The beginning of Jehovah speaking by Hosea. And Jehovah said to Hosea, Go, take to yourself a wife of adultery and children of adultery. For the land has utterly gone lusting away from Jehovah.

And it shall be, at that day I will break the bow of Israel in the valley of Jezreel.

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

And He said, Call his name Not-my-people. For you are not My people, and I will not be for you.

Yet the number of the sons 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.

Then the sons of Judah and the sons 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.

And it shall be at that day, says Jehovah, you shall call Me, My Husband, and shall no more call Me, My Baal.

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

And in that day I will cut 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.

And it will be, in that day I will answer, says Jehovah. I will answer the heavens, and they shall answer the earth,

And Jehovah said to me, Go again. Love a woman beloved by a friend, yet an adulteress, according to the love of Jehovah toward the sons of Israel, who turn to other gods, and love raisin-cakes of grapes.

And I said to her, You shall abide for me many days. You shall not be a harlot, nor be for a man. And I also will be for you.

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

They sacrifice on the tops of the mountains, and burn incense on the hills, under oaks and poplars and elms, because its shade is good. So your daughters shall be harlots, and your brides shall commit adultery.

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

Ephraim shall be desolate in the day of rebuke. Among the tribes of Israel I have made known that which is confirmed.

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.

So I have cut them down by the prophets; I have slain them by the words of My mouth. And your judgments were as the light that goes forth.

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

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.

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

For from Israel it came also. The craftsman made it, but it is not God. For the calf of Samaria shall be splinters.

Israel is swallowed up; now they shall be among the nations as a vessel in which there is no pleasure.

For they have gone up to Assyria, a wild ass alone by himself. Ephraim has hired lovers.

Yea, though they have hired among the nations, now I will gather them. And they began to be few, from the burden of the king of rulers.

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

They shall not pour wine to Jehovah, 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 soul, it shall not come into the house of Jehovah.

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.

My God shall cast them away because they did not listen to Him. And they shall be wanderers among the nations.

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

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

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

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.

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

And an uproar shall arise among your peoples, 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 on her sons.

So He does to you, Bethel, because of your great evil. In a morning the king of Israel shall be utterly cut off.

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

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

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

And by a prophet Jehovah brought Israel out of Egypt, and by a prophet he was kept safe.

Therefore they shall be as the morning cloud and as the early dew that passes away, as the chaff storm-driven out of the floor, and as the smoke out of the chimney.

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

I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death. O Death, where are your plagues; O Grave, where is your ruin! Repentance shall be hidden from My eyes.

Though he is fruitful among his brothers, an east wind shall come. The wind of Jehovah shall come up from the wilderness, and his spring shall be ashamed, and his fountain shall be dried up. He shall plunder the treasure of all desirable vessels.

Samaria shall become a waste, 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.

O Israel, return to Jehovah your God, for you have fallen by your iniquity.

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

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

They 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.