Hosea 2

1 Call ye your brothers, 'Ammi [[my people]]; and your sisters, Ruchamah [[That hath obtained mercy]].

Call ye your brethren My-people; and your sisters Pitied.

2 Contend with your mother, contend; for she is not my wife, and I am not her husband; but let her put away her prostitution from her face, and her adulteries from between her breasts:

Contend ye with your mother, contend! For she is not my wife, Nor am I her husband; That she put away lewdness from her face, And adultery from her breasts, Lest I strip her naked, And expose her, as when she was born;

3 Lest I strip her naked, and set her, as on the day that she was born, and make her as a wilderness, and render her like a dry land, and let her die with thirst.

Lest I make her as the desert, and like a parched land, And kill her with thirst.

4 And upon her children will I not have mercy; for they are children of prostitution;

Upon her sons also I will not have pity, For they are the sons of lewdness.

5 For their mother hath played the harlot; she that conceived them hath done shamefully; for she said, I will go after my lovers, that give me my bread and my water, my wool and my flax, my oil and my drink.

For their mother hath been guilty of lewdness; She that bore them hath brought upon herself shame; For she said, I will go after my lovers, Who give me my food and my water, My wool and my flax, my oil and my strong drink.

6 Therefore, behold, I will hedge up thy way with thorns, and I will close it up with a fence, that she shall not find her paths.

Therefore, behold, I will hedge up her way with thorns, And I will enclose her with a wall, So that she shall not find her paths.

7 And she will make pursuit after her lovers, but she shall not overtake them; and she will seek them, but shall not find them: then will she say, I will go and return to my first husband; for it was better with me then than now.

When she followeth after her lovers, she shall not overtake them; When she seeketh them, she shall not find them. Then shall she say, I will go back to my former husband, For then it was better with me than now.

8 But she indeed did not acknowledge, that it was I that had given her the corn, and the wine, and the oil, and multiplied for her silver and gold, which they devoted for Ba'al.

For she did not consider that I gave her corn, and wine, and oil, And multiplied silver unto her, And gold, of which they made images of Baal.

9 Therefore will I turn back, and take away my corn in its time, and my wine in its season, and I will snatch away my wool and my flax, [given] to cover her nakedness.

Therefore will I take back my corn in its time, And my new wine in its season, And I will take away my wool and my flax, Which covered her nakedness.

10 And now will I lay open her disgrace before the eyes of her lovers, and no man shall deliver her out of my hand.

And now will I reveal her shame before the eyes of her lovers, And none shall deliver her out of my hand.

11 And I will cause to cease all her mirth, her festival, her new-moon, and her sabbath, and all her appointed feasts.

And I will cause all her joy to cease; Her feasts, and new moons, and sabbaths, And all her festal days.

12 And I will make desolate her vine and her fig-tree, whereof she hath said, These are my reward which my lovers have given me: and I will change them into a forest, and the beasts of the field shall devour them.

I will destroy her vines, and her fig-trees, Of which she said, These are my hire, Which my lovers have given me; And I will make them a forest, And the wild beasts shall eat them.

13 And I will visit upon her the days of the Be'alim, to which she used to burn incense, when she decked herself with her earrings and her jewels, and went after her lovers, and me she forgot, saith the Lord.

I will punish her for the days of the Baals, When she burned incense to them, And decked herself with her rings and her jewels, And went after her lovers, And forgot me, saith Jehovah.

14 Therefore, behold, will I allure her, and lead her forth into the wilderness, and I will speak comfortingly unto her heart.

Therefore, behold, I will allure her, And will lead her to the desert, And will speak kindly to her;

15 And I will give her [again] her vineyards from there, and the valley of 'Achor [[sorrow]] as an entrance for hope: and she shall sing there, as in the days of her youth, and as on the day of her coming up out of the land of Egypt.

And thence will I give her her vineyards, And the valley of Achor for a door of hope; And there shall she sing, as in the days of her youth! As in the day when she came up from the land of Egypt.

16 And it shall happen at that day, saith the Lord, that thou shalt call me Ishi [[my husband]], and shalt not call me any more Ba'ali [[my lord]].

At that time, saith Jehovah, Thou shalt call me, MY HUSBAND; Thou shalt no more call me, MY BAAL;

17 For I will remove the names of the Be'alim out of her mouth, and they shall no more be mentioned by their name.

For I will take away the name of the Baals out of her mouth, And their name shall no more be uttered.

18 And I will make for them a covenant on that day with the beasts of the field, and with the fowls of the heaven, and with the creeping things of the ground: and bow, and sword, and war I will break away out of the land, and I will cause them to lie down in safety.

At that time will I make for them a covenant With the beasts of the forest, and with the birds of heaven, And with the creeping things of the ground. The bow and the sword and the battle will I break from the land, And I will cause them to lie down in safety.

19 And I will betroth thee unto me for ever: yea, I will betroth thee unto me in righteousness, and in justice, and in loving-kindness, and in mercy.

I will betroth thee to me forever; Yea, I will betroth thee to me in righteousness, and in justice, And in kindness, and in tender love.

20 And I will betroth thee unto me in faithfulness; and thou shalt know the Lord.

Yea, I will betroth thee to me in faithfulness, And thou shalt know Jehovah.

21 And it shall come to pass on that day, that I will answer prayer, saith the Lord, I will answer the heavens, and they shall answer the earth;

At that time will I hear, saith Jehovah; I will hear the heavens; And they shall hear the earth,

22 And the earth shall answer the corn, and the wine, and the oil; and they shall answer Yizre'el.

And the earth shall hear the corn, and the new wine, and the oil, And they shall hear Jezreel.

23 And I will sow her for me in the land; and I will have mercy upon “Her that had not obtained mercy” [[Lo-ruchamah]]; and I will say to those who were “Not my people” [[Lo-'ammi]], Thou art my people: and they shall say, Thou art my God.

And I will plant her for myself in the land; And I will have pity upon her that was called Unpitied; And I will say to them called Not-my-people, Thou art my people; And they shall say, Thou art my God.