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

So he went and took Gomer the daughter of Diblaim; which conceived, and bare him a son.

Yet shall the number of the sons of Israel become like the sand of the sea, which can neither he measured, nor numbered, - and it shall come to pass, in the place where it used to be said to them, No people of mine, are ye, it shall be said to them, Sons of a Living God!

But, she, owneth not, that, I, gave her - the corn, and the new wine and the oil, - silver, also increased I unto her, and gold - which they offered to Baal!

Therefore, I will take back my grain during the harvest time and my new wine when it ripens; I will take away my wool and my flax which I had provided in order to clothe her.

And will lay waste her vine and her fig- tree, as to which she hath said, A present, are they for myself, which my lovers, have given me, - and I will make of them a thicket, and the wild beasts of the field shall devour 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 in that day I will make an agreement for them with the beasts of the field and the birds of heaven and the things which go low on the earth; I will put an end to the bow and the sword and war in all the land, and will make them take their rest in peace.

“It will come about in that day that I will respond,” says the Lord.
“I will respond to the heavens [which ask for rain to pour on the earth], and they will respond to the earth [which begs for the rain],

And the earth shall respond to the grain and the new wine and the oil [which beg it to bring them forth],
And they will respond to Jezreel [My Israel, who will now be restored].

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

Yet is there none, that will chasten nor reprove another. The priests which should reform other men, are become like the people.

For Israel is uncontrolled, like a cow which may not be controlled; now will the Lord give them food like a lamb in a wide place.

When their liquor is gone [and their drinking parties are over],
They habitually go to play the prostitute;
Ephraim’s rulers continue to dearly love shame [more than her glory which is the Lord, Israel’s God].

Ephraim shall be desolate in the day of rebuke: among the tribes of Israel have I made known that which shall surely be.

and we shall know, we shall follow on to know Jehovah: his going forth is assured as the morning dawn; and he will come unto us as the rain, as the latter rain which watereth the earth.

What shall I do with you, O Ephraim?
What shall I do with you, O Judah?
For your loyalty is like a morning cloud
And like the dew which goes away early.

Also, O Judah, there is a harvest [of divine judgment] appointed for you,
When I restore the fortunes of My people [who have been slaves to the misery of sin].

Israel hath cast off that which is good: the enemy shall pursue him.

For, to the wind, they sow, and, to the whirlwind, they reap: stalk, hath it none, That which shooteth forth, shall yield no meal, If so be it yield, foreigners, swallow it lip,

Swallowed up, is Israel; Now, have they gone among the nations, like a vessel in which no man taketh, delight.

I wrote for him the ten thousand precepts of My law,
But they are regarded as a strange thing [which does not concern him].

They shall not dwell in the land of Yahweh, but Ephraim shall return to Egypt, and, in Assyria - that which is unclean, shall they eat.

I found Israel like grapes in the wilderness [an unexpected and refreshing delight];
I saw your fathers (ancestors) as the first ripe fruit on the fig tree in its first season,
But they came to Baal-peor and consecrated themselves to shamefulness [the worship of Baal],
And [because of their spiritual and physical adultery] they became as detestable and loathsome as the thing they loved.

O Lord, what will you give them? Give them bodies which may not give birth and breasts without milk.

As for the Lord God Almighty, the Lord is the name by which he is remembered!

So then Ephraim said, Surely I have gotten me riches, I have found wealth for myself, - in all my toils, they cannot find in me perversity which is sin.

Therefore they will be like the morning cloud
And like dew which soon disappears,
Like chaff which is blown away from the threshing floor
And like smoke from a chimney.

I am the LORD thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt: that thou shouldest know no God but me only, and that thou shouldest have no Saviour but only me.

Take with you words, and return unto Jehovah: say unto him, Take away all iniquity, and accept that which is good: so will we render as bullocks the offering of our lips.

O Ephraim, what more have I to do with idols?
It is I who have answered and will care for you and watch over you.
I am like a luxuriant cypress tree;
With Me your fruit is found [which is to nourish you].