They are corrupt and not his children;
    to their shame they are a warped and crooked generation.(A)
Is this the way you repay(B) the Lord,
    you foolish(C) and unwise people?(D)
Is he not your Father,(E) your Creator,[a]
    who made you and formed you?(F)

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 32:6 Or Father, who bought you

18 You deserted the Rock, who fathered you;
    you forgot(A) the God who gave you birth.

19 The Lord saw this and rejected them(B)
    because he was angered by his sons and daughters.(C)
20 “I will hide my face(D) from them,” he said,
    “and see what their end will be;
for they are a perverse generation,(E)
    children who are unfaithful.(F)

Read full chapter

27 “‘Do not cut the hair at the sides of your head or clip off the edges of your beard.(A)

28 “‘Do not cut(B) your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourselves. I am the Lord.

Read full chapter

“‘Priests must not shave(A) their heads or shave off the edges of their beards(B) or cut their bodies.(C)

Read full chapter

13 As a father has compassion(A) on his children,
    so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him;

Read full chapter

A Rebellious Nation

Hear me, you heavens! Listen, earth!(A)
    For the Lord has spoken:(B)
“I reared children(C) and brought them up,
    but they have rebelled(D) against me.

Read full chapter

Woe to the sinful nation,
    a people whose guilt is great,(A)
a brood of evildoers,(B)
    children given to corruption!(C)
They have forsaken(D) the Lord;
    they have spurned the Holy One(E) of Israel
    and turned their backs(F) on him.

Read full chapter

Woe to the Obstinate Nation

30 “Woe(A) to the obstinate children,”(B)
    declares the Lord,
“to those who carry out plans that are not mine,
    forming an alliance,(C) but not by my Spirit,
    heaping sin upon sin;

Read full chapter

14 “Return,(A) faithless people,” declares the Lord, “for I am your husband.(B) I will choose you—one from a town and two from a clan—and bring you to Zion.

Read full chapter

19 “I myself said,

“‘How gladly would I treat you like my children
    and give you a pleasant land,(A)
    the most beautiful inheritance(B) of any nation.’
I thought you would call me ‘Father’(C)
    and not turn away from following me.

Read full chapter

22 “Return,(A) faithless people;
    I will cure(B) you of backsliding.”(C)

“Yes, we will come to you,
    for you are the Lord our God.

Read full chapter

“Both high and low will die in this land.(A) They will not be buried or mourned,(B) and no one will cut(C) themselves or shave(D) their head for the dead.

Read full chapter

They will come with weeping;(A)
    they will pray as I bring them back.
I will lead(B) them beside streams of water(C)
    on a level(D) path where they will not stumble,
because I am Israel’s father,(E)
    and Ephraim is my firstborn son.

Read full chapter

20 Is not Ephraim my dear son,
    the child(A) in whom I delight?
Though I often speak against him,
    I still remember(B) him.
Therefore my heart yearns for him;
    I have great compassion(C) for him,”
declares the Lord.

Read full chapter

The day after Gedaliah’s assassination, before anyone knew about it, eighty men who had shaved off their beards,(A) torn their clothes(B) and cut(C) themselves came from Shechem,(D) Shiloh(E) and Samaria,(F) bringing grain offerings and incense(G) with them to the house of the Lord.(H)

Read full chapter

[a]“Say of your brothers, ‘My people,’ and of your sisters, ‘My loved one.’(A)

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Hosea 2:1 In Hebrew texts 2:1-23 is numbered 2:3-25.

God’s Love for Israel

11 “When Israel was a child,(A) I loved(B) him,
    and out of Egypt I called my son.(C)
But the more they were called,
    the more they went away from me.[a](D)
They sacrificed to the Baals(E)
    and they burned incense to images.(F)
It was I who taught Ephraim to walk,
    taking them by the arms;(G)
but they did not realize
    it was I who healed(H) them.
I led them with cords of human kindness,
    with ties of love.(I)
To them I was like one who lifts
    a little child to the cheek,
    and I bent down to feed(J) them.(K)

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Hosea 11:2 Septuagint; Hebrew them

Bible Gateway Recommends