Online Bible

Israel’s Unfaithfulness Condemned

¹Say to your brothers, “²Ammi,” and to your sisters, “³Ruhamah.”

2 “Dispute with your mother, ^adispute,Because she is ^bnot my wife, and I am not her husband;But she must remove her ^cinfidelity from her faceAnd her adultery from between her breasts,3 Otherwise, I will strip her ^anakedAnd expose her as on the ^bday she was born.I will also ^cmake her like a wilderness,Make her like desert land,And put her to death with ^dthirst.4 “Also, I will take no pity on her children,Because they are ^achildren of infidelity.5 “For their mother has ^acommitted prostitution;She who conceived them has acted shamefully.For she said, ‘^bI will go after my lovers,Who ^cgive me my bread and my water,My wool and my flax, my ^doil and my drink.’6 “Therefore, behold, I will ^aobstruct ¹her way with ^bthorns,And I will build ²a stone wall against her so that she cannot find her ^cpaths.7 “And she will ^apursue her lovers, but she will not reach them;And she will seek them, but will not find them.Then she will say, ‘^bI will go back to my ^cfirst husband,Because it was ^dbetter for me then than now!’

8 “Yet she does ^anot know that it was ^bI myself who gave her the grain, the new wine, and the oil,And lavished on her silver and gold,Which they ¹used for Baal.9 “Therefore, I will ¹^atake back My grain at ²harvest timeAnd My new wine in its season.I will also take away My wool and My flaxThat I gave to cover her nakedness.10 “So now I will ^auncover her ¹lewdnessBefore the eyes of her lovers,And no one will rescue her from My hand.11 “I will also ^aput an end to all her joy,Her ^bfeasts, her ^cnew moons, her Sabbaths,And all her festivals.12 “And I will ^adestroy her vines and fig trees,Of which she said, ‘They are my wages for prostitutionWhich my lovers have given me.’And I will ^bturn them into a forest,And the ^canimals of the field will devour them.13 “I will punish her for the ^adays of the BaalsWhen she used to ¹^boffer sacrifices to themAnd ^cadorn herself with her nose ring and jewelry,And follow her lovers, so that she ^dforgot Me,” declares the LORD.

Restoration of Israel

14 “Therefore, behold, I am going to persuade her,^aBring her into the wilderness,And speak ¹kindly to her.15 “Then I will give her her ^avineyards from there,And ^bthe ¹Valley of Achor as a door of hope.And she will ²^crespond there as in the days of her youth,As in the ^dday when she went up from the land of Egypt.16 “And it will come about on that day,” declares the LORD,“That you will call Me ¹^amy husbandAnd no longer call Me my ²Baal.17 “For ^aI will remove the names of the Baals from her mouth,So that they will no longer be ¹mentioned by their names.18 “On that day I will also make a covenant for themWith the ^aanimals of the field,The birds of the sky,And the crawling things of the ground.And I will ¹^beliminate the bow, the sword, and war from the land,And will let them ^clie down in safety.19 “I will ^abetroth you to Me forever;Yes, I will betroth you to Me in ^brighteousness and in justice,In favor and in compassion,20 And I will betroth you to Me in faithfulness.Then you will ^aknow the LORD.

21 “And it will come about on that day that ^aI will respond,” declares the LORD.“I will respond to the heavens, and they will respond to the earth,22 And the ^aearth will respond to the grain, to the new wine, and to the oil,And they will respond to ¹Jezreel.23 “I will ^asow her for Myself in the land.^bI will also have compassion on ¹her who had not obtained compassion,And ^cI will say to ²those who were ^dnot My people,‘You are My people!’And ³they will say, ‘You are my God!’”

Israel’s Unfaithfulness Condemned

“ Hosea, say to your brothers, ‘Ammi (you are my people) ,’ and to your sisters, ‘Ruhamah (you have been pitied and have obtained mercy) .’

2 “Contend with your mother (nation) ; ^acontend,For she is ^bnot my wife and I am not her husband;And have her remove her marks of ^cprostitution from her faceAnd her adultery from between her breasts Is 50:13 Or I will strip her ^anakedAnd expose her as on the ^bday she was born,And ^cmake her like a wildernessAnd make her like a parched landAnd slay her with ^dthirst.4 “Also, I will have no mercy on her children,Because they are the ^achildren of prostitution.5 “For their mother has ^aplayed the prostitute;She who conceived them has acted shamefully,For she said, ‘^bI will pursue my loversWho ^cgive me my food and my water,My wool and my flax, my ^doil and my refreshing drinks.’6 “Therefore, behold, I the LORD God will ^ahedge up her way with ^bthorns;And I will build a wall against her shutting off her way so that she cannot find her ^cpaths.7 “She will passionately ^apursue her lovers, but she will not overtake them;And she will seek them, but will not find them.Then she will say, ‘Let ^bme go and return to my ^cfirst husband,For it was ^dbetter for me then than now!’

8 “For she (Israel) has ^anot noticed nor understood nor realized that it was ^bI the LORD God who gave her the grain and the new wine and the oil,And lavished on her silver and gold,Which they used for Baal and made into his image.9 “Therefore, I will return and ^atake back My grain at harvest timeAnd My new wine in its season.I will also take away My wool and My flaxGiven to cover her nakedness.10 “And now I will ^auncover her lewdness and shameIn the sight of her lovers,And no one will rescue her from My hand.11 “I will also ^aput an end to all her rejoicing,Her ^bfeasts, her ^cNew Moons, her Sabbaths,And all her festivals.12 “I will ^adestroy her vines and her fig treesOf which she has said, ‘These are my wagesWhich my lovers have given me.’And I will ^bmake them a forest,And the ^canimals of the open country will devour them.13 “And I will punish her for the feast ^adays of the Baals,When she used to ^boffer sacrifices and burn incense to themAnd ^cadorn herself with her earrings and nose rings and her jewelry,And follow her lovers, so that she ^dforgot Me,” says the LORD.

Restoration of Israel

14 “Therefore, behold, I will allure IsraelAnd ^abring her into the wilderness,And I will speak tenderly to her to reconcile her to Me.15 “Then I will give her her ^avineyards from there,And make ^bthe Valley of Achor a door of hope and expectation anticipating the time when I will restore My favor on her.And she will ^csing there and respond as in the days of her youthAs in the ^dday when she came up from the land of Egypt. Ex 15:2; Josh 7:24-2616 “It shall come about in that day,” says the LORD,“That you will call Me ^aIshi (my husband)And will no longer call Me Baali (my ¹Baal) .17 “For ^aI will remove the names of the Baals from her mouth,So that they will no longer be mentioned or remembered by their names. Ex 23:1318 “And in that day I will make a covenant for IsraelWith the ^aanimals of the open countryAnd with the birds of the heavensAnd with the creeping things of the ground.And I will ^babolish the bow and the sword and banish war from the landAnd will make them ^clie down in safety.19 “And I will ^abetroth you (Israel) to Me forever;Yes, I will betroth you to Me in ^brighteousness and in justice,In lovingkindness and loyalty, and in compassion.20 “I will betroth you to Me in stability and in faithfulness.Then you will ^aknow (recognize, appreciate) the LORD and respond with loving faithfulness.

21 “It will come about in that day that I will respond,” says the LORD.“^aI will respond to the heavens which ask for rain to pour on the earth, and they will respond to the earth which begs for the rain,22 And the ^aearth shall respond to the grain and the new wine and the oil which beg it to bring them forth,And they will respond to Jezreel My Israel, who will now be restored.23 “I will ^asow her for Myself in the land.^bI will also have mercy on her who had not obtained mercy;And ^cI will say to those who were ^dnot My people,‘You are My people,’And they will say, ‘You are my God!’” 1+@Pet 2:9, 10