Hosea 2

1 Say to your brothers, 'My people!' and to your sisters, 'You have been shown compassion.'”

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

2 Bring a lawsuit against your mother, bring a lawsuit, for she is not my wife, and neither am I her husband. Let her put away her prostitution from before herself, and her acts of adultery from between her breasts.

Rebuke your mother, rebuke her, for she is not My wife, and I am not her husband. Let her remove the adultery from her face and the unfaithfulness from between her breasts.

3 If not, I will strip her naked and show her nakedness as on the day that she was born. I will make her like the wilderness, like a parched land, and I will make her die from thirst.

Otherwise, I will strip her naked and expose her like the day of her birth. I will make her like a desert and turn her into a parched land, and I will let her die of thirst.

4 I will not have any mercy on her children, for they are children of prostitution.

I will have no compassion on her children, because they are the children of adultery.

5 For their mother has been a prostitute, and she who conceived them has acted shamefully. She said, “I will go after my lovers, for they give me my bread and water, my wool and flax, my oil and drink.”

For their mother has played the harlot and has conceived them in disgrace. For she thought, ‘I will go after my lovers, who give me bread and water, wool and linen, oil and drink.’

6 Therefore I will build up a hedge to block her way with thorns. I will build up a wall against her so she cannot find her way.

Therefore, behold, I will hedge up her path with thorns; I will enclose her with a wall, so she cannot find her way.

7 She will pursue her lovers, but she will not overtake them. She will seek them, but she will not find them. Then she will say, “I will return to my first husband, for it was better for me then than it is now.”

She will pursue her lovers but not catch them; she will seek them but not find them. Then she will say, ‘I will return to my first husband, for then I was better off than now.’

8 For she had not known that it was I who gave her the grain, the new wine and the oil, and who lavished on her silver and gold, which they then used for Baal.

For she does not acknowledge that it was I who gave her grain, new wine, and oil, who lavished on her silver and gold— which they crafted for Baal.

9 So I will take back her grain at harvest time, and my new wine in its season. I will take back my wool and flax that were used to cover her nakedness.

Therefore I will take back My grain in its time and My new wine in its season; I will take away My wool and linen, which were given to cover her nakedness.

10 Then I will strip her naked in the sight of her lovers, and no one will rescue her out of my hand.

And then I will expose her lewdness in the sight of her lovers, and no one will deliver her out of My hands.

11 I will also cause all her celebrations to cease— her feasts, her new moon celebrations, her Sabbaths, and all her appointed festivals.

I will put an end to all her exultation: her feasts, New Moons, and Sabbaths— all her appointed feasts.

12 “I will destroy her vines and her fig trees, of which she has said, 'These are the wages that my lovers gave me.' I will make them a forest, and the animals of the field will eat them.

I will destroy her vines and fig trees, which she thinks are the wages paid by her lovers. So I will make them into a thicket, and the beasts of the field will devour them.

13 I will punish her for the feast days of the Baals, when she burned incense to them, when she adorned herself with her rings and jewelry, and she went after her lovers and forgot me— this is Yahweh's declaration.”

I will punish her for the days of the Baals when she burned incense to them, when she decked herself with rings and jewelry, and went after her lovers. But Me she forgot,”

14 So I am going to win her back. I will bring her into the wilderness and speak tenderly to her.

“Therefore, behold, I will allure her and lead her to the wilderness, and speak to her tenderly.

15 I will give her back her vineyards, and the Valley of Achor as a door of hope. She will answer me there as she did in the days of her youth, as in the days that she came out of the land of Egypt.

There I will give back her vineyards and make the Valley of Achor into a gateway of hope. There she will respond as she did in the days of her youth, as in the day she came up out of Egypt.

16 “It will be in that day—this is Yahweh's declaration— that you will call me, 'My husband,' and you will no longer call me, 'My Baal.'

In that day,” declares the LORD, “you will call Me ‘my Husband,’ and no longer call Me ‘my Master.’

17 For I will remove the names of the Baals from her mouth; their names will not be remembered anymore.”

For I will remove from her lips the names of the Baals; no longer will their names be invoked.

18 “On that day I will make a covenant for them with the beasts in the fields, with the birds in the sky, and with the crawling things on the ground. I will drive away the bow, the sword, and the battle from the land, and I will make you lie down in safety.

On that day I will make a covenant for them with the beasts of the field and the birds of the air and the creatures that crawl on the ground. And I will abolish bow and sword and weapons of war in the land, and will make them lie down in safety.

19 I will promise to be your husband forever. I will promise to be your husband in righteousness, justice, covenant faithfulness, and mercy.

So I will betroth you to Me forever; I will betroth you in righteousness and justice, in loving devotion and compassion.

20 I will pledge myself to you in faithfulness, and you will know Yahweh.

And I will betroth you in faithfulness, and you will know the LORD.”

21 On that day, I will answer—this is Yahweh's declaration— I will answer the heavens, and they will answer the earth.

“On that day I will respond—” declares the LORD— “I will respond to the heavens, and they will respond to the earth.

22 The earth will answer the grain, the new wine and the oil, and they will answer Jezreel.

And the earth will respond to the grain, to the new wine and oil, and they will respond to Jezreel.

23 I will plant her for myself in the land, and I will have mercy on Lo-Ruhamah. I will say to Lo-Ammi, 'You are Ammi Attah,' and they will say to me, 'You are my God.'”

And I will sow her as My own in the land, and I will have compassion on ‘No Compassion.’ I will say to those called ‘Not My People,’ ‘You are My people,’ and they will say, ‘You are my God.’”