But I will take pity on the house of Judah and save them by the Lord their God, and will not save them by bow, sword, battle, horses, or horsemen.”

And the Lord said, “Name him Lo-ammi, because you are not My people, and I am not your God.”

Yet the number of the sons of Israel Will be like the sand of the sea, Which cannot be measured or counted; And in the place Where it is said to them, “You are not My people,” It will be said to them, “You are the sons of the living God.”

I will sow her for Myself in the land. I will also have compassion on her who had not obtained compassion, And I will say to those who were not My people, ‘You are My people!’ And they will say, ‘You are my God!’”

Hosea’s Redemption of Gomer

Then the Lord said to me, “Go again, love a woman who is loved by her husband, yet is committing adultery, as the Lord loves the sons of Israel, though they turn to other gods and love raisin cakes.”

Afterward the sons of Israel will return and seek the Lord their God and David their king; and they will come trembling to the Lord and to His goodness in the last days.

God’s Controversy with Israel

Listen to the word of the Lord, you sons of Israel, Because the Lord has a case against the inhabitants of the land, For there is no faithfulness, nor loyalty, Nor knowledge of God in the land.

My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Since you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from being My priest. Since you have forgotten the Law of your God, I also will forget your children.

My people consult their wooden idol, and their diviner’s wand informs them; For a spirit of infidelity has led them astray, And they have been unfaithful, departing from their God.

Their deeds will not allow them To return to their God. For a spirit of infidelity is within them, And they do not know the Lord.

The Response to God’s Rebuke

“Come, let’s return to the Lord. For He has torn us, but He will heal us; He has wounded us, but He will bandage us.

For I desire loyalty rather than sacrifice, And the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.

Though the pride of Israel testifies against him, Yet they have not returned to the Lord their God, Nor have they sought Him, despite all this.

They cry out to Me, “My God, we of Israel know You!”

For from Israel comes even this! A craftsman made it, so it is not God; Assuredly, the calf of Samaria will be broken to pieces.

Ephraim Punished

Do not rejoice, Israel, with jubilation like the nations! For you have been unfaithful, abandoning your God. You have loved the earnings of unfaithfulness on every threshing floor.

Ephraim was a watchman with my God, a prophet; Yet the snare of a bird catcher is in all his ways, And there is only hostility in the house of his God.

My God will reject them Because they have not listened to Him; And they will be wanderers among the nations.

God Yearns over His People

When Israel was a youth I loved him, And out of Egypt I called My son.

I will not carry out My fierce anger; I will not destroy Ephraim again. For I am God and not a man, the Holy One in your midst, And I will not come in wrath.

Ephraim surrounds Me with lies And the house of Israel with deceit; Judah is still unruly against God, Even against the Holy One who is faithful.

In the womb he took his brother by the heel, And in his mature strength he contended with God.

And the Lord, the God of armies, The Lord is His name.

So as for you, return to your God, Maintain kindness and justice, And wait for your God continually.

But I have been the Lord your God since the land of Egypt; I will make you live in tents again, As in the days of the appointed festival.