Hosea 14:8 (YLT)

Passage

O Ephraim, what to Me any more with idols? I--I afflicted, and I cause him to sing: `I <FI>am<Fi> as a green fir-tree,' From Me is thy fruit found.

Nearby Context

Hosea 14:6 Go on do his sucklings, And his beauty is as an olive, And he hath fragrance as Lebanon.

Hosea 14:7 Return do the dwellers under his shadow, They revive <FI>as<Fi> corn, and flourish as a vine, His memorial <FI>is<Fi> as wine of Lebanon.

Hosea 14:8 O Ephraim, what to Me any more with idols? I--I afflicted, and I cause him to sing: `I <FI>am<Fi> as a green fir-tree,' From Me is thy fruit found.

Hosea 14:9 Who <FI>is<Fi> wise, and doth understand these? Prudent, and knoweth them? For upright are the ways of Jehovah, And the righteous go on in them, And the transgressors stumble therein!

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "ephraim", "idols", "i--i", "afflicted", "cause", "sing", "green", and "fir-tree". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "ephraim" and "idols", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 7's "Return do the dwellers under his shadow..." into verse 9's "Who FI is Fi wise and doth...", so "ephraim" and "idols" belong inside that flow. In Hosea context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "ephraim" and "idols" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.