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Hosea 1-3
New King James Version

Hosea’s Unfaithful Wife

1 The word of the Lord that came to Hosea the son of Beeri, in the days of (A)Uzziah, (B)Jotham, (C)Ahaz, and (D)Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and in the days of (E)Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel.

The Family of Hosea

2 When the Lord began to speak by Hosea, the Lord said to Hosea:

(F)“Go, take yourself a wife of harlotry
And children of harlotry,
For (G)the land has committed great [a]harlotry
By departing from the Lord.”

3 So he went and took Gomer the daughter of Diblaim, and she conceived and bore him a son. 4 Then the Lord said to him:

“Call his name Jezreel,
For in a little while
(H)I will avenge the bloodshed of Jezreel on the house of Jehu,
(I)And bring an end to the kingdom of the house of Israel.
5 (J)It shall come to pass in that day
That I will break the bow of Israel in the Valley of Jezreel.”

6 And she conceived again and bore a daughter. Then God said to him:

“Call her name [b]Lo-Ruhamah,
(K)For I will no longer have mercy on the house of Israel,
[c]But I will utterly take them away.
7 (L)Yet I will have mercy on the house of Judah,
Will save them by the Lord their God,
And (M)will not save them by bow,
Nor by sword or battle,
By horses or horsemen.”

8 Now when she had weaned Lo-Ruhamah, she conceived and bore a son. 9 Then God said:

“Call his name [d]Lo-Ammi,
For you are not My people,
And I will not be your God.

The Restoration of Israel

10 “Yet (N)the number of the children of Israel
Shall be as the sand of the sea,
Which cannot be measured or numbered.
(O)And it shall come to pass
In the place where it was said to them,
‘You are [e]not My (P)people,’
There it shall be said to them,
‘You are (Q)sons of the living God.’
11 (R)Then the children of Judah and the children of Israel
Shall be gathered together,
And appoint for themselves one head;
And they shall come up out of the land,
For great will be the day of Jezreel!

The Lord’s Love for His Unfaithful People

2 Say to your brethren, [f]‘My people,’
And to your sisters, [g]‘Mercy is shown.’

God’s Unfaithful People

2 “Bring[h] charges against your mother, [i]bring charges;
For (S)she is not My wife, nor am I her Husband!
Let her put away her (T)harlotries from her sight,
And her adulteries from between her breasts;
3 Lest (U)I strip her naked
And expose her, as in the day she was (V)born,
And make her like a wilderness,
And set her like a dry land,
And slay her with (W)thirst.

4 “I will not have mercy on her children,
For they are the (X)children of harlotry.
5 For their mother has played the harlot;
She who conceived them has behaved shamefully.
For she said, ‘I will go after my lovers,
(Y)Who give me my bread and my water,
My wool and my linen,
My oil and my drink.’

6 “Therefore, behold,
(Z)I will hedge up your way with thorns,
And [j]wall her in,
So that she cannot find her paths.
7 She will [k]chase her lovers,
But not overtake them;
Yes, she will seek them, but not find them.
Then she will say,
(AA)‘I will go and return to my (AB)first husband,
For then it was better for me than now.’
8 For she did not (AC)know
That I gave her grain, new wine, and oil,
And multiplied her silver and gold—
Which they prepared for Baal.

9 “Therefore I will return and take away
My grain in its time
And My new wine in its season,
And will take back My wool and My linen,
Given to cover her nakedness.
10 Now (AD)I will uncover her lewdness in the sight of her lovers,
And no one shall deliver her from My hand.
11 (AE)I will also cause all her mirth to cease,
Her feast days,
Her New Moons,
Her Sabbaths—
All her appointed feasts.

12 “And I will destroy her vines and her fig trees,
Of which she has said,
‘These are my wages that my lovers have given me.’
So I will make them a forest,
And the beasts of the field shall eat them.
13 I will punish her
For the days of the Baals to which she burned incense.
She decked herself with her earrings and jewelry,
And went after her lovers;
But Me she forgot,” says the Lord.

God’s Mercy on His People

14 “Therefore, behold, I will allure her,
Will bring her into the wilderness,
And speak [l]comfort to her.
15 I will give her her vineyards from there,
And (AF)the Valley of Achor as a door of hope;
She shall sing there,
As in (AG)the days of her youth,
(AH)As in the day when she came up from the land of Egypt.

16 “And it shall be, in that day,”
Says the Lord,
“That you will call Me [m]‘My Husband,’
And no longer call Me [n]‘My Master,’
17 For (AI)I will take from her mouth the names of the Baals,
And they shall be remembered by their name no more.
18 In that day I will make a (AJ)covenant for them
With the beasts of the field,
With the birds of the air,
And with the creeping things of the ground.
Bow and sword of battle (AK)I will shatter from the earth,
To make them (AL)lie down safely.

19 “I will betroth you to Me forever;
Yes, I will betroth you to Me
In righteousness and justice,
In lovingkindness and mercy;
20 I will betroth you to Me in faithfulness,
And (AM)you shall know the Lord.

21 “It shall come to pass in that day
That (AN)I will answer,” says the Lord;
“I will answer the heavens,
And they shall answer the earth.
22 The earth shall answer
With grain,
With new wine,
And with oil;
They shall answer [o]Jezreel.
23 Then (AO)I will sow her for Myself in the earth,
(AP)And I will have mercy on her who had [p]not obtained mercy;
Then (AQ)I will say to those who were [q]not My people,
‘You are [r]My people!’
And they shall say, ‘You are my God!’ ”

Israel Will Return to God

3 Then the Lord said to me, “Go again, love a woman who is loved by a (AR)lover[s] 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 (AS)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 (AT)without king or prince, without sacrifice or sacred pillar, without (AU)ephod or (AV)teraphim. 5 Afterward the children of Israel shall return and (AW)seek the Lord their God and (AX)David their king. They shall fear the Lord and His goodness in the (AY)latter days.

Footnotes

  1. Hosea 1:2 Spiritual adultery
  2. Hosea 1:6 Lit. No-Mercy
  3. Hosea 1:6 Or That I may forgive them at all
  4. Hosea 1:9 Lit. Not-My-People
  5. Hosea 1:10 Heb. lo-ammi, v. 9
  6. Hosea 2:1 Heb. Ammi, Hos. 1:9, 10
  7. Hosea 2:1 Heb. Ruhamah, Hos. 1:6
  8. Hosea 2:2 Or Contend with
  9. Hosea 2:2 Or contend
  10. Hosea 2:6 Lit. wall up her wall
  11. Hosea 2:7 Or pursue
  12. Hosea 2:14 Lit. to her heart
  13. Hosea 2:16 Heb. Ishi
  14. Hosea 2:16 Heb. Baali
  15. Hosea 2:22 Lit. God Will Sow
  16. Hosea 2:23 Heb. lo-ruhamah
  17. Hosea 2:23 Heb. lo-ammi
  18. Hosea 2:23 Heb. ammi
  19. Hosea 3:1 Lit. friend or husband
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Hosea 1-3
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)

Footnotes

  1. Hosea 1:1 Hebrew Joash, a variant of Jehoash
  2. Hosea 1:9 Or your I am
  3. Hosea 1:11 In Hebrew texts 1:10,11 is numbered 2:1,2.
  4. Hosea 2:1 In Hebrew texts 2:1-23 is numbered 2:3-25.
  5. Hosea 2:15 Achor means trouble.
  6. Hosea 2:15 Or sing
  7. Hosea 2:16 Hebrew baal
  8. Hosea 2:19 Or with
  9. Hosea 2:19 Or with
  10. Hosea 2:20 Or with
  11. Hosea 2:22 Jezreel means God plants.
  12. Hosea 2:23 Hebrew Lo-Ruhamah (see 1:6)
  13. Hosea 2:23 Hebrew Lo-Ammi (see 1:9)
  14. Hosea 3:2 That is, about 6 ounces or about 170 grams
  15. Hosea 3:2 A homer and a lethek possibly weighed about 430 pounds or about 195 kilograms.
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