1 The Word of the Lord came to Hosea the son of Beeri during the time that Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah were kings of Judah, and Jeroboam the son of Joash was king of Israel.

Hosea’s Family

² When the Lord first spoke through Hosea, the Lord said to him, “Go and marry a wife who is not faithful in marriage, and have children from that woman. For the land is guilty of not being faithful to the Lord.” ³ So he married Gomer the daughter of Diblaim and she gave birth to his son. ⁴ And the Lord said to Hosea, “Name him Jezreel, because I will soon punish the people of Jehu for the killing at Jezreel. And I will put an end to the ruling power of the people of Israel. ⁵ On that day, I will break the power of Israel in the valley of Jezreel.” ⁶ Then Gomer gave birth to a daughter. And the Lord said to Hosea, “Name her Lo-ruhamah, for I will no longer have loving-pity on the people of Israel and forgive them. ⁷ But I will have loving-pity on the people of Judah. I, the Lord their God, will save them. But I will not save them by bow, sword, war, horses, or horsemen.” ⁸ When Gomer had finished nursing Lo-ruhamah, she gave birth to a son. ⁹ And the Lord said, “Name him Lo-ammi, for you are not My people and I am not your God.

The Gathering of Israel and Judah

¹⁰ “Yet the number of the people of Israel will be like the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered. And in the place where it was said to them, ‘You are not My people,’ it will be said to them, ‘You are the sons of the living God.’ ¹¹ The people of Judah and the people of Israel will be gathered together, and they will choose one leader for themselves. And they will go up from the land, for the day of Jezreel will be a great day.

2 “Say to your brothers, ‘My people,’ and to your sisters, ‘My loved one.’

God’s People Who Are Not Faithful

² “Speak with strong words to your mother. Speak with strong words, for she is not My wife and I am not her husband. Tell her to stop selling the use of her body and giving herself to other men. ³ If she does not, I will put her to shame by taking off her clothes and show her as when she was born. I will make her like a desert, like a hot and dry land, and will kill her with thirst. ⁴ I will have no loving-pity on her children, for they are children of her sinful ways. ⁵ Their mother has not been faithful. She who gave birth to them has acted in shame. For she said, ‘I will go after my lovers. They give me my bread and water, my wool and linen, my oil and my drink.’ ⁶ So I will put thorn bushes in her way. I will build a wall so that she cannot find her way. ⁷ She will go after her lovers but will not catch up with them. She will look for them but will not find them. Then she will say, ‘I will return to my first husband. For it was better for me then than now.’

⁸ “She does not know that it was I Who gave her the grain, the new wine, the oil, and all the silver and gold, which they used for the false god Baal. ⁹ So I will take back My grain during the gathering time, and My new wine during its time. And I will take away My wool and My linen, which were given to cover her. ¹⁰ So I will take away the covering of her shame in the eyes of her lovers. And no one will take her out of My hand. ¹¹ I will put an end to all her fun, her special suppers, her new moons, her Days of Rest, and all her special times for gathering together. ¹² I will destroy her vines and fig trees, which she said were her pay from her lovers. I will make many trees grow wild among them, and the animals of the field will eat them. ¹³ I will punish her for the days she gave gifts in worship to the false gods of Baal. I will punish her for the times she forgot Me, and put on rings and other beautiful objects and went after her lovers” says the Lord.

God’s Loving-Kindness for His People

¹⁴ “So I will lead her into the desert and speak words of comfort to her. ¹⁵ I will give her grape-fields there, and make the Valley of Achor a door of hope. And she will sing there as she did when she was young, as in the day she came out of the land of Egypt. ¹⁶ In that day” says the Lord, “you will call Me, ‘My Husband.’ And you will no longer call Me, ‘My Baal.’ ¹⁷ For I will take the names of the Baals from her mouth. The names of these false gods will never be spoken again. ¹⁸ In that day I will make an agreement for them with the wild animals of the field, the birds of the sky, and the things which move upon the ground. I will put an end to the bow, the sword, and war in all the land. And I will let My people lie down in peace and be safe. ¹⁹ I will promise to make you Mine forever. Yes, I will take you as My bride in what is right and good and fair, and in loving-kindness and in loving-pity. ²⁰ I will keep My promise and make you Mine. Then you will know the Lord.

²¹ “In that day” says the Lord, “I will give an answer to the heavens, and they will give an answer to the earth. ²² The earth will give an answer to the grain, the new wine, and the oil. And they will give an answer to Jezreel. ²³ I will plant her for Myself in the land. Those who were not loved, I will call, ‘My loved ones.’ Those who were not My people, I will call, ‘My people.’ And they will say, ‘You are my God!’”

Israel Will Return to the Lord Their God

3 Then the Lord said to me, “Go again and love your wife, even when she is loved by another and is not faithful. Love her as the Lord loves the people of Israel, even when they turn to other gods and love cakes of dried grapes.” ² So I bought her for fifteen pieces of silver money and ten baskets of barley. ³ Then I said to her, “You must stay with me for many days, and be faithful to me. Do not have another man, and I will also be faithful to you.” ⁴ For the sons of Israel will live many days without a king or leader, without holy gifts or holy stone pillars, and without linen vests or false gods. ⁵ After this the sons of Israel will return and look for the Lord their God and for David their king. And they will come shaking before the Lord and receive His goodness in the last days.

God Speaks against Israel

4 Listen to the Word of the Lord, O people of Israel, because He has something against the people of the land. “They are not faithful or kind, and no one in the land knows God. ² There is swearing, lying, killing, stealing, and sex sins. They are always hurting others, and there is one killing after another. ³ The land is filled with sorrow. Everyone who lives on it wastes away, together with the animals of the field and the birds of the sky. Even the fish of the sea are taken away.

⁴ “Yet let no one put blame or guilt upon another. For your people are like those who argue with the religious leader. ⁵ You will fall during the day, and the religious leaders will fall with you during the night. And I will destroy your mother. ⁶ My people are destroyed because they have not learned. You were not willing to learn. So I am not willing to have you be My religious leader. Since you have forgotten the Law of your God, I also will forget your children.

⁷ “The more there were, the more they sinned against Me. I will change their shining-greatness into shame. ⁸ They feed on the sin of My people, and so they want them to sin more. ⁹ The religious leaders will be punished the same as the people. I will punish them for what they have done. ¹⁰ They will eat, but not have enough. They will do sex sins, but the number of their children will not grow because they have not been faithful to the Lord.

The Worship of False Gods

¹¹ “Their sinful ways and both old and new wine take away My people’s understanding. ¹² They ask things of a wooden god and are answered by a stick of wood. A false spirit has led them the wrong way. They have not been faithful, and they have left their God. ¹³ They give gifts in worship on the tops of the mountains and burn special perfume on the hills. They do this under oak, poplar and terebinth trees, because their shadow is pleasing. So your daughters are like women who sell the use of their bodies, and your brides do sex sins. ¹⁴ I will not punish your daughters when they are like women who sell the use of their bodies, or your brides when they do sex sins. For the men themselves go with the sinful women to give gifts in worship to false gods. And people without understanding will be destroyed.

¹⁵ “Even if you, Israel, are like women who sell the use of their bodies, do not let Judah become guilty. Do not go to Gilgal or up to Beth-aven. And do not swear, ‘As the Lord lives!’ ¹⁶ The people of Israel are strong-willed like a young cow. How then can the Lord feed them like a lamb in a large field? ¹⁷ Ephraim is joined to false gods. Let him alone. ¹⁸ Their strong drink is gone. They are like women who sell the use of their bodies all the time. Their rulers love shame. ¹⁹ The wind will carry them away, and they will be ashamed because they gave gifts to false gods.

The Lord Will Judge Israel and Judah

5 “Hear this, O religious leaders! Listen, O people of Israel! Listen, O family of the king! For you are to be judged. You have been a trap at Mizpah, and a net spread out on Tabor. ² Those who will not obey have gone deep into sin, but I will punish all of them. ³ I know all about Ephraim. Israel is not hidden from Me. O Ephraim, you have acted like a woman who sells the use of her body. Israel has made itself unclean. ⁴ Their wrong-doing will not allow them to return to their God. For a spirit of a woman who sells the use of her body is within them, and they do not know the Lord. ⁵ The pride of Israel speaks against them. Israel and Ephraim fall in their sin, and Judah has fallen with them. ⁶ They will go with their flocks and cattle to look for the Lord, but they will not find Him. He has gone away from them. ⁷ They have not been faithful to the Lord, for they have given birth to children who are not His. Now the new moon will destroy them with their land.

War between Judah and Israel

⁸ “Blow the horn in Gibeah and in Ramah! Let the sound of danger be heard at Beth-aven! Look behind you, Benjamin! ⁹ Ephraim will be laid waste in the day of punishment. Among the family groups of Israel I make known what is sure. ¹⁰ The leaders of Judah are like those who take away the land-marks. I will pour out My anger on them like water. ¹¹ It is hard for Ephraim. He is crushed by punishment, because he wanted to follow what is of no worth. ¹² So I am like a moth to Ephraim, and like a wasting disease to the people of Judah. ¹³ When Ephraim saw his sickness and Judah saw his sore, then Ephraim went to Assyria and sent to King Jareb for help. But he is not able to cure you, or heal your sore. ¹⁴ For I will be like a lion to Ephraim, and like a young lion to the people of Judah. I will tear them to pieces and go away. I will carry them away, with no one to take them. ¹⁵ I will go away and return to My place until they know they are guilty and look for Me. In their suffering they will try to find Me.”

The People Are toTurn from Their Sin

6 “Come, let us return to the Lord. He has hurt us but He will heal us. He has cut us but He will cover the sore. ² After two days He will give us new life. He will raise us up on the third day, that we may live before Him. ³ So keep on trying to know the Lord. His coming to us is as sure as the rising of the sun. He will come to us like the rain, like the spring rain giving water to the earth.”

⁴ “What should I do with you, Ephraim? What should I do with you, Judah? Your loving-kindness is like a morning cloud, and like the water on the grass in the early morning. ⁵ So I have cut them in pieces by the men who speak for Me. I have killed them by the words of My mouth. My punishments come upon you like lightning. ⁶ I want loving-kindness and not a gift to be given in worship. I want people to know God instead of giving burnt gifts. ⁷ But like Adam they have sinned against the agreement. They were not faithful to Me there. ⁸ Gilead is a city of wrong-doers, with blood in every footstep. ⁹ Like robbers lie in wait for a man, a group of religious leaders kill on the way to Shechem. For sure they have done a sinful thing. ¹⁰ I have seen a very bad thing among the people of Israel. Ephraim has left Me to worship false gods. Israel has made itself unclean. ¹¹ Also, Judah, there is a time coming for you, when I give back the riches of My people.

7 “Whenever I would heal Israel, I see the sin of Ephraim and the wrong-doing of Samaria. They are false in their ways. The robber breaks into houses, and sinful men rob in the streets. ² They do not think about how I remember all the sinful things they do. Their sins are all around them, and are always before Me. ³ They make the king glad with their wrong-doing, and the leaders with their lies. ⁴ None of them are faithful. They are like a hot stove whose fire the bread-maker leaves alone from the time he makes the dough until the bread rises. ⁵ On the special day of our king the leaders became drunk with wine. He joined hands with those who laughed at the truth. ⁶ Their hearts are like a hot stove as they make their plans. Their anger smokes all night, and in the morning it burns like a hot fire. ⁷ All of them are hot like a stove, and they destroy their leaders. All their kings have fallen, and none of them calls to Me for help.

Israel Cannot Depend on the Nations

⁸ “Ephraim mixes with the nations. Ephraim is a cake not turned. ⁹ Strangers destroy his strength, yet he does not know it. White hairs come upon him, yet he does not know it. ¹⁰ Israel’s pride speaks against him, yet they do not return to the Lord their God. Even for all this, they do not look for Him. ¹¹ Ephraim is like a foolish dove that is not able to think. They call to Egypt. They go to Assyria. ¹² When they go, I will spread My net over them. I will bring them down like the birds of the sky. I will punish them for the sinful things they have done. ¹³ It is bad for them, for they have turned away from Me! They will be destroyed, for they would not obey Me! I would save them and make them free, but they speak lies against Me. ¹⁴ They do not cry out to Me from their heart when they cry on their beds. They come together for grain and new wine, but turn away from Me. ¹⁵ I taught them and gave strength to their arms, yet they make sinful plans against Me. ¹⁶ They do not turn to the Most High. They are like a bow that does not work right. Their leaders will be killed by the sword because of their proud words. And those in the land of Egypt will laugh at them.