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

Hosea’s Marriage and Children

When the Lord first spoke to Hosea, he said this to him:

Go and marry a woman of promiscuity,(F)
and have children of promiscuity,
for the land is committing blatant acts of promiscuity
by abandoning the Lord.

So he went and married Gomer daughter of Diblaim, and she conceived and bore him a son.(G) Then the Lord said to him:

Name him Jezreel,[a](H) for in a little while
I will bring the bloodshed of Jezreel(I)
on the house of Jehu(J)
and put an end to the kingdom of the house of Israel.
On that day I will break the bow of Israel(K)
in Jezreel Valley.(L)

She conceived again and gave birth to a daughter, and the Lord said to him:

Name her Lo-ruhamah,[b]
for I will no longer have compassion
on the house of Israel.
I will certainly take them away.
But I will have compassion on the house of Judah,(M)
and I will deliver them by the Lord their God.(N)
I will not deliver them by bow, sword, or war,
or by horses and cavalry.(O)

After Gomer had weaned Lo-ruhamah, she conceived and gave birth to a son. Then the Lord said:

Name him Lo-ammi,[c]
for you are not my people,
and I will not be your God.[d](P)
10 Yet the number of the Israelites
will be like the sand of the sea,(Q)
which cannot be measured or counted.
And in the place where they were told:
You are not my people,
they will be called: Sons of the living God.(R)
11 And the Judeans and the Israelites
will be gathered together.(S)
They will appoint for themselves a single ruler(T)
and go up from[e] the land.
For the day of Jezreel(U) will be great.
Call[f] your brothers: My People
and your sisters: Compassion.

Israel’s Adultery Rebuked

Rebuke your mother; rebuke her.(V)
For she is not my wife and I am not her husband.(W)
Let her remove the promiscuous look from her face(X)
and her adultery from between her breasts.
Otherwise, I will strip her naked(Y)
and expose her as she was on the day of her birth.
I will make her like a desert(Z)
and like a parched land,
and I will let her die of thirst.(AA)
I will have no compassion on her children(AB)
because they are the children of promiscuity.
Yes, their mother is promiscuous;
she conceived them and acted shamefully.(AC)
For she thought, “I will follow my lovers,(AD)
the men who give me my food and water,
my wool and flax, my oil and drink.”(AE)
Therefore, this is what I will do:
I will block her[g] way(AF) with thorns;(AG)
I will enclose her with a wall,
so that she cannot find her paths.(AH)
She will pursue her lovers but not catch them;(AI)
she will look for them but not find them.
Then she will think,
“I will go back to my former husband,(AJ)
for then it was better for me than now.”(AK)
She does not recognize(AL)
that it is I who gave her the grain,(AM)
the new wine, and the fresh oil.
I lavished silver and gold on her,
which they used for Baal.
Therefore, I will take back my grain in its time(AN)
and my new wine in its season;
I will take away my wool and linen,
which were to cover her nakedness.
10 Now I will expose her shame(AO)
in the sight of her lovers,
and no one will rescue her from my power.
11 I will put an end to all her celebrations:(AP)
her feasts,(AQ) New Moons,(AR) and Sabbaths—
all her festivals.
12 I will devastate her vines and fig trees.(AS)
She thinks that these are her wages
that her lovers have given her.
I will turn them into a thicket,(AT)
and the wild animals will eat them.(AU)
13 And I will punish her for the days of the Baals,(AV)
to which she burned incense.(AW)
She put on her rings and her jewelry(AX)
and followed her lovers,
but she forgot me.(AY)

This is the Lord’s declaration.

Israel’s Adultery Forgiven

14 Therefore, I am going to persuade her,
lead her to the wilderness,(AZ)
and speak tenderly to her.[h]
15 There I will give her vineyards back to her(BA)
and make the Valley of Achor[i](BB)
into a gateway of hope.
There she will respond as she did
in the days of her youth,(BC)
as in the day she came out of the land of Egypt.
16 In that day—
this is the Lord’s declaration—
you will call me “my husband”(BD)
and no longer call me “my Baal.”[j]
17 For I will remove the names of the Baals
from her mouth;
they will no longer be remembered by their names.
18 On that day I will make a covenant for them
with the wild animals, the birds of the sky,
and the creatures that crawl on the ground.(BE)
I will shatter bow, sword,
and weapons of war in the land[k](BF)
and will enable the people to rest securely.(BG)
19 I will take you to be my wife forever.(BH)
I will take you to be my wife in righteousness,
justice, love, and compassion.(BI)
20 I will take you to be my wife in faithfulness,
and you will know the Lord.(BJ)
21 On that day I will respond(BK)
this is the Lord’s declaration.
I will respond to the sky,
and it will respond to the earth.
22 The earth will respond to the grain,(BL)
the new wine, and the fresh oil,
and they will respond to Jezreel.
23 I will sow her[l] in the land for myself,(BM)
and I will have compassion(BN)
on Lo-ruhamah;
I will say to Lo-ammi:(BO)
You are my people,(BP)
and he will say, “You are my God.”

Waiting for Restoration

Then the Lord said to me, “Go again; show love to a woman who is loved by another man and is an adulteress,(BQ) just as the Lord loves the Israelites though they turn to other gods and love raisin cakes.”(BR)

So I bought her for fifteen shekels of silver and nine bushels of barley.[m][n](BS) I said to her, “You are to live with me many days. You must not be promiscuous or belong to any man, and I will act the same way toward you.”

For the Israelites must live many days without king or prince,(BT) without sacrifice(BU) or sacred pillar,(BV) and without ephod(BW) or household idols.(BX) Afterward, the people of Israel will return(BY) and seek the Lord their God and David their king.(BZ) They will come with awe to the Lord(CA) and to his goodness in the last days.

Footnotes

  1. 1:4 = God Sows
  2. 1:6 = No Compassion
  3. 1:9 = Not My People
  4. 1:9 Lit not be yours
  5. 1:11 Or and flourish in; Hb obscure
  6. 2:1 Lit Say to
  7. 2:6 LXX, Syr; MT reads your
  8. 2:14 Lit speak to her heart
  9. 2:15 = Trouble
  10. 2:16 Or my master
  11. 2:18 Or war on the earth
  12. 2:23 = Israel
  13. 3:2 LXX reads barley and a measure of wine
  14. 3:2 Lit silver, a homer of barley, and a lethek of barley

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

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.” So he married Gomer(K) daughter of Diblaim, and she conceived and bore him a son.

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. In that day I will break Israel’s bow in the Valley of Jezreel.(M)

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. 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.”

After she had weaned Lo-Ruhamah,(S) Gomer had another son. 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)

[d]“Say of your brothers, ‘My people,’ and of your sisters, ‘My loved one.’(AA)

Israel Punished and Restored

“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.
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.
I will not show my love to her children,(AG)
    because they are the children of adultery.(AH)
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)
Therefore I will block her path with thornbushes;
    I will wall her in so that she cannot find her way.(AK)
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.’
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)

“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

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)

So I bought her for fifteen shekels[n] of silver and about a homer and a lethek[o] of barley. 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.”

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) 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.

Warning to the Rich

Come now, you rich(A) people, weep and wail over the miseries that are coming on you. Your wealth has rotted and your clothes are moth-eaten.(B) Your gold and silver are corroded, and their corrosion will be a witness against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have stored up treasure in the last days.(C) Look! The pay that you withheld from the workers(D) who mowed your fields cries out, and the outcry of the harvesters has reached the ears of the Lord of Armies.(E) You have lived luxuriously on the earth and have indulged yourselves. You have fattened your hearts(F) in a day of slaughter.(G) You have condemned, you have murdered the righteous, who does not resist you.(H)

Waiting for the Lord

Therefore, brothers and sisters, be patient until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth and is patient with it until it receives the early and the late rains.(I) You also must be patient. Strengthen your hearts, because the Lord’s coming is near.(J)

Brothers and sisters, do not complain about one another, so that you will not be judged. Look, the judge stands at the door!(K)

10 Brothers and sisters, take the prophets who spoke in the Lord’s name as an example of suffering and patience. 11 See, we count as blessed those who have endured.[a] You have heard of Job’s endurance(L) and have seen the outcome that the Lord brought about—the Lord is compassionate and merciful.(M)

Truthful Speech

12 Above all, my brothers and sisters, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath.(N) But let your “yes” mean “yes,” and your “no” mean “no,” so that you won’t fall under judgment.[b]

Effective Prayer

13 Is anyone among you suffering? He should pray. Is anyone cheerful? He should sing praises.(O) 14 Is anyone among you sick? He should call for the elders of the church, and they are to pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.(P) 15 The prayer of faith will save the sick person, and the Lord will raise him up; if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.(Q) 16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is very powerful in its effect.(R) 17 Elijah was a human being as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the land.(S) 18 Then he prayed again, and the sky gave rain and the land produced its fruit.(T)

19 My brothers and sisters, if any among you strays from the truth,(U) and someone turns him back,(V) 20 let that person know that whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death and cover a multitude of sins.(W)

Footnotes

  1. 5:11 Or persevered
  2. 5:12 Other mss read fall into hypocrisy

Warning to Rich Oppressors

Now listen,(A) you rich people,(B) weep and wail(C) because of the misery that is coming on you. Your wealth has rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes.(D) Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire. You have hoarded wealth in the last days.(E) Look! The wages you failed to pay the workers(F) who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries(G) of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty.(H) You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened yourselves(I) in the day of slaughter.[a](J) You have condemned and murdered(K) the innocent one,(L) who was not opposing you.

Patience in Suffering

Be patient, then, brothers and sisters, until the Lord’s coming.(M) See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop, patiently waiting(N) for the autumn and spring rains.(O) You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming(P) is near.(Q) Don’t grumble against one another, brothers and sisters,(R) or you will be judged. The Judge(S) is standing at the door!(T)

10 Brothers and sisters, as an example of patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets(U) who spoke in the name of the Lord. 11 As you know, we count as blessed(V) those who have persevered. You have heard of Job’s perseverance(W) and have seen what the Lord finally brought about.(X) The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.(Y)

12 Above all, my brothers and sisters, do not swear—not by heaven or by earth or by anything else. All you need to say is a simple “Yes” or “No.” Otherwise you will be condemned.(Z)

The Prayer of Faith

13 Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray.(AA) Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise.(AB) 14 Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders(AC) of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil(AD) in the name of the Lord. 15 And the prayer offered in faith(AE) will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. 16 Therefore confess your sins(AF) to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.(AG) The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.(AH)

17 Elijah was a human being, even as we are.(AI) He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years.(AJ) 18 Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops.(AK)

19 My brothers and sisters, if one of you should wander from the truth(AL) and someone should bring that person back,(AM) 20 remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of their way will save(AN) them from death and cover over a multitude of sins.(AO)

Footnotes

  1. James 5:5 Or yourselves as in a day of feasting

Psalm 133

Living in Harmony

A song of ascents. Of David.

How delightfully good
when brothers live together in harmony!(A)
It is like fine oil on the head,
running down on the beard,
running down Aaron’s beard
onto his robes.(B)
It is like the dew of Hermon[a]
falling on the mountains of Zion.(C)
For there the Lord has appointed the blessing—
life forevermore.(D)

Psalm 134

Call to Evening Worship

A song of ascents.

Now bless the Lord,
all you servants of the Lord
who stand in the Lord’s house at night!(E)
Lift up your hands in the holy place
and bless the Lord!(F)

May the Lord,
Maker of heaven and earth,
bless you from Zion.(G)

Footnotes

  1. 133:3 The tallest mountain in the region, noted for its abundant precipitation

Psalm 133

A song of ascents. Of David.

How good and pleasant it is
    when God’s people live together(A) in unity!(B)

It is like precious oil poured on the head,(C)
    running down on the beard,
running down on Aaron’s beard,
    down on the collar of his robe.
It is as if the dew(D) of Hermon(E)
    were falling on Mount Zion.(F)
For there the Lord bestows his blessing,(G)
    even life forevermore.(H)

Psalm 134

A song of ascents.

Praise the Lord, all you servants(I) of the Lord
    who minister(J) by night(K) in the house of the Lord.
Lift up your hands(L) in the sanctuary(M)
    and praise the Lord.(N)

May the Lord bless you from Zion,(O)
    he who is the Maker of heaven(P) and earth.

The righteous person knows the rights[a] of the poor,(A)
but the wicked one does not understand these concerns.

Mockers inflame a city,(B)
but the wise turn away anger.

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Footnotes

  1. 29:7 Lit justice

The righteous care about justice for the poor,(A)
    but the wicked have no such concern.

Mockers stir up a city,
    but the wise turn away anger.(B)

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