When the Lord first spoke through Hosea, the Lord said to him, “Go, take for yourself a wife of prostitution and have children of [her] prostitution; for the land commits great acts of prostitution by not following the Lord.”

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

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.

And he said, "{Name him} Lo-ammi, for you [are] not my people and I am not your [God].

I will punish her also for the days of Baal, wherein she censed him, decking him with her earrings and chains: when she followed her lovers, and forgat me, sayeth the LORD.

So will I sow her unto me in the land, and will have compassion upon the uncompassionated one, - and will say to him who was No-people-of-mine, My people, thou art, and, he, shall say, My God!

Afterward the sons of Israel will return [in deep repentance] and seek the Lord their God and [seek from the line of] David their king [the King of kings—the Messiah]; and they will come trembling to the Lord and to His goodness and blessing in the last days.

Hear the word of the Lord, you children of Israel,
For the Lord has a [legal] case with the inhabitants of the land,
Because there is no faithfulness [no steadfast love, no dependability] or loyalty or kindness
Or knowledge of God [from personal experience with Him] in the land.

Howbeit let, no man, contend, nor let him rebuke another, - since, thy people, are as they who contend against a priest:

So doth it come to be - like people, like priest, - therefore will I visit upon him his ways, and, his doings, will I bring back to him;

They shall eat, and not have enough: they have used whoredom, therefore shall they not prosper: and why? They have forsaken the LORD, and not regarded him.

Ephraim is joined to idols: let him alone.

The pride of Israel testifies {against him}, and Israel and Ephraim stumble in their guilt, and Judah stumbles with them.

They shall go with their flocks and with their herds to seek the LORD; but they shall not find him; he hath withdrawn himself from them.

As for the LORD, they have refused him, and brought up bastard children: a month therefore shall devour them with their portions.

For I will be unto Ephraim as a lion, and as a young lion to the house of Judah: I, even I, will tear and go away; I will take away, and none shall rescue him.

After two days will he revive us: on the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live before him.

“So let us know and become personally acquainted with Him; let us press on to know and understand fully the [greatness of the] Lord [to honor, heed, and deeply cherish Him].
His appearing is prepared and is as certain as the dawn,
And He will come to us [in salvation] like the [heavy] rain,
Like the spring rain watering the earth.”

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

In the day of our king the princes have made him sick with bottles of wine; he stretched out his hand with scorners.

For they—their hearts like an oven—
draw him into their oven.
Their anger smolders all night;
in the morning it blazes like a flaming fire.

Strangers have devoured his strength, and he knoweth it not: yea, gray hairs are here and there upon him, yet he knoweth not.

And the pride of Israel testifieth to his face: and they do not return to the LORD their God, nor seek him for all this.

They return, but not to him that is on high; they are like a deceitful bow; their princes shall fall by the sword for the rage of their tongue: this shall be their derision in the land of Egypt.

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

Israel shall perish, the Gentiles shall entreat him as a foul vessel.

Because Ephraim hath made many altars to sin, altars shall be unto him to sin.

I have written to him the great things of my law, but they were counted as a strange thing.

they have forgotten him that made them, they build churches, and Judah maketh many strong cities: therefore will I send a fire into their cities, and it shall consume their places.

They shall not offer wine offerings to the LORD, neither shall they be pleasing unto him: their sacrifices shall be unto them as the bread of mourners; all that eat thereof shall be polluted: for their bread for their soul shall not come into the house of the LORD.

Be ye sure, O Israel: the time of visitation is come, the days of recompensing are at hand. As for the prophet, ye hold him for a fool; and him that is rich in the spirit, for a mad man: so great is your wickedness and malice.

The watchman of Ephraim, should have been with my God: As for the prophet, the snare of the fowler, is on all his ways, a prosecution awaiteth him , in the house of his God.

Ephraim, as I saw him, was a Tyre planted in a beautiful place; but Ephraim shall bring forth his children to the slayer.

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

A luxuriant vine, is Israel, fruit, beseemeth him, - According to the abundance of his fruit, hath he brought abundance to the altars, according to the goodliness of his land, hath he made goodly statues.

And Ephraim is a trained heifer -- loving to thresh, And I -- I have passed over on the goodness of its neck, I cause one to ride Ephraim, Plough doth Judah, harrow for him doth Jacob.

Sow with a view to righteousness [that righteousness, like seed, may germinate];
Reap in accordance with mercy and lovingkindness.
Break up your uncultivated ground,
For it is time to seek and search diligently for the Lord [and to long for His blessing]
Until He comes to rain righteousness and His gift of salvation on you.

there shall grow a sedition among thy people. All thy strong cities shall be laid waste, even as Shalman was destroyed with his familiars, through him that was avenged of Arbel in the day of battle: where the mother perished with her children.

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

With cords of man I do draw them, With thick cords of love, And I am to them as a raiser up of a yoke on their jaws, And I incline unto him -- I feed him.

And my people are bent to backsliding from me: though they called them to the most High, none at all would exalt him.

I will not execute the fierceness of My anger;
I will not return to Ephraim to destroy him again.
For I am God and not man, the Holy One in your midst [who will not revoke My covenant],
And I will not come in wrath or enter the city [in judgment].

The LORD roareth like a lion, that they may follow him. Yea, as a lion roareth he, that they may be afraid like the children of the sea:

But Ephraim goeth about me with lies, and the house of Israel dissembleth. Only Judah holdeth him with God, and with the true holy things.

The LORD hath also a controversy with Judah, and will punish Jacob according to his ways; according to his doings will he recompense him.

Yea, he had power over the angel, and prevailed: he wept, and made supplication unto him: he found him in Bethel, and there he spake with us;

Even the Lord, the God of hosts,
The name of Him [who spoke with Jacob] is the Lord.

Ephraim provoked him to anger most bitterly: therefore shall he leave his blood upon him, and his reproach shall his Lord return unto him.

When the words of my law came from Ephraim, he was lifted up in Israel; but when he did evil through the Baal, death overtook him.

I gave thee a king in mine anger, and took him away in my wrath.

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.

had not I defended him from the grave, and delivered him from death. O death, I will be thy death: O hell, I will be thy sting.

Take with you words, and turn to the LORD: say unto him, Take away all iniquity, and receive us graciously: so will we render the calves of our lips.

I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely: for mine anger is turned away from him.

His sprouts shall go, and his strength shall be as the olive tree, and the odor to him as Lebanon.

They who dwell in his shade shall again show life like the corn, and break forth as the vine, - and, the remembrance of him, shall be like the wine of Lebanon.

Ephraim shall say, What have I to do any more with idols? I have heard him, and observed him: I am like a green fir tree. From me is thy fruit found.

Whoever is wise, let him understand these things. Whoever is discerning, let him know them. For the ways of the LORD are right: the righteous follow his example, but the rebellious stumble in them.