hosea uses “as in the days of […]” (כִּימֵי) or “as in the day of […]” (כְּיוֹם, kÿyom) to introduce analogies drawn from Israel’s early history (e.g., Hos 2:5, 17; 9:9; 10:9).