1:2 When the Lord first spoke 1 through 2 Hosea, he 3 said to him, 4 “Go marry 5 a prostitute 6 who will bear illegitimate children conceived through prostitution, 7 because the nation 8 continually commits spiritual prostitution 9 by turning away from 10 the Lord.” 1:3 So Hosea married 11 Gomer, the daughter of Diblaim. Then she conceived and gave birth to a son for him. 1:4 Then the Lord said to Hosea, 12 “Name him ‘Jezreel,’ because in a little while I will punish 13 the dynasty 14 of Jehu on account of the bloodshed 15 in the valley of Jezreel, 16 and I will put an end to the kingdom 17 of Israel. 18 1:5 At that time, 19 I will destroy the military power 20 of Israel in the valley of Jezreel.”
1:6 She conceived again and gave birth to a daughter. Then the Lord 21 said to him, “Name her ‘No Pity’ (Lo-Ruhamah) because I will no longer have pity 22 on the nation 23 of Israel. For 24 I will certainly not forgive 25 their guilt. 26 1:7 But I will have pity on the nation 27 of Judah. 28 I will deliver them by the Lord their God; I will not deliver them by the warrior’s bow, by sword, by military victory, 29 by chariot horses, or by chariots.” 30
1:8 When 31 she had weaned ‘No Pity’ (Lo-Ruhamah) she conceived again and gave birth to another son. 1:9 Then the Lord 32 said: “Name him ‘Not My People’ (Lo-Ammi), because you 33 are not my people and I am not your 34 God.” 35
1:10 (2:1) 36 However, 37 in the future the number of the people 38 of Israel will be like the sand of the sea which can be neither measured nor numbered. Although 39 it was said to them, “You are not my people,” it will be said to them, “You are 40 children 41 of the living God!” 1:11 Then the people 42 of Judah and the people of Israel will be gathered together. They will appoint for themselves one leader, 43 and will flourish in the land. 44 Certainly, 45 the day of Jezreel will be great! 2:1 Then you will call 46 your 47 brother, “My People” (Ammi)! You will call your sister, “Pity” (Ruhamah)!
2:2 Plead earnestly 48 with your 49 mother
(for 50 she is not my wife, and I am not her husband),
so that 51 she might put an end to her adulterous lifestyle, 52
and turn away from her sexually immoral behavior. 53
2:3 Otherwise, 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 54 her with thirst.
2:4 I will have no pity on her children, 55
because they are children conceived in adultery. 56
2:5 For their mother has committed adultery;
she who conceived them has acted shamefully.
For she said, “I will seek out 57 my lovers; 58
they are the ones who give me my bread and my water,
my wool, my flax, my olive oil, and my wine. 59
2:6 Therefore, I will soon 60 fence her in 61 with thorns;
I will wall her in 62 so that 63 she cannot find her way. 64
2:7 Then she will pursue her lovers, but she will not catch 65 them;
she will seek them, but she will not find them. 66
Then she will say,
“I will go back 67 to my husband, 68
because I was better off then than I am now.” 69
2:8 Yet 70 until now 71 she has refused to acknowledge 72 that I 73 was the one
who gave her the grain, the new wine, and the olive oil;
and that it was I who 74 lavished on her the silver and gold –
which they 75 used in worshiping Baal! 76
2:9 Therefore, I will take back 77 my grain during the harvest time 78
and my new wine when it ripens; 79
I will take away my wool and my flax
which I had provided 80 in order to clothe her. 81
2:10 Soon 82 I will expose her lewd nakedness 83 in front of her lovers,
and no one will be able to rescue her from me! 84
2:11 I will put an end to all her celebration:
her annual religious festivals,
monthly new moon celebrations,
and weekly Sabbath festivities –
all her appointed festivals.
2:12 I will destroy her vines and fig trees,
about which she said, “These are my wages for prostitution 85
that my lovers gave to me!”
I will turn her cultivated vines and fig trees 86 into an uncultivated thicket,
so that wild animals 87 will devour them.
2:13 “I will punish her for the festival days
when she burned incense to the Baal idols; 88
she adorned herself with earrings and jewelry,
and went after her lovers,
but 89 she forgot me!” 90 says the Lord.
2:14 However, in the future I will allure her; 91
I will lead 92 her back into the wilderness,
and speak tenderly to her.
2:15 From there I will give back her vineyards to her,
and turn the “Valley of Trouble” 93 into an “Opportunity 94 for Hope.”
There she will sing as she did when she was young, 95
when 96 she came up from the land of Egypt.
2:16 “At that time,” 97 declares the Lord,
“you will call, 98 ‘My husband’; 99
you will never again call me, 100 ‘My master.’ 101
2:17 For 102 I will remove the names of the Baal idols 103 from your lips, 104
so that you will never again utter their names!” 105
2:18 “At that time 106 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 107 the warrior’s bow and sword
– that is, every weapon of warfare 108 – from the land,
and I will allow them to live securely.” 109
2:19 I will commit myself to you 110 forever;
I will commit myself to you in 111 righteousness and justice,
in steadfast love and tender compassion.
2:20 I will commit myself to you in faithfulness;
then 112 you will acknowledge 113 the Lord.” 114
2:21 “At that time, 115 I will willingly respond,” 116 declares the Lord.
“I will respond to the sky,
and the sky 117 will respond to the ground;
2:22 then the ground will respond to the grain, the new wine, and the olive oil;
and they will respond to ‘God Plants’ (Jezreel)! 118
2:23 Then I will plant her as my own 119 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 120 will say, ‘You are 121 my God!’”
3:1 The Lord said to me, “Go, show love to 122 your wife 123 again, even though she loves 124 another man 125 and continually commits adultery. 126 Likewise, the Lord loves 127 the Israelites 128 although they turn to other gods and love to offer raisin cakes to idols.” 129 3:2 So I paid fifteen shekels of silver and about seven bushels of barley 130 to purchase her. 3:3 Then I told her, “You must live with me many days; you must not commit adultery or have sexual intercourse with 131 another man, and I also will wait for you.” 3:4 For the Israelites 132 must live many days without a king or prince, without sacrifice or sacred fertility pillar, without ephod or idols. 3:5 Afterward, the Israelites will turn and seek the Lord their God and their Davidic king. 133 Then they will submit to the Lord in fear and receive his blessings 134 in the future. 135