Hosea 3-5
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)
2 So I bought her for 15 shekels of silver and five bushels of barley.[a][b](C) 3 I 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.”
4 For 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) 5 Afterward, 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!
2 Cursing,(Q) lying,(R) murder,(S) stealing,(T)
and adultery(U) are rampant;
one act of bloodshed follows another.(V)
3 For 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)
4 But let no one dispute;(Z) let no one argue,
for My case is against you priests.[c][d](AA)
5 You will stumble by day;(AB)
the prophet will also stumble with you by night.
And I will destroy your mother.(AC)
6 My 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.
7 The more they multiplied,(AH)
the more they sinned against Me.
I[e] will change their honor[f] into disgrace.(AI)
8 They feed on the sin[g] of My people;(AJ)
they have an appetite for their transgressions.(AK)
9 The same judgment will happen
to both people and priests.(AL)
I will punish them for their ways(AM)
and repay them for their deeds.
10 They 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)
11 Promiscuity,(AQ) wine, and new wine
take away one’s understanding.(AR)
12 My 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.
13 They 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.
14 I 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
15 Israel, 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)
16 For Israel is as obstinate as a stubborn cow.(BE)
Can the Lord now shepherd them
like a lamb in an open meadow?(BF)
17 Ephraim is attached to idols;(BG)
leave him alone!(BH)
18 When their drinking is over,
they turn to promiscuity.
Israel’s leaders[j] fervently love disgrace.[k]
19 A wind with its wings will carry them off,[l](BI)
and they will be ashamed of their sacrifices.
5 Hear this, priests!(BJ)
Pay attention, house of Israel!
Listen, royal house!
For the judgment applies to you
because you have been a snare at Mizpah(BK)
and a net spread out on Tabor.
2 Rebels(BL) are deeply involved in slaughter;(BM)
I will be a punishment for all of them.[m]
3 I know Ephraim,(BN)
and Israel is not hidden from Me.
For now, Ephraim,(BO)
you have acted promiscuously;
Israel is defiled.
4 Their actions do not allow them
to return to their God,(BP)
for a spirit of promiscuity is among them,(BQ)
and they do not know the Lord.(BR)
5 Israel’s arrogance testifies against them.[n](BS)
Both Israel and Ephraim stumble
because of their wickedness;(BT)
even Judah will stumble with them.(BU)
6 They go with their flocks and herds
to seek the Lord(BV)
but do not find Him;(BW)
He has withdrawn from them.(BX)
7 They betrayed the Lord;(BY)
indeed, they gave birth to illegitimate children.(BZ)
Now the New Moon(CA) will devour them
along with their fields.(CB)
8 Blow the horn in Gibeah,(CC)
the trumpet in Ramah;(CD)
raise the war cry in Beth-aven:(CE)
After you, Benjamin!(CF)
9 Ephraim will become a desolation(CG)
on the day of punishment;(CH)
I announce what is certain
among the tribes of Israel.(CI)
10 The princes of Judah are like those
who move boundary markers;(CJ)
I will pour out My fury(CK) on them like water.(CL)
11 Ephraim is oppressed, crushed in judgment,(CM)
for he is determined to follow what is worthless.[o]
12 So I am like rot to Ephraim(CN)
and like decay to the house of Judah.
13 When Ephraim saw his sickness
and Judah his wound,
Ephraim went to Assyria(CO)
and sent a delegation to the great king.[p](CP)
But he cannot cure you or heal your wound.(CQ)
14 For I am like a lion to Ephraim(CR)
and like a young lion to the house of Judah.
Yes, I will tear them to pieces and depart.(CS)
I will carry them off,
and no one can rescue them.(CT)
15 I will depart and return to My place
until they recognize their guilt and seek My face;(CU)
they will search for Me in their distress.(CV)
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
- Hosea 5:2 Hb obscure
- Hosea 5:5 Lit against his face
- Hosea 5:11 Or follow a command; Hb obscure
- Hosea 5:13 Or to King Yareb
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