A word of Jehovah that hath been unto Hosea, son of Beeri, in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam son of Joash, king of Israel:

The beginning of the word of the LORD by Hosea. And the LORD said to Hosea, Go, take unto thee a wife of whoredoms and children of whoredoms: for the land hath committed great whoredom, departing from the LORD.

and it hath come to pass in that day that I have broken the bow of Israel, in the valley of Jezreel.'

and the number of the sons of Israel hath been as the sand of the sea, that is not measured nor numbered, and it hath come to pass in the place where it is said to them, Ye are not My people, it is said to them, Sons of the Living God;

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.

And she hath pursued her lovers, And she doth not overtake them, And hath sought them, and doth not find, And she hath said: I go, and I turn back unto My first husband, For -- better to me then than now.

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.

And given to her her vineyards from thence, And the valley of Achor for an opening of hope, And she hath responded there as in the days of her youth, And as in the day of her coming up out of the land of Egypt.

And it hath come to pass, in that day, An affirmation of Jehovah, Thou dost call Me -- My husband, And dost not call Me any more -- My lord.

And it hath come to pass in that day, I answer -- an affirmation of Jehovah, I answer the heavens, and they answer the earth.

Hear the word of the LORD, ye children of Israel: for the LORD hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land.

Swearing, and lying, and murdering, And stealing, and committing adultery -- have increased, And blood against blood hath touched.

And thou hast stumbled in the day, And stumbled hath also a prophet with thee in the night, And I have cut off thy mother.

And it hath been, like people, like priest, And I have charged on it its ways, And its habitual doings I return to it.

My people ask counsel at their stocks, and their staff declareth unto them: for the spirit of whoredoms hath caused them to err, and they have gone a whoring from under their God.

For Israel hath behaved himself stubbornly, like a stubborn heifer: now will Jehovah feed them as a lamb in a large place.

Their drunkenness hath put them back, and brought them to whoredom. Their rulers love rewards; "Bring," say they, to their own shame.

The wind hath bound her up in her wings, and they shall be ashamed because of their sacrifices.

I have known Ephraim, And Israel hath not been hid from me, For now thou hast gone a-whoring, Ephraim, Defiled is Israel.

And humbled hath been the excellency of Israel to his face, And Israel and Ephraim stumble by their iniquity, Stumbled also hath Judah with them.

They shall go with their flocks and with their herds to seek the LORD; but they shall not find him; he hath withdrawn himself from them.

Oppressed, is Ephraim, crushed in judgment, - because he hath, wilfully, walked after falsehood.

When Ephraim saw his sickness, and Judah his sore, then went Ephraim to the Assyrian, and sent to king Jareb; but he was unable to heal you, nor hath he removed your sore.

Come, and let us return unto the LORD: for he hath torn, and he will heal us; he hath smitten, and he will bind us up.

He hath wounded us, and he shall bind us up again; after two days shall he quicken us, in the third day he shall raise us up, so that we shall live in his sight.

Also, O Judah, he hath set an harvest for thee, when I returned the captivity of my people.

'When I give healing to Israel, Then revealed is the iniquity of Ephraim, And the wickedness of Samaria, For they have wrought falsehood, And a thief doth come in, Stript off hath a troop in the street,

They are all adulterers, as an oven heated by the baker, who ceaseth from raising after he hath kneaded the dough, until it be leavened.

A day of our king! Princes have polluted themselves with the poison of wine, He hath drawn out his hand with scorners.

They all, become hot as an oven, and devour their judges, - all their kings, have fallen, there hath been none among them crying unto me.

Ephraim, he hath mixed himself among the people; Ephraim is a cake not turned.

Devoured have strangers his power, And he hath not known, Also old age hath sprinkled itself on him, And he hath not known.

And humbled hath been the excellency of Israel to his face, And they have not turned back unto Jehovah their God, Nor have they sought Him for all this.

So then, Ephraim, hath become, like a simple dove, having no understanding, on Egypt, have they called, to Assyria, have they gone,

When they shall go, I will spread my net upon them; I will bring them down as the fowls of the heaven; I will chastise them, as their congregation hath heard.

Israel hath cast off the thing that is good: the enemy shall pursue him.

Thy calf, O Samaria, hath cast thee off; mine anger is kindled against them: how long will it be ere they attain to innocency?

For they have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind: it hath no stalk: the bud shall yield no meal: if so be it yield, the strangers shall swallow it up.

Israel hath been swallowed up, Now they have been among nations, As a vessel in which is no delight.

For they are gone up to Assyria, a wild ass alone by himself: Ephraim hath hired lovers.

Because Ephraim hath made many altars to sin, altars shall be unto him to sin.

They sacrifice flesh for the sacrifices of mine offerings, and eat it; Jehovah hath no delight in them. Now will he remember their iniquity, and visit their sins: they shall return to Egypt.

For Israel hath forgotten his Maker, and buildeth temples; and Judah hath multiplied fenced cities: but I will send a fire upon his cities, and it shall devour the palaces thereof.

They do not abide in the land of Jehovah, And turned back hath Ephraim to Egypt, And in Asshur an unclean thing they eat.

The days of visitation are come, the days of recompense are come; Israel shall know it: the prophet is a fool, the man that hath the spirit is mad, for the abundance of thine iniquity, and because the enmity is great.

There is great hate against the watchman of Ephraim, the people of my God; as for the prophet, there is a net in all his ways, and hate in the house of his God.

Every evil of theirs [began] at Gilgal, so I [began] to hate them there; because of the evil of their deeds I will drive them out from my house. I will love them no more; all their officials [are] rebels.

Ephraim hath been smitten, Their root hath dried up, fruit they yield not, Yea, though they bring forth, I have put to death the desired of their womb.

My God hath rejected them, because they hearkened not unto him; and they shall be wanderers among the nations.

Israel is an empty vine, he bringeth forth fruit unto himself: according to the multitude of his fruit he hath increased the altars; according to the goodness of his land they have made goodly images.

Their heart hath been divided, now they are guilty, He doth break down their altars, He doth destroy their standing-pillars.

They have spoken words, To swear falsehood in making a covenant, And flourished as a poisonous herb hath judgment, on the furrows of a field.

For the calves of Beth-Aven fear do inhabitants of Samaria, Surely mourned on account of it hath its people, And its priests on account of it leap about, Because of its honour, for it hath removed from it,

Thus hath Beth-El done to you, Because of the evil of your wickedness, In the dawn cut off utterly is a king of Israel!

Grievous hath been the sword in his cities, And it hath ended his bars, and consumed -- from their own counsels.

My people hath no lust to turn unto me, their prophets lay the yoke upon them, but they ease them not of their burden.

Compassed Me with feigning hath Ephraim, And with deceit the house of Israel. And Judah again is ruling with God, And with the Holy Ones is faithful!

The LORD hath also a controversy with Judah, and will punish Jacob according to his ways; according to his doings will he recompense him.

Canaan! in his hand are balances of deceit! To oppress he hath loved.

And Jacob doth flee to the country of Aram, And Israel doth serve for a wife, Yea, for a wife he hath kept watch.

And by a prophet hath Jehovah brought up Israel out of Egypt, And by a prophet it hath been watched.

Ephraim hath provoked to anger most bitterly: therefore shall his blood be left upon him, and his reproach shall his Lord return unto him.

When Ephraim speaketh tremblingly, He hath been lifted up in Israel, When he becometh guilty in Baal he dieth.

It hath utterly destroyed thee, O Israel, for it was against me, as thy helper!

Samaria shall become desolate; for she hath rebelled against her God: they shall fall by the sword: their infants shall be dashed in pieces, and their women with child shall be ripped up.

I heal their backsliding, I love them freely, For turned back hath Mine anger from him.

Go on do his sucklings, And his beauty is as an olive, And he hath fragrance as Lebanon.

Who is wise to understand these things and hath wit to perceive them? For the ways of the LORD are straight, and the righteous shall walk in them: but the wicked shall tumble in them.