Hosea

Hosea

The word of YHWH came to Hosea son of Beeri during the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah—kings of Judah—and Jeroboam son of Joash, king of Israel.

YHWH said to Hosea:

“Take a wife of whoredom and children of unfaithfulness—

for the land commits great whoredom, departing from Me.”

So Hosea took Gomer, daughter of Diblaim. She conceived and bore a son.

YHWH said:

“Call his name Jezreel—for I will soon punish the house of Jehu

for the blood of Jezreel,

and I will break the bow of Israel in the valley of Jezreel.”

She conceived again and bore a daughter.

YHWH said:

“Call her name Lo-Ruhamah—‘No Mercy’—

for I will no longer have mercy on the house of Israel.

But I will have mercy on Judah—

and save them not by bow, sword, or war,

but by YHWH their God.”

After she weaned Lo-Ruhamah, she bore a son.

YHWH said:

“Call him Lo-Ammi—‘Not My People’—

for you are not My people, and I am not your God.”

Yet the number of the children of Israel

shall be like the sand of the sea—uncountable.

And in the place it was said to them, “You are not My people,”

they shall be called children of the Living God.

The people of Judah and Israel shall be gathered together

and appoint one leader for themselves—

and they shall come up from the land,

for great shall be the day of Jezreel.

———

“Say to your brothers, ‘My People,’

and to your sisters, ‘Shown Mercy.’”

Rebuke your mother—

for she is not My wife, and I am not her husband.

Let her put away her whoring from her face,

and her adultery from between her breasts—

or I will strip her naked as on the day she was born.

I will make her like a wilderness,

and slay her with thirst.

“I will not have mercy on her children—

for they are children of whoredom.

She said, ‘I will go after my lovers,

who give me bread, water, wool, flax, oil, and drink.’”

So I will hedge her path with thorns,

and build a wall so she cannot find her way.

“She shall pursue her lovers but not overtake them.

She shall seek them but not find them.

Then she will say,

‘I will return to my first husband,

for it was better for me then than now.’”

But she did not know it was I

who gave her grain, wine, and oil—

who lavished silver and gold,

which she used for Baal.

So I will take back My grain in its time,

My wine in its season,

and I will uncover her shame

in the sight of her lovers.

I will silence her mirth—her feasts, new moons, and Sabbaths.

I will lay waste her vines and fig trees,

and punish her for the days of the Baals

when she burned incense and forgot Me.

But behold, I will allure her—

I will bring her into the wilderness

and speak tenderly to her.

“I will give her vineyards,

and the Valley of Achor as a door of hope.”

She will respond there as in the days of her youth—

as when she came out of Egypt.

“In that day,” says YHWH,

“You will call Me ‘My Husband’—not ‘My Master.’”

I will remove the names of the Baals from her mouth—

and they shall not be remembered again.

I will make a covenant for them

with the beasts of the field, the birds of the air,

and all creeping things.

I will betroth you to Me forever—

in righteousness, justice, mercy, and steadfast love.

I will betroth you to Me in faithfulness—

and you shall know YHWH.

And in that day,

I will respond to the heavens,

and they shall respond to the earth—

and the earth shall yield grain, wine, and oil.

I will sow her for Myself in the land.

I will say to Lo-Ruhamah, “You are My Mercy,”

and to Lo-Ammi, “You are My People.”

And they shall say, “You are my God.”

———

YHWH said to me:

“Go again—love a woman loved by another,

an adulteress—just as YHWH loves the children of Israel,

though they turn to other gods and love raisin cakes.”

So I bought her for fifteen pieces of silver

and a homer and a half of barley.

I said to her:

“You shall dwell with me many days.

You shall not play the harlot or belong to another man.

And I also will be faithful to you.”

For the children of Israel shall dwell many days

without king or prince, without sacrifice or pillar,

without ephod or household gods.

Afterward, they shall return and seek YHWH their God

and David their king.

They shall come in awe to YHWH and His goodness

in the latter days.

———

Hear the word of YHWH, children of Israel:

YHWH has a case against the inhabitants of the land.

“There is no trust, no kindness, no knowledge of God in the land.

There is swearing, lying, murder, theft, and adultery.

Bloodshed follows bloodshed.”

Therefore the land mourns—

and all who dwell in it waste away.

Even the beasts of the field and birds of the sky—

and the fish of the sea are taken away.

Let no one accuse or contend,

for your people are like those who strive with a priest.

You stumble by day, the prophet stumbles by night—

and I will destroy your mother.

“My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.

Because you have rejected knowledge,

I reject you from being My priest.”

You forgot the teaching of your God—

so I will forget your children.

The more they multiplied, the more they sinned.

They feed on the sin of My people

and set their heart on iniquity.

It shall be like people, like priest—

I will punish them for their ways.

They shall eat but not be satisfied;

they shall play the harlot but not multiply,

for they have forsaken YHWH.

They consult wood,

and their staff gives them oracles—

a spirit of prostitution has led them astray.

They sacrifice on mountaintops and burn incense on hills—

under oak, poplar, and terebinth.

“Therefore your daughters play the harlot,

and your brides commit adultery.”

I will not punish your daughters or brides—

for you yourselves go with prostitutes,

and offer sacrifices with temple harlots.

A people without understanding shall come to ruin.

Though you, Israel, play the harlot,

let not Judah become guilty.

Do not go to Gilgal or up to Beth-aven.

Do not swear, “As YHWH lives.”

Israel is stubborn, like a stubborn heifer.

Can YHWH now pasture them like lambs in a broad field?

Ephraim is joined to idols—leave him alone.

When their drinking is over, they give themselves to whoring.

Their rulers dearly love shame.

A wind has wrapped them in its wings—

they shall be ashamed of their sacrifices.

———

Hear this, O priests; pay attention, house of Israel.

You have been a snare at Mizpah

and a net spread on Tabor.

The revolters have gone deep into slaughter—

but I will discipline them all.

I know Ephraim—Israel is not hidden from Me.

You have played the harlot—

your deeds do not allow you to return to your God.

The spirit of whoredom is within them—

they do not know YHWH.

The pride of Israel testifies to his face.

Israel and Ephraim stumble in guilt—

and Judah stumbles with them.

With their flocks and herds they seek YHWH,

but they will not find Him—He has withdrawn.

They have dealt treacherously with YHWH—

they have borne illegitimate children.

Now the new moon shall devour them with their fields.

Blow the trumpet in Gibeah,

the horn in Ramah!

Sound the alarm at Beth-aven:

“Tremble, O Benjamin!”

Ephraim shall become desolation

in the day of punishment.

The princes of Judah have become

like those who move a boundary—

I will pour out wrath like water.

Ephraim is oppressed, crushed in judgment—

because he was determined to walk after human command.

Therefore I am like a moth to Ephraim,

like dry rot to Judah.

When Ephraim saw his sickness,

and Judah his wound—

Ephraim turned to Assyria,

and sent to the great king.

But he cannot cure you or heal your wound.

“For I will be like a lion to Ephraim,

like a young lion to Judah.

I will tear and go away—

I will carry off, and none shall rescue.”

I will return again to My place,

until they acknowledge their guilt

and seek My face.

In their distress, they will earnestly seek Me.

———

“Come, let us return to YHWH.

For He has torn us, that He may heal us;

He has struck us down, and He will bind us up.

After two days He will revive us;

on the third day He will raise us up,

that we may live before Him.

Let us know—let us press on to know YHWH.

His coming is as sure as the dawn;

He will come to us like the rain,

like the spring rains that water the earth.”

But what shall I do with you, Ephraim?

What shall I do with you, Judah?

Your love is like the morning mist,

like the dew that quickly vanishes.

Therefore I cut them down by the prophets;

I killed them with the words of My mouth,

and My judgment goes forth like light.

For I desire steadfast love, not sacrifice—

the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.

But like Adam, they transgressed the covenant;

there they dealt faithlessly with Me.

Gilead is a city of evildoers,

tracked with blood.

As robbers lie in wait for a man,

so the priests band together—

they murder on the way to Shechem;

they commit shameful deeds.

In the house of Israel I have seen a horrible thing:

Ephraim’s whoredom is there—Israel is defiled.

For you also, Judah, a harvest is appointed,

when I restore the fortunes of My people.

———

When I would heal Israel,

the iniquity of Ephraim is revealed,

and the evil deeds of Samaria.

They deal falsely—

the thief breaks in, and the bandits raid outside.

But they do not consider

that I remember all their evil.

Now their deeds surround them;

they are before My face.

With their wickedness, they make the king glad,

and the princes with their lies.

They are all adulterers,

like a heated oven whose baker stops stirring the fire,

only to knead the dough after it is leavened.

On the day of our king,

the princes become sick with the heat of wine—

he stretched out his hand with mockers.

Their hearts are like an oven;

they approach with intrigue.

Their anger smolders all night—

in the morning it blazes like fire.

They are all hot as an oven,

and they consume their rulers.

All their kings have fallen,

and none of them calls upon Me.

Ephraim mixes himself with the peoples;

Ephraim is a half-baked cake.

Strangers devour his strength—

but he does not know it.

Gray hairs are sprinkled upon him—

but he is unaware.

The pride of Israel testifies against him;

yet they do not return to YHWH their God,

nor seek Him, even with all this.

Ephraim is like a dove—naive and senseless.

They call to Egypt,

they go to Assyria.

Wherever they go,

I will spread My net over them.

Like birds of the sky I will bring them down.

I will discipline them

as they were warned by their congregation.

Woe to them, for they have strayed from Me!

Destruction to them, for they have rebelled!

Though I would redeem them,

they speak lies against Me.

They do not cry to Me from the heart—

but they wail upon their beds.

For grain and wine they gather—

but they turn away from Me.

Though I trained and strengthened their arms,

they plot evil against Me.

They return—but not upward.

They are like a faulty bow.

Their leaders shall fall by the sword

because of their arrogant words.

This will be their mockery in the land of Egypt.

———

“Put the trumpet to your lips!

Like an eagle, destruction comes

against the house of YHWH—

because they have broken My covenant,

and transgressed My Torah.

They cry to Me:

‘My God, we know You!’

Israel has rejected the good—

the enemy shall pursue him.

They set up kings—but not by Me.

They made princes—but I knew them not.

With silver and gold they made idols—

so they may be cut off.

Your calf, O Samaria, is rejected.

My anger burns against them.

How long will they be incapable of innocence?

It is from Israel—

a craftsman made it—

it is not God.

The calf of Samaria shall be broken to pieces.

They sow the wind—

they reap the whirlwind.

The stalk has no bud;

it shall yield no grain.

If it does yield,

strangers shall devour it.

Israel is swallowed up—

now they are among the nations

as a useless vessel.

They have gone up to Assyria—

a wild donkey wandering alone.

Ephraim has hired lovers.

Though they bargain among the nations,

I will soon gather them up—

and they shall suffer for a little while

under the burden of kings and princes.

Because Ephraim has multiplied altars for sin,

they have become altars for sinning.

Though I wrote for them

My many teachings,

they regarded them as a strange thing.

As for sacrifices—

they offer meat and eat it—

but YHWH does not accept them.

Now He will remember their iniquity

and punish their sins.

They shall return to Egypt.

For Israel has forgotten his Maker

and built palaces,

and Judah has multiplied fortified cities.

But I will send fire upon their cities—

and it shall consume their fortresses.

———

Rejoice not, O Israel—

do not exult like the nations.

For you have played the harlot, forsaking your God.

You have loved the wages of unfaithfulness

on every threshing floor.

Threshing floor and winepress shall not feed them—

the new wine shall fail them.

They shall not remain in the land of YHWH.

Ephraim shall return to Egypt;

they shall eat unclean food in Assyria.

They shall not pour out wine offerings to YHWH,

nor shall their sacrifices please Him.

Their bread shall be like mourner’s bread—

all who eat it shall be defiled.

What will you do

on the day of appointed feast—

on the day of YHWH’s festival?

For behold—they are gone

because of destruction.

Egypt shall gather them;

Memphis shall bury them.

Their treasures of silver shall be overgrown with thorns—

thorns shall be in their tents.

The days of punishment have come—

the days of recompense.

Let Israel know it.

The prophet is a fool—

the man of the spirit is mad—

because of the greatness of your guilt and hostility.

Ephraim is a watchman with my God—

but a fowler’s snare is on all his paths.

There is hatred in the house of his God.

They have deeply corrupted themselves

as in the days of Gibeah.

He will remember their iniquity—He will punish their sins.

Like grapes in the wilderness I found Israel.

Like the first fruit on the fig tree I saw your ancestors.

But they came to Baal-peor

and consecrated themselves to shame.

They became detestable like the thing they loved.

Ephraim’s glory shall fly away like a bird—

no birth, no pregnancy, no conception.

Even if they raise children,

I will bereave them till none are left.

Woe to them when I depart from them!

Ephraim, as I have seen,

was like a young palm planted in a meadow.

But Ephraim must lead his children out to slaughter.

Give them, YHWH—what will You give?

Give them a miscarrying womb and dry breasts.

Every evil of theirs is in Gilgal—

there I began to hate them.

Because of their evil deeds

I will drive them from My house.

I will love them no more—

all their leaders are rebels.

Ephraim is stricken—

their root is dried up.

They shall bear no fruit.

Even though they give birth,

I will put their cherished ones to death.

My God will reject them

because they have not listened to Him—

they shall be wanderers among the nations.

———

Israel is a luxuriant vine

that yields its fruit.

The more his fruit increased,

the more altars he built.

The richer his land,

the more he adorned his sacred pillars.

Their heart is false—

now they must bear their guilt.

YHWH will break down their altars

and destroy their pillars.

Soon they will say:

“We have no king,

for we did not fear YHWH.

And what could a king do for us anyway?”

They speak mere words—

with empty oaths they make covenants.

So judgment springs up like poisonous weeds

in the furrows of the field.

The inhabitants of Samaria tremble

for the calf of Beth-aven.

Its people mourn for it—so do its idolatrous priests—

those who rejoiced over it and its glory—

for it has departed.

It shall be carried to Assyria

as a tribute to the great king.

Ephraim shall be put to shame,

and Israel shall be ashamed of its idol.

Samaria’s king shall perish

like a twig on the surface of the waters.

The high places of Aven—the sin of Israel—

shall be destroyed.

Thorns and thistles shall grow up on their altars.

They shall say to the mountains, “Cover us,”

and to the hills, “Fall on us.”

From the days of Gibeah you have sinned, O Israel—

there they have continued.

Shall not war overtake them at Gibeah?

When I please, I will discipline them—

nations shall gather against them

to bind them in their double guilt.

Ephraim was a trained calf

that loved to thresh—

but I passed over her fair neck.

I will make Ephraim pull a yoke.

Judah must plow;

Jacob must break up the ground.

Sow for yourselves righteousness—

reap steadfast love.

Break up your fallow ground,

for it is time to seek YHWH,

that He may come and rain righteousness upon you.

You have plowed wickedness—

you have reaped injustice.

You have eaten the fruit of lies.

Because you have trusted in your own way,

and in your many warriors,

the tumult of war shall arise against your people—

and all your fortresses shall be destroyed.

Thus it shall be done to you, O Bethel,

because of your great evil.

At dawn the king of Israel

shall be utterly cut off.

———

“When Israel was a child, I loved him,

and out of Egypt I called My son.

But the more they were called,

the more they went away.

They kept sacrificing to the Baals

and burning offerings to idols.

Yet it was I who taught Ephraim to walk—

I took them up in My arms,

but they did not know that I healed them.

I led them with cords of human kindness,

with bands of love.

I was to them like one who lifts an infant to his cheek.

I bent down and fed them.

But they shall return to the land of Egypt,

and Assyria shall be their king—

because they refused to return to Me.

The sword shall rage in their cities,

consume their gates,

and devour them because of their own plans.

My people are bent on turning away from Me.

Though they call out to the Most High,

He shall not raise them up.

How can I give you up, O Ephraim?

How can I hand you over, O Israel?

How can I make you like Admah?

How can I treat you like Zeboiim?

My heart recoils within Me;

My compassion grows warm and tender.

I will not execute My burning anger;

I will not again destroy Ephraim—

for I am God and not a man,

the Holy One in your midst,

and I will not come in wrath.

They shall walk after YHWH;

He will roar like a lion.

When He roars,

His children shall come trembling from the west.

They shall come trembling like birds from Egypt,

and like doves from the land of Assyria.

And I will return them to their homes,” declares YHWH.

Ephraim has surrounded Me with lies,

and the house of Israel with deceit.

But Judah still walks with God

and is faithful to the Holy One.

———

Ephraim feeds on the wind

and pursues the east wind all day long.

He multiplies lies and violence—

he makes a covenant with Assyria,

and oil is carried to Egypt.

YHWH has a case against Judah

and will punish Jacob according to his ways;

He will repay him for his deeds.

In the womb he took his brother by the heel,

and in his manhood he strove with God.

He wrestled with the messenger and prevailed;

he wept and sought favor.

He met God at Bethel—

and there God spoke with us—

YHWH, the God of Hosts;

YHWH is His memorial name.

So you, by the help of your God,

return, hold fast to love and justice,

and wait continually for your God.

A merchant in whose hand are false balances—

he loves to oppress.

Ephraim says, “I am rich; I have found wealth for myself.

In all my labors they cannot find in me iniquity or sin.”

But I am YHWH your God

from the land of Egypt;

I will again make you dwell in tents,

as in the days of the appointed festival.

I spoke through the prophets;

I gave visions and multiplied parables through them.

If Gilead is wicked,

surely they are worthless.

In Gilgal they sacrifice bulls—

their altars are like stone heaps

in the furrows of the field.

Jacob fled to the land of Aram;

Israel served for a wife,

and for a wife he guarded sheep.

By a prophet YHWH brought Israel up from Egypt,

and by a prophet he was guarded.

Ephraim has given bitter provocation.

So his Lord will leave his bloodguilt on him

and repay him for his contempt.

———

When Ephraim spoke, there was trembling;

he was exalted in Israel.

But he incurred guilt through Baal, and died.

Now they sin more and more,

and make for themselves cast images—

idols skillfully made of silver.

They say of them, “Let those who offer sacrifice

kiss the calves!”

Therefore they shall be like the morning mist,

like dew that vanishes early,

like chaff blown from the threshing floor,

like smoke from a window.

But I am YHWH your God

from the land of Egypt;

you know no God but Me,

and besides Me there is no rescuer.

It was I who knew you in the wilderness,

in the land of drought.

But when they had grazed, they became full—

they were filled, and their heart was lifted up;

therefore they forgot Me.

So I will be to them like a lion;

like a leopard I will lurk beside the way.

I will fall upon them like a bear robbed of her cubs;

I will tear open their chest.

There I will devour them like a lion,

as wild beasts rip them apart.

He destroys you, O Israel,

for you are against Me, against your helper.

Where now is your king,

to save you in all your cities?

Where are your judges,

of whom you said, “Give me a king and princes”?

I gave you a king in My anger,

and I took him away in My wrath.

The iniquity of Ephraim is bound up;

his sin is stored up.

The pangs of childbirth come for him,

but he is an unwise son—

for at the time he should not remain

in the womb.

Shall I ransom them from the realm of the dead?

Shall I redeem them from death?

O death, where are your plagues?

O grave, where is your sting?

Compassion is hidden from My eyes.

Though he may flourish among his brothers,

the east wind shall come—

the wind of YHWH rising from the wilderness.

His fountain shall dry up,

his spring shall be parched.

It shall strip his treasury of every precious thing.

Samaria shall bear her guilt,

for she has rebelled against her God.

They shall fall by the sword,

their little ones dashed in pieces,

and their pregnant women ripped open.

———

Return, O Israel, to YHWH your God,

for you have stumbled because of your guilt.

Take with you words and return to YHWH;

say to Him:

“Take away all guilt;

accept what is good.

We will offer the fruit of our lips as bulls.

Assyria shall not save us;

we will not ride on horses;

and we will say no more, ‘Our God,’

to the work of our hands.

For in You the orphan finds mercy.”

“I will heal their apostasy;

I will love them freely,

for My anger has turned from them.

I will be like the dew to Israel;

he shall blossom like the lily;

he shall take root like the trees of Lebanon.

His shoots shall spread out;

his beauty shall be like the olive tree,

his fragrance like Lebanon.

They shall return and dwell beneath My shadow;

they shall flourish like the grain;

they shall blossom like the vine—

their fame shall be like the wine of Lebanon.

O Ephraim, what have I to do with idols?

It is I who answer and look after you.

I am like a green cypress;

your fruit is found in Me.”

Whoever is wise, let him understand these things;

whoever is discerning, let him know them.

For the ways of YHWH are right,

and the righteous walk in them,

but the rebellious stumble in them.