When the Lord first spoke through Hosea, he said to him, "Go marry a prostitute who will bear illegitimate children conceived through prostitution, because the nation continually commits spiritual prostitution by turning away from the Lord."

She conceived again and gave birth to a daughter. Then the Lord said to him, "Name her 'No Pity' (Lo-Ruhamah) because I will no longer have pity on the nation of Israel. For I will certainly not forgive their guilt.

But I will have pity on the nation of Judah. I will deliver them by the Lord their God; I will not deliver them by the warrior's bow, by sword, by military victory, by chariot horses, or by chariots."

For their mother has committed adultery; she who conceived them has acted shamefully. For she said, "I will seek out my lovers; they are the ones who give me my bread and my water, my wool, my flax, my olive oil, and my wine.

From there I will give back her vineyards to her, and turn the "Valley of Trouble" into an "Opportunity for Hope." There she will sing as she did when she was young, when she came up from the land of Egypt.

For I will remove the names of the Baal idols from your lips, so that you will never again utter their names!"

Afterward, the Israelites will turn and seek the Lord their God and their Davidic king. Then they will submit to the Lord in fear and receive his blessings in the future.

Hear the word of the Lord, you Israelites! For the Lord has a covenant lawsuit against the people of Israel. For there is neither faithfulness nor loyalty in the land, nor do they acknowledge God.

There is only cursing, lying, murder, stealing, and adultery. They resort to violence and bloodshed.

The more the priests increased in numbers, the more they rebelled against me. They have turned their glorious calling into a shameful disgrace!

They feed on the sin offerings of my people; their appetites long for their iniquity!

I will deal with the people and priests together: I will punish them both for their ways, and I will repay them for their deeds.

They consult their wooden idols, and their diviner's staff answers with an oracle. The wind of prostitution blows them astray; they commit spiritual adultery against their God.

They sacrifice on the mountaintops, and burn offerings on the hills; they sacrifice under oak, poplar, and terebinth, because their shade is so pleasant. As a result, your daughters have become cult prostitutes, and your daughters-in-law commit adultery!

They consume their alcohol, then engage in cult prostitution; they dearly love their shameful behavior.

A whirlwind has wrapped them in its wings; they will be brought to shame because of their idolatrous worship.

Their wicked deeds do not allow them to return to their God; because a spirit of idolatry controls their heart, and they do not acknowledge the Lord.

The arrogance of Israel testifies against it; Israel and Ephraim will be overthrown because of their iniquity. Even Judah will be brought down with them.

Although they bring their flocks and herds to seek the favor of the Lord, They will not find him -- he has withdrawn himself from them!

They have committed treason against the Lord, because they bore illegitimate children. Soon the new moon festival will devour them and their fields.

Then I will return again to my lair until they have suffered their punishment. Then they will seek me; in their distress they will earnestly seek me.

I have seen a disgusting thing in the temple of Israel: there Ephraim practices temple prostitution and Judah defiles itself.

They do not realize that I remember all of their wicked deeds. Their evil deeds have now surrounded them; their sinful deeds are always before me.

The royal advisers delight the king with their evil schemes, the princes make him glad with their lies.

At the celebration of their king, his princes become inflamed with wine; they conspire with evildoers.

They approach him, all the while plotting against him. Their hearts are like an oven; their anger smolders all night long, but in the morning it bursts into a flaming fire.

All of them are blazing like an oven; they devour their rulers. All of their kings fall -- and none of them call on me!

The arrogance of Israel testifies against him, yet they refuse to return to the Lord their God! In spite of all this they refuse to seek him!

I will throw my bird net over them while they are flying, I will bring them down like birds in the sky; I will discipline them when I hear them flocking together.

They do not pray to me, but howl in distress on their beds; They slash themselves for grain and new wine, but turn away from me.

They turn to Baal; they are like an unreliable bow. Their leaders will fall by the sword because their prayers to Baal have made me angry. So people will disdain them in the land of Egypt.

Sound the alarm! An eagle looms over the temple of the Lord! For they have broken their covenant with me, and have rebelled against my law.

They enthroned kings without my consent! They appointed princes without my approval! They made idols out of their silver and gold, but they will be destroyed!

They offer up sacrificial gifts to me, and eat the meat, but the Lord does not accept their sacrifices. Soon he will remember their wrongdoing, he will punish their sins, and they will return to Egypt.

Israel has forgotten his Maker and built royal palaces, and Judah has built many fortified cities. But I will send fire on their cities; it will consume their royal citadels.

They will not pour out drink offerings of wine to the Lord; they will not please him with their sacrifices. Their sacrifices will be like bread eaten while in mourning; all those who eat them will make themselves ritually unclean. For their bread will be only to satisfy their appetite; it will not come into the temple of the Lord.

Look! Even if they flee from the destruction, Egypt will take hold of them, and Memphis will bury them. The weeds will inherit the silver they treasure -- thorn bushes will occupy their homes.

They have sunk deep into corruption as in the days of Gibeah. He will remember their wrongdoing. He will repay them for their sins.

Even if they raise their children, I will take away every last one of them. Woe to them! For I will turn away from them.

Because of all their evil in Gilgal, I hate them there. On account of their evil deeds, I will drive them out of my land. I will no longer love them; all their rulers are rebels.

Ephraim will be struck down -- their root will be dried up; they will not yield any fruit. Even if they do bear children, I will kill their precious offspring.

Their heart is slipping; soon they will be punished for their guilt. The Lord will break their altars; he will completely destroy their fertility pillars.

O Israel, you have sinned since the time of Gibeah, and there you have remained. Did not war overtake the evildoers in Gibeah?

When I please, I will discipline them; I will gather nations together to attack them, to bind them in chains for their two sins.

The roar of battle will rise against your people; all your fortresses will be devastated, just as Shalman devastated Beth Arbel on the day of battle, when mothers were dashed to the ground with their children.

I led them with leather cords, with leather ropes; I lifted the yoke from their neck, and gently fed them.

A sword will flash in their cities, it will destroy the bars of their city gates, and will devour them in their fortresses.

They will return in fear and trembling like birds from Egypt, like doves from Assyria, and I will settle them in their homes," declares the Lord.

He struggled with an angel and prevailed; he wept and begged for his favor. He found God at Bethel, and there he spoke with him!

I spoke to the prophets; I myself revealed many visions; I spoke in parables through the prophets."

Is there idolatry in Gilead? Certainly its inhabitants will come to nothing! Do they sacrifice bulls in Gilgal? Surely their altars will be like stones heaped up on a plowed field!

When Ephraim spoke, there was terror; he was exalted in Israel, but he became guilty by worshiping Baal and died.

Even now they persist in sin! They make metal images for themselves, idols that they skillfully fashion from their own silver; all of them are nothing but the work of craftsmen! There is a saying about them: "Those who sacrifice to the calf idol are calf kissers!"

Therefore they will disappear like the morning mist, like early morning dew that evaporates, like chaff that is blown away from a threshing floor, like smoke that disappears through an open window.

But I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt. Therefore, you must not acknowledge any God but me; except me there is no Savior.

I will attack them like a bear robbed of her cubs -- I will rip open their chests. I will devour them there like a lion -- like a wild animal would tear them apart.

I will destroy you, O Israel! Who is there to help you?

Samaria will be held guilty, because she rebelled against her God. They will fall by the sword, their infants will be dashed to the ground -- their pregnant women will be ripped open.

"I will heal their waywardness and love them freely, for my anger will turn away from them.