Hosea 2

1 'Say ye to your brethren — Ammi, And to your sisters — Ruhamah.

Say vnto your brethren, Ammi, and to your sisters, Ruhamah,

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

Plead with your mother: plead with her: for she is not my wife, neither am I her husband: but let her take away her fornications out of her sight, and her adulteries from betweene her breasts.

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.

Lest I strippe her naked, and set her as in the day that shee was borne, and make her as a wildernes, and leaue her like a drie land, and slaie her for thirst.

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

And I wil haue no pitie vpon her children: for they be the children of fornications.

5 For gone a-whoring hath their mother, Acted shamefully hath their conceiver, For she hath said, I go after my lovers, Those giving my bread and my water, My wool and my flax, my oil and my drink.

For their mother hath plaied the harlot: she that conceiued them, hath done shamefully: for shee said, I will goe after my louers that giue me my bread and my water, my wooll and my flaxe, mine oyle and my drinke.

6 Therefore, lo, I am hedging up thy way with thorns, And I have made for her a wall, And her paths she doth not find.

Therefore beholde, I will stoope thy way with thornes, and make an hedge, that shee shall not finde her pathes.

7 And she hath pursued her lovers, And she doth not overtake them, And hath sought them, and doth not find, And she hath said: I go, and I turn back unto My first husband, For — better to me then than now.

Though shee follow after her louers, yet shall shee not come at them: though shee seeke them, yet shall shee not finde them: then shall she say, I will goe and returne to my first husband: for at that time was I better then nowe.

8 And she knew not that I had given to her, The corn, and the new wine, and the oil. Yea, silver I did multiply to her, And the gold they prepared for Baal.

Nowe she did not knowe that I gaue her corne, and wine, and oyle, and multiplied her siluer and golde, which they bestowed vpon Baal.

9 Therefore do I turn back, And I have taken My corn 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 wil I returne, and take away my corne in the time thereof, and my wine in the season thereof, and will recouer my wool and my flaxe lent, to couer her shame.

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

And now will I discouer her lewdnes in the sight of her louers, and no man shall deliuer her out of mine hand.

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

I will also cause all her mirth to cease, her feast daies, her newe moones, and her Sabbathes, and all her solemne feasts.

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

And I wil destroy her vines and her figtrees, whereof she hath said, These are my rewards that my louers haue giuen mee: and I will make them as a forest, and the wilde beasts shall eate them.

13 And I have charged on her the days of the Baalim, To whom she maketh perfume, And putteth on her ring and her ornament, And goeth after her lovers, And Me forgat — an affirmation of Jehovah.

And I wil visit vpon her the daies of Baalim, wherein shee burnt incense to them: and shee decked her selfe with her earings and her iewels, and shee folowed her louers, and forgate me, saith the Lord.

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

Therefore beholde, I will allure her, and bring her into the wildernesse, and speake friendly vnto her.

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

And I will giue her her vineyardes from thence, and the valley of Achor for the doore of hope, and shee shall sing there as in the daies of her youth, and as in the daies when shee came vp out of the land of Egypt.

16 And it hath come to pass, in that day, An affirmation of Jehovah, Thou dost call Me — My husband, And dost not call Me any more — My lord.

And at that day, sayeth the Lord, thou shalt call me Ishi, and shalt call me no more Baali.

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

For I will take away the names of Baalim out of her mouth, and they shall be no more remembred by their names.

18 And I have made to them a covenant in that day, with the beast of the field, And with the fowl 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.

And in that day wil I make a couenant for them, with the wilde beasts, and with the foules of the heauen, and with that that creepeth vpon the earth: and I will breake the bowe, and the sworde and the battell out of the earth, and will make them to sleepe safely.

19 And I have betrothed thee to Me to the age, And betrothed thee to Me in righteousness, And in judgment, and kindness, and mercies,

And I wil marry thee vnto me for euer: yea, I will marry thee vnto me in righteousnes, and in iudgement, and in mercy and in compassion.

20 And betrothed thee to Me in faithfulness, And thou hast known Jehovah.

I will euen marry thee vnto me in faithfulnes, and thou shalt knowe the Lord.

21 And it hath come to pass in that day, I answer — an affirmation of Jehovah, I answer the heavens, and they answer the earth.

And in that day I wil heare, saith the Lord, I will euen heare the heauens, and they shall heare the earth,

22 And the earth doth answer the corn, And the new wine, and the oil, And they answer Jezreel.

And the earth shall heare the corne, and the wine, and the oyle, and they shall heare Izreel.

23 And I have sowed her to Me in the land, And I have pitied Lo-Ruhamah, And I have said to Lo-Ammi, My people thou [art], and it saith, My God!'

And I will sowe her vnto me in the earth, and I will haue mercie vpon her, that was not pitied, and I will say to them which were not my people, Thou art my people. And they shall say, Thou art my God.