Hosea 2
1 Say ye unto your brethren, Ammi; and to your sisters, Ruhamah.2 Contend 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;3 lest 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.4 Yea, upon her children will I have no mercy; for they are children of whoredom;5 for 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.6 Therefore, behold, I will hedge up thy way with thorns, and I will build a wall against her, that she shall not find her paths.7 And 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.8 For 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.9 Therefore 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.10 And now will I uncover her lewdness in the sight of her lovers, and none shall deliver her out of my hand.11 I will also cause all her mirth to cease, her feasts, her new moons, and her sabbaths, and all her solemn assemblies.12 And 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.13 And 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.14 Therefore, behold, I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak comfortably unto her.15 And 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.16 And it shall be at that day, saith Jehovah, that thou shalt call me Ishi, and shalt call me no more Baali.17 For I will take away the names of the Baalim out of her mouth, and they shall no more be mentioned by their name.18 And 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.19 And 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.20 I will even betroth thee unto me in faithfulness; and thou shalt know Jehovah.21 And it shall come to pass in that day, I will answer, saith Jehovah, I will answer the heavens, and they shall answer the earth;22 and the earth shall answer the grain, and the new wine, and the oil; and they shall answer Jezreel.23 And 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.
HOSEA 2
1 So let your brothers be called “My People” and your sisters be called “Shown Mercy.”tThe [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.”