Hosea 3 - 5 — Legacy Standard Bible

Hosea Marries Again

3Then Yahweh said to me, “Go again, love a ¹woman who is loved by her companion and is an adulteress, even ^aas Yahweh loves the sons of Israel, though they turn to other gods and love raisin ^bcakes.” ²So I ^abargained for her for myself for fifteen ¹shekels of silver and a ²homer and a ³half of barley. ³Then I said to her, “You shall ^astay with me for many days. You shall not play the harlot, nor shall you have a ¹man; so I will also be toward you.” ⁴For the sons of Israel will remain for many days ^awithout king or prince, ^bwithout sacrifice or sacred ^cpillar, and without ^dephod or ¹^,^ehousehold idols. ⁵Afterward the sons of Israel will ^areturn and seek Yahweh their God and ^bDavid their king; and ^cthey will come ¹in dread to Yahweh and to His goodness in the last days.

Yahweh’s Contention with Israel

4^aListen to the word of Yahweh, O sons of Israel,For Yahweh has a ^bcontention against the inhabitants of the land,Because there is ^cno truth or ¹lovingkindnessOr ^dknowledge of God in the land.²There is ^aswearing of oaths, ^bdeception, ^cmurder, ^dstealing, and ^eadultery.They break forth in violence so that ^fbloodshed ¹follows bloodshed.³Therefore the land ^amourns,And everyone who inhabits it languishesAlong with the beasts of the field and the birds of the sky,And also the fish of the sea ¹disappear.⁴Yet let no man ^acontend, and let no man offer reproof;Indeed, your people are like those who ^bcontend with the priest.⁵So you will ^astumble by day,And the prophet also will stumble with you by night;And I will destroy your ^bmother.⁶^aMy people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.Because you have ^brejected knowledge,I also will ^creject you from ministering as My priest.Since you have ^dforgotten the ^elaw of your God,I Myself also will forget your children.⁷The more they ^amultiplied, the more they sinned against Me;I will ^bchange their glory into disgrace.⁸They ^aeat the ¹sin of My peopleAnd ^blift up ²their soul toward their iniquity.⁹And it will be like people, ^alike priest;So I will ^bpunish them for their waysAnd cause their deeds to return to them.¹⁰^aThey will eat, but not be satisfied;They will ^bplay the harlot, but not break forth in number,Because they have ¹^,^cforsaken Yahweh to keep harlotry.¹¹Harlotry, ^awine, and new wine take away a heart of wisdom.¹²My people ^aask their wooden idol, and their diviner’s wand declares to them;For a spirit of harlotry has led them astray,And they have played the harlot, departing ¹from their God.¹³They offer sacrifices on the ^atops of the mountainsAnd ¹^,^bburn incense on the hills,^cUnder oak, poplar, and terebinthBecause their shade is good.Therefore your daughters play the harlot,And your ²brides commit adultery.¹⁴I will not punish your daughters when they play the harlotOr your ¹brides when they commit adultery,For the men themselves go apart with harlotsAnd offer sacrifices with ^acult prostitutes;So the people without understanding are ²ruined.¹⁵Though you, Israel, play the harlot,Do not let Judah become guilty;Also do not go to ^aGilgalNor go up to Beth-aven^bAnd swear the oath:“As Yahweh lives!”¹⁶Since Israel is ^astubbornLike a stubborn heifer,¹Can Yahweh now ^bfeed themLike a lamb in a large field?¹⁷Ephraim is joined to ^aidols;^bLet him alone.¹⁸Their drink gone;They play the harlot continually;^aTheir ¹rulers dearly love disgrace.¹⁹^aThe wind binds them up in its wings,And they will be ashamed because of their sacrifices.

Yahweh Withdraws from Israel

5Hear this, O priests!Give heed, O house of Israel!Give ear, O house of the king!For the judgment is for you,For you have been a ^asnare at MizpahAnd a net spread out on Tabor.²And the ^arevolters have ^bdug deep into slaughtering,But I will chastise all of them.³I ^aknow Ephraim, and Israel is not hidden from Me;For now, O Ephraim, you have played the harlot;Israel has defiled itself.⁴Their deeds will not allow themTo return to their God.For a ^aspirit of harlotry is within them,And they ^bdo not know Yahweh.⁵Moreover, the ^apride of Israel answers against him,And Israel and Ephraim stumble in their iniquity;^bJudah also has stumbled with them.⁶They will ^ago with their flocks and herdsTo seek Yahweh, but they will ^bnot find Him;He has ^cwithdrawn from them.⁷They have ^adealt treacherously against Yahweh,For they have borne ^bchildren of strangers.Now the ^cnew moon will devour them with their portions.⁸^aBlow the horn in ^bGibeah,The trumpet in Ramah.Make a loud shout at Beth-aven:“^cBehind you, Benjamin!”⁹Ephraim will become a ^adesolation in the ^bday of reproof;Among the tribes of Israel I ^cwill make known what is true.¹⁰The princes of Judah have become like those who ^amove a boundary;On them I will ^bpour out My wrath ^clike water.¹¹Ephraim is ^aoppressed, crushed in judgment,^bBecause he was determined to ¹walk after man’s command.¹²Therefore I am like a ^amoth to EphraimAnd like rottenness to the house of Judah.¹³Then Ephraim saw his sickness,And Judah his sore,So Ephraim went to ^aAssyriaAnd sent to ¹^,^bKing Jareb.But he is ^cunable to heal youOr to cure you of your sore.¹⁴For I will be ^alike a lion to EphraimAnd like a young lion to the house of Judah.^bI, even I, will tear to pieces and go away;I will carry away, and there will be ^cnone to deliver.¹⁵I will go away and return to My placeUntil they ¹^,^aacknowledge their guilt and seek My face;In their affliction they will ^bseek Me earnestly.