Hosea
1:1The word of Yahweh that came to Hosea
the son of Beeri, in the days of Uzziah,
Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah,
and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash,
king of Israel. 1:2When Yahweh spoke at the first by Hosea,
Yahweh said to Hosea, "Go, take for
yourself a wife of prostitution and children
of unfaithfulness; for the land commits
great adultery against from Yahweh."
1:3So he went and took Gomer the daughter
of Diblaim; and she conceived, and bore
him a son.
1:4Yahweh said to him, "Call his name
Jezreel; for yet a little while, and I will
avenge the blood of Jezreel on the house
of Jehu, and will cause the kingdom of the
house of Israel to cease. 1:5It will happen in that day that I will
break the bow of Israel in the valley of
Jezreel."
1:6She conceived again, and bore a daughter.
Then he said to him, "Call her name
Lo-Ruhamah; for I will
no longer have mercy on the house of Israel,
that I should in any way pardon them. 1:7But I will have mercy on the house of
Judah, and will save them by Yahweh their
God, and will not save them by bow, nor
by sword, nor by battle, by horses, nor
by horsemen."
1:8Now when she had weaned Lo-Ruhamah, she
conceived, and bore a son.
1:9He said, "Call his name Lo-Ammi; for you are not my people, and I will not be yours. 1:10Yet the number of the children of Israel
will be as the sand of the sea, which can't
be measured nor numbered; and it will come
to pass that, in the place where it was
said to them, 'You are not my people,' they
will be called 'sons of the living God.'
1:11The children of Judah and the children
of Israel will be gathered together, and
they will appoint themselves one head, and
will go up from the land; for great will
be the day of Jezreel.
2:1"Say to your brothers, 'My people!'
And
to your sisters, 'My loved one!'
2:2Contend with your mother!
Contend,
for she is not my wife,
Neither
am I her husband;
And let her put away her prostitution
from her face,
And
her adulteries from between her breasts;
2:3Lest I strip her naked,
And
make her bare as in the day that she was
born,
And make her like a wilderness,
And
set her like a dry land,
And
kill her with thirst.
2:4Indeed, on her children I will have no
mercy;
For
they are children of unfaithfulness;
2:5For their mother has played the prostitute.
She
who conceived them has done shamefully;
For she said, 'I will go after my
lovers,
Who
give me my bread and my water,
My wool
and my flax,
My oil
and my drink.'
2:6Therefore, behold, I will hedge up your
way with thorns,
And
I will build a wall against her,
That
she can't find her way.
2:7She will follow after her lovers,
But
she won't overtake them;
And she will seek them,
But
won't find them.
Then she will say, 'I will go and
return to my first husband;
For
then was it better with me than now.'
2:8For she did not know that I gave her the
grain, the new wine, and the oil,
And
multiplied to her silver and gold, which
they used for Baal.
2:9Therefore I will take back my grain in
its time,
And
my new wine in its season,
And
will pluck away my wool and my flax which
should have covered her nakedness.
2:10Now I will uncover her lewdness in the
sight of her lovers,
And
no one will deliver her out of my hand.
2:11I will also cause all her celebrations
to cease:
Her
feasts, her new moons, her Sabbaths, and
all her solemn assemblies.
2:12I will lay waste her vines and her fig
trees,
About
which she has said, 'These are my wages
that my lovers have given me;
And
I will make them a forest,'
And
the animals of the field shall eat them.
2:13I will visit on her the days of the Baals,
To which
she burned incense,
When she decked herself with her
earrings and her jewels,
And
went after her lovers,
And
forgot me," says Yahweh.
2:14"Therefore, behold, I will allure
her,
And
bring her into the wilderness,
And
speak tenderly to her.
2:15I will give her vineyards from there,
And
the valley of Achor for a door of hope;
And she will respond there,
As in
the days of her youth,
And
as in the day when she came up out of the
land of Egypt.
2:16It will be in that day," says Yahweh,
"That
you will call me 'my husband,'
And
no longer call me 'my master.'
2:17For I will take away the names of the
Baals out of her mouth,
And
they will no more be mentioned by their
name.
2:18In that day I will make a covenant for
them with the animals of the field,
And
with the birds of the sky,
And
with the creeping things of the ground.
I will break the bow, the sword,
and the battle out of the land,
And
will make them lie down safely.
2:19I will betroth you to me forever.
Yes,
I will betroth you to me in righteousness,
in justice, in loving kindness, and in compassion.
2:20I will even betroth you to me in faithfulness;
And
you shall know Yahweh.
2:21It will happen in that day, I will respond,"
says Yahweh,
I will
respond to the heavens,
And
they will respond to the earth;
2:22And the earth will
respond to the grain, and the new wine,
and the oil;
And
they will respond to Jezreel.
2:23I will sow her to me in the earth;
And
I will have mercy on her who had not obtained
mercy;
And
I will tell those who were not my people,
'You are my people;'
And
they will say, 'My God!'"
3:1Yahweh said to me, "Go again, love
a woman loved by another, and an adulteress,
even as Yahweh loves the children of Israel,
though they turn to other gods, and love
cakes of raisins."
3:2So I bought her for myself for fifteen
pieces of silver and a homer and a half
of barley. 3:3I said to her, "You shall stay with
me many days. You shall not play the prostitute,
and you shall not be with any other man.
I will also be so toward you."
3:4For the children of Israel shall abide
many days without king, and without prince,
and without sacrifice, and without sacred
stone, and without ephod or idols. 3:5Afterward the children
of Israel shall return, and seek Yahweh
their God, and David their king, and shall
come with trembling to Yahweh and to his
blessings in the last days.
4:1Hear the word of Yahweh, you children
of Israel;
For
Yahweh has a charge against the inhabitants
of the land:
"Indeed there is no truth,
Nor
goodness,
Nor
knowledge of God in the land.
4:2There is cursing, lying, murder, stealing,
and committing adultery;
They
break boundaries, and bloodshed causes bloodshed.
4:3Therefore the land will mourn,
And
everyone who dwells therein will waste away.
All living things in her,
Even
the animals of the field and the birds of
the sky;
Yes,
the fish of the sea also die.
4:4"Yet let no man bring a charge, neither
let any man accuse; For your people are
like those who bring charges against a priest.
4:5You will stumble in the day,
And
the prophet will also stumble with you in
the night;
And
I will destroy your mother.
4:6My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.
Because
you have rejected knowledge, I will also
reject you,
That
you may be no priest to me.
Because you have your God's law,
I will
also forget your children.
4:7As they were multiplied, so they sinned
against me.
I will
change their glory into shame.
4:8They feed on the sin of my people,
And
set their heart on their iniquity.
4:9It will be, like people, like priest;
And
I will punish them for their ways,
And
will repay them for their deeds.
4:10They will eat, and not have enough.
They
will play the prostitute, and will not increase;
Because
they have abandoned giving to Yahweh.
4:11Prostitution, wine, and new wine take
away understanding.
4:12My people consult
with their wooded idol,
And
answer to a stick of wood.
Indeed the spirit of prostitution
has led them astray,
And
they have been unfaithful to their God.
4:13They sacrifice on the tops of the mountains,
And
burn incense on the hills, under oaks and
poplars and terebinths,
Because
its shade is good.
Therefore your daughters play the
prostitute,
And
your brides commit adultery.
4:14I will not punish your daughters when
they play the prostitute,
Nor
your brides when they commit adultery;
Because the men consort with prostitutes,
And
they sacrifice with the shrine prostitutes;
And
the people that does not understand will
come to ruin.
4:15"Though you, Israel, play the prostitute,
Yet
don't let Judah offend;
And
don't come to Gilgal,
Neither
go up to Beth Aven,
Nor
swear, 'As Yahweh lives.'
4:16For Israel has behaved extremely stubbornly,
like a stubborn heifer.
Then
how will Yahweh feed them like a lamb in
a meadow.
4:17Ephraim is joined to idols.
Leave
him alone!
4:18Their drink has become sour.
They
play the prostitute continually.
Her
rulers dearly love their shameful way.
4:19The wind has wrapped her up in its wings;
And
they shall be disappointed because of their
sacrifices.
5:1"Listen to this, you priests!
Listen,
house of Israel,
And
give ear, house of the king!
For the judgment is against you;
For
you have been a snare at Mizpah,
And
a net spread on Tabor.
5:2The rebels are deep in slaughter;
But
I discipline all of them.
5:3I know Ephraim,
And
Israel is not hidden from me;
For now, Ephraim, you have played
the prostitute.
Israel
is defiled.
5:4Their deeds won't allow them to turn to
their God;
For
the spirit of prostitution is within them,
And
they don't know Yahweh.
5:5The pride of Israel testifies to his face.
Therefore
Israel and Ephraim will stumble in their
iniquity.
Judah
also will stumble with them.
5:6They will go with their flocks and with
their herds to seek Yahweh;
But
they won't find him.
He has
withdrawn himself from them.
5:7They are unfaithful to Yahweh;
For
they have borne illegitimate children.
Now
the new moon will devour them with their
fields.
5:8"Blow the cornet in Gibeah,
And
the trumpet in Ramah!
Sound
a battle cry at Beth Aven, behind you, Benjamin!
5:9Ephraim will become a desolation in the
day of rebuke.
Among
the tribes of Israel, I have made known
that which will surely be.
5:10The princes of Judah are like those who
remove a landmark.
I will
pour out my wrath on them like water.
5:11Ephraim is oppressed,
He is
crushed in judgment;
Because
he is intent in his pursuit of idols.
5:12Therefore I am to Ephraim like a moth,
And
to the house of Judah like rottenness.
5:13When Ephraim saw his sickness,
And
Judah his wound,
Then
Ephraim went to Assyria,
And
sent to king Jareb:
But he is not able to heal you,
Neither
will he cure you of your wound.
5:14For I will be to Ephraim like a lion,
And
like a young lion to the house of Judah.
I myself will tear in pieces and
go away.
I will
carry off, and there will be no one to deliver.
5:15I will go and return to my place,
until
they acknowledge their offense,
And
seek my face.
In their
affliction they will seek me earnestly."
6:1"Come, and let us return to Yahweh;
For
he has torn us to pieces,
And
he will heal us;
He has injured us,
And
he will bind up our wounds.
6:2After two days will he revive us.
On the
third day he will raise us up,
And
we will live before him.
6:3Let us acknowledge Yahweh.
Let
us press on to know Yahweh.
As surely as the sun rises,
Yahweh
will appear.
He will come to us like the rain,
Like
the spring rain that waters the earth."
6:4"Ephraim, what shall I do to you?
Judah,
what shall I do to you?
For
your love is like a morning cloud,
And
like the dew that disappears early.
6:5Therefore I have cut them to pieces with
the prophets;
I killed
them with the words of my mouth.
Your
judgments are like a flash of lightning.
6:6For I desire mercy, and not sacrifice;
And
the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.
6:7But they, like Adam, have broken the covenant.
They
were unfaithful to me, there.
6:8Gilead is a city of those who work iniquity;
It is
stained with blood.
6:9As gangs of robbers wait to ambush a man,
So the
company of priests murder in the way toward
Shechem,
Committing
shameful crimes.
6:10In the house of Israel I have seen a
horrible thing.
There
is prostitution in Ephraim.
Israel
is defiled.
6:11"Also, Judah, there is a harvest
appointed for you,
When
I restore the fortunes of my people.
7:1When I would heal Israel,
Then
the iniquity of Ephraim is uncovered,
Also
the wickedness of Samaria;
For
they commit falsehood,
And
the thief enters in,
And
the gang of robbers ravages outside.
7:2They don't consider in their hearts that
I remember all their wickedness.
Now
their own deeds have engulfed them.
They
are before my face.
7:3They make the king glad with their wickedness,
And
the princes with their lies.
7:4They are all adulterers.
They
are burning like an oven that the baker
stops stirring,
From
the kneading of the dough, until it is leavened.
7:5On the day of our king, the princes made
themselves sick with the heat of wine.
He joined
his hand with mockers.
7:6For they have made ready their heart like
an oven,
While
they lie in wait.
Their
baker sleeps all the night.
In the
morning it burns as a flaming fire.
7:7They are all hot as an oven,
And
devour their judges.
All their kings have fallen.
There
is no one among them who calls to me.
7:8Ephraim, he mixes himself among the nations.
Ephraim
is a pancake not turned over.
7:9Strangers have devoured his strength,
And
he doesn't realize it.
Indeed, gray hairs are here and
there on him,
And
he doesn't realize it.
7:10The pride of Israel testifies to his
face;
Yet
they haven't returned to Yahweh their God,
Nor
sought him, for all this.
7:11"Ephraim is like an easily deceived
dove, without understanding.
They
call to Egypt.
They
go to Assyria.
7:12When they go, I will spread my net on
them.
I will
bring them down like the birds of the sky.
I will
chastise them, as their congregation has
heard.
7:13Woe to them!
For
they have wandered from me.
Destruction to them!
For
they have trespassed against me.
Though I would redeem them,
Yet
they have spoken lies against me.
7:14They haven't cried to me with their heart,
But
they howl on their beds.
They assemble themselves for grain
and new wine.
They
turn away from me.
7:15Though I have taught and strengthened
their arms,
Yet
they plot evil against me.
7:16They return, but not to the Most High.
They
are like a faulty bow.
Their
princes will fall by the sword for the rage
of their tongue.
This
will be their derision in the land of Egypt.
8:1"Put the trumpet to your lips!
Something
like an eagle is over Yahweh's house,
Because
they have broken my covenant,
And
rebelled against my law.
8:2They cry to me, 'My God, we Israel acknowledge
you!'
8:3Israel has cast
off that which is good.
The
enemy will pursue him.
8:4They have set up kings, but not by me.
They
have made princes, and I didn't approve.
Of their
silver and their gold they have made themselves
idols,
That
they may be cut off.
8:5Let Samaria throw out his calf-idol!
My anger
burns against them!
How
long will it be before the are capable of
purity?
8:6For this is even from Israel!
The
workman made it, and it is no God;
Indeed,
the calf of Samaria shall be broken in pieces.
8:7For they sow the wind,
And
they will reap the whirlwind.
He has no standing grain.
The
stalk will yield no head.
If it
does yield, strangers will swallow it up.
8:8Israel is swallowed up.
Now
they are among the nations like a worthless
thing.
8:9For they have gone up to Assyria,
Like
a wild donkey wandering alone.
Ephraim
has hired lovers for himself.
8:10But although they sold themselves among
the nations,
I will
now gather them;
and
they begin to waste away because of the
oppression of the king of mighty ones.
8:11Because Ephraim has multiplied altars
for sinning,
They
became for him altars for sinning.
8:12I wrote for him the many things of my
law;
But
they were regarded as a strange thing.
8:13As for the sacrifices of my offerings,
they
sacrifice flesh and eat it;
But
Yahweh doesn't accept them.
Now he will remember their iniquity,
And
punish their sins.
They
will return to Egypt.
8:14For Israel has forgotten his Maker and
built palaces;
And
Judah has multiplied fortified cities;
But
I will send a fire on his cities,
And
it will devour its fortresses."
9:1Don't rejoice, Israel, to jubilation like
the nations;
For
you were unfaithful to your God.
You
love the wages of a prostitute at every
grain threshing floor.
9:2The threshing floor and the winepress
won't feed them,
And
the new wine will fail her.
9:3They won't dwell in Yahweh's land;
But
Ephraim will return to Egypt,
And
they will eat unclean food in Assyria.
9:4They won't pour out wine offerings to
Yahweh,
Neither
will they be pleasing to him.
Their
sacrifices will be to them like the bread
of mourners;
All
who eat of it will be polluted;
For
their bread will be for their appetite.
It will
not come into the house of Yahweh.
9:5What will you do in the day of solemn
assembly,
And
in the day of the feast of Yahweh?
9:6For, behold, they have gone away from
destruction.
Egypt
will gather them up.
Memphis
will bury them.
Nettles
will possess their pleasant things of silver.
Thorns
will be in their tents.
9:7The days of visitation have come.
The
days of reckoning have come.
Israel will consider the prophet
to be a fool,
And
the man who is inspired to be insane,
Because
of the abundance of your sins,
And
because your hostility is great.
9:8A prophet watches over Ephraim with my
God.
A fowler's
snare is on all of his paths,
And
hostility in the house of his God.
9:9They have deeply corrupted themselves,
As in
the days of Gibeah.
He will
remember their iniquity.
He will
punish them for their sins.
9:10I found Israel like grapes in the wilderness.
I saw
your fathers as the first ripe in the fig
tree at its first season;
But
they came to Baal Peor, and consecrated
themselves to the shameful thing,
And
became abominable like that which they loved.
9:11As for Ephraim, their glory will fly
away like a bird.
There
will be no birth, none with child, and no
conception.
9:12Though they bring up their children,
Yet
I will bereave them, so that not a man shall
be left.
Indeed,
woe also to them when I depart from them!
9:13Ephraim, like I have seen Tyre, is planted
in a pleasant place;
But
Ephraim will bring out his children to the
killer.
9:14Give them--Yahweh what will you give?
Give
them a miscarrying womb and dry breasts.
9:15"All their wickedness is in Gilgal;
For
there I hated them.
Because
of the wickedness of their deeds I will
drive them out of my house!
I will
love them no more.
All
their princes are rebels.
9:16Ephraim is struck.
Their
root has dried up.
They
will bear no fruit.
Even
though they bring forth, yet I will kill
the beloved ones of their womb."
9:17My God will cast them away, because they
did not listen to him;
And
they will be wanderers among the nations.
10:1Israel is a luxuriant vine that puts
forth his fruit.
According
to the abundance of his fruit he has multiplied
his altars.
As their
land has prospered, they have adorned their
sacred stones.
10:2Their heart is divided.
Now
they will be found guilty.
He will
demolish their altars.
He will
destroy their sacred stones.
10:3Surely now they will say, "We have
no king; for we don't fear Yahweh;
And
the king, what can he do for us?"
10:4They make promises, swearing falsely
in making covenants.
Therefore
judgment springs up like poisonous weeds
in the furrows of the field.
10:5The inhabitants of Samaria will be in
terror for the calves of Beth Aven;
For
its people will mourn over it,
Along
with its priests who rejoiced over it,
For
its glory, because it has departed from
it.
10:6It also will be carried to Assyria for
a present to a great king.
Ephraim
will receive shame,
And
Israel will be ashamed of his own counsel.
10:7Samaria and her king float away,
Like
a twig on the water.
10:8The high places also of Aven, the sin
of Israel, will be destroyed.
The
thorn and the thistle will come up on their
altars.
They
will tell the mountains, "Cover us!"
and the hills, "Fall on us!"
10:9"Israel, you have sinned from the
days of Gibeah.
There
they remained.
The
battle against the children of iniquity
doesn't overtake them in Gibeah.
10:10When it is my desire, I will chastise
them;
And
the nations will be gathered against them,
When
they are bound to their two transgressions.
10:11Ephraim is a trained heifer that loves
to thresh;
So I
will put a yoke on her beautiful neck.
I will
set a rider on Ephraim.
Judah
will plow.
Jacob
will break his clods.
10:12Sow to yourselves in righteousness,
Reap
according to kindness.
Break up your fallow ground;
For
it is time to seek Yahweh,
Until
he comes and rains righteousness on you.
10:13You have plowed wickedness.
You
have reaped iniquity.
You
have eaten the fruit of lies,
For
you trusted in your way, in the multitude
of your mighty men.
10:14Therefore a battle roar will arise among
your people,
And
all your fortresses will be destroyed,
As Shalman
destroyed Beth Arbel in the day of battle.
The
mother was dashed in pieces with her children.
10:15So Bethel will do to you because of
your great wickedness.
At daybreak
the king of Israel will be destroyed.
11:1"When Israel was a child, then I
loved him,
And
called my son out of Egypt.
11:2They called to them, so they went from
them.
They
sacrificed to the Baals,
And
burned incense to engraved images.
11:3Yet I taught Ephraim to walk.
I took
them by his arms;
But
they didn't know that I healed them.
11:4I drew them with cords of a man, with
ties of love;
And
I was to them like those who lift up the
yoke on their necks;
And
I bent down to him and I fed him.
11:5"They won't return into the land
of Egypt;
But
the Assyrian will be their king,
Because
they refused to repent.
11:6The sword will fall on their cities,
And
will consume their gate bars,
And
will put an end to their plans.
11:7My people are determined to turn from
me.
Though
they call to the Most High,
He certainly
won't exalt them.
11:8"How can I give you up, Ephraim?
How
can I hand you over, Israel?
How
can I make you like Admah?
How
can I make you like Zeboiim?
My heart is turned within me,
My compassion
is aroused.
11:9I will not execute the fierceness of
my anger.
I will
not return to destroy Ephraim:
For
I am God, and not man; the Holy One in the
midst of you;
And
I will not come in wrath.
11:10They will walk after Yahweh,
Who
will roar like a lion;
For
he will roar, and the children will come
trembling from the west.
11:11They will come trembling like a bird
out of Egypt,
And
like a dove out of the land of Assyria;
And I will settle them in their
houses," says Yahweh.
11:12Ephraim surrounds me with falsehood,
And
the house of Israel with deceit;
And
Judah still us unruly with God,
And
is unfaithful to the Holy One.
12:1Ephraim feeds on wind,
And
chases the east wind.
He continually
multiplies lies and desolation.
They
make a covenant with Assyria,
And
oil is carried into Egypt.
12:2Yahweh also has a controversy with Judah,
And
will punish Jacob according to his ways;
According
to his deeds he will repay him.
12:3In the womb he took his brother by the
heel;
And
in his manhood he had power with God.
12:4Indeed, he had power over the angel,
and prevailed;
He wept,
and made supplication to him.
He found
him at Bethel, and there he spoke with us,
12:5Even Yahweh, the
God of hosts;
Yahweh
is his name of renown!
12:6Therefore turn to your God.
Keep
kindness and justice,
And
wait for your God continually.
12:7A merchant has dishonest scales in his
hand.
He loves
to defraud.
12:8Ephraim said, "Surely I have become
rich,
I have
found myself wealth.
In all
my wealth they won't find in me any iniquity
that is sin."
12:9"But I am Yahweh your God from the
land of Egypt.
I will
yet again make you to dwell in tents,
As in
the days of the solemn feast.
12:10I have also spoken to the prophets,
And
I have multiplied visions;
And
by the ministry of the prophets I have used
parables.
12:11If Gilead is wicked,
Surely
they are worthless.
In Gilgal they sacrifice bulls.
Indeed,
their altars are like heaps in the furrows
of the field.
12:12Jacob fled into the country of Aram,
And
Israel served to get a wife,
And
for a wife he tended flocks and herds.
12:13By a prophet Yahweh brought Israel up
out of Egypt,
And
by a prophet he was preserved.
12:14Ephraim has provoked to anger most bitterly.
Therefore
his blood will be left on him,
And
his his Lord will repay his contempt.
13:1When Ephraim spoke, there was trembling.
He exalted
himself in Israel,
But
when he became guilty in Baal, he died.
13:2Now they sin more and more,
And
have made themselves molten images of their
silver,
Even
idols according to their own understanding,
All
of them the work of the craftsmen.
They
say of them, "They offer human sacrifice
and kiss the calves."
13:3Therefore they will be like the morning
cloud,
And
like the dew that passes away early,
Like
the chaff that is driven with the whirlwind
out of the threshing floor,
And
like the smoke out of the chimney.
13:4"Yet I am Yahweh your God from the
land of Egypt;
And
you will know no god but me,
And
besides me there is no savior.
13:5I knew you in the wilderness,
In the
land of great drought.
13:6According to their pasture, so were they
filled;
They
were filled, and their heart was exalted.
Therefore
they have forgotten me.
13:7Therefore am I to them like a lion;
Like
a leopard I will lurk by the path.
13:8I will meet them like a bear that is
bereaved of her cubs,
And
will tear the covering of their heart.
And
there I will devour them like a lioness.
The
wild animal will tear them.
13:9You are destroyed, Israel, because you
are against me,
Against
your help.
13:10Where is your king now, that he may
save you in all your cities?
And
your judges, of whom you said, 'Give me
a king and princes?'
13:11I have given you a king in my anger,
And
have taken him away in my wrath.
13:12The guilt of Ephraim is stored up.
His
sin is stored up.
13:13The sorrows of a travailing woman will
come on him.
He is
an unwise son;
For
when it is time, he doesn't come to the
opening of the womb.
13:14I will ransom them from the power of
Sheol.
I will
redeem them from death!
Death,
where are your plagues?
Sheol,
where is your destruction?
Compassion will be hidden from my
eyes.
13:15Though he is fruitful
among his brothers, an east wind will come,
The
breath of Yahweh coming up from the wilderness;
And
his spring will become dry,
And
his fountain will be dried up.
He will
plunder the storehouse of treasure.
13:16Samaria will bear her guilt;
For
she has rebelled against her God.
They
will fall by the sword.
Their
infants will be dashed in pieces,
And
their pregnant women will be ripped open."
14:1Israel, return to Yahweh your God;
For
you have fallen because of your sin.
14:2Take words with you, and return to Yahweh.
Tell
him, "Forgive all our sins,
And
accept that which is good:
So we
offer like bulls our lips.
14:3Assyria can't save us.
We won't
ride on horses;
Neither
will we say any more to the work of our
hands, 'Our gods!'
For
in you the fatherless finds mercy."
14:4"I will heal their waywardness.
I will
love them freely;
For
my anger is turned away from him.
14:5I will be like the dew to Israel.
He will
blossom like the lily,
And
send down his roots like Lebanon.
14:6His branches will spread,
And
his beauty will be like the olive tree,
And
his fragrance like Lebanon.
14:7Men will dwell in his shade.
They
will revive like the grain,
And
blossom like the vine.
Their
fragrance will be like the wine of Lebanon.
14:8Ephraim, what have I to do any more with
idols?
I answer,
and will take care of him.
I am
like a green fir tree;
From
me your fruit is found."
14:9Who is wise, that he may understand these
things?
Who
is prudent, that he may know them?
For
the ways of Yahweh are right,
And
the righteous walk in them;
But
the rebellious stumble in them.
Notes:
[1] back
to 1:6 Lo-Ruhamah means "not loved."
[2] back to 1:9 Lo-Ammi means "not my people"
[3] back to 2:1 'Ammi' in Hebrew
[4] back to 2:1 'Ruhamah' in Hebrew
[Index]
