Hosea 2:14-23

Contemporary English Version

The Lord Will Help Israel

¹⁴Israel, I, the Lord,
will lure you into the desert
    and speak gently to you.
¹⁵^(A) I will return your vineyards,
and then Trouble Valley^[a]
    will become Hopeful Valley.
You will say “Yes” to me
as you did in your youth,
    when leaving Egypt.

¹⁶I promise from that day on, you will call me your husband instead of your master.^[b] ¹⁷I will no longer even let you mention the names of those pagan gods that you called “Master.” ¹⁸And I will agree to let you live in peace—you will no longer be attacked by wild animals and birds or by weapons of war. ¹⁹I will accept you as my wife forever, and instead of a bride price^[c] I will give you justice, fairness, love, kindness, ²⁰and faithfulness. Then you will truly know who I am.

²¹I will command the sky to send rain on the earth, ²²and it will produce grain, grapes, and olives in Jezreel Valley. ²³^(B) I will scatter the seeds and show mercy to Lo-Ruhamah.^[d] I will say to Lo-Ammi,^[e] “You are my people,” and they will answer, “You are our God.”

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Footnotes

2.15 Trouble Valley: Or “Achor Valley.” The exact location of the valley is unknown, but in Hebrew “Achor” sounds like “Achan,” who brought trouble on Israel by disobeying the Lord (see Joshua 7.24-26).
2.16 husband … master: In Hebrew the word “master” is the same as the name of the god Baal. But the Lord promises that his people will have a deep personal relationship with him (like a devoted wife and husband) rather than merely a legal tie (like a wife and her “master”).
2.19 bride price: It was the custom for the husband to pay his wife's parents a bride price. Instead of money, the Lord will give much better benefits to Israel.
2.23 Lo-Ruhamah: See the note at 1.6.
2.23 Lo-Ammi: See the note at 1.9.