Hosea 1-3
1599 Geneva Bible
Hosea
1 1 The time wherein Hosea prophesied. 2 The idolatry of the people. 10 The calling of the Gentiles. 11 Christ is the head of all people.
1 The word of the Lord that came unto Hosea the son of Beeri, in the days [a]of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, [b]kings of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash king of Israel.
2 At the beginning the Lord spake by Hosea, and the Lord said unto Hosea, Go, take unto thee a wife [c]of fornications, and children of fornications: for the land hath committed great whoredom, departing from the Lord.
3 So he went, and took [d]Gomer, the daughter of Diblaim, which conceived and bare him a son.
4 And the Lord said unto him, Call his name [e]Jezreel: for yet a little, and I will visit the blood of Jezreel upon the house of [f]Jehu, and will cause to cease the kingdom of the house of Israel.
5 And at that [g]day will I also break the bow of Israel in the valley of Jezreel.
6 She conceived yet again, and bare a daughter, and God said unto him, Call her name [h]Lo-Ruhamah: for I will no more have pity upon the house of Israel: but I will utterly [i]take them away.
7 Yet I will have mercy upon the house of Judah, and will [j]save them by the Lord their God, and will not save them by bow, nor by sword, nor by battle, by horses, nor by horsemen.
8 Now when she had weaned Lo-Ruhamah, she conceived, and bare a son.
9 Then said God, Call his name [k]Lo-Ammi: for ye are not my people: therefore will I not be yours.
10 Yet the number of the [l]children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured nor told: and in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people, it shall be said unto them, Ye are the sons of the living God.
11 Then shall the children of Judah, and the children of Israel be [m]gathered together, and appoint themselves one head, and they shall come up out of the land: for great is the [n]day of Jezreel.
2 1 The people is called to repentance. 5 He showeth their idolatry and threateneth them except they repent.
1 Say unto your [o]brethren, Ammi, and to your sisters, Ruhamah,
2 Plead with your [p]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 [q]from between her breasts.
3 Lest I strip her naked, and [r]set her as in the day that she was [s]born, and make her as a wilderness, and leave her like a dry land, and slay her for thirst.
4 And I will have no pity upon her children: for they be the [t]children of fornication.
5 For their mother hath played the harlot: she that conceived them, hath done shamefully: for she said, I will go after thy [u]lovers that give me my bread and my water, my wool, and my flax, mine oil and my drink.
6 Therefore behold, I will stoop [v]thy way with thorns, and make an hedge, that she shall not find her paths.
7 Though she follow after her lovers, yet shall she not come at them: though she seek them, yet shall she not find them: then shall she say, [w]I will go and return to my first husband: for at that time was I better than now.
8 Now she did not know that I [x]gave her corn, and wine, and oil, and multiplied her silver and gold, which they bestowed upon Baal.
9 Therefore will I return, and take away [y]my corn in the time thereof, and my wine in the season thereof, and will recover my wool and my flax lent, to cover her shame.
10 And now will I discover her [z]lewdness in the sight of her lovers, and no man shall deliver her out of mine hand.
11 I will also cause all her mirth to cease, her feast days, her new moons, and her Sabbaths, and all her solemn feasts.
12 And I will destroy her vines and her fig trees, whereof she hath said, These are my rewards that my lovers have given me: and I will make them as a forest, and the wild beasts shall eat them.
13 And I will visit upon her the days of [aa]Baal, wherein she burnt incense to them: and she decked herself with her [ab]earrings and her jewels, and she followed her lovers, and forgot me, saith the Lord.
14 Therefore behold, I will [ac]allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak friendly unto her.
15 And I will give her her vineyards from thence, and the valley [ad]of Achor for the door of hope, and she shall [ae]sing there as in the days of her youth, and as in the day when she came up out of the land of Egypt.
16 And at that day, saith the Lord, thou shalt call me [af]Ishi, and shalt call me no more [ag]Baali.
17 For I will take away the names of Baal out of her mouth, and they shall be no more remembered by their [ah]names.
18 And in that day will I make a covenant for them with the [ai]wild beasts, and with the fowls of the heaven, and with that that creepeth upon the earth: and I will break the bow, and the sword and the battle out of the earth: and will make them to sleep safely.
19 And I will marry thee unto me forever: yea, I will marry thee unto me in righteousness, and in judgment, and in mercy, and in compassion.
20 I will even marry thee unto me in [aj]faithfulness, and thou shalt know the Lord.
21 And in that day I will hear, saith the Lord, I will even hear [ak]the heavens, and they shall hear the earth,
22 And the earth shall hear the corn, and the wine, and the oil, and they shall hear Jezreel.
23 And I will sow her unto me in the earth, and I will have mercy upon her, that was not pitied, (A)and I will say to them which were not my people, Thou art my people. And they shall say, Thou art my God.
3 1 The Jews shall be cast off for their idolatry. 5 Afterward they shall return to the Lord.
1 Then said the Lord to me, [al]Go yet, and love a woman (beloved of her husband, and was an harlot) according to the love of the Lord toward the children of Israel: yet they looked to other gods, and [am]loved the wine bottles.
2 So [an]I bought her to me for fifteen pieces of silver, and for an homer of barley, and an half homer of barley.
3 And I said unto her, Thou shalt abide with [ao]me many days: thou shalt not play the harlot, and thou shalt be to none other man, and I will be so unto thee.
4 For the children of Israel shall [ap]remain many days without a king and without a [aq]prince, and without an offering, and without an image, and without an Ephod, and without Teraphim.
5 Afterward shall the children of Israel convert and seek the Lord their God, and [ar]David their king, and shall fear the Lord and his goodness in the latter days.
Footnotes
- Hosea 1:1 Called also Azariah, who being a leper was disposed from his kingdom.
- Hosea 1:1 So that it may be gathered by the reign of these four kings, that he preached above threescore years.
- Hosea 1:2 That is, one that of long time hath accustomed to play the harlot: not that the Prophet did this thing in effect, but he saw this in a vision, or else was commanded by God to set forth under this parable or figure the idolatry of the Synagogue, and of the people her children.
- Hosea 1:3 Gomer signifieth a consumption or corruption, and Diblaim clusters of figs, declaring that they were all corrupt like rotten figs.
- Hosea 1:4 Meaning, that they should be no more called Israelites of the which name they boasted because Israel, did prevail with God: but that they were as bastard, and therefore should be called Jezreelites, that is scattered people, alluding to Jezreel, which was the chief city of the ten tribes under Ahab where Jehu shed so much blood, 2 Kings 10:8.
- Hosea 1:4 I will be revenged upon Jehu for the blood that he shed in Jezreel: for albeit God stirred him up to execute his judgments, yet he did them for his own ambition, and not for the glory of God as the end declared: for he built up that idolatry which he had destroyed.
- Hosea 1:5 When the measure of their iniquity is full, and I shall take vengeance and destroy all their policy and force.
- Hosea 1:6 That is, not obtaining mercy: whereby he signifieth, that God’s favor was departed from them.
- Hosea 1:6 For the Israelites never returned after that they were taken captives by the Assyrians.
- Hosea 1:7 For after their captivity he restored him miraculously by the means of Cyrus, Ezra 1:1.
- Hosea 1:9 That is, not my people.
- Hosea 1:10 Because they thought that God could not have been true in his promise except he had preserved them, he declareth though they were destroyed, yet the true Israelites, which are the sons of the promise, should be without number, which stand both of the Jews and the Gentiles, Rom. 9:26.
- Hosea 1:11 To wit, after the captivity of Babylon when the Jews were restored, but chiefly this is referred to the time of Christ, who should be the head both of the Jews and Gentiles.
- Hosea 1:11 The calamity and destruction of Israel shall be so great, that to restore them shall be as a miracle.
- Hosea 2:1 Seeing that I have promised you deliverance, it remaineth that you encourage one another to embrace the same, considering that ye are my people on whom I will have mercy.
- Hosea 2:2 God showeth that the fault was not in him, but in their Synagogue, and their idolatries, that he forsook them, Isa. 50:1.
- Hosea 2:2 Meaning, that their idolatry was so great, that they were not ashamed, but boasted of it, Ezek. 16:25.
- Hosea 2:3 For though this people were as an harlot for their idolatries, yet he had left them with their apparel and dowry and certain signs of his favor, but if they continued still, he would utterly destroy them.
- Hosea 2:3 When I brought her out of Egypt, Ezek. 16:4.
- Hosea 2:4 That is, bastards and begotten in adultery.
- Hosea 2:5 Meaning, the idol which they served, and by whom they thought they had wealth and abundance.
- Hosea 2:6 I will punish thee that then thou mayest try whether thine idols can help thee, and bring thee into such straightness that thou shalt have no lust to play the wanton.
- Hosea 2:7 This he speaketh of the faithful, which are truly converted, and also showeth the use and profit of God’s rods.
- Hosea 2:8 This declareth that idolaters defraud God of his honor, when they attribute his benefits to their idols.
- Hosea 2:9 Signifying, that God will take away his benefits when man by his ingratitude doth abuse them.
- Hosea 2:10 That is, all her service, ceremonies and inventions whereby she worshipped her idols.
- Hosea 2:13 I will punish her for her idolatry.
- Hosea 2:13 By showing how harlots trim themselves to please others, he declareth how that superstitious idolaters set a great part of their religion, in decking themselves on their holy days.
- Hosea 2:14 By my benefits in offering her grace and mercy, even in that place where she shall think herself destitute of all help and comfort.
- Hosea 2:15 Which was a plentiful valley, and wherein they had great comfort when they came out of the wilderness, as Josh. 7:26, and is called the door of hope, because it was a departing from death and an entry into life.
- Hosea 2:15 She shall then praise God as she did when she was delivered out of Egypt.
- Hosea 2:16 That is, mine husband, knowing that I am joined to thee by an inviolable covenant.
- Hosea 2:16 That is, my master: which name was applied to their idols.
- Hosea 2:17 No idolatry shall once come into their mouth, but they shall serve me purely according to my word.
- Hosea 2:18 Meaning, that he will so bless them that all creatures shall favor them.
- Hosea 2:20 With a covenant that never shall be broken.
- Hosea 2:21 Then shall the heaven desire rain for the earth which shall bring forth for the use of man.
- Hosea 3:1 Herein the Prophet representeth the person of God, which loved his Church before he called her, and did not withdraw the same when she gave herself to idols.
- Hosea 3:1 That is, gave themselves wholly to pleasure, and could not take up, as they that are given to drunkenness.
- Hosea 3:2 Yet I loved her and paid a small portion for her, lest she perceiving the greatness of my love, should have abused me, and not been under duty: for fifteen pieces of silver were but half the price of a slave, Exod. 21:32.
- Hosea 3:3 I will try thee a long time as in thy widowhood whether thou wilt be mine or no.
- Hosea 3:4 Meaning, not only all the time of their captivity, but also unto Christ.
- Hosea 3:4 That is, they should neither have policy nor religion, and their idols also wherein they put their confidence, should be destroyed.
- Hosea 3:5 This is meant of Christ’s kingdom, which was promised unto David to be eternal, Ps. 72:17.
Geneva Bible, 1599 Edition. Published by Tolle Lege Press. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without written permission from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations in articles, reviews, and broadcasts.
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