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Verse 12

"Therefore am I unto Ephraim as a moth, and to the house of Judah as rottenness."

"Moth ... rottenness ..." "It is probable that Hosea's figure of speech is far more communicative and repulsive"[29] than it appears in this translation. Smith favored the New English Bible in this passage, which has, "I am a festering sore to Ephraim, and a canker to the house of Judah." Beginning here, and to the end of the chapter, it is starkly clear that not Syria, or Assyria, or any other worldly power is the real enemy of Ephraim; it is God Himself! The Lord is the one who is disgusted and outraged with Ephraim and all Israel's treason and apostasy from the truth; and God here made it clear that he will bring about the punishment.

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