Hosea 2
Legacy Standard Bible
No Compassion for Children of Harlotry
2 [a]Say to your brothers, “[b]Ammi,” and to your sisters, “[c]Ruhamah.”
2 “Contend with your mother, (A)contend,
For she is (B)not my wife, and I am not her husband;
And let her remove her (C)harlotry from her face
And her adultery from between her breasts,
3 Lest I strip her (D)naked
And set her forth as on the (E)day when she was born
And (F)make her like a wilderness
And [d]make her like dry land
And put her to death with (G)thirst.
4 Also, I will have no compassion on her children
Because they are (H)children of harlotry.
5 For their mother has (I)played the harlot;
She who conceived them has acted shamefully.
For she said, ‘(J)I will go after my lovers,
Who (K)give me my bread and my water,
My wool and my flax, my (L)oil and my drink.’
6 Therefore, behold, I will (M)hedge up [e]her way with (N)thorns,
And I will build [f]a wall against her so that she cannot find her (O)paths.
7 So she will (P)pursue her lovers, but she will not overtake them;
And she will seek them, but will not find them.
Then she will say, ‘(Q)I will go, and I will return to my (R)first husband,
For it was (S)better for me then than now!’
8 “Now she does (T)not know that it was (U)I who gave her the grain, the new wine, and the oil,
And multiplied silver and gold for her,
Which they [g]used for Baal.
9 Therefore, I will (V)take back My grain at [h]harvest time
And My new wine in its season.
I will also deliver My wool and My flax from them
Given to cover her nakedness.
10 So now I will (W)uncover her lewdness
In the sight of her lovers,
And no one will deliver her out of My hand.
11 I will also (X)cease all her joy,
Her (Y)feasts, her (Z)new moons, her sabbaths,
And all her appointed times.
12 And I will (AA)make desolate her vines and fig trees,
Of which she said, ‘These are my wages
Which my lovers have given me.’
And I will (AB)make them a forest,
And the (AC)beasts of the field will devour them.
13 So I will visit the (AD)days of the Baals upon her
When she used to [i](AE)offer offerings in smoke to them
And (AF)adorn herself with her [j]earrings and jewelry
And go after her lovers, so that she (AG)forgot Me,” declares Yahweh.
Yahweh’s Faithful Betrothal
14 “Therefore, behold, I will allure her
(AH)And bring her into the wilderness
And speak to her heart.
15 Then I will give her her (AI)vineyards from there
And (AJ)the valley of Achor as a door of hope.
And she will [k](AK)sing there as in the days of her youth,
As in the (AL)day when she came up from the land of Egypt.
16 And it will be in that day,” declares Yahweh,
“That you will call Me [l](AM)Ishi
And will no longer call Me [m]Baali.
17 So (AN)I will remove the names of the Baals from her mouth
So that they will be remembered by their names no more.
18 And in that day I will cut a covenant for them
With the (AO)beasts of the field,
The birds of the sky,
And the creeping things of the ground.
And I will (AP)break the bow, the sword, and war from the land,
And I will make them (AQ)lie down in security.
19 And I will (AR)betroth you to Me forever;
Indeed, I will betroth you to Me in (AS)righteousness and in justice,
In lovingkindness and in compassion,
20 And I will betroth you to Me in faithfulness.
Then you will (AT)know Yahweh.
21 “And it will be in that day, that (AU)I will answer,” declares Yahweh.
“I will answer the heavens, and they will answer the earth,
22 And the (AV)earth will answer the grain, the new wine, and the oil,
And they will answer [n]Jezreel.
23 And I will (AW)sow her for Myself in the land.
(AX)I will also have compassion on [o]her who had not obtained compassion,
And (AY)I will say to [p]those who were (AZ)not My people,
‘You are My people!’
And [q]they will say, ‘You are my God!’”
Footnotes
- Hosea 2:1 Ch 2:3 in Heb
- Hosea 2:1 Lit my people
- Hosea 2:1 Lit she has obtained compassion
- Hosea 2:3 Lit set
- Hosea 2:6 As in some ancient versions; Heb your
- Hosea 2:6 Lit her wall so that
- Hosea 2:8 Or made into the
- Hosea 2:9 Lit its time
- Hosea 2:13 Or burn incense
- Hosea 2:13 Or nose rings
- Hosea 2:15 Or give answer
- Hosea 2:16 Lit my husband
- Hosea 2:16 Lit my master, my Baal
- Hosea 2:22 Lit God sows
- Hosea 2:23 Heb Lo-ruhamah
- Hosea 2:23 Heb Lo-ammi
- Hosea 2:23 Lit he
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)
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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.