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The Unfaithful Wife

Say to your brother,[a] “Ammi,”[b]
and to your sister,[c] “Ruhamah.”[d]
Plead with your mother, plead—
    because she is not my wife,
        and I am not her husband.
Let her put away her whoring from before her,[e]
    and her adultery from between her breasts.
Lest I strip her naked
    and expose her like the day when she was born;
I will make her like the desert
    and turn her into parched land;
        I will kill her with thirst.
And I will not have pity on her children,
    because they are children of whoredom.
        Because their mother was unfaithful;[f]
she who conceived them has acted shamefully,
    for she said:
        “I will go after my lovers,
the ones who give me my bread, my water,
    my wool, and my flax,
        my oil, and my drink.”
Therefore, Look!
    I am going to hedge her path[g] with thorns,[h]
        and I will build a stone wall, a stone wall against her,
    and she will not find her paths.
Then she will pursue her lovers,[i]
    but she will not overtake them;
        she will seek them and not find them;
and she will say, “I will go
    and return to my first husband
    because it was better for me then than now.”
But she did not know
    that it was I who gave her
        grain, new wine, and oil,
and who gave her silver in abundance,
    and gold which they made into a Baal.
Therefore I will take again
    my grain in its time,
        and my wine in its season;
and I will take away my wool and my flax,
    which were to cover her nakedness.
10 And now I will uncover her nakedness
    before the eyes of her lovers,
        and no one will rescue her from my hand.
11 And I will put an end to all her mirth,
    her festivals,[j] her new moons,[k] and her Sabbaths,[l]
        and all her appointed festivals;[m]
12 and I will lay waste to her vines[n] and her fig trees,[o]
    of which she said,
        “They are my payment for prostitution,
    which my lovers gave to me.”
I will make them a forest,
    and the wild animals[p] of the field will devour them.
13 I will punish her[q] for the days of the Baals,
    to whom she burns incense,
and she decked herself with her ornamental ring and jewelry,
    and she went after her lovers, and forgot me
        —a declaration of Yahweh.
14 Therefore, Look! I am going to allure her
    and bring her into the desert,
        and I will speak tenderly to her.[r]
15 From there I will give her
    her vineyards,
        and the Valley of Achor as a doorway of hope.
And there she will respond,
    as in the days of her youth,
    just as in the day of her coming out of
        the land of Egypt.
16 And on that day[s]
    a declaration of Yahweh—
        you will call me, “My husband;”[t]
        you will no longer call me, “My Baal.”[u]
17 I will remove the names
    of the Baals from her mouth,
        and they will no longer be mentioned by their name.
18 I will make a covenant for them on that day,
    with the animals[v] of the field,
    with the birds[w] of the heaven, and
    with the creeping things[x] of the ground;
        the bow, the sword, and the war I will abolish from the land, and I will let them lie down in safety.
19 And I will take you as my wife forever;
    I will take you as a wife for myself in righteousness and in justice,
        in steadfast love and in mercy.
20 I will take you as my wife[y] in faithfulness,
    and you will know Yahweh.
21 On that day I will answer, declares Yahweh,[z]
    I will answer the heavens,
        and they will answer the earth.
22 And the earth will answer
    the grain, the wine, and the oil,
and they will answer Jezreel.[aa]
23     I will sow her for myself in the land;
        I will have pity on Lo-ruhama;[ab]
    I will say to Lo-ammi,[ac]
        “You are my people,”
    and he himself will say, “you are my God.”

Footnotes

  1. Hosea 2:1 Hebrew “brothers”
  2. Hosea 2:1 Ammi means “My people”
  3. Hosea 2:1 Hebrew “sisters”
  4. Hosea 2:1 Ruhamah means “Pitied”
  5. Hosea 2:2 Literally “from her face”
  6. Hosea 2:5 Or “their mother played the whore”
  7. Hosea 2:6 Hebrew “your path”
  8. Hosea 2:6 Literally “with the thorns”
  9. Hosea 2:7 Literally “the ones who love her”
  10. Hosea 2:11 Hebrew “festival”
  11. Hosea 2:11 Hebrew “new moon”
  12. Hosea 2:11 Hebrew “Sabbath”
  13. Hosea 2:11 Hebrew “festival”
  14. Hosea 2:12 Hebrew “vine”
  15. Hosea 2:12 Hebrew “fig tree”
  16. Hosea 2:12 Hebrew “animal”
  17. Hosea 2:13 Literally “To visit sins upon her;” see 1:4
  18. Hosea 2:14 Literally “I will speak to her heart”
  19. Hosea 2:16 Literally, “And it will happen on that day”
  20. Hosea 2:16 Hebrew “Ishi”
  21. Hosea 2:16 Hebrew “Baali”
  22. Hosea 2:18 Hebrew “animal”
  23. Hosea 2:18 Hebrew “bird”
  24. Hosea 2:18 Hebrew “creeping thing”
  25. Hosea 2:20 Literally “I will take you as a wife to me”
  26. Hosea 2:21 Literally “a declaration of Yahweh
  27. Hosea 2:22 Jezreel means “God sows”
  28. Hosea 2:23 Lo-ruhama means “Not pitied”
  29. Hosea 2:23 Lo-ammi means “Not my people”

The Lord’s Love for His Unfaithful People

Say to your brethren, [a]‘My people,’
And to your sisters, [b]‘Mercy is shown.

God’s Unfaithful People

“Bring[c] charges against your mother, [d]bring charges;
For (A)she is not My wife, nor am I her Husband!
Let her put away her (B)harlotries from her sight,
And her adulteries from between her breasts;
Lest (C)I strip her naked
And expose her, as in the day she was (D)born,
And make her like a wilderness,
And set her like a dry land,
And slay her with (E)thirst.

“I will not have mercy on her children,
For they are the (F)children of harlotry.
For their mother has played the harlot;
She who conceived them has behaved shamefully.
For she said, ‘I will go after my lovers,
(G)Who give me my bread and my water,
My wool and my linen,
My oil and my drink.’

“Therefore, behold,
(H)I will hedge up your way with thorns,
And [e]wall her in,
So that she cannot find her paths.
She will [f]chase her lovers,
But not overtake them;
Yes, she will seek them, but not find them.
Then she will say,
(I)‘I will go and return to my (J)first husband,
For then it was better for me than now.’
For she did not (K)know
That I gave her grain, new wine, and oil,
And multiplied her silver and gold—
Which they prepared for Baal.

“Therefore I will return and take away
My grain in its time
And My new wine in its season,
And will take back My wool and My linen,
Given to cover her nakedness.
10 Now (L)I will uncover her lewdness in the sight of her lovers,
And no one shall deliver her from My hand.
11 (M)I will also cause all her mirth to cease,
Her feast days,
Her New Moons,
Her Sabbaths—
All her appointed feasts.

12 “And I will destroy her vines and her fig trees,
Of which she has said,
‘These are my wages that my lovers have given me.’
So I will make them a forest,
And the beasts of the field shall eat them.
13 I will punish her
For the days of the Baals to which she burned incense.
She decked herself with her earrings and jewelry,
And went after her lovers;
But Me she forgot,” says the Lord.

God’s Mercy on His People

14 “Therefore, behold, I will allure her,
Will bring her into the wilderness,
And speak [g]comfort to her.
15 I will give her her vineyards from there,
And (N)the Valley of Achor as a door of hope;
She shall sing there,
As in (O)the days of her youth,
(P)As in the day when she came up from the land of Egypt.

16 “And it shall be, in that day,”
Says the Lord,
That you will call Me [h]‘My Husband,’
And no longer call Me [i]‘My Master,’
17 For (Q)I will take from her mouth the names of the Baals,
And they shall be remembered by their name no more.
18 In that day I will make a (R)covenant for them
With the beasts of the field,
With the birds of the air,
And with the creeping things of the ground.
Bow and sword of battle (S)I will shatter from the earth,
To make them (T)lie down safely.

19 “I will betroth you to Me forever;
Yes, I will betroth you to Me
In righteousness and justice,
In lovingkindness and mercy;
20 I will betroth you to Me in faithfulness,
And (U)you shall know the Lord.

21 “It shall come to pass in that day
That (V)I will answer,” says the Lord;
“I will answer the heavens,
And they shall answer the earth.
22 The earth shall answer
With grain,
With new wine,
And with oil;
They shall answer [j]Jezreel.
23 Then (W)I will sow her for Myself in the earth,
(X)And I will have mercy on her who had [k]not obtained mercy;
Then (Y)I will say to those who were [l]not My people,
‘You are [m]My people!’
And they shall say, ‘You are my God!’ ”

Footnotes

  1. Hosea 2:1 Heb. Ammi, Hos. 1:9, 10
  2. Hosea 2:1 Heb. Ruhamah, Hos. 1:6
  3. Hosea 2:2 Or Contend with
  4. Hosea 2:2 Or contend
  5. Hosea 2:6 Lit. wall up her wall
  6. Hosea 2:7 Or pursue
  7. Hosea 2:14 Lit. to her heart
  8. Hosea 2:16 Heb. Ishi
  9. Hosea 2:16 Heb. Baali
  10. Hosea 2:22 Lit. God Will Sow
  11. Hosea 2:23 Heb. lo-ruhamah
  12. Hosea 2:23 Heb. lo-ammi
  13. Hosea 2:23 Heb. ammi