Hosea 3-4

Holman Christian Standard Bible

Waiting for Restoration

3 Then the Lord said to me, “Go again; show love to a woman who is loved by another man and is an adulteress,^(A) just as the Lord loves the Israelites though they turn to other gods and love raisin cakes.”^(B)

²So I bought her for 15 shekels of silver and five bushels of barley.^[a]^[b]^(C) ³I said to her, “You must live with me many days. Don’t be promiscuous or belong to any man, and I will act the same way toward you.”

⁴For the Israelites must live many days without king or prince,^(D) without sacrifice^(E) or sacred pillar,^(F) and without ephod^(G) or household idols.^(H) ⁵Afterward, the people of Israel will return^(I) and seek the Lord their God and David their king.^(J) They will come with awe to the Lord^(K) and to His goodness in the last days.

God’s Case against Israel

4 Hear the word of the Lord,^(L) people of Israel,
for the Lord has a case^(M)
against the inhabitants of the land:
There is no truth,^(N) no faithful love,^(O)
and no knowledge of God^(P) in the land!
²Cursing,^(Q) lying,^(R) murder,^(S) stealing,^(T)
and adultery^(U) are rampant;
one act of bloodshed follows another.^(V)
³For this reason the land mourns,^(W)
and everyone who lives in it languishes,
along with the wild animals^(X) and the birds of the sky;
even the fish of the sea disappear.^(Y)
⁴But let no one dispute;^(Z) let no one argue,
for My case is against you priests.^[c]^[d]^(AA)
⁵You will stumble by day;^(AB)
the prophet will also stumble with you by night.
And I will destroy your mother.^(AC)
⁶My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.^(AD)
Because you have rejected knowledge,^(AE)
I will reject you^(AF) from serving as My priest.
Since you have forgotten the law of your God,^(AG)
I will also forget your sons.

⁷The more they multiplied,^(AH)
the more they sinned against Me.
I^[e] will change their honor^[f] into disgrace.^(AI)
⁸They feed on the sin^[g] of My people;^(AJ)
they have an appetite for their transgressions.^(AK)
⁹The same judgment will happen
to both people and priests.^(AL)
I will punish them for their ways^(AM)
and repay them for their deeds.
¹⁰They will eat but not be satisfied;^(AN)
they will be promiscuous^(AO) but not multiply.
For they have abandoned their devotion to the Lord.^(AP)
¹¹Promiscuity,^(AQ) wine, and new wine
take away one’s understanding.^(AR)

¹²My people consult their wooden idols,^(AS)
and their divining rods inform them.
For a spirit of promiscuity leads them astray;^(AT)
they act promiscuously^(AU)
in disobedience to^[h] their God.
¹³They sacrifice on the mountaintops,^(AV)
and they burn offerings on the hills,^(AW)
and under oaks, poplars, and terebinths,^(AX)
because their shade is pleasant.
And so your daughters act promiscuously
and your daughters-in-law commit adultery.
¹⁴I will not punish your daughters
when they act promiscuously
or your daughters-in-law
when they commit adultery,
for the men themselves go off with prostitutes^(AY)
and make sacrifices with cult prostitutes.^(AZ)
People without discernment are doomed.^(BA)

Warnings for Israel and Judah

¹⁵Israel, if you act promiscuously,
don’t let Judah become guilty!
Do not go to Gilgal^(BB)
or make a pilgrimage to Beth-aven,^[i]^(BC)
and do not swear an oath: As the Lord lives!^(BD)
¹⁶For Israel is as obstinate as a stubborn cow.^(BE)
Can the Lord now shepherd them
like a lamb in an open meadow?^(BF)
¹⁷Ephraim is attached to idols;^(BG)
leave him alone!^(BH)
¹⁸When their drinking is over,
they turn to promiscuity.
Israel’s leaders^[j] fervently love disgrace.^[k]
¹⁹A wind with its wings will carry them off,^[l]^(BI)
and they will be ashamed of their sacrifices.

Footnotes

Hosea 3:2 LXX reads barley and a measure of wine
Hosea 3:2 Lit silver, a homer of barley, and a lethek of barley
Hosea 4:4 Text emended; MT reads argue, and your people are like those contending with a priest
Hosea 4:4 Hb obscure
Hosea 4:7 Alt Hb tradition, Syr, Tg read They
Hosea 4:7 Ancient Jewish tradition reads My honor
Hosea 4:8 Or sin offerings
Hosea 4:12 Lit promiscuously from under
Hosea 4:15 = House of Wickedness
Hosea 4:18 Lit Her shields; Ps 47:9; 89:18
Hosea 4:18 Hb obscure
Hosea 4:19 Lit wind will bind it in its wings