Hosea 2

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

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

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.

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 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.

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

4 I will not have any mercy on her children, 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 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 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 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 way with thorns, And I will enclose her with a wall, So that she shall not find her paths.

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.”

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 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 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 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 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 Then I will strip her naked in the sight of her lovers, and no one will rescue 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 I will also cause all her celebrations to cease— her feasts, her new moon celebrations, her Sabbaths, and all her appointed festivals.

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

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 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 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, And decked herself with her rings and her jewels, And went after her lovers, And forgot me, saith Jehovah.

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 will lead her to the desert, And will speak kindly to her;

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.

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 “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.'

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 Baals from her mouth; their names will not be remembered anymore.”

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

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.

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 I will promise to be your husband forever. I will promise to be your husband in righteousness, justice, covenant faithfulness, and 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 I will pledge myself to you in faithfulness, and you will know Yahweh.

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

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

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

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

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