Font Size
Hosea 1-14
New American Standard Bible
Hosea 1-14
New American Standard Bible
Hosea’s Wife and Children
1 The word of the Lord which came to (A)Hosea the son of Beeri, during the days of (B)Uzziah, (C)Jotham, (D)Ahaz, and (E)Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and during the days of (F)Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel.
2 When the Lord first spoke through Hosea, the Lord said to Hosea, “(G)Go, take for yourself a wife [a]inclined to infidelity, and children of infidelity; for (H)the land commits flagrant infidelity, [b]abandoning the Lord.” 3 So he went and took Gomer the daughter of Diblaim, and she conceived and (I)bore him a son. 4 And the Lord said to him, “Name him (J)Jezreel; for in just a little while (K)I will [c]punish the house of Jehu for the bloodshed of Jezreel, and (L)I will put an end to the kingdom of the house of Israel. 5 On that day I will (M)break the bow of Israel in the (N)Valley of Jezreel.”
6 Then she conceived again and gave birth to a daughter. And [d]the Lord said to him, “Name her [e]Lo-ruhamah, for I will no longer (O)take pity on the house of Israel, that I would ever forgive them. 7 But I will take (P)pity on the house of Judah and (Q)save them by the Lord their God, and will not save them by (R)bow, sword, battle, horses, or horsemen.”
8 When she had weaned Lo-ruhamah, she conceived and gave birth to a son. 9 And [f]the Lord said, “Name him [g]Lo-ammi, because you are not My people, and I am not [h]your God.”
10 [i]Yet the number of the sons of Israel
Will be like the (S)sand of the sea,
Which cannot be measured or counted;
And (T)in the place
Where it is said to them,
“You are (U)not My people,”
It will be said to them,
“You are the (V)sons of the living God.”
11 And the (W)sons of Judah and the sons of Israel will be (X)gathered together,
And they will appoint for themselves (Y)one leader,
And they will go up from the land,
For the day of Jezreel will be great.
Israel’s Unfaithfulness Condemned
2 [j]Say to your brothers, “[k]Ammi,” and to your sisters, “[l]Ruhamah.”
2 “Dispute with your mother, (Z)dispute,
Because she is (AA)not my wife, and I am not her husband;
But she must remove her (AB)infidelity from her face
And her adultery from between her breasts,
3 Otherwise, I will strip her (AC)naked
And expose her as on the (AD)day she was born.
I will also (AE)make her like a wilderness,
Make her like desert land,
And put her to death with (AF)thirst.
4 Also, I will take no pity on her children,
Because they are (AG)children of infidelity.
5 For their mother has (AH)committed prostitution;
She who conceived them has acted shamefully.
For she said, ‘(AI)I will go after my lovers,
Who (AJ)give me my bread and my water,
My wool and my flax, my (AK)oil and my drink.’
6 Therefore, behold, I will (AL)obstruct [m]her way with (AM)thorns,
And I will build [n]a stone wall against her so that she cannot find her (AN)paths.
7 And she will (AO)pursue her lovers, but she will not reach them;
And she will seek them, but will not find them.
Then she will say, ‘(AP)I will go back to my (AQ)first husband,
Because it was (AR)better for me then than now!’
8 “Yet she does (AS)not know that it was (AT)I myself who gave her the grain, the new wine, and the oil,
And lavished on her silver and gold,
Which they [o]used for Baal.
9 Therefore, I will [p](AU)take back My grain at [q]harvest time
And My new wine in its season.
I will also take away My wool and My flax
That I gave to cover her nakedness.
10 So now I will (AV)uncover her [r]lewdness
Before the eyes of her lovers,
And no one will rescue her from My hand.
11 I will also (AW)put an end to all her joy,
Her (AX)feasts, her (AY)new moons, her Sabbaths,
And all her festivals.
12 And I will (AZ)destroy her vines and fig trees,
Of which she said, ‘They are my wages for prostitution
Which my lovers have given me.’
And I will (BA)turn them into a forest,
And the (BB)animals of the field will devour them.
13 I will punish her for the (BC)days of the Baals
When she used to [s](BD)offer sacrifices to them
And (BE)adorn herself with her nose ring and jewelry,
And follow her lovers, so that she (BF)forgot Me,” declares the Lord.
Restoration of Israel
14 “Therefore, behold, I am going to persuade her,
(BG)Bring her into the wilderness,
And speak [t]kindly to her.
15 Then I will give her her (BH)vineyards from there,
And (BI)the [u]Valley of Achor as a door of hope.
And she will [v](BJ)respond there as in the days of her youth,
As in the (BK)day when she went up from the land of Egypt.
16 And it will come about on that day,” declares the Lord,
“That you will call Me [w](BL)my husband
And no longer call Me my [x]Baal.
17 For (BM)I will remove the names of the Baals from her mouth,
So that they will no longer be [y]mentioned by their names.
18 On that day I will also make a covenant for them
With the (BN)animals of the field,
The birds of the sky,
And the crawling things of the ground.
And I will [z](BO)eliminate the bow, the sword, and war from the land,
And will let them (BP)lie down in safety.
19 I will (BQ)betroth you to Me forever;
Yes, I will betroth you to Me in (BR)righteousness and in justice,
In favor and in compassion,
20 And I will betroth you to Me in faithfulness.
Then you will (BS)know the Lord.
21 “And it will come about on that day that (BT)I will respond,” declares the Lord.
“I will respond to the heavens, and they will respond to the earth,
22 And the (BU)earth will respond to the grain, to the new wine, and to the oil,
And they will respond to [aa]Jezreel.
23 I will (BV)sow her for Myself in the land.
(BW)I will also have compassion on [ab]her who had not obtained compassion,
And (BX)I will say to [ac]those who were (BY)not My people,
‘You are My people!’
And [ad]they will say, ‘You are my God!’”
Hosea’s Redemption of Gomer
3 Then the Lord said to me, “Go again, love [ae]a woman who is loved by her [af]husband, yet is committing adultery, (BZ)as the Lord loves the sons of Israel, though they turn to other gods and love [ag]raisin (CA)cakes.” 2 So I (CB)purchased her for myself for fifteen shekels of silver, and a [ah]homer and a [ai]lethech of barley. 3 Then I said to her, “You shall (CC)live with me for many days. You shall not play the prostitute, nor shall you have another man; so I will also be toward you.” 4 For the sons of Israel will live for many days (CD)without a king or leader, (CE)without sacrifice or (CF)memorial stone, and without (CG)ephod or [aj](CH)household idols. 5 Afterward the sons of Israel will (CI)return and seek the Lord their God and (CJ)David their king; and (CK)they will come trembling to the Lord and to His goodness in the last days.
God’s Controversy with Israel
4 (CL)Listen to the word of the Lord, you sons of Israel,
Because the Lord has a (CM)case against the inhabitants of the land,
For there is (CN)no [ak]faithfulness, nor [al]loyalty,
Nor (CO)knowledge of God in the land.
2 There is (CP)oath-taking, (CQ)[am]denial, (CR)murder, (CS)stealing, and (CT)adultery.
They employ violence, so that (CU)bloodshed [an]follows bloodshed.
3 Therefore the land (CV)mourns,
And everyone who lives in it languishes
Along with the animals of the field and the birds of the sky,
And even the fish of the sea [ao]disappear.
4 Yet let no one [ap](CW)find fault, and let no one rebuke;
For your people are like those who (CX)contend with a priest.
5 So you will (CY)stumble by day,
And the prophet also will stumble with you by night;
And I will destroy your (CZ)mother.
6 (DA)My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.
Since you have (DB)rejected knowledge,
I also will (DC)reject you from being My priest.
Since you have (DD)forgotten the (DE)Law of your God,
I also will forget your children.
7 The more they (DF)multiplied, the more they sinned against Me;
I will (DG)change their glory into shame.
8 They (DH)feed on the [aq]sin of My people,
And (DI)long for their wrongdoing.
9 And it will be, like people, (DJ)like priest;
So I will (DK)punish them for their ways
And repay them for their deeds.
10 (DL)They will eat, but not have enough;
They will (DM)play the prostitute, but not [ar]increase,
Because they (DN)gave up devoting themselves to the Lord.
11 [as]Infidelity, (DO)wine, and new wine take away the [at]understanding.
12 My people (DP)consult their wooden idol, and their diviner’s wand informs them;
For a spirit of infidelity has led them astray,
And they have been unfaithful, departing [au]from their God.
13 They offer sacrifices on the (DQ)tops of the mountains
And [av](DR)burn incense on the hills,
(DS)Under oak, poplar, and terebinth,
Because their shade is pleasant.
Therefore your daughters play the prostitute,
And your [aw]brides commit adultery.
14 I will not punish your daughters when they play the prostitute,
Or your [ax]brides when they commit adultery,
Because the men themselves slip away with the prostitutes
And offer sacrifices with (DT)temple prostitutes;
So the people without understanding are ruined.
15 Though you, Israel, play the prostitute,
Judah must not become guilty;
Also you are not to go to (DU)Gilgal,
Nor go up to Beth-aven
(DV)And take the oath:
“As the Lord lives!”
16 Since Israel is (DW)stubborn
Like a stubborn cow,
[ay]Will the Lord now (DX)pasture them
Like a lamb in a large field?
17 Ephraim is allied with (DY)idols;
(DZ)Leave him alone.
18 Their liquor is gone,
They prostitute themselves continually;
[az](EA)Their [ba]rulers dearly love shame.
19 (EB)The wind wraps them in its wings,
And they will be [bb]put to shame because of their sacrifices.
The People’s Apostasy Rebuked
5 Hear this, you priests!
Pay attention, house of Israel!
Listen, you of the house of the king!
For the judgment applies to you,
Because you have been a (EC)trap at Mizpah,
And a net spread out on Tabor.
2 And the (ED)rebels have (EE)gone deep in [bc]depravity,
But I will discipline all of them.
3 I (EF)know Ephraim, and Israel is not hidden from Me;
Because now, Ephraim, you have been unfaithful,
Israel has defiled itself.
4 Their deeds will not allow them
To return to their God.
For a (EG)spirit of [bd]infidelity is within them,
And they (EH)do not know the Lord.
5 Moreover, the (EI)pride of Israel testifies against him,
And Israel and Ephraim stumble in their wrongdoing;
(EJ)Judah also has stumbled with them.
6 They will (EK)go with their flocks and herds
To seek the Lord, but they will (EL)not find Him;
He has (EM)withdrawn from them.
7 They have (EN)dealt treacherously with the Lord,
For they have given birth to [be](EO)illegitimate children.
Now the (EP)new moon will devour them with their [bf]land.
8 (EQ)Blow the horn in (ER)Gibeah,
And the trumpet in Ramah.
Sound an alarm at Beth-aven:
“(ES)Behind you, Benjamin!”
9 Ephraim will become a (ET)desolation in the (EU)day of rebuke;
Among the tribes of Israel I (EV)make known what is trustworthy.
10 The leaders of Judah have become like those who (EW)displace a boundary marker;
On them I will (EX)pour out My anger (EY)like water.
11 Ephraim is (EZ)oppressed, broken by judgment,
(FA)Because he was determined to follow [bg]man’s command.
12 Therefore I am like a (FB)moth to Ephraim,
And like rottenness to the house of Judah.
13 When Ephraim saw his sickness,
And Judah his [bh]sore,
Ephraim then went to (FC)Assyria
And sent word to [bi](FD)King Jareb.
But he is (FE)unable to heal you,
Or to cure you of your [bj]sore.
14 For I will be (FF)like a lion to Ephraim
And like a young lion to the house of Judah.
(FG)I, yes I, will tear to pieces and go away,
I will carry away, and there will be (FH)no one to rescue.
15 I will go away and return to My place
Until they [bk](FI)acknowledge their guilt and seek My face;
In their distress they will (FJ)search for Me.
The Response to God’s Rebuke
6 “(FK)Come, let’s return to the Lord.
For (FL)He has torn us, but (FM)He will heal us;
He has [bl]wounded us, but He will (FN)bandage us.
2 He will (FO)revive us after two days;
He will (FP)raise us up on the third day,
That we may live before Him.
3 So let’s (FQ)learn, let’s press on to know the Lord.
His (FR)appearance is as sure as the dawn;
And He will come to us like the (FS)rain,
As the spring rain waters the earth.”
4 What shall I do with you, (FT)Ephraim?
What shall I do with you, Judah?
For your loyalty is like a (FU)morning cloud,
And like the dew which goes away early.
5 Therefore I have (FV)cut them in pieces by the prophets;
I have slain them by the (FW)words of My mouth;
And the judgments on you are like the light that [bm]shines.
6 For (FX)I [bn]desire loyalty (FY)rather than sacrifice,
And the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.
7 But (FZ)like [bo]Adam they have (GA)violated the covenant;
There they have (GB)dealt treacherously with Me.
8 (GC)Gilead is a city of wrongdoers,
Tracked with (GD)bloody footprints.
9 And as a (GE)band of robbers lie in wait for a person,
So a band of priests (GF)murder on the way to Shechem;
Certainly they have committed an act of (GG)infamy.
10 In the house of Israel I have seen a (GH)horrible thing;
Ephraim’s (GI)infidelity is there, Israel has defiled itself.
11 Also, Judah, there is a (GJ)harvest appointed for you,
When I (GK)restore the fortunes of My people.
Ephraim’s Wrongdoing
7 When I (GL)would heal Israel,
The wrongdoing of Ephraim is uncovered,
And the evil deeds of Samaria,
For they practice (GM)deception;
The thief enters,
A band of (GN)robbers attack outside,
2 And they do not [bp]consider in their hearts
That I (GO)remember all their wickedness.
Now their (GP)deeds surround them;
They are before My face.
3 (GQ)With their wickedness they make the (GR)king happy,
And the officials with their (GS)lies.
4 They are (GT)all adulterers,
Like an oven heated by the baker,
Who stops [bq]stoking the fire
From the time the dough is kneaded until it is leavened.
5 On the [br]day of our king, the officials (GU)became sick with the heat of wine;
He stretched out his hand with [bs](GV)scoffers,
6 For their hearts are like an (GW)oven
As they approach their [bt]plotting;
Their [bu]anger [bv]smolders all night,
In the morning it burns like flaming fire.
7 All of them are hot like an oven,
And they consume their (GX)rulers;
All their kings have fallen.
(GY)None of them calls on Me.
8 Ephraim is himself (GZ)thrown about with the [bw]nations;
Ephraim has become a round loaf not turned over.
9 (HA)Strangers devour his strength,
Yet he (HB)does not know it;
Gray hairs also are sprinkled on him,
Yet he does not know it.
10 Though the (HC)pride of Israel testifies against him,
Yet (HD)they have not returned to the Lord their God,
Nor have they sought Him, despite all this.
11 So (HE)Ephraim has become like a gullible dove, (HF)without [bx]sense;
They call to (HG)Egypt, they go to (HH)Assyria.
12 When they go, I will (HI)spread My net over them;
I will bring them down like the birds of the sky.
I will (HJ)discipline them in accordance with the [by]proclamation to their assembly.
13 (HK)Woe to them, for they have (HL)strayed from Me!
Destruction is theirs, for they have rebelled against Me!
I (HM)would redeem them, but they have spoken lies against Me.
14 And (HN)they do not cry to Me from their heart
When they wail on their beds;
For the sake of grain and new wine they [bz](HO)assemble themselves,
They (HP)turn against Me.
15 Although I trained and strengthened their arms,
Yet they (HQ)devise evil against Me.
16 They turn, but not [ca]upward,
They are like a (HR)loose bow;
Their officials will fall by the sword
Because of the [cb](HS)insolence of their tongue.
This will be their (HT)derision in the land of Egypt.
Israel Reaps the Whirlwind
8 (HU)Put the trumpet to your [cc]lips!
(HV)Like an eagle the enemy comes (HW)against the house of the Lord,
Because they have (HX)violated My covenant
And rebelled against My (HY)Law.
2 (HZ)They cry out to Me,
“My God, (IA)we of Israel know You!”
3 Israel has rejected the good;
The enemy will pursue him.
4 (IB)They have set up kings, but not by Me;
They have appointed officials, but I did not know it.
With their (IC)silver and gold they have made idols for themselves,
So that [cd]they will be eliminated.
5 [ce]He has rejected your (ID)calf, Samaria, saying,
“My anger burns against them!”
How long will they be incapable of (IE)innocence?
6 For from Israel comes even this!
A (IF)craftsman made it, so it is not God;
Assuredly, the calf of Samaria will be broken to [cf]pieces.
7 For (IG)they sow wind
And they harvest a (IH)storm.
The standing grain has no [cg]kernels;
It yields (II)no [ch]grain.
If it were to yield, strangers would swallow it.
8 Israel has been (IJ)swallowed up;
They are now among the nations
Like a (IK)vessel in which no one delights.
9 For they have gone up to (IL)Assyria,
Like (IM)a wild donkey all alone;
Ephraim has (IN)paid fees for [ci]lovers.
10 Even though they [cj]pay for allies among the nations,
I will (IO)gather them up now;
And they will begin (IP)to diminish
Because of the burden of the (IQ)king of officials.
11 Since Ephraim has (IR)multiplied altars for sin,
They have become altars of sinning for him.
12 Though (IS)I wrote for him ten thousand precepts of My (IT)Law,
They are regarded as a strange thing.
13 As for My (IU)sacrificial gifts,
They (IV)sacrifice the flesh and eat it,
But the Lord has taken no delight in them.
Now He will (IW)remember their guilt,
And (IX)punish them for their sins;
They will return to (IY)Egypt.
14 For Israel has (IZ)forgotten his Maker and (JA)built palaces;
And Judah has multiplied fortified cities,
But I will send a (JB)fire on its cities, and it will consume its palatial buildings.
Ephraim Punished
9 (JC)Do not rejoice, Israel, [ck]with jubilation like the [cl]nations!
For you have (JD)been unfaithful, [cm]abandoning your God.
You have loved the earnings of unfaithfulness on [cn]every threshing floor.
2 Threshing floor and wine press will (JE)not feed them,
And the new wine will fail [co]them.
3 They will not remain in (JF)the Lord’s land,
But Ephraim will return to (JG)Egypt,
And in (JH)Assyria they will eat (JI)unclean food.
4 They will not pour out drink offerings of (JJ)wine to the Lord,
(JK)Nor will [cp]their sacrifices please Him.
Their bread will be to them like [cq]mourners’ bread;
All who eat it will be (JL)defiled,
Because their bread will be for [cr]themselves alone;
It will not enter the house of the Lord.
5 (JM)What will you do on the day of the appointed festival
And on the day of the (JN)feast of the Lord?
6 For behold, they will be gone because of destruction;
Egypt will gather them together, (JO)Memphis will bury them.
Weeds will take possession of their treasures of silver;
(JP)Thorns will be in their tents.
7 The days of (JQ)punishment have come,
The days of (JR)retribution have come;
[cs]Let Israel know this!
The prophet is a (JS)fool,
The [ct]inspired person is (JT)insane,
Because of the grossness of your (JU)wrongdoing,
And because your [cu]hostility is so great.
8 Ephraim was a watchman with my God, a prophet;
Yet the snare of a bird catcher is in all his ways,
And there is only [cv]hostility in the house of his God.
9 They are (JV)deeply depraved
As in the days of (JW)Gibeah;
He will (JX)remember their guilt,
He will punish their sins.
10 I found Israel like (JY)grapes in the wilderness;
I saw your forefathers as the (JZ)earliest fruit on the fig tree in its first season.
But they came to (KA)Baal-peor and devoted themselves to [cw](KB)shame,
And they became as (KC)detestable as that which they loved.
11 As for Ephraim, their (KD)glory will fly away like a bird—
No birth, no pregnancy, and no conception!
12 Though they bring up their children,
Yet I will bereave them of their children [cx]until not a person is left.
Yes, (KE)woe to them indeed when I depart from them!
13 Ephraim, as I have seen,
Is planted in a pasture like (KF)Tyre;
But Ephraim is going to bring out his children for slaughter.
14 Give to them, Lord—what will You give?
Give them a (KG)miscarrying womb and dried-up breasts.
15 All their evil is at (KH)Gilgal;
Indeed, I came to hate them there!
Because of the (KI)wickedness of their deeds
I will drive them out of My house!
I will no longer love them;
All their leaders are (KJ)rebels.
16 (KK)Ephraim is stricken, their root is dried up,
They will produce (KL)no fruit.
Even though they give birth to children,
I will put to death the (KM)precious ones of their womb.
17 My God will reject them
Because they have (KN)not listened to Him;
And they will be (KO)wanderers among the nations.
Retribution for Israel’s Sin
10 Israel is a luxuriant (KP)vine;
He produces fruit for himself.
The more his fruit,
The more altars he (KQ)made;
The [cy]richer his land,
The better [cz]he made the (KR)memorial stones.
2 Their heart is [da](KS)deceitful;
Now they must suffer for their (KT)guilt.
[db]The Lord will (KU)break down their altars
And destroy their memorial stones.
3 Certainly now they will say, “We have (KV)no king,
For we do not revere the Lord.
As for the king, what can he do for us?”
4 They speak mere words,
[dc]With (KW)worthless oaths they make covenants;
And (KX)judgment sprouts like poisonous weeds in the furrows of the field.
5 The inhabitants of Samaria will fear
For the [dd](KY)calf of (KZ)Beth-aven.
Indeed, its people will mourn for it,
And its (LA)idolatrous priests [de]will cry out over it,
Over its (LB)glory, since it has left it.
6 The thing itself will be brought to (LC)Assyria
As a gift of tribute to [df](LD)King Jareb;
Ephraim will [dg]be (LE)seized with shame,
And Israel will be ashamed of its (LF)own plan.
7 Samaria will be (LG)destroyed with her king,
Like a twig on the surface of the water.
8 Also the (LH)high places of Aven, the (LI)sin of Israel, will be destroyed;
(LJ)Thorns and thistles will grow on their altars;
Then they will (LK)say to the mountains,
“Cover us!” And to the hills, “Fall on us!”
9 Since the days of Gibeah you have sinned, Israel;
There they stand!
Will the battle against the sons of injustice not overtake them in Gibeah?
10 When it is My (LL)desire, I will [dh](LM)discipline them;
And (LN)the peoples will be gathered against them
When they are bound for their double guilt.
11 Ephraim is a trained (LO)heifer that loves to thresh,
[di]And I (LP)passed over her lovely neck;
I will harness Ephraim,
Judah will plow, Jacob will [dj]harrow for himself.
12 (LQ)Sow for yourselves, with a view to righteousness;
Harvest in accordance with [dk]kindness.
(LR)Break up your uncultivated ground,
For it is time to (LS)seek the Lord
Until He (LT)comes and (LU)rains righteousness on you.
13 You have (LV)plowed wickedness, you have harvested injustice,
You have eaten the fruit of (LW)lies.
Because you have trusted in your way, in your (LX)many warriors,
14 An uproar will arise among your people,
And all your (LY)fortresses will be destroyed,
As Shalman destroyed Beth-arbel on the day of battle,
When (LZ)mothers were [dl]slaughtered with their children.
15 So it will be done to you at Bethel because of your great wickedness.
At dawn the king of Israel will be completely destroyed.
God Yearns over His People
11 When Israel was a youth I loved him,
And (MA)out of Egypt I (MB)called My son.
2 The more [dm](MC)they called them,
The more they went away from [dn]them;
They kept (MD)sacrificing to the Baals
And (ME)burning incense to idols.
3 Yet it is I who taught Ephraim to walk,
[do]I (MF)took them in My arms;
But they did not know that I (MG)healed them.
4 I (MH)pulled them along with cords of a man, with ropes of love,
And (MI)I became to them as one who lifts the yoke from their jaws;
And I bent down and (MJ)fed them.
5 [dp]They will not return to the land of Egypt;
But Assyria—he will be [dq]their king
Because they (MK)refused to return to Me.
6 And the (ML)sword will whirl against [dr]their cities,
And will destroy [ds]their oracle priests
And (MM)consume them, because of their (MN)counsels.
7 So My people are determined to (MO)turn from Me.
Though [dt]they call [du]them to the One on high,
None at all exalts Him.
8 (MP)How can I give you up, Ephraim?
How can I surrender you, Israel?
How can I [dv]make you like (MQ)Admah?
How can I treat you like (MR)Zeboiim?
My heart is turned over within Me,
[dw]All My compassions are kindled.
9 I will (MS)not carry out My fierce anger;
I will not destroy Ephraim (MT)again.
For (MU)I am God and not a man, the (MV)Holy One in your midst,
And I will not come in [dx]wrath.
10 They will (MW)walk after the Lord,
He will (MX)roar like a lion;
Indeed He will roar,
And His sons will come (MY)trembling from the west.
11 They will come trembling like birds from (MZ)Egypt,
And like (NA)doves from the land of (NB)Assyria;
And I will (NC)settle them in their houses, declares the Lord.
12 [dy]Ephraim surrounds Me with (ND)lies
And the house of Israel with deceit;
[dz]Judah is still unruly against God,
Even against the Holy One who is faithful.
Ephraim Reminded
12 [ea]Ephraim feeds on (NE)wind,
And pursues the (NF)east wind continually;
He multiplies lies and violence.
Moreover, [eb]he makes a covenant with Assyria,
And oil is brought to Egypt.
2 The Lord also has a (NG)case against Judah,
And will punish Jacob (NH)according to his ways;
He will repay him according to his deeds.
3 In the womb he (NI)took his brother by the heel,
And in his mature strength he (NJ)contended with God.
4 Yes, he wrestled with the angel and prevailed;
He wept and (NK)implored His favor.
He found Him at (NL)Bethel,
And there He spoke with us,
5 And the Lord, the God of armies,
The Lord is His [ec](NM)name.
6 So as for you, (NN)return to your God,
(NO)Maintain [ed]kindness and justice,
And (NP)wait for your God continually.
7 A [ee]merchant, in whose hands are fraudulent (NQ)balances,
Loves to exploit.
8 And Ephraim said, “I have certainly become (NR)rich,
I have found wealth for myself;
In all my labors they will find in me
(NS)No wrongdoing, which would be sin.”
9 But I have been the Lord your God since the land of Egypt;
I will make you (NT)live in tents again,
As in the days of the appointed festival.
10 I have also spoken to the (NU)prophets,
And I [ef]provided many visions,
And through the prophets I spoke in (NV)parables.
11 Is there injustice in Gilead?
Certainly they are worthless.
In Gilgal they sacrifice bulls,
Yes, (NW)their altars are like stone heaps
Beside the furrows of a field.
12 Now (NX)Jacob fled to the [eg]land of Aram,
And (NY)Israel worked for a wife,
And for a wife he kept sheep.
13 But by a (NZ)prophet the Lord brought Israel up from Egypt,
And by a prophet he was protected.
14 (OA)Ephraim has provoked God to bitter anger;
So his Lord will leave his (OB)guilt for bloodshed on him
And bring his (OC)disgrace back to him.
Ephraim’s Idolatry
13 (OD)When Ephraim [eh]spoke, there was trembling.
He (OE)exalted himself in Israel,
But through (OF)Baal he incurred guilt and died.
2 And now they sin more and more,
And make for themselves (OG)cast metal images,
Idols [ei](OH)skillfully made from their silver,
All of them the (OI)work of craftsmen.
They say of them, “Let the [ej]people who sacrifice kiss the (OJ)calves!”
3 Therefore they will be like the (OK)morning cloud
And like dew which [ek]soon disappears,
Like (OL)chaff which is blown away from the threshing floor,
And like (OM)smoke from a chimney.
4 Yet I have been the (ON)Lord your God
Since the land of Egypt;
And you were not to know (OO)any god except Me,
For there is no savior (OP)besides Me.
5 I [el](OQ)cared for you in the wilderness,
(OR)In the land of drought.
6 As they had their pasture, they became (OS)satisfied,
And as they became satisfied, their (OT)heart became proud;
Therefore they (OU)forgot Me.
7 So I will be (OV)like a lion to them;
Like a (OW)leopard I will [em]lie in wait by the wayside.
8 I will confront them (OX)like a bear deprived of her cubs,
And I will tear open [en]their chests;
I will also (OY)devour them there like a lioness,
As a wild animal would tear them to pieces.
9 [eo]It is to your own destruction, Israel,
That you are (OZ)against Me, against your (PA)help.
10 Where then is your (PB)king,
That he might save you in all your cities;
And your (PC)judges, to whom you said,
“Give me a king and princes”?
11 I (PD)gave you a king in My anger,
And (PE)took him away in My wrath.
12 The guilt of Ephraim is wrapped up;
His sin is (PF)stored up.
13 The pains of (PG)childbirth come on him;
He is (PH)not a wise son,
For [ep]it is not the time that he should (PI)delay at the opening of the womb.
14 Shall I (PJ)ransom them from the [eq]power of Sheol?
Shall I redeem them from death?
(PK)Death, where are your [er]thorns?
Sheol, where is your sting?
(PL)Compassion will be hidden from My sight.
15 Though he (PM)flourishes among the [es]reeds,
An (PN)east wind will come,
The wind of the Lord coming up from the wilderness;
And his fountain will (PO)become dry
And his spring will dry up;
It will (PP)plunder his treasury of every precious article.
16 [et]Samaria will pay the penalty for her (PQ)guilt,
Because she has (PR)rebelled against her God.
(PS)They will fall by the (PT)sword,
Their children will be [eu](PU)slaughtered,
And their pregnant (PV)women will be ripped open.
Israel’s Future Blessing
14 [ev](PW)Return, Israel, to the Lord your God,
For you have stumbled [ew]because of your (PX)wrongdoing.
2 Take words with you and return to the Lord.
Say to Him, “(PY)Take away all guilt
And [ex]receive us graciously,
So that we may (PZ)present [ey]the fruit of our lips.
3 Assyria will not save us,
We will (QA)not ride on horses;
Nor will we say again, ‘(QB)Our god’
To the (QC)work of our hands;
For in (QD)You the [ez]orphan finds mercy.”
4 I will (QE)heal their apostasy,
I will (QF)love them freely,
Because My anger has (QG)turned away from them.
5 I will be like the (QH)dew to Israel;
He will blossom like the (QI)lily,
And he will [fa]take root like the cedars of (QJ)Lebanon.
6 His shoots will [fb]sprout,
His [fc]majesty will be like the (QK)olive tree,
And his fragrance like the cedars of (QL)Lebanon.
7 Those who (QM)live in his shadow
Will [fd]again raise (QN)grain,
And they will blossom like the vine.
His fame will be like the wine of Lebanon.
8 Ephraim, what more have I to do with (QO)idols?
It is I who answer and look after [fe]you.
I am like a luxuriant (QP)juniper;
From (QQ)Me [ff]comes your fruit.
9 (QR)Whoever is wise, let him understand these things;
Whoever is discerning, let him know them.
For the (QS)ways of the Lord are right,
And the (QT)righteous will walk in them,
But (QU)wrongdoers will stumble in them.
Footnotes
- Hosea 1:2 Lit of infidelity; or fornication
- Hosea 1:2 Lit away from
- Hosea 1:4 Lit visit the bloodshed of Jezreel on the house of Jehu
- Hosea 1:6 Lit He
- Hosea 1:6 I.e., not having obtained mercy
- Hosea 1:9 Lit He
- Hosea 1:9 I.e., not my people
- Hosea 1:9 Lit yours
- Hosea 1:10 Ch 2:1 in Heb
- Hosea 2:1 Ch 2:3 in Heb
- Hosea 2:1 I.e., my people
- Hosea 2:1 I.e., she has obtained compassion
- Hosea 2:6 As in some ancient versions; MT your
- Hosea 2:6 Lit her stone wall so that
- Hosea 2:8 Or made into the
- Hosea 2:9 Lit return and take My
- Hosea 2:9 Lit its time
- Hosea 2:10 Or shame
- Hosea 2:13 Or burn incense
- Hosea 2:14 Lit upon her heart
- Hosea 2:15 Lit Valley of Trouble
- Hosea 2:15 Or give answer
- Hosea 2:16 Heb Ishi
- Hosea 2:16 Also meaning husband in Heb, besides a name for false gods
- Hosea 2:17 Or remembered
- Hosea 2:18 Lit break
- Hosea 2:22 I.e., God sows
- Hosea 2:23 Heb Lo-ruhamah
- Hosea 2:23 Heb Lo-ammi
- Hosea 2:23 Lit he
- Hosea 3:1 I.e., Gomer
- Hosea 3:1 Lit companion
- Hosea 3:1 Used in idolatry
- Hosea 3:2 About 7.7 cubic feet or 0.22 cubic meters
- Hosea 3:2 About 3.8 cubic feet or 0.11 cubic meters
- Hosea 3:4 Heb teraphim
- Hosea 4:1 Or truth
- Hosea 4:1 Or kindness
- Hosea 4:2 I.e., of truth
- Hosea 4:2 Lit touches
- Hosea 4:3 Lit are taken away
- Hosea 4:4 Lit contend
- Hosea 4:8 Or sin offering
- Hosea 4:10 I.e., either in population or wealth
- Hosea 4:11 Or Prostitution
- Hosea 4:11 Lit heart
- Hosea 4:12 Lit from under
- Hosea 4:13 Or offer sacrifices
- Hosea 4:13 Or daughters-in-law
- Hosea 4:14 Or daughters-in-law
- Hosea 4:16 Or The Lord will now pasture...field.
- Hosea 4:18 Another reading is They dearly love the shame of gifts
- Hosea 4:18 Lit shields
- Hosea 4:19 Or ashamed
- Hosea 5:2 Or slaughter
- Hosea 5:4 Or prostitution
- Hosea 5:7 Lit strange
- Hosea 5:7 Lit portions
- Hosea 5:11 Or with some ancient versions, nothingness
- Hosea 5:13 Or ulcer
- Hosea 5:13 Or another reading is the great king; or the contentious king
- Hosea 5:13 Or ulcer
- Hosea 5:15 Or suffer their punishment
- Hosea 6:1 Lit struck
- Hosea 6:5 Lit proceeds
- Hosea 6:6 Or take pleasure in
- Hosea 6:7 Or men
- Hosea 7:2 Lit say to their
- Hosea 7:4 Lit stirring up
- Hosea 7:5 I.e., a festive occasion
- Hosea 7:5 Or rebels
- Hosea 7:6 Lit ambush
- Hosea 7:6 As in some ancient versions; MT baker
- Hosea 7:6 Lit is asleep
- Hosea 7:8 Lit peoples
- Hosea 7:11 Lit heart
- Hosea 7:12 Lit report
- Hosea 7:14 Or LXX and many ancient mss gash themselves
- Hosea 7:16 Or possibly to the Most High
- Hosea 7:16 Lit cursing
- Hosea 8:1 Lit palate
- Hosea 8:4 Lit he
- Hosea 8:5 Or Your calf has rejected you
- Hosea 8:6 Or splinters
- Hosea 8:7 Lit growth
- Hosea 8:7 Or meal
- Hosea 8:9 Lit love gifts
- Hosea 8:10 Or recruit allies
- Hosea 9:1 Lit to
- Hosea 9:1 Lit peoples
- Hosea 9:1 Lit away from your God
- Hosea 9:1 Lit all threshing floors of grain
- Hosea 9:2 Lit her
- Hosea 9:4 Or they offer to Him their
- Hosea 9:4 Lit bread of mourning
- Hosea 9:4 Lit their soul
- Hosea 9:7 Or Israel will know this
- Hosea 9:7 Lit man of the spirit
- Hosea 9:7 Or persecution
- Hosea 9:8 Or persecution
- Hosea 9:10 I.e., Baal
- Hosea 9:12 Lit without a person
- Hosea 10:1 Lit better
- Hosea 10:1 Lit they
- Hosea 10:2 Lit slippery; or divided
- Hosea 10:2 Lit He
- Hosea 10:4 Or Swearing falsely in making a covenant
- Hosea 10:5 As in some ancient versions; MT calves
- Hosea 10:5 Or who used to rejoice over
- Hosea 10:6 Another reading is the great king; or the contentious king
- Hosea 10:6 Lit receive shame
- Hosea 10:10 Or instruct
- Hosea 10:11 Or But I put a yoke on her lovely
- Hosea 10:11 I.e., pull a harrow, a farming device
- Hosea 10:12 Or loyalty
- Hosea 10:14 Lit shattered
- Hosea 11:2 I.e., God’s prophets
- Hosea 11:2 I.e., God’s prophets
- Hosea 11:3 As in ancient versions; MT He...His
- Hosea 11:5 Lit He
- Hosea 11:5 Lit his
- Hosea 11:6 Lit his
- Hosea 11:6 Lit his
- Hosea 11:7 I.e., God’s prophets
- Hosea 11:7 Lit him; i.e., Israel
- Hosea 11:8 Lit give
- Hosea 11:8 Lit Together
- Hosea 11:9 Lit agitation
- Hosea 11:12 Ch 12:1 in Heb
- Hosea 11:12 Or But Judah still goes about with God, even with
- Hosea 12:1 Ch 12:2 in Heb
- Hosea 12:1 Lit they make
- Hosea 12:5 Lit invocation
- Hosea 12:6 Or loyalty
- Hosea 12:7 Or Canaanite
- Hosea 12:10 Lit multiplied the vision
- Hosea 12:12 Lit field
- Hosea 13:1 Or spoke with trembling, he exalted
- Hosea 13:2 Or according to their skill
- Hosea 13:2 Lit sacrificers of; or among mankind
- Hosea 13:3 Lit goes away early
- Hosea 13:5 Or knew
- Hosea 13:7 Or watch
- Hosea 13:8 Lit the enclosure of their heart
- Hosea 13:9 Lit It has destroyed you
- Hosea 13:13 Lit it is the time that he should not remain at the opening of children
- Hosea 13:14 Lit hand
- Hosea 13:14 Or stings
- Hosea 13:15 Another reading is brothers
- Hosea 13:16 Ch 14:1 in Heb
- Hosea 13:16 Lit shattered
- Hosea 14:1 Ch 14:2 in Heb
- Hosea 14:1 Or in
- Hosea 14:2 Or accept that which is good
- Hosea 14:2 As in ancient versions; MT our lips as bulls
- Hosea 14:3 Or fatherless
- Hosea 14:5 Lit strike his roots
- Hosea 14:6 Lit go
- Hosea 14:6 Lit splendor
- Hosea 14:7 Or return, they will raise grain
- Hosea 14:8 Lit him
- Hosea 14:8 Lit is found
Hosea 1-14
New International Version
Hosea 1-14
New International Version
1 The word of the Lord that came(A) to Hosea son of Beeri during the reigns of Uzziah,(B) Jotham,(C) Ahaz(D) and Hezekiah,(E) kings of Judah,(F) and during the reign of Jeroboam(G) son of Jehoash[a] king of Israel:(H)
Hosea’s Wife and Children
2 When the Lord began to speak through Hosea, the Lord said to him, “Go, marry a promiscuous(I) woman and have children with her, for like an adulterous wife this land is guilty of unfaithfulness(J) to the Lord.” 3 So he married Gomer(K) daughter of Diblaim, and she conceived and bore him a son.
4 Then the Lord said to Hosea, “Call him Jezreel,(L) because I will soon punish the house of Jehu for the massacre at Jezreel, and I will put an end to the kingdom of Israel. 5 In that day I will break Israel’s bow in the Valley of Jezreel.(M)”
6 Gomer(N) conceived again and gave birth to a daughter. Then the Lord said to Hosea, “Call her Lo-Ruhamah (which means “not loved”),(O) for I will no longer show love to Israel,(P) that I should at all forgive them. 7 Yet I will show love to Judah; and I will save them—not by bow,(Q) sword or battle, or by horses and horsemen, but I, the Lord their God,(R) will save them.”
8 After she had weaned Lo-Ruhamah,(S) Gomer had another son. 9 Then the Lord said, “Call him Lo-Ammi (which means “not my people”), for you are not my people, and I am not your God.[b](T)
10 “Yet the Israelites will be like the sand on the seashore, which cannot be measured or counted.(U) In the place where it was said to them, ‘You are not my people,’ they will be called ‘children of the living God.’(V) 11 The people of Judah and the people of Israel will come together;(W) they will appoint one leader(X) and will come up out of the land,(Y) for great will be the day of Jezreel.[c](Z)
2 [d]“Say of your brothers, ‘My people,’ and of your sisters, ‘My loved one.’(AA)
Israel Punished and Restored
2 “Rebuke your mother,(AB) rebuke her,
for she is not my wife,
and I am not her husband.
Let her remove the adulterous(AC) look from her face
and the unfaithfulness from between her breasts.
3 Otherwise I will strip(AD) her naked
and make her as bare as on the day she was born;(AE)
I will make her like a desert,(AF)
turn her into a parched land,
and slay her with thirst.
4 I will not show my love to her children,(AG)
because they are the children of adultery.(AH)
5 Their mother has been unfaithful
and has conceived them in disgrace.
She said, ‘I will go after my lovers,(AI)
who give me my food and my water,
my wool and my linen, my olive oil and my drink.’(AJ)
6 Therefore I will block her path with thornbushes;
I will wall her in so that she cannot find her way.(AK)
7 She will chase after her lovers but not catch them;
she will look for them but not find them.(AL)
Then she will say,
‘I will go back to my husband(AM) as at first,(AN)
for then I was better off(AO) than now.’
8 She has not acknowledged(AP) that I was the one
who gave her the grain, the new wine and oil,(AQ)
who lavished on her the silver and gold(AR)—
which they used for Baal.(AS)
9 “Therefore I will take away my grain(AT) when it ripens,
and my new wine(AU) 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(AV) her lewdness
before the eyes of her lovers;(AW)
no one will take her out of my hands.(AX)
11 I will stop(AY) all her celebrations:(AZ)
her yearly festivals, her New Moons,
her Sabbath days—all her appointed festivals.(BA)
12 I will ruin her vines(BB) and her fig trees,(BC)
which she said were her pay from her lovers;(BD)
I will make them a thicket,(BE)
and wild animals will devour them.(BF)
13 I will punish her for the days
she burned incense(BG) to the Baals;(BH)
she decked herself with rings and jewelry,(BI)
and went after her lovers,(BJ)
but me she forgot,(BK)”
declares the Lord.(BL)
14 “Therefore I am now going to allure her;
I will lead her into the wilderness(BM)
and speak tenderly to her.
15 There I will give her back her vineyards,
and will make the Valley of Achor[e](BN) a door of hope.
There she will respond[f](BO) as in the days of her youth,(BP)
as in the day she came up out of Egypt.(BQ)
16 “In that day,” declares the Lord,
“you will call me ‘my husband’;(BR)
you will no longer call me ‘my master.[g]’
17 I will remove the names of the Baals from her lips;(BS)
no longer will their names be invoked.(BT)
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.(BU)
Bow and sword and battle
I will abolish(BV) from the land,
so that all may lie down in safety.(BW)
19 I will betroth(BX) you to me forever;
I will betroth you in[h] righteousness and justice,(BY)
in[i] love and compassion.(BZ)
20 I will betroth you in[j] faithfulness,
and you will acknowledge(CA) the Lord.(CB)
21 “In that day I will respond,”
declares the Lord—
“I will respond(CC) 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,(CD)
and they will respond to Jezreel.[k](CE)
23 I will plant(CF) her for myself in the land;
I will show my love to the one I called ‘Not my loved one.[l](CG)’
I will say to those called ‘Not my people,[m]’ ‘You are my people’;(CH)
and they will say, ‘You are my God.(CI)’”
Hosea’s Reconciliation With His Wife
3 The Lord said to me, “Go, show your love to your wife again, though she is loved by another man and is an adulteress.(CJ) Love her as the Lord loves the Israelites, though they turn to other gods and love the sacred raisin cakes.(CK)”
2 So I bought her for fifteen shekels[n] of silver and about a homer and a lethek[o] of barley. 3 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.”
4 For the Israelites will live many days without king or prince,(CL) without sacrifice(CM) or sacred stones,(CN) without ephod(CO) or household gods.(CP) 5 Afterward the Israelites will return and seek(CQ) the Lord their God and David their king.(CR) They will come trembling(CS) to the Lord and to his blessings in the last days.(CT)
The Charge Against Israel
4 Hear the word of the Lord, you Israelites,
because the Lord has a charge(CU) to bring
against you who live in the land:(CV)
“There is no faithfulness,(CW) no love,
no acknowledgment(CX) of God in the land.(CY)
2 There is only cursing,[p] lying(CZ) and murder,(DA)
stealing(DB) and adultery;(DC)
they break all bounds,
and bloodshed follows bloodshed.(DD)
3 Because of this the land dries up,(DE)
and all who live in it waste away;(DF)
the beasts of the field, the birds in the sky
and the fish in the sea are swept away.(DG)
4 “But let no one bring a charge,
let no one accuse another,
for your people are like those
who bring charges against a priest.(DH)
5 You stumble(DI) day and night,
and the prophets stumble with you.
So I will destroy your mother(DJ)—
6 my people are destroyed from lack of knowledge.(DK)
“Because you have rejected knowledge,
I also reject you as my priests;
because you have ignored the law(DL) of your God,
I also will ignore your children.
7 The more priests there were,
the more they sinned against me;
they exchanged their glorious God[q](DM) for something disgraceful.(DN)
8 They feed on the sins of my people
and relish their wickedness.(DO)
9 And it will be: Like people, like priests.(DP)
I will punish both of them for their ways
and repay them for their deeds.(DQ)
10 “They will eat but not have enough;(DR)
they will engage in prostitution(DS) but not flourish,
because they have deserted(DT) the Lord
to give themselves 11 to prostitution;(DU)
old wine(DV) and new wine
take away their understanding.(DW)
12 My people consult a wooden idol,(DX)
and a diviner’s rod speaks to them.(DY)
A spirit of prostitution(DZ) leads them astray;(EA)
they are unfaithful(EB) to their God.
13 They sacrifice on the mountaintops
and burn offerings on the hills,
under oak,(EC) poplar and terebinth,
where the shade is pleasant.(ED)
Therefore your daughters turn to prostitution(EE)
and your daughters-in-law to adultery.(EF)
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(EG)
and sacrifice with shrine prostitutes(EH)—
a people without understanding(EI) will come to ruin!(EJ)
15 “Though you, Israel, commit adultery,
do not let Judah become guilty.
“Do not go to Gilgal;(EK)
do not go up to Beth Aven.[r](EL)
And do not swear, ‘As surely as the Lord lives!’(EM)
16 The Israelites are stubborn,(EN)
like a stubborn heifer.(EO)
How then can the Lord pasture them
like lambs(EP) 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(EQ) will sweep them away,
and their sacrifices will bring them shame.(ER)
Judgment Against Israel
5 “Hear this, you priests!
Pay attention, you Israelites!
Listen, royal house!
This judgment(ES) is against you:
You have been a snare(ET) at Mizpah,
a net(EU) spread out on Tabor.
2 The rebels are knee-deep in slaughter.(EV)
I will discipline all of them.(EW)
3 I know all about Ephraim;
Israel is not hidden(EX) from me.
Ephraim, you have now turned to prostitution;
Israel is corrupt.(EY)
4 “Their deeds do not permit them
to return(EZ) to their God.
A spirit of prostitution(FA) is in their heart;
they do not acknowledge(FB) the Lord.
5 Israel’s arrogance testifies(FC) against them;
the Israelites, even Ephraim, stumble(FD) in their sin;
Judah also stumbles with them.(FE)
6 When they go with their flocks and herds
to seek the Lord,(FF)
they will not find him;
he has withdrawn(FG) himself from them.
7 They are unfaithful(FH) to the Lord;
they give birth to illegitimate(FI) children.
When they celebrate their New Moon feasts,(FJ)
he will devour[s](FK) their fields.
8 “Sound the trumpet(FL) in Gibeah,(FM)
the horn in Ramah.(FN)
Raise the battle cry in Beth Aven[t];(FO)
lead on, Benjamin.
9 Ephraim will be laid waste(FP)
on the day of reckoning.(FQ)
Among the tribes of Israel
I proclaim what is certain.(FR)
10 Judah’s leaders are like those
who move boundary stones.(FS)
I will pour out my wrath(FT) on them
like a flood of water.
11 Ephraim is oppressed,
trampled in judgment,
intent on pursuing idols.[u](FU)
12 I am like a moth(FV) to Ephraim,
like rot(FW) to the people of Judah.
13 “When Ephraim(FX) saw his sickness,
and Judah his sores,
then Ephraim turned to Assyria,(FY)
and sent to the great king for help.(FZ)
But he is not able to cure(GA) you,
not able to heal your sores.(GB)
14 For I will be like a lion(GC) to Ephraim,
like a great lion to Judah.
I will tear them to pieces(GD) and go away;
I will carry them off, with no one to rescue them.(GE)
15 Then I will return to my lair(GF)
until they have borne their guilt(GG)
and seek my face(GH)—
in their misery(GI)
they will earnestly seek me.(GJ)”
Israel Unrepentant
6 “Come, let us return(GK) to the Lord.
He has torn us to pieces(GL)
but he will heal us;(GM)
he has injured us
but he will bind up our wounds.(GN)
2 After two days he will revive us;(GO)
on the third day(GP) he will restore(GQ) us,
that we may live in his presence.
3 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,(GR)
like the spring rains that water the earth.(GS)”
4 “What can I do with you, Ephraim?(GT)
What can I do with you, Judah?
Your love is like the morning mist,
like the early dew that disappears.(GU)
5 Therefore I cut you in pieces with my prophets,
I killed you with the words of my mouth(GV)—
then my judgments go forth like the sun.[v](GW)
6 For I desire mercy, not sacrifice,(GX)
and acknowledgment(GY) of God rather than burnt offerings.(GZ)
7 As at Adam,[w] they have broken the covenant;(HA)
they were unfaithful(HB) to me there.
8 Gilead is a city of evildoers,(HC)
stained with footprints of blood.
9 As marauders lie in ambush for a victim,(HD)
so do bands of priests;
they murder(HE) on the road to Shechem,
carrying out their wicked schemes.(HF)
10 I have seen a horrible(HG) thing in Israel:
There Ephraim is given to prostitution,
Israel is defiled.(HH)
11 “Also for you, Judah,
a harvest(HI) is appointed.
“Whenever I would restore the fortunes(HJ) of my people,
7 1 whenever I would heal Israel,
the sins of Ephraim are exposed
and the crimes of Samaria revealed.(HK)
They practice deceit,(HL)
thieves break into houses,(HM)
bandits rob in the streets;(HN)
2 but they do not realize
that I remember(HO) all their evil deeds.(HP)
Their sins engulf them;(HQ)
they are always before me.
3 “They delight the king with their wickedness,
the princes with their lies.(HR)
4 They are all adulterers,(HS)
burning like an oven
whose fire the baker need not stir
from the kneading of the dough till it rises.
5 On the day of the festival of our king
the princes become inflamed with wine,(HT)
and he joins hands with the mockers.(HU)
6 Their hearts are like an oven;(HV)
they approach him with intrigue.
Their passion smolders all night;
in the morning it blazes like a flaming fire.
7 All of them are hot as an oven;
they devour their rulers.
All their kings fall,(HW)
and none of them calls(HX) on me.
8 “Ephraim mixes(HY) with the nations;
Ephraim is a flat loaf not turned over.
9 Foreigners sap his strength,(HZ)
but he does not realize it.
His hair is sprinkled with gray,
but he does not notice.
10 Israel’s arrogance testifies against him,(IA)
but despite all this
he does not return(IB) to the Lord his God
or search(IC) for him.
11 “Ephraim is like a dove,(ID)
easily deceived and senseless—
now calling to Egypt,(IE)
now turning to Assyria.(IF)
12 When they go, I will throw my net(IG) 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(IH) to them,
because they have strayed(II) from me!
Destruction to them,
because they have rebelled against me!
I long to redeem them
but they speak about me(IJ) falsely.(IK)
14 They do not cry out to me from their hearts(IL)
but wail on their beds.
They slash themselves,[x] appealing to their gods
for grain and new wine,(IM)
but they turn away from me.(IN)
15 I trained(IO) them and strengthened their arms,
but they plot evil(IP) against me.
16 They do not turn to the Most High;(IQ)
they are like a faulty bow.(IR)
Their leaders will fall by the sword
because of their insolent(IS) words.
For this they will be ridiculed(IT)
in the land of Egypt.(IU)
Israel to Reap the Whirlwind
8 “Put the trumpet(IV) to your lips!
An eagle(IW) is over the house of the Lord
because the people have broken my covenant(IX)
and rebelled against my law.(IY)
2 Israel cries out to me,
‘Our God, we acknowledge you!’
3 But Israel has rejected what is good;
an enemy will pursue him.(IZ)
4 They set up kings without my consent;
they choose princes without my approval.(JA)
With their silver and gold
they make idols(JB) for themselves
to their own destruction.
5 Samaria, throw out your calf-idol!(JC)
My anger burns against them.
How long will they be incapable of purity?(JD)
6 They are from Israel!
This calf—a metalworker has made it;
it is not God.(JE)
It will be broken in pieces,
that calf(JF) of Samaria.(JG)
7 “They sow the wind
and reap the whirlwind.(JH)
The stalk has no head;
it will produce no flour.(JI)
Were it to yield grain,
foreigners would swallow it up.(JJ)
8 Israel is swallowed up;(JK)
now she is among the nations
like something no one wants.(JL)
9 For they have gone up to Assyria(JM)
like a wild donkey(JN) wandering alone.
Ephraim has sold herself to lovers.(JO)
10 Although they have sold themselves among the nations,
I will now gather them together.(JP)
They will begin to waste away(JQ)
under the oppression of the mighty king.
11 “Though Ephraim built many altars for sin offerings,
these have become altars for sinning.(JR)
12 I wrote for them the many things of my law,
but they regarded them as something foreign.(JS)
13 Though they offer sacrifices as gifts to me,
and though they eat(JT) the meat,
the Lord is not pleased with them.(JU)
Now he will remember(JV) their wickedness
and punish their sins:(JW)
They will return to Egypt.(JX)
14 Israel has forgotten(JY) their Maker(JZ)
and built palaces;
Judah has fortified many towns.
But I will send fire on their cities
that will consume their fortresses.”(KA)
Punishment for Israel
9 Do not rejoice, Israel;
do not be jubilant(KB) like the other nations.
For you have been unfaithful(KC) to your God;
you love the wages of a prostitute(KD)
at every threshing floor.
2 Threshing floors and winepresses will not feed the people;
the new wine(KE) will fail them.
3 They will not remain(KF) in the Lord’s land;
Ephraim will return to Egypt(KG)
and eat unclean food in Assyria.(KH)
4 They will not pour out wine offerings(KI) to the Lord,
nor will their sacrifices please(KJ) him.
Such sacrifices will be to them like the bread of mourners;(KK)
all who eat them will be unclean.(KL)
This food will be for themselves;
it will not come into the temple of the Lord.(KM)
5 What will you do(KN) on the day of your appointed festivals,(KO)
on the feast days of the Lord?
6 Even if they escape from destruction,
Egypt will gather them,(KP)
and Memphis(KQ) will bury them.(KR)
Their treasures of silver(KS) will be taken over by briers,
and thorns(KT) will overrun their tents.
7 The days of punishment(KU) are coming,
the days of reckoning(KV) are at hand.
Let Israel know this.
Because your sins(KW) are so many
and your hostility so great,
the prophet is considered a fool,(KX)
the inspired person a maniac.(KY)
8 The prophet, along with my God,
is the watchman over Ephraim,[y]
yet snares(KZ) await him on all his paths,
and hostility in the house of his God.(LA)
9 They have sunk deep into corruption,(LB)
as in the days of Gibeah.(LC)
God will remember(LD) their wickedness
and punish them for their sins.(LE)
10 “When I found Israel,
it was like finding grapes in the desert;
when I saw your ancestors,
it was like seeing the early fruit(LF) on the fig(LG) tree.
But when they came to Baal Peor,(LH)
they consecrated themselves to that shameful idol(LI)
and became as vile as the thing they loved.
11 Ephraim’s glory(LJ) will fly away like a bird(LK)—
no birth, no pregnancy, no conception.(LL)
12 Even if they rear children,
I will bereave(LM) them of every one.
Woe(LN) to them
when I turn away from them!(LO)
13 I have seen Ephraim,(LP) like Tyre,
planted in a pleasant place.(LQ)
But Ephraim will bring out
their children to the slayer.”(LR)
14 Give them, Lord—
what will you give them?
Give them wombs that miscarry
and breasts that are dry.(LS)
15 “Because of all their wickedness in Gilgal,(LT)
I hated them there.
Because of their sinful deeds,(LU)
I will drive them out of my house.
I will no longer love them;(LV)
all their leaders are rebellious.(LW)
16 Ephraim(LX) is blighted,
their root is withered,
they yield no fruit.(LY)
Even if they bear children,
I will slay(LZ) their cherished offspring.”
17 My God will reject(MA) them
because they have not obeyed(MB) him;
they will be wanderers among the nations.(MC)
10 Israel was a spreading vine;(MD)
he brought forth fruit for himself.
As his fruit increased,
he built more altars;(ME)
as his land prospered,(MF)
he adorned his sacred stones.(MG)
2 Their heart is deceitful,(MH)
and now they must bear their guilt.(MI)
The Lord will demolish their altars(MJ)
and destroy their sacred stones.(MK)
3 Then they will say, “We have no king
because we did not revere the Lord.
But even if we had a king,
what could he do for us?”
4 They make many promises,
take false oaths(ML)
and make agreements;(MM)
therefore lawsuits spring up
like poisonous weeds(MN) in a plowed field.
5 The people who live in Samaria fear
for the calf-idol(MO) of Beth Aven.[z](MP)
Its people will mourn over it,
and so will its idolatrous priests,(MQ)
those who had rejoiced over its splendor,
because it is taken from them into exile.(MR)
6 It will be carried to Assyria(MS)
as tribute(MT) for the great king.(MU)
Ephraim will be disgraced;(MV)
Israel will be ashamed(MW) of its foreign alliances.
7 Samaria’s king will be destroyed,(MX)
swept away like a twig on the surface of the waters.
8 The high places(MY) of wickedness[aa](MZ) will be destroyed—
it is the sin of Israel.
Thorns(NA) and thistles will grow up
and cover their altars.(NB)
Then they will say to the mountains, “Cover us!”(NC)
and to the hills, “Fall on us!”(ND)
9 “Since the days of Gibeah,(NE) you have sinned,(NF) Israel,
and there you have remained.[ab]
Will not war again overtake
the evildoers in Gibeah?
10 When I please, I will punish(NG) them;
nations will be gathered against them
to put them in bonds for their double sin.
11 Ephraim is a trained heifer
that loves to thresh;
so I will put a yoke(NH)
on her fair neck.
I will drive Ephraim,
Judah must plow,
and Jacob must break up the ground.
12 Sow(NI) righteousness(NJ) for yourselves,
reap the fruit of unfailing love,
and break up your unplowed ground;(NK)
for it is time to seek(NL) the Lord,
until he comes
and showers his righteousness(NM) on you.
13 But you have planted wickedness,
you have reaped evil,(NN)
you have eaten the fruit of deception.(NO)
Because you have depended on your own strength
and on your many warriors,(NP)
14 the roar of battle will rise against your people,
so that all your fortresses will be devastated(NQ)—
as Shalman(NR) devastated Beth Arbel on the day of battle,
when mothers were dashed to the ground with their children.(NS)
15 So will it happen to you, Bethel,
because your wickedness is great.
When that day dawns,
the king of Israel will be completely destroyed.(NT)
God’s Love for Israel
11 “When Israel was a child,(NU) I loved(NV) him,
and out of Egypt I called my son.(NW)
2 But the more they were called,
the more they went away from me.[ac](NX)
They sacrificed to the Baals(NY)
and they burned incense to images.(NZ)
3 It was I who taught Ephraim to walk,
taking them by the arms;(OA)
but they did not realize
it was I who healed(OB) them.
4 I led them with cords of human kindness,
with ties of love.(OC)
To them I was like one who lifts
a little child to the cheek,
and I bent down to feed(OD) them.(OE)
5 “Will they not return to Egypt(OF)
and will not Assyria(OG) rule over them
because they refuse to repent?(OH)
6 A sword(OI) will flash in their cities;
it will devour(OJ) their false prophets
and put an end to their plans.
7 My people are determined to turn(OK) from me.(OL)
Even though they call me God Most High,
I will by no means exalt them.
8 “How can I give you up,(OM) Ephraim?(ON)
How can I hand you over, Israel?
How can I treat you like Admah?
How can I make you like Zeboyim?(OO)
My heart is changed within me;
all my compassion(OP) is aroused.(OQ)
9 I will not carry out my fierce anger,(OR)
nor will I devastate(OS) Ephraim again.
For I am God, and not a man(OT)—
the Holy One(OU) among you.
I will not come against their cities.
10 They will follow the Lord;
he will roar(OV) like a lion.(OW)
When he roars,
his children will come trembling(OX) from the west.(OY)
11 They will come from Egypt,
trembling like sparrows,
from Assyria,(OZ) fluttering like doves.(PA)
I will settle them in their homes,”(PB)
declares the Lord.
Israel’s Sin
12 Ephraim has surrounded me with lies,(PC)
Israel with deceit.
And Judah is unruly against God,
even against the faithful(PD) Holy One.[ad](PE)
12 [ae]1 Ephraim(PF) feeds on the wind;(PG)
he pursues the east wind all day
and multiplies lies and violence.(PH)
He makes a treaty with Assyria(PI)
and sends olive oil to Egypt.(PJ)
2 The Lord has a charge(PK) to bring against Judah;(PL)
he will punish(PM) Jacob[af] according to his ways
and repay him according to his deeds.(PN)
3 In the womb he grasped his brother’s heel;(PO)
as a man he struggled(PP) with God.
4 He struggled with the angel and overcame him;
he wept and begged for his favor.
He found him at Bethel(PQ)
and talked with him there—
5 the Lord God Almighty,
the Lord is his name!(PR)
6 But you must return(PS) to your God;
maintain love and justice,(PT)
and wait for your God always.(PU)
7 The merchant uses dishonest scales(PV)
and loves to defraud.
8 Ephraim boasts,(PW)
“I am very rich; I have become wealthy.(PX)
With all my wealth they will not find in me
any iniquity or sin.”
9 “I have been the Lord your God
ever since you came out of Egypt;(PY)
I will make you live in tents(PZ) again,
as in the days of your appointed festivals.
10 I spoke to the prophets,
gave them many visions
and told parables(QA) through them.”(QB)
11 Is Gilead wicked?(QC)
Its people are worthless!
Do they sacrifice bulls in Gilgal?(QD)
Their altars will be like piles of stones
on a plowed field.(QE)
12 Jacob fled to the country of Aram[ag];(QF)
Israel served to get a wife,
and to pay for her he tended sheep.(QG)
13 The Lord used a prophet to bring Israel up from Egypt,(QH)
by a prophet he cared for him.(QI)
14 But Ephraim has aroused his bitter anger;
his Lord will leave on him the guilt of his bloodshed(QJ)
and will repay him for his contempt.(QK)
The Lord’s Anger Against Israel
13 When Ephraim spoke, people trembled;(QL)
he was exalted(QM) in Israel.
But he became guilty of Baal worship(QN) and died.
2 Now they sin more and more;
they make(QO) idols for themselves from their silver,(QP)
cleverly fashioned images,
all of them the work of craftsmen.(QQ)
It is said of these people,
“They offer human sacrifices!
They kiss[ah](QR) calf-idols!(QS)”
3 Therefore they will be like the morning mist,
like the early dew that disappears,(QT)
like chaff(QU) swirling from a threshing floor,(QV)
like smoke(QW) escaping through a window.
4 “But I have been the Lord your God
ever since you came out of Egypt.(QX)
You shall acknowledge(QY) no God but me,(QZ)
no Savior(RA) except me.
5 I cared for you in the wilderness,(RB)
in the land of burning heat.
6 When I fed them, they were satisfied;
when they were satisfied, they became proud;(RC)
then they forgot(RD) me.(RE)
7 So I will be like a lion(RF) to them,
like a leopard I will lurk by the path.
8 Like a bear robbed of her cubs,(RG)
I will attack them and rip them open;
like a lion(RH) I will devour them—
a wild animal will tear them apart.(RI)
9 “You are destroyed, Israel,
because you are against me,(RJ) against your helper.(RK)
10 Where is your king,(RL) that he may save you?
Where are your rulers in all your towns,
of whom you said,
‘Give me a king and princes’?(RM)
11 So in my anger I gave you a king,(RN)
and in my wrath I took him away.(RO)
12 The guilt of Ephraim is stored up,
his sins are kept on record.(RP)
13 Pains as of a woman in childbirth(RQ) come to him,
but he is a child without wisdom;
when the time(RR) arrives,
he doesn’t have the sense to come out of the womb.(RS)
14 “I will deliver this people from the power of the grave;(RT)
I will redeem them from death.(RU)
Where, O death, are your plagues?
Where, O grave, is your destruction?(RV)
“I will have no compassion,
15 even though he thrives(RW) among his brothers.
An east wind(RX) from the Lord will come,
blowing in from the desert;
his spring will fail
and his well dry up.(RY)
His storehouse will be plundered(RZ)
of all its treasures.
16 The people of Samaria(SA) must bear their guilt,(SB)
because they have rebelled(SC) against their God.
They will fall by the sword;(SD)
their little ones will be dashed(SE) to the ground,
their pregnant women(SF) ripped open.”[ai]
Repentance to Bring Blessing
14 [aj]Return,(SG) Israel, to the Lord your God.
Your sins(SH) have been your downfall!(SI)
2 Take words with you
and return to the Lord.
Say to him:
“Forgive(SJ) all our sins
and receive us graciously,(SK)
that we may offer the fruit of our lips.[ak](SL)
3 Assyria cannot save us;(SM)
we will not mount warhorses.(SN)
We will never again say ‘Our gods’(SO)
to what our own hands have made,(SP)
for in you the fatherless(SQ) find compassion.”
4 “I will heal(SR) their waywardness(SS)
and love them freely,(ST)
for my anger has turned away(SU) from them.
5 I will be like the dew(SV) to Israel;
he will blossom like a lily.(SW)
Like a cedar of Lebanon(SX)
he will send down his roots;(SY)
6 his young shoots will grow.
His splendor will be like an olive tree,(SZ)
his fragrance like a cedar of Lebanon.(TA)
7 People will dwell again in his shade;(TB)
they will flourish like the grain,
they will blossom(TC) like the vine—
Israel’s fame will be like the wine(TD) of Lebanon.(TE)
8 Ephraim, what more have I[al] to do with idols?(TF)
I will answer him and care for him.
I am like a flourishing juniper;(TG)
your fruitfulness comes from me.”
Footnotes
- Hosea 1:1 Hebrew Joash, a variant of Jehoash
- Hosea 1:9 Or your I am
- Hosea 1:11 In Hebrew texts 1:10,11 is numbered 2:1,2.
- Hosea 2:1 In Hebrew texts 2:1-23 is numbered 2:3-25.
- Hosea 2:15 Achor means trouble.
- Hosea 2:15 Or sing
- Hosea 2:16 Hebrew baal
- Hosea 2:19 Or with
- Hosea 2:19 Or with
- Hosea 2:20 Or with
- Hosea 2:22 Jezreel means God plants.
- Hosea 2:23 Hebrew Lo-Ruhamah (see 1:6)
- Hosea 2:23 Hebrew Lo-Ammi (see 1:9)
- Hosea 3:2 That is, about 6 ounces or about 170 grams
- Hosea 3:2 A homer and a lethek possibly weighed about 430 pounds or about 195 kilograms.
- Hosea 4:2 That is, to pronounce a curse on
- Hosea 4:7 Syriac (see also an ancient Hebrew scribal tradition); Masoretic Text me; / I will exchange their glory
- Hosea 4:15 Beth Aven means house of wickedness (a derogatory name for Bethel, which means house of God).
- Hosea 5:7 Or Now their New Moon feasts / will devour them and
- Hosea 5:8 Beth Aven means house of wickedness (a derogatory name for Bethel, which means house of God).
- Hosea 5:11 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
- Hosea 6:5 The meaning of the Hebrew for this line is uncertain.
- Hosea 6:7 Or Like Adam; or Like human beings
- Hosea 7:14 Some Hebrew manuscripts and Septuagint; most Hebrew manuscripts They gather together
- Hosea 9:8 Or The prophet is the watchman over Ephraim, / the people of my God
- Hosea 10:5 Beth Aven means house of wickedness (a derogatory name for Bethel, which means house of God).
- Hosea 10:8 Hebrew aven, a reference to Beth Aven (a derogatory name for Bethel); see verse 5.
- Hosea 10:9 Or there a stand was taken
- Hosea 11:2 Septuagint; Hebrew them
- Hosea 11:12 In Hebrew texts this verse (11:12) is numbered 12:1.
- Hosea 12:1 In Hebrew texts 12:1-14 is numbered 12:2-15.
- Hosea 12:2 Jacob means he grasps the heel, a Hebrew idiom for he takes advantage of or he deceives.
- Hosea 12:12 That is, Northwest Mesopotamia
- Hosea 13:2 Or “Men who sacrifice / kiss
- Hosea 13:16 In Hebrew texts this verse (13:16) is numbered 14:1.
- Hosea 14:1 In Hebrew texts 14:1-9 is numbered 14:2-10.
- Hosea 14:2 Or offer our lips as sacrifices of bulls
- Hosea 14:8 Or Hebrew; Septuagint What more has Ephraim
New American Standard Bible (NASB) 
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.