Hosea 2

1 “Say to your brothers—Ammi, And to your sisters—Ruhamah.

[At that time, ] you will say to your fellow-Israeli men, “[You are] God’s people,” and [you will say] to your fellow-Israeli women, “You are ones whom God loves.”

2 Plead with your mother—plead (For she [is] not My wife, and I [am] not her husband), And she turns her whoredoms from before her, And her adulteries from between her breasts,

[Yahweh also said to me], “I want you to accuse the Israeli people. [It is as though] [MET] this nation is your mother, but this nation is [no longer as though it is] [MET] my wife, and it is [no longer as though] [MET] I am its husband. Tell the Israeli people that they must stop [acting like] a prostitute [by worshiping other gods]; they must stop showing by their behavior that they (are unfaithful to/have abandoned) [me] [MET].

3 Lest I strip her naked. And have set her up as [in] the day of her birth, And have made her as a wilderness, And have set her as a dry land, And have put her to death with thirst.

If they do not do that, I will not give them [food and] clothes [as a husband should give to his wife]; I will take away those things, and I will cause their nation to become [as deserted] as it was on the day that I [brought their ancestors out of Egypt and caused them to become a nation] [MET]. I will cause their country to be like [SIM] a desert; there will be no rain to water the ground [MET].

4 And her sons I do not pity, For they [are] sons of whoredoms,

I will not pity the people, because they have [abandoned me] as [MET] prostitutes abandon their husbands.

5 For their mother has gone whoring, Their conceiver has acted shamefully, For she has said, I go after my lovers, Those giving my bread and my water, My wool and my flax, my oil and my drink.

Their parents are like prostitutes [MET]: they have been unfaithful [to me], and they have done [very] disgraceful things. They said, ‘We will run to [our idols/gods] who love us; [they are the ones] who give us food and water and wool and linen and [olive] oil, and [wine to] drink.’

6 Therefore, behold, I am hedging up your way with thorns, And I have made a wall for her, And her paths she does not find.

So [it will be as though] [MET] I am blocking their road with thornbushes, and putting put a wall around them so that they do not know which way to go.

7 And she has pursued her lovers, And she does not overtake them, And has sought them, and does not find [them], And she has said: I go, and I return to my first husband, For—better to me then than now.

They will run to their idols/gods that [they think] love them, but they will not find them. They will search for their false gods, but they will not find them. Then they will say, ‘[Perhaps] we should return to [Yahweh], whom we worshiped previously [MET], because things were better for us then than they are now.’

8 And she did not know that I had given to her The grain, and the new wine, and the oil. Indeed, I multiplied silver to her, And the gold they prepared for Ba‘al.

But they do not realize that I, [Yahweh], am the one who gave them grain and wine and [olive] oil; I am the one who gave them silver and gold which they used to worship Baal.

9 Therefore I return, And I have taken My grain in its season, And My new wine in its appointed time, And I have taken away My wool and My flax, covering her nakedness.

Therefore I will return and take my grain and grapes from them when they are ripe. I will take from them the wool and linen that I gave to them [to make their clothes] [MTY].

10 And now I reveal her dishonor before the eyes of her lovers, And none deliver her out of My hand.

I will show those false gods/idols that what my people are doing is disgusting [MET], and no one will be able to hinder me from [punishing them].

11 And I have caused all her joy to cease, Her festival, her new moon, and her Sabbath, Even all her appointed times,

I will cause their religious celebrations to cease, the festivals that they celebrate every year and at every new moon and on their (Sabbath days/weekly days of rest). I will cause all their religious celebrations to cease.

12 And made desolate her vine and her fig tree, Of which she said, They [are] a wage to me, That my lovers have given to me, And I have made them for a forest, And a beast of the field has consumed them.

I will destroy [all] their grapevines and fig trees, which they said were what their [idols/gods] who loved them paid them for worshiping those idols. I will cause those places to become a desert, and wild animals will eat the fruit [that remains].

13 And I have charged on her the days of the Ba‘alim, To whom she makes incense, And puts on her ring and her ornament, And goes after her lovers, And forgot Me,” a declaration of YHWH.

I will punish my people for [all] the times that they burned incense to [honor] the idols of Baal. They decorated themselves with rings and jewelry, and they went to worship those [false gods/idols] that [they thought] [IRO] loved them, but they abandoned/forgot me! [That is what I], Yahweh, say.

14 “Therefore, behold, I am enticing her, And have caused her to go to the wilderness, And I have spoken to her heart,

But listen! [Some day] I will persuade my people [to worship me again]; I will lead them [out] into the desert and speak kindly to them [there].

15 And given to her her vineyards from there, And the Valley of Achor for an opening of hope, And she has responded there as in the days of her youth, And as in the day of her coming up out of the land of Egypt.

I will give their vineyards [back] to them, and I will cause Achor Valley, [which means ‘valley of trouble'], to become a valley where they will confidently expect [me to do good things for them]. They will (respond to/want to please) me there like they did long ago, when I freed them from [being slaves in] Egypt.

16 And it has come to pass in that day,” A declaration of YHWH, “You call Me: My husband, And do not call Me anymore: My lord.

At that time, they will say to me, ‘[It is as though] [MET] you are our husband.’ They will not say that I am their [master, like they considered that] Baal [was].

17 And I have turned aside the names of the lords from her mouth, And they are not remembered anymore by their name.

I will not allow them to speak [MTY] the names of Baal; they will never use those names again.

18 And I have made a covenant for them in that day, With the beast of the field, And with the bird of the heavens, And the creeping thing of the ground, And bow, and sword, and war I break from off the land, And have caused them to lie down confidently.

At that time [it will be as though] I will make an agreement with [all] the wild animals and birds, and [even with] the little animals that scurry across the ground, so that they will never harm my people [again]. And I will remove from their nation all the weapons [for fighting] battles, [like] swords and bows [and arrows]. The result will be that my people will live peacefully and safely, and will not be afraid.

19 And I have betrothed you to Me for all time, And betrothed you to Me in righteousness, And in judgment, and kindness, and mercies,

I will cause them to be [as though they are] [MET] my bride forever. I will be righteous and fair/just; I will faithfully love them and be kind to them.

20 And betrothed you to Me in faithfulness, And you have known YHWH.

I will not abandon them, and they will realize [that I] Yahweh, [have the power to do what I say that I will do.]

21 And it has come to pass in that day, I answer,” A declaration of YHWH, “I answer the heavens, and they answer the earth.

At that time, [when they request me to do things for them], [I will do those things]. When they request clouds and rain to fall on their land, I will speak to the clouds, and rain will fall on the earth,

22 And the earth answers the grain, And the new wine, and the oil, And they answer Jezreel.

and grain will grow, and the vineyards and the olive trees will grow in Jezreel [Valley].

23 And I have sowed her to Me in the land, And I have pitied Lo-Ruhamah, And I have said to Lo-Ammi, You [are] My people, And he says, My God!”

[At that time], I will take care of the Israeli people [like a farmer plants and takes care of his crops] [MET]. I will love those people that I previously said were ones I did not love, and I previously said, ‘You are not my people,’ and [then] they will say to me, ‘You are our God.’”