The word of Yahweh that came to Hosea son of Beeri, in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, the kings of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel.

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

And when she had weaned Lo-ruhamah, she conceived and bore a son.

When they became many, their sin increased against me; they changed their glory into shame.

{They feed on the sin of my people}, {they are greedy} for their iniquity.

In the house of Israel I have seen something horrible; Ephraim's unfaithfulness [is] there. Israel is defiled.

Even though they have sold themselves to the nations, now I will gather them. They will soon writhe from the burden of kings and princes.

When Ephraim multiplied altars to expiate sins, they became to him altars to sin [on].

The days of punishment have come; the days of retribution have come; Israel knows! The prophet [is] a fool, the man of the spirit [is] acting like a madman. Because of the greatness of your sin, [your] hostility [is] great.

{They deeply corrupted themselves} as [in] the days of Gibeah; he will remember their sin, he will punish their sins.

The high places of Aven, the sin of Israel, will be destroyed. Thorn and thistle will grow on their altars. They will say to the mountains, "Cover us," and to the hills, "Fall on us."

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

And Ephraim said, "Surely, I am rich, I gained wealth for myself; in all my toil they have not found guilt in me that is [sin].

And now they sin again, and they make for themselves a molten idol, idols from their silver metal according to their understanding, all of them the work of skilled craftsmen. To these they say, "Sacrifice!" People are kissing bull calves.

The sin of Ephraim [is] wrapped up; his sin [is] concealed.

The labor pains of childbirth come for him; he [is] an unwise son because [at the] proper time, he does not present himself {at the mouth of the womb}.

Return to Yahweh your God, Israel, for you have stumbled because of your sin.