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You offer sheep and cattle
    as sacrifices to me,
but I have turned away
    and refuse to be found.
You have been unfaithful
    to me, your Lord;
you have had children
    by prostitutes.[a]
So at the New Moon Festival,
you and your crops
    will be destroyed.[b]

The Lord Warns Israel and Judah

Give a warning on the trumpet!
Let it be heard in Gibeah,
    Ramah, and sinful Bethel.[c]
Benjamin, watch out![d]

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Footnotes

  1. 5.7 prostitutes: See 4.14, and the note at 1.2.
  2. 5.7 So … destroyed: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
  3. 5.8 sinful Bethel: See the note at 4.15. Gibeah is 5 kilometers north of Jerusalem, Ramah is 8 kilometers north, and Bethel is 17.5 kilometers north. The attack comes from the south, and all the land of Benjamin (belonging to Israel) is in danger.
  4. 5.8 watch out: Or “lead the way.”

When they go with their flocks and herds
    to seek the Lord,(A)
they will not find him;
    he has withdrawn(B) himself from them.
They are unfaithful(C) to the Lord;
    they give birth to illegitimate(D) children.
When they celebrate their New Moon feasts,(E)
    he will devour[a](F) their fields.

“Sound the trumpet(G) in Gibeah,(H)
    the horn in Ramah.(I)
Raise the battle cry in Beth Aven[b];(J)
    lead on, Benjamin.

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Footnotes

  1. Hosea 5:7 Or Now their New Moon feasts / will devour them and
  2. Hosea 5:8 Beth Aven means house of wickedness (a derogatory name for Bethel, which means house of God).