Hosea 1-7
Contemporary English Version
1 (A) I am Hosea son of Beeri. When Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah were the kings of Judah, and when Jeroboam son of Jehoash[a] was king of Israel,[b] the Lord spoke this message to me.
Hosea's Family
2 The Lord said, “Hosea, Israel has betrayed me like an unfaithful wife.[c] Marry such a woman and have children by her.” 3 So I married Gomer the daughter of Diblaim, and we had a son.
4 (B) Then the Lord said, “Hosea, name your son Jezreel,[d] because I will soon punish the descendants of King Jehu of Israel for the murders he committed in Jezreel Valley.[e] I will destroy his kingdom, 5 and in Jezreel Valley I will break the power of Israel.”
6 Later, Gomer had a daughter, and the Lord said, “Name her Lo-Ruhamah,[f] because I will no longer have mercy and forgive Israel. 7 But I am the Lord God of Judah, and I will have mercy and save Judah by my own power—not by wars and arrows or swords and cavalry.”
8 After Gomer had stopped nursing Lo-Ruhamah, she had another son. 9 Then the Lord said, “Name him Lo-Ammi,[g] because these people are not mine, and I am not their God.”
Hope for Israel
10 (C) Someday it will be impossible to count the people of Israel, because there will be as many of them as there are grains of sand along the seashore. They are now called “Not My People,” but in the future they will be called “Children of the Living God.” 11 Israel and Judah will unite and choose one leader. Then they will take back their land, and this will be a great day for Jezreel.[h] 2 1 So let your brothers be called “My People” and your sisters be called “Shown Mercy.”[i]
The Lord Promises To Punish Israel
2 Accuse! Accuse your mother!
She is no longer my wife,
and now I, the Lord,
am not her husband.
Beg her to give up prostitution
and stop being unfaithful,[j]
3 or I will strip her naked
like the day she was born.
I will make her barren
like a desert,
and she will die of thirst.
4 You children are the result
of her unfaithfulness,
and I'll show you no pity.
5 Your mother was unfaithful.
She was disgraceful and said,
“I'll run after my lovers.
Everything comes from them—
my food and drink,
my linen and wool,
my olive oil and wine.”
6 I, the Lord, will build
a fence of thorns
to block her path.
7 She will run after her lovers,
but not catch them;
she will search,
but not find them.
Then she will say, “I'll return
to my first husband.
Life was better then.”
8 She didn't know that her grain,
wine, and olive oil
were gifts from me,
as were the gold and silver
she used in worshiping Baal.[k]
9 So I'll hold back the harvest
of grain and grapes.
I'll take back
my wool and my linen
that cover her body.
10 Then I'll strip her naked
in the sight of her lovers.[l]
No one can rescue her.
11 I'll stop Israel's celebrations—
no more New Moon Festivals,
Sabbaths, or other feasts.
12 She said, “My lovers gave me
vineyards and fig trees
as payment[m] for sex.”
Now I, the Lord, will ruin
her vineyards and fig trees;
they will become clumps of weeds
eaten by wild animals.
13 I'll punish her for the days
she worshiped Baal
and burned incense to him.
I'll punish her for the times
she forgot about me
and wore jewelry and rings
to attract her lovers.
I, the Lord, have spoken!
The Lord Will Help Israel
14 Israel, I, the Lord,
will lure you into the desert
and speak gently to you.
15 (D) I will return your vineyards,
and then Trouble Valley[n]
will become Hopeful Valley.
You will say “Yes” to me
as you did in your youth,
when leaving Egypt.
16 I promise from that day on, you will call me your husband instead of your master.[o] 17 I will no longer even let you mention the names of those pagan gods that you called “Master.” 18 And I will agree to let you live in peace—you will no longer be attacked by wild animals and birds or by weapons of war. 19 I will accept you as my wife forever, and instead of a bride price[p] I will give you justice, fairness, love, kindness, 20 and faithfulness. Then you will truly know who I am.
21 I will command the sky to send rain on the earth, 22 and it will produce grain, grapes, and olives in Jezreel Valley. 23 (E) I will scatter the seeds and show mercy to Lo-Ruhamah.[q] I will say to Lo-Ammi,[r] “You are my people,” and they will answer, “You are our God.”
God's Love Offers Hope
3 Once again the Lord spoke to me. And this time he said, “Hosea, fall in love with an unfaithful woman[s] who has a lover. Do this to show that I love the people of Israel, even though they worship idols and enjoy the offering cakes made with fruit.”
2 So I paid 15 pieces of silver and about 150 kilograms of grain for such a woman. 3 Then I said, “Now you are mine! You will have to remain faithful to me, though it will be a long time before we sleep together.”
4 It will also be a long time before Israel has a king or before sacrifices are offered at the temple or before there is any way to get guidance from God. 5 But later, Israel will turn back to the Lord their God and to David their king. At that time they will come to the Lord with fear and trembling, and he will be good to them.
Israel Is Unfaithful
4 Israel, listen
as the Lord accuses
everyone in the land!
No one is faithful or loyal
or truly cares about God.
2 Cursing, dishonesty, murder,
robbery, unfaithfulness—
these happen all the time.
Violence is everywhere.
3 And so your land is a desert.
Every living creature is dying—
people and wild animals,
birds and fish.
The Lord Warns the Priests
4 Don't accuse just anyone!
Not everyone is at fault.
My case is against you,
the priests.[t]
5 You and the prophets
will stumble day and night;
I'll silence your mothers.
6 You priests have rejected me,
and my people are destroyed
by refusing to obey.
Now I'll reject you and forget
your children, because you
have forgotten my Law.
7 By adding more of you priests,
you multiply the number
of people who sin.
Now I'll change your pride
into shame.
8 You encourage others to sin,
so you can stuff yourselves
on their sin offerings.
9 That's why I will punish
the people for their deeds,
just as I will punish
you priests.
10 Their food won't satisfy,
and having sex at pagan shrines
won't produce children.
My people have rebelled
11 and have been unfaithful
to me, their Lord.
God Condemns Israel's Idolatry
My people, you are foolish
because of too much pleasure
and too much wine.
12 You expect wooden idols
and other objects of wood
to give you advice.
Lusting for sex at pagan shrines
has made you unfaithful
to me, your God.
13 You offer sacrifices
on mountaintops and hills,
under oak trees, and wherever
good shade is found.
Your own daughters
and daughters-in-law
sell themselves for sex.
14 But I won't punish them.
You men are to blame,
because you go to prostitutes
and offer sacrifices with them
at pagan shrines.
Your own foolishness
will lead to your ruin.
15 Israel, you are unfaithful,
but don't lead Judah to sin.
Stop worshiping at Gilgal
or at sinful Bethel.[u]
And quit making promises
in my name—the name
of the living Lord.
16 You are nothing more
than a stubborn cow—
so stubborn that I, the Lord,
cannot feed you like lambs
in an open pasture.
17 You people of Israel[v]
are charmed by[w] idols.
Leave those people alone!
18 You get drunk, then sleep
with prostitutes;
you would rather be vulgar
than lead a decent life.[x]
19 And so you will be swept away[y]
in a whirlwind
for sacrificing to idols.
Israel and Judah Will Be Judged
The Lord said:
5 Listen, you priests!
Pay attention, Israel![z]
Listen, you members
of the royal family.
Justice was your duty.
But[aa] at Mizpah and Mount Tabor
you trapped the people.
2 At the place of worship
you were a treacherous pit,[ab]
and I will punish you.
3 Israel, I know all about you,
and because of your unfaithfulness,
I find you unacceptable.
4 Your evil deeds are the reason
you won't return to me,
your Lord God.
And your constant craving for sex
keeps you from knowing me.
5 Israel, your pride
testifies to your guilt;
it makes you stumble,
and Judah stumbles too.
6 You offer sheep and cattle
as sacrifices to me,
but I have turned away
and refuse to be found.
7 You have been unfaithful
to me, your Lord;
you have had children
by prostitutes.[ac]
So at the New Moon Festival,
you and your crops
will be destroyed.[ad]
The Lord Warns Israel and Judah
8 Give a warning on the trumpet!
Let it be heard in Gibeah,
Ramah, and sinful Bethel.[ae]
Benjamin, watch out![af]
9 I, the Lord, will punish
and wipe out Israel.
This is my solemn promise
to every tribe of Israel.
10 Judah's leaders are like crooks
who move boundary markers;
that's why I will flood them
with my anger.
11 Israel was brutally crushed.
They got what they deserved
for worshiping useless idols.[ag]
12 Now I, the Lord,
will fill Israel with maggots
and make Judah rot.
13 When Israel and Judah saw
their sickness and wounds,
Israel asked help from Assyria
and its mighty king.[ah]
But the king cannot cure them
or heal their wounds.
14 So I'll become a fierce lion
attacking Israel and Judah.
I'll snatch and carry off
what I want,
and no one can stop me.
15 Then I'll return to my temple
until they confess their guilt
and worship me,
until they are desperate
and beg for my help.
The Lord's People Speak
6 Let's return to the Lord.
He has torn us to shreds,
but he will bandage our wounds
and make us well.
2 In two or three days
he will heal us
and restore our strength
that we may live with him.
3 Let's do our best
to know the Lord.
His coming is as certain
as the morning sun;
he will refresh us like rain
renewing the earth
in the springtime.
The Lord Speaks to Israel and Judah
4 People of Israel and Judah,
what can I do with you?
Your love for me disappears
more quickly than mist
or dew at sunrise.
5 That's why I slaughtered you
with the words
of my prophets.
That's why my judgments blazed
like the dawning sun.[ai]
6 (F) I'd rather for you to be faithful
and to know me
than to offer sacrifices.
7 At a place named Adam,
you[aj] betrayed me
by breaking our agreement.
8 Everyone in Gilead is evil;
your hands are stained
with the blood of victims.[ak]
9 You priests are like a gang
of robbers in ambush.[al]
On the road to Shechem[am]
you murder and commit
other horrible crimes.
10 I have seen a terrible thing
in Israel—
you are unfaithful
and unfit to worship me.
11 People of Judah,
your time is coming too.
The Lord Wants To Help Israel
I, the Lord, would like to make
my nation prosper again
7 and to heal its wounds.
But then I see the crimes
in Israel[an] and Samaria.
Everyone is deceitful;
robbers roam the streets.
2 No one realizes
that I have seen their sins
surround them like a flood.
3 The king and his officials
take great pleasure
in their sin and deceit.
4 Everyone burns with desire—
they are like coals in an oven,
ready to burst into flames.
5 On the day their king
was crowned,
his officials got him drunk,
and he joined
in their foolishness.[ao]
6 Their anger is a fire
that smolders all night,
then flares up at dawn.
7 They are flames
destroying their leaders.
And their kings are powerless;
none of them trust me.
8 The people of Israel[ap]
have mixed with foreigners;
they are a thin piece of bread
scorched on one side.
9 They don't seem to realize
how weak and feeble they are;
their hair has turned gray,
while foreigners rule.
10 I am the Lord, their God,
but in all of their troubles
their pride keeps them
from returning to me.
No Help from Foreign Nations
The Lord said:
11 Israel[aq] is a senseless bird,
fluttering back and forth
between Egypt and Assyria.
12 But I will catch them in a net
as hunters trap birds;
I threatened to punish them,
and indeed I will.[ar]
13 Trouble and destruction
will be their reward
for rejecting me.
I would have rescued them,
but they told me lies.
14 They don't really pray to me;
they just howl in their beds.
They have rejected me for Baal
and slashed themselves,[as]
in the hope that Baal
will bless their crops.
15 I taught them what they know,
and I made them strong.
Now they plot against me
16 and refuse to obey.[at]
They are more useless
than a crooked arrow.
Their leaders will die in war
for saying foolish things.
Egyptians will laugh at them.
Footnotes
- 1.1 Jehoash: The Hebrew text has “Joash,” another spelling of the name.
- 1.1 kings of Judah … king of Israel: Uzziah (781–740 b.c.), Jotham (740-736), Ahaz (736–716), Hezekiah (716–687), and Jeroboam II (783–743).
- 1.2 unfaithful wife: In some Canaanite religions of Old Testament times, young women were expected to have sex with the worshipers of their god before marriage. Such women were called “temple prostitutes.” Many of the Israelite women did this same thing, and Hosea is told to marry one of them to show that the nation has turned from the Lord to worship idols.
- 1.4 Jezreel: In Hebrew “Jezreel” means “God scatters (seed).” Here the name is used as a threat (meaning the Lord will punish Israel by scattering its people), while in verse 11 it is used as a promise (meaning the Lord will bless Israel by giving their nation many people, just as a big harvest comes when many seeds are scattered in a field).
- 1.4 murders … Valley: Jehu murdered the wife and relatives of King Ahab (see 2 Kings 9.15—10.14).
- 1.6 Lo-Ruhamah: In Hebrew “Lo-Ruhamah” means “No Mercy.”
- 1.9 Lo-Ammi: In Hebrew “Lo-Ammi” means “Not My People.”
- 1.11 Jezreel: See the note at 1.4.
- 2.1 My People … Shown Mercy: In Hebrew “My People” is “Ammi” and “Shown Mercy” is “Ruhamah” (see Lo-Ruhamah in 1.6 and Lo-Ammi in 1.9).
- 2.2 prostitution … unfaithful: See the note at 1.2.
- 2.8 Baal: A Canaanite god of fertility.
- 2.10 I'll strip … lovers: Or “I'll show her lovers how disgusting she is.”
- 2.12 fig trees … payment: Hosea uses an unusual word for “fig tree,” which is spelled something like the word for “payment.”
- 2.15 Trouble Valley: Or “Achor Valley.” The exact location of the valley is unknown, but in Hebrew “Achor” sounds like “Achan,” who brought trouble on Israel by disobeying the Lord (see Joshua 7.24-26).
- 2.16 husband … master: In Hebrew the word “master” is the same as the name of the god Baal. But the Lord promises that his people will have a deep personal relationship with him (like a devoted wife and husband) rather than merely a legal tie (like a wife and her “master”).
- 2.19 bride price: It was the custom for the husband to pay his wife's parents a bride price. Instead of money, the Lord will give much better benefits to Israel.
- 2.23 Lo-Ruhamah: See the note at 1.6.
- 2.23 Lo-Ammi: See the note at 1.9.
- 3.1 unfaithful woman: This may refer to Gomer, the woman Hosea married (see 1.3), or it may refer to another woman.
- 4.4 priests: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 4. Hosea may have had in mind only one priest, possibly the chief priest.
- 4.15 sinful Bethel: The Hebrew text has “Beth-Aven,” which means “house of sin” or “house of nothing,” referring to “Bethel,” which means “house of God.”
- 4.17 Israel: The Hebrew text has “Ephraim,” the leading tribe of the northern kingdom of Israel, which sometimes stands for the whole kingdom.
- 4.17 charmed by: Or “joined to.”
- 4.18 life: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 18.
- 4.19 And so … swept away: Or “And so you will be ashamed.”
- 5.1 Israel: Probably meaning the tribal leaders of Israel.
- 5.1 Justice … duty. But: Or “You are doomed, because.”
- 5.2 At … pit: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
- 5.7 prostitutes: See 4.14, and the note at 1.2.
- 5.7 So … destroyed: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
- 5.8 sinful Bethel: See the note at 4.15. Gibeah is 5 kilometers north of Jerusalem, Ramah is 8 kilometers north, and Bethel is 17.5 kilometers north. The attack comes from the south, and all the land of Benjamin (belonging to Israel) is in danger.
- 5.8 watch out: Or “lead the way.”
- 5.11 for … idols: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
- 5.13 and … king: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
- 6.5 That's why my … sun: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
- 6.7 At … you: Or “Like Adam, you” or “Each one of you.”
- 6.8 your hands … victims: This may refer to child sacrifice.
- 6.9 You … ambush: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
- 6.9 Shechem: This was one of the towns where people could run for safety, if they had accidentally killed someone (see Joshua 20.1-9).
- 7.1 Israel: See the note at 4.17. Samaria was the capital city of Israel.
- 7.5 foolishness: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 5.
- 7.8 Israel: Hebrew “Ephraim” (see the note at 4.17).
- 7.11 Israel: Hebrew “Ephraim” (see the note at 4.17).
- 7.12 I threatened … will: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
- 7.14 slashed themselves: One ancient translation and some Hebrew manuscripts; other Hebrew manuscripts “gather together.” Slashing themselves was one way of worshiping Baal (see 1 Kings 18.28).
- 7.16 and … obey: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
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