Hosea — Chapter 2

1Say ye unto your brethren, Ammi; and to your sisters, Ru-hamah.

2Plead 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;

3Lest 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.

4And I will not have mercy upon her children; for they be the children of whoredoms.

5For 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.

6Therefore, behold, I will hedge up thy way with thorns, and make a wall, that she shall not find her paths.

7And 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.

8For she did not know that I gave her corn, and wine, and oil, and multiplied her silver and gold, which they prepared for Baal.

9Therefore 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.

10And now will I discover her lewdness in the sight of her lovers, and none shall deliver her out of mine hand.

11I will also cause all her mirth to cease, her feast days, her new moons, and her sabbaths, and all her solemn feasts.

12And 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.

13And 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.

14Therefore, behold, I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak comfortably unto her.

15And 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.

16And it shall be at that day, saith the LORD, that thou shalt call me Ishi; and shalt call me no more Baali.

17For I will take away the names of Baalim out of her mouth, and they shall no more be remembered by their name.

18And 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.

19And 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.

20I will even betroth thee unto me in faithfulness: and thou shalt know the LORD.

21And 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;

22And the earth shall hear the corn, and the wine, and the oil; and they shall hear Jezreel.

23And 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.

1Say ye unto your brethren, Ammi; and to your sisters, Ruhamah.

2Contend with your mother, contend; for she is not my wife, neither am I her husband; and let her put away her whoredoms from her face, and her adulteries from between her breasts;

3lest 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.

4Yea, upon her children will I have no mercy; for they are children of whoredom;

5for 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.

6Therefore, behold, I will hedge up thy way with thorns, and I will build a wall against her, that she shall not find her paths.

7And 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.

8For she did not know that I gave her the grain, and the new wine, and the oil, and multiplied unto her silver and gold, which they used for Baal.

9Therefore will I take back my grain in the time thereof, and my new wine in the season thereof, and will pluck away my wool and my flax which should have covered her nakedness.

10And now will I uncover her lewdness in the sight of her lovers, and none shall deliver her out of my hand.

11I will also cause all her mirth to cease, her feasts, her new moons, and her sabbaths, and all her solemn assemblies.

12And I will lay waste her vines and her fig-trees, whereof she hath said, These are my hire that my lovers have given me; and I will make them a forest, and the beasts of the field shall eat them.

13And I will visit upon her the days of the Baalim, unto which she burned incense, when she decked herself with her earrings and her jewels, and went after her lovers, and forgat me, saith Jehovah.

14Therefore, behold, I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak comfortably unto her.

15And I will give her her vineyards from thence, and the valley of Achor for a door of hope; and she shall make answer there, as in the days of her youth, and as in the day when she came up out of the land of Egypt.

16And it shall be at that day, saith Jehovah, that thou shalt call me Ishi, and shalt call me no more Baali.

17For I will take away the names of the Baalim out of her mouth, and they shall no more be mentioned by their name.

18And in that day will I make a covenant for them with the beasts of the field, and with the birds of the heavens, and with the creeping things of the ground: and I will break the bow and the sword and the battle out of the land, and will make them to lie down safely.

19And I will betroth thee unto me for ever; yea, I will betroth thee unto me in righteousness, and in justice, and in lovingkindness, and in mercies.

20I will even betroth thee unto me in faithfulness; and thou shalt know Jehovah.

21And it shall come to pass in that day, I will answer, saith Jehovah, I will answer the heavens, and they shall answer the earth;

22and the earth shall answer the grain, and the new wine, and the oil; and they shall answer Jezreel.

23And 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 that were not my people, Thou art my people; and they shall say, [Thou art] my God.

1“Then you will call your brother, ‘My People’ (Ammi)! You will call your sister, ‘Pity’ (Ruhamah)!

2“Plead earnestly with your mother (for she is not my wife, and I am not her husband), so that she might put an end to her adulterous lifestyle and turn away from her sexually immoral behavior.

3Otherwise, I will strip her naked and expose her like she was when she was born. I will turn her land into a wilderness and make her country a parched land, so that I might kill her with thirst.

4I will have no pity on her children because they are children conceived in adultery.

5For their mother has committed adultery; she who conceived them has acted shamefully. For she said, ‘I will seek out my lovers; they are the ones who give me my bread and my water, my wool, my flax, my olive oil, and my wine.’

6“Therefore, I will soon fence her in with thorns; I will wall her in so that she cannot find her way.

7Then she will pursue her lovers, but she will not catch them; she will seek them, but she will not find them. Then she will say, ‘I will go back to my husband, because I was better off then than I am now.’

8“Yet until now she has refused to acknowledge that I was the one who gave her the grain, the new wine, and the olive oil; and that it was I who lavished on her the silver and gold— that they used in worshiping Baal!

9Therefore, I will take back my grain during the harvest time and my new wine when it ripens; I will take away my wool and my flax that I had provided in order to clothe her.

10Soon I will expose her lewd nakedness in front of her lovers, and no one will be able to rescue her from me!

11I will put an end to all her celebrations: her annual religious festivals, monthly new moon celebrations, and weekly Sabbath festivities— all her appointed festivals.

12I will destroy her vines and fig trees, about which she said, ‘These are my wages for prostitution that my lovers gave to me!’ I will turn her cultivated vines and fig trees into an uncultivated thicket, so that wild animals will devour them.

13I will punish her for the festival days when she burned incense to the Baal idols; she adorned herself with earrings and jewelry, and went after her lovers, but she forgot me!” says the Lord.

14“However, in the future I will allure her; I will lead her back into the wilderness and speak tenderly to her.

15From there I will give back her vineyards to her and turn the ‘Valley of Trouble’ into an ‘Opportunity for Hope.’ There she will sing as she did when she was young, when she came up from the land of Egypt.

16At that time,” declares the Lord, “you will call me, ‘My husband’; you will never again call me, ‘My master.’

17For I will remove the names of the Baal idols from your lips, so that you will never again utter their names!

18“At that time I will make a covenant for them with the wild animals, the birds of the air, and the creatures that crawl on the ground. I will abolish the warrior’s bow and sword— that is, every weapon of warfare—from the land, and I will allow them to live securely.

19I will commit myself to you forever; I will commit myself to you in righteousness and justice, in steadfast love and tender compassion.

20I will commit myself to you in faithfulness; then you will acknowledge the Lord.

21“At that time, I will willingly respond,” declares the Lord. “I will respond to the sky, and the sky will respond to the ground;

22then the ground will respond to the grain, the new wine, and the olive oil; and they will respond to ‘God Plants’ (Jezreel)!

23Then I will plant her as my own in the land. I will have pity on ‘No Pity’ (Lo-Ruhamah). I will say to ‘Not My People’ (Lo-Ammi), ‘You are my people!’ And he will say, ‘You are my God!’”

1“Say to your brothers, ‘My people!’ and to your sisters, ‘My loved one!’

2Contend with your mother! Contend, for she is not my wife, neither am I her husband; and let her put away her prostitution from her face, and her adulteries from between her breasts;

3Lest I strip her naked, and make her bare as in the day that she was born, and make her like a wilderness, and set her like a dry land, and kill her with thirst.

4Indeed, on her children I will have no mercy; for they are children of unfaithfulness;

5For their mother has played the prostitute. She who conceived them has done shamefully; for she said, ‘I will go after my lovers, who give me my bread and my water, my wool and my flax, my oil and my drink.’

6Therefore behold, I will hedge up your way with thorns, and I will build a wall against her, that she can’t find her way.

7She will follow after her lovers, but she won’t overtake them; and she will seek them, but won’t find them. Then she will say, ‘I will go and return to my first husband; for then was it better with me than now.’

8For she did not know that I gave her the grain, the new wine, and the oil, and multiplied to her silver and gold, which they used for Baal.

9Therefore I will take back my grain in its time, and my new wine in its season, and will pluck away my wool and my flax which should have covered her nakedness.

10Now I will uncover her lewdness in the sight of her lovers, and no one will deliver her out of my hand.

11I will also cause all her celebrations to cease: her feasts, her new moons, her Sabbaths, and all her solemn assemblies.

12I will lay waste her vines and her fig trees, about which she has said, ‘These are my wages that my lovers have given me; and I will make them a forest,’ and the animals of the field shall eat them.

13I will visit on her the days of the Baals, to which she burned incense, when she decked herself with her earrings and her jewels, and went after her lovers, and forgot me,” says Yahweh.

14“Therefore behold, I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak tenderly to her.

15I will give her vineyards from there, and the valley of Achor for a door of hope; and she will respond there, as in the days of her youth, and as in the day when she came up out of the land of Egypt.

16It will be in that day,” says Yahweh, “that you will call me ‘my husband,’ and no longer call me ‘my master.’

17For I will take away the names of the Baals out of her mouth, and they will no longer be mentioned by name.

18In that day I will make a covenant for them with the animals of the field, and with the birds of the sky, and with the creeping things of the ground. I will break the bow, the sword, and the battle out of the land, and will make them lie down safely.

19I will betroth you to me forever. Yes, I will betroth you to me in righteousness, in justice, in loving kindness, and in compassion.

20I will even betroth you to me in faithfulness; and you shall know Yahweh.

21It will happen in that day, I will respond,” says Yahweh, “I will respond to the heavens, and they will respond to the earth;

22and the earth will respond to the grain, and the new wine, and the oil; and they will respond to Jezreel.

23I will sow her to me in the earth; and I will have mercy on her who had not obtained mercy; and I will tell those who were not my people, ‘You are my people;’ and they will say, ‘My God!’”