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1 The ·Lord spoke his word [L word of the Lord that was] to Hosea son of Beeri ·during the time [L in the days] that Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah were kings of Judah and Jeroboam son of Jehoash was king of Israel [C Hosea prophesied about 760–722 bc].
Hosea’s Wife and Children
2 When the Lord began speaking through Hosea, the Lord said to him, “Go, and ·marry [L take for yourself] an ·unfaithful woman [or prostitute; L woman/wife of prostitution/harlotries] and have ·unfaithful children [L children of prostitution/harlotries], because ·the people in this country [L this land] have ·been completely unfaithful to [practiced prostitution/harlotry against] the Lord [C they have been spiritually unfaithful; C Gomer may have been a prostitute or promiscuous woman before the marriage, or only afterward].” 3 So Hosea ·married [L went and took] Gomer daughter of Diblaim, and she ·became pregnant [conceived] and gave birth to Hosea’s son.
4 The Lord said to Hosea, “Name him Jezreel [C Hebrew: “God sows”], because soon I will punish the ·family [L house] of Jehu for the ·people they killed at [L blood of] Jezreel [C Jehu slaughtered the family of king Ahab; 2 Kin. 9:7—10:28]. In ·the future [L that day] I will put an end to the kingdom of [L the house of] Israel 5 and break the ·power of Israel’s army [L bow of Israel] in the Valley of Jezreel.”
6 Gomer ·became pregnant [conceived] again and gave birth to a daughter. The Lord said to Hosea, “Name her Lo-Ruhamah [C Hebrew: “no pity/mercy” or “not loved”], because I will not ·pity [have mercy on; show love to] Israel anymore, nor will I forgive them. 7 But I will show ·pity [mercy; love] to the people of Judah. I will save them, but not by using bows or swords, horses or horsemen, or ·weapons of war [or battle; war]. I, the Lord their God, will save them.”
8 After Gomer had stopped nursing Lo-Ruhamah, she ·became pregnant [conceived] again and gave birth to another son. 9 The Lord said, “Name him Lo-Ammi [C “not my people”], because you are not my people, and I am not your God.
God’s Promise to Israel
10 “But the number of the Israelites will become like the grains of sand of the sea, which no one can measure or count [Gen. 22:17; 32:12]. ·They were called [or Although it was said to them; or In the place where it was said to them], ‘You are not my people,’ but later ·they will be called [it will be said to them] ‘children of the living God.’ 11 The people of Judah and Israel will ·join [come; be gathered] together again and will ·choose [appoint] one leader for themselves. They will come up from the land, because the day of Jezreel [C “God plants/sows,” alluding here to the rebirth of the once desolate nation; see vv. 4–5; 2:22–23] will be truly great.
2 “You are to call your brothers, ‘my people [L Ammi; 1:9],’ and your sisters, ‘you have been shown pity [L Ruhama; 1:6–8].’
God Speaks About Israel
2 “·Plead with [or Rebuke; or Accuse; Bring charges against] your mother [C the nation Israel].
·Plead with [or Rebuke; or Accuse; Bring charges against] her, because she is ·no longer [L not] my wife,
and I am ·no longer [L not] her husband.
Tell her to ·stop acting like a prostitute [or take off her prostitute’s make-up; L set aside her harlotries from her presence/face],
·to stop behaving like an unfaithful wife [L and set aside unfaithfulness from between her breasts].
3 If she refuses, I will strip her naked
and ·leave her bare [expose her] like the day she was born.
I will make her dry like a desert,
like a ·land without water [parched land],
and I will kill her with thirst.
4 I will not ·take pity [have mercy/compassion] on her children,
because they are the children of ·a prostitute [or adultery; harlotry].
5 Their mother has ·acted like a prostitute [been unfaithful; committed adultery];
the one who ·became pregnant with [conceived] them has acted ·disgracefully [shamefully].
She said, ‘I will ·chase [seek; go] after my lovers [C the idol-worshiping nations around Israel],
who give me my ·food [bread] and water,
wool and flax, ·wine [L drinks] and olive oil.’
6 So I will ·block her road [or fence/hedge her in] with thornbushes;
I will ·build a wall around her [wall her in]
so she cannot find her way.
7 She will ·run after [pursue] her lovers,
but she won’t catch them.
She will look for them,
but she won’t find them.
Then she will say, ‘I will go back to my first husband [C God],
because life was better then for me than it is now.’
8 But she does not ·know [acknowledge] that I was the one
who gave her grain, new wine, and oil.
I ·gave her much [lavished on her] silver and gold,
but ·she [L they; C the nation] used it for Baal.
9 “So I will come back and take away my grain ·at harvest time [L in its time]
and my new wine ·when it is ready [L in its season/appointed time].
I will take back my wool and ·linen [flax]
that covered her nakedness.
10 So I will ·show her nakedness [uncover her lewdness/shamelessness] to her lovers,
and no one will ·save [rescue] her from ·me [L my hand].
11 I will put an end to all her ·celebrations [merrymaking]:
her yearly festivals, her New Moon festivals, and her Sabbaths.
I will stop all of her ·special [appointed] feasts.
12 I will destroy her vines and fig trees,
which she said were her pay from her lovers.
I will turn them into a ·forest [overgrown thicket],
and ·wild animals [beasts of the field] will eat them.
13 I will punish her for all the ·times [days; C pagan feast days]
she burned incense to the Baals [C the local gods of the Canaanites worshiped by the Israelites].
She ·put on her [adorned herself with] ·rings [or earrings] and jewelry
and went ·chasing after [out to] her lovers,
but she forgot me!”
says the Lord.
14 “So I am going to ·attract [allure; woo] her;
I will lead her into the ·desert [wilderness; C as in the Exodus, when God rescued Israel from slavery and cared for her; Ex. 12–17]
and speak tenderly to her.
15 There I will give her back her vineyards,
and I will make the Valley of ·Trouble [L Achor; C see Josh. 7:1–26] a door of hope.
There she will ·respond [or sing] as ·when she was young [L in the days of her youth],
as when she came out of Egypt.”
16 The Lord says, “In the future she[a] will call me ‘my husband’;
no longer will she[b] call me ‘my baal [C “baal” can mean “husband,” “master,” or “Baal” (the Canaanite god); in this wordplay, Israel has replaced one husband (the Lord) with another (Baal)].’
17 I will ·never let her say [remove from her lips] the names of Baal again;
people won’t ·use [utter; invoke; or remember] their names anymore.
18 At that time I will make an ·agreement [covenant; treaty] for them
with the ·wild animals [L beasts of the field], the ·birds [L birds of the sky/heavens], and the ·crawling things [T creeping things of the ground].
I will ·smash [shatter; abolish] from the land
the bow and the sword and ·the weapons of war [or war; battle],
so my people will ·live [L lie down] in safety.
19 And I will ·make you my promised bride [L betroth you to me] forever.
I will ·be good and fair [L betroth you in righteousness and justice];
I will show you my ·love [loyalty; unfailing love; lovingkindness] and mercy.
20 I will ·be true to you as my promised bride [L betroth you in faithfulness],
and you will ·know [or acknowledge me as] the Lord.
21 “At that time I will ·speak to you [answer; respond],” says the Lord.
“I will ·speak to [answer; respond to] the ·skies [or heavens],
and they will ·give rain to [L answer; respond to] the earth.
22 The earth will ·produce [L answer/respond with] grain, new wine, and oil;
·much will grow because my people are called [L and they will answer/respond to] Jezreel [C “God plants”; 1:4, 11].
23 I will plant ·my people [L her for myself] in the land,
and I will show pity to the one I had called ‘·not shown pity [L Lo-Ruhamah; 1:6–7].’
I will say, ‘You are my people’
to those I had called ‘·not my people [L Lo-Ammi; 1:9].’
And they will say to me, ‘You are our God.’”
Hosea Redeems His Wife
3 The Lord said to me again, “Go, show your love to a woman [C probably Gomer (1:3), who has since deserted him] ·loved by [or who loves] someone else, who ·has been unfaithful to you [is committing adultery]. In the same way the Lord loves the ·people [L sons; T children] of Israel, even though they ·worship [turn to] other gods and love to eat the raisin cakes [C food eaten at pagan temples].”
2 So I bought her for six ·ounces of silver [shekels] and ·ten bushels [L a homer and a lethek; C a homer was 5–6 bushels; a lethek was about half that] of barley. 3 Then I told her, “You must ·wait for [or live with] me for many days. You must not be a prostitute, and you must not have sexual relations with any other man. I will act the same way toward you.”
4 In the same way the ·people [L sons; T children] of Israel will live many days without a king or ·leader [prince], without sacrifices or holy stone pillars [C used in pagan worship; 2 Kin. 3:2; 10:26–28; 17:10], and without ·the holy vest [ephod; Ex. 28:6–14; Judg. 8:27] or ·an idol [household idols; L teraphim; Gen. 31:19]. 5 After this, the people of Israel will return and ·follow [seek] the Lord their God and ·the king from David’s family [L David their king; C an heir from David’s line]. In the last days they will ·turn in fear [come in reverence/awe] to the Lord, and he will bless them.
Faith in the Son of God
5 Everyone who believes that Jesus is the ·Christ [Messiah] is ·God’s child [L born of/begotten by God], and whoever loves the Father also loves the ·Father’s children [L one born of/begotten by him]. 2 ·This is how [By/In this] we know we love God’s children: when we love God and ·obey [perform; carry out] his commands. 3 ·Loving God means [L For this is the love of God:] ·obeying [keeping] his commands. And God’s commands are not ·too hard [burdensome] for us [Matt. 11:30], 4 because everyone who is ·a child of [L born of; begotten of] God ·conquers [defeats; overcomes] the world. And this is the ·victory [conquest] that ·conquers [defeats; overcomes] the world—our faith. 5 ·So the one who conquers the world is [or Who is it that conquers/defeats/overcomes the world but…?] the person who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.
6 Jesus Christ is the One who came by water [C likely a reference to Jesus’ baptism] and blood [C a reference to his death]. He did not come by water only, but by water and blood. And the Spirit ·says that this is true [is the one who testifies/bears witness; Mark 1:11; John 1:32–34], because the Spirit is the truth. 7 ·So [or For] there are three ·witnesses[a] [who testify/bear witness]: 8 the Spirit, the water, and the blood; and these three witnesses ·agree [L are one]. 9 ·We believe people when they say something is true. But what God says is more important [L If we accept the witness/testimony of people, the witness/testimony of God is better], ·and he has told us the truth about his own Son [L because this is the witness/testimony God has given about his Son]. 10 Anyone who believes in the Son of God ·has the truth that God told us [or has the internal testimony of the Holy Spirit; or has the testimony of the eyewitnesses (see 1:1–4); L has the witness/testimony in himself]. Anyone who does not believe makes God a liar [1:10], because that person does not believe ·what God told us [L the witness/testimony that God witnessed/testified to] about his Son. 11 This is ·what God told us [L the witness/testimony]: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12 Whoever has the Son has life, but whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.
We Have Eternal Life Now
13 ·I write this letter [L I have written these things] to you who believe in the [L name of the] Son of God so you will know you have eternal life. 14 And this is the ·boldness [confidence] we have ·in God’s presence [L before God; 3:21]: that if we ask God for anything ·that agrees with what he wants [L according to his will], he hears us. 15 [L And] If we know he hears us ·every time we ask him [in whatever we ask], we know we have what we ask from him [3:21–22; Mark 11:24].
16 If anyone sees a brother or sister [C fellow believer] sinning (sin that does not lead to ·eternal death [L death]), that person should ·pray [ask; intercede], and God will give the sinner life. I am talking about people whose sin does not lead to ·eternal death [L death]. There is ·sin [or a sin] that leads to [eternal] death [C probably referring to the false teachers, their rejection of the Spirit’s work having put them beyond repentance; compare Mark 3:29]. I do not mean that a person should ·pray [ask; intercede] about that sin. 17 ·Doing wrong is always sin [L All unrighteousness is sin], but there is sin that does not lead to ·eternal death [L death].
18 We know that those who ·are God’s children [L are born of/begotten by God] do not ·continue to sin [L sin; 3:6, 9]. The ·Son of God [L the one born of/begotten by God; C Jesus] ·keeps them safe [protects them], and the Evil One [C the Devil] cannot ·touch [harm] them. 19 We know that we ·belong to God [or are children of God; L are of God], but the Evil One controls the whole world. 20 We also know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding so that we can know the True One. And ·our lives [L we] are in the True One and in his Son, Jesus Christ. He is the true God and the eternal life.
21 So, dear children [2:1], ·keep yourselves away [guard yourselves] from ·false gods [L idols; C either literal idols or false ideas about God].
The Lord Saves His People
A song ·for going up to worship [of ascents; C perhaps sung while traveling to Jerusalem to celebrate an annual religious festival like Passover]. Of David.
124 What if the Lord had not been on our side?
(Let Israel ·repeat this [L say].)
2 What if the Lord had not been on our side
when ·we were attacked [L people rose against us]?
3 When they were angry with us,
they would have swallowed us alive.
4 They would have been like ·a flood [L water] ·drowning [overflowing] us;
they would have ·poured [passed] over us like a ·river [torrent].
5 They would have ·swept us away [passed over us] like ·a mighty stream [raging waters].
6 ·Praise [Blessed be] the Lord,
who did not ·let them chew us up [L give us as prey to their teeth].
7 We escaped like a bird
from the ·hunter’s [fowler’s] trap.
The trap broke,
and we escaped.
8 Our help ·comes from [L is in the name of] the Lord,
who made heaven and earth [Gen. 1].
5 Those who give false praise to their ·neighbors [or friends]
are setting a ·trap for them [trap/net for their feet].
6 Evil people are trapped by their own ·sin [offenses],
but ·good [righteous] people can sing and be happy.
7 ·Good [Righteous] people ·care [know] about ·justice for [the rights of] the poor,
but the wicked ·are not concerned [L do not understand].
8 ·People who make fun of wisdom [Mockers] ·cause trouble in [L inflame] a city,
but wise people ·calm anger down [L turn back anger].
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