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Hosea 2
New Life Version
Hosea 2
New Life Version
2 “Say to your brothers, ‘My people,’ and to your sisters, ‘My loved one.’
God’s People Who Are Not Faithful
2 “Speak with strong words to your mother. Speak with strong words, for she is not My wife and I am not her husband. Tell her to stop selling the use of her body and giving herself to other men. 3 If she does not, I will put her to shame by taking off her clothes and show her as when she was born. I will make her like a desert, like a hot and dry land, and will kill her with thirst. 4 I will have no loving-pity on her children, for they are children of her sinful ways. 5 Their mother has not been faithful. She who gave birth to them has acted in shame. For she said, ‘I will go after my lovers. They give me my bread and water, my wool and linen, my oil and my drink.’ 6 So I will put thorn bushes in her way. I will build a wall so that she cannot find her way. 7 She will go after her lovers but will not catch up with them. She will look for them but will not find them. Then she will say, ‘I will return to my first husband. For it was better for me then than now.’
8 “She does not know that it was I Who gave her the grain, the new wine, the oil, and all the silver and gold, which they used for the false god Baal. 9 So I will take back My grain during the gathering time, and My new wine during its time. And I will take away My wool and My linen, which were given to cover her. 10 So I will take away the covering of her shame in the eyes of her lovers. And no one will take her out of My hand. 11 I will put an end to all her fun, her special suppers, her new moons, her Days of Rest, and all her special times for gathering together. 12 I will destroy her vines and fig trees, which she said were her pay from her lovers. I will make many trees grow wild among them, and the animals of the field will eat them. 13 I will punish her for the days she gave gifts in worship to the false gods of Baal. I will punish her for the times she forgot Me, and put on rings and other beautiful objects and went after her lovers” says the Lord.
God’s Loving-Kindness for His People
14 “So I will lead her into the desert and speak words of comfort to her. 15 I will give her grape-fields there, and make the Valley of Achor a door of hope. And she will sing there as she did when she was young, as in the day she came out of the land of Egypt. 16 In that day” says the Lord, “you will call Me, ‘My Husband.’ And you will no longer call Me, ‘My Baal.’ 17 For I will take the names of the Baals from her mouth. The names of these false gods will never be spoken again. 18 In that day I will make an agreement for them with the wild animals of the field, the birds of the sky, and the things which move upon the ground. I will put an end to the bow, the sword, and war in all the land. And I will let My people lie down in peace and be safe. 19 I will promise to make you Mine forever. Yes, I will take you as My bride in what is right and good and fair, and in loving-kindness and in loving-pity. 20 I will keep My promise and make you Mine. Then you will know the Lord.
21 “In that day” says the Lord, “I will give an answer to the heavens, and they will give an answer to the earth. 22 The earth will give an answer to the grain, the new wine, and the oil. And they will give an answer to Jezreel. 23 I will plant her for Myself in the land. Those who were not loved, I will call, ‘My loved ones.’ Those who were not My people, I will call, ‘My people.’ And they will say, ‘You are my God!’”
Hosea 2
New International Version
Hosea 2
New International Version
2 [a]“Say of your brothers, ‘My people,’ and of your sisters, ‘My loved one.’(A)
Israel Punished and Restored
2 “Rebuke your mother,(B) rebuke her,
for she is not my wife,
and I am not her husband.
Let her remove the adulterous(C) look from her face
and the unfaithfulness from between her breasts.
3 Otherwise I will strip(D) her naked
and make her as bare as on the day she was born;(E)
I will make her like a desert,(F)
turn her into a parched land,
and slay her with thirst.
4 I will not show my love to her children,(G)
because they are the children of adultery.(H)
5 Their mother has been unfaithful
and has conceived them in disgrace.
She said, ‘I will go after my lovers,(I)
who give me my food and my water,
my wool and my linen, my olive oil and my drink.’(J)
6 Therefore I will block her path with thornbushes;
I will wall her in so that she cannot find her way.(K)
7 She will chase after her lovers but not catch them;
she will look for them but not find them.(L)
Then she will say,
‘I will go back to my husband(M) as at first,(N)
for then I was better off(O) than now.’
8 She has not acknowledged(P) that I was the one
who gave her the grain, the new wine and oil,(Q)
who lavished on her the silver and gold(R)—
which they used for Baal.(S)
9 “Therefore I will take away my grain(T) when it ripens,
and my new wine(U) when it is ready.
I will take back my wool and my linen,
intended to cover her naked body.
10 So now I will expose(V) her lewdness
before the eyes of her lovers;(W)
no one will take her out of my hands.(X)
11 I will stop(Y) all her celebrations:(Z)
her yearly festivals, her New Moons,
her Sabbath days—all her appointed festivals.(AA)
12 I will ruin her vines(AB) and her fig trees,(AC)
which she said were her pay from her lovers;(AD)
I will make them a thicket,(AE)
and wild animals will devour them.(AF)
13 I will punish her for the days
she burned incense(AG) to the Baals;(AH)
she decked herself with rings and jewelry,(AI)
and went after her lovers,(AJ)
but me she forgot,(AK)”
declares the Lord.(AL)
14 “Therefore I am now going to allure her;
I will lead her into the wilderness(AM)
and speak tenderly to her.
15 There I will give her back her vineyards,
and will make the Valley of Achor[b](AN) a door of hope.
There she will respond[c](AO) as in the days of her youth,(AP)
as in the day she came up out of Egypt.(AQ)
16 “In that day,” declares the Lord,
“you will call me ‘my husband’;(AR)
you will no longer call me ‘my master.[d]’
17 I will remove the names of the Baals from her lips;(AS)
no longer will their names be invoked.(AT)
18 In that day I will make a covenant for them
with the beasts of the field, the birds in the sky
and the creatures that move along the ground.(AU)
Bow and sword and battle
I will abolish(AV) from the land,
so that all may lie down in safety.(AW)
19 I will betroth(AX) you to me forever;
I will betroth you in[e] righteousness and justice,(AY)
in[f] love and compassion.(AZ)
20 I will betroth you in[g] faithfulness,
and you will acknowledge(BA) the Lord.(BB)
21 “In that day I will respond,”
declares the Lord—
“I will respond(BC) to the skies,
and they will respond to the earth;
22 and the earth will respond to the grain,
the new wine and the olive oil,(BD)
and they will respond to Jezreel.[h](BE)
23 I will plant(BF) her for myself in the land;
I will show my love to the one I called ‘Not my loved one.[i](BG)’
I will say to those called ‘Not my people,[j]’ ‘You are my people’;(BH)
and they will say, ‘You are my God.(BI)’”
Footnotes
- Hosea 2:1 In Hebrew texts 2:1-23 is numbered 2:3-25.
- Hosea 2:15 Achor means trouble.
- Hosea 2:15 Or sing
- Hosea 2:16 Hebrew baal
- Hosea 2:19 Or with
- Hosea 2:19 Or with
- Hosea 2:20 Or with
- Hosea 2:22 Jezreel means God plants.
- Hosea 2:23 Hebrew Lo-Ruhamah (see 1:6)
- Hosea 2:23 Hebrew Lo-Ammi (see 1:9)
New Life Version (NLV)
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