Hosea 5:12

Modern

So I am like a moth to Ephraim, and like decay to the house of Judah.

Traditional

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

Literal

And I am like a moth to Ephraim, and like rot to the house of Judah.

Latin

Et ego quasi tinea Ephraim, et quasi putredo domui Juda.

Hebrew

English

So I am like a moth to Ephraim, and like decay to the house of Judah.

a moth … decay: Sin can slowly weaken a people at their core, and they may not realize the damage until it is already done.

Theme notes and profiles

Isaiah 51:8
For the moth will devour them like a garment, and the worm will eat them like wool. But My righteousness will last forever, My salvation through all generations.”
Job 13:28
So man wastes away like something rotten, like a moth-eaten garment.
Jonah 4:7
When dawn came the next day, God appointed a worm that attacked the plant so that it withered.
Isaiah 50:9
Surely the Lord GOD helps Me. Who is there to condemn Me? See, they will all wear out like a garment; the moths will devour them.
Mark 9:43–48
If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than to have two hands and go into hell, into the unquenchable fire.
Proverbs 12:4
A wife of noble character is her husband’s crown, but she who causes shame is like decay in his bones.

Ephraim: Second son of Joseph, and a tribe of Israel Judah: Israelite tribe, kingdom, and province