Hosea 2
English Standard Version
Israel's Unfaithfulness Punished
2 [a] Say to your brothers, (A)“You are my people,”[b] and to your sisters, (B)“You have received mercy.”[c]
2 “Plead with your mother, plead—
for (C)she is not my wife,
and I am not her husband—
that she put away (D)her whoring from her face,
and her adultery from between her breasts;
3 lest (E)I strip her naked
and make her as (F)in the day she was born,
and (G)make her like a wilderness,
and make her like a parched land,
and kill her with thirst.
4 (H)Upon her children also I will have no mercy,
(I)because they are children of whoredom.
5 For (J)their mother has played the whore;
she who conceived them has acted shamefully.
For (K)she said, ‘I will go after my lovers,
who (L)give me my bread and my water,
my wool and my flax, my oil and my drink.’
6 Therefore (M)I will hedge up her[d] way with thorns,
and (N)I will build a wall against her,
so that she cannot find her paths.
7 She shall pursue her lovers
but not overtake them,
and she shall seek them
but shall not find them.
(O)Then she shall say,
‘I will go and return to (P)my first husband,
(Q)for it was better for me then than now.’
8 And (R)she did not know
that it was (S)I who gave her
(T)the grain, the wine, and the oil,
and who lavished on (U)her silver and gold,
(V)which they used for Baal.
9 Therefore (W)I will take back
my grain in its time,
and my wine in its season,
and (X)I will take away my wool and my flax,
which were to cover her nakedness.
10 Now (Y)I will uncover her lewdness
in the sight of her lovers,
and no one shall rescue her out of my hand.
11 (Z)And I will put an end to all her mirth,
her feasts, her (AA)new moons, her (AB)Sabbaths,
and all her (AC)appointed feasts.
12 And (AD)I will lay waste her vines and her fig trees,
(AE)of which she said,
‘These are (AF)my wages,
which my lovers have given me.’
I will make them a forest,
(AG)and the beasts of the field shall devour them.
13 And (AH)I will punish her for (AI)the feast days of the Baals
when she burned offerings to them
and (AJ)adorned herself with her ring and jewelry,
and went after her lovers
and forgot me, declares the Lord.
The Lord's Mercy on Israel
14 “Therefore, behold, I will allure her,
and (AK)bring her into the wilderness,
and (AL)speak tenderly to her.
15 And there I will give her her vineyards
and make the Valley of Achor[e] a door of hope.
And there she shall answer (AM)as in the days of her youth,
as at the time when she came out of the land of Egypt.
16 “And (AN)in that day, declares the Lord, you will call me ‘My Husband,’ and no longer will you call me ‘My Baal.’ 17 For (AO)I will remove the names of the Baals from her mouth, and they shall be remembered by name no more. 18 And (AP)I will make for them a covenant on that day with the beasts of the field, the birds of the heavens, and the creeping things of the ground. And (AQ)I will abolish[f] the bow, the sword, and war from the land, and I will make you lie down in (AR)safety. 19 And I will betroth you to me (AS)forever. (AT)I will betroth you to me in righteousness and in justice, in steadfast love and in mercy. 20 (AU)I will betroth you to me in faithfulness. And (AV)you shall know the Lord.
21 “And (AW)in that day (AX)I will answer, declares 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 (AY)Jezreel,[g]
23 and (AZ)I will sow her for myself in the land.
And (BA)I (BB)will have mercy on No Mercy,[h]
and (BC)I will say to Not My People,[i] (BD)‘You are my people’;
and he shall say, ‘You are my God.’”
Footnotes
- Hosea 2:1 Ch 2:3 in Hebrew
- Hosea 2:1 Hebrew ammi, which means my people
- Hosea 2:1 Hebrew ruhama, which means she has received mercy
- Hosea 2:6 Hebrew your
- Hosea 2:15 Achor means trouble; compare Joshua 7:26
- Hosea 2:18 Hebrew break
- Hosea 2:22 Jezreel means God will sow
- Hosea 2:23 Hebrew Lo-ruhama
- Hosea 2:23 Hebrew Lo-ammi
Hosea 2
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
2 [a]Say to your brothers, “Ammi,”[b] and to your sisters, “Ruhamah.”[c]
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,(A)
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.(B)
4 Upon her children also I will have no pity,
because they are children of prostitution.(C)
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.”(D)
6 Therefore I will hedge up her[d] way with thorns,
and I will build a wall against her
so that she cannot find her paths.(E)
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.”(F)
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.(G)
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.(H)
11 I will put an end to all her mirth,
her festivals, her new moons, her Sabbaths,
and all her appointed festivals.(I)
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.(J)
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.(K)
14 Therefore, I will now allure her
and bring her into the wilderness
and speak tenderly to her.(L)
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.(M)
16 On that day, says the Lord, you will call me “my husband,” and no longer will you call me “my Baal.”[e] 17 For I will remove the names of the Baals from her mouth, and they shall be mentioned by name no more.(N) 18 I will make for you[f] 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[g] the bow, the sword, and war from the land, and I will make you[h] lie down in safety.(O) 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.(P) 20 I will take you for my wife in faithfulness, and you shall know the Lord.(Q)
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,[i](R)
23 and I will sow him[j] for myself in the land.
And I will have pity on Lo-ruhamah,[k]
and I will say to Lo-ammi,[l] “You are my people,”
and he shall say, “You are my God.”(S)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.