Beginning
The Unfaithful Wife
1 The word of Adonai that came to Hosea son of Beeri, in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam son of Joash, king of Israel. 2 When Adonai first spoke with Hosea, Adonai said to Hosea:
“Go, get yourself a prostitute as a wife
and children with a prostitute!
For the land is an unfaithful prostitute,
far from following after Adonai.”
3 So he went and took Gomer the daughter of Diblaim, and she conceived and bore him a son. 4 Then Adonai said to him:
“Name him Jezreel[a] for in yet a little while
I will visit the blood of Jezreel upon the house of Jehu,
and I will destroy the kingdom of the house of Israel.
5 In that day I will break the bow of Israel in the valley of Jezreel.”
6 Then she conceived again, and bore a daughter. And He said to him:
“Name her Lo-ruhamah[b]—
for no longer will I have compassion on the house of Israel
that I should ever pardon them.
7 But on the house of Judah I will have compassion
and deliver them by Adonai, their God,
yet not by bow, sword or battle,
nor by horses and horsemen.”
8 After she weaned Lo-ruhamah, she conceived and bore a son. 9 Then He said:
Restoring the Covenant Promises
2 “Yet the number of Bnei-Yisrael will be like the sand of the sea,
which cannot be measured or counted.[e]
Instead of ‘You are not My people’ being said to them,
they will be called ‘Children of the living God.’
2 Then the descendants of Judah and descendants of Israel will be gathered together.
They will appoint themselves one head
And they will go up from the land.
For the day of Jezreel will be great.
3 Say you to your brothers, ‘Ammi’[f]
and to your sisters, ‘Ruhamah’[g].
4 Contend with your mother, contend!
For she is not My wife nor I her husband.
Let her put away her fornications from her face
and her adulteries from between her breasts.
5 Or else I will strip her naked
and expose her as on the day she was born.
Then I will make her like a wilderness.
Yes, I will make her like desert land,
and I will let her die of thirst.
6 I will have no compassion for her children,
for they are children of prostitution.
7 For their mother has practiced prostitution.
She who conceived them has been shameful.
For she said, ‘Let me go after my lovers,
who are giving me my bread and my water,
my wool and my flax, my oil and my drink.’
8 Therefore see, I will hedge her in with thorns,
and I will build a wall around her
so she cannot find her paths.
9 Then she will chase after her lovers,
but she will not overtake them.
She will seek them, but not find.
Then she will say:
‘Let me go and return to my first husband,
for was it better for me then, than now.’
10 But she did not realize that I Myself
gave her the grain, the wine and the fresh oil.
I lavished on her silver, also gold—
which they made into Baal.
11 Therefore I will return
and take back My grain in its season,
and My new wine at its appointed time,
and I will snatch away My wool and My linen
for covering her nakedness.
12 So now I will uncover her lewdness
to the eyes of her lovers,
and no one will rescue her from My hand.
13 I will also put an end to all her rejoicing—
her feasts, her New Moon,
her Shabbat, and all her moadim.
14 I will also devastate her vines and her fig trees,
of which she said: ‘These are my payment
that my lovers have given to me.’
But I will turn them into a thicket
and beasts of the field will devour them.
15 Then I will punish her for the days of the Baalim[h]
to whom she would burn incense—
adorning herself with her rings and jewelry,
going after her lovers—
but Me she forgot.”
It is a declaration of Adonai.
Compassion and Covenant Love
16 “So then, I Myself will entice her,
I will bring her into the wilderness
and speak to her heart.
17 I will give her back her vineyards from there
and make the valley of Achor a door of hope.
She will respond there—
as in the days of her youth,
as in the day she came up out of the land of Egypt.
18 In that day—it is a declaration of Adonai—
you will proclaim, ‘My husband,’
and never again call Me, ‘My Baal.’
19 Then I will remove the names of the Baalim out of her mouth,
no longer to be mentioned by their name.
20 In that day I will make a covenant for them
with the beasts of the field, the flying creatures in the sky,
and the creeping things on the ground.
I will break into pieces the bow and sword
and warfare from the land,
and I will cause them to lie down securely.
21 Then I will betroth you to Me forever—
yes, I will betroth you to Me with righteousness,
justice, covenant loyalty and compassion.
22 I will betroth you to Me with faithfulness,
and you will know Adonai.
23 So it will be in that day, I will respond
—it is a declaration of Adonai—
I will respond to the skies,
and they will respond to the earth,
24 and the earth will respond
with grain, new wine, and fresh oil—
and they will respond with ‘Jezreel!’[i]
25 I will sow her in the land for Myself.
I will have compassion on Lo-ruhamah.
I will say to Lo-ammi, ‘You are My people!’[j]
and they will say, ‘My God!’”
Buying Back His Wife
3 Then Adonai said to me: “Go again! Love a woman who is loved by a companion and committing adultery—just as Adonai has loved the Bnei-Yisrael, while they were turning to other gods and loving raisin cakes.”
2 So I bought her for myself for fifteen shekels of silver and an omer and a half of barley. 3 Then I said to her: “For many days you must stay with me. You must not practice prostitution. You must not have a man, and I will be the same toward you.”
4 For Bnei-Yisrael will remain for many days without king, without prince, without sacrifice, without sacred pillar, and without ephod or teraphim. [k] 5 Afterwards, Bnei-Yisrael will return, and they will seek Adonai their God and David their king. Then they will turn in awe to Adonai and to His goodness in the last days.
Destroyed For Lack of Knowledge
4 Hear the word of Adonai, Bnei-Yisrael!
For Adonai has a dispute with the inhabitants of the land,
because there is no truth,
no covenant loyalty,
and no knowledge of God in the land.
2 Curse, deceive, murder,
steal, commit adultery!
They practice violence,
and bloodshed follows bloodshed.
3 Therefore the land will mourn,
and everyone dwelling in it will languish
along with the beasts of the field and the flying creatures of the sky—
even the fish of the sea will be removed.
4 Yet let no one dispute
and let no one argue.
Your people are like a kohen
who makes quarrels.
5 So you will stumble by day.
Also a prophet will stumble with you by night,
when I destroy your mother.
6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.
Since you rejected knowledge,
I will also reject you from being My kohen.
Since you forgot the Torah of your God,
just so I will forget your children.
7 The more they multiplied,
the more they sinned against Me.
I will change their glory into disgrace.
8 They feed on the sin of My people
and relish their iniquity.
9 But it will be like people, like kohen.
So I will punish them for their ways,
and repay them for their deeds.
10 They have eaten but will not be satisfied.
They have fornicated but will not increase.
For they stopped giving heed to Adonai.
11 Prostitution and wine—even new wine—
it takes away understanding.
12 My people consult their wooden idol
and their divining rod informs them.
For a spirit of prostitution
leads them astray
and they have been a prostitute—
out from under their God.
13 They sacrifice on the mountaintops
and on the high places they burn incense
under oak poplar, and terebinth—
for its shade is good.
Therefore your daughters are prostitutes
and your daughters-in-law commit adultery.
14 Will I not punish your daughters for prostitution
or your daughters-in-law for adultery?
For they consort with prostitutes,
and they sacrifice with cult prostitutes.
A people without understanding
will be thrust down.
15 Though you, Israel, are a prostitute,
let Judah not become guilty.
But do not come to Gilgal
or go up to Beth-aven,[l]
and do not swear: ‘As Adonai lives!’
16 For Israel is stubborn like a stubborn cow.
Now Adonai will pasture them
like a lamb in the open field.
17 Ephraim is joined to idols;
let him alone!
18 Their liquor has come to an end.
They surely have practiced prostitution.
Her rulers have deeply loved disgrace.
19 A wind will wrap her up in its wings.
They will be ashamed of their sacrifices.
Judgment for Betrayal
5 Hear this, O priests!
Pay attention, O house of Israel!
Give ear, O house of the king!
For the judgment applies to you:
For you were a snare at Mizpah
and a net spread on Tabor.
2 Rebels were deep in slaughter,
so I am a chastisement for them all.
3 I myself have known Ephraim,
and Israel is not hidden from Me.
For now, Ephraim, you are a prostitute—
Israel is defiled!
4 They will not give up their evil deeds
to return to their God.
For a spirit of prostitution is in them,
and Adonai they have not known.
5 The Pride of Israel will answer to his face:
Israel and Ephraim will stagger in their iniquity,
Judah also will stumble with them.
6 With their flocks and with their herds
they will go to seek Adonai,
but they will not find Him—
He has withdrawn from them.
7 They have betrayed Adonai,
for they have begotten foreign children.
Now the New Moon will devour them,
with their portions.
8 Blow a shofar in Gibeah,
a trumpet in Ramah!
Sound an alarm at Beth-aven:
“Behind you, Benjamin!”
9 Ephraim will be become desolate
in the day of rebuke.
Among the tribes of Israel
I made known what is certain.
10 The princes of Judah were like those who move a boundary mark.
I pour out My fury on them like water.
11 Oppressed is Ephraim,
crushed by judgment,
for he willingly followed a worthless thing.
12 So, I will be like a moth to Ephraim
and like decay to the house of Judah.
13 When Ephraim saw his sickness
and Judah his wound,
Ephraim went to Assyria
and sent envoys to a warring king.
But he cannot heal you
nor will he cure your wound.
14 For I will be like a lion to Ephraim,
and like a young lion to the house of Judah.
I, even I, will tear and go away.
I will carry off, and nobody will rescue.
15 I will go and return to My place
until they admit their guilt.
Then they will seek My face.
In their distress they will seek Me earnestly:
Prayer of Teshuvah
6 Come, let us return to Adonai.
For He has torn, but He will heal us.
He has smitten, but He will bind us up.
2 After two days He will revive us.
On the third day He will raise us up,
and we will live in His presence.[m]
3 So let us know, let us strive to know Adonai.
Like dawn His going forth is certain.
He will come to us like the rain,
like the latter rain watering the earth.
Covenant Loyalty More Than Sacrifice
4 “O Ephraim, what shall I do for you?
O Judah, what will I do for you?
For your loyalty is like a morning cloud
or like dew rising early, vanishing.
5 Therefore I cut them down by the prophets.
I slew them by the words of My mouth.
Now the judgments pronounced against you:
light will go forth.
6 For I delight in loyalty[n] and not sacrifice,
knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.
7 But like Adam, they transgressed a covenant.
There they dealt treacherously with Me.
8 Gilead is a city of evildoers,
tracked with bloody footprints.
9 Like marauding bands waiting for a man,
so a company of priests murders
on the way toward Shechem.
For they have committed crime.
10 In the house of Israel
I have seen a horrible thing:
Ephraim’s prostitution is there,
Israel has become unclean.
11 Also, Judah, there is a harvest for you,
when I return My people from captivity.”
Iniquity of Senseless Ephraim
7 “When I would have healed Israel,
the iniquity of Ephraim was uncovered,
even the wickedness of Samaria,
for they practice fraud.
So a thief breaks in;
a marauding band will raid outside.
2 But they never admit in their heart
that I remember all their evil.
Now their deeds are all around them.
They are right before My face.
3 They gladden the king with their evil
and the princes with their lies.
4 All of them are practicing adultery,
as an oven heated by a baker who stops stirring
or kneading dough when it is leavened.
5 On the day of our king,
princes become sick from wine.
His hand drags scorners along.
6 For their hearts are like an oven,
as they wait in ambush.
All night their anger smolders.
In the morning it burns like a blazing fire.
7 All of them are hot like an oven,
and they devour their rulers.
All of their kings have fallen.
None among them calls on Me.
8 Ephraim mixes himself with the peoples.
Ephraim has become a pancake
that never gets turned over.
9 Strangers devoured his strength—
yet he does not know it.
Gray hairs have spread on him—
and he does not know it.
10 Though the Pride of Israel
has answered him to his face,
yet they did not return
to Adonai their God,
nor seek Him about all this.
11 Ephraim is like a senseless silly dove,
they call to Egypt; they go to Assyria.
12 As they are going,
I will spread out My net over them,
I will bring them down like a bird from the sky.
I will chasten them as in the report
that comes to their assembly.
13 Oy to them!
For they strayed from Me.
Devastation to them!
For they rebelled against Me.
Should I redeem them
after they spoke lies about Me?
14 Nor did they not cry to Me in their heart
when they were wailing on their beds.
For the sake of grain and new wine
they slash themselves—
they keep turning away from Me.
15 I trained and strengthened their arms,
yet they kept planning evil against Me.
16 They will turn back—only not upwards.
They are like a treacherous bow.
Their princes will fall by the sword
because of the insolence with their tongues.
This will be for their ridicule in the land of Egypt.
Tree of Life (TLV) Translation of the Bible. Copyright © 2015 by The Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society.