Ephraim will be laid waste on the day of rebuke. Among the tribes of Israel I proclaim what is certain.
Parallel translations
- WEB Ephraim will become a desolation in the day of rebuke. Among the tribes of Israel, I have made known that which will surely be.
- KJV Ephraim shall be desolate in the day of rebuke: among the tribes of Israel have I made known that which shall surely be.
- NKJV Ephraim shall be desolate in the day of rebuke; Among the tribes of Israel I make known what is sure.
- NASB Ephraim will become a desolation in the day of rebuke; Among the tribes of Israel I make known what is trustworthy.
- NLT One thing is certain, Israel: On your day of punishment, you will become a heap of rubble.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Ephraim will be laid desolate in the day of God's rebuke, a certain and announced judgment. What God has declared will surely come to pass.
Overview
God promises that Ephraim, the northern kingdom, will become a wasteland when the day of reckoning arrives. By saying He has 'made known that which will surely be,' God stresses the certainty and reliability of His prophetic word. The verse assures readers that divine judgment is neither arbitrary nor empty; what God foretells against persistent sin will inevitably be fulfilled.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 19
- Hos 9:11–17Ephraim’s glory will fly away like a bird, with no birth, no pregnancy, and no conception.
- Isa 46:10I declare the end from the beginning, and ancient times from what is still to come. I say, ‘My purpose will stand, and all My good pleasure I will accomplish.’
- Zech 1:6But did not My words and My statutes, which I commanded My servants the prophets, overtake your fathers? They repented and said, ‘Just as the LORD of Hosts purposed to do to us according to our ways and deeds, so He has done to us.’”
- John 16:4But I have told you these things so that when their hour comes, you will remember that I told you about them. I did not tell you these things from the beginning, because I was with you.
- Isa 28:1–4Woe to the majestic crown of Ephraim’s drunkards, to the fading flower of his glorious splendor, set on the summit above the fertile valley, the pride of those overcome by wine.
- Isa 37:3to tell him, “This is what Hezekiah says: Today is a day of distress, rebuke, and disgrace; for children have come to the point of birth, but there is no strength to deliver them.
- Hos 8:8Israel is swallowed up! Now they are among the nations like a worthless vessel.
- Hos 13:1–3When Ephraim spoke, there was trembling; he was exalted in Israel. But he incurred guilt through Baal, and he died.
- Hos 5:14For I am like a lion to Ephraim and like a young lion to the house of Judah. I, even I, will tear them to pieces and then go away. I will carry them off where no one can rescue them.
- Hos 11:5–6Will they not return to the land of Egypt and be ruled by Assyria because they refused to repent?
- Hos 13:15–16Although he flourishes among his brothers, an east wind will come—a wind from the LORD rising up from the desert. His fountain will fail, and his spring will run dry. The wind will plunder his treasury of every precious article.
- Amos 3:7Surely the Lord GOD does nothing without revealing His plan to His servants the prophets.
- Amos 7:17Therefore this is what the LORD says: ‘Your wife will become a prostitute in the city, and your sons and daughters will fall by the sword. Your land will be divided by a measuring line, and you yourself will die on pagan soil. And Israel will surely go into exile, away from their homeland.’”
- Hos 5:12So I am like a moth to Ephraim, and like decay to the house of Judah.
- Isa 48:3I foretold the former things long ago; they came out of My mouth and I proclaimed them. Suddenly I acted, and they came to pass.
- Isa 48:5Therefore I declared it to you long ago; I announced it before it came to pass, so that you could not claim, ‘My idol has done this; my carved image and molten god has ordained it.’
- Amos 3:14–15On the day I punish Israel for their transgressions, I will visit destruction on the altars of Bethel; the horns of the altar will be cut off, and they will fall to the ground.
- Amos 7:9The high places of Isaac will be deserted, and the sanctuaries of Israel will be laid waste; and I will rise up against the house of Jeroboam with My sword.”
- Job 12:14What He tears down cannot be rebuilt; the man He imprisons cannot be released.
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
God's relentless love for an unfaithful bride dramatizes the gospel: 'Out of Egypt I called my son' is fulfilled in Jesus, who redeems an adulterous people at his own cost.
How Hosea 5:9 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.