Hosea 2
1 Say to your brothers, Ammi; and to your sisters, Ruhamah.
Say ye unto your brethren, O Ammi ["O my people"], and unto your sisters, O Ruhamah ["O compassionated one"]:
2 Take up the cause against your mother, take it up, for she is not my wife, and I am not her husband; let her put away her loose ways from her face, and her false ways from between her breasts;
Contend ye with your mother, contend, for she is no wife of mine, and I am no husband of hers, Let her then put away her paramours from before her, and her partners in adultery, from her embraces:
3 For fear that I may take away her robe from her, making her uncovered as in the day of her birth; making her like a waste place and a dry land, causing her death through need of water.
Lest I strip off her under-clothing, and set her forth to view, as in the day she was born, —and make her like a wilderness, and render her like a land that is parched, and suffer her to die of thirst;
4 And I will have no mercy on her children, for they are the children of her loose ways.
And, on her children, not have compassion, —because, the children of paramours, they are.
5 For their mother has been untrue; she who gave them birth has done things of shame, for she said, I will go after my lovers, who give me my bread and my water, my wool and my linen, my oil and my wine.
For their mother, hath been unchaste, and she that conceived them, hath caused shame, —for she said, Let me go after my lovers! who used to give my bread, and my water, my wool, and my flax, mine oil, and my drink.
6 For this cause I will put thorns in her road, building up a wall round her so that she may not go on her way.
Therefore, behold me! hedging up her way, with thorns, —and I will wall her in, and, her footpaths, shall she not find.
7 And if she goes after her lovers she will not overtake them; if she makes search for them she will not see them; then will she say, I will go back to my first husband, for then it was better for me than now.
And, when she shall pursue her lovers, and not overtake them, and shall seek them and not find, then will she say, Let me go my way now! and return unto my first husband, for it was better with me, then, than, now!
8 For she had no knowledge that it was I who gave her the grain and the wine and the oil, increasing her silver and gold which they gave to the Baal.
But, she, owneth not, that, I, gave her—the corn, and the new wine and the oil, —silver, also increased I unto her, and gold—[which] they offered to Baal!
9 So I will take away again my grain in its time and my wine, and I will take away my wool and my linen with which her body might have been covered.
Therefore, will I again take away my corn, in the time thereof, and my new wine, in the season thereof, —and will recover my wool and my flax [given] to hide her shame.
10 And now I will make her shame clear before the eyes of her lovers, and no one will take her out of my hand.
Now, therefore, will I expose her unseemliness, before the eyes of her lovers, —and no, man, shall deliver her out of my hand!
11 And I will put an end to all her joy, her feasts, her new moons, and her Sabbaths, and all her regular meetings.
And I will cause to cease all her mirth, her pilgrim-festival, her new moon and her sabbath, —and her every appointed meeting;
12 And I will make waste her vines and her fig-trees, of which she has said, These are the payments which my lovers have made to me; and I will make them a waste of trees, and the beasts of the field will take them for food.
And will lay waste her vine and her fig- tree, as to which she hath said, A present, are they for myself, which my lovers, have given me, —and I will make of them a thicket, and the wild beasts of the field shall devour them.
13 And I will give her punishment for the days of the Baals, to whom she has been burning perfumes, when she made herself fair with her nose-rings and her jewels, and went after her lovers, giving no thought to me, says the Lord.
So will I visit upon her the days of the Baals, unto whom she used to burn incense, and decked herself with her nose-ring and her jewelry, and went her way after her lovers, —whereas, me, she forgat, Declareth Yahweh.
14 For this cause I will make her come into the waste land and will say words of comfort to her.
Therefore, lo! I, am going to persuade her, and, though I conduct her forth into wilderness, yet will I speak unto her heart.
15 And I will give her vine-gardens from there, and the valley of Achor for a door of hope; and she will give her answer there as in the days when she was young, and as in the time when she came up out of the land of Egypt.
Then will I give to her her vineyards from thence, and the vale of Achor ["trouble"] for a door of hope, —and she will respond 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 in that day, says the Lord, you will say to me, Ishi; and you will never again give me the name of Baali;
And it shall come to pass, in that day, Declareth Yahweh, that she will call me Ishi ["My husband"], and will not call me any more, Baali ["Mine owner"].
17 For I will take away the names of the Baals out of her mouth, and never again will she say their names.
So will I take away the names of the Baals, out of her mouth, —and they shall not be called to mind any more, by their name.
18 And in that day I will make an agreement for them with the beasts of the field and the birds of heaven and the things which go low on the earth; I will put an end to the bow and the sword and war in all the land, and will make them take their rest in peace.
And I will solemnize to them a covenant, in that day, with the wild-beast of the field, and with the bird of the heavens, and the creeping thing of the ground, —and, bow and sword and battle, will I break in pieces out of the land, so will I cause them to lie down, in security.
19 And I will take you as my bride for ever; truly, I will take you as my bride in righteousness and in right judging, in love and in mercies.
And I will take thee unto myself, unto times age-abiding, —yea I will take thee unto myself, in righteousness and in justice, and in lovingkindness, and in abounding compassion:
20 I will take you as my bride in good faith, and you will have knowledge of the Lord.
Yea I will take thee unto myself, in faithfulness, —So shalt thou know Yahweh.
21 And it will be, in that day, says the Lord, that I will give an answer to the heavens, and the heavens to the earth;
And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will respond, Declareth Yahweh, I will respond to the heavens, —and, they, shall respond to the earth;
22 And the earth will give its answer to the grain and the wine and the oil, and they will give an answer to Jezreel;
And, the earth, shall respond to the corn, and to the new wine and to the oil, —and, they, shall respond to Jezreel ["Whom GOD scattereth," "Whom GOD soweth"].
23 And I will put her as seed in the earth, and I will have mercy on her to whom no mercy was given; and I will say to those who were not my people, You are my people, and they will say, My God.
So will I sow her unto me in the land, and will have compassion upon the uncompassionated one ["Lo-ruhamah"], —and will say to him who was No-people-of-mine ["Lo-ammi"], My people, thou art, and, he, shall say, My God!
