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.

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

Thus the children of Israel shall sit a great while without king and prince, without offering and alter, without priest and revelation.

Their drink is sour; they give themselves up to whoredom; her great men passionately love their shame.

Blow the horn in Gibeah,
The trumpet in Ramah [the lofty hills on Benjamin’s northern border].
Sound the alarm at Beth-aven:
“Behind you and coming after you [is the enemy], O Benjamin [be on guard]!”

When Ephraim saw his sickness,
And Judah his wound,
Then Ephraim went to Assyria [instead of the Lord]
And sent to [Assyria’s] great King Jareb [for help].
But he cannot heal you
Nor will he cure you of your wound [received in judgment].

Set the trumpet to your lips [announcing impending judgment]!
Like a [great] vulture the enemy comes against the house of the Lord,
Because they have broken My covenant
And transgressed and rebelled against My law.

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

For Israel has no memory of his Maker, and has put up the houses of kings; and Judah has made great the number of his walled towns. But I will send a fire on his towns and put an end to his great houses.

The days of visitation are come, the days of recompence are come; Israel shall know it: the prophet is a fool, the spiritual man is mad, for the multitude of thine iniquity, and the great hatred.

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.

It will also be brought to Assyria, [as] tribute to [the] great king. Ephraim will obtain disgrace and Israel will be ashamed from his advice.

I will chasten them, even after mine own desire; the people shall be gathered together over them, when I punish them for their great wickedness.

So a great outcry will go up from among your people, and all your strong places will be broken, as Beth-arbel was broken by Shalman in the day of war, as the mother was broken on the rocks with her children.

So shall Bethel do unto you because of your great wickedness: in a morning shall the king of Israel utterly be cut off.

What great things have I given thee, O Ephraim? How faithfully have I defended thee, O Israel? Have I dealt with thee as with Adam? Or have I entreated thee like Zeboim? No, my heart is otherwise minded. Yea, my mercy is to fervent:

The LORD hath a court to hold with Judah, and will punish Jacob: After their own ways and according to their own inventions, shall he recompense them.

So you, return to your God; guard grace and justice, and look to your God always.

My word came to the ears of the prophets and I gave them visions in great number, and by the mouths of the prophets I made use of comparisons.

Now, therefore they go on to sin, and have made them a Molten Thing out of their silver, after the notion of idols, the workmanship of craftsmen, all of it! Of them, are they saying - Ye sacrificers of men! The Great Calf, shall ye surely kiss!

I did know thee in the wilderness, in the land of great drought.

As for Samaria, they shall be made waste. And why? They are disobedient unto their God. They shall perish with the sword, their children shall be slain, and their women great with child shall be ripped up.

Ephraim, what have ye any more to do with idols? I have healed him and looked on him. I will be as a great fir tree, and of me shall thy fruit be found.