And it will come about on that day,” declares the class="small-caps" >Lord, “That you will call Me my husband And no longer call Me my Baal.

For I will remove the names of the Baals from her mouth, So that they will no longer be mentioned by their names.

On that day I will also make a covenant for them With the animals of the field, The birds of the sky, And the crawling things of the ground. And I will eliminate the bow, the sword, and war from the land, And will let them lie down in safety.

I will betroth you to Me forever; Yes, I will betroth you to Me in righteousness and in justice, In favor and in compassion,

And I will betroth you to Me in faithfulness. Then you will know the class="small-caps" >Lord.

“And it will come about on that day that I will respond,” declares the class="small-caps" >Lord. “I will respond to the heavens, and they will respond to the earth,

And the earth will respond to the grain, to the new wine, and to the oil, And they will respond to Jezreel.

I will sow her for Myself in the land. I will also have compassion on her who had not obtained compassion, And I will say to those who were not My people, ‘You are My people!’ And they will say, ‘You are my God!’”

Hosea’s Redemption of Gomer

Then the class="small-caps" >Lord said to me, “Go again, love a woman who is loved by her husband, yet is committing adultery, as the class="small-caps" >Lord loves the sons of Israel, though they turn to other gods and love raisin cakes.”

So I purchased her for myself for fifteen shekels of silver, and a homer and a lethech of barley.

Then I said to her, “You shall live with me for many days. You shall not play the prostitute, nor shall you have another man; so I will also be toward you.”

For the sons of Israel will live for many days without a king or leader, without sacrifice or memorial stone, and without ephod or household idols.

Afterward the sons of Israel will return and seek the class="small-caps" >Lord their God and David their king; and they will come trembling to the class="small-caps" >Lord and to His goodness in the last days.

God’s Controversy with Israel

Listen to the word of the class="small-caps" >Lord, you sons of Israel, Because the class="small-caps" >Lord has a case against the inhabitants of the land, For there is no faithfulness, nor loyalty, Nor knowledge of God in the land.

There is oath-taking, denial, murder, stealing, and adultery. They employ violence, so that bloodshed follows bloodshed.

Therefore the land mourns, And everyone who lives in it languishes Along with the animals of the field and the birds of the sky, And even the fish of the sea disappear.

Yet let no one find fault, and let no one rebuke; For your people are like those who contend with a priest.

So you will stumble by day, And the prophet also will stumble with you by night; And I will destroy your mother.

My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Since you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from being My priest. Since you have forgotten the Law of your God, I also will forget your children.

The more they multiplied, the more they sinned against Me; I will change their glory into shame.

And it will be, like people, like priest; So I will punish them for their ways And repay them for their deeds.

They will eat, but not have enough; They will play the prostitute, but not increase, Because they gave up devoting themselves to the class="small-caps" >Lord.

My people consult their wooden idol, and their diviner’s wand informs them; For a spirit of infidelity has led them astray, And they have been unfaithful, departing from their God.

They offer sacrifices on the tops of the mountains And burn incense on the hills, Under oak, poplar, and terebinth, Because their shade is pleasant. Therefore your daughters play the prostitute, And your brides commit adultery.

I will not punish your daughters when they play the prostitute, Or your brides when they commit adultery, Because the men themselves slip away with the prostitutes And offer sacrifices with temple prostitutes; So the people without understanding are ruined.