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 3

Chapter 3

Hosea’s Wife Is Redeemed

1 Then the LORD said to me, “Go and love your wife again, even though shet commits adultery with another lover. This will illustrate that the LORD still loves Israel, even though the people have turned to other gods and love to worship them.t”
2 So I bought her back for fifteen pieces of silvert and five bushels of barley and a measure of wine.t

3 Then I said to her, “You must live in my house for many days and stop your prostitution. During this time, you will not have sexual relations with anyone, not even with me.t”
4 This shows that Israel will go a long time without a king or prince, and without sacrifices, sacred pillars, priests,t or even idols!

5 But afterward the people will return and devote themselves to the LORD their God and to David’s descendant, their king.t In the last days, they will tremble in awe of the LORD and of his goodness.

Hosea 4

Chapter 4

The LORD’s Case against Israel

1 Hear the word of the LORD, O people of Israel!
The LORD has brought charges against you, saying:
“There is no faithfulness, no kindness,
no knowledge of God in your land.2 You make vows and break them;
you kill and steal and commit adultery.
There is violence everywhere—
one murder after another.3 That is why your land is in mourning,
and everyone is wasting away.
Even the wild animals, the birds of the sky,
and the fish of the sea are disappearing.4 “Don’t point your finger at someone else
and try to pass the blame!
My complaint, you priests,
is with you.t5 So you will stumble in broad daylight,
and your false prophets will fall with you in the night.
And I will destroy Israel, your mother.6 My people are being destroyed
because they don’t know me.
Since you priests refuse to know me,
I refuse to recognize you as my priests.
Since you have forgotten the laws of your God,
I will forget to bless your children.7 The more priests there are,
the more they sin against me.
They have exchanged the glory of God
for the shame of idols.t8 “When the people bring their sin offerings, the priests get fed.
So the priests are glad when the people sin!9 ‘And what the priests do, the people also do.’
So now I will punish both priests and people
for their wicked deeds.10 They will eat and still be hungry.
They will play the prostitute and gain nothing from it,
for they have deserted the LORD11 to worship other gods.
“Wine has robbed my people
of their understanding.12 They ask a piece of wood for advice!
They think a stick can tell them the future!
Longing after idols
has made them foolish.
They have played the prostitute,
serving other gods and deserting their God.13 They offer sacrifices to idols on the mountaintops.
They go up into the hills to burn incense
in the pleasant shade of oaks, poplars, and terebinth trees.
“That is why your daughters turn to prostitution,
and your daughters-in-law commit adultery.14 But why should I punish them
for their prostitution and adultery?
For your men are doing the same thing,
sinning with whores and shrine prostitutes.
O foolish people! You refuse to understand,
so you will be destroyed.15 “Though you, Israel, are a prostitute,
may Judah avoid such guilt.
Do not join the false worship at Gilgal or Beth-aven,t
even though they take oaths there in the LORD’s name.16 Israel is stubborn,
like a stubborn heifer.
So should the LORD feed her
like a lamb in a lush pasture?17 Leave Israelt alone,
because she is married to idolatry.18 When the rulers of Israel finish their drinking,
off they go to find some prostitutes.
They love shame more than honor.t19 So a mighty wind will sweep them away.
Their sacrifices to idols will bring them shame.