Hosea 2
Young's Literal Translation
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!'
Hosea 2
King James Version
2 Say ye unto your brethren, Ammi; and to your sisters, Ruhamah.
2 Plead with your mother, plead: for she is not my wife, neither am I her husband: let her therefore put away her whoredoms out of her sight, and her adulteries from between her breasts;
3 Lest I strip her naked, and set her as in the day that she was born, and make her as a wilderness, and set her like a dry land, and slay her with thirst.
4 And I will not have mercy upon her children; for they be the children of whoredoms.
5 For their mother hath played the harlot: she that conceived them hath done shamefully: for she said, I will go after my lovers, that give me my bread and my water, my wool and my flax, mine oil and my drink.
6 Therefore, behold, I will hedge up thy way with thorns, and make a wall, that she shall not find her paths.
7 And she shall follow after her lovers, but she shall not overtake them; and she shall seek them, but shall not find them: then shall she say, I will go and return to my first husband; for then was it better with me than now.
8 For she did not know that I gave her corn, and wine, and oil, and multiplied her silver and gold, which they prepared for Baal.
9 Therefore will I return, and take away my corn in the time thereof, and my wine in the season thereof, and will recover my wool and my flax given to cover her nakedness.
10 And now will I discover her lewdness in the sight of her lovers, and none shall deliver her out of mine hand.
11 I will also cause all her mirth to cease, her feast days, her new moons, and her sabbaths, and all her solemn feasts.
12 And I will destroy her vines and her fig trees, whereof she hath said, These are my rewards that my lovers have given me: and I will make them a forest, and the beasts of the field shall eat them.
13 And I will visit upon her the days of Baalim, wherein she burned incense to them, and she decked herself with her earrings and her jewels, and she went after her lovers, and forgat me, saith the Lord.
14 Therefore, behold, I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak comfortably unto her.
15 And I will give her her vineyards from thence, and the valley of Achor for a door of hope: and she shall sing there, as in the days of her youth, and as in the day when she came up out of the land of Egypt.
16 And it shall be at that day, saith the Lord, that thou shalt call me Ishi; and shalt call me no more Baali.
17 For I will take away the names of Baalim out of her mouth, and they shall no more be remembered by their name.
18 And in that day will I make a covenant for them with the beasts of the field and with the fowls of heaven, and with the creeping things of the ground: and I will break the bow and the sword and the battle out of the earth, and will make them to lie down safely.
19 And I will betroth thee unto me for ever; yea, I will betroth thee unto me in righteousness, and in judgment, and in lovingkindness, and in mercies.
20 I will even betroth thee unto me in faithfulness: and thou shalt know the Lord.
21 And it shall come to pass in that day, I will hear, saith the Lord, I will hear the heavens, and they shall hear the earth;
22 And the earth shall hear the corn, and the wine, and the oil; and they shall hear Jezreel.
23 And I will sow her unto me in the earth; and I will have mercy upon her that had not obtained mercy; and I will say to them which were not my people, Thou art my people; and they shall say, Thou art my God.
Hosea 2
English Standard Version
Israel's Unfaithfulness Punished
2 [a] Say to your brothers, (A)“You are my people,”[b] and to your sisters, (B)“You have received mercy.”[c]
2 “Plead with your mother, plead—
for (C)she is not my wife,
and I am not her husband—
that she put away (D)her whoring from her face,
and her adultery from between her breasts;
3 lest (E)I strip her naked
and make her as (F)in the day she was born,
and (G)make her like a wilderness,
and make her like a parched land,
and kill her with thirst.
4 (H)Upon her children also I will have no mercy,
(I)because they are children of whoredom.
5 For (J)their mother has played the whore;
she who conceived them has acted shamefully.
For (K)she said, ‘I will go after my lovers,
who (L)give me my bread and my water,
my wool and my flax, my oil and my drink.’
6 Therefore (M)I will hedge up her[d] way with thorns,
and (N)I will build a wall against her,
so that she cannot find her paths.
7 She shall pursue her lovers
but not overtake them,
and she shall seek them
but shall not find them.
(O)Then she shall say,
‘I will go and return to (P)my first husband,
(Q)for it was better for me then than now.’
8 And (R)she did not know
that it was (S)I who gave her
(T)the grain, the wine, and the oil,
and who lavished on (U)her silver and gold,
(V)which they used for Baal.
9 Therefore (W)I will take back
my grain in its time,
and my wine in its season,
and (X)I will take away my wool and my flax,
which were to cover her nakedness.
10 Now (Y)I will uncover her lewdness
in the sight of her lovers,
and no one shall rescue her out of my hand.
11 (Z)And I will put an end to all her mirth,
her feasts, her (AA)new moons, her (AB)Sabbaths,
and all her (AC)appointed feasts.
12 And (AD)I will lay waste her vines and her fig trees,
(AE)of which she said,
‘These are (AF)my wages,
which my lovers have given me.’
I will make them a forest,
(AG)and the beasts of the field shall devour them.
13 And (AH)I will punish her for (AI)the feast days of the Baals
when she burned offerings to them
and (AJ)adorned herself with her ring and jewelry,
and went after her lovers
and forgot me, declares the Lord.
The Lord's Mercy on Israel
14 “Therefore, behold, I will allure her,
and (AK)bring her into the wilderness,
and (AL)speak tenderly to her.
15 And there I will give her her vineyards
and make the Valley of Achor[e] a door of hope.
And there she shall answer (AM)as in the days of her youth,
as at the time when she came out of the land of Egypt.
16 “And (AN)in that day, declares the Lord, you will call me ‘My Husband,’ and no longer will you call me ‘My Baal.’ 17 For (AO)I will remove the names of the Baals from her mouth, and they shall be remembered by name no more. 18 And (AP)I will make for them a covenant on that day with the beasts of the field, the birds of the heavens, and the creeping things of the ground. And (AQ)I will abolish[f] the bow, the sword, and war from the land, and I will make you lie down in (AR)safety. 19 And I will betroth you to me (AS)forever. (AT)I will betroth you to me in righteousness and in justice, in steadfast love and in mercy. 20 (AU)I will betroth you to me in faithfulness. And (AV)you shall know the Lord.
21 “And (AW)in that day (AX)I will answer, declares the Lord,
I will answer the heavens,
and they shall answer the earth,
22 and the earth shall answer the grain, the wine, and the oil,
and they shall answer (AY)Jezreel,[g]
23 and (AZ)I will sow her for myself in the land.
And (BA)I (BB)will have mercy on No Mercy,[h]
and (BC)I will say to Not My People,[i] (BD)‘You are my people’;
and he shall say, ‘You are my God.’”
Footnotes
- Hosea 2:1 Ch 2:3 in Hebrew
- Hosea 2:1 Hebrew ammi, which means my people
- Hosea 2:1 Hebrew ruhama, which means she has received mercy
- Hosea 2:6 Hebrew your
- Hosea 2:15 Achor means trouble; compare Joshua 7:26
- Hosea 2:18 Hebrew break
- Hosea 2:22 Jezreel means God will sow
- Hosea 2:23 Hebrew Lo-ruhama
- Hosea 2:23 Hebrew Lo-ammi
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
