When the Lord first spoke to Hosea, He said this to him:

Go and marry a promiscuous wife
and have children of promiscuity,
for the land is committing blatant acts of promiscuity
by abandoning the Lord.

So he went and married Gomer daughter of Diblaim, and she conceived and bore him a son.

Then the Lord said to him:

Name him Jezreel, for in a little while
I will bring the bloodshed of Jezreel
on the house of Jehu
and put an end to the kingdom of the house of Israel.

She conceived again and gave birth to a daughter, and the Lord said to him:

Name her No Compassion,
for I will no longer have compassion
on the house of Israel.
I will certainly take them away.

Then the Lord said:

Name him Not My People,
for you are not My people,
and I will not be your God.

Ephraim is attached to idols;
leave him alone!

They go with their flocks and herds
to seek the Lord
but do not find Him;
He has withdrawn from them.

For they—their hearts like an oven—
draw him into their oven.
Their anger smolders all night;
in the morning it blazes like a flaming fire.

Israel’s arrogance testifies against them,
yet they do not return to Yahweh their God,
and for all this, they do not seek Him.

Israel has rejected what is good;
an enemy will pursue him.

Though I were to write out for him
ten thousand points of My instruction,
they would be regarded as something strange.

They will not pour out
their wine offerings to the Lord,
and their sacrifices will not please Him.
Their food will be like the bread of mourners;
all who eat it become defiled.
For their bread will be for their appetites alone;
it will not enter the house of the Lord.

My God will reject them
because they have not listened to Him;
they will become wanderers among the nations.

When Israel was a child, I loved him,
and out of Egypt I called My son.

My people are bent on turning from Me.
Though they call to Him on high,
He will not exalt them at all.

The Lord also has a dispute with Judah.
He is about to punish Jacob according to his ways;
He will repay him based on his actions.

Jacob struggled with the Angel and prevailed;
he wept and sought His favor.
He found him at Bethel,
and there He spoke with him.

Ephraim has provoked bitter anger,
so his Lord will leave his bloodguilt on him
and repay him for his contempt.

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Labor pains come on him.
He is not a wise son;
when the time comes,
he will not be born.

Take words of repentance with you
and return to the Lord.
Say to Him: “Forgive all our sin
and accept what is good,
so that we may repay You
with praise from our lips.

I will heal their apostasy;
I will freely love them,
for My anger will have turned from him.

Ephraim, why should I have anything more
to do with idols?
It is I who answer and watch over him.
I am like a flourishing pine tree;
your fruit comes from Me.