Passage Resources Hebrew/Greek Your Content
Previous Next
Add parallel Print Page Options

Hosea 1-2
International Standard Version

The Word of the Lord to Hosea

1 A message from the Lord came[a] to Beeri’s son Hosea[b] during the reigns of[c] Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and during the reign of[d] Joash’s son Jeroboam, who was king of Israel.

Hosea’s Wife and Family

2 When a message from the Lord came to Hosea, the Lord told him,[e] “Go marry a prostitute and have children with her,[f] because the land is prostituting itself by departing from the Lord.” 3 So he went out and married Diblaim’s daughter Gomer. She conceived with him and gave birth to a son.

Naming the Children

4 The Lord told Hosea,[g] “Name the child[h] ‘Jezreel,’[i] because in a little while I’ll avenge the blood that was shed by Jehu’s dynasty at Jezreel. I’ll put an end to the kingdom of the house of Israel. 5 At that time I’ll shatter the military strength[j] of Israel in the Valley of Jezreel.”

6 Gomer[k] conceived again and gave birth to a daughter, so the Lord[l] told Hosea,[m] “Name her ‘Lo-ruhamah,’[n] because I will no longer be showing mercy to the house of Israel, nor will I forgive them. 7 But I’ll have mercy on the house of Judah, and I’ll save them by the Lord their God—I will not save them by the bow, by the sword, by battle, by horses, or by cavalry.”

8 After Gomer[o] had weaned Lo-ruhamah, she conceived again and gave birth to a son, 9 so the Lord[p] told Hosea,[q] “Name him ‘Lo-ammi,’[r] because you are not my people, and I will not be your God.[s] 10 [t]Despite this, the number of the people of Israel will be like ocean sand, which can neither be measured nor counted. And the time will come when instead of it being said,[u] ‘You are not my people,’ it will be said,[v] ‘You are children of the living God.’ 11 [w]And the people of Judah and the people of Israel will be united as one. They will appoint for themselves a single leader and will take dominion over[x] the land, for great will be the day of Jezreel. 2 1 [y]So call your brothers ‘Ammi,’[z] and your sisters ‘Ruhamah.’”[aa]

Gomer is Rebuked

2 “Call your mother to account, call her—
    for she is not my wife,
        and I’m not her husband.
Let her do away with her seductive looks
    and remove her adultery from between her breasts.
3 Otherwise, I’ll strip her naked—
    as she was on the day she was born—
make her like a wilderness,
    turn her into a parched land,
        and cause her to die of thirst.
4 Furthermore, I’ll not show pity on her children,
    since they are children of prostitution.
5 Indeed, their mother has committed prostitution—
    the one who has been conceiving them has acted disgracefully—
when she said,
    ‘I’m going after my lovers,
        who provide me food and water,
    as well as my wool, my flax,
        my oil, and my wine.’

6 “Look how I’m blocking her[ab] path with thorns
    and building a wall to hinder[ac] her,
        so she can’t find her way.
7 She will pursue her lovers,
    but she won’t catch up with them.
She will seek them,
    but she won’t find them.
Then she will say,
    ‘I’ll go back and return to my first husband,
        because it was better for me then than now.’
8 She didn’t recognize
    that it was I who provided her grain, wine, and oil,
and it was I who gave her silver,
    while they crafted gold for Baal.

9 “Therefore I’ll return
    and take back my grain at harvest time
        and my new wine in its season.
I’ll take back my wool and my flax
    that was to have covered her nakedness.
10 So now I’ll reveal her lewdness to the eyes of her lovers,
    and no man will rescue her from my control.[ad]
11 I’ll put a stop to her mirth,
    along with her celebrations, her New Moons, her Sabbaths,[ae] and all of her festive assemblies.
12 I’ll destroy her vines and her fig trees,
    about which she said,
‘These are the earnings that my lovers paid me.
    I’ll make them grow into a forest,
        and the wild animals will eat from them.’
13 I’ll punish her for the time she has devoted to the Baals,[af]
    to whom she burned incense,
and for whom she put on her earrings and jewels
    so she could go after her lovers and forget me,”
        declares the Lord.

Alluring a Wayward Wife

14 “Therefore, look! I will now allure her.
    I will make her go out to the wilderness,
        and will speak to her heart.
15 There I will restore her vineyards to her,
    and the Valley of Achor will become a doorway to hope.
There she will respond as she did in her youth,
    when she came up from Egypt.”

The Restoration of Israel

16 “It will come about at that time,”
    declares the Lord,
“that you will address me as ‘My husband,’
    and you will no longer call me ‘My master’.[ag]
17 I will remove the names of the Baals[ah] from her vocabulary[ai]—
    they will not be remembered by their names anymore.
18 I will make a covenant with them at that time,
    a covenant[aj] with the wild animals of the field,
with the birds of the air,
    and with the creatures of the ground.
I will banish[ak] the battle bow, the sword, and war from the earth.
    I will cause my people[al] to lie down where it is safe.
19 I will make you my wife forever—

I will make you my wife in a way that is righteous,
    in a manner that is just,
by a love that is gracious,
    and by a motive that is mercy.
20 I will make you my wife because of my[am] faithfulness,
    and you will know the Lord.

21 “It will come about at that time that I will respond,”
    declares the Lord,
“I will respond to the heavens,
    and they will respond to the earth.
22 The earth will respond with grain, new wine, and oil,
    and they will respond to Jezreel.[an]
23 I will plant my people[ao] in the land for myself.
    I will show mercy on her who has received no mercy[ap]
I will say to those who are not my people,[aq] ‘You are my people!’
    and they will say, ‘You are[ar] my God.’”

Footnotes

  1. Hosea 1:1 Lit. that came
  2. Hosea 1:1 The Heb. name Hosea means salvation
  3. Hosea 1:1 Lit. in the days of
  4. Hosea 1:1 Lit. in the days of
  5. Hosea 1:2 Lit. Hosea
  6. Hosea 1:2 Lit. children of prostitution
  7. Hosea 1:4 Lit. him
  8. Hosea 1:4 Lit. Name him
  9. Hosea 1:4 The Heb. name Jezreel means “God sows”
  10. Hosea 1:5 Lit. the bow
  11. Hosea 1:6 Lit. She
  12. Hosea 1:6 Lit. he
  13. Hosea 1:6 Lit. him
  14. Hosea 1:6 The Heb. name Lo-ruhamah means No mercy
  15. Hosea 1:8 Lit. she
  16. Hosea 1:9 Lit. he
  17. Hosea 1:9 Lit. him
  18. Hosea 1:9 The Heb. name Lo-ammi means Not my people
  19. Hosea 1:9 Lit. be for you
  20. Hosea 1:10 This vs. is 2:1 in MT
  21. Hosea 1:10 Lit. told them
  22. Hosea 1:10 Lit. told them
  23. Hosea 1:11 This vs. is 2:2 in MT
  24. Hosea 1:11 Lit. will go up from
  25. Hosea 2:1 This vs. is 2:3 in MT, and so throughout the chapter.
  26. Hosea 2:1 Lit. My People
  27. Hosea 2:1 Lit. Beloved; i.e. in contrast to the names Lo-Ruhamah and Lo-Ammi in vv. 6-9
  28. Hosea 2:6 So with LXX. MT reads your
  29. Hosea 2:6 Lit. wall against
  30. Hosea 2:10 Lit. hand
  31. Hosea 2:11 So with LXX. MT reads Sabbath
  32. Hosea 2:13 Lit. for the days of the Baalim; i.e. Canaanite deities
  33. Hosea 2:16 Heb. baali, a word play alluding to the Canaanite deity of a similar name
  34. Hosea 2:17 I.e. Canaanite deities
  35. Hosea 2:17 Lit. mouth
  36. Hosea 2:18 The Heb. lacks a covenant
  37. Hosea 2:18 Lit. break
  38. Hosea 2:18 Lit. cause them
  39. Hosea 2:20 Lit. wife in
  40. Hosea 2:22 The Heb. name Jezreel means God sows
  41. Hosea 2:23 Lit. planted her
  42. Hosea 2:23 Heb. on Lo-Ruhamah
  43. Hosea 2:23 Heb. to Lo-Ammi
  44. Hosea 2:23 The Heb. lacks You are
Next
Daniel 12
Hosea 3
Next
dropdown
International Standard Version (ISV)

Copyright © 1995-2014 by ISV Foundation. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY. Used by permission of Davidson Press, LLC.

ISV Bible