1:1 1 This is the word of the Lord which was revealed to Hosea 2 son of Beeri during the time when 3 Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah ruled Judah, 4 and during the time when Jeroboam son of Joash 5 ruled Israel. 6
1:2 When the Lord first spoke 7 through 8 Hosea, he 9 said to him, 10 “Go marry 11 a prostitute 12 who will bear illegitimate children conceived through prostitution, 13 because the nation 14 continually commits spiritual prostitution 15 by turning away from 16 the Lord.” 1:3 So Hosea married 17 Gomer, the daughter of Diblaim. Then she conceived and gave birth to a son for him. 1:4 Then the Lord said to Hosea, 18 “Name him ‘Jezreel,’ because in a little while I will punish 19 the dynasty 20 of Jehu on account of the bloodshed 21 in the valley of Jezreel, 22 and I will put an end to the kingdom 23 of Israel. 24 1:5 At that time, 25 I will destroy the military power 26 of Israel in the valley of Jezreel.”
1:6 She conceived again and gave birth to a daughter. Then the Lord 27 said to him, “Name her ‘No Pity’ (Lo-Ruhamah) because I will no longer have pity 28 on the nation 29 of Israel. For 30 I will certainly not forgive 31 their guilt. 32 1:7 But I will have pity on the nation 33 of Judah. 34 I will deliver them by the Lord their God; I will not deliver them by the warrior’s bow, by sword, by military victory, 35 by chariot horses, or by chariots.” 36
1:8 When 37 she had weaned ‘No Pity’ (Lo-Ruhamah) she conceived again and gave birth to another son. 1:9 Then the Lord 38 said: “Name him ‘Not My People’ (Lo-Ammi), because you 39 are not my people and I am not your 40 God.” 41
1:10 (2:1) 42 However, 43 in the future the number of the people 44 of Israel will be like the sand of the sea which can be neither measured nor numbered. Although 45 it was said to them, “You are not my people,” it will be said to them, “You are 46 children 47 of the living God!” 1:11 Then the people 48 of Judah and the people of Israel will be gathered together. They will appoint for themselves one leader, 49 and will flourish in the land. 50 Certainly, 51 the day of Jezreel will be great! 2:1 Then you will call 52 your 53 brother, “My People” (Ammi)! You will call your sister, “Pity” (Ruhamah)!
2:2 Plead earnestly 54 with your 55 mother
(for 56 she is not my wife, and I am not her husband),
so that 57 she might put an end to her adulterous lifestyle, 58
and turn away from her sexually immoral behavior. 59
2:3 Otherwise, I will strip her naked,
and expose her like she was when she was born.
I will turn her land into a wilderness
and make her country a parched land,
so that I might kill 60 her with thirst.
2:4 I will have no pity on her children, 61
because they are children conceived in adultery. 62
2:5 For their mother has committed adultery;
she who conceived them has acted shamefully.
For she said, “I will seek out 63 my lovers; 64
they are the ones who give me my bread and my water,
my wool, my flax, my olive oil, and my wine. 65
2:6 Therefore, I will soon 66 fence her in 67 with thorns;
I will wall her in 68 so that 69 she cannot find her way. 70
2:7 Then she will pursue her lovers, but she will not catch 71 them;
she will seek them, but she will not find them. 72
Then she will say,
“I will go back 73 to my husband, 74
because I was better off then than I am now.” 75
2:8 Yet 76 until now 77 she has refused to acknowledge 78 that I 79 was the one
who gave her the grain, the new wine, and the olive oil;
and that it was I who 80 lavished on her the silver and gold –
which they 81 used in worshiping Baal! 82
2:9 Therefore, I will take back 83 my grain during the harvest time 84
and my new wine when it ripens; 85
I will take away my wool and my flax
which I had provided 86 in order to clothe her. 87
2:10 Soon 88 I will expose her lewd nakedness 89 in front of her lovers,
and no one will be able to rescue her from me! 90
2:11 I will put an end to all her celebration:
her annual religious festivals,
monthly new moon celebrations,
and weekly Sabbath festivities –
all her appointed festivals.
2:12 I will destroy her vines and fig trees,
about which she said, “These are my wages for prostitution 91
that my lovers gave to me!”
I will turn her cultivated vines and fig trees 92 into an uncultivated thicket,
so that wild animals 93 will devour them.
2:13 “I will punish her for the festival days
when she burned incense to the Baal idols; 94
she adorned herself with earrings and jewelry,
and went after her lovers,
but 95 she forgot me!” 96 says the Lord.
2:14 However, in the future I will allure her; 97
I will lead 98 her back into the wilderness,
and speak tenderly to her.
2:15 From there I will give back her vineyards to her,
and turn the “Valley of Trouble” 99 into an “Opportunity 100 for Hope.”
There she will sing as she did when she was young, 101
when 102 she came up from the land of Egypt.
2:16 “At that time,” 103 declares the Lord,
“you will call, 104 ‘My husband’; 105
you will never again call me, 106 ‘My master.’ 107
2:17 For 108 I will remove the names of the Baal idols 109 from your lips, 110
so that you will never again utter their names!” 111
2:18 “At that time 112 I will make a covenant for them with the wild animals,
the birds of the air, and the creatures that crawl on the ground.
I will abolish 113 the warrior’s bow and sword
– that is, every weapon of warfare 114 – from the land,
and I will allow them to live securely.” 115
2:19 I will commit myself to you 116 forever;
I will commit myself to you in 117 righteousness and justice,
in steadfast love and tender compassion.
2:20 I will commit myself to you in faithfulness;
then 118 you will acknowledge 119 the Lord.” 120
2:21 “At that time, 121 I will willingly respond,” 122 declares the Lord.
“I will respond to the sky,
and the sky 123 will respond to the ground;
2:22 then the ground will respond to the grain, the new wine, and the olive oil;
and they will respond to ‘God Plants’ (Jezreel)! 124
2:23 Then I will plant her as my own 125 in the land.
I will have pity on ‘No Pity’ (Lo-Ruhamah).
I will say to ‘Not My People’ (Lo-Ammi), ‘You are my people!’
And he 126 will say, ‘You are 127 my God!’”
3:1 The Lord said to me, “Go, show love to 128 your wife 129 again, even though she loves 130 another man 131 and continually commits adultery. 132 Likewise, the Lord loves 133 the Israelites 134 although they turn to other gods and love to offer raisin cakes to idols.” 135 3:2 So I paid fifteen shekels of silver and about seven bushels of barley 136 to purchase her. 3:3 Then I told her, “You must live with me many days; you must not commit adultery or have sexual intercourse with 137 another man, and I also will wait for you.” 3:4 For the Israelites 138 must live many days without a king or prince, without sacrifice or sacred fertility pillar, without ephod or idols. 3:5 Afterward, the Israelites will turn and seek the Lord their God and their Davidic king. 139 Then they will submit to the Lord in fear and receive his blessings 140 in the future. 141
4:1 Hear the word of the Lord, you Israelites! 142
For the Lord has a covenant lawsuit 143 against the people of Israel. 144
For there is neither faithfulness nor loyalty in the land,
nor do they acknowledge God. 145
4:2 There is only cursing, lying, murder, stealing, and adultery.
They resort to violence and bloodshed. 146
4:3 Therefore the land will mourn,
and all its inhabitants will perish. 147
The wild animals, 148 the birds of the sky,
and even the fish in the sea will perish.
4:4 Do not let anyone accuse or contend against anyone else: 149
for my case is against you priests! 150
4:5 You stumble day and night,
and the false prophets stumble with you;
You have destroyed your own people! 151
4:6 You have destroyed 152 my people
by failing to acknowledge me!
Because you refuse to acknowledge me, 153
I will reject you as my priests.
Because you reject 154 the law of your God,
I will reject 155 your descendants.
4:7 The more the priests increased in numbers,
the more they rebelled against me.
They have turned 156 their glorious calling
into a shameful disgrace!
4:8 They feed on the sin offerings of my people;
their appetites long for their iniquity!
4:9 I will deal with the people and priests together: 157
I will punish them both for their ways,
and I will repay them for their deeds.
4:10 They will eat, but not be satisfied;
they will engage in prostitution, but not increase in numbers;
because they have abandoned the Lord
by pursuing other gods. 158
4:11 Old and new wine
take away the understanding of my people. 159
4:12 They consult their wooden idols,
and their diviner’s staff answers with an oracle.
The wind of prostitution blows them astray;
they commit spiritual adultery 160 against their God.
4:13 They sacrifice on the mountaintops,
and burn offerings on the hills;
they sacrifice 161 under oak, poplar, and terebinth,
because their shade is so pleasant.
As a result, your daughters have become cult prostitutes,
and your daughters-in-law commit adultery!
4:14 I will not punish your daughters when they commit prostitution,
nor your daughters-in-law when they commit adultery.
For the men consort with harlots,
they sacrifice with temple prostitutes.
It is true: 162 “A people that lacks understanding will come to ruin!”
4:15 Although you, O Israel, commit adultery,
do not let Judah become guilty!
Do not journey to Gilgal!
Do not go up to Beth Aven! 163
Do not swear, “As surely as the Lord lives!”
4:16 Israel has rebelled 164 like a stubborn heifer!
Soon 165 the Lord will put them out to pasture
like a lamb in a broad field! 166
4:17 Ephraim has attached himself to idols;
Do not go near him!
4:18 They consume their alcohol,
then engage in cult prostitution;
they dearly love their shameful behavior.
4:19 A whirlwind has wrapped them in its wings;
they will be brought to shame because of their idolatrous worship. 167
5:1 Hear this, you priests!
Pay attention, you Israelites! 168
Listen closely, 169 O king! 170
For judgment is about to overtake you! 171
For you were like a trap 172 to Mizpah, 173
like a net 174 spread out to catch Tabor. 175
5:2 Those who revolt are knee-deep in slaughter, 176
but I will discipline them all. 177
5:3 I know Ephraim all too well; 178
the evil of 179 Israel is not hidden from me.
For you have engaged in prostitution, O Ephraim;
Israel has defiled itself. 180
5:4 Their wicked deeds do not allow them to return to their God;
because a spirit of idolatry 181 controls their heart, 182
and they do not acknowledge the Lord.
5:5 The arrogance of Israel testifies against it;
Israel and Ephraim will be overthrown 183 because 184 of their iniquity.
Even Judah will be brought down 185 with them.
5:6 Although they bring their flocks and herds 186
to seek 187 the favor of the Lord, 188
They will not find him –
he has withdrawn himself from them!
5:7 They have committed treason 189 against the Lord,
because they bore illegitimate children.
Soon 190 the new moon festival will devour them and their fields.
5:8 Blow the ram’s horn in Gibeah!
Sound the trumpet in Ramah!
Sound the alarm in Beth Aven! 191
Tremble in fear, 192 O Benjamin!
5:9 Ephraim will be ruined in the day of judgment! 193
What I am declaring 194 to the tribes of Israel will certainly take place! 195
5:10 The princes of Judah are like those who move boundary markers.
I will pour out my rage on them like a torrential flood! 196
5:11 Ephraim will be oppressed, 197 crushed 198 under judgment, 199
because he was determined to pursue worthless idols. 200
5:12 I will be like a moth to Ephraim,
like wood rot 201 to the house of Judah.
5:13 When Ephraim saw 202 his sickness
and Judah saw his wound,
then Ephraim turned 203 to Assyria,
and begged 204 its great king 205 for help.
But he will not be able to heal you!
He cannot cure your wound! 206
5:14 I will be like a lion to Ephraim,
like a young lion to the house of Judah.
I myself will tear them to pieces,
then I will carry them off, and no one will be able to rescue them!
5:15 Then I will return again to my lair
until they have suffered their punishment. 207
Then they will seek me; 208
in their distress they will earnestly seek me.
6:1 “Come on! Let’s return to the Lord!
He himself has torn us to pieces,
but he will heal us!
He has injured 209 us,
but he will bandage our wounds!
6:2 He will restore 210 us in a very short time; 211
he will heal us in a little while, 212
so that we may live in his presence.
6:3 So let us acknowledge him! 213
Let us seek 214 to acknowledge 215 the Lord!
He will come to our rescue as certainly as the appearance of the dawn,
as certainly as the winter rain comes,
as certainly as the spring rain that waters the land.”
6:4 What am I going to do with you, O Ephraim?
What am I going to do with you, O Judah?
For 216 your faithfulness is as fleeting as the morning mist; 217
it disappears as quickly as dawn’s dew! 218
6:5 Therefore, I will certainly cut 219 you into pieces at the hands of the prophets; 220
I will certainly kill you 221 in fulfillment of my oracles of judgment; 222
for 223 my judgment 224 will come forth like the light of the dawn. 225
6:6 For I delight in faithfulness, not simply in sacrifice;
I delight 226 in acknowledging God, not simply in whole burnt offerings. 227
6:7 At Adam 228 they broke 229 the covenant;
Oh how 230 they were unfaithful 231 to me!
6:8 Gilead is a city full of evildoers; 232
its streets are stained with bloody footprints! 233
6:9 The company of priests is like a gang of robbers,
lying in ambush to pounce on a victim.
They commit murder on the road to Shechem;
they have done heinous crimes!
6:10 I have seen a disgusting thing in the temple of Israel:
there Ephraim practices temple prostitution
and Judah defiles itself.
6:11 I have appointed a time to reap judgment 234 for you also, O Judah!
Whenever I want to restore the fortunes of my people, 235
7:1 whenever I want to heal Israel,
the sin of Ephraim is revealed,
and the evil deeds of Samaria are exposed.
For they do what is wrong;
thieves break into houses,
and gangs rob people out in the streets.
7:2 They do not realize 236
that I remember all of their wicked deeds.
Their evil deeds have now surrounded them;
their sinful deeds are always before me. 237
7:3 The royal advisers delight the king with their evil schemes,
the princes make him glad with their lies.
7:4 They are all like bakers, 238
they 239 are like a smoldering oven;
they are like a baker who does not stoke the fire
until the kneaded dough is ready for baking.
7:5 At the celebration 240 of their king, 241
his princes become inflamed 242 with wine;
they conspire 243 with evildoers.
7:6 They approach him, all the while plotting against him.
Their hearts are like an oven;
their anger smolders all night long,
but in the morning it bursts into a flaming fire.
7:7 All of them are blazing like an oven;
they devour their rulers.
All of their kings fall –
and none of them call on me!
7:8 Ephraim has mixed itself like flour 244 among the nations;
Ephraim is like a ruined cake of bread that is scorched on one side. 245
7:9 Foreigners are consuming what his strenuous labor produced, 246
but he does not recognize it!
His head is filled with gray hair,
but he does not realize it!
7:10 The arrogance of Israel testifies against him,
yet they refuse to return to the Lord their God!
In spite of all this they refuse to seek him!
7:11 Ephraim has been like a dove,
easily deceived and lacking discernment.
They called to Egypt for help;
they turned to Assyria for protection.
7:12 I will throw my bird net over them while they are flying,
I will bring them down like birds in the sky;
I will discipline them when I hear them flocking together.
7:13 Woe to them! For they have fled from me!
Destruction to them! For they have rebelled against me!
I want to deliver 247 them,
but they have lied to me.
7:14 They do not pray to me, 248
but howl in distress on their beds;
They slash themselves 249 for grain and new wine,
but turn away from me.
7:15 Although I trained and strengthened them, 250
they plot evil against me!
7:16 They turn to Baal; 251
they are like an unreliable bow.
Their leaders will fall by the sword
because their prayers to Baal 252 have made me angry.
So people will disdain them in the land of Egypt. 253