Hosea 2
New International Reader's Version
2 “People of Israel, call your brothers ‘My people.’ And call your sisters ‘My loved ones.’
Israel Is Punished and Brought Back to the Lord
2 “Tell your mother she is wrong.
Tell her she is wrong.
She isn’t acting like a wife to me anymore.
She no longer treats me as her husband.
Tell her to stop looking and acting like a prostitute.
Tell her not to let her lovers
lie on her breasts anymore.
3 If she doesn’t stop it, I will strip her naked.
I’ll make her as bare as she was on the day she was born.
I’ll make her like a desert.
She will become like dry land.
And I’ll let her die of thirst.
4 “I won’t show my love to her children.
They are the children of other men.
5 Their mother hasn’t been faithful to me.
She who became pregnant with them
has brought shame on herself.
She said, ‘I will chase after my lovers.
They give me my food and water.
They provide me with wool and linen.
They give me olive oil and wine.’
6 So I will block her path with bushes that have thorns.
I’ll build a wall around her.
Then she can’t go to her lovers.
7 She will still chase after her lovers.
But she won’t catch them.
She’ll look for them.
But she won’t find them.
Then she’ll say,
‘I’ll go back to my husband.
That’s where I was at first.
I was better off then than I am now.’
8 She wouldn’t admit that I was the one
who gave her everything she had.
I provided her with grain, olive oil and fresh wine.
I gave her plenty of silver and gold.
But she used it to make statues of Baal.
9 “So I will take away my grain when it gets ripe.
I’ll take my fresh wine when it’s ready.
I’ll take back my wool and my linen.
I gave them to her to cover her naked body.
10 So now I’ll uncover her body.
All her lovers will see it.
No one can stop me from punishing her.
11 I will put a stop to the special times she celebrates.
I’ll bring an end to the feasts she celebrates each year.
I’ll stop her New Moon feasts and her Sabbath days.
I’ll bring all her appointed feasts to an end.
12 I will destroy her vines and her fig trees.
She said they were her pay from her lovers.
I’ll make them like clumps of bushes and weeds.
Wild animals will eat them up.
13 Israel burned incense to the gods
that were named Baal.
I will punish her
for all the times she did that.
She decorated herself with rings and jewelry.
Then she went after her lovers.
But she forgot all about me,”
declares the Lord.
14 “So now I am going to draw her back to me.
I will lead her into the desert.
There I will speak tenderly to her.
15 I will give her back her vineyards.
I will make the Valley of Achor a door of hope for her.
Then she will love me, as she did when she was young.
She will love me just as she did
when she came up out of Egypt.
16 “A new day is coming,” announces the Lord.
“Israel will call me ‘my husband.’
She will no longer call me ‘my master.’
17 She will no longer speak about the gods
that are named Baal.
She will not pray to them for help anymore.
18 At that time I will make a covenant
for the good of my people.
I will make it with the wild animals
and the birds in the sky.
It will also be made with the creatures
that move along the ground.
I will remove bows and swords
and other weapons of war from the land.
Then my people can lie down in safety.
19 I will make Israel my own.
She will belong to me forever.
I will do to her what is right and fair.
I will love her tenderly.
20 I will be faithful to her.
And she will recognize me as the Lord.
21 “So at that time I will answer her,”
announces the Lord.
“I will command the skies
to send rain on the earth.
22 Then the earth will produce grain, olive oil and fresh wine.
And Israel will be called Jezreel.
That’s because I will answer her prayers.
23 I will plant her in the land for myself.
I will show my love to the one I called Not My Loved One.
I will say, ‘You are my people’
to those who were called Not My People.
And they will say, ‘You are my God.’ ”
Hosea 2
King James Version
2 Say ye unto your brethren, Ammi; and to your sisters, Ruhamah.
2 Plead with your mother, plead: for she is not my wife, neither am I her husband: let her therefore put away her whoredoms out of her sight, and her adulteries from between her breasts;
3 Lest I strip her naked, and set her as in the day that she was born, and make her as a wilderness, and set her like a dry land, and slay her with thirst.
4 And I will not have mercy upon her children; for they be the children of whoredoms.
5 For their mother hath played the harlot: she that conceived them hath done shamefully: for she said, I will go after my lovers, that give me my bread and my water, my wool and my flax, mine oil and my drink.
6 Therefore, behold, I will hedge up thy way with thorns, and make a wall, that she shall not find her paths.
7 And she shall follow after her lovers, but she shall not overtake them; and she shall seek them, but shall not find them: then shall she say, I will go and return to my first husband; for then was it better with me than now.
8 For she did not know that I gave her corn, and wine, and oil, and multiplied her silver and gold, which they prepared for Baal.
9 Therefore will I return, and take away my corn in the time thereof, and my wine in the season thereof, and will recover my wool and my flax given to cover her nakedness.
10 And now will I discover her lewdness in the sight of her lovers, and none shall deliver her out of mine hand.
11 I will also cause all her mirth to cease, her feast days, her new moons, and her sabbaths, and all her solemn feasts.
12 And I will destroy her vines and her fig trees, whereof she hath said, These are my rewards that my lovers have given me: and I will make them a forest, and the beasts of the field shall eat them.
13 And I will visit upon her the days of Baalim, wherein she burned incense to them, and she decked herself with her earrings and her jewels, and she went after her lovers, and forgat me, saith the Lord.
14 Therefore, behold, I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak comfortably unto her.
15 And I will give her her vineyards from thence, and the valley of Achor for a door of hope: and she shall sing there, as in the days of her youth, and as in the day when she came up out of the land of Egypt.
16 And it shall be at that day, saith the Lord, that thou shalt call me Ishi; and shalt call me no more Baali.
17 For I will take away the names of Baalim out of her mouth, and they shall no more be remembered by their name.
18 And in that day will I make a covenant for them with the beasts of the field and with the fowls of heaven, and with the creeping things of the ground: and I will break the bow and the sword and the battle out of the earth, and will make them to lie down safely.
19 And I will betroth thee unto me for ever; yea, I will betroth thee unto me in righteousness, and in judgment, and in lovingkindness, and in mercies.
20 I will even betroth thee unto me in faithfulness: and thou shalt know the Lord.
21 And it shall come to pass in that day, I will hear, saith the Lord, I will hear the heavens, and they shall hear the earth;
22 And the earth shall hear the corn, and the wine, and the oil; and they shall hear Jezreel.
23 And I will sow her unto me in the earth; and I will have mercy upon her that had not obtained mercy; and I will say to them which were not my people, Thou art my people; and they shall say, Thou art my God.
Hosea 2
New American Standard Bible
Israel’s Unfaithfulness Condemned
2 [a]Say to your brothers, “[b]Ammi,” and to your sisters, “[c]Ruhamah.”
2 “Dispute with your mother, (A)dispute,
Because she is (B)not my wife, and I am not her husband;
But she must remove her (C)infidelity from her face
And her adultery from between her breasts,
3 Otherwise, I will strip her (D)naked
And expose her as on the (E)day she was born.
I will also (F)make her like a wilderness,
Make her like desert land,
And put her to death with (G)thirst.
4 Also, I will take no pity on her children,
Because they are (H)children of infidelity.
5 For their mother has (I)committed prostitution;
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)obstruct [d]her way with (N)thorns,
And I will build [e]a stone wall against her so that she cannot find her (O)paths.
7 And she will (P)pursue her lovers, but she will not reach them;
And she will seek them, but will not find them.
Then she will say, ‘(Q)I will go back to my (R)first husband,
Because it was (S)better for me then than now!’
8 “Yet she does (T)not know that it was (U)I myself who gave her the grain, the new wine, and the oil,
And lavished on her silver and gold,
Which they [f]used for Baal.
9 Therefore, I will [g](V)take back My grain at [h]harvest time
And My new wine in its season.
I will also take away My wool and My flax
That I gave to cover her nakedness.
10 So now I will (W)uncover her [i]lewdness
Before the eyes of her lovers,
And no one will rescue her from My hand.
11 I will also (X)put an end to all her joy,
Her (Y)feasts, her (Z)new moons, her Sabbaths,
And all her festivals.
12 And I will (AA)destroy her vines and fig trees,
Of which she said, ‘They are my wages for prostitution
Which my lovers have given me.’
And I will (AB)turn them into a forest,
And the (AC)animals of the field will devour them.
13 I will punish her for the (AD)days of the Baals
When she used to [j](AE)offer sacrifices to them
And (AF)adorn herself with her nose ring and jewelry,
And follow her lovers, so that she (AG)forgot Me,” declares the Lord.
Restoration of Israel
14 “Therefore, behold, I am going to persuade her,
(AH)Bring her into the wilderness,
And speak [k]kindly to her.
15 Then I will give her her (AI)vineyards from there,
And (AJ)the [l]Valley of Achor as a door of hope.
And she will [m](AK)respond there as in the days of her youth,
As in the (AL)day when she went up from the land of Egypt.
16 And it will come about on that day,” declares the Lord,
“That you will call Me [n](AM)my husband
And no longer call Me my [o]Baal.
17 For (AN)I will remove the names of the Baals from her mouth,
So that they will no longer be [p]mentioned by their names.
18 On that day I will also make a covenant for them
With the (AO)animals of the field,
The birds of the sky,
And the crawling things of the ground.
And I will [q](AP)eliminate the bow, the sword, and war from the land,
And will let them (AQ)lie down in safety.
19 I will (AR)betroth you to Me forever;
Yes, I will betroth you to Me in (AS)righteousness and in justice,
In favor and in compassion,
20 And I will betroth you to Me in faithfulness.
Then you will (AT)know the Lord.
21 “And it will come about on that day that (AU)I will respond,” declares the Lord.
“I will respond to the heavens, and they will respond to the earth,
22 And the (AV)earth will respond to the grain, to the new wine, and to the oil,
And they will respond to [r]Jezreel.
23 I will (AW)sow her for Myself in the land.
(AX)I will also have compassion on [s]her who had not obtained compassion,
And (AY)I will say to [t]those who were (AZ)not My people,
‘You are My people!’
And [u]they will say, ‘You are my God!’”
Footnotes
- Hosea 2:1 Ch 2:3 in Heb
- Hosea 2:1 I.e., my people
- Hosea 2:1 I.e., she has obtained compassion
- Hosea 2:6 As in some ancient versions; MT your
- Hosea 2:6 Lit her stone wall so that
- Hosea 2:8 Or made into the
- Hosea 2:9 Lit return and take My
- Hosea 2:9 Lit its time
- Hosea 2:10 Or shame
- Hosea 2:13 Or burn incense
- Hosea 2:14 Lit upon her heart
- Hosea 2:15 Lit Valley of Trouble
- Hosea 2:15 Or give answer
- Hosea 2:16 Heb Ishi
- Hosea 2:16 Also meaning husband in Heb, besides a name for false gods
- Hosea 2:17 Or remembered
- Hosea 2:18 Lit break
- Hosea 2:22 I.e., God sows
- Hosea 2:23 Heb Lo-ruhamah
- Hosea 2:23 Heb Lo-ammi
- Hosea 2:23 Lit he
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