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Hosea 1-14
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Hosea 1-14
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
1 The word of the Lord that came to Hosea son of Beeri, in the days of Kings Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah of Judah and in the days of King Jeroboam son of Joash of Israel.
The Family of Hosea
2 When the Lord first spoke through Hosea, the Lord said to Hosea, “Go, take for yourself a wife of prostitution and have children of prostitution, for the land commits great prostitution by forsaking the Lord.”(A) 3 So he went and took Gomer daughter of Diblaim, and she conceived and bore him a son.
4 And the Lord said to him, “Name him Jezreel,[a] for in a little while I will punish the house of Jehu for the blood of Jezreel, and I will put an end to the kingdom of the house of Israel.(B) 5 On that day I will break the bow of Israel in the Valley of Jezreel.”(C)
6 She conceived again and bore a daughter. Then the Lord said to him, “Name her Lo-ruhamah,[b] for I will no longer have pity on the house of Israel or forgive them.(D) 7 But I will have pity on the house of Judah, and I will save them by the Lord their God; I will not save them by bow or by sword or by war or by horses or by horsemen.”(E)
8 When she had weaned Lo-ruhamah, she conceived and bore a son. 9 Then the Lord said, “Name him Lo-ammi,[c] for you are not my people, and I am not your God.”[d]
The Restoration of Israel
10 [e]Yet the number of the people of Israel shall be like the sand of the sea, which can be neither measured nor numbered, and in the place where it was said to them, “You are not my people,” it shall be said to them, “Children of the living God.”(F) 11 The people of Judah and the people of Israel shall be gathered together, and they shall appoint for themselves one head, and they shall rise up from the land, for great shall be the day of Jezreel.(G)
2 [f]Say to your brothers, “Ammi,”[g] and to your sisters, “Ruhamah.”[h]
Israel’s Infidelity, Punishment, and Redemption
2 Plead with your mother, plead—
for she is not my wife,
and I am not her husband—
that she put away her prostitution from her face
and her adultery from between her breasts,(H)
3 or I will strip her naked
and expose her as in the day she was born
and make her like a wilderness
and turn her into a parched land
and kill her with thirst.(I)
4 Upon her children also I will have no pity,
because they are children of prostitution.(J)
5 For their mother has prostituted herself;
she who conceived them has acted shamefully.
For she said, “I will go after my lovers;
they give me my bread and my water,
my wool and my flax, my oil and my drink.”(K)
6 Therefore I will hedge up her[i] way with thorns,
and I will build a wall against her
so that she cannot find her paths.(L)
7 She shall pursue her lovers
but not overtake them,
and she shall seek them
but shall not find them.
Then she shall say, “I will go
and return to my first husband,
for it was better with me then than now.”(M)
8 She did not know
that it was I who gave her
the grain, the wine, and the oil
and who lavished upon her silver
and gold that they used for Baal.(N)
9 Therefore I will take back
my grain in its time
and my wine in its season,
and I will take away my wool and my flax,
which were to cover her nakedness.
10 Now I will uncover her shame
in the sight of her lovers,
and no one shall rescue her out of my hand.(O)
11 I will put an end to all her mirth,
her festivals, her new moons, her Sabbaths,
and all her appointed festivals.(P)
12 I will lay waste her vines and her fig trees,
of which she said,
“These are my pay,
which my lovers have given me.”
I will make them a forest,
and the wild animals shall devour them.(Q)
13 I will punish her for the festival days of the Baals,
to whom she offered incense
and decked herself with her rings and jewelry
and went after her lovers
and forgot me, says the Lord.(R)
14 Therefore, I will now allure her
and bring her into the wilderness
and speak tenderly to her.(S)
15 From there I will give her her vineyards
and make the Valley of Achor a door of hope.
There she shall respond as in the days of her youth,
as at the time when she came out of the land of Egypt.(T)
16 On that day, says the Lord, you will call me “my husband,” and no longer will you call me “my Baal.”[j] 17 For I will remove the names of the Baals from her mouth, and they shall be mentioned by name no more.(U) 18 I will make for you[k] a covenant on that day with the wild animals, the birds of the air, and the creeping things of the ground, and I will abolish[l] the bow, the sword, and war from the land, and I will make you[m] lie down in safety.(V) 19 And I will take you for my wife forever; I will take you for my wife in righteousness and in justice, in steadfast love and in mercy.(W) 20 I will take you for my wife in faithfulness, and you shall know the Lord.(X)
21 On that day I will answer, says the Lord,
I will answer the heavens,
and they shall answer the earth,
22 and the earth shall answer the grain, the wine, and the oil,
and they shall answer Jezreel,[n](Y)
23 and I will sow him[o] for myself in the land.
And I will have pity on Lo-ruhamah,[p]
and I will say to Lo-ammi,[q] “You are my people,”
and he shall say, “You are my God.”(Z)
Further Assurances of God’s Redeeming Love
3 The Lord said to me again, “Go, love a woman who has a lover and is an adulteress, just as the Lord loves the people of Israel, though they turn to other gods and love raisin cakes.”(AA) 2 So I bought her for fifteen shekels of silver and a homer of barley and a measure of wine.[r](AB) 3 And I said to her, “You must remain as mine for many days; you shall not prostitute yourself; you shall not have intercourse with a man, nor I with you.” 4 For the Israelites shall remain many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or pillar, without ephod or teraphim.(AC) 5 Afterward the Israelites shall return and seek the Lord their God and David their king; they shall come in awe to the Lord and to his goodness in the latter days.(AD)
God Accuses Israel
4 Hear the word of the Lord, O people of Israel,
for the Lord has an indictment against the inhabitants of the land.
There is no faithfulness or loyalty
and no knowledge of God in the land.(AE)
2 Swearing, lying, and murder,
and stealing and adultery break out;
bloodshed follows bloodshed.
3 Therefore the land mourns,
and all who live in it languish;
together with the wild animals
and the birds of the air,
even the fish of the sea are perishing.(AF)
4 Yet let no one contend,
and let none accuse,
for with you is my contention, O priest.[s](AG)
5 You shall stumble by day;
the prophet also shall stumble with you by night,
and I will destroy your mother.(AH)
6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge!
Because you have rejected knowledge,
I reject you from being a priest to me;
and since you have forgotten the law of your God,
I also will forget your children.(AI)
7 The more they increased,
the more they sinned against me;
they changed[t] their glory into shame.(AJ)
8 They feed on the sin of my people;
they are greedy for their iniquity.
9 And it shall be like people, like priest;
I will punish them for their ways
and repay them for their deeds.(AK)
10 They shall eat but not be satisfied;
they shall prostitute themselves but not multiply,
because they have forsaken the Lord
to devote themselves to(AL) 11 prostitution.
The Idolatry of Israel
Wine and new wine
take away the understanding.(AM)
12 My people consult a piece of wood,
and their divining rod gives them oracles.
For a spirit of prostitution has led them astray,
and they have prostituted themselves, forsaking their God.(AN)
13 They sacrifice on the tops of the mountains
and make offerings upon the hills,
under oak, poplar, and terebinth
because their shade is good.
Therefore your daughters prostitute themselves,
and your daughters-in-law commit adultery.(AO)
14 I will not punish your daughters when they prostitute themselves
nor your daughters-in-law when they commit adultery,
for the men themselves go aside with prostitutes
and sacrifice with female attendants;
thus a people without understanding comes to ruin.(AP)
15 Though you prostitute yourself, O Israel,
do not let Judah become guilty.
Do not enter into Gilgal
or go up to Beth-aven,
and do not swear, “As the Lord lives.”(AQ)
16 Like a stubborn heifer,
Israel is stubborn;
can the Lord now feed them
like a lamb in a broad pasture?(AR)
17 Ephraim is joined to idols—
let him alone.
18 When their drinking is ended, they indulge in sexual orgies;
they love lewdness more than their glory.[u](AS)
19 A wind has wrapped them[v] in its wings,
and they shall be ashamed because of their altars.[w](AT)
Impending Judgment on Israel and Judah
5 Hear this, O priests!
Give heed, O house of Israel!
Listen, O house of the king!
For the judgment pertains to you,
for you have been a snare at Mizpah
and a net spread upon Tabor(AU)
2 and a pit dug deep in Shittim,[x]
but I will punish all of them.
3 I know Ephraim,
and Israel is not hidden from me,
for now, O Ephraim, you have prostituted yourself;
Israel is defiled.(AV)
4 Their deeds do not permit them
to return to their God.
For the spirit of prostitution is within them,
and they do not know the Lord.(AW)
5 Israel’s pride testifies against him;
Ephraim[y] stumbles in his guilt;
Judah also stumbles with them.(AX)
6 With their flocks and herds they shall go
to seek the Lord,
but they will not find him;
he has withdrawn from them.(AY)
7 They have dealt faithlessly with the Lord,
for they have borne illegitimate children.
Now the new moon shall devour them along with their fields.(AZ)
8 Blow the horn in Gibeah,
the trumpet in Ramah.
Sound the alarm at Beth-aven;
look behind you, Benjamin!(BA)
9 Ephraim shall become a desolation
in the day of punishment;
among the tribes of Israel
I declare what is sure.(BB)
10 The princes of Judah have become
like those who remove the landmark;
on them I will pour out
my wrath like water.(BC)
11 Ephraim is oppressed, crushed in judgment,
because he was determined to go after vanity.[z]
12 Therefore I am like maggots to Ephraim
and like rottenness to the house of Judah.(BD)
13 When Ephraim saw his sickness
and Judah his wound,
then Ephraim went to Assyria
and sent to the great king.[aa]
But he is not able to cure you
or heal your wound.(BE)
14 For I will be like a lion to Ephraim
and like a young lion to the house of Judah.
I myself will tear and go away;
I will carry off, and no one shall rescue.(BF)
15 I will return again to my place
until they acknowledge their guilt and seek my face.
In their distress they will beg my favor:(BG)
A Call to Repentance
6 “Come, let us return to the Lord,
for it is he who has torn, and he will heal us;
he has struck down, and he will bind us up.(BH)
2 After two days he will revive us;
on the third day he will raise us up,
that we may live before him.
3 Let us know, let us press on to know the Lord;
his appearing is as sure as the dawn;
he will come to us like the showers,
like the spring rains that water the earth.”(BI)
Impenitence of Israel and Judah
4 What shall I do with you, O Ephraim?
What shall I do with you, O Judah?
Your love is like a morning cloud,
like the dew that goes away early.(BJ)
5 Therefore I have hewn them by the prophets;
I have killed them by the words of my mouth,
and my[ab] judgment goes forth as the light.(BK)
6 For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice,
the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.(BL)
7 But at[ac] Adam they transgressed the covenant;
there they dealt faithlessly with me.
8 Gilead is a city of evildoers,
tracked with blood.
9 As robbers lie in wait[ad] for someone,
so the priests are banded together;[ae]
they murder on the road to Shechem;
they commit a monstrous crime.(BM)
10 In the house of Israel I have seen a horrible thing;
Ephraim’s prostitution is there; Israel is defiled.(BN)
11 For you also, O Judah, a harvest is appointed.
When I would restore the fortunes of my people,(BO)
7
the corruption of Ephraim is revealed,
and the wicked deeds of Samaria,
for they deal falsely;
the thief breaks in,
and the bandits raid outside.(BP)
2 But they do not consider
that I remember all their wickedness.
Now their deeds surround them;
they are before my face.(BQ)
3 By their wickedness they make the king glad,
and the officials by their treachery.
4 They are all adulterers;
they are like a heated oven
whose baker does not need to stir the fire
from the kneading of the dough until it is leavened.(BR)
5 On the day of our king the officials
became sick with the heat of wine;
he stretched out his hand with mockers.(BS)
6 For they are kindled[af] like an oven; their heart burns within them;
all night their anger smolders;
in the morning it blazes like a flaming fire.
7 All of them are hot as an oven,
and they devour their rulers.
All their kings have fallen;
none of them calls upon me.(BT)
8 Ephraim mixes himself with the peoples;
Ephraim is a cake not turned.
9 Foreigners devour his strength,
but he does not know it;
gray hairs are sprinkled upon him,
but he does not know it.(BU)
10 Israel’s pride testifies against[ag] him;
yet they do not return to the Lord their God
or seek him, for all this.(BV)
Futile Reliance on the Nations
11 Ephraim has become like a dove,
silly and without sense;
they call upon Egypt, they go to Assyria.(BW)
12 As they go, I will cast my net over them;
I will bring them down like birds of the air;
I will discipline them according to the report made to their assembly.[ah](BX)
13 Woe to them, for they have strayed from me!
Destruction to them, for they have rebelled against me!
I would redeem them,
but they speak lies against me.(BY)
14 They do not cry to me from the heart,
but they wail upon their beds;
they gash themselves for grain and wine;
they rebel against me.(BZ)
15 It was I who trained and strengthened their arms,
yet they plot evil against me.(CA)
16 They turn to that which does not profit;[ai]
they have become like a defective bow;
their officials shall fall by the sword
because of the rage of their tongue.
So much for their babbling in the land of Egypt.(CB)
Israel’s Apostasy
8 Set the trumpet to your lips!
One like a vulture[aj] is over the house of the Lord,
because they have broken my covenant
and transgressed my law.(CC)
2 They cry to me,
“My God, we know you!”[ak](CD)
3 Israel has spurned the good;
the enemy shall pursue him.
4 They made kings but not through me;
they set up princes but without my knowledge.
With their silver and gold they made idols
for their own destruction.(CE)
5 Your calf is rejected, O Samaria.
My anger burns against them.
How long will they be incapable of innocence?(CF)
6 For it is from Israel,
an artisan made it;
it is not God.
The calf of Samaria
shall be broken to pieces.(CG)
7 For they sow the wind,
and they shall reap the whirlwind.
The standing grain has no heads;
it shall yield no meal;
if it were to yield,
foreigners would devour it.(CH)
8 Israel is swallowed up;
now they are among the nations
as a useless vessel.(CI)
9 For they have gone up to Assyria,
a wild ass wandering alone;
Ephraim has bargained for lovers.(CJ)
10 Though they bargain with the nations,
I will now gather them up.
They shall soon writhe
under the burden of kings and princes.(CK)
11 When Ephraim multiplied altars to expiate sin,
they became to him altars for sinning.
12 Though I write for him the multitude of my instructions,
they are regarded as a strange thing.(CL)
13 Though they offer choice sacrifices,[al]
though they eat flesh,
the Lord does not accept them.
Now he will remember their iniquity
and punish their sins;
they shall return to Egypt.(CM)
14 Israel has forgotten his Maker
and built palaces,
and Judah has multiplied fortified cities,
but I will send a fire upon his cities,
and it shall devour his strongholds.(CN)
Punishment for Israel’s Sin
9 Do not rejoice, O Israel!
Do not exult[am] as other nations do,
for you have prostituted yourself, departing from your God.
You have loved a prostitute’s pay
on all threshing floors.(CO)
2 Threshing floor and wine vat shall not feed them,
and the new wine shall fail them.(CP)
3 They shall not remain in the land of the Lord,
but Ephraim shall return to Egypt,
and in Assyria they shall eat unclean food.(CQ)
4 They shall not pour drink offerings of wine to the Lord,
and their sacrifices shall not please him.
Such sacrifices shall be like mourners’ bread;
all who eat of it shall be defiled,
for their bread shall be for their hunger only;
it shall not come to the house of the Lord.(CR)
5 What will you do on the day of appointed festival
and on the day of the festival of the Lord?(CS)
6 For even if they escape destruction,
Egypt shall gather them;
Memphis shall bury them.
Nettles shall possess their precious things of silver;[an]
thorns shall be in their tents.(CT)
7 The days of punishment have come;
the days of recompense have come.
Israel will cry out,[ao]
“The prophet is a fool;
the man of the spirit is mad!”
Because of your great iniquity,
your hostility is great.(CU)
8 The prophet is a sentinel for my God over Ephraim,
yet a hunter’s snare is on all his ways
and hostility in the house of his God.(CV)
9 They have deeply corrupted themselves
as in the days of Gibeah;
he will remember their iniquity;
he will punish their sins.(CW)
10 Like grapes in the wilderness,
I found Israel.
Like the first fruit on the fig tree,
in its first season,
I saw your ancestors.
But they came to Baal-peor
and consecrated themselves to a thing of shame
and became detestable like the thing they loved.(CX)
11 Ephraim’s glory shall fly away like a bird—
no birth, no pregnancy, no conception!(CY)
12 Even if they bring up children,
I will bereave them until no one is left.
Woe to them indeed
when I depart from them!(CZ)
13 Once I saw Ephraim as a young palm planted in a lovely meadow,[ap]
but now Ephraim must lead out his children for slaughter.(DA)
14 Give them, O Lord—
what will you give?
Give them a miscarrying womb
and dry breasts.
15 Every evil of theirs began at Gilgal;
there I came to hate them.
Because of the wickedness of their deeds
I will drive them out of my house.
I will love them no more;
all their officials are rebels.(DB)
16 Ephraim is stricken,
their root is dried up,
they shall bear no fruit.
Even though they give birth,
I will kill the cherished offspring of their womb.(DC)
17 Because they have not listened to him,
my God will reject them;
they shall become wanderers among the nations.(DD)
Israel’s Sin and Captivity
10 Israel is a luxuriant vine
that yields its fruit.
The more his fruit increased,
the more altars he built;
as his country improved,
he improved his pillars.(DE)
2 Their heart is false;
now they must bear their guilt.
The Lord[aq] will break down their altars
and destroy their pillars.(DF)
3 For now they will say:
“We have no king,
for we do not fear the Lord,
and a king—what could he do for us?”
4 They utter mere words;
with empty oaths they make covenants;
so litigation springs up like poisonous weeds
in the furrows of the field.(DG)
5 The inhabitants of Samaria tremble
for the calf[ar] of Beth-aven.
Its people shall mourn for it,
and its idolatrous priests shall wail[as] over it,
over its glory that has departed from it.(DH)
6 The thing itself shall be carried to Assyria
as tribute to the great king.[at]
Ephraim shall be put to shame,
and Israel shall be ashamed of his idol.[au](DI)
7 Samaria’s king shall perish
like a chip on the face of the waters.(DJ)
8 The high places of Aven, the sin of Israel,
shall be destroyed.
Thorn and thistle shall grow up
on their altars.
They shall say to the mountains, “Cover us,”
and to the hills, “Fall on us.”(DK)
9 Since the days of Gibeah you have sinned, O Israel;
there they have continued.
Shall not war overtake them in Gibeah?(DL)
10 I will come[av] against the wayward people to punish them,
and nations shall be gathered against them
when they are punished[aw] for their double iniquity.(DM)
11 Ephraim was a trained heifer
that loved to thresh,
and I spared her fair neck,
but I will make Ephraim break the ground;
Judah must plow;
Jacob must harrow for himself.(DN)
12 Sow for yourselves righteousness;
reap steadfast love;
break up your fallow ground,
for it is time to seek the Lord,
that he may come and rain righteousness upon you.(DO)
13 You have plowed wickedness;
you have reaped injustice;
you have eaten the fruit of lies.
Because you have trusted in your chariots,[ax]
in the multitude of your warriors,(DP)
14 therefore the tumult of war shall rise against your people,
and all your fortresses shall be destroyed,
as Shalman destroyed Beth-arbel on the day of battle,
when mothers were dashed in pieces with their children.(DQ)
15 Thus it shall be done to you, O Bethel,
because of your great wickedness.
At dawn the king of Israel
shall be utterly cut off.(DR)
God’s Compassion Despite Israel’s Ingratitude
11 When Israel was a child, I loved him,
and out of Egypt I called my son.(DS)
2 The more I[ay] called them,
the more they went from me;[az]
they kept sacrificing to the Baals
and offering incense to idols.(DT)
3 Yet it was I who taught Ephraim to walk;
I took them up in my[ba] arms,
but they did not know that I healed them.(DU)
4 I led them with cords of human kindness,
with bands of love.
I was to them like those
who lift infants to their cheeks.[bb]
I bent down to them and fed them.(DV)
5 They shall return to the land of Egypt,
and Assyria shall be their king,
because they have refused to return to me.(DW)
6 The sword rages in their cities;
it consumes their oracle priests
and devours because of their schemes.(DX)
7 My people are bent on turning away from me.
To the Most High they call,
but he does not raise them up at all.[bc](DY)
8 How can I give you up, Ephraim?
How can I hand you over, O Israel?
How can I make you like Admah?
How can I treat you like Zeboiim?
My heart recoils within me;
my compassion grows warm and tender.(DZ)
9 I will not execute my fierce anger;
I will not again destroy Ephraim,
for I am God and no mortal,
the Holy One in your midst,
and I will not come in wrath.[bd](EA)
10 They shall go after the Lord,
who roars like a lion;
when he roars,
his children shall come trembling from the west.(EB)
11 They shall come trembling like birds from Egypt
and like doves from the land of Assyria,
and I will return them to their homes, says the Lord.(EC)
12 [be]Ephraim has surrounded me with lies
and the house of Israel with deceit,
but Judah still walks[bf] with God
and is faithful to the Holy One.(ED)
12 Ephraim herds the wind
and pursues the east wind all day long;
they multiply falsehood and violence;
they make a treaty with Assyria,
and oil is carried to Egypt.(EE)
The Long History of Rebellion
2 The Lord has an indictment against Judah
and will punish Jacob according to his ways
and repay him according to his deeds.(EF)
3 In the womb he tried to supplant his brother,
and in his manhood he strove with God.(EG)
4 He strove with the angel and prevailed;
he wept and sought his favor;
he met him at Bethel,
and there he spoke with him.[bg](EH)
5 The Lord the God of hosts,
the Lord is his name!
6 But as for you, return to your God;
hold fast to love and justice,
and wait continually for your God.(EI)
7 A trader in whose hands are false balances,
he loves to oppress.(EJ)
8 Ephraim has said, “Ah, I am rich;
I have gained wealth for myself;
in all of my gain
no offense has been found in me
that would be sin.”[bh](EK)
9 I am the Lord your God
from the land of Egypt;
I will make you live in tents again,
as in the days of the appointed festival.(EL)
10 I spoke to the prophets;
it was I who multiplied visions,
and through the prophets I will bring destruction.(EM)
11 In[bi] Gilead there is iniquity;
they shall surely come to nothing.
In Gilgal they sacrifice bulls,
so their altars shall be like stone heaps
on the furrows of the field.(EN)
12 Jacob fled to the land of Aram;
there Israel served for a wife,
and for a wife he guarded sheep.[bj](EO)
13 By a prophet the Lord brought Israel up from Egypt,
and by a prophet he was guarded.(EP)
14 Ephraim has given bitter offense,
so his Lord will bring his crimes down on him
and pay him back for his insults.(EQ)
Relentless Judgment on Israel
13 When Ephraim spoke, there was trembling;
he was exalted in Israel,
but he incurred guilt through Baal and died.(ER)
2 And now they keep on sinning
and make a cast image for themselves,
idols of silver made according to their understanding,
all of them the work of artisans.
“Sacrifice to these,” they say.[bk]
People are kissing calves!(ES)
3 Therefore they shall be like the morning mist
or like the dew that goes away early,
like chaff that swirls from the threshing floor
or like smoke from a window.(ET)
4 Yet I have been the Lord your God
ever since the land of Egypt;
you know no God but me,
and besides me there is no savior.(EU)
5 It was I who fed[bl] you in the wilderness,
in the land of drought.(EV)
6 When I fed[bm] them, they were satisfied;
they were satisfied, and their heart was proud;
therefore they forgot me.(EW)
7 So I will become like a lion to them;
like a leopard I will lurk beside the way.(EX)
8 I will fall upon them like a bear robbed of her cubs
and will tear open the covering of their heart;
there I will devour them like a lion,
as a wild animal would mangle them.
9 I will destroy you, O Israel;
who can help you?[bn]
10 Where now is[bo] your king, that he may save you?
Where in all your cities are your rulers,
of whom you said,
“Give me a king and rulers”?(EY)
11 I gave you a king in my anger,
and I took him away in my wrath.(EZ)
12 Ephraim’s iniquity is bound up;
his sin is kept in store.(FA)
13 The pangs of childbirth come for him,
but he is an unwise son,
for at the proper time he does not present himself
at the mouth of the womb.(FB)
14 Shall I ransom them from the power of Sheol?
Shall I redeem them from Death?
O Death, where are[bp] your plagues?
O Sheol, where is[bq] your destruction?
Compassion is hidden from my eyes.(FC)
15 Although he may flourish among rushes,[br]
the east wind shall come, a blast from the Lord,
rising from the wilderness,
and his fountain shall dry up;
his spring shall be parched.
It shall strip his treasury
of every precious thing.(FD)
16 [bs]Samaria shall bear her guilt
because she has rebelled against her God;
they shall fall by the sword;
their little ones shall be dashed in pieces,
and their pregnant women ripped open.(FE)
A Plea for Repentance
14 Return, O Israel, to the Lord your God,
for you have stumbled because of your iniquity.(FF)
2 Take words with you
and return to the Lord;
say to him,
“Take away all guilt;
accept that which is good,
and we will offer
the fruit[bt] of our lips.(FG)
3 Assyria shall not save us;
we will not ride upon horses;
we will say no more, ‘Our God,’
to the work of our hands.
In you the orphan finds mercy.”(FH)
Assurance of Forgiveness
4 I will heal their disloyalty;
I will love them freely,
for my anger has turned from them.(FI)
5 I will be like the dew to Israel;
he shall blossom like the lily;
he shall strike root like the forests of Lebanon.[bu](FJ)
6 His shoots shall spread out;
his beauty shall be like the olive tree
and his fragrance like that of Lebanon.(FK)
7 They shall again live beneath my[bv] shadow;
they shall flourish as a garden;[bw]
they shall blossom like the vine;
their fragrance shall be like the wine of Lebanon.(FL)
8 O Ephraim, what have I[bx] to do with idols?
It is I who answer and look after you.[by]
I am like an evergreen cypress;
your fruit comes from me.(FM)
9 Those who are wise understand these things;
those who are discerning know them.
For the ways of the Lord are right,
and the upright walk in them,
but transgressors stumble in them.(FN)
Footnotes
- 1.4 That is, God sows
- 1.6 That is, not pitied
- 1.9 That is, not my people
- 1.9 Heb I am not yours
- 1.10 2.1 in Heb
- 2.1 2.3 in Heb
- 2.1 That is, my people
- 2.1 That is, pitied
- 2.6 Gk Syr: Heb your
- 2.16 That is, “my master”
- 2.18 Heb them
- 2.18 Heb break
- 2.18 Heb them
- 2.22 That is, God sows
- 2.23 Cn: Heb her
- 2.23 That is, not pitied
- 2.23 That is, not my people
- 3.2 Gk: Heb a homer of barley and a lethek of barley
- 4.4 Cn: Meaning of Heb uncertain
- 4.7 Tg Syr: MT I will change
- 4.18 Cn Compare Gk: Meaning of Heb uncertain
- 4.19 Heb her
- 4.19 Gk Syr: Heb sacrifices
- 5.2 Cn: Meaning of Heb uncertain
- 5.5 Heb Israel and Ephraim
- 5.11 Gk: Meaning of Heb uncertain
- 5.13 Cn: Heb to a king who will contend
- 6.5 Gk Syr: Heb your
- 6.7 Cn: Heb like
- 6.9 Cn: Meaning of Heb uncertain
- 6.9 Syr: Heb are a company
- 7.6 Gk Syr: Heb brought near
- 7.10 Or humbles
- 7.12 Meaning of Heb uncertain
- 7.16 Cn: Meaning of Heb uncertain
- 8.1 Meaning of Heb uncertain
- 8.2 Gk Syr: Heb adds Israel
- 8.13 Cn: Meaning of Heb uncertain
- 9.1 Gk: Heb To exultation
- 9.6 Meaning of Heb uncertain
- 9.7 Or will know
- 9.13 Meaning of Heb uncertain
- 10.2 Heb he
- 10.5 Gk Syr: Heb calves
- 10.5 Cn: Heb exult
- 10.6 Cn: Heb to a king who will contend
- 10.6 Cn: Heb plan
- 10.10 Cn Compare Gk: Heb In my desire
- 10.10 Gk: Heb bound
- 10.13 Gk: Heb your way
- 11.2 Gk: Heb they
- 11.2 Gk: Heb them
- 11.3 Gk Syr Vg: Heb his
- 11.4 Or who ease the yoke on their jaws
- 11.7 Meaning of Heb uncertain
- 11.9 Meaning of Heb uncertain
- 11.12 12.1 in Heb
- 11.12 Heb roams or rules
- 12.4 Gk Syr: Heb us
- 12.8 Meaning of Heb uncertain
- 12.11 Syr: Heb If
- 12.12 Heb lacks sheep
- 13.2 Cn Compare Gk: Heb To these they say sacrifices of people
- 13.5 Gk Syr: Heb knew
- 13.6 Cn: Heb according to their pasture
- 13.9 Gk Syr: Heb for in me is your help
- 13.10 Gk Syr Vg: Heb I will be
- 13.14 Gk Syr: Heb I will be
- 13.14 Gk Syr: Heb I will be
- 13.15 Or among brothers
- 13.16 14.1 in Heb
- 14.2 Gk Syr: Heb bulls
- 14.5 Cn: Heb like Lebanon
- 14.7 Heb his
- 14.7 Cn: Heb they shall grow grain
- 14.8 Or What more has Ephraim
- 14.8 Heb him
Hosea 1-14
New International Version
Hosea 1-14
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)
The Charge Against Israel
4 Hear the word of the Lord, you Israelites,
because the Lord has a charge(CU) to bring
against you who live in the land:(CV)
“There is no faithfulness,(CW) no love,
no acknowledgment(CX) of God in the land.(CY)
2 There is only cursing,[p] lying(CZ) and murder,(DA)
stealing(DB) and adultery;(DC)
they break all bounds,
and bloodshed follows bloodshed.(DD)
3 Because of this the land dries up,(DE)
and all who live in it waste away;(DF)
the beasts of the field, the birds in the sky
and the fish in the sea are swept away.(DG)
4 “But let no one bring a charge,
let no one accuse another,
for your people are like those
who bring charges against a priest.(DH)
5 You stumble(DI) day and night,
and the prophets stumble with you.
So I will destroy your mother(DJ)—
6 my people are destroyed from lack of knowledge.(DK)
“Because you have rejected knowledge,
I also reject you as my priests;
because you have ignored the law(DL) of your God,
I also will ignore your children.
7 The more priests there were,
the more they sinned against me;
they exchanged their glorious God[q](DM) for something disgraceful.(DN)
8 They feed on the sins of my people
and relish their wickedness.(DO)
9 And it will be: Like people, like priests.(DP)
I will punish both of them for their ways
and repay them for their deeds.(DQ)
10 “They will eat but not have enough;(DR)
they will engage in prostitution(DS) but not flourish,
because they have deserted(DT) the Lord
to give themselves 11 to prostitution;(DU)
old wine(DV) and new wine
take away their understanding.(DW)
12 My people consult a wooden idol,(DX)
and a diviner’s rod speaks to them.(DY)
A spirit of prostitution(DZ) leads them astray;(EA)
they are unfaithful(EB) to their God.
13 They sacrifice on the mountaintops
and burn offerings on the hills,
under oak,(EC) poplar and terebinth,
where the shade is pleasant.(ED)
Therefore your daughters turn to prostitution(EE)
and your daughters-in-law to adultery.(EF)
14 “I will not punish your daughters
when they turn to prostitution,
nor your daughters-in-law
when they commit adultery,
because the men themselves consort with harlots(EG)
and sacrifice with shrine prostitutes(EH)—
a people without understanding(EI) will come to ruin!(EJ)
15 “Though you, Israel, commit adultery,
do not let Judah become guilty.
“Do not go to Gilgal;(EK)
do not go up to Beth Aven.[r](EL)
And do not swear, ‘As surely as the Lord lives!’(EM)
16 The Israelites are stubborn,(EN)
like a stubborn heifer.(EO)
How then can the Lord pasture them
like lambs(EP) in a meadow?
17 Ephraim is joined to idols;
leave him alone!
18 Even when their drinks are gone,
they continue their prostitution;
their rulers dearly love shameful ways.
19 A whirlwind(EQ) will sweep them away,
and their sacrifices will bring them shame.(ER)
Judgment Against Israel
5 “Hear this, you priests!
Pay attention, you Israelites!
Listen, royal house!
This judgment(ES) is against you:
You have been a snare(ET) at Mizpah,
a net(EU) spread out on Tabor.
2 The rebels are knee-deep in slaughter.(EV)
I will discipline all of them.(EW)
3 I know all about Ephraim;
Israel is not hidden(EX) from me.
Ephraim, you have now turned to prostitution;
Israel is corrupt.(EY)
4 “Their deeds do not permit them
to return(EZ) to their God.
A spirit of prostitution(FA) is in their heart;
they do not acknowledge(FB) the Lord.
5 Israel’s arrogance testifies(FC) against them;
the Israelites, even Ephraim, stumble(FD) in their sin;
Judah also stumbles with them.(FE)
6 When they go with their flocks and herds
to seek the Lord,(FF)
they will not find him;
he has withdrawn(FG) himself from them.
7 They are unfaithful(FH) to the Lord;
they give birth to illegitimate(FI) children.
When they celebrate their New Moon feasts,(FJ)
he will devour[s](FK) their fields.
8 “Sound the trumpet(FL) in Gibeah,(FM)
the horn in Ramah.(FN)
Raise the battle cry in Beth Aven[t];(FO)
lead on, Benjamin.
9 Ephraim will be laid waste(FP)
on the day of reckoning.(FQ)
Among the tribes of Israel
I proclaim what is certain.(FR)
10 Judah’s leaders are like those
who move boundary stones.(FS)
I will pour out my wrath(FT) on them
like a flood of water.
11 Ephraim is oppressed,
trampled in judgment,
intent on pursuing idols.[u](FU)
12 I am like a moth(FV) to Ephraim,
like rot(FW) to the people of Judah.
13 “When Ephraim(FX) saw his sickness,
and Judah his sores,
then Ephraim turned to Assyria,(FY)
and sent to the great king for help.(FZ)
But he is not able to cure(GA) you,
not able to heal your sores.(GB)
14 For I will be like a lion(GC) to Ephraim,
like a great lion to Judah.
I will tear them to pieces(GD) and go away;
I will carry them off, with no one to rescue them.(GE)
15 Then I will return to my lair(GF)
until they have borne their guilt(GG)
and seek my face(GH)—
in their misery(GI)
they will earnestly seek me.(GJ)”
Israel Unrepentant
6 “Come, let us return(GK) to the Lord.
He has torn us to pieces(GL)
but he will heal us;(GM)
he has injured us
but he will bind up our wounds.(GN)
2 After two days he will revive us;(GO)
on the third day(GP) he will restore(GQ) us,
that we may live in his presence.
3 Let us acknowledge the Lord;
let us press on to acknowledge him.
As surely as the sun rises,
he will appear;
he will come to us like the winter rains,(GR)
like the spring rains that water the earth.(GS)”
4 “What can I do with you, Ephraim?(GT)
What can I do with you, Judah?
Your love is like the morning mist,
like the early dew that disappears.(GU)
5 Therefore I cut you in pieces with my prophets,
I killed you with the words of my mouth(GV)—
then my judgments go forth like the sun.[v](GW)
6 For I desire mercy, not sacrifice,(GX)
and acknowledgment(GY) of God rather than burnt offerings.(GZ)
7 As at Adam,[w] they have broken the covenant;(HA)
they were unfaithful(HB) to me there.
8 Gilead is a city of evildoers,(HC)
stained with footprints of blood.
9 As marauders lie in ambush for a victim,(HD)
so do bands of priests;
they murder(HE) on the road to Shechem,
carrying out their wicked schemes.(HF)
10 I have seen a horrible(HG) thing in Israel:
There Ephraim is given to prostitution,
Israel is defiled.(HH)
11 “Also for you, Judah,
a harvest(HI) is appointed.
“Whenever I would restore the fortunes(HJ) of my people,
7 1 whenever I would heal Israel,
the sins of Ephraim are exposed
and the crimes of Samaria revealed.(HK)
They practice deceit,(HL)
thieves break into houses,(HM)
bandits rob in the streets;(HN)
2 but they do not realize
that I remember(HO) all their evil deeds.(HP)
Their sins engulf them;(HQ)
they are always before me.
3 “They delight the king with their wickedness,
the princes with their lies.(HR)
4 They are all adulterers,(HS)
burning like an oven
whose fire the baker need not stir
from the kneading of the dough till it rises.
5 On the day of the festival of our king
the princes become inflamed with wine,(HT)
and he joins hands with the mockers.(HU)
6 Their hearts are like an oven;(HV)
they approach him with intrigue.
Their passion smolders all night;
in the morning it blazes like a flaming fire.
7 All of them are hot as an oven;
they devour their rulers.
All their kings fall,(HW)
and none of them calls(HX) on me.
8 “Ephraim mixes(HY) with the nations;
Ephraim is a flat loaf not turned over.
9 Foreigners sap his strength,(HZ)
but he does not realize it.
His hair is sprinkled with gray,
but he does not notice.
10 Israel’s arrogance testifies against him,(IA)
but despite all this
he does not return(IB) to the Lord his God
or search(IC) for him.
11 “Ephraim is like a dove,(ID)
easily deceived and senseless—
now calling to Egypt,(IE)
now turning to Assyria.(IF)
12 When they go, I will throw my net(IG) over them;
I will pull them down like the birds in the sky.
When I hear them flocking together,
I will catch them.
13 Woe(IH) to them,
because they have strayed(II) from me!
Destruction to them,
because they have rebelled against me!
I long to redeem them
but they speak about me(IJ) falsely.(IK)
14 They do not cry out to me from their hearts(IL)
but wail on their beds.
They slash themselves,[x] appealing to their gods
for grain and new wine,(IM)
but they turn away from me.(IN)
15 I trained(IO) them and strengthened their arms,
but they plot evil(IP) against me.
16 They do not turn to the Most High;(IQ)
they are like a faulty bow.(IR)
Their leaders will fall by the sword
because of their insolent(IS) words.
For this they will be ridiculed(IT)
in the land of Egypt.(IU)
Israel to Reap the Whirlwind
8 “Put the trumpet(IV) to your lips!
An eagle(IW) is over the house of the Lord
because the people have broken my covenant(IX)
and rebelled against my law.(IY)
2 Israel cries out to me,
‘Our God, we acknowledge you!’
3 But Israel has rejected what is good;
an enemy will pursue him.(IZ)
4 They set up kings without my consent;
they choose princes without my approval.(JA)
With their silver and gold
they make idols(JB) for themselves
to their own destruction.
5 Samaria, throw out your calf-idol!(JC)
My anger burns against them.
How long will they be incapable of purity?(JD)
6 They are from Israel!
This calf—a metalworker has made it;
it is not God.(JE)
It will be broken in pieces,
that calf(JF) of Samaria.(JG)
7 “They sow the wind
and reap the whirlwind.(JH)
The stalk has no head;
it will produce no flour.(JI)
Were it to yield grain,
foreigners would swallow it up.(JJ)
8 Israel is swallowed up;(JK)
now she is among the nations
like something no one wants.(JL)
9 For they have gone up to Assyria(JM)
like a wild donkey(JN) wandering alone.
Ephraim has sold herself to lovers.(JO)
10 Although they have sold themselves among the nations,
I will now gather them together.(JP)
They will begin to waste away(JQ)
under the oppression of the mighty king.
11 “Though Ephraim built many altars for sin offerings,
these have become altars for sinning.(JR)
12 I wrote for them the many things of my law,
but they regarded them as something foreign.(JS)
13 Though they offer sacrifices as gifts to me,
and though they eat(JT) the meat,
the Lord is not pleased with them.(JU)
Now he will remember(JV) their wickedness
and punish their sins:(JW)
They will return to Egypt.(JX)
14 Israel has forgotten(JY) their Maker(JZ)
and built palaces;
Judah has fortified many towns.
But I will send fire on their cities
that will consume their fortresses.”(KA)
Punishment for Israel
9 Do not rejoice, Israel;
do not be jubilant(KB) like the other nations.
For you have been unfaithful(KC) to your God;
you love the wages of a prostitute(KD)
at every threshing floor.
2 Threshing floors and winepresses will not feed the people;
the new wine(KE) will fail them.
3 They will not remain(KF) in the Lord’s land;
Ephraim will return to Egypt(KG)
and eat unclean food in Assyria.(KH)
4 They will not pour out wine offerings(KI) to the Lord,
nor will their sacrifices please(KJ) him.
Such sacrifices will be to them like the bread of mourners;(KK)
all who eat them will be unclean.(KL)
This food will be for themselves;
it will not come into the temple of the Lord.(KM)
5 What will you do(KN) on the day of your appointed festivals,(KO)
on the feast days of the Lord?
6 Even if they escape from destruction,
Egypt will gather them,(KP)
and Memphis(KQ) will bury them.(KR)
Their treasures of silver(KS) will be taken over by briers,
and thorns(KT) will overrun their tents.
7 The days of punishment(KU) are coming,
the days of reckoning(KV) are at hand.
Let Israel know this.
Because your sins(KW) are so many
and your hostility so great,
the prophet is considered a fool,(KX)
the inspired person a maniac.(KY)
8 The prophet, along with my God,
is the watchman over Ephraim,[y]
yet snares(KZ) await him on all his paths,
and hostility in the house of his God.(LA)
9 They have sunk deep into corruption,(LB)
as in the days of Gibeah.(LC)
God will remember(LD) their wickedness
and punish them for their sins.(LE)
10 “When I found Israel,
it was like finding grapes in the desert;
when I saw your ancestors,
it was like seeing the early fruit(LF) on the fig(LG) tree.
But when they came to Baal Peor,(LH)
they consecrated themselves to that shameful idol(LI)
and became as vile as the thing they loved.
11 Ephraim’s glory(LJ) will fly away like a bird(LK)—
no birth, no pregnancy, no conception.(LL)
12 Even if they rear children,
I will bereave(LM) them of every one.
Woe(LN) to them
when I turn away from them!(LO)
13 I have seen Ephraim,(LP) like Tyre,
planted in a pleasant place.(LQ)
But Ephraim will bring out
their children to the slayer.”(LR)
14 Give them, Lord—
what will you give them?
Give them wombs that miscarry
and breasts that are dry.(LS)
15 “Because of all their wickedness in Gilgal,(LT)
I hated them there.
Because of their sinful deeds,(LU)
I will drive them out of my house.
I will no longer love them;(LV)
all their leaders are rebellious.(LW)
16 Ephraim(LX) is blighted,
their root is withered,
they yield no fruit.(LY)
Even if they bear children,
I will slay(LZ) their cherished offspring.”
17 My God will reject(MA) them
because they have not obeyed(MB) him;
they will be wanderers among the nations.(MC)
10 Israel was a spreading vine;(MD)
he brought forth fruit for himself.
As his fruit increased,
he built more altars;(ME)
as his land prospered,(MF)
he adorned his sacred stones.(MG)
2 Their heart is deceitful,(MH)
and now they must bear their guilt.(MI)
The Lord will demolish their altars(MJ)
and destroy their sacred stones.(MK)
3 Then they will say, “We have no king
because we did not revere the Lord.
But even if we had a king,
what could he do for us?”
4 They make many promises,
take false oaths(ML)
and make agreements;(MM)
therefore lawsuits spring up
like poisonous weeds(MN) in a plowed field.
5 The people who live in Samaria fear
for the calf-idol(MO) of Beth Aven.[z](MP)
Its people will mourn over it,
and so will its idolatrous priests,(MQ)
those who had rejoiced over its splendor,
because it is taken from them into exile.(MR)
6 It will be carried to Assyria(MS)
as tribute(MT) for the great king.(MU)
Ephraim will be disgraced;(MV)
Israel will be ashamed(MW) of its foreign alliances.
7 Samaria’s king will be destroyed,(MX)
swept away like a twig on the surface of the waters.
8 The high places(MY) of wickedness[aa](MZ) will be destroyed—
it is the sin of Israel.
Thorns(NA) and thistles will grow up
and cover their altars.(NB)
Then they will say to the mountains, “Cover us!”(NC)
and to the hills, “Fall on us!”(ND)
9 “Since the days of Gibeah,(NE) you have sinned,(NF) Israel,
and there you have remained.[ab]
Will not war again overtake
the evildoers in Gibeah?
10 When I please, I will punish(NG) them;
nations will be gathered against them
to put them in bonds for their double sin.
11 Ephraim is a trained heifer
that loves to thresh;
so I will put a yoke(NH)
on her fair neck.
I will drive Ephraim,
Judah must plow,
and Jacob must break up the ground.
12 Sow(NI) righteousness(NJ) for yourselves,
reap the fruit of unfailing love,
and break up your unplowed ground;(NK)
for it is time to seek(NL) the Lord,
until he comes
and showers his righteousness(NM) on you.
13 But you have planted wickedness,
you have reaped evil,(NN)
you have eaten the fruit of deception.(NO)
Because you have depended on your own strength
and on your many warriors,(NP)
14 the roar of battle will rise against your people,
so that all your fortresses will be devastated(NQ)—
as Shalman(NR) devastated Beth Arbel on the day of battle,
when mothers were dashed to the ground with their children.(NS)
15 So will it happen to you, Bethel,
because your wickedness is great.
When that day dawns,
the king of Israel will be completely destroyed.(NT)
God’s Love for Israel
11 “When Israel was a child,(NU) I loved(NV) him,
and out of Egypt I called my son.(NW)
2 But the more they were called,
the more they went away from me.[ac](NX)
They sacrificed to the Baals(NY)
and they burned incense to images.(NZ)
3 It was I who taught Ephraim to walk,
taking them by the arms;(OA)
but they did not realize
it was I who healed(OB) them.
4 I led them with cords of human kindness,
with ties of love.(OC)
To them I was like one who lifts
a little child to the cheek,
and I bent down to feed(OD) them.(OE)
5 “Will they not return to Egypt(OF)
and will not Assyria(OG) rule over them
because they refuse to repent?(OH)
6 A sword(OI) will flash in their cities;
it will devour(OJ) their false prophets
and put an end to their plans.
7 My people are determined to turn(OK) from me.(OL)
Even though they call me God Most High,
I will by no means exalt them.
8 “How can I give you up,(OM) Ephraim?(ON)
How can I hand you over, Israel?
How can I treat you like Admah?
How can I make you like Zeboyim?(OO)
My heart is changed within me;
all my compassion(OP) is aroused.(OQ)
9 I will not carry out my fierce anger,(OR)
nor will I devastate(OS) Ephraim again.
For I am God, and not a man(OT)—
the Holy One(OU) among you.
I will not come against their cities.
10 They will follow the Lord;
he will roar(OV) like a lion.(OW)
When he roars,
his children will come trembling(OX) from the west.(OY)
11 They will come from Egypt,
trembling like sparrows,
from Assyria,(OZ) fluttering like doves.(PA)
I will settle them in their homes,”(PB)
declares the Lord.
Israel’s Sin
12 Ephraim has surrounded me with lies,(PC)
Israel with deceit.
And Judah is unruly against God,
even against the faithful(PD) Holy One.[ad](PE)
12 [ae]1 Ephraim(PF) feeds on the wind;(PG)
he pursues the east wind all day
and multiplies lies and violence.(PH)
He makes a treaty with Assyria(PI)
and sends olive oil to Egypt.(PJ)
2 The Lord has a charge(PK) to bring against Judah;(PL)
he will punish(PM) Jacob[af] according to his ways
and repay him according to his deeds.(PN)
3 In the womb he grasped his brother’s heel;(PO)
as a man he struggled(PP) with God.
4 He struggled with the angel and overcame him;
he wept and begged for his favor.
He found him at Bethel(PQ)
and talked with him there—
5 the Lord God Almighty,
the Lord is his name!(PR)
6 But you must return(PS) to your God;
maintain love and justice,(PT)
and wait for your God always.(PU)
7 The merchant uses dishonest scales(PV)
and loves to defraud.
8 Ephraim boasts,(PW)
“I am very rich; I have become wealthy.(PX)
With all my wealth they will not find in me
any iniquity or sin.”
9 “I have been the Lord your God
ever since you came out of Egypt;(PY)
I will make you live in tents(PZ) again,
as in the days of your appointed festivals.
10 I spoke to the prophets,
gave them many visions
and told parables(QA) through them.”(QB)
11 Is Gilead wicked?(QC)
Its people are worthless!
Do they sacrifice bulls in Gilgal?(QD)
Their altars will be like piles of stones
on a plowed field.(QE)
12 Jacob fled to the country of Aram[ag];(QF)
Israel served to get a wife,
and to pay for her he tended sheep.(QG)
13 The Lord used a prophet to bring Israel up from Egypt,(QH)
by a prophet he cared for him.(QI)
14 But Ephraim has aroused his bitter anger;
his Lord will leave on him the guilt of his bloodshed(QJ)
and will repay him for his contempt.(QK)
The Lord’s Anger Against Israel
13 When Ephraim spoke, people trembled;(QL)
he was exalted(QM) in Israel.
But he became guilty of Baal worship(QN) and died.
2 Now they sin more and more;
they make(QO) idols for themselves from their silver,(QP)
cleverly fashioned images,
all of them the work of craftsmen.(QQ)
It is said of these people,
“They offer human sacrifices!
They kiss[ah](QR) calf-idols!(QS)”
3 Therefore they will be like the morning mist,
like the early dew that disappears,(QT)
like chaff(QU) swirling from a threshing floor,(QV)
like smoke(QW) escaping through a window.
4 “But I have been the Lord your God
ever since you came out of Egypt.(QX)
You shall acknowledge(QY) no God but me,(QZ)
no Savior(RA) except me.
5 I cared for you in the wilderness,(RB)
in the land of burning heat.
6 When I fed them, they were satisfied;
when they were satisfied, they became proud;(RC)
then they forgot(RD) me.(RE)
7 So I will be like a lion(RF) to them,
like a leopard I will lurk by the path.
8 Like a bear robbed of her cubs,(RG)
I will attack them and rip them open;
like a lion(RH) I will devour them—
a wild animal will tear them apart.(RI)
9 “You are destroyed, Israel,
because you are against me,(RJ) against your helper.(RK)
10 Where is your king,(RL) that he may save you?
Where are your rulers in all your towns,
of whom you said,
‘Give me a king and princes’?(RM)
11 So in my anger I gave you a king,(RN)
and in my wrath I took him away.(RO)
12 The guilt of Ephraim is stored up,
his sins are kept on record.(RP)
13 Pains as of a woman in childbirth(RQ) come to him,
but he is a child without wisdom;
when the time(RR) arrives,
he doesn’t have the sense to come out of the womb.(RS)
14 “I will deliver this people from the power of the grave;(RT)
I will redeem them from death.(RU)
Where, O death, are your plagues?
Where, O grave, is your destruction?(RV)
“I will have no compassion,
15 even though he thrives(RW) among his brothers.
An east wind(RX) from the Lord will come,
blowing in from the desert;
his spring will fail
and his well dry up.(RY)
His storehouse will be plundered(RZ)
of all its treasures.
16 The people of Samaria(SA) must bear their guilt,(SB)
because they have rebelled(SC) against their God.
They will fall by the sword;(SD)
their little ones will be dashed(SE) to the ground,
their pregnant women(SF) ripped open.”[ai]
Repentance to Bring Blessing
14 [aj]Return,(SG) Israel, to the Lord your God.
Your sins(SH) have been your downfall!(SI)
2 Take words with you
and return to the Lord.
Say to him:
“Forgive(SJ) all our sins
and receive us graciously,(SK)
that we may offer the fruit of our lips.[ak](SL)
3 Assyria cannot save us;(SM)
we will not mount warhorses.(SN)
We will never again say ‘Our gods’(SO)
to what our own hands have made,(SP)
for in you the fatherless(SQ) find compassion.”
4 “I will heal(SR) their waywardness(SS)
and love them freely,(ST)
for my anger has turned away(SU) from them.
5 I will be like the dew(SV) to Israel;
he will blossom like a lily.(SW)
Like a cedar of Lebanon(SX)
he will send down his roots;(SY)
6 his young shoots will grow.
His splendor will be like an olive tree,(SZ)
his fragrance like a cedar of Lebanon.(TA)
7 People will dwell again in his shade;(TB)
they will flourish like the grain,
they will blossom(TC) like the vine—
Israel’s fame will be like the wine(TD) of Lebanon.(TE)
8 Ephraim, what more have I[al] to do with idols?(TF)
I will answer him and care for him.
I am like a flourishing juniper;(TG)
your fruitfulness comes from me.”
Footnotes
- Hosea 1:1 Hebrew Joash, a variant of Jehoash
- Hosea 1:9 Or your I am
- Hosea 1:11 In Hebrew texts 1:10,11 is numbered 2:1,2.
- Hosea 2:1 In Hebrew texts 2:1-23 is numbered 2:3-25.
- Hosea 2:15 Achor means trouble.
- Hosea 2:15 Or sing
- Hosea 2:16 Hebrew baal
- Hosea 2:19 Or with
- Hosea 2:19 Or with
- Hosea 2:20 Or with
- Hosea 2:22 Jezreel means God plants.
- Hosea 2:23 Hebrew Lo-Ruhamah (see 1:6)
- Hosea 2:23 Hebrew Lo-Ammi (see 1:9)
- Hosea 3:2 That is, about 6 ounces or about 170 grams
- Hosea 3:2 A homer and a lethek possibly weighed about 430 pounds or about 195 kilograms.
- Hosea 4:2 That is, to pronounce a curse on
- Hosea 4:7 Syriac (see also an ancient Hebrew scribal tradition); Masoretic Text me; / I will exchange their glory
- Hosea 4:15 Beth Aven means house of wickedness (a derogatory name for Bethel, which means house of God).
- Hosea 5:7 Or Now their New Moon feasts / will devour them and
- Hosea 5:8 Beth Aven means house of wickedness (a derogatory name for Bethel, which means house of God).
- Hosea 5:11 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
- Hosea 6:5 The meaning of the Hebrew for this line is uncertain.
- Hosea 6:7 Or Like Adam; or Like human beings
- Hosea 7:14 Some Hebrew manuscripts and Septuagint; most Hebrew manuscripts They gather together
- Hosea 9:8 Or The prophet is the watchman over Ephraim, / the people of my God
- Hosea 10:5 Beth Aven means house of wickedness (a derogatory name for Bethel, which means house of God).
- Hosea 10:8 Hebrew aven, a reference to Beth Aven (a derogatory name for Bethel); see verse 5.
- Hosea 10:9 Or there a stand was taken
- Hosea 11:2 Septuagint; Hebrew them
- Hosea 11:12 In Hebrew texts this verse (11:12) is numbered 12:1.
- Hosea 12:1 In Hebrew texts 12:1-14 is numbered 12:2-15.
- Hosea 12:2 Jacob means he grasps the heel, a Hebrew idiom for he takes advantage of or he deceives.
- Hosea 12:12 That is, Northwest Mesopotamia
- Hosea 13:2 Or “Men who sacrifice / kiss
- Hosea 13:16 In Hebrew texts this verse (13:16) is numbered 14:1.
- Hosea 14:1 In Hebrew texts 14:1-9 is numbered 14:2-10.
- Hosea 14:2 Or offer our lips as sacrifices of bulls
- Hosea 14:8 Or Hebrew; Septuagint What more has Ephraim
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