Hosea 9:10-17

The people in Israel will cause God to punish them by their worship of idols

10 The Lord says, ‘When I first found Israel,

it was as if I had found grapes in the desert.

When I saw your ancestors,

it was as if I had found early fruit on a fig tree.

But then they came to the god, Baal-Peor.

They began to worship that very bad idol.

They became like the idol that they loved very much.

11 Israel is great. But this special time will finish.

It will be like a bird.

There will be no more times when babies grow inside women.

There will be no more times when women give birth to babies.

There will be no more children.

12 But even if Israel's people have children,

I will cause the children to die.

There will be none that still live.

I will leave them. It will be very bad for them.

13 Lord, I can see that Ephraim's people are going to a difficult place.

They are going to someone who will kill them.’

14 Lord, give to these people the things that you want to give to them.

Make it impossible for their women to have babies!

Make it impossible for their breasts to give milk to their babies!

15 The Lord says, ‘They started to do all their very bad things at Gilgal.

It was there that I began not to like them in any way.

I will tell them that they must leave my country.

I will not love them any longer.

Their leaders have not obeyed me.

16 Ephraim's people are in bad trouble.

They are like a plant that has no water.

This plant will have no fruit.

They will have no children.

Even if they have children, I will kill the children.

They think that these children are very important.’

17 My God will refuse to accept them.

That is because they have not obeyed him.

They will have to travel from place to place in different countries.