Hosea 2

1 t“In that day you will call your brothers Ammi—‘My people.’ And you will call your sisters Ruhamah—‘The ones I love.’In print editions of the NLT, 2:1 is set as its own paragraph at the end of chapter one.

Chapter 2

Charges against an Unfaithful Wife

2 “But now bring charges against Israel—your mother—
for she is no longer my wife,
and I am no longer her husband.
Tell her to remove the prostitute’s makeup from her face
and the clothing that exposes her breasts.3 Otherwise, I will strip her as naked
as she was on the day she was born.
I will leave her to die of thirst,
as in a dry and barren wilderness.4 And I will not love her children,
for they were conceived in prostitution.5 Their mother is a shameless prostitute
and became pregnant in a shameful way.
She said, ‘I’ll run after other lovers
and sell myself to them for food and water,
for clothing of wool and linen,
and for olive oil and drinks.’6 “For this reason I will fence her in with thornbushes.
I will block her path with a wall
to make her lose her way.7 When she runs after her lovers,
she won’t be able to catch them.
She will search for them
but not find them.
Then she will think,
‘I might as well return to my husband,
for I was better off with him than I am now.’8 She doesn’t realize it was I who gave her everything she has—
the grain, the new wine, the olive oil;
I even gave her silver and gold.
But she gave all my gifts to Baal.9 “But now I will take back the ripened grain and new wine
I generously provided each harvest season.
I will take away the wool and linen clothing
I gave her to cover her nakedness.10 I will strip her naked in public,
while all her lovers look on.
No one will be able
to rescue her from my hands.11 I will put an end to her annual festivals,
her new moon celebrations, and her Sabbath days—
all her appointed festivals.12 I will destroy her grapevines and fig trees,
things she claims her lovers gave her.
I will let them grow into tangled thickets,
where only wild animals will eat the fruit.13 I will punish her for all those times
when she burned incense to her images of Baal,
when she put on her earrings and jewels
and went out to look for her lovers
but forgot all about me,”
says the LORD.

The LORD’s Love for Unfaithful Israel

14 “But then I will win her back once again.
I will lead her into the desert
and speak tenderly to her there.15 I will return her vineyards to her
and transform the Valley of Troublet into a gateway of hope.
She will give herself to me there,
as she did long ago when she was young,
when I freed her from her captivity in Egypt.16 When that day comes,” says the LORD,
“you will call me ‘my husband’
instead of ‘my master.’t17 O Israel, I will wipe the many names of Baal from your lips,
and you will never mention them again.18 On that day I will make a covenant
with all the wild animals and the birds of the sky
and the animals that scurry along the ground
so they will not harm you.
I will remove all weapons of war from the land,
all swords and bows,
so you can live unafraid
in peace and safety.19 I will make you my wife forever,
showing you righteousness and justice,
unfailing love and compassion.20 I will be faithful to you and make you mine,
and you will finally know me as the LORD.21 “In that day, I will answer,”
says the LORD.
“I will answer the sky as it pleads for clouds.
And the sky will answer the earth with rain.22 Then the earth will answer the thirsty cries
of the grain, the grapevines, and the olive trees.
And they in turn will answer,
‘Jezreel’—‘God plants!’23 At that time I will plant a crop of Israelites
and raise them for myself.
I will show love
to those I called ‘Not loved.’t
And to those I called ‘Not my people,’t
I will say, ‘Now you are my people.’
And they will reply, ‘You are our God!’”

HOSEA 2

1 So let your brothers be called “My People” and your sisters be called “Shown Mercy.”t

The [Lord] Promises //To Punish Israel

2 Accuse! Accuse your mother!
She is no longer my wife,
and now I, the [Lord],
am not her husband.
Beg her to give up prostitution
and stop being unfaithful, t

3 or I will strip her naked
like the day she was born.
I will make her barren
like a desert,
and she will die of thirst.

4 You children are the result
of her unfaithfulness,
and I'll show you no pity.

5 Your mother was unfaithful.
She was disgraceful and said,
“I'll run after my lovers.
Everything comes from them—
my food and drink,
my linen and wool,
my olive oil and wine.”

6 I, the [Lord], will build
a fence of thorns
to block her path.

7 She will run after her lovers,
but not catch them;
she will search,
but not find them.
Then she will say, “I'll return
to my first husband.
Life was better then.”

8 She didn't know that her grain,
wine, and olive oil
were gifts from me,
as were the gold and silver
she used in worshiping Baal.t

9 So I'll hold back the harvest
of grain and grapes.
I'll take back
my wool and my linen
that cover her body.

10 Then I'll strip her naked
in the sight of her lovers.t
No one can rescue her.

11 I'll stop Israel's celebrations—
no more New Moon Festivals,
Sabbaths, or other feasts.

12 She said, “My lovers gave me
vineyards and fig trees
as paymentt for sex.”
Now I, the [Lord], will ruin
her vineyards and fig trees;
they will become clumps of weeds
eaten by wild animals.

13 I'll punish her for the days
she worshiped Baal
and burned incense to him.
I'll punish her for the times
she forgot about me
and wore jewelry and rings
to attract her lovers.
I, the [Lord], have spoken!

The [Lord] Will Help Israel

14 Israel, I, the [Lord],
will lure you into the desert
and speak gently to you.

15  t I will return your vineyards,
and then Trouble Valleyt
will become Hopeful Valley.
You will say “Yes” to me
as you did in your youth,
when leaving Egypt.
16 I promise from that day on, you will call me your husband instead of your master.t 17 I will no longer even let you mention the names of those pagan gods that you called “Master.” 18 And I will agree to let you live in peace—you will no longer be attacked by wild animals and birds or by weapons of war. 19 I will accept you as my wife forever, and instead of a bride pricet I will give you justice, fairness, love, kindness,

20 and faithfulness. Then you will truly know who I am.
21 I will command the sky to send rain on the earth, 22 and it will produce grain, grapes, and olives in Jezreel Valley. 23 t I will scatter the seeds and show mercy to Lo-Ruhamah.t I will say to Lo-Ammi, t “You are my people,” and they will answer, “You are our God.”