1 SAY ye unto your brethren, Ammi; and to your sisters, Ru-hamah.
2 Plead with your mother, plead: for she is not my wife, neither am I her husband: let her therefore put away her whoredoms out of her sight, and her adulteries from between her breasts;
3 Lest I strip her naked, and set her as in the day that she was born, and make her as a wilderness, and set her like a dry land, and slay her with thirst.
4 And I will not have mercy upon her children; for they be the children of whoredoms.
5 For their mother hath played the harlot: she that conceived them hath done shamefully: for she said, I will go after my lovers, that give me my bread and my water, my wool and my flax, mine oil and my drink.
6 Therefore, behold, I will hedge up thy way with thorns, and make a wall, that she shall not find her paths.
7 And she shall follow after her lovers, but she shall not overtake them; and she shall seek them, but shall not find them: then shall she say, I will go and return to my first husband; for then was it better with me than now.
8 For she did not know that I gave her corn, and wine, and oil, and multiplied her silver and gold, which they prepared for Baal.
9 Therefore will I return, and take away my corn in the time thereof, and my wine in the season thereof, and will recover my wool and my flax given to cover her nakedness.
10 And now will I discover her lewdness in the sight of her lovers, and none 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 a forest, and the beasts of the field shall eat them.
13 And I will visit upon her the days of Baalim, wherein she burned incense to them, and she decked herself with her earrings and her jewels, and she went after her lovers, and forgat me, saith the LORD.
14 Therefore, behold, I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak comfortably unto her.
15 And I will give her her vineyards from thence, 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.
16 And it shall be at that day, saith the LORD, that thou shalt call me Ishi; and shalt call me no more Baali.
17 For I will take away the names of Baalim out of her mouth, and they shall no more be remembered by their name.
18 And in that day will I make a covenant for them with the beasts of the field, and with the fowls of heaven, 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.
19 And I will betroth thee unto me for ever; yea, I will betroth thee unto me in righteousness, and in judgment, and in lovingkindness, and in mercies.
20 I will even betroth thee unto me in faithfulness: and thou shalt know the LORD.
21 And it shall come to pass in that day, I will hear, saith the LORD, I will hear 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 had not obtained mercy; and I will say to them which were not my people, Thou art my people; and they shall say, Thou art my God.

1Say ye vnto your brethren, Ammi, & to your sisters, Ruhamah:

2Plead with your mother, plead: for she is not my wife, neither am I her husband: let her therefore put away her whordomes out of her sight, and her adulteries from betweene her breasts;

3Lest I strip her naked, and set her as in the day that shee was borne, and make her as a wildernesse, and set her like a drie land, and slay her with thirst.

4And I will not haue mercy vpon her children, for they be the children of whordomes.

5For their mother hath played the harlot: shee that conceiued them hath done shamefully: for shee sayd, I will goe after my louers, that giue me my bread and my water, my wooll and my flaxe, mine oyle, and my drinke.

6 Therefore behold, I will hedge vp thy way with thornes, and make a wall, that she shall not find her pathes.

7And she shall follow after her louers, but she shall not ouertake them, and she shall seeke them, but shall not find them: then shall she say, I will goe and returne to my first husband, for then was it better with me then now.

8For she did not know that I gaue her corne, and wine, and oyle, and multiplied her siluer and gold, which they prepared for Baal.

9Therefore will I returne, and take away my Corne in the time thereof, and my wine in the season thereof, and wil recouer my wooll and my flaxe giuen to couer her nakednesse.

10And now will I discouer her lewdnesse in the sight of her louers, and none shall deliuer her out of mine hand.

11I will also cause all her mirth to cease, her feast daies, her new moones, and her Sabbaths, and all her solemne feasts.

12And I will destroy her vines and her figge trees, whereof she hath said; These are my rewards that my louers haue giuen me: and I will make them a forrest, and the beasts of the field shall eate them.

13And I will visite vpon her the daies of Baalim, wherein she burnt incense to them, and she decked her selfe with her eare-rings, and her Iewels, and she went after her louers, and forgate me, saith the Lord.

14 Therefore behold, I will allure her, and bring her into the wildernesse, and speake comfortably vnto her.

15And I wil giue her, her vineyards from thence, and the valley of Achor for a doore of hope, and she shall sing there, as in the dayes of her youth, and as in the day when she came vp out of the land of Egypt.

16And it shall be at that day, saith the Lord, that thou shalt call mee Ishi; and shalt call mee no more Baali.

17For I will take away the names of Baalim out of her mouth, & they shal no more be remembred by their name.

18And in that day will I make a couenant for them with the beasts of the field, and with the foules of heauen, and with the creeping things of the ground: and I will breake the bow and the sword, and the battell out of the earth, and will make them to lie downe safely.

19And I will betroth thee vnto me for euer; yea, I will betroth thee vnto me in righteousnesse, and in iudgement, and in louing kindnesse, and in mercies.

20I will euen betroth thee vnto me in faithfulnesse, and thou shalt know the Lord.

21And it shall come to passe in that day, I will heare, saith the Lord, I will heare the heauens, and they shall heare the earth,

22And the earth shall heare the corne, and the wine, and the oyle, and they shall heare Iezreel.

23And I will sow her vnto me in the earth, and I will haue mercy vpon her that had not obtained mercy, and I will say to them which were not my people; Thou art my people, and they shallsay, Thou art my God.

II == Isa 50:1 ; Ezek ; 16:25

 

 

 

III == Jer 13:22 , 26 ; Ezek 19:13 ; Amos 8:11 , 13

 

IV == John 8:41

 

V == Jer 3:1 , 6 , 8-9 ; 44:17

 

 

 

VI == Job 3:23 ; 19:8 ; Lam 3:7 , 9

 

VII == Ezek 16:8 ; Hos 5:15 ; Luke 15:18

 

 

VIII == Isa 1:3 ; Ezek 16:17-19 ; Hos 8:4

IX == Hos 2:3

 

 

 

X == Ezek 16:37 ; 23:29

XI == 1st Kings 12:32 ; Amos 8:5 , 10

 

XII == Ps 80;12-13 ; Isa 5:5 ; Hos 2:5

 

 

XIII == Ezek 23:40 , 42

 

 

XIV == Ezek 20:35

 

XV == Ex 15:1 ; Josh 7:26 ; Isa 65:10 ; Jer 2:2

 

XVII == Ex 23:13

 

 

 

 

XVIII == Ezek 34:25 ; 39:9-10 ; Zech 9:10

 

 

 

 

 

XX == Jer 31:33-34 ; John 17:3

XXI == Zech 8:12

 

 

XXII == Hos 1:4

XXIII == Jer 31:27 ; Hos 1:6 , 10 ; Zech 10:9 ; 13:9 ; Rom 9:26 ; 1st Peter 2:10

 

1 Protest against your mother, protest! for she is not my wife, and I am not her husband. Let her remove her harlotry from before her, her adultery from between her breasts,

2 Or I will strip her naked, leaving her as on the day of her birth; I will make her like the desert, reduce her to an arid land, and slay her with thirst.

3 I will have no pity on her children, for they are the children of harlotry.

4 Yes, their mother has played the harlot; she that conceived them has acted shamefully. "I will go after my lovers," she said, "who give me my bread and my water, my wool and my flax, my oil and my drink."

5 Since she has not known that it was I who gave her the grain, the wine, and the oil, And her abundance of silver, and of gold, which they used for Baal,

6 Therefore I will take back my grain in its time, and my wine in its season; I will snatch away my wool and my flax, with which she covers her nakedness.

7 So now I will lay bare her shame before the eyes of her lovers, and no one can deliver her out of my hand.

8 I will bring an end to all her joy, her feasts, her new moons, her sabbaths, and all her solemnities.

9 I will lay waste her vines and fig trees, of which she said, "These are the hire my lovers have given me"; I will turn them into rank growth and wild beasts shall devour them.

10 I will punish her for the days of the Baals, for whom she burnt incense While she decked herself out with her rings and her jewels, and, in going after her lovers, forgot me, says the LORD.

11 Therefore, I will hedge in her way with thorns and erect a wall against her, so that she cannot find her paths.

12 If she runs after her lovers, she shall not overtake them; if she looks for them she shall not find them. Then she shall say, "I will go back to my first husband, for it was better with me then than now."

13 So I will allure her; I will lead her into the desert and speak to her heart.

14 From there I will give her the vineyards she had, and the valley of Achor as a door of hope. She shall respond there as in the days of her youth, when she came up from the land of Egypt.

15 On that day, says the LORD, She shall call me "My husband," and never again "My baal."

16 Then will I remove from her mouth the names of the Baals, so that they shall no longer be invoked.

17 I will make a covenant for them on that day, with the beasts of the field, With the birds of the air, and with the things that crawl on the ground. Bow and sword and war I will destroy from the land, and I will let them take their rest in security.

18 I will espouse you to me forever: I will espouse you in right and in justice, in love and in mercy;

19 I will espouse you in fidelity, and you shall know the LORD.

20 On that day I will respond, says the LORD; I will respond to the heavens, and they shall respond to the earth;

21 The earth shall respond to the grain, and wine, and oil, and these shall respond to Jezreel.

22 I will sow him for myself in the land, and I will have pity on Lo-ruhama. I will say to Lo-ammi, "You are my people," and he shall say, "My God!"

v 1. This sums up the restoration started in chapter 1. Israelites were to tell others of their nation that then God will call them My People and My loved one, cp. v 6.

v 2. By her adulterous action in seeking others, the relationship with God was broken, though she had not been put away by divorce. (Cp. Isa. 50:1: Deut 24:1-4 a wife could be divorced if not pleased with her, but not take her again. See 2:19; 3:2-4)

v 3,4. God threatens to strip Israel naked (as harlots were before stoning), make her like a dry desert (remove ability to reproduce) and reject her children (individuals of the nation who rejected God because of the adulterous mother).
These children were the product of her adultery in a spiritual sense, and probably not Hosea’s physically.

v 5-7. Instead of divorce, God would put so many obstructions distress, exile etc.) in Israel’s desire to follow idols that she would be willing to turn back to Him. (So Deut 24:1-4 about not taking back a wife does not apply)

 

 

v 8-10. Israel made idols to Baal, whom they credited with giving the crops which the Lord had provided, so the Lord would take those crops away. Her lovers, those nations and their idols would not be able to help Israel because of rejection of God.

 

 

 

 

v 11-13. The Lord no longer desired the religious celebrations which had been so corrupted by Baal worship. Exile would cause the land to become inhabited by wild animals. Israel had not mentally forgotten God, but refused to acknowledge Him.

 

v 14,15. As a lover woos a mate in a secluded place, God took Israel into the desert for 40 years to separate her from Egypt. She is separated again in exile to woo her back to the Lord. God will restore Israel when He brings her back to the land again. See Josh. 7:26. Achor means trouble. Achan had brought trouble upon Israel at Ai because of his sin, but that turned it  to a valley of hope. It took trouble to restore Israel, and many times it takes trouble to restore us.

v 16-18. When Israel is restored she will call the Lord my husband instead of my master. This looks ahead to the Kingdom Age when Israel will be free from foreign invasion and even animal life will live with them in harmony.

v 19,20. The love of the Lord for Israel is shown by Him taking her back from her adulterous worship of idols and betrothing her as He would a virgin. The betrothal price He pays for her is righteousness, justice, love, compassion and faithfulness.

v 21,22. In this unusual description, Israel (Jezreel) will call out to the grain, wine and oil; they will call to the earth; the earth will call to the heavens from which the rain comes; the heavens will call to the Lord, and He will respond by providing produce. The Lord will plant Israel in the land and care for her. The ones whom God had said you are not loved and are not my people, He will say you are my people, and they will respond, you are my God. This will also include Gentiles, Rom. 9:24; 1 Pet. 2:10, though we are not His original chosen people.