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 the LORD said unto him, Call his name Jezreel; for yet a little while, and I will avenge the blood of Jezreel upon the house of Jehu, and will cause to cease the kingdom of the house of Israel.

And she conceived again, and bare a daughter. And God said unto him, Call her name Loruhamah: for I will no more have mercy upon the house of Israel; but I will utterly take them away.

Then said God, Call his name Loammi: 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, there it shall be said unto them, Ye 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.

Plead with your mother, plead: for she is not my wife, neither am I her husband: let her therefore put away her whoredoms out of her sight, and her adulteries from between her breasts;

Lest I strip her naked, and set her as in the day that she was born, and make her as a wilderness, and set her like a dry land, and slay her with thirst.

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 now will I discover her lewdness in the sight of her lovers, and none shall deliver her out of mine hand.

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 I have sowed her to Me in the land, And I have pitied Lo-Ruhamah, And I have said to Lo-Ammi, My people thou art, and it saith, My God!'

Then said the LORD unto me, Go yet, love a woman beloved of her friend, yet an adulteress, according to the love of the LORD toward the children of Israel, who look to other gods, and love flagons of wine.

And I said unto her, Thou shalt abide for me many days; thou shalt not play the harlot, and thou shalt not be for another man: so will I also be for thee.

For the sons of Israel will remain for many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or [idolatrous] pillar, and without ephod or teraphim (household idols).

They eat up the sin of my people, and they set their heart on their iniquity.

Hear this and pay close attention, O priests!
Give heed, O house of Israel!
Listen, O house of the king!
For the [pronounced] judgment pertains to you and is meant for you to hear,
Because you have been a snare at Mizpah
And a net spread out over Tabor (military strongholds on either side of the Jordan River).

Blow with the shawmes at Gibeah, and with the trumpet in Ramah, cry out at Bethaven upon the yon-side of Benjamin.

After two days will he revive us: in the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight.

Then let us know - let us press on to know - Yahweh, Like the dawn, is his coming forth assured, - that he may come like a down-pour upon us, like the harvest-rain, and the seed-rain of the land.

But even like as Adam did, so have they broken my covenant, and set me at naught.

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

And they do not say to themselves that I keep in mind all their sin; now their evil acts come round them on every side; they are before my face.

All of them committing adultery, as an oven set on fire from baking; he will cease from raising from kneading the dough till its leavening.

Ephraim has mixed itself like flour among the nations; Ephraim is like a ruined cake of bread that is scorched on one side.

May trouble be theirs! for they have gone far away from me; and destruction, for they have been sinning against me; I was ready to be their saviour, but they said false words against me.

Set the trumpet to thy mouth. He shall come as an eagle against the house of the LORD, because they have transgressed my covenant, and trespassed against my law.

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.

They have sown wind, therefore shall they reap a whirlwind. Their seed shall bear no corn, there shall no meal be made of their increase: though they reap, yet shall strangers devour it up.

Therefore shall they no more enjoy the corn floors and winepresses, and their sweet wine shall fail them.

They will not stay in the land of the Lord.
Instead, Ephraim will return to Egypt,
and they will eat unclean food in Assyria.

They pour not out wine to Jehovah, Nor are they sweet to Him, Their sacrifices are as bread of mourners to them, All eating it are unclean: For their bread is for themselves, It doth not come into the house of Jehovah.

While Ephraim stands watch with my God, the prophet has snares set that will trap his ways, and hostility lodges in the Temple of his God.

I found Israel like grapes in the wilderness. I saw your fathers as the first-fruit in the fig tree at her first time. But they went to Baal-peor and set themselves apart to a shameful thing; and they became abominable like that which they loved.

The golden calf itself will be carried to Assyria
As tribute to King Jareb;
Ephraim will be seized with shame
And Israel will be ashamed of his own counsel [to worship the calf and separate Israel from Judah].

And destroyed have been high places of Aven, the sin of Israel. Thorn and bramble go up on their altars, And they have said to hills, Cover us, And to heights, Fall upon us.

And Ephraim is a heifer that is taught, that loveth to tread out the grain ; but I have passed over upon her fair neck: I will set a rider on Ephraim; Judah shall plow, Jacob shall break his clods.

Put in the seed of righteousness, get in your grain in mercy, let your unploughed earth be turned up: for it is time to make search for the Lord, till he comes and sends righteousness on you like rain.

How shall I give thee up, Ephraim? how shall I deliver thee, Israel? how shall I make thee as Admah? how shall I set thee as Zeboim? mine heart is turned within me, my repentings are kindled together.

The deceit of Ephraim and the false words of Israel are about me on every side. ...

And Ephraim said, Yet I am become rich, I have found me out substance: in all my labours they shall find none iniquity in me that were sin.

Yet am I the LORD thy God, even as when I brought thee out of the land of Egypt, and set thee in thy tents, and as in the high feast days.

Where now is your king
That he may save you [when you are attacked] in all your cities?
And your judges of whom you asked,
“Give me a king and princes”?

The sorrows of a travailing woman shall come upon him: he is an unwise son; for he should not stay long in the place of the breaking forth of children.

Shall I ransom them from the power of Sheol?
Shall I redeem them from death?
O Death, where are your thorns?
O Sheol, where is your sting?
Compassion will be hidden from My sight.

His branches will be stretched out, he will be beautiful as the olive-tree and sweet-smelling as Lebanon.

They shall return and sit under his shadow; they shall revive as corn, and blossom as the vine: the renown thereof shall be as the wine of Lebanon.