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Hosea 11

Hosea sets Israel’s persistent rebellion against God’s parental care, announced judgment, and resolve to preserve and restore his people.

God speaks through Hosea to Israel, also called Ephraim, recalling how he brought his son out of Egypt and taught him to walk. Israel has answered that care with idol worship and refusal to repent. Assyrian rule and violence stand ahead. Yet God declares his compassion and refuses to destroy Ephraim altogether. He promises to call his scattered children home, while the closing verse returns to the deceit of Israel and the unfaithfulness of Judah.

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Read
1“When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and called my son out of Egypt.
2They called to them, so they went from them. They sacrificed to the Baals, and burned incense to engraved images.
3Yet I taught Ephraim to walk. I took them by their arms, but they didn’t know that I healed them.
4I drew them with cords of a man, with ties of love; and I was to them like those who lift up the yoke on their necks; and I bent down to him and I fed him.
5“They won’t return into the land of Egypt; but the Assyrian will be their king, because they refused to repent.
6The sword will fall on their cities, and will destroy the bars of their gates, and will put an end to their plans.
7My people are determined to turn from me. Though they call to the Most High, he certainly won’t exalt them.
8“How can I give you up, Ephraim? How can I hand you over, Israel? How can I make you like Admah? How can I make you like Zeboiim? My heart is turned within me, my compassion is aroused.
9I will not execute the fierceness of my anger. I will not return to destroy Ephraim, for I am God, and not man—the Holy One among you. I will not come in wrath.
10They will walk after the LORD, who will roar like a lion; for he will roar, and the children will come trembling from the west.
11They will come trembling like a bird out of Egypt, and like a dove out of the land of Assyria; and I will settle them in their houses,” says the LORD.
12Ephraim surrounds me with falsehood, and the house of Israel with deceit. Judah still strays from God, and is unfaithful to the Holy One.
World English BibleRead in NIV in Psalmlog →Highlighted verses are the most connected.
Key verses
Hosea 11:8God’s questions mark the turn from threatened devastation toward compassion for the people who have rejected him.
Hosea 11:1The memory of Israel’s deliverance from Egypt establishes the parental love against which the nation’s rebellion is measured.
Hosea 11:4Images of loving ties, a lifted yoke, and feeding make God’s care concrete before the announcement of judgment.
Where this chapter reaches

Matthew quotes Hosea’s words about the son called out of Egypt in its account of Jesus returning from Egypt, linking Jesus with Israel’s history. Deuteronomy shares the image of God’s parental care for Israel, while Jeremiah shares the themes of compassion for Ephraim and return from exile.

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Notice

After reading the whole chapter

Which image of God’s care stands out to you, and how does Israel’s response sharpen it?

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How does the promise of homecoming affect your reading of the chapter’s warnings and closing accusation?

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Questions people ask about Hosea 11

Who is the son called out of Egypt in Hosea 11:1?

In Hosea’s immediate context, the son is Israel, whom God brought out of Egypt. The next verses recall God’s care and Israel’s idol worship. Matthew quotes the verse in connection with Jesus returning from Egypt, presenting Jesus’ experience as a fulfillment of these words about Israel.

Does God cancel his judgment in Hosea 11?

The chapter keeps both judgment and compassion in view. Assyrian rule and the sword are announced because Israel refuses to repent. God then declares that he will restrain his anger and will not destroy Ephraim altogether. The promised homecoming follows these warnings, and the chapter closes with another accusation of unfaithfulness.

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Hosea · 14 chapters
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Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).