14 “Therefore I am now going to allure her;
    I will lead her into the wilderness(A)
    and speak tenderly to her.
15 There I will give her back her vineyards,
    and will make the Valley of Achor[a](B) a door of hope.
There she will respond[b](C) as in the days of her youth,(D)
    as in the day she came up out of Egypt.(E)

16 “In that day,” declares the Lord,
    “you will call me ‘my husband’;(F)
    you will no longer call me ‘my master.[c]
17 I will remove the names of the Baals from her lips;(G)
    no longer will their names be invoked.(H)
18 In that day I will make a covenant for them
    with the beasts of the field, the birds in the sky
    and the creatures that move along the ground.(I)
Bow and sword and battle
    I will abolish(J) from the land,
    so that all may lie down in safety.(K)
19 I will betroth(L) you to me forever;
    I will betroth you in[d] righteousness and justice,(M)
    in[e] love and compassion.(N)
20 I will betroth you in[f] faithfulness,
    and you will acknowledge(O) the Lord.(P)

21 “In that day I will respond,”
    declares the Lord
“I will respond(Q) to the skies,
    and they will respond to the earth;
22 and the earth will respond to the grain,
    the new wine and the olive oil,(R)
    and they will respond to Jezreel.[g](S)
23 I will plant(T) her for myself in the land;
    I will show my love to the one I called ‘Not my loved one.[h](U)
I will say to those called ‘Not my people,[i]’ ‘You are my people’;(V)
    and they will say, ‘You are my God.(W)’”

Hosea’s Reconciliation With His Wife

The Lord said to me, “Go, show your love to your wife again, though she is loved by another man and is an adulteress.(X) Love her as the Lord loves the Israelites, though they turn to other gods and love the sacred raisin cakes.(Y)

So I bought her for fifteen shekels[j] of silver and about a homer and a lethek[k] of barley. Then I told her, “You are to live with me many days; you must not be a prostitute or be intimate with any man, and I will behave the same way toward you.”

For the Israelites will live many days without king or prince,(Z) without sacrifice(AA) or sacred stones,(AB) without ephod(AC) or household gods.(AD) Afterward the Israelites will return and seek(AE) the Lord their God and David their king.(AF) They will come trembling(AG) to the Lord and to his blessings in the last days.(AH)

The Charge Against Israel

Hear the word of the Lord, you Israelites,
    because the Lord has a charge(AI) to bring
    against you who live in the land:(AJ)
“There is no faithfulness,(AK) no love,
    no acknowledgment(AL) of God in the land.(AM)
There is only cursing,[l] lying(AN) and murder,(AO)
    stealing(AP) and adultery;(AQ)
they break all bounds,
    and bloodshed follows bloodshed.(AR)
Because of this the land dries up,(AS)
    and all who live in it waste away;(AT)
the beasts of the field, the birds in the sky
    and the fish in the sea are swept away.(AU)

“But let no one bring a charge,
    let no one accuse another,
for your people are like those
    who bring charges against a priest.(AV)
You stumble(AW) day and night,
    and the prophets stumble with you.
So I will destroy your mother(AX)
    my people are destroyed from lack of knowledge.(AY)

“Because you have rejected knowledge,
    I also reject you as my priests;
because you have ignored the law(AZ) of your God,
    I also will ignore your children.
The more priests there were,
    the more they sinned against me;
    they exchanged their glorious God[m](BA) for something disgraceful.(BB)
They feed on the sins of my people
    and relish their wickedness.(BC)
And it will be: Like people, like priests.(BD)
    I will punish both of them for their ways
    and repay them for their deeds.(BE)

10 “They will eat but not have enough;(BF)
    they will engage in prostitution(BG) but not flourish,
because they have deserted(BH) the Lord
    to give themselves 11 to prostitution;(BI)
old wine(BJ) and new wine
    take away their understanding.(BK)
12 My people consult a wooden idol,(BL)
    and a diviner’s rod speaks to them.(BM)
A spirit of prostitution(BN) leads them astray;(BO)
    they are unfaithful(BP) to their God.
13 They sacrifice on the mountaintops
    and burn offerings on the hills,
under oak,(BQ) poplar and terebinth,
    where the shade is pleasant.(BR)
Therefore your daughters turn to prostitution(BS)
    and your daughters-in-law to adultery.(BT)

14 “I will not punish your daughters
    when they turn to prostitution,
nor your daughters-in-law
    when they commit adultery,
because the men themselves consort with harlots(BU)
    and sacrifice with shrine prostitutes(BV)
    a people without understanding(BW) will come to ruin!(BX)

15 “Though you, Israel, commit adultery,
    do not let Judah become guilty.

“Do not go to Gilgal;(BY)
    do not go up to Beth Aven.[n](BZ)
    And do not swear, ‘As surely as the Lord lives!’(CA)
16 The Israelites are stubborn,(CB)
    like a stubborn heifer.(CC)
How then can the Lord pasture them
    like lambs(CD) in a meadow?
17 Ephraim is joined to idols;
    leave him alone!
18 Even when their drinks are gone,
    they continue their prostitution;
    their rulers dearly love shameful ways.
19 A whirlwind(CE) will sweep them away,
    and their sacrifices will bring them shame.(CF)

Judgment Against Israel

“Hear this, you priests!
    Pay attention, you Israelites!
Listen, royal house!
    This judgment(CG) is against you:
You have been a snare(CH) at Mizpah,
    a net(CI) spread out on Tabor.
The rebels are knee-deep in slaughter.(CJ)
    I will discipline all of them.(CK)
I know all about Ephraim;
    Israel is not hidden(CL) from me.
Ephraim, you have now turned to prostitution;
    Israel is corrupt.(CM)

“Their deeds do not permit them
    to return(CN) to their God.
A spirit of prostitution(CO) is in their heart;
    they do not acknowledge(CP) the Lord.
Israel’s arrogance testifies(CQ) against them;
    the Israelites, even Ephraim, stumble(CR) in their sin;
    Judah also stumbles with them.(CS)
When they go with their flocks and herds
    to seek the Lord,(CT)
they will not find him;
    he has withdrawn(CU) himself from them.
They are unfaithful(CV) to the Lord;
    they give birth to illegitimate(CW) children.
When they celebrate their New Moon feasts,(CX)
    he will devour[o](CY) their fields.

“Sound the trumpet(CZ) in Gibeah,(DA)
    the horn in Ramah.(DB)
Raise the battle cry in Beth Aven[p];(DC)
    lead on, Benjamin.
Ephraim will be laid waste(DD)
    on the day of reckoning.(DE)
Among the tribes of Israel
    I proclaim what is certain.(DF)
10 Judah’s leaders are like those
    who move boundary stones.(DG)
I will pour out my wrath(DH) on them
    like a flood of water.
11 Ephraim is oppressed,
    trampled in judgment,
    intent on pursuing idols.[q](DI)
12 I am like a moth(DJ) to Ephraim,
    like rot(DK) to the people of Judah.

13 “When Ephraim(DL) saw his sickness,
    and Judah his sores,
then Ephraim turned to Assyria,(DM)
    and sent to the great king for help.(DN)
But he is not able to cure(DO) you,
    not able to heal your sores.(DP)
14 For I will be like a lion(DQ) to Ephraim,
    like a great lion to Judah.
I will tear them to pieces(DR) and go away;
    I will carry them off, with no one to rescue them.(DS)
15 Then I will return to my lair(DT)
    until they have borne their guilt(DU)
    and seek my face(DV)
in their misery(DW)
    they will earnestly seek me.(DX)

Israel Unrepentant

“Come, let us return(DY) to the Lord.
He has torn us to pieces(DZ)
    but he will heal us;(EA)
he has injured us
    but he will bind up our wounds.(EB)
After two days he will revive us;(EC)
    on the third day(ED) he will restore(EE) us,
    that we may live in his presence.
Let us acknowledge the Lord;
    let us press on to acknowledge him.
As surely as the sun rises,
    he will appear;
he will come to us like the winter rains,(EF)
    like the spring rains that water the earth.(EG)

“What can I do with you, Ephraim?(EH)
    What can I do with you, Judah?
Your love is like the morning mist,
    like the early dew that disappears.(EI)
Therefore I cut you in pieces with my prophets,
    I killed you with the words of my mouth(EJ)
    then my judgments go forth like the sun.[r](EK)
For I desire mercy, not sacrifice,(EL)
    and acknowledgment(EM) of God rather than burnt offerings.(EN)
As at Adam,[s] they have broken the covenant;(EO)
    they were unfaithful(EP) to me there.
Gilead is a city of evildoers,(EQ)
    stained with footprints of blood.
As marauders lie in ambush for a victim,(ER)
    so do bands of priests;
they murder(ES) on the road to Shechem,
    carrying out their wicked schemes.(ET)
10 I have seen a horrible(EU) thing in Israel:
    There Ephraim is given to prostitution,
    Israel is defiled.(EV)

11 “Also for you, Judah,
    a harvest(EW) is appointed.

“Whenever I would restore the fortunes(EX) of my people,

whenever I would heal Israel,
the sins of Ephraim are exposed
    and the crimes of Samaria revealed.(EY)
They practice deceit,(EZ)
    thieves break into houses,(FA)
    bandits rob in the streets;(FB)
but they do not realize
    that I remember(FC) all their evil deeds.(FD)
Their sins engulf them;(FE)
    they are always before me.

“They delight the king with their wickedness,
    the princes with their lies.(FF)
They are all adulterers,(FG)
    burning like an oven
whose fire the baker need not stir
    from the kneading of the dough till it rises.
On the day of the festival of our king
    the princes become inflamed with wine,(FH)
    and he joins hands with the mockers.(FI)
Their hearts are like an oven;(FJ)
    they approach him with intrigue.
Their passion smolders all night;
    in the morning it blazes like a flaming fire.
All of them are hot as an oven;
    they devour their rulers.
All their kings fall,(FK)
    and none of them calls(FL) on me.

“Ephraim mixes(FM) with the nations;
    Ephraim is a flat loaf not turned over.
Foreigners sap his strength,(FN)
    but he does not realize it.
His hair is sprinkled with gray,
    but he does not notice.
10 Israel’s arrogance testifies against him,(FO)
    but despite all this
he does not return(FP) to the Lord his God
    or search(FQ) for him.

11 “Ephraim is like a dove,(FR)
    easily deceived and senseless—
now calling to Egypt,(FS)
    now turning to Assyria.(FT)
12 When they go, I will throw my net(FU) over them;
    I will pull them down like the birds in the sky.
When I hear them flocking together,
    I will catch them.
13 Woe(FV) to them,
    because they have strayed(FW) from me!
Destruction to them,
    because they have rebelled against me!
I long to redeem them
    but they speak about me(FX) falsely.(FY)
14 They do not cry out to me from their hearts(FZ)
    but wail on their beds.
They slash themselves,[t] appealing to their gods
    for grain and new wine,(GA)
    but they turn away from me.(GB)
15 I trained(GC) them and strengthened their arms,
    but they plot evil(GD) against me.
16 They do not turn to the Most High;(GE)
    they are like a faulty bow.(GF)
Their leaders will fall by the sword
    because of their insolent(GG) words.
For this they will be ridiculed(GH)
    in the land of Egypt.(GI)

Israel to Reap the Whirlwind

“Put the trumpet(GJ) to your lips!
    An eagle(GK) is over the house of the Lord
because the people have broken my covenant(GL)
    and rebelled against my law.(GM)
Israel cries out to me,
    ‘Our God, we acknowledge you!’
But Israel has rejected what is good;
    an enemy will pursue him.(GN)
They set up kings without my consent;
    they choose princes without my approval.(GO)
With their silver and gold
    they make idols(GP) for themselves
    to their own destruction.
Samaria, throw out your calf-idol!(GQ)
    My anger burns against them.
How long will they be incapable of purity?(GR)
    They are from Israel!
This calf—a metalworker has made it;
    it is not God.(GS)
It will be broken in pieces,
    that calf(GT) of Samaria.(GU)

“They sow the wind
    and reap the whirlwind.(GV)
The stalk has no head;
    it will produce no flour.(GW)
Were it to yield grain,
    foreigners would swallow it up.(GX)
Israel is swallowed up;(GY)
    now she is among the nations
    like something no one wants.(GZ)
For they have gone up to Assyria(HA)
    like a wild donkey(HB) wandering alone.
    Ephraim has sold herself to lovers.(HC)
10 Although they have sold themselves among the nations,
    I will now gather them together.(HD)
They will begin to waste away(HE)
    under the oppression of the mighty king.

11 “Though Ephraim built many altars for sin offerings,
    these have become altars for sinning.(HF)
12 I wrote for them the many things of my law,
    but they regarded them as something foreign.(HG)
13 Though they offer sacrifices as gifts to me,
    and though they eat(HH) the meat,
    the Lord is not pleased with them.(HI)
Now he will remember(HJ) their wickedness
    and punish their sins:(HK)
    They will return to Egypt.(HL)
14 Israel has forgotten(HM) their Maker(HN)
    and built palaces;
    Judah has fortified many towns.
But I will send fire on their cities
    that will consume their fortresses.”(HO)

Footnotes

  1. Hosea 2:15 Achor means trouble.
  2. Hosea 2:15 Or sing
  3. Hosea 2:16 Hebrew baal
  4. Hosea 2:19 Or with
  5. Hosea 2:19 Or with
  6. Hosea 2:20 Or with
  7. Hosea 2:22 Jezreel means God plants.
  8. Hosea 2:23 Hebrew Lo-Ruhamah (see 1:6)
  9. Hosea 2:23 Hebrew Lo-Ammi (see 1:9)
  10. Hosea 3:2 That is, about 6 ounces or about 170 grams
  11. Hosea 3:2 A homer and a lethek possibly weighed about 430 pounds or about 195 kilograms.
  12. Hosea 4:2 That is, to pronounce a curse on
  13. Hosea 4:7 Syriac (see also an ancient Hebrew scribal tradition); Masoretic Text me; / I will exchange their glory
  14. Hosea 4:15 Beth Aven means house of wickedness (a derogatory name for Bethel, which means house of God).
  15. Hosea 5:7 Or Now their New Moon feasts / will devour them and
  16. Hosea 5:8 Beth Aven means house of wickedness (a derogatory name for Bethel, which means house of God).
  17. Hosea 5:11 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
  18. Hosea 6:5 The meaning of the Hebrew for this line is uncertain.
  19. Hosea 6:7 Or Like Adam; or Like human beings
  20. Hosea 7:14 Some Hebrew manuscripts and Septuagint; most Hebrew manuscripts They gather together

14 Therefore, behold, I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak comfortably unto her.

15 And I will give her her vineyards from thence, and the valley of Achor for a door of hope: and she shall sing there, as in the days of her youth, and as in the day when she came up out of the land of Egypt.

16 And it shall be at that day, saith the Lord, that thou shalt call me Ishi; and shalt call me no more Baali.

17 For I will take away the names of Baalim out of her mouth, and they shall no more be remembered by their name.

18 And in that day will I make a covenant for them with the beasts of the field and with the fowls of heaven, and with the creeping things of the ground: and I will break the bow and the sword and the battle out of the earth, and will make them to lie down safely.

19 And I will betroth thee unto me for ever; yea, I will betroth thee unto me in righteousness, and in judgment, and in lovingkindness, and in mercies.

20 I will even betroth thee unto me in faithfulness: and thou shalt know the Lord.

21 And it shall come to pass in that day, I will hear, saith the Lord, I will hear the heavens, and they shall hear the earth;

22 And the earth shall hear the corn, and the wine, and the oil; and they shall hear Jezreel.

23 And I will sow her unto me in the earth; and I will have mercy upon her that had not obtained mercy; and I will say to them which were not my people, Thou art my people; and they shall say, Thou art my God.

Then said the Lord unto me, Go yet, love a woman beloved of her friend, yet an adulteress, according to the love of the Lord toward the children of Israel, who look to other gods, and love flagons of wine.

So I bought her to me for fifteen pieces of silver, and for an homer of barley, and an half homer of barley:

And I said unto her, Thou shalt abide for me many days; thou shalt not play the harlot, and thou shalt not be for another man: so will I also be for thee.

For the children of Israel shall abide many days without a king, and without a prince, and without a sacrifice, and without an image, and without an ephod, and without teraphim:

Afterward shall the children of Israel return, and seek the Lord their God, and David their king; and shall fear the Lord and his goodness in the latter days.

Hear the word of the Lord, ye children of Israel: for the Lord hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land.

By swearing, and lying, and killing, and stealing, and committing adultery, they break out, and blood toucheth blood.

Therefore shall the land mourn, and every one that dwelleth therein shall languish, with the beasts of the field, and with the fowls of heaven; yea, the fishes of the sea also shall be taken away.

Yet let no man strive, nor reprove another: for thy people are as they that strive with the priest.

Therefore shalt thou fall in the day, and the prophet also shall fall with thee in the night, and I will destroy thy mother.

My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.

As they were increased, so they sinned against me: therefore will I change their glory into shame.

They eat up the sin of my people, and they set their heart on their iniquity.

And there shall be, like people, like priest: and I will punish them for their ways, and reward them their doings.

10 For they shall eat, and not have enough: they shall commit whoredom, and shall not increase: because they have left off to take heed to the Lord.

11 Whoredom and wine and new wine take away the heart.

12 My people ask counsel at their stocks, and their staff declareth unto them: for the spirit of whoredoms hath caused them to err, and they have gone a whoring from under their God.

13 They sacrifice upon the tops of the mountains, and burn incense upon the hills, under oaks and poplars and elms, because the shadow thereof is good: therefore your daughters shall commit whoredom, and your spouses shall commit adultery.

14 I will not punish your daughters when they commit whoredom, nor your spouses when they commit adultery: for themselves are separated with whores, and they sacrifice with harlots: therefore the people that doth not understand shall fall.

15 Though thou, Israel, play the harlot, yet let not Judah offend; and come not ye unto Gilgal, neither go ye up to Bethaven, nor swear, The Lord liveth.

16 For Israel slideth back as a backsliding heifer: now the Lord will feed them as a lamb in a large place.

17 Ephraim is joined to idols: let him alone.

18 Their drink is sour: they have committed whoredom continually: her rulers with shame do love, Give ye.

19 The wind hath bound her up in her wings, and they shall be ashamed because of their sacrifices.

Hear ye this, O priests; and hearken, ye house of Israel; and give ye ear, O house of the king; for judgment is toward you, because ye have been a snare on Mizpah, and a net spread upon Tabor.

And the revolters are profound to make slaughter, though I have been a rebuker of them all.

I know Ephraim, and Israel is not hid from me: for now, O Ephraim, thou committest whoredom, and Israel is defiled.

They will not frame their doings to turn unto their God: for the spirit of whoredoms is in the midst of them, and they have not known the Lord.

And the pride of Israel doth testify to his face: therefore shall Israel and Ephraim fall in their iniquity: Judah also shall fall with them.

They shall go with their flocks and with their herds to seek the Lord; but they shall not find him; he hath withdrawn himself from them.

They have dealt treacherously against the Lord: for they have begotten strange children: now shall a month devour them with their portions.

Blow ye the cornet in Gibeah, and the trumpet in Ramah: cry aloud at Bethaven, after thee, O Benjamin.

Ephraim shall be desolate in the day of rebuke: among the tribes of Israel have I made known that which shall surely be.

10 The princes of Judah were like them that remove the bound: therefore I will pour out my wrath upon them like water.

11 Ephraim is oppressed and broken in judgment, because he willingly walked after the commandment.

12 Therefore will I be unto Ephraim as a moth, and to the house of Judah as rottenness.

13 When Ephraim saw his sickness, and Judah saw his wound, then went Ephraim to the Assyrian, and sent to king Jareb: yet could he not heal you, nor cure you of your wound.

14 For I will be unto Ephraim as a lion, and as a young lion to the house of Judah: I, even I, will tear and go away; I will take away, and none shall rescue him.

15 I will go and return to my place, till they acknowledge their offence, and seek my face: in their affliction they will seek me early.

Come, and let us return unto the Lord: for he hath torn, and he will heal us; he hath smitten, and he will bind us up.

After two days will he revive us: in the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight.

Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the Lord: his going forth is prepared as the morning; and he shall come unto us as the rain, as the latter and former rain unto the earth.

O Ephraim, what shall I do unto thee? O Judah, what shall I do unto thee? for your goodness is as a morning cloud, and as the early dew it goeth away.

Therefore have I hewed them by the prophets; I have slain them by the words of my mouth: and thy judgments are as the light that goeth forth.

For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.

But they like men have transgressed the covenant: there have they dealt treacherously against me.

Gilead is a city of them that work iniquity, and is polluted with blood.

And as troops of robbers wait for a man, so the company of priests murder in the way by consent: for they commit lewdness.

10 I have seen an horrible thing in the house of Israel: there is the whoredom of Ephraim, Israel is defiled.

11 Also, O Judah, he hath set an harvest for thee, when I returned the captivity of my people.

When I would have healed Israel, then the iniquity of Ephraim was discovered, and the wickedness of Samaria: for they commit falsehood; and the thief cometh in, and the troop of robbers spoileth without.

And they consider not in their hearts that I remember all their wickedness: now their own doings have beset them about; they are before my face.

They make the king glad with their wickedness, and the princes with their lies.

They are all adulterers, as an oven heated by the baker, who ceaseth from raising after he hath kneaded the dough, until it be leavened.

In the day of our king the princes have made him sick with bottles of wine; he stretched out his hand with scorners.

For they have made ready their heart like an oven, whiles they lie in wait: their baker sleepeth all the night; in the morning it burneth as a flaming fire.

They are all hot as an oven, and have devoured their judges; all their kings are fallen: there is none among them that calleth unto me.

Ephraim, he hath mixed himself among the people; Ephraim is a cake not turned.

Strangers have devoured his strength, and he knoweth it not: yea, gray hairs are here and there upon him, yet he knoweth not.

10 And the pride of Israel testifieth to his face: and they do not return to the Lord their God, nor seek him for all this.

11 Ephraim also is like a silly dove without heart: they call to Egypt, they go to Assyria.

12 When they shall go, I will spread my net upon them; I will bring them down as the fowls of the heaven; I will chastise them, as their congregation hath heard.

13 Woe unto them! for they have fled from me: destruction unto them! because they have transgressed against me: though I have redeemed them, yet they have spoken lies against me.

14 And they have not cried unto me with their heart, when they howled upon their beds: they assemble themselves for corn and wine, and they rebel against me.

15 Though I have bound and strengthened their arms, yet do they imagine mischief against me.

16 They return, but not to the most High: they are like a deceitful bow: their princes shall fall by the sword for the rage of their tongue: this shall be their derision in the land of Egypt.

Set the trumpet to thy mouth. He shall come as an eagle against the house of the Lord, because they have transgressed my covenant, and trespassed against my law.

Israel shall cry unto me, My God, we know thee.

Israel hath cast off the thing that is good: the enemy shall pursue him.

They have set up kings, but not by me: they have made princes, and I knew it not: of their silver and their gold have they made them idols, that they may be cut off.

Thy calf, O Samaria, hath cast thee off; mine anger is kindled against them: how long will it be ere they attain to innocency?

For from Israel was it also: the workman made it; therefore it is not God: but the calf of Samaria shall be broken in pieces.

For they have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind: it hath no stalk; the bud shall yield no meal: if so be it yield, the strangers shall swallow it up.

Israel is swallowed up: now shall they be among the Gentiles as a vessel wherein is no pleasure.

For they are gone up to Assyria, a wild ass alone by himself: Ephraim hath hired lovers.

10 Yea, though they have hired among the nations, now will I gather them, and they shall sorrow a little for the burden of the king of princes.

11 Because Ephraim hath made many altars to sin, altars shall be unto him to sin.

12 I have written to him the great things of my law, but they were counted as a strange thing.

13 They sacrifice flesh for the sacrifices of mine offerings, and eat it; but the Lord accepteth them not; now will he remember their iniquity, and visit their sins: they shall return to Egypt.

14 For Israel hath forgotten his Maker, and buildeth temples; and Judah hath multiplied fenced cities: but I will send a fire upon his cities, and it shall devour the palaces thereof.