And Jehovah'said, Call his name Lo-ammi; for ye are not my people, and I will not be your God .

Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured nor numbered; and it shall come to pass that, in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people, it shall be said unto them, Ye are the sons of the living God.

Contend with your mother, contend; for she is not my wife, neither am I her husband; and let her put away her whoredoms from her face, and her adulteries from between her breasts;

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 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.

Therefore will I take back my grain in the time thereof, and my new wine in the season thereof, and will pluck away my wool and my flax which should have covered her nakedness.

And now will I uncover her lewdness in the sight of her lovers, and none shall deliver her out of my hand.

And I will lay waste her vines and her fig-trees, whereof she hath said, These are my hire that my lovers have given me; and I will make them a forest, and the beasts of the field shall eat them.

And I will visit upon her the days of the Baalim, unto which she burned incense, when she decked herself with her earrings and her jewels, and went after her lovers, and forgat me, saith Jehovah.

And it shall be at that day, saith Jehovah, that thou shalt call me Ishi, and shalt call me no more Baali.

And I will betroth thee unto me for ever; yea, I will betroth thee unto me in righteousness, and in justice, and in lovingkindness, and in mercies.

I will even betroth thee unto me in faithfulness; and thou shalt know Jehovah.

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 that were not my people, Thou art my people; and they shall say, Thou art my God.

And Jehovah said unto me, Go again, love a woman beloved of her friend, and an adulteress, even as Jehovah loveth the children of Israel, though they turn unto other gods, and love cakes of raisins.

So I bought her to me for fifteen pieces of silver, and a homer of barley, and a half-homer of barley;

and I said unto her, Thou shalt abide for me many days; thou shalt not play the harlot, and thou shalt not be any man's wife: so will I also be toward thee.

My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I also will forget thy children.

As they were multiplied, so they sinned against me: I will change their glory into shame.

They feed on the sin of my people, and set their heart on their iniquity.

My people ask counsel at their stock, and their staff declareth unto them; for the spirit of whoredom hath caused them to err, and they have played the harlot, departing from under their God.

I know Ephraim, and Israel is not hid from me; for now, O Ephraim, thou hast played the harlot, Israel is defiled.

The princes of Judah are like them that remove the landmark: I will pour out my wrath upon them like water.

I will go and return to my place, till they acknowledge their offence, and seek my face: in their affliction they will seek me earnestly.

Therefore have I hewed them by the prophets; I have slain them by the words of my mouth: and thy judgments are as the light that goeth forth.

But they like Adam have transgressed the covenant: there have they dealt treacherously against me.

Also, O Judah, there is a harvest appointed for thee, when I bring back the captivity of my people.

And they consider not in their hearts that I remember all their wickedness: now have their own doings beset them about; they are before my face.

They are all hot as an oven, and devour their judges; all their kings are fallen: there is none among them that calleth unto me.

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

Woe unto them! for they have wandered from me; destruction unto them! for they have trespassed against me: though I would redeem them, yet they have spoken lies against me.

And they have not cried unto me with their heart, but they howl upon their beds: they assemble themselves for grain and new wine; they rebel against me.

Though I have taught and strengthened their arms, yet do they devise mischief against me.

Set the trumpet to thy mouth. As an eagle he cometh against the house of Jehovah, because they have transgressed my covenant, and trespassed against my law.

They shall cry unto me, My God, we Israel know thee.

They have set up kings, but not by me; they have made princes, and I knew it not: of their silver and their gold have they made them idols, that they may be cut off.

I wrote for him the ten thousand things of my law; but they are counted as a strange thing.

Ephraim was a watchman with my God: as for the prophet, a fowler's snare is in all his ways, and enmity in the house of his God.

All their wickedness is in Gilgal; for there I hated them: because of the wickedness of their doings I will drive them out of my house; I will love them no more; all their princes are revolters.

My God will cast them away, because they did not hearken unto him; and they shall be wanderers among the nations.

When it is my desire, I will chastise them; and the peoples shall be gathered against them, when they are bound to their two transgressions.

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

Yet I taught Ephraim to walk; I took them on my arms; but they knew not that I healed them.

They shall not return into the land of Egypt; but the Assyrian shall be their king, because they refused to return to me .

And my people are bent on backsliding from me: though they call them to him that is on high, none at all will exalt him .

How shall I give thee up, Ephraim? how'shall I cast thee off, Israel? how shall I make thee as Admah? how'shall I set thee as Zeboiim? my heart is turned within me, my compassions are kindled together.

Ephraim compasseth me about with falsehood, and the house of Israel with deceit; but Judah yet ruleth with God, and is faithful with the Holy One.

And Ephraim said, Surely I am become rich, I have found me wealth: in all my labors they shall find in me no iniquity that were sin.

Yet I am Jehovah thy God from the land of Egypt; and thou shalt know no god but me, and besides me there is no saviour.

According to their pasture, so were they filled; they were filled, and their heart was exalted: therefore have they forgotten me.

It is thy destruction, O Israel, that thou art against me, against thy help.

Where now is thy king, that he may save thee in all thy cities? and thy judges, of whom thou saidst, Give me a king and princes?

I have given thee a king in mine anger, and have taken him away in my wrath.

Ephraim'shall say , What have I to do any more with idols? I have answered, and will regard him: I am like a green fir-tree; from me is thy fruit found.

Who is wise, that he may understand these things? prudent, that he may know them? for the ways of Jehovah are right, and the just shall walk in them; but transgressors shall fall therein.