Hosea 2:16-17
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
16 Therefore,[a] I will allure her now;
I will lead her into the wilderness(A)
and speak persuasively to her.
17 Then I will give her the vineyards she had,
and the valley of Achor[b] as a door of hope.(B)
There she will respond as in the days of her youth,
as on the day when she came up from the land of Egypt.
Footnotes
- 2:16 Therefore: this word in Hebrew normally introduces an oracle of doom; here, surprisingly, it leads to hope. Allure: as though seducing a virgin (Ex 22:15–16). Ordinarily this word connotes deception (Jgs 14:15; 16:5; 1 Kgs 22:20–22).
- 2:17 Valley of Achor: lit., valley of trouble (Jos 7:26). Here this valley becomes a valley of hope, a new entry into the promised land.
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