~~~~~~1~~~~~ ~~~~~~1~~~~~ ~~~~~~1~~~~~ ~~~~~~1~~~~~ ~~~~~~1~~~~~ The word of Yahweh which came to Hosea the son of Beeri, in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel. When Yahweh first spoke through Hosea, Yahweh said to Hosea, “Go, take for yourself a wife of harlotry and have children of harlotry; for the land commits flagrant harlotry, forsaking Yahweh.” So he went and took Gomer the daughter of Diblaim, and she conceived and gave birth to a son for him. And Yahweh said to him, “Name him Jezreel; for yet a little while, and I will visit the bloodshed of Jezreel upon the house of Jehu, and I will cause the kingdom of the house of Israel to cease. “And it will be in that day, that I will break the bow of Israel in the valley of Jezreel.” Then she conceived again and gave birth to a daughter. And Yahweh said to him, “Name her Lo-ruhamah, for I will no longer have compassion on the house of Israel, that I would ever forgive them. “But I will have compassion on the house of Judah and save them by Yahweh their God, and I will not save them by bow, sword, battle, horses, or horsemen.” Then she weaned Lo-ruhamah. And she conceived and gave birth to a son. And Yahweh said, “Name him Lo-ammi, for you are not My people, and I am not your God.” Yet the number of the sons of Israel Will be like the sand of the sea, Which cannot be measured or numbered; And it will be that in the place Where it is said to them, “You are not My people,” It will be said to them, “You are the sons of the living God.” And the sons of Judah and the sons of Israel will be gathered together, And they will set for themselves one head, And they will go up from the land, For great will be the day of Jezreel.

~~~~~~2~~~~~ ~~~~~~2~~~~~ ~~~~~~2~~~~~ ~~~~~~2~~~~~ ~~~~~~2~~~~~ Say to your brothers, “Ammi,” and to your sisters, “Ruhamah.” “Contend with your mother, contend, For she is not my wife, and I am not her husband; And let her remove her harlotry from her face And her adultery from between her breasts, Lest I strip her naked And set her forth as on the day when she was born And make her like a wilderness And make her like dry land And put her to death with thirst. “Also, I will have no compassion on her children Because they are children of harlotry. “For their mother has played the harlot; She who conceived them has acted 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.’ “Therefore, behold, I will hedge up her way with thorns, And I will build a wall against her so that she cannot find her paths. “So she will pursue her lovers, but she will not overtake them; And she will seek them, but will not find them. Then she will say, ‘I will go, and I will return to my first husband, For it was better for me then than now!’ “Now she does not know that it was I who gave her the grain, the new wine, and the oil, And multiplied silver and gold for her, Which they used for Baal. “Therefore, I will take back My grain at harvest time And My new wine in its season. I will also deliver My wool and My flax from them Given to cover her nakedness. “So now I will uncover her lewdness In the sight of her lovers, And no one will deliver her out of My hand. “I will also cease all her joy, Her feasts, her new moons, her sabbaths, And all her appointed times. “And I will make desolate her vines and fig trees, Of which she said, ‘These are my wages Which my lovers have given me.’ And I will make them a forest, And the beasts of the field will devour them. “So I will visit the days of the Baals upon her When she used to offer offerings in smoke to them And adorn herself with her earrings and jewelry And go after her lovers, so that she forgot Me,” declares Yahweh. “Therefore, behold, I will allure her And bring her into the wilderness And speak to her heart. “Then I will give her her vineyards from there And the valley of Achor as a door of hope. And she will sing there as in the days of her youth, As in the day when she came up from the land of Egypt. “And it will be in that day,” declares Yahweh, “That you will call Me Ishi And will no longer call Me Baali. “So I will remove the names of the Baals from her mouth So that they will be remembered by their names no more. “And in that day I will cut a covenant for them With the beasts of the field, The birds of the sky, And the creeping things of the ground. And I will break the bow, the sword, and war from the land, And I will make them lie down in security. “And I will betroth you to Me forever; Indeed, I will betroth you to Me in righteousness and in justice, In lovingkindness and in compassion, And I will betroth you to Me in faithfulness. Then you will know Yahweh. “And it will be in that day, that I will answer,” declares Yahweh. “I will answer the heavens, and they will answer the earth, And the earth will answer the grain, the new wine, and the oil, And they will answer Jezreel. “And I will sow her for Myself in the land. I will also have compassion on her who had not obtained compassion, And I will say to those who were not My people, ‘You are My people!’ And they will say, ‘You are my God!’”

~~~~~~3~~~~~ ~~~~~~3~~~~~ ~~~~~~3~~~~~ ~~~~~~3~~~~~ ~~~~~~3~~~~~ Then Yahweh said to me, “Go again, love a woman who is loved by her companion and is an adulteress, even as Yahweh loves the sons of Israel, though they turn to other gods and love raisin cakes.” So I bargained for her for myself for fifteen shekels of silver and a homer and a half of barley. Then I said to her, “You shall stay with me for many days. You shall not play the harlot, nor shall you have a man; so I will also be toward you.” For the sons of Israel will remain for many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or sacred pillar, and without ephod or household idols. Afterward the sons of Israel will return and seek Yahweh their God and David their king; and they will come in dread to Yahweh and to His goodness in the last days.

~~~~~~4~~~~~ ~~~~~~4~~~~~ ~~~~~~4~~~~~ ~~~~~~4~~~~~ ~~~~~~4~~~~~ Listen to the word of Yahweh, O sons of Israel, For Yahweh has a contention against the inhabitants of the land, Because there is no truth or lovingkindness Or knowledge of God in the land. There is swearing of oaths, deception, murder, stealing, and adultery. They break forth in violence so that bloodshed follows bloodshed. Therefore the land mourns, And everyone who inhabits it languishes Along with the beasts of the field and the birds of the sky, And also the fish of the sea disappear. Yet let no man contend, and let no man offer reproof; Indeed, your people are like those who contend with the priest. So you will stumble by day, And the prophet also will stumble with you by night; And I will destroy your mother. My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from ministering as My priest. Since you have forgotten the law of your God, I Myself also will forget your children. The more they multiplied, the more they sinned against Me; I will change their glory into disgrace. They eat the sin of My people And lift up their soul toward their iniquity. And it will be like people, like priest; So I will punish them for their ways And cause their deeds to return to them. They will eat, but not be satisfied; They will play the harlot, but not break forth in number, Because they have forsaken Yahweh to keep harlotry. Harlotry, wine, and new wine take away a heart of wisdom. My people ask their wooden idol, and their diviner’s wand declares to them; For a spirit of harlotry has led them astray, And they have played the harlot, departing from their God. They offer sacrifices on the tops of the mountains And burn incense on the hills, Under oak, poplar, and terebinth Because their shade is good. Therefore your daughters play the harlot, And your brides commit adultery. I will not punish your daughters when they play the harlot Or your brides when they commit adultery, For the men themselves go apart with harlots And offer sacrifices with cult prostitutes; So the people without understanding are ruined. Though you, Israel, play the harlot, Do not let Judah become guilty; Also do not go to Gilgal Nor go up to Beth-aven And swear the oath: “As Yahweh lives!” Since Israel is stubborn Like a stubborn heifer, Can Yahweh now feed them Like a lamb in a large field? Ephraim is joined to idols; Let him alone. Their drink gone; They play the harlot continually; Their rulers dearly love disgrace. The wind binds them up in its wings, And they will be ashamed because of their sacrifices.

~~~~~~5~~~~~ ~~~~~~5~~~~~ ~~~~~~5~~~~~ ~~~~~~5~~~~~ ~~~~~~5~~~~~ Hear this, O priests! Give heed, O house of Israel! Give ear, O house of the king! For the judgment is for you, For you have been a snare at Mizpah And a net spread out on Tabor. And the revolters have dug deep into slaughtering, But I will chastise all of them. I know Ephraim, and Israel is not hidden from Me; For now, O Ephraim, you have played the harlot; Israel has defiled itself. Their deeds will not allow them To return to their God. For a spirit of harlotry is within them, And they do not know Yahweh. Moreover, the pride of Israel answers against him, And Israel and Ephraim stumble in their iniquity; Judah also has stumbled with them. They will go with their flocks and herds To seek Yahweh, but they will not find Him; He has withdrawn from them. They have dealt treacherously against Yahweh, For they have borne children of strangers. Now the new moon will devour them with their portions. Blow the horn in Gibeah, The trumpet in Ramah. Make a loud shout at Beth-aven: “Behind you, Benjamin!” Ephraim will become a desolation in the day of reproof; Among the tribes of Israel I will make known what is true. The princes of Judah have become like those who move a boundary; On them I will pour out My wrath like water. Ephraim is oppressed, crushed in judgment, Because he was determined to walk after man’s command. Therefore I am like a moth to Ephraim And like rottenness to the house of Judah. Then Ephraim saw his sickness, And Judah his sore, So Ephraim went to Assyria And sent to King Jareb. But he is unable to heal you Or to cure you of your sore. For I will be like a lion to Ephraim And like a young lion to the house of Judah. I, even I, will tear to pieces and go away; I will carry away, and there will be none to deliver. I will go away and return to My place Until they acknowledge their guilt and seek My face; In their affliction they will seek Me earnestly.

~~~~~~6~~~~~ ~~~~~~6~~~~~ ~~~~~~6~~~~~ ~~~~~~6~~~~~ ~~~~~~6~~~~~ “Come, let us return to Yahweh. For He has torn us, but He will heal us; He has struck us, but He will bandage us. “He will make us alive after two days; He will raise us up on the third day, That we may live before Him. “So let us know, let us pursue to know Yahweh. His going forth is established as the dawn; And He will come to us like the rain, Like the late rain watering the earth.” What shall I do with you, O Ephraim? What shall I do with you, O Judah? For your lovingkindness is like a morning cloud And like the dew which goes away early. Therefore I have hewn them in pieces by the prophets; I have killed them by the words of My mouth; And the judgments on you are like the light that goes forth. For I delight in lovingkindness rather than sacrifice, And in the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings. But like Adam they have trespassed against the covenant; There they have dealt treacherously against Me. Gilead is a city of workers of iniquity, With a track of blood. And as raiders wait for a man, So a band of priests murder on the way to Shechem; Surely they have committed lewdness. In the house of Israel I have seen an appalling thing; Ephraim’s harlotry is there; Israel has defiled itself. Also, O Judah, there is a harvest set for you When I restore the fortunes of My people,

~~~~~~7~~~~~ ~~~~~~7~~~~~ ~~~~~~7~~~~~ ~~~~~~7~~~~~ ~~~~~~7~~~~~ when I would heal Israel, Then the iniquity of Ephraim is uncovered, And the evil deeds of Samaria, For they work falsehood; The thief enters in; Raiders ransack outside, And they do not say to their hearts That I remember all their evil. Now their deeds are all around them; They are before My face. With their evil they make the king glad, And the princes with their deceptions. They are all adulterers, Like an oven heated by the baker Who ceases to stir up the fire From the kneading of the dough until it is leavened. On the day of our king, the princes became sick with the heat of wine; He stretched out his hand with scoffers, For their hearts are like an oven As they draw near in their plotting; Their anger smolders all night; In the morning it burns like a flaming fire. All of them are hot like an oven, And they devour their judges; All their kings have fallen. None of them calls on Me. Ephraim mixes himself with the peoples; Ephraim has become a cake not turned. Strangers devour his power, Yet he does not know it; Gray hairs also are sprinkled on him, Yet he does not know it. So the pride of Israel answers against him, Yet they have not returned to Yahweh their God, Nor have they sought Him, for all this. So Ephraim has become like a silly dove, without a heart of wisdom; They call to Egypt; they go to Assyria. When they go, I will spread My net over them; I will bring them down like the birds of the sky. I will chastise them in accordance with the report to their congregation. Woe to them, for they have fled from Me! Destruction is theirs, for they have transgressed against Me! And I would redeem them, but they speak lies against Me. And they do not cry out to Me in their heart When they wail on their beds; For the sake of grain and new wine they gather together as sojourners; They depart from Me. Although I disciplined and strengthened their arms, Yet they devise evil against Me. They turn, but not upward; They are like a deceitful bow; Their princes will fall by the sword Because of the indignation of their tongue. This will be their scoffing in the land of Egypt.

~~~~~~8~~~~~ ~~~~~~8~~~~~ ~~~~~~8~~~~~ ~~~~~~8~~~~~ ~~~~~~8~~~~~ Put the trumpet to your mouth! Like an eagle the enemy comes against the house of Yahweh Because they have trespassed against My covenant And transgressed against My law. They cry out to Me, “My God, we of Israel know You!” Israel has rejected the good; The enemy will pursue him. They have set up kings, but not by Me; They have appointed princes, but I did not know it. With their silver and gold they have made idols for themselves, That they might be cut off. He has rejected your calf, O Samaria, saying, “My anger burns against them!” How long will they be incapable of innocence? For from Israel is even this! A craftsman made it, so it is not God; Surely the calf of Samaria will be smashed to splinters. For they sow the wind, And they reap the whirlwind. The standing grain has no growth; It makes no flour. Should it make anything, strangers would swallow it up. Israel is swallowed up; They are now among the nations Like a vessel in which no one delights. For they have gone up to Assyria Like a wild donkey all alone; Ephraim has hired lovers. Even though they hire allies among the nations, Now I will gather them up; And they will begin to diminish Because of the burden of the king of princes. Since Ephraim has multiplied altars for sin, They have become altars of sinning for him. Though I wrote for him ten thousand precepts of My law, They are counted as a strange thing. As for My sacrificial gifts, They sacrifice the flesh and eat it, But Yahweh has not accepted them. Now He will remember their iniquity And punish them for their sins; They will return to Egypt. So Israel has forgotten his Maker and built palaces; And Judah has multiplied fortified cities, But I will send a fire on its cities that it may consume its palatial dwellings.

~~~~~~9~~~~~ ~~~~~~9~~~~~ ~~~~~~9~~~~~ ~~~~~~9~~~~~ ~~~~~~9~~~~~ Do not be glad, O Israel, with rejoicing like the peoples! For you have played the harlot, forsaking your God. You have loved harlots’ earnings on every threshing floor. Threshing floor and wine press will not feed them, And the new wine will deceive them. They will not remain in the land of Yahweh, But Ephraim will return to Egypt, And in Assyria they will eat unclean food. They will not pour out drink offerings of wine to Yahweh; Their sacrifices will not please Him. Their bread will be like mourners’ bread; All who eat of it will be defiled, For their bread will be for themselves alone; It will not enter the house of Yahweh. What will you do on the day of the appointed festival And on the day of the feast of Yahweh? For behold, they will go because of destruction; Egypt will gather them up; Memphis will bury them. Weeds will possess their desirable items of silver; Thorns will be in their tents. The days of punishment have come; The days of recompense have come; Let Israel know this! The prophet is an ignorant fool, The inspired man has madness, Because of the abundance of your iniquity And because your hostility has abounded. Ephraim was a watchman with my God, a prophet; Yet the snare of a bird catcher is in all his ways, And there is only hostility in the house of his God. They have dug deep in corruption As in the days of Gibeah; He will remember their iniquity; He will punish their sins. I found Israel like grapes in the wilderness; I saw your fathers as the earliest fruit on the fig tree in its first season. But they came to Baal-peor and devoted themselves to shame, And they became as detestable as that which they loved. As for Ephraim, their glory will fly away like a bird— No birth, no pregnancy, and no conception! Though they bring up their children, Yet I will bereave them until not a man is left. Surely, woe to them indeed when I depart from them! Ephraim, as I have seen, Is planted in a pasture like Tyre; But Ephraim will bring out his children for killing. Give them, O Yahweh—what will You give? Give them a miscarrying womb and dry breasts. All their evil is at Gilgal; Indeed, I came to hate them there! Because of the evil of their deeds I will drive them out of My house! I will love them no more; All their princes are rebels. Ephraim is stricken; their root is dried up; They will bear no fruit. Even though they bear children, I will put to death the desirable ones of their womb. My God will despise them Because they have not listened to Him; And they will be those who flee among the nations.

~~~~~~10~~~~~ ~~~~~~10~~~~~ ~~~~~~10~~~~~ ~~~~~~10~~~~~ ~~~~~~10~~~~~ Israel is a luxuriant vine; He produces fruit for himself. The more abundant his fruit, The more altars he abounded; The better his land, The better he made the sacred pillars. Their heart is faithless; Now they must bear their guilt. Yahweh will break down their altars And destroy their sacred pillars. Surely now they will say, “We have no king, For we do not fear Yahweh. As for the king, what can he do for us?” They speak mere words; With worthless oaths they cut covenants; And judgment flourishes like gall in the furrows of the field. The dweller of Samaria will fear For the calf of Beth-aven. Indeed, its people will mourn for it, And its idolatrous priests will cry out over it, Over its glory, since it has gone into exile from them. The thing itself will be carried to Assyria As tribute to King Jareb; Ephraim will receive shame, And Israel will be ashamed of its own counsel. Samaria will be ruined with her king Like a stick on the surface of the water. Also the high places of Aven, the sin of Israel, will be eradicated; Thorn and thistle will grow on their altars; Then they will 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 stand! Will not the battle against the sons of injustice overtake them in Gibeah? When it is My desire, I will chastise them; And the peoples will be gathered against them When they are bound for their double guilt. And Ephraim is a trained heifer that loves to thresh, But I will come over her fair neck with a yoke; I will harness Ephraim; Judah will plow; Jacob will harrow for himself. Sow with a view to righteousness, Reap in accordance with lovingkindness; Break up your fallow ground, Indeed, it is time to seek Yahweh Until He comes and rains righteousness on you. You have plowed wickedness; you have reaped injustice; You have eaten the fruit of deception. Because you have trusted in your way, in your abundant warriors, Therefore a rumbling will arise among your people, And all your fortifications will be destroyed, As Shalman destroyed Beth-arbel on the day of battle, When mothers were dashed in pieces with their children. Thus it will be done to you at Bethel because of your evil of evils. At dawn the king of Israel will be completely ruined.

~~~~~~11~~~~~ ~~~~~~11~~~~~ ~~~~~~11~~~~~ ~~~~~~11~~~~~ ~~~~~~11~~~~~ When Israel was a youth I loved him, And out of Egypt I called My son. The more they called them, The more they went from them; They kept sacrificing to the Baals And burning incense to graven images. Yet it is I who taught Ephraim to walk; I took them in My arms; But they did not know that I healed them. I led them with cords of a man, with bonds of love, And I became to them as one who lifts the yoke from their jaws; And I bent down and fed them. They will not return to the land of Egypt; But Assyria—he will be their king Because they refused to return to Me. And the sword will whirl against their cities And will consume their gate bars And devour them because of their counsels. So My people are hung up on turning from Me. Though they call them to the One on high, None at all exalts Him. How can I give you up, O Ephraim? How can I surrender you, O Israel? How can I give you over to be like Admah? How can I make you like Zeboiim? My heart is turned over within Me; All My compassions are stirred. I will not execute My burning anger; I will not make Ephraim a ruin again. For I am God and not man, the Holy One in your midst, And I will not come in wrath. They will walk after Yahweh; He will roar like a lion; Indeed, He will roar, And His sons will come trembling from the west. They will come trembling like birds from Egypt And like doves from the land of Assyria; And I will settle them in their houses, declares Yahweh. Ephraim surrounds Me with lies And the house of Israel with deceit; And Judah is also unruly against God, Even against the Holy One who is faithful.

~~~~~~12~~~~~ ~~~~~~12~~~~~ ~~~~~~12~~~~~ ~~~~~~12~~~~~ ~~~~~~12~~~~~ Ephraim feeds on wind And pursues the east wind continually; He abounds in falsehood and destruction. Moreover, he cuts a covenant with Assyria, And oil is carried to Egypt. And Yahweh has a contention with Judah And will punish Jacob according to his ways; He will cause everything to return to him according to his deeds. In the womb he took his brother by the heel, And in his maturity he wrestled with God. Indeed, he wrestled with the angel and prevailed; He wept and sought His favor. He found Him at Bethel, And there He spoke with us, Even Yahweh, the God of hosts, Yahweh is His name of remembrance. Therefore, return to your God, Keep lovingkindness and justice, And hope in your God continually. A merchant, in whose hands are deceptive balances, He loves to oppress. And Ephraim said, “Surely I have become rich; I have found wealth for myself; In all my labors they will find in me No iniquity, which would be sin.” But I have been Yahweh your God since the land of Egypt; I will make you settle in tents again, As in the days of the appointed festival. And I have spoken to the prophets, And I made visions abound, And by the hand of the prophets I gave parables. Is there wickedness in Gilead? Surely they are worthless. In Gilgal they sacrifice bulls; Yes, their altars are like the stone heaps Beside the furrows of the field. Now Jacob fled to the field of Aram, And Israel worked for a wife, And for a wife he kept sheep. But by a prophet Yahweh brought Israel up from Egypt, And by a prophet he was kept. Ephraim has provoked to bitter anger; So his Lord will leave his bloodguilt on him And cause his reproach to return to him.

~~~~~~13~~~~~ ~~~~~~13~~~~~ ~~~~~~13~~~~~ ~~~~~~13~~~~~ ~~~~~~13~~~~~ When Ephraim spoke, there was trembling. He lifted himself up in Israel, But through Baal he became guilty and died. And now they sin more and more And make for themselves molten images, Idols made from their silver according to their understanding, All of them the work of craftsmen. They are saying of them, “Let the men who sacrifice kiss the calves!” Therefore they will be like the morning cloud And like dew which soon disappears, Like chaff which is blown away from the threshing floor And like smoke from a chimney. Yet I have been Yahweh your God Since the land of Egypt; And you were not to know any god except Me, And there is no savior besides Me. I Myself knew you in the wilderness, In the land of drought. As they had their pasture, then they became satisfied, Indeed, they were satisfied, and their heart became raised up; Therefore they forgot Me. So I will be like a lion to them; Like a leopard I will lie in wait by the wayside. I will encounter them like a bear robbed of her cubs, And I will tear open the chest enclosing their heart; There I will also devour them like a lioness, As a beast of the field would rip them open. It is your ruin, O Israel, That you are against Me, against your help. Where now is your king, That he may save you in all your cities, And your judges of whom you said, “Give me a king and princes”? I gave you a king in My anger And took him away in My wrath. The iniquity of Ephraim is bound up; His sin is stored up. The pains of childbirth come upon him; He is not a wise son, For it is not the time that he should delay at the opening of the womb. Shall I ransom them from the power of Sheol? Shall I redeem them from death? O Death, where are your thorns? O Sheol, where is your sting? Compassion will be hidden from My sight. Though he is fruitful among the reeds, An east wind will come, The wind of Yahweh coming up from the wilderness; And his fountain will become dry, And his spring will be dried up; It will plunder his treasury of every desirable article. Samaria will be held guilty, For she has rebelled against her God. They will fall by the sword; Their infants will be dashed in pieces, And their pregnant women will be ripped open.

~~~~~~14~~~~~ ~~~~~~14~~~~~ ~~~~~~14~~~~~ ~~~~~~14~~~~~ ~~~~~~14~~~~~ Return, O Israel, to Yahweh your God, For you have stumbled in your iniquity. Take words with you and return to Yahweh. Say to Him, “Forgive all iniquity And take what is good, That we may pay in full the fruit of our lips. “Assyria will not save us; We will not ride on horses, Nor will we say again, ‘Our god,’ To the work of our hands; For in You the orphan finds compassion.” I will heal their turning away from Me; I will love them freely, For My anger has turned away from them. I will be like the dew to Israel; He will flourish like the lily, And he will take root like the cedars of Lebanon. His shoots will go forth, And his splendor will be like the olive tree And his fragrance like the cedars of Lebanon. Those who live in his shadow Will again raise grain, And they will flourish like the vine. His name of remembrance will be like the wine of Lebanon. O Ephraim, what more have I to do with idols? It is I who answer and look after you. I am like a luxuriant cypress; From Me comes your fruit. Whoever is wise, so let him discern these things; Whoever is discerning, let him know them. For the ways of Yahweh are right, And the righteous will walk in them, But transgressors will stumble in them.
