Hosea 2
1 Sei ye to youre britheren, Thei ben my puple; and to youre sister that hath gete merci,
“Say of your brothers, ‘My people,’ and of your sisters, ‘My loved one.’
2 Deme ye youre modir, deme ye, for sche is not my wijf, and Y am not hir hosebonde. Do sche awey hir fornicaciouns fro hir face, and hir auowtries fro the myddis of hir brestis;
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 lest perauenture Y spuyle hir nakid, and sette hir nakid bi the dai of hir natyuyte. And Y schal sette hir as a wildirnesse, and Y schal ordeyne hir as a lond with out weie, and Y schal sle hir in 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 And Y schal not haue merci on the sones of hir, for thei ben sones of fornicaciouns;
I will have no compassion on her children, because they are the children of adultery.
5 for the modir of hem dide fornicacioun, sche is schent that conseyuede hem, for sche seide, Y schal go after my louyeris that yeuen looues to me, and my watris, and my wolle, and my flex, and myn oile, and my drynke.
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 For this thing lo! Y schal hegge thi weie with thornes, and Y schal hegge it with a wal, and sche schal not fynde hir pathis.
Therefore, behold, I will hedge up her path with thorns; I will enclose her with a wall, so she cannot find her way.
7 And sche schal sue hir louyeris, and schal not take hem, and sche schal seke hem, and schal not fynde; and sche schal seie, Y schal go, and turne ayen to my formere hosebonde, for it was wel to me thanne more than 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 And this Jerusalem wiste not, that Y yaf to hir wheete, wyn, and oile; and Y multiplied siluer and gold to hir, whiche thei maden to 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 Therfor Y schal turne, and take my wheete in his tyme, and my wiyn in his tyme; and Y schal delyuere my wolle, and my flex, bi which thei hiliden the schenschipe therof.
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 And now Y schal schewe the foli of hir bifore the iyen of hir louyeris, and a man schal not delyuere hir fro myn hond;
And then I will expose her lewdness in the sight of her lovers, and no one will deliver her out of My hands.
11 and Y schal make to ceesse al the ioye therof, the solempnyte therof, the neomenye therof, the sabat therof, and alle the feeste tymes therof.
I will put an end to all her exultation: her feasts, New Moons, and Sabbaths— all her appointed feasts.
12 And Y schal distrie the vyner therof, of whiche sche seide, These ben myn hiris, whiche my louyeris yauen to me; and Y schal sette it in to a forest, and a beeste of the feeld schal ete it.
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 And Y schal visite on it the daies of Baalym, in whiche it brente encense, and was ourned with hir eere ryng, and hir broche, and yede after hir louyeris, and foryat me, seith the Lord.
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 For this thing lo! Y schal yyue mylk to it, and Y schal brynge it in to wildirnesse, and Y schal speke to the herte therof.
“Therefore, behold, I will allure her and lead her to the wilderness, and speak to her tenderly.
15 And Y schal yyue to it vyn tilieris therof of the same place, and the valei of Achar, that is, of disturblyng, for to opene hope. And it schal synge there bi the daies of hir yongthe, and bi the daies of hir stiyng fro the lond of Egipt.
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 And it schal be in that dai, seith the Lord, sche schal clepe me Myn hosebonde, and sche schal no more clepe me Baalym;
In that day,” declares the LORD, “you will call Me ‘my Husband,’ and no longer call Me ‘my Master.’
17 and Y schal take awei the names of Baalym fro hir mouth, and sche schal no more haue mynde of the name of tho.
For I will remove from her lips the names of the Baals; no longer will their names be invoked.
18 And Y schal smyte to hem a boond of pees in that dai with the beeste of the feeld, and with the brid of the eir, and with the crepynge beeste of erthe. And Y schal al to-breke bowe, and swerd, and batel fro erthe; and Y schal make hem to slepe tristili.
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 And Y schal spouse thee to me withouten ende; and Y schal spouse thee to me in riytfulnesse, and in dom, and in merci, and in merciful doyngis.
So I will betroth you to Me forever; I will betroth you in righteousness and justice, in loving devotion and compassion.
20 And Y schal spouse thee to me in feith; and thou schalt wite, that Y am the Lord.
And I will betroth you in faithfulness, and you will know the LORD.”
21 And it schal be, in that dai Y schal here, seith the Lord, and Y schal here heuenes, and tho schulen here the erthe;
“On that day I will respond—” declares the LORD— “I will respond to the heavens, and they will respond to the earth.
22 and the erthe schal here wheete, and wyn, and oile, and these schulen here Jesrael.
And the earth will respond to the grain, to the new wine and oil, and they will respond to Jezreel.
23 And Y schal sowe it to me in to a lond, and Y schal haue merci on it that was with out merci. And Y schal seie to that, that is not my puple, Thou art my puple, and it schal seie, Thou art 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.’”
