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Hosea 1-14
Young's Literal Translation
Hosea 1-14
Young's Literal Translation
1 A word of Jehovah that hath been unto Hosea, son of Beeri, in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam son of Joash, king of Israel:
2 The commencement of Jehovah's speaking by Hosea. And Jehovah saith unto Hosea, `Go, take to thee a woman of whoredoms, and children of whoredoms, for utterly go a-whoring doth the land from after Jehovah.'
3 And he goeth and taketh Gomer daughter of Diblaim, and she conceiveth and beareth to him a son;
4 and Jehovah saith unto him, `Call his name Jezreel, for yet a little, and I have charged the blood of Jezreel on the house of Jehu, and have caused to cease the kingdom of the house of Israel;
5 and it hath come to pass in that day that I have broken the bow of Israel, in the valley of Jezreel.'
6 And she conceiveth again, and beareth a daughter, and He saith to him, `Call her name Lo-Ruhamah, for I add no more to pity the house of Israel, for I do utterly take them away;
7 and the house of Judah I pity, and have saved them by Jehovah their God, and do not save them by bow, and by sword, and by battle, by horses, and by horsemen.'
8 And she weaneth Lo-Ruhamah, and conceiveth, and beareth a son;
9 and He saith, `Call his name Lo-Ammi, for ye [are] not My people, and I am not for you;
10 and the number of the sons of Israel hath been as the sand of the sea, that is not measured nor numbered, and it hath come to pass in the place where it is said to them, Ye [are] not My people, it is said to them, Sons of the Living God;
11 and gathered have been the sons of Judah and the sons of Israel together, and they have appointed to themselves one head, and have gone up from the land, for great [is] the day of Jezreel.
2 `Say ye to your brethren -- Ammi, And to your sisters -- Ruhamah.
2 Plead ye with your mother -- plead, (For she [is] not My wife, and I [am] not her husband,) And she turneth her whoredoms from before her, And her adulteries from between her breasts,
3 Lest I strip her naked. And have set her up as [in] the day of her birth, And have made her as a wilderness, And have set her as a dry land, And have put her to death with thirst.
4 And her sons I do not pity, For sons of whoredoms [are] they,
5 For gone a-whoring hath their mother, Acted shamefully hath their conceiver, For she hath said, I go after my lovers, Those giving my bread and my water, My wool and my flax, my oil and my drink.
6 Therefore, lo, I am hedging up thy way with thorns, And I have made for her a wall, And her paths she doth not find.
7 And she hath pursued her lovers, And she doth not overtake them, And hath sought them, and doth not find, And she hath said: I go, and I turn back unto My first husband, For -- better to me then than now.
8 And she knew not that I had given to her, The corn, and the new wine, and the oil. Yea, silver I did multiply to her, And the gold they prepared for Baal.
9 Therefore do I turn back, And I have taken My corn in its season, And My new wine in its appointed time, And I have taken away My wool and My flax, covering her nakedness.
10 And now do I reveal her dishonour before the eyes of her lovers, And none doth deliver her out of My hand.
11 And I have caused to cease all her joy, Her festival, her new moon, and her sabbath, Even all her appointed times,
12 And made desolate her vine and her fig-tree, Of which she said, A gift they [are] to me, That my lovers have given to me, And I have made them for a forest, And consumed them hath a beast of the field.
13 And I have charged on her the days of the Baalim, To whom she maketh perfume, And putteth on her ring and her ornament, And goeth after her lovers, And Me forgat -- an affirmation of Jehovah.
14 Therefore, lo, I am enticing her, And have caused her to go to the wilderness, And I have spoken unto her heart,
15 And given to her her vineyards from thence, And the valley of Achor for an opening of hope, And she hath responded there as in the days of her youth, And as in the day of her coming up out of the land of Egypt.
16 And it hath come to pass, in that day, An affirmation of Jehovah, Thou dost call Me -- My husband, And dost not call Me any more -- My lord.
17 And I have turned aside the names of the lords from her mouth, And they are not remembered any more by their name.
18 And I have made to them a covenant in that day, with the beast of the field, And with the fowl of the heavens, And the creeping thing of the ground, And bow, and sword, and war I break from off the land, And have caused them to lie down confidently.
19 And I have betrothed thee to Me to the age, And betrothed thee to Me in righteousness, And in judgment, and kindness, and mercies,
20 And betrothed thee to Me in faithfulness, And thou hast known Jehovah.
21 And it hath come to pass in that day, I answer -- an affirmation of Jehovah, I answer the heavens, and they answer the earth.
22 And the earth doth answer the corn, And the new wine, and the oil, And they answer Jezreel.
23 And I have sowed her to Me in the land, And I have pitied Lo-Ruhamah, And I have said to Lo-Ammi, My people thou [art], and it saith, My God!'
3 And Jehovah saith unto me: `Again, go, love a woman, loved of a friend, and an adulteress, like the loved of Jehovah, the sons of Israel, and they are turning unto other gods, and are lovers of grape-cakes.'
2 And I buy her to me for fifteen silverlings, and a homer and a letech of barley;
3 and I say unto her, `Many days thou dost remain for Me, thou dost not go a-whoring, nor become any one's; and I also [am] for thee.'
4 For many days remain do the sons of Israel without a king, and there is no prince, and there is no sacrifice, and there is no standing pillar, and there is no ephod and teraphim.
5 Afterwards turned back have the sons of Israel, and sought Jehovah their God, and David their king, and have hastened unto Jehovah, and unto His goodness, in the latter end of the days.
4 `Hear a word of Jehovah, sons of Israel, For a strife [is] to Jehovah with inhabitants of the land, For there is no truth, nor kindness, Nor knowledge of God, in the land,
2 Swearing, and lying, and murdering, And stealing, and committing adultery -- have increased, And blood against blood hath touched.
3 Therefore mourn doth the land, And weak is every dweller in it, With the beast of the field, And with the fowl of the heavens, And the fishes of the sea -- they are removed.
4 Only, let no one strive, nor reprove a man, And thy people [are] as those striving with a priest.
5 And thou hast stumbled in the day, And stumbled hath also a prophet with thee in the night, And I have cut off thy mother.
6 Cut off have been My people for lack of knowledge, Because thou knowledge hast rejected, I reject thee from being priest to Me, And thou forgettest the law of thy God, I forget thy sons, I also!
7 According to their abundance so they sinned against Me, Their honour into shame I change.
8 The sin of My people they do eat, And unto their iniquity lift up their soul.
9 And it hath been, like people, like priest, And I have charged on it its ways, And its habitual doings I return to it.
10 And they have eaten, and are not satisfied, They have gone a-whoring, and increase not, For they have left off taking heed to Jehovah.
11 Whoredom, and wine, and new wine, take the heart,
12 My people at its staff asketh and its rod declareth to it, For a spirit of whoredoms hath caused to err, And they go a-whoring from under their God.
13 On tops of the mountains they do sacrifice, And on the hills they make perfume, Under oak, and poplar, and terebinth, For good [is] its shade.
14 Therefore commit whoredom do your daughters, And your spouses commit adultery, I do not see after your daughters when they commit whoredom, And after your spouses when they commit adultery, For they with the harlots are separated, And with the whores they do sacrifice, A people that doth not understand kicketh.
15 Though a harlot thou [art], O Israel, Let not Judah become guilty, And come not ye in to Gilgal, nor go up to Beth-Aven, Nor swear ye, Jehovah liveth.
16 For as a refractory heifer hath Israel turned aside, Now doth Jehovah feed them as a lamb in a large place.
17 Joined to idols [is] Ephraim, let him alone.
18 Sour [is] their drink, They have gone diligently a-whoring, Her protectors have loved shame thoroughly.
19 Distressed her hath wind with its wings, And they are ashamed of their sacrifices!
5 `Hear this, O priests, and attend, O house of Israel, And, O house of the king, give ear, For the judgment [is] for you, For, a snare ye have been on Mizpah, And a net spread out on Tabor.
2 And to slaughter sinners have gone deep, And I [am] a fetter to them all.
3 I have known Ephraim, And Israel hath not been hid from me, For now thou hast gone a-whoring, Ephraim, Defiled is Israel.
4 They give not up their habitual doings, To turn back unto their God, For a spirit of whoredoms [is] in their midst, And Jehovah they have not known.
5 And humbled hath been the excellency of Israel to his face, And Israel and Ephraim stumble by their iniquity, Stumbled also hath Judah with them.
6 With their flock and with their herd, They go to seek Jehovah, and do not find, He hath withdrawn from them.
7 Against Jehovah they dealt treacherously, For strange sons they have begotten, Now consume them doth a month [with] their portions.
8 Blow ye a cornet in Gibeah, a trumpet in Ramah, Shout, O Beth-Aven, after thee, O Benjamin.
9 Ephraim is for a desolation in a day of reproof, Among the tribes of Israel I have made known a sure thing.
10 Princes of Judah have been as those removing a border, On them I do pour out as water My wrath.
11 Oppressed is Ephraim, broken in judgment, When he pleased he went after the command.
12 And I [am] as a moth to Ephraim, And as a rotten thing to the house of Judah.
13 And see doth Ephraim his sickness, and Judah his wound, And Ephraim goeth unto Asshur, And sendeth unto a warlike king, And he is not able to give healing to you, Nor doth he remove from you a scar.
14 For I [am] as a lion to Ephraim, And as a young lion to the house of Judah, I -- I tear and go, I bear away, and there is no deliverer.
15 I go -- I turn back unto My place, Till that they are desolate, and have sought My face. In their distress they do seek Me speedily!'
6 `Come, and we turn back unto Jehovah, For He hath torn, and He doth heal us, He doth smite, and He bindeth us up.
2 He doth revive us after two days, In the third day He doth raise us up, And we live before Him.
3 And we know -- we pursue to know Jehovah, As the dawn prepared is His going forth, And He cometh in as a shower to us, As gathered rain -- sprinkling earth.'
4 What do I do to thee, O Ephraim? What do I do to thee, O Judah? Your goodness [is] as a cloud of the morning, And as dew rising early -- going.
5 Therefore I have hewed by prophets, I have slain them by sayings of My mouth, And My judgments to the light goeth forth.
6 For kindness I desired, and not sacrifice, And a knowledge of God above burnt-offerings.
7 And they, as Adam, transgressed a covenant, There they dealt treacherously against me.
8 Gilead [is] a city of workers of iniquity, Slippery from blood.
9 And as bands do wait for a man, A company of priests do murder -- the way to Shechem, For wickedness they have done.
10 In the house of Israel I have seen a horrible thing, There [is] the whoredom of Ephraim -- defiled is Israel.
11 Also, O Judah, appointed is a harvest to thee, In My turning back [to] the captivity of My people!
7 `When I give healing to Israel, Then revealed is the iniquity of Ephraim, And the wickedness of Samaria, For they have wrought falsehood, And a thief doth come in, Stript off hath a troop in the street,
2 And they do not say to their heart, [That] all their evil I have remembered, Now compassed them have their doings, Over-against My face they have been.
3 With their wickedness they make glad a king, And with their lies -- princes.
4 All of them [are] adulterers, Like a burning oven of a baker, He ceaseth from stirring up after kneading the dough, till its leavening.
5 A day of our king! Princes have polluted themselves [with] the poison of wine, He hath drawn out his hand with scorners.
6 For they have drawn near, As an oven [is] their heart, In their lying in wait all the night sleep doth their baker, Morning! he is burning as a flaming fire.
7 All of them are warm as an oven, And they have devoured their judges, All their kings have fallen, There is none calling unto Me among them.
8 Ephraim! among peoples he mixeth himself, Ephraim hath been a cake unturned.
9 Devoured have strangers his power, And he hath not known, Also old age hath sprinkled [itself] on him, And he hath not known.
10 And humbled hath been the excellency of Israel to his face, And they have not turned back unto Jehovah their God, Nor have they sought Him for all this.
11 And Ephraim is as a simple dove without heart, Egypt they called on -- [to] Asshur they have gone.
12 When they go I spread over them My net, As the fowl of the heavens I bring them down, I chastise them as their company hath heard.
13 Wo to them, for they wandered from Me, Destruction to them, for they transgressed against Me, And I -- I ransom them, and they have spoken lies against Me,
14 And have not cried unto Me with their heart, but howl on their beds, For corn and new wine they assemble themselves, They turn aside against Me.
15 And I instructed -- I strengthened their arms, And concerning Me they think evil!
16 They turn back -- not to the Most High, They have been as a deceitful bow, Fall by sword do their princes, From the insolence of their tongue, This [is] their derision in the land of Egypt!
8 `Unto thy mouth -- a trumpet, As an eagle against the house of Jehovah, Because they transgressed My covenant, And against My law they have rebelled.
2 To Me they cry, `My God, we -- Israel -- have known Thee.'
3 Cast off good hath Israel, an enemy pursueth him.
4 They have made kings, and not by Me, They have made princes, and I have not known, Their silver and their gold they have made to them idols, So that they are cut off.
5 Cast off hath thy calf, O Samaria, Burned hath Mine anger against them, Till when are they not capable of purity?
6 For even it [is] of Israel; an artificer made it, And it [is] not God, For the calf of Samaria is fragments!
7 For wind they sow, and a hurricane they reap, Stalk it hath none -- a shoot not yielding grain, If so be it yield -- strangers do swallow it up.
8 Israel hath been swallowed up, Now they have been among nations, As a vessel in which is no delight.
9 For they -- they have gone up [to] Asshur, A wild ass alone by himself [is] Ephraim, They have hired lovers!
10 Also though they hire among nations, Now I gather them, and they are pained a little, From the burden of a king of princes.
11 Because Ephraim did multiply altars to sin, They have been to him altars to sin.
12 I write for him numerous things of My law, As a strange thing they have been reckoned.
13 The sacrifices of Mine offerings! They sacrifice flesh, and they eat, Jehovah hath not accepted them, Now doth He remember their iniquity, And inspect their sin, They -- [to] Egypt they turn back.
14 And forget doth Israel his Maker, and buildeth temples, And Judah hath multiplied cities of defence, And I have sent a fire into his cities, And it hath consumed their palaces!
9 `Rejoice not, O Israel, be not joyful like the peoples, For thou hast gone a-whoring from thy God, Thou hast loved a gift near all floors of corn.
2 Floor and wine-press do not delight them, And new wine doth fail in her,
3 They do not abide in the land of Jehovah, And turned back hath Ephraim [to] Egypt, And in Asshur an unclean thing they eat.
4 They pour not out wine to Jehovah, Nor are they sweet to Him, Their sacrifices [are] as bread of mourners to them, All eating it are unclean: For their bread [is] for themselves, It doth not come into the house of Jehovah.
5 What do ye at the day appointed? And at the day of Jehovah's festival?
6 For, lo, they have gone because of destruction, Egypt gathereth them, Moph burieth them, The desirable things of their silver, Nettles possess them -- a thorn [is] in their tents.
7 Come in have the days of inspection, Come in have the days of recompence, Israel doth know! a fool [is] the prophet, Mad [is] the man of the Spirit, Because of the abundance of thine iniquity, And great [is] the hatred.
8 Ephraim is looking [away] from My God, The prophet! a snare of a fowler [is] over all his ways, Hatred [is] in the house of his God.
9 They have gone deep -- have done corruptly, As [in] the days of Gibeah, He doth remember their iniquity, He doth inspect their sins.
10 As grapes in a wilderness I found Israel, As the first-fruit in a fig-tree, at its beginning, I have seen your fathers, They -- they have gone in [to] Baal-Peor, And are separated to a shameful thing, And are become abominable like their love.
11 Ephraim [is] as a fowl, Fly away doth their honour, without birth, And without womb, and without conception.
12 For though they nourish their sons, I have made them childless -- without man, Surely also, wo to them, when I turn aside from them.
13 Ephraim! when I have looked to the rock, Is planted in comeliness, And Ephraim [is] to bring out unto a slayer his sons.
14 Give to them, Jehovah -- what dost Thou give? Give to them miscarrying womb, and dry breasts.
15 All their evil [is] in Gilgal, Surely there I have hated them, Because of the evil of their doings, Out of My house I do drive them, I add not to love them, all their heads [are] apostates.
16 Ephraim hath been smitten, Their root hath dried up, fruit they yield not, Yea, though they bring forth, I have put to death the desired of their womb.
17 Reject them doth my God, Because they have not hearkened to Him, And they are wanderers among nations!
10 `An empty vine [is] Israel, Fruit he maketh like to himself, According to the abundance of his fruit, He hath multiplied for the altars, According to the goodness of his land, They have made goodly standing-pillars.
2 Their heart hath been divided, now they are guilty, He doth break down their altars, He doth destroy their standing-pillars.
3 For now they say: We have no king, Because we have not feared Jehovah, And the king -- what doth he for us?
4 They have spoken words, To swear falsehood in making a covenant, And flourished as a poisonous herb hath judgment, on the furrows of a field.
5 For the calves of Beth-Aven fear do inhabitants of Samaria, Surely mourned on account of it hath its people, And its priests on account of it leap about, Because of its honour, for it hath removed from it,
6 Also it to Asshur is carried, a present to a warlike king, Shame doth Ephraim receive, And ashamed is Israel of its own counsel.
7 Cut off is Samaria! Its king [is] as a chip on the face of the waters.
8 And destroyed have been high places of Aven, the sin of Israel. Thorn and bramble go up on their altars, And they have said to hills, Cover us, And to heights, Fall upon us.
9 From the days of Gibeah thou hast sinned, O Israel, There they have stood, Not overtake them in Gibeah doth battle, Because of sons of perverseness.
10 When I desire, then I do bind them, And gathered against them have peoples, When they bind themselves to their two iniquities.
11 And Ephraim [is] a trained heifer -- loving to thresh, And I -- I have passed over on the goodness of its neck, I cause [one] to ride Ephraim, Plough doth Judah, harrow for him doth Jacob.
12 Sow for yourselves in righteousness, Reap according to loving-kindness, Till for yourselves tillage of knowledge, To seek Jehovah, Till he come and shew righteousness to you.
13 Ye have ploughed wickedness, Perversity ye have reaped, Ye have eaten the fruit of lying, For thou hast trusted in thy way, In the abundance of thy might.
14 And rise doth a tumult among thy people, And all thy fortresses are spoiled, As the spoiling of Shalman of Beth-Arbel, In a day of battle, Mother against sons dashed in pieces.
15 Thus hath Beth-El done to you, Because of the evil of your wickedness, In the dawn cut off utterly is a king of Israel!
11 Because Israel [is] a youth, and I love him, Out of Egypt I have called for My Son.
2 They have called to them rightly, They have gone from before them, To lords they do sacrifice, And to graven images they make perfume.
3 And I have caused Ephraim to go on foot, Taking them by their arms, And they have not known that I strengthened them.
4 With cords of man I do draw them, With thick cords of love, And I am to them as a raiser up of a yoke on their jaws, And I incline unto him -- I feed [him].
5 He turneth not back unto the land of Egypt, And Asshur -- he [is] his king, For they have refused to return.
6 Grievous hath been the sword in his cities, And it hath ended his bars, and consumed -- from their own counsels.
7 And My people are hanging in suspense, about My returning, And unto the Most High they do call, Together they exalt not.
8 How do I give thee up, O Ephraim? Do I deliver thee up, O Israel? How do I make thee as Admah? Do I set thee as Zeboim? Turned in Me is My heart, kindled together have been My repentings.
9 I do not the fierceness of My anger, I turn not back to destroy Ephraim, For God I [am], and not a man. In thy midst the Holy One, and I enter not in enmity,
10 After Jehovah they go -- as a lion He roareth, When He doth roar, then tremble do the sons from the west.
11 They tremble as a sparrow out of Egypt, And as a dove out of the land of Asshur, And I have caused them to dwell in their own houses, An affirmation of Jehovah.
12 Compassed Me with feigning hath Ephraim, And with deceit the house of Israel. And Judah again is ruling with God, And with the Holy Ones [is] faithful!
12 Ephraim is enjoying wind, And is pursuing an east wind, All the day lying and spoiling he multiplieth, And a covenant with Asshur they make, And oil to Egypt is carried.
2 And a controversy hath Jehovah with Judah, To lay a charge on Jacob according to his ways, According to his doings He returneth to him.
3 In the womb he took his brother by the heel, And by his strength he was a prince with God,
4 Yea, he is a prince unto the Messenger, And he overcometh [by] weeping, And he maketh supplication to Him, At Bethel He doth find him, And there He doth speak with us,
5 Even Jehovah, God of the Hosts, Jehovah [is] His memorial.
6 And thou, through thy God, dost turn, Kindness and judgment keep thou, And wait on thy God continually.
7 Canaan! in his hand [are] balances of deceit! To oppress he hath loved.
8 And Ephraim saith: `Surely I have become rich, I have found wealth for myself, All my labours -- they find not against me iniquity that [is] sin.'
9 And I -- Jehovah thy God from the land of Egypt, Again do I turn thee back into tents, As in the days of the appointed time.
10 And I have spoken unto the prophets, And I have multiplied vision, And by the hand of the prophets I use similes.
11 Surely Gilead [is] iniquity, Only, vanity they have been, In Gilead bullocks they have sacrificed, Also their altars [are] as heaps, on the furrows of a field.
12 And Jacob doth flee to the country of Aram, And Israel doth serve for a wife, Yea, for a wife he hath kept watch.
13 And by a prophet hath Jehovah brought up Israel out of Egypt, And by a prophet it hath been watched.
14 Ephraim hath provoked most bitterly, And his blood on himself he leaveth, And his reproach turn back to him doth his Lord!
13 When Ephraim speaketh tremblingly, He hath been lifted up in Israel, When he becometh guilty in Baal he dieth.
2 And now do they add to sin, And make to them a molten image of their silver, By their own understanding -- idols, A work of artizans -- all of it, Of them they say, who [are] sacrificers among men, `The calves let them kiss.'
3 Therefore they are as a cloud of the morning, And as dew, rising early, going away, As chaff tossed about out of a floor, And as smoke out of a window.
4 And I [am] Jehovah thy God from the land of Egypt, And a God besides Me thou dost not know, And a Saviour -- there is none save Me.
5 I -- I have known thee in a wilderness, In a land of droughts.
6 According to their feedings they are satiated, They have been satiated, And their heart is lifted up, Therefore they have forgotten Me,
7 And I am to them as a lion, As a leopard by the way I look out.
8 I do meet them as a bereaved bear, And I rend the enclosure of their heart.
9 And I consume them there as a lioness, A beast of the field doth rend them.
10 Thou hast destroyed thyself, O Israel, But in Me [is] thy help, Where [is] thy king now -- And he doth save thee in all thy cities? And thy judges of whom thou didst say, `Give to me a king and heads?'
11 I give to thee a king in Mine anger, And I take away in My wrath.
12 Bound up [is] the iniquity of Ephraim, Hidden [is] his sin,
13 Pangs of a travailing woman come to him, He [is] a son not wise, For he remaineth not the time for the breaking forth of sons.
14 From the hand of Sheol I do ransom them, From death I redeem them, Where [is] thy plague, O death? Where thy destruction, O Sheol? Repentance is hid from Mine eyes.
15 Though he among brethren produceth fruit, Come in doth an east wind, a wind of Jehovah, From a wilderness it is coming up, And it drieth up his fountain, And become dry doth his spring, It -- it spoileth a treasure -- every desirable vessel.
16 Become desolate doth Samaria, Because she hath rebelled against her God, By sword they do fall, Their sucklings are dashed in pieces, And its pregnant ones are ripped up!
14 Turn back, O Israel, unto Jehovah thy God, For thou hast stumbled by thine iniquity.
2 Take with you words, and turn to Jehovah, Say ye unto Him: `Take away all iniquity, and give good, And we do render the fruit of our lips.
3 Asshur doth not save us, on a horse we ride not, Nor do we say any more, Our God, to the work of our hands, For in Thee find mercy doth the fatherless.'
4 I heal their backsliding, I love them freely, For turned back hath Mine anger from him.
5 I am as dew to Israel, he flourisheth as a lily, And he striketh forth his roots as Lebanon.
6 Go on do his sucklings, And his beauty is as an olive, And he hath fragrance as Lebanon.
7 Return do the dwellers under his shadow, They revive [as] corn, and flourish as a vine, His memorial [is] as wine of Lebanon.
8 O Ephraim, what to Me any more with idols? I -- I afflicted, and I cause him to sing: `I [am] as a green fir-tree,' From Me is thy fruit found.
9 Who [is] 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!
Hosea 1-14
New International Version
Hosea 1-14
New International Version
1 The word of the Lord that came(A) to Hosea son of Beeri during the reigns of Uzziah,(B) Jotham,(C) Ahaz(D) and Hezekiah,(E) kings of Judah,(F) and during the reign of Jeroboam(G) son of Jehoash[a] king of Israel:(H)
Hosea’s Wife and Children
2 When the Lord began to speak through Hosea, the Lord said to him, “Go, marry a promiscuous(I) woman and have children with her, for like an adulterous wife this land is guilty of unfaithfulness(J) to the Lord.” 3 So he married Gomer(K) daughter of Diblaim, and she conceived and bore him a son.
4 Then the Lord said to Hosea, “Call him Jezreel,(L) because I will soon punish the house of Jehu for the massacre at Jezreel, and I will put an end to the kingdom of Israel. 5 In that day I will break Israel’s bow in the Valley of Jezreel.(M)”
6 Gomer(N) conceived again and gave birth to a daughter. Then the Lord said to Hosea, “Call her Lo-Ruhamah (which means “not loved”),(O) for I will no longer show love to Israel,(P) that I should at all forgive them. 7 Yet I will show love to Judah; and I will save them—not by bow,(Q) sword or battle, or by horses and horsemen, but I, the Lord their God,(R) will save them.”
8 After she had weaned Lo-Ruhamah,(S) Gomer had another son. 9 Then the Lord said, “Call him Lo-Ammi (which means “not my people”), for you are not my people, and I am not your God.[b](T)
10 “Yet the Israelites will be like the sand on the seashore, which cannot be measured or counted.(U) In the place where it was said to them, ‘You are not my people,’ they will be called ‘children of the living God.’(V) 11 The people of Judah and the people of Israel will come together;(W) they will appoint one leader(X) and will come up out of the land,(Y) for great will be the day of Jezreel.[c](Z)
2 [d]“Say of your brothers, ‘My people,’ and of your sisters, ‘My loved one.’(AA)
Israel Punished and Restored
2 “Rebuke your mother,(AB) rebuke her,
for she is not my wife,
and I am not her husband.
Let her remove the adulterous(AC) look from her face
and the unfaithfulness from between her breasts.
3 Otherwise I will strip(AD) her naked
and make her as bare as on the day she was born;(AE)
I will make her like a desert,(AF)
turn her into a parched land,
and slay her with thirst.
4 I will not show my love to her children,(AG)
because they are the children of adultery.(AH)
5 Their mother has been unfaithful
and has conceived them in disgrace.
She said, ‘I will go after my lovers,(AI)
who give me my food and my water,
my wool and my linen, my olive oil and my drink.’(AJ)
6 Therefore I will block her path with thornbushes;
I will wall her in so that she cannot find her way.(AK)
7 She will chase after her lovers but not catch them;
she will look for them but not find them.(AL)
Then she will say,
‘I will go back to my husband(AM) as at first,(AN)
for then I was better off(AO) than now.’
8 She has not acknowledged(AP) that I was the one
who gave her the grain, the new wine and oil,(AQ)
who lavished on her the silver and gold(AR)—
which they used for Baal.(AS)
9 “Therefore I will take away my grain(AT) when it ripens,
and my new wine(AU) when it is ready.
I will take back my wool and my linen,
intended to cover her naked body.
10 So now I will expose(AV) her lewdness
before the eyes of her lovers;(AW)
no one will take her out of my hands.(AX)
11 I will stop(AY) all her celebrations:(AZ)
her yearly festivals, her New Moons,
her Sabbath days—all her appointed festivals.(BA)
12 I will ruin her vines(BB) and her fig trees,(BC)
which she said were her pay from her lovers;(BD)
I will make them a thicket,(BE)
and wild animals will devour them.(BF)
13 I will punish her for the days
she burned incense(BG) to the Baals;(BH)
she decked herself with rings and jewelry,(BI)
and went after her lovers,(BJ)
but me she forgot,(BK)”
declares the Lord.(BL)
14 “Therefore I am now going to allure her;
I will lead her into the wilderness(BM)
and speak tenderly to her.
15 There I will give her back her vineyards,
and will make the Valley of Achor[e](BN) a door of hope.
There she will respond[f](BO) as in the days of her youth,(BP)
as in the day she came up out of Egypt.(BQ)
16 “In that day,” declares the Lord,
“you will call me ‘my husband’;(BR)
you will no longer call me ‘my master.[g]’
17 I will remove the names of the Baals from her lips;(BS)
no longer will their names be invoked.(BT)
18 In that day I will make a covenant for them
with the beasts of the field, the birds in the sky
and the creatures that move along the ground.(BU)
Bow and sword and battle
I will abolish(BV) from the land,
so that all may lie down in safety.(BW)
19 I will betroth(BX) you to me forever;
I will betroth you in[h] righteousness and justice,(BY)
in[i] love and compassion.(BZ)
20 I will betroth you in[j] faithfulness,
and you will acknowledge(CA) the Lord.(CB)
21 “In that day I will respond,”
declares the Lord—
“I will respond(CC) to the skies,
and they will respond to the earth;
22 and the earth will respond to the grain,
the new wine and the olive oil,(CD)
and they will respond to Jezreel.[k](CE)
23 I will plant(CF) her for myself in the land;
I will show my love to the one I called ‘Not my loved one.[l](CG)’
I will say to those called ‘Not my people,[m]’ ‘You are my people’;(CH)
and they will say, ‘You are my God.(CI)’”
Hosea’s Reconciliation With His Wife
3 The Lord said to me, “Go, show your love to your wife again, though she is loved by another man and is an adulteress.(CJ) Love her as the Lord loves the Israelites, though they turn to other gods and love the sacred raisin cakes.(CK)”
2 So I bought her for fifteen shekels[n] of silver and about a homer and a lethek[o] of barley. 3 Then I told her, “You are to live with me many days; you must not be a prostitute or be intimate with any man, and I will behave the same way toward you.”
4 For the Israelites will live many days without king or prince,(CL) without sacrifice(CM) or sacred stones,(CN) without ephod(CO) or household gods.(CP) 5 Afterward the Israelites will return and seek(CQ) the Lord their God and David their king.(CR) They will come trembling(CS) to the Lord and to his blessings in the last days.(CT)
The Charge Against Israel
4 Hear the word of the Lord, you Israelites,
because the Lord has a charge(CU) to bring
against you who live in the land:(CV)
“There is no faithfulness,(CW) no love,
no acknowledgment(CX) of God in the land.(CY)
2 There is only cursing,[p] lying(CZ) and murder,(DA)
stealing(DB) and adultery;(DC)
they break all bounds,
and bloodshed follows bloodshed.(DD)
3 Because of this the land dries up,(DE)
and all who live in it waste away;(DF)
the beasts of the field, the birds in the sky
and the fish in the sea are swept away.(DG)
4 “But let no one bring a charge,
let no one accuse another,
for your people are like those
who bring charges against a priest.(DH)
5 You stumble(DI) day and night,
and the prophets stumble with you.
So I will destroy your mother(DJ)—
6 my people are destroyed from lack of knowledge.(DK)
“Because you have rejected knowledge,
I also reject you as my priests;
because you have ignored the law(DL) of your God,
I also will ignore your children.
7 The more priests there were,
the more they sinned against me;
they exchanged their glorious God[q](DM) for something disgraceful.(DN)
8 They feed on the sins of my people
and relish their wickedness.(DO)
9 And it will be: Like people, like priests.(DP)
I will punish both of them for their ways
and repay them for their deeds.(DQ)
10 “They will eat but not have enough;(DR)
they will engage in prostitution(DS) but not flourish,
because they have deserted(DT) the Lord
to give themselves 11 to prostitution;(DU)
old wine(DV) and new wine
take away their understanding.(DW)
12 My people consult a wooden idol,(DX)
and a diviner’s rod speaks to them.(DY)
A spirit of prostitution(DZ) leads them astray;(EA)
they are unfaithful(EB) to their God.
13 They sacrifice on the mountaintops
and burn offerings on the hills,
under oak,(EC) poplar and terebinth,
where the shade is pleasant.(ED)
Therefore your daughters turn to prostitution(EE)
and your daughters-in-law to adultery.(EF)
14 “I will not punish your daughters
when they turn to prostitution,
nor your daughters-in-law
when they commit adultery,
because the men themselves consort with harlots(EG)
and sacrifice with shrine prostitutes(EH)—
a people without understanding(EI) will come to ruin!(EJ)
15 “Though you, Israel, commit adultery,
do not let Judah become guilty.
“Do not go to Gilgal;(EK)
do not go up to Beth Aven.[r](EL)
And do not swear, ‘As surely as the Lord lives!’(EM)
16 The Israelites are stubborn,(EN)
like a stubborn heifer.(EO)
How then can the Lord pasture them
like lambs(EP) in a meadow?
17 Ephraim is joined to idols;
leave him alone!
18 Even when their drinks are gone,
they continue their prostitution;
their rulers dearly love shameful ways.
19 A whirlwind(EQ) will sweep them away,
and their sacrifices will bring them shame.(ER)
Judgment Against Israel
5 “Hear this, you priests!
Pay attention, you Israelites!
Listen, royal house!
This judgment(ES) is against you:
You have been a snare(ET) at Mizpah,
a net(EU) spread out on Tabor.
2 The rebels are knee-deep in slaughter.(EV)
I will discipline all of them.(EW)
3 I know all about Ephraim;
Israel is not hidden(EX) from me.
Ephraim, you have now turned to prostitution;
Israel is corrupt.(EY)
4 “Their deeds do not permit them
to return(EZ) to their God.
A spirit of prostitution(FA) is in their heart;
they do not acknowledge(FB) the Lord.
5 Israel’s arrogance testifies(FC) against them;
the Israelites, even Ephraim, stumble(FD) in their sin;
Judah also stumbles with them.(FE)
6 When they go with their flocks and herds
to seek the Lord,(FF)
they will not find him;
he has withdrawn(FG) himself from them.
7 They are unfaithful(FH) to the Lord;
they give birth to illegitimate(FI) children.
When they celebrate their New Moon feasts,(FJ)
he will devour[s](FK) their fields.
8 “Sound the trumpet(FL) in Gibeah,(FM)
the horn in Ramah.(FN)
Raise the battle cry in Beth Aven[t];(FO)
lead on, Benjamin.
9 Ephraim will be laid waste(FP)
on the day of reckoning.(FQ)
Among the tribes of Israel
I proclaim what is certain.(FR)
10 Judah’s leaders are like those
who move boundary stones.(FS)
I will pour out my wrath(FT) on them
like a flood of water.
11 Ephraim is oppressed,
trampled in judgment,
intent on pursuing idols.[u](FU)
12 I am like a moth(FV) to Ephraim,
like rot(FW) to the people of Judah.
13 “When Ephraim(FX) saw his sickness,
and Judah his sores,
then Ephraim turned to Assyria,(FY)
and sent to the great king for help.(FZ)
But he is not able to cure(GA) you,
not able to heal your sores.(GB)
14 For I will be like a lion(GC) to Ephraim,
like a great lion to Judah.
I will tear them to pieces(GD) and go away;
I will carry them off, with no one to rescue them.(GE)
15 Then I will return to my lair(GF)
until they have borne their guilt(GG)
and seek my face(GH)—
in their misery(GI)
they will earnestly seek me.(GJ)”
Israel Unrepentant
6 “Come, let us return(GK) to the Lord.
He has torn us to pieces(GL)
but he will heal us;(GM)
he has injured us
but he will bind up our wounds.(GN)
2 After two days he will revive us;(GO)
on the third day(GP) he will restore(GQ) us,
that we may live in his presence.
3 Let us acknowledge the Lord;
let us press on to acknowledge him.
As surely as the sun rises,
he will appear;
he will come to us like the winter rains,(GR)
like the spring rains that water the earth.(GS)”
4 “What can I do with you, Ephraim?(GT)
What can I do with you, Judah?
Your love is like the morning mist,
like the early dew that disappears.(GU)
5 Therefore I cut you in pieces with my prophets,
I killed you with the words of my mouth(GV)—
then my judgments go forth like the sun.[v](GW)
6 For I desire mercy, not sacrifice,(GX)
and acknowledgment(GY) of God rather than burnt offerings.(GZ)
7 As at Adam,[w] they have broken the covenant;(HA)
they were unfaithful(HB) to me there.
8 Gilead is a city of evildoers,(HC)
stained with footprints of blood.
9 As marauders lie in ambush for a victim,(HD)
so do bands of priests;
they murder(HE) on the road to Shechem,
carrying out their wicked schemes.(HF)
10 I have seen a horrible(HG) thing in Israel:
There Ephraim is given to prostitution,
Israel is defiled.(HH)
11 “Also for you, Judah,
a harvest(HI) is appointed.
“Whenever I would restore the fortunes(HJ) of my people,
7 1 whenever I would heal Israel,
the sins of Ephraim are exposed
and the crimes of Samaria revealed.(HK)
They practice deceit,(HL)
thieves break into houses,(HM)
bandits rob in the streets;(HN)
2 but they do not realize
that I remember(HO) all their evil deeds.(HP)
Their sins engulf them;(HQ)
they are always before me.
3 “They delight the king with their wickedness,
the princes with their lies.(HR)
4 They are all adulterers,(HS)
burning like an oven
whose fire the baker need not stir
from the kneading of the dough till it rises.
5 On the day of the festival of our king
the princes become inflamed with wine,(HT)
and he joins hands with the mockers.(HU)
6 Their hearts are like an oven;(HV)
they approach him with intrigue.
Their passion smolders all night;
in the morning it blazes like a flaming fire.
7 All of them are hot as an oven;
they devour their rulers.
All their kings fall,(HW)
and none of them calls(HX) on me.
8 “Ephraim mixes(HY) with the nations;
Ephraim is a flat loaf not turned over.
9 Foreigners sap his strength,(HZ)
but he does not realize it.
His hair is sprinkled with gray,
but he does not notice.
10 Israel’s arrogance testifies against him,(IA)
but despite all this
he does not return(IB) to the Lord his God
or search(IC) for him.
11 “Ephraim is like a dove,(ID)
easily deceived and senseless—
now calling to Egypt,(IE)
now turning to Assyria.(IF)
12 When they go, I will throw my net(IG) over them;
I will pull them down like the birds in the sky.
When I hear them flocking together,
I will catch them.
13 Woe(IH) to them,
because they have strayed(II) from me!
Destruction to them,
because they have rebelled against me!
I long to redeem them
but they speak about me(IJ) falsely.(IK)
14 They do not cry out to me from their hearts(IL)
but wail on their beds.
They slash themselves,[x] appealing to their gods
for grain and new wine,(IM)
but they turn away from me.(IN)
15 I trained(IO) them and strengthened their arms,
but they plot evil(IP) against me.
16 They do not turn to the Most High;(IQ)
they are like a faulty bow.(IR)
Their leaders will fall by the sword
because of their insolent(IS) words.
For this they will be ridiculed(IT)
in the land of Egypt.(IU)
Israel to Reap the Whirlwind
8 “Put the trumpet(IV) to your lips!
An eagle(IW) is over the house of the Lord
because the people have broken my covenant(IX)
and rebelled against my law.(IY)
2 Israel cries out to me,
‘Our God, we acknowledge you!’
3 But Israel has rejected what is good;
an enemy will pursue him.(IZ)
4 They set up kings without my consent;
they choose princes without my approval.(JA)
With their silver and gold
they make idols(JB) for themselves
to their own destruction.
5 Samaria, throw out your calf-idol!(JC)
My anger burns against them.
How long will they be incapable of purity?(JD)
6 They are from Israel!
This calf—a metalworker has made it;
it is not God.(JE)
It will be broken in pieces,
that calf(JF) of Samaria.(JG)
7 “They sow the wind
and reap the whirlwind.(JH)
The stalk has no head;
it will produce no flour.(JI)
Were it to yield grain,
foreigners would swallow it up.(JJ)
8 Israel is swallowed up;(JK)
now she is among the nations
like something no one wants.(JL)
9 For they have gone up to Assyria(JM)
like a wild donkey(JN) wandering alone.
Ephraim has sold herself to lovers.(JO)
10 Although they have sold themselves among the nations,
I will now gather them together.(JP)
They will begin to waste away(JQ)
under the oppression of the mighty king.
11 “Though Ephraim built many altars for sin offerings,
these have become altars for sinning.(JR)
12 I wrote for them the many things of my law,
but they regarded them as something foreign.(JS)
13 Though they offer sacrifices as gifts to me,
and though they eat(JT) the meat,
the Lord is not pleased with them.(JU)
Now he will remember(JV) their wickedness
and punish their sins:(JW)
They will return to Egypt.(JX)
14 Israel has forgotten(JY) their Maker(JZ)
and built palaces;
Judah has fortified many towns.
But I will send fire on their cities
that will consume their fortresses.”(KA)
Punishment for Israel
9 Do not rejoice, Israel;
do not be jubilant(KB) like the other nations.
For you have been unfaithful(KC) to your God;
you love the wages of a prostitute(KD)
at every threshing floor.
2 Threshing floors and winepresses will not feed the people;
the new wine(KE) will fail them.
3 They will not remain(KF) in the Lord’s land;
Ephraim will return to Egypt(KG)
and eat unclean food in Assyria.(KH)
4 They will not pour out wine offerings(KI) to the Lord,
nor will their sacrifices please(KJ) him.
Such sacrifices will be to them like the bread of mourners;(KK)
all who eat them will be unclean.(KL)
This food will be for themselves;
it will not come into the temple of the Lord.(KM)
5 What will you do(KN) on the day of your appointed festivals,(KO)
on the feast days of the Lord?
6 Even if they escape from destruction,
Egypt will gather them,(KP)
and Memphis(KQ) will bury them.(KR)
Their treasures of silver(KS) will be taken over by briers,
and thorns(KT) will overrun their tents.
7 The days of punishment(KU) are coming,
the days of reckoning(KV) are at hand.
Let Israel know this.
Because your sins(KW) are so many
and your hostility so great,
the prophet is considered a fool,(KX)
the inspired person a maniac.(KY)
8 The prophet, along with my God,
is the watchman over Ephraim,[y]
yet snares(KZ) await him on all his paths,
and hostility in the house of his God.(LA)
9 They have sunk deep into corruption,(LB)
as in the days of Gibeah.(LC)
God will remember(LD) their wickedness
and punish them for their sins.(LE)
10 “When I found Israel,
it was like finding grapes in the desert;
when I saw your ancestors,
it was like seeing the early fruit(LF) on the fig(LG) tree.
But when they came to Baal Peor,(LH)
they consecrated themselves to that shameful idol(LI)
and became as vile as the thing they loved.
11 Ephraim’s glory(LJ) will fly away like a bird(LK)—
no birth, no pregnancy, no conception.(LL)
12 Even if they rear children,
I will bereave(LM) them of every one.
Woe(LN) to them
when I turn away from them!(LO)
13 I have seen Ephraim,(LP) like Tyre,
planted in a pleasant place.(LQ)
But Ephraim will bring out
their children to the slayer.”(LR)
14 Give them, Lord—
what will you give them?
Give them wombs that miscarry
and breasts that are dry.(LS)
15 “Because of all their wickedness in Gilgal,(LT)
I hated them there.
Because of their sinful deeds,(LU)
I will drive them out of my house.
I will no longer love them;(LV)
all their leaders are rebellious.(LW)
16 Ephraim(LX) is blighted,
their root is withered,
they yield no fruit.(LY)
Even if they bear children,
I will slay(LZ) their cherished offspring.”
17 My God will reject(MA) them
because they have not obeyed(MB) him;
they will be wanderers among the nations.(MC)
10 Israel was a spreading vine;(MD)
he brought forth fruit for himself.
As his fruit increased,
he built more altars;(ME)
as his land prospered,(MF)
he adorned his sacred stones.(MG)
2 Their heart is deceitful,(MH)
and now they must bear their guilt.(MI)
The Lord will demolish their altars(MJ)
and destroy their sacred stones.(MK)
3 Then they will say, “We have no king
because we did not revere the Lord.
But even if we had a king,
what could he do for us?”
4 They make many promises,
take false oaths(ML)
and make agreements;(MM)
therefore lawsuits spring up
like poisonous weeds(MN) in a plowed field.
5 The people who live in Samaria fear
for the calf-idol(MO) of Beth Aven.[z](MP)
Its people will mourn over it,
and so will its idolatrous priests,(MQ)
those who had rejoiced over its splendor,
because it is taken from them into exile.(MR)
6 It will be carried to Assyria(MS)
as tribute(MT) for the great king.(MU)
Ephraim will be disgraced;(MV)
Israel will be ashamed(MW) of its foreign alliances.
7 Samaria’s king will be destroyed,(MX)
swept away like a twig on the surface of the waters.
8 The high places(MY) of wickedness[aa](MZ) will be destroyed—
it is the sin of Israel.
Thorns(NA) and thistles will grow up
and cover their altars.(NB)
Then they will say to the mountains, “Cover us!”(NC)
and to the hills, “Fall on us!”(ND)
9 “Since the days of Gibeah,(NE) you have sinned,(NF) Israel,
and there you have remained.[ab]
Will not war again overtake
the evildoers in Gibeah?
10 When I please, I will punish(NG) them;
nations will be gathered against them
to put them in bonds for their double sin.
11 Ephraim is a trained heifer
that loves to thresh;
so I will put a yoke(NH)
on her fair neck.
I will drive Ephraim,
Judah must plow,
and Jacob must break up the ground.
12 Sow(NI) righteousness(NJ) for yourselves,
reap the fruit of unfailing love,
and break up your unplowed ground;(NK)
for it is time to seek(NL) the Lord,
until he comes
and showers his righteousness(NM) on you.
13 But you have planted wickedness,
you have reaped evil,(NN)
you have eaten the fruit of deception.(NO)
Because you have depended on your own strength
and on your many warriors,(NP)
14 the roar of battle will rise against your people,
so that all your fortresses will be devastated(NQ)—
as Shalman(NR) devastated Beth Arbel on the day of battle,
when mothers were dashed to the ground with their children.(NS)
15 So will it happen to you, Bethel,
because your wickedness is great.
When that day dawns,
the king of Israel will be completely destroyed.(NT)
God’s Love for Israel
11 “When Israel was a child,(NU) I loved(NV) him,
and out of Egypt I called my son.(NW)
2 But the more they were called,
the more they went away from me.[ac](NX)
They sacrificed to the Baals(NY)
and they burned incense to images.(NZ)
3 It was I who taught Ephraim to walk,
taking them by the arms;(OA)
but they did not realize
it was I who healed(OB) them.
4 I led them with cords of human kindness,
with ties of love.(OC)
To them I was like one who lifts
a little child to the cheek,
and I bent down to feed(OD) them.(OE)
5 “Will they not return to Egypt(OF)
and will not Assyria(OG) rule over them
because they refuse to repent?(OH)
6 A sword(OI) will flash in their cities;
it will devour(OJ) their false prophets
and put an end to their plans.
7 My people are determined to turn(OK) from me.(OL)
Even though they call me God Most High,
I will by no means exalt them.
8 “How can I give you up,(OM) Ephraim?(ON)
How can I hand you over, Israel?
How can I treat you like Admah?
How can I make you like Zeboyim?(OO)
My heart is changed within me;
all my compassion(OP) is aroused.(OQ)
9 I will not carry out my fierce anger,(OR)
nor will I devastate(OS) Ephraim again.
For I am God, and not a man(OT)—
the Holy One(OU) among you.
I will not come against their cities.
10 They will follow the Lord;
he will roar(OV) like a lion.(OW)
When he roars,
his children will come trembling(OX) from the west.(OY)
11 They will come from Egypt,
trembling like sparrows,
from Assyria,(OZ) fluttering like doves.(PA)
I will settle them in their homes,”(PB)
declares the Lord.
Israel’s Sin
12 Ephraim has surrounded me with lies,(PC)
Israel with deceit.
And Judah is unruly against God,
even against the faithful(PD) Holy One.[ad](PE)
12 [ae]1 Ephraim(PF) feeds on the wind;(PG)
he pursues the east wind all day
and multiplies lies and violence.(PH)
He makes a treaty with Assyria(PI)
and sends olive oil to Egypt.(PJ)
2 The Lord has a charge(PK) to bring against Judah;(PL)
he will punish(PM) Jacob[af] according to his ways
and repay him according to his deeds.(PN)
3 In the womb he grasped his brother’s heel;(PO)
as a man he struggled(PP) with God.
4 He struggled with the angel and overcame him;
he wept and begged for his favor.
He found him at Bethel(PQ)
and talked with him there—
5 the Lord God Almighty,
the Lord is his name!(PR)
6 But you must return(PS) to your God;
maintain love and justice,(PT)
and wait for your God always.(PU)
7 The merchant uses dishonest scales(PV)
and loves to defraud.
8 Ephraim boasts,(PW)
“I am very rich; I have become wealthy.(PX)
With all my wealth they will not find in me
any iniquity or sin.”
9 “I have been the Lord your God
ever since you came out of Egypt;(PY)
I will make you live in tents(PZ) again,
as in the days of your appointed festivals.
10 I spoke to the prophets,
gave them many visions
and told parables(QA) through them.”(QB)
11 Is Gilead wicked?(QC)
Its people are worthless!
Do they sacrifice bulls in Gilgal?(QD)
Their altars will be like piles of stones
on a plowed field.(QE)
12 Jacob fled to the country of Aram[ag];(QF)
Israel served to get a wife,
and to pay for her he tended sheep.(QG)
13 The Lord used a prophet to bring Israel up from Egypt,(QH)
by a prophet he cared for him.(QI)
14 But Ephraim has aroused his bitter anger;
his Lord will leave on him the guilt of his bloodshed(QJ)
and will repay him for his contempt.(QK)
The Lord’s Anger Against Israel
13 When Ephraim spoke, people trembled;(QL)
he was exalted(QM) in Israel.
But he became guilty of Baal worship(QN) and died.
2 Now they sin more and more;
they make(QO) idols for themselves from their silver,(QP)
cleverly fashioned images,
all of them the work of craftsmen.(QQ)
It is said of these people,
“They offer human sacrifices!
They kiss[ah](QR) calf-idols!(QS)”
3 Therefore they will be like the morning mist,
like the early dew that disappears,(QT)
like chaff(QU) swirling from a threshing floor,(QV)
like smoke(QW) escaping through a window.
4 “But I have been the Lord your God
ever since you came out of Egypt.(QX)
You shall acknowledge(QY) no God but me,(QZ)
no Savior(RA) except me.
5 I cared for you in the wilderness,(RB)
in the land of burning heat.
6 When I fed them, they were satisfied;
when they were satisfied, they became proud;(RC)
then they forgot(RD) me.(RE)
7 So I will be like a lion(RF) to them,
like a leopard I will lurk by the path.
8 Like a bear robbed of her cubs,(RG)
I will attack them and rip them open;
like a lion(RH) I will devour them—
a wild animal will tear them apart.(RI)
9 “You are destroyed, Israel,
because you are against me,(RJ) against your helper.(RK)
10 Where is your king,(RL) that he may save you?
Where are your rulers in all your towns,
of whom you said,
‘Give me a king and princes’?(RM)
11 So in my anger I gave you a king,(RN)
and in my wrath I took him away.(RO)
12 The guilt of Ephraim is stored up,
his sins are kept on record.(RP)
13 Pains as of a woman in childbirth(RQ) come to him,
but he is a child without wisdom;
when the time(RR) arrives,
he doesn’t have the sense to come out of the womb.(RS)
14 “I will deliver this people from the power of the grave;(RT)
I will redeem them from death.(RU)
Where, O death, are your plagues?
Where, O grave, is your destruction?(RV)
“I will have no compassion,
15 even though he thrives(RW) among his brothers.
An east wind(RX) from the Lord will come,
blowing in from the desert;
his spring will fail
and his well dry up.(RY)
His storehouse will be plundered(RZ)
of all its treasures.
16 The people of Samaria(SA) must bear their guilt,(SB)
because they have rebelled(SC) against their God.
They will fall by the sword;(SD)
their little ones will be dashed(SE) to the ground,
their pregnant women(SF) ripped open.”[ai]
Repentance to Bring Blessing
14 [aj]Return,(SG) Israel, to the Lord your God.
Your sins(SH) have been your downfall!(SI)
2 Take words with you
and return to the Lord.
Say to him:
“Forgive(SJ) all our sins
and receive us graciously,(SK)
that we may offer the fruit of our lips.[ak](SL)
3 Assyria cannot save us;(SM)
we will not mount warhorses.(SN)
We will never again say ‘Our gods’(SO)
to what our own hands have made,(SP)
for in you the fatherless(SQ) find compassion.”
4 “I will heal(SR) their waywardness(SS)
and love them freely,(ST)
for my anger has turned away(SU) from them.
5 I will be like the dew(SV) to Israel;
he will blossom like a lily.(SW)
Like a cedar of Lebanon(SX)
he will send down his roots;(SY)
6 his young shoots will grow.
His splendor will be like an olive tree,(SZ)
his fragrance like a cedar of Lebanon.(TA)
7 People will dwell again in his shade;(TB)
they will flourish like the grain,
they will blossom(TC) like the vine—
Israel’s fame will be like the wine(TD) of Lebanon.(TE)
8 Ephraim, what more have I[al] to do with idols?(TF)
I will answer him and care for him.
I am like a flourishing juniper;(TG)
your fruitfulness comes from me.”
Footnotes
- Hosea 1:1 Hebrew Joash, a variant of Jehoash
- Hosea 1:9 Or your I am
- Hosea 1:11 In Hebrew texts 1:10,11 is numbered 2:1,2.
- Hosea 2:1 In Hebrew texts 2:1-23 is numbered 2:3-25.
- Hosea 2:15 Achor means trouble.
- Hosea 2:15 Or sing
- Hosea 2:16 Hebrew baal
- Hosea 2:19 Or with
- Hosea 2:19 Or with
- Hosea 2:20 Or with
- Hosea 2:22 Jezreel means God plants.
- Hosea 2:23 Hebrew Lo-Ruhamah (see 1:6)
- Hosea 2:23 Hebrew Lo-Ammi (see 1:9)
- Hosea 3:2 That is, about 6 ounces or about 170 grams
- Hosea 3:2 A homer and a lethek possibly weighed about 430 pounds or about 195 kilograms.
- Hosea 4:2 That is, to pronounce a curse on
- Hosea 4:7 Syriac (see also an ancient Hebrew scribal tradition); Masoretic Text me; / I will exchange their glory
- Hosea 4:15 Beth Aven means house of wickedness (a derogatory name for Bethel, which means house of God).
- Hosea 5:7 Or Now their New Moon feasts / will devour them and
- Hosea 5:8 Beth Aven means house of wickedness (a derogatory name for Bethel, which means house of God).
- Hosea 5:11 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
- Hosea 6:5 The meaning of the Hebrew for this line is uncertain.
- Hosea 6:7 Or Like Adam; or Like human beings
- Hosea 7:14 Some Hebrew manuscripts and Septuagint; most Hebrew manuscripts They gather together
- Hosea 9:8 Or The prophet is the watchman over Ephraim, / the people of my God
- Hosea 10:5 Beth Aven means house of wickedness (a derogatory name for Bethel, which means house of God).
- Hosea 10:8 Hebrew aven, a reference to Beth Aven (a derogatory name for Bethel); see verse 5.
- Hosea 10:9 Or there a stand was taken
- Hosea 11:2 Septuagint; Hebrew them
- Hosea 11:12 In Hebrew texts this verse (11:12) is numbered 12:1.
- Hosea 12:1 In Hebrew texts 12:1-14 is numbered 12:2-15.
- Hosea 12:2 Jacob means he grasps the heel, a Hebrew idiom for he takes advantage of or he deceives.
- Hosea 12:12 That is, Northwest Mesopotamia
- Hosea 13:2 Or “Men who sacrifice / kiss
- Hosea 13:16 In Hebrew texts this verse (13:16) is numbered 14:1.
- Hosea 14:1 In Hebrew texts 14:1-9 is numbered 14:2-10.
- Hosea 14:2 Or offer our lips as sacrifices of bulls
- Hosea 14:8 Or Hebrew; Septuagint What more has Ephraim
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