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God's Love Offers Hope

Once again the Lord spoke to me. And this time he said, “Hosea, fall in love with an unfaithful woman[a] who has a lover. Do this to show that I love the people of Israel, even though they worship idols and enjoy the offering cakes made with fruit.”

So I paid 15 pieces of silver and about 150 kilograms of grain for such a woman. Then I said, “Now you are mine! You will have to remain faithful to me, though it will be a long time before we sleep together.”

It will also be a long time before Israel has a king or before sacrifices are offered at the temple or before there is any way to get guidance from God. But later, Israel will turn back to the Lord their God and to David their king. At that time they will come to the Lord with fear and trembling, and he will be good to them.

Israel Is Unfaithful

Israel, listen
as the Lord accuses
    everyone in the land!
No one is faithful or loyal
    or truly cares about God.
Cursing, dishonesty, murder,
    robbery, unfaithfulness—
these happen all the time.
    Violence is everywhere.
And so your land is a desert.
Every living creature is dying—
    people and wild animals,
    birds and fish.

The Lord Warns the Priests

Don't accuse just anyone!
    Not everyone is at fault.
My case is against you,
    the priests.[b]
You and the prophets
will stumble day and night;
    I'll silence your mothers.
You priests have rejected me,
and my people are destroyed
    by refusing to obey.
Now I'll reject you and forget
your children, because you
    have forgotten my Law.

By adding more of you priests,
you multiply the number
    of people who sin.
Now I'll change your pride
    into shame.
You encourage others to sin,
so you can stuff yourselves
    on their sin offerings.

That's why I will punish
    the people for their deeds,
just as I will punish
    you priests.
10 Their food won't satisfy,
and having sex at pagan shrines
    won't produce children.
My people have rebelled
11 and have been unfaithful
    to me, their Lord.

God Condemns Israel's Idolatry

My people, you are foolish
because of too much pleasure
    and too much wine.
12 You expect wooden idols
and other objects of wood
    to give you advice.
Lusting for sex at pagan shrines
has made you unfaithful
    to me, your God.
13 You offer sacrifices
    on mountaintops and hills,
under oak trees, and wherever
    good shade is found.

Your own daughters
and daughters-in-law
    sell themselves for sex.
14 But I won't punish them.
    You men are to blame,
because you go to prostitutes
and offer sacrifices with them
    at pagan shrines.
Your own foolishness
    will lead to your ruin.
15 Israel, you are unfaithful,
    but don't lead Judah to sin.
Stop worshiping at Gilgal
    or at sinful Bethel.[c]
And quit making promises
in my name—the name
    of the living Lord.
16 You are nothing more
    than a stubborn cow—
so stubborn that I, the Lord,
cannot feed you like lambs
    in an open pasture.

17 You people of Israel[d]
are charmed by[e] idols.
    Leave those people alone!
18 You get drunk, then sleep
    with prostitutes;
you would rather be vulgar
    than lead a decent life.[f]
19 And so you will be swept away[g]
in a whirlwind
    for sacrificing to idols.

Footnotes

  1. 3.1 unfaithful woman: This may refer to Gomer, the woman Hosea married (see 1.3), or it may refer to another woman.
  2. 4.4 priests: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 4. Hosea may have had in mind only one priest, possibly the chief priest.
  3. 4.15 sinful Bethel: The Hebrew text has “Beth-Aven,” which means “house of sin” or “house of nothing,” referring to “Bethel,” which means “house of God.”
  4. 4.17 Israel: The Hebrew text has “Ephraim,” the leading tribe of the northern kingdom of Israel, which sometimes stands for the whole kingdom.
  5. 4.17 charmed by: Or “joined to.”
  6. 4.18 life: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 18.
  7. 4.19 And so … swept away: Or “And so you will be ashamed.”

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