AFV2020 - Hosea

Chapter 1

1:1  The Word of the LORD 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.

1:2  The beginning of the Word of the LORD by Hosea. And the LORD said to Hosea, "Go, take to yourself a wife of whoredoms and children of whoredoms, for the land has utterly committed great whoredoms, departing from the LORD."

1:3  So he went and took Gomer the daughter of Diblaim, who conceived and bore him a son.

1:4  And the LORD 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.

1:5  And it shall be, in that day I will break the bow of Israel in the valley of Jezreel."

1:6  And she conceived again and bore a daughter. And God said to him, "Call her name Lo-Ruhamah, for I will no more have mercy on the house of Israel. But I will utterly take them away.

1:7  But I will have mercy on the house of Judah, and will save them by the LORD their God, and will not save them by bow, nor by sword, nor by battle, nor by horses, nor by horsemen."

1:8  And when she had weaned Lo- Ruhamah she conceived and bore a son.

1:9  And He said, "Call his name Lo- Ammi, for you are not My people, and I will not be your God.

1:10  Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured nor numbered. And it shall be in the place where it was said to them, 'You are not My people,' there it shall be said to them, 'You are the sons of the living God.'

1:11  Then the children of Judah and the children of Israel shall be gathered together, and shall set over themselves one head, and they shall come up out of the land, for great shall be the day of Jezreel."

Chapter 2

2:1  "Say to your brethren, Ammi, and to your sisters, Ruhamah.

2:2  Contend! Contend with your mother, for she is not My wife, nor am I her husband. Let her therefore put away her whoredoms out of her sight, and her adulteries from between her breasts,

2:3  Lest I strip her naked and set her out as in the day that she was born; and lest I make her as the wilderness, and set her like a dry land, and slay her with thirst.

2:4  And I will not have mercy on her children, for they are the children of whoredoms,

2:5  For their mother has prostituted herself. 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.'

2:6  Therefore behold, I will hedge your way with thorns, and make a wall, that she shall not find her paths.

2:7  And she shall follow after her lovers, but she shall not overtake them. She shall seek them, but shall not find them. Then she shall say, 'I will go and return to my first husband, for then it was better with me than now,'

2:8  For she did not know that I gave her grain, and wine, and oil, and multiplied her silver and gold, which they prepared for Baal.

2:9  So I will return and take away My grain in its time, and My wine in its season, and will recover My wool and My flax given to cover her nakedness.

2:10  And now I will uncover her lewdness in the sight of her lovers, and none shall deliver her out of My hand.

2:11  I will also cause all her joy to cease, her feast days, her new moons, and her sabbaths, and all her appointed feasts.

2:12  And I will destroy her vines and her fig trees, of which she has said, 'They are my rewards that my lovers have given me.' And I will make them a forest, and the beasts of the field shall eat them.

2:13  And I will visit on her the days of the Baalim, in which she burned incense to them, and she adorned herself with her nose rings and her jewels, and she went after her lovers and forgot Me," says the LORD.

2:14  "Therefore, behold, I will lure her and bring her into the wilderness, and speak comfortably to her.

2:15  And I will give her vineyards to her from there, and the valley of Achor for a door of hope. And she shall sing there, as in the days of her youth, and as in the day when she came up out of the land of Egypt.

2:16  And it shall be in that day," says the LORD, "you shall call Me Ishi, and shall no more call Me Baali,

2:17  For I will take away the names of the Baalim out of her mouth, and they will no more be remembered by their name.

2:18  And in that day I will make a covenant for them, with the beasts of the field, and with the birds of the heavens, and with the creeping things of the ground. And I will break the bow and the sword and the battle out of the earth, and will make them to lie down safely.

2:19  And I will betroth you to Me forever. Yea, I will betroth you to Me in righteousness, and in judgment, and in lovingkindness, and in mercies.

2:20  I will even betroth you to Me in faithfulness. And you shall know the LORD.

2:21  And it will be in that day that I will answer," says the LORD. "I will answer the heavens, and they shall answer the earth,

2:22  And the earth shall answer with grain and wine and oil. And they shall answer Jezreel.

2:23  And I will sow her to Me in the earth. And I will have mercy on her that was shown no mercy. And I will say to her that was not My people, 'You are My people.' And they shall say, ' You are my God.' ”

Chapter 3

3:1  And the LORD said to me, "Go again. Love a woman beloved by a friend, yet an adulteress, according to the love of the LORD toward the children of Israel, who turn to other gods, and love raisin cakes."

3:2  So I bought her for fifteen pieces of silver, and for an homer of barley and a half homer of barley.

3:3  And I said to her, "You shall abide with me many days. You shall not play the harlot, nor be with any man. And I also will be for you,"

3:4  For the children of Israel shall live many days with no king, and no ruler, and with no sacrifice, and no pillars, and no ephod, or teraphim.

3:5  Afterward the children of Israel shall return and seek the LORD their God and David their king. And they shall fear the LORD and His goodness in the latter days.

Chapter 4

4:1  Hear the Word of the LORD, children of Israel, for the LORD has a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, "There is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land.

4:2  By swearing, and lying, and killing, and stealing, and the committing of adultery they break out; and blood touches blood.

4:3  Therefore shall the land mourn, and everyone who dwells in it shall languish, with the beasts of the field and with the birds of the heavens. Yes, the fish of the sea shall also be taken away.

4:4  Yet let no man strive, nor reprove another, for your people are as those who strive with the priest.

4:5  And you shall stumble in the day, and the prophet also shall stumble with you in the night, and I will destroy your mother.

4:6  My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I will also reject you from being as a priest to Me. Since you have forgotten the law of your God, I will also forget your children.

4:7  As they were increased, so they sinned against Me. I will change their glory into shame.

4:8  They eat up the sin of My people, and they set their heart on their iniquity.

4:9  And it has become, like people, like priest; and I will punish them for their ways, and reward them for their doings,

4:10  For they shall eat and not have enough. They shall commit whoredom and not increase because they have stopped taking heed to the LORD.

4:11  'Whoredom and wine and new wine take away the heart.

4:12  My people seek advice from their wooden idols, and their rod declares to them, for the spirit of whoredoms has caused them to go astray, and they have gone awhoring away from under their God.

4:13  They sacrifice upon the tops of the mountains, and burn incense upon the hills, under oaks and poplars and elms because its shade is good. So your daughters shall commit whoredom, and your brides shall commit adultery.

4:14  Will I not punish your daughters when they commit whoredom, or your wives when they commit adultery? Even the men themselves go aside with whores, and they sacrifice with temple prostitutes. The people who do not understand shall fall.

4:15  Though you, Israel, play the harlot, yet do not let Judah become guilty. And do not come to Gilgal, nor go up to Beth Aven, nor swear, ' As the LORD lives,'

4:16  For Israel slides back like a backsliding heifer. Now shall the LORD feed them as a lamb in a large place?

4:17  Ephraim is joined to idols; let him alone.

4:18  Their drink is sour; they have committed whoredom continually; her rulers dearly love dishonor.

4:19  The wind has bound her up in her wings, and they shall be ashamed because of their sacrifices."

Chapter 5

5:1  "Hear this, O priests, and hearken, O house of Israel. And give ear, O house of the king, for judgment is toward you because you have been a snare for Mizpah and a net spread over Tabor.

5:2  And revolters have gone deep in slaughtering, and I chasten all of them.

5:3  I know Ephraim, and Israel is not hidden from me, for now, O Ephraim, you committed whoredom; and Israel is defiled.

5:4  Their doings will not allow them to turn to their God; for the spirit of whoredoms is in their midst, and they have not known the LORD.

5:5  And the pride of Israel testifies to his face. Therefore Israel and Ephraim shall fall in their iniquity; Judah also shall fall with them.

5:6  They shall go with their flocks and with their herds to seek the LORD; but they shall not find Him. He has withdrawn Himself from them.

5:7  They have acted treacherously against the LORD, for they have begotten strange children. Now, within a month invaders shall devour their land.

5:8  Blow the ram's horn in Gibeah, and the silver trumpet in Ramah; cry aloud at Beth Aven, 'Behind you, O Benjamin!'

5:9  Ephraim shall be desolate in the day of rebuke. Among the tribes of Israel I have made known that which shall surely be.

5:10  The rulers of Judah were like those who move a border; I will pour out My wrath upon them like water.

5:11  Ephraim is crushed and broken in judgment because he willingly walked after vanity.

5:12  Therefore I am as a moth to Ephraim, and to the house of Judah as rottenness.

5:13  When Ephraim saw his sickness, and Judah saw his wound, then Ephraim went to the Assyrian and sent to King Contentious. Yet he could not heal you nor cure you of your wound,

5:14  For I will be to Ephraim as a lion, and as a strong lion to the house of Judah. I, even I, will tear and go away. I will take away, and none shall rescue him.

5:15  I will go; I will return to My place until they confess their guilt and seek My face; in their affliction they will seek Me earnestly."

Chapter 6

6:1  Come and let us return to the LORD, for He has torn, and He will heal us; He has smitten, and He will bind us up.

6:2  After two days He will revive us; in the third day He will raise us up, and we shall live in His sight.

6:3  Then we shall understand, if we follow on to know the LORD. His going out is prepared as the morning; and He shall come to us as the rain, as the latter and former rain to the earth.

6:4  "O Ephraim, what shall I do to you? O Judah, what shall I do to you? For your goodness is like a morning cloud, and as the early dew it goes away.

6:5  So I have cut them down by the prophets; I have slain them by the words of My mouth. And the judgments against you are as the light that goes forth,

6:6  For I desire mercy and not sacrifice, and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.

6:7  But, like men, they have broken the covenant. They have acted like traitors against Me there.

6:8  Gilead is a city of troublemakers, and is polluted with blood.

6:9  And as troops of robbers wait for a man, the company of priests murder in the way of Shechem; for they committed wickedness.

6:10  I have seen a horrible thing in the house of Israel; the whoredom of Ephraim is there; Israel is defiled.

6:11  Also, O Judah, a harvest is appointed to you, when I reverse the captivity of My people."

Chapter 7

7:1  "When I would have healed Israel, then the iniquity of Ephraim was uncovered, and the wickedness of Samaria, for they have worked falsehood. And the thief comes in, the troop of robbers plunders outside.

7:2  And they consider not within their hearts that I remember all their evil. Now their own doings have hemmed them in; they are before My face.

7:3  They make the king glad with their wickedness, and the rulers with their lies.

7:4  They are all adulterers, like an oven heated by the baker; he stops stirring, from kneading the dough, until it is leavened.

7:5  In the day of our king, the rulers have sickened themselves with the heat of wine. He stretches out his hand with scorners,

7:6  For they have made ready their hearts like an oven, while they lie in wait. Their baker sleeps at night; in the morning it burns like a flaming fire.

7:7  They are all hot as an oven, and devour their judges. All their kings have fallen; there is none among them who calls to Me.

7:8  Ephraim mixed himself among the people; Ephraim is a cake that is not turned.

7:9  Strangers have eaten up his strength, and he does not know. Yea, gray hairs are here and there on him, yet he knows it not.

7:10  And the pride of Israel testifies to his face. And they do not return to the LORD their God, nor seek Him in all this.

7:11  Ephraim also is like a silly dove without heart; they call to Egypt; they go to Assyria.

7:12  When they go, I will spread My net upon them; I will bring them down like the birds of heaven; I will chastise them, as their congregation has heard.

7:13  Woe to them, for they have fled from Me! Destruction unto them—because they have sinned against Me. Though I have redeemed them, yet they have spoken lies against Me.

7:14  And they have not cried to Me with their heart, when they howled on their beds; they gather themselves for grain and wine, and they rebel against Me.

7:15  Though I have bound and strengthened their arms, yet they think evil against Me.

7:16  They return, but not to the Most High. They are like a deceitful bow; their rulers shall fall by the sword from the rage of their tongue. This shall be their scorn in the land of Egypt."

Chapter 8

8:1  "Put a ram's horn to your mouth. He comes like an eagle against the house of the LORD because they have transgressed My covenant and have rebelled against My law.

8:2  Israel shall cry to Me, 'My God, we know You.'

8:3  Israel has thrown off good; the enemy shall pursue him.

8:4  They have set up kings, but not by Me; they have made princes, and I knew it not. They have made themselves idols with their silver and their gold, so that they may be cut off.

8:5  Your calf, O Samaria, has cast you off. My anger is kindled against them. How long shall they be incapable of innocence?

8:6  For from Israel it came also—the craftsman made it, but it is not God; for the calf of Samaria shall be broken into shivers.

8:7  For they sow to the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind. It has no stalk; the bud shall yield no meal; but if it does yield, strangers shall swallow it up.

8:8  Israel is swallowed up; now they shall be among the Gentiles as a vessel in which there is no pleasure;

8:9  For they have gone up to Assyria, a wild donkey alone by himself. Ephraim has hired lovers.

8:10  Yea, though they have hired among the nations, now I will gather them. And they shall sorrow in a little while under the burden of kings and princes.

8:11  Because Ephraim has multiplied altars to sin, altars shall be to him for sin.

8:12  I have written to him the great things of My law, but they were counted as a strange thing.

8:13  They sacrifice flesh for the sacrifices of My offerings, and eat it; but the LORD does not receive them. Now He will remember their iniquity and punish their sins. They shall return to Egypt;

8:14  For Israel has forgotten his Maker, and builds temples. And Judah has multiplied cities. But I will send a fire on his cities, and it shall burn up her palaces."

Chapter 9

9:1  O Israel, rejoice not for joy, like the people, for you have gone whoring away from your God; you have loved a reward upon every grain floor.

9:2  The threshing floor and the winepress shall not feed them, and the new wine shall fail in her.

9:3  They shall not dwell in the LORD'S land; but Ephraim shall return to Egypt, and they shall eat unclean things in Assyria.

9:4  They shall not pour wine to the LORD, nor shall they be pleasing to Him. Their sacrifices shall be like the bread of sorrows to them; all who eat of them shall be defiled, for their bread is for their appetite, it shall not come into the house of the LORD.

9:5  What will you do in the solemn day, and in the day of the feast of the LORD?

9:6  For lo, they have left because of destruction. Egypt shall gather them up; Memphis shall bury them. Nettles shall possess the desirable things of their silver; thorns shall be in their tents.

9:7  The days of her judgment have come; the days of vengeance have come; Israel shall know it. The prophet is a fool, the spiritual man is insane because of the multitude of your iniquity and your great hatred.

9:8  The watchman of Ephraim was with my God. The prophet is a fowler's snare in all his ways, and enmity in the house of his God.

9:9  They have deeply corrupted themselves, as in days of Gibeah. Therefore He will remember their iniquity; He will punish them for their sins.

9:10  "I found Israel like grapes in the wilderness. I saw your fathers as the firstfruit in the fig tree at her first season. But they went to Baal Peor and set themselves apart to a shameful thing; and they became abominations, like the things they loved.

9:11  Ephraim is like a bird—their glory shall fly away from birth, and from the womb, and from conception.

9:12  Though they bring up their children, yet I will make them childless, without a man. Yea, woe also to them when I depart from them!

9:13  Ephraim, when I looked toward Tyre, was planted in a pleasant place. But Ephraim shall bring out his children to the murderer."

9:14  Give them, O LORD; 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. I will drive them out of My house for the wickedness of their doings. I will love them no more; all their rulers are revolters.

9:16  Ephraim is stricken; their root is dried up; they shall bear no fruit. Yea, though they bear, yet I will slay the beloved fruit of their womb."

9:17  My God shall cast them away because they did not hearken to Him. And they shall be wanderers among the nations.

Chapter 10

10:1  Israel was a luxuriant vine, which produced fruit freely. According to the multitude of his fruit, he has increased the altars. Accordingly, they have made beautiful images after the goodness of his land.

10:2  Their heart is divided; now they shall be guilty. He shall break down their altars, and He shall spoil their images,

10:3  For now they shall say, "We have no king because we did not fear the LORD; what then should a king do to us?"

10:4  They have spoken words, swearing falsely in making a covenant. Thus judgment springs up like hemlock in the furrows of the field.

10:5  Because of the calves of Beth Aven, the people of Samaria shall fear, for its people shall mourn over it, as well as its idolatrous priests who rejoiced over it for its glory, because its glory has departed from it.

10:6  It shall also be carried to Assyria for a present to King Contentious. Ephraim shall receive shame, and Israel shall be ashamed of his own counsel.

10:7  As for Samaria, her king is cut off as a bough on the water.

10:8  Also the high places of Aven, the sin of Israel, shall be destroyed. The thorn and the thistle shall come up on their altars; and they shall say to the mountains, "Cover us," and to the hills, "Fall on us."

10:9  "O Israel, you have sinned from the days of Gibeah. There they stood; war upon the sons of violent deeds shall not overtake them in Gibeah.

10:10  When I desire, I shall chastise them; and the people shall be gathered against them, when they shall bind themselves to their two perversities.

10:11  And Ephraim is like a trained heifer, that loves to thresh, and I passed the yoke over her fair neck. I will make Ephraim to ride; Judah shall plow, and Jacob shall break his clods."

10:12  Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground, for it is time to seek the LORD, until He comes and rains righteousness on you.

10:13  You have plowed wickedness; you have reaped iniquity; you have eaten the fruit of lies because you trusted in your way, in the multitude of your mighty men.

10:14  Therefore a tumult shall arise among your people, and all your fortresses shall be spoiled, as the ruin of Beth Arbel by Shalman in the day of battle. The mother was dashed in pieces with her children.

10:15  Thus He does to you, Bethel, because of your great wickedness. In a morning the king of Israel shall be utterly cut off.

Chapter 11

11:1  "When Israel was a child, then I loved him and called My son out of Egypt.

11:2  The more they called them, the more they went from them. They continued to sacrifice to the Baalim, and burn incense to graven images.

11:3  I also taught Ephraim to walk; I took them on My arm. But they did not know that I healed them.

11:4  I drew them with cords of a man, with bands of love; and I was to them as those who take off the yoke on their jaws, and I gently gave food to him.

11:5  He shall not return to the land of Egypt, but the Assyrian shall be his king because they refused to return to Me.

11:6  And the sword shall remain on his cities, and shall destroy his branches, and devour them because of their own counsels.

11:7  And My people are bent on backsliding from Me. Though they called to the Most High, none would at all exalt Him.

11:8  How shall I give you up, Ephraim? How shall I deliver you, Israel? How shall I make you like Admah? How shall I set you as Zeboiim? My heart is turned within Me; My compassions are kindled together.

11:9  I will not carry out the heat of My anger; I will not return to destroy Ephraim, for I am God and not man, the Holy One in your midst; and I will not enter into the city.

11:10  They shall walk after the LORD; He shall roar like a lion. When He shall roar, then the children shall tremble from the west.

11:11  They shall tremble like a bird out of Egypt, and like a dove out of the land of Assyria. And I will place them in their houses," says the LORD.

11:12  "Ephraim circles around Me with lying, and the house of Israel with deceit. And Judah is still wayward toward God, and toward the Holy One, Who is faithful."

Chapter 12

12:1  "Ephraim feeds on wind and follows after the east wind. He daily multiplies lies and desolation. And they make a covenant with the Assyrians, and oil is carried into Egypt.

12:2  The LORD also has a quarrel with Judah and will punish Jacob according to his ways; according to his doings He will repay him.

12:3  He took his brother by the heel in the womb, and by his strength he had power with God.

12:4  Yes, he wept and cried to Him, and he had struggled with the Angel and he prevailed. He found him in Bethel, and there He spoke with us,

12:5  Even the LORD God of hosts; the LORD is His name.

12:6  Therefore return to your God; keep mercy and judgment, and wait for your God continually.

12:7  "He is a merchant; the balances of deceit are in his hand; he loves to oppress.

12:8  And Ephraim said, 'Yet I have become rich, I have found much wealth for myself. In all my labors they shall find in me no iniquity that is sin.'

12:9  And I the LORD, who have been your God from the land of Egypt, will yet make you to dwell in tents as in the days of the appointed feast.

12:10  I have also spoken by the prophets, and I have multiplied visions and have used parables by the hand of the prophets."

12:11  Is there iniquity in Gilead? Surely they are altogether vanity; they sacrifice bulls in Gilgal. Yea, their altars are as heaps in the furrows of the fields.

12:12  And Jacob fled into the country of Syria, and Israel served for a wife, and for a wife he kept sheep.

12:13  And by a prophet the LORD brought Israel out of Egypt, and by a prophet he was kept.

12:14  Ephraim provoked Me to anger most bitterly; therefore his blood shall be cast upon him, and his Lord shall return his reproach unto him.

Chapter 13

13:1  When Ephraim spoke there was trembling. He exalted himself in Israel; but when he offended in Baal worship, he died.

13:2  And now they sin more and more, and have made themselves a molten image of their silver, and idols according to their own understanding, all of it the work of the craftsmen. They say of them, "Let the men who sacrifice kiss the calves."

13:3  Therefore they shall be as the morning cloud and as the early dew that passes away, as the chaff storm driven from a threshing floor, and as the smoke out of the chimney.

13:4  "Yet I am the LORD your God from the land of Egypt, and you shall know no God but Me, for there is no Savior besides Me.

13:5  I have known you in the wilderness, in the land of great dryness.

13:6  When they were fed, they became full. They were filled and their heart was exalted. Therefore they have forgotten Me.

13:7  Therefore I will be as a lion to them; as a leopard by the way I will watch.

13:8  I will meet them like a bear that is bereaved of her cubs, and will tear open their chests. And there I will devour them like a lion—as the wild beast would tear them.

13:9  O Israel, you have destroyed yourself; but in Me is your help.

13:10  Where 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'?

13:11  I gave you a king in My anger, and took him away in My wrath.

13:12  The iniquity of Ephraim is bound up; his sin is hidden.

13:13  The pains of a woman in travail shall come upon him. He is an unwise son; for he should not delay long at the time of the breaking forth of children.

13:14  I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death. O Death, where are your plagues? O Grave, I will be your destruction! And compassion shall be hidden from My eyes."

13:15  Though he is fruitful among his brothers, an east wind shall come. The wind of the LORD shall come up from the wilderness, and his spring shall become dry, and his fountain shall be dried up. He shall plunder the treasure of all desirable vessels.

13:16  Samaria shall become desolate, for she has rebelled against her God. They shall fall by the sword. Their infants shall be dashed in pieces, and their pregnant women shall be ripped up.

Chapter 14

14:1  O Israel, return to the LORD your God, for you have fallen because of your iniquity.

14:2  Take with you words, and return to the LORD. Say to Him, "Take away all our iniquity, and receive us graciously, that we may repay with the sacrifices of our lips.

14:3  Assyria shall not save us; we will not ride on horses. Nor shall 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 backslidings; I will love them freely; for My anger has turned away from him.

14:5  I will be as the dew to Israel; he shall blossom as the lily and cast out his roots like Lebanon.

14:6  His branches shall spread, and his beauty shall be as the olive tree, and his smell as Lebanon.

14:7  Those who dwell under his shadow shall return; they shall revive like the grain, and grow like the vine. Their scent shall be as the wine of Lebanon.

14:8  Ephraim shall say, 'What have I to do any more with idols?' I have heard him and watched him; I am like a leafy cypress tree. Your fruit is found from Me."

14:9  Who is wise? He shall understand these things. Who has understanding? He shall know them, for the ways of the LORD are right, and the just shall walk in them; but transgressors shall fall in them.