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[a]“In that day you will call your brothers Ammi—‘My people.’ And you will call your sisters Ruhamah—‘The ones I love.’

Charges against an Unfaithful Wife

“But now bring charges against Israel—your mother—
    for she is no longer my wife,
    and I am no longer her husband.
Tell her to remove the prostitute’s makeup from her face
    and the clothing that exposes her breasts.
Otherwise, I will strip her as naked
    as she was on the day she was born.
I will leave her to die of thirst,
    as in a dry and barren wilderness.
And I will not love her children,
    for they were conceived in prostitution.
Their mother is a shameless prostitute
    and became pregnant in a shameful way.
She said, ‘I’ll run after other lovers
    and sell myself to them for food and water,
for clothing of wool and linen,
    and for olive oil and drinks.’

“For this reason I will fence her in with thornbushes.
    I will block her path with a wall
    to make her lose her way.
When she runs after her lovers,
    she won’t be able to catch them.
She will search for them
    but not find them.
Then she will think,
‘I might as well return to my husband,
    for I was better off with him than I am now.’
She doesn’t realize it was I who gave her everything she has—
    the grain, the new wine, the olive oil;
I even gave her silver and gold.
    But she gave all my gifts to Baal.

“But now I will take back the ripened grain and new wine
    I generously provided each harvest season.
I will take away the wool and linen clothing
    I gave her to cover her nakedness.
10 I will strip her naked in public,
    while all her lovers look on.
No one will be able
    to rescue her from my hands.
11 I will put an end to her annual festivals,
    her new moon celebrations, and her Sabbath days—
    all her appointed festivals.
12 I will destroy her grapevines and fig trees,
    things she claims her lovers gave her.
I will let them grow into tangled thickets,
    where only wild animals will eat the fruit.
13 I will punish her for all those times
    when she burned incense to her images of Baal,
when she put on her earrings and jewels
    and went out to look for her lovers
but forgot all about me,”
    says the Lord.

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Footnotes

  1. 2:1 Verses 2:1-23 are numbered 2:3-25 in Hebrew text.

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

Israel Punished and Restored

“Rebuke your mother,(B) rebuke her,
    for she is not my wife,
    and I am not her husband.
Let her remove the adulterous(C) look from her face
    and the unfaithfulness from between her breasts.
Otherwise I will strip(D) her naked
    and make her as bare as on the day she was born;(E)
I will make her like a desert,(F)
    turn her into a parched land,
    and slay her with thirst.
I will not show my love to her children,(G)
    because they are the children of adultery.(H)
Their mother has been unfaithful
    and has conceived them in disgrace.
She said, ‘I will go after my lovers,(I)
    who give me my food and my water,
    my wool and my linen, my olive oil and my drink.’(J)
Therefore I will block her path with thornbushes;
    I will wall her in so that she cannot find her way.(K)
She will chase after her lovers but not catch them;
    she will look for them but not find them.(L)
Then she will say,
    ‘I will go back to my husband(M) as at first,(N)
    for then I was better off(O) than now.’
She has not acknowledged(P) that I was the one
    who gave her the grain, the new wine and oil,(Q)
who lavished on her the silver and gold(R)
    which they used for Baal.(S)

“Therefore I will take away my grain(T) when it ripens,
    and my new wine(U) 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(V) her lewdness
    before the eyes of her lovers;(W)
    no one will take her out of my hands.(X)
11 I will stop(Y) all her celebrations:(Z)
    her yearly festivals, her New Moons,
    her Sabbath days—all her appointed festivals.(AA)
12 I will ruin her vines(AB) and her fig trees,(AC)
    which she said were her pay from her lovers;(AD)
I will make them a thicket,(AE)
    and wild animals will devour them.(AF)
13 I will punish her for the days
    she burned incense(AG) to the Baals;(AH)
she decked herself with rings and jewelry,(AI)
    and went after her lovers,(AJ)
    but me she forgot,(AK)
declares the Lord.(AL)

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Footnotes

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