HOSEA
Hosea 2 ©
God charges the faithful remnant in Israel to strive and contend with all the rebellious company of their fellow brethren, and to set the judgment of God before their eyes, by reason of their abominable idolatry and unthankfulness, v. 1, etc. After that, He promises to restore His church and abundantly to bless the same in the time of the Messiah, 14, etc.
SAY1 ye unto your brethren, 2Ammi; and to your 3sisters, 4Ru-hamah.
5Plead with your 6mother, plead: for she is not my 7wife, neither am I her husband: let her therefore put away her 8whoredoms out of her sight, and her adulteries from between her breasts;
Lest I 9strip her naked, and set her as in the day that she was 10born, and 11make her as a wilderness, and set her like a 12dry land, and slay her with 13thirst.
And I will not have mercy upon 14her children; for they be the 15children of whoredoms.
For their mother hath played the harlot: she that conceived them hath done shamefully: for she said, I will go after my 16lovers, that give me my bread and my water, my wool and my flax, mine oil and my 17drink.
¶Therefore, behold, I will hedge up thy way with thorns, 18and make a wall, that she shall not find her 19paths.
And she shall 20follow after her lovers, but she shall not overtake them; and she shall seek them, but shall not find them: then shall she say, I will go and return to my first 21husband; for then was it better with me than now.
For she did not 22know that I gave her 23corn, and wine, and oil, and multiplied her silver and gold, which they 24prepared for Baal.
Therefore will I return, and take away 25my corn 26in the time thereof, and my wine in the season thereof, and will 27recover my wool and my flax given to cover her nakedness.
And now will I discover her 28lewdness in the sight of her lovers, and none shalla deliver her out of mine hand.
I will also cause all her mirth to cease, her 29feast days, her new moons, and her sabbaths, and all her solemn feasts.
And I will destroy her vines and her fig trees, whereof she hath said, These are my 30rewards that my 31lovers have given me: and I will make them a forest,b and the beasts of the field shall eat them.
And I will 32visit upon her the days of Baalim, 33wherein she burned incense to them, and she decked herself with her 34earrings and her 35jewels, and she went after her lovers, and forgat me, saith the LORD.
¶ 36Therefore, behold, I will 37allure her, and 38bring her into the wilderness, and speak 39comfortably unto her.
40And I will give her her vineyards from 41thence, and the valley of 42Achor for a door of hope: and she shall sing there, as in the days of her youth, and as in the day when she came up out of the land of Egypt.
And it shall be at that day, saith the LORD, that thou shalt call me Ishi; and shalt call me no more 43Baali.
For I will take away the names of Baalim out of her mouth, and 44they shall no more be remembered by their name.
And in that day will I make a covenant 45for them with the beastsc of the field, and with the fowls of heaven, and with the creeping things of the ground: and I will break the bow and the sword and the 46battle out of the earth, and will make them to 47lie down safely.
And I will 48betroth thee unto me for ever; yea, I will betroth thee unto me in 49righteousness, and in judgment, and in lovingkindness, and in mercies.
I will even 50betroth thee unto me in 51faithfulness: andd thou shalt know the LORD.
And it shall come to pass in that day, I will hear, saith the LORD, I will 52hear the heavens, and they shall hear the earth;
And the earth shall hear the corn, and the wine, and the oil; and they shall hear 53Jezreel.
And I will 54sow her unto me in the earth; and I will have mercy upon 55her that had not obtained mercy; and I wille say to them which were 56not my people, 57Thou art my people; and 58they shall say, 59Thou art my God.