Hosea 3:1-5:7
New King James Version
Israel Will Return to God
3 Then the Lord said to me, “Go again, love a woman who is loved by a (A)lover[a] and is committing adultery, just like the love of the Lord for the children of Israel, who look to other gods and love the raisin cakes of the pagans.”
2 So I bought her for myself for fifteen shekels of silver, and one and one-half homers of barley. 3 And I said to her, “You shall (B)stay with me many days; you shall not play the harlot, nor shall you have a man—so, too, will I be toward you.”
4 For the children of Israel shall abide many days (C)without king or prince, without sacrifice or sacred pillar, without (D)ephod or (E)teraphim. 5 Afterward the children of Israel shall return and (F)seek the Lord their God and (G)David their king. They shall fear the Lord and His goodness in the (H)latter days.
God’s Charge Against Israel
4 Hear the word of the Lord,
You children of Israel,
For the Lord brings a (I)charge[b] against the inhabitants of the land:
“There is no truth or mercy
Or (J)knowledge of God in the land.
2 By swearing and lying,
Killing and stealing and committing adultery,
They break all restraint,
With bloodshed [c]upon bloodshed.
3 Therefore (K)the land will mourn;
And (L)everyone who dwells there will waste away
With the beasts of the field
And the birds of the air;
Even the fish of the sea will be taken away.
4 “Now let no man contend, or rebuke another;
For your people are like those (M)who contend with the priest.
5 Therefore you shall stumble (N)in the day;
The prophet also shall stumble with you in the night;
And I will destroy your mother.
6 (O)My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.
Because you have rejected knowledge,
I also will reject you from being priest for Me;
(P)Because you have forgotten the law of your God,
I also will forget your children.
7 “The more they increased,
The more they sinned against Me;
(Q)I[d] will change [e]their glory into shame.
8 They eat up the sin of My people;
They set their [f]heart on their iniquity.
9 And it shall be: (R)like people, like priest.
So I will punish them for their ways,
And [g]reward them for their deeds.
10 For (S)they shall eat, but not have enough;
They shall commit harlotry, but not increase;
Because they have ceased obeying the Lord.
The Idolatry of Israel
11 “Harlotry, wine, and new wine (T)enslave the heart.
12 My people ask counsel from their (U)wooden idols,
And their [h]staff informs them.
For (V)the spirit of harlotry has caused them to stray,
And they have played the harlot against their God.
13 (W)They offer sacrifices on the mountaintops,
And burn incense on the hills,
Under oaks, poplars, and terebinths,
Because their shade is good.
(X)Therefore your daughters commit harlotry,
And your brides commit adultery.
14 “I will not punish your daughters when they commit harlotry,
Nor your brides when they commit adultery;
For the men themselves go apart with harlots,
And offer sacrifices with a (Y)ritual harlot.
Therefore people who do not understand will be trampled.
15 “Though you, Israel, play the harlot,
Let not Judah offend.
(Z)Do not come up to Gilgal,
Nor go up to (AA)Beth[i] Aven,
(AB)Nor swear an oath, saying, ‘As the Lord lives’—
16 “For Israel (AC)is stubborn
Like a stubborn calf;
Now the Lord will let them forage
Like a lamb in [j]open country.
17 “Ephraim is joined to idols,
(AD)Let him alone.
18 Their drink [k]is rebellion,
They commit harlotry continually.
(AE)Her [l]rulers [m]dearly love dishonor.
19 (AF)The wind has wrapped her up in its wings,
And (AG)they shall be ashamed because of their sacrifices.
Impending Judgment on Israel and Judah
5 “Hear this, O priests!
Take heed, O house of Israel!
Give ear, O house of the king!
For [n]yours is the judgment,
Because (AH)you have been a snare to Mizpah
And a net spread on Tabor.
2 The revolters are (AI)deeply involved in slaughter,
Though I rebuke them all.
3 (AJ)I know Ephraim,
And Israel is not hidden from Me;
For now, O Ephraim, (AK)you commit harlotry;
Israel is defiled.
4 “They[o] do not direct their deeds
Toward turning to their God,
For (AL)the spirit of harlotry is in their midst,
And they do not know the Lord.
5 The (AM)pride of Israel testifies to his face;
Therefore Israel and Ephraim stumble in their iniquity;
Judah also stumbles with them.
6 “With their flocks and herds
(AN)They shall go to seek the Lord,
But they will not find Him;
He has withdrawn Himself from them.
7 They have (AO)dealt treacherously with the Lord,
For they have begotten [p]pagan children.
Now a New Moon shall devour them and their heritage.
Footnotes
- Hosea 3:1 Lit. friend or husband
- Hosea 4:1 A legal complaint
- Hosea 4:2 Lit. touching
- Hosea 4:7 So with MT, LXX, Vg.; scribal tradition, Syr., Tg. They will change
- Hosea 4:7 So with MT, LXX, Syr., Tg., Vg.; scribal tradition My glory
- Hosea 4:8 Desires
- Hosea 4:9 repay
- Hosea 4:12 Diviner’s rod
- Hosea 4:15 Lit. House of Idolatry or Wickedness
- Hosea 4:16 Lit. a large place
- Hosea 4:18 Or has turned aside
- Hosea 4:18 Lit. shields
- Hosea 4:18 Heb. difficult; a Jewish tradition shamefully love, ‘Give!’
- Hosea 5:1 Or to you
- Hosea 5:4 Or Their deeds will not allow them to turn
- Hosea 5:7 Lit. strange
Psalm 90
New King James Version
BOOK FOUR
Psalms 90–106
The Eternity of God, and Man’s Frailty
A Prayer (A)of Moses the man of God.
90 Lord, (B)You have been our [a]dwelling place in all generations.
2 (C)Before the mountains were brought forth,
Or ever You [b]had formed the earth and the world,
Even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God.
3 You turn man to destruction,
And say, (D)“Return, O children of men.”
4 (E)For a thousand years in Your sight
Are like yesterday when it is past,
And like a watch in the night.
5 You carry them away like a flood;
(F)They are like a sleep.
In the morning (G)they are like grass which grows up:
6 In the morning it flourishes and grows up;
In the evening it is cut down and withers.
7 For we have been consumed by Your anger,
And by Your wrath we are terrified.
8 (H)You have set our iniquities before You,
Our (I)secret sins in the light of Your countenance.
9 For all our days have passed away in Your wrath;
We finish our years like a sigh.
10 The days of our lives are seventy years;
And if by reason of strength they are eighty years,
Yet their boast is only labor and sorrow;
For it is soon cut off, and we fly away.
11 Who knows the power of Your anger?
For as the fear of You, so is Your wrath.
12 (J)So teach us to number our days,
That we may gain a heart of wisdom.
13 Return, O Lord!
How long?
And (K)have compassion on Your servants.
14 Oh, satisfy us early with Your mercy,
(L)That we may rejoice and be glad all our days!
15 Make us glad according to the days in which You have afflicted us,
The years in which we have seen evil.
16 Let (M)Your work appear to Your servants,
And Your glory to their children.
17 (N)And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us,
And (O)establish the work of our hands for us;
Yes, establish the work of our hands.
Footnotes
- Psalm 90:1 LXX, Tg., Vg. refuge
- Psalm 90:2 Lit. gave birth to
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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