Hosea 3–4

WAITING FOR RESTORATION

3Then the Lord said to me, “Go again; show love to a woman who is loved by another man and is an adulteress,^aj just as the Lord loves the Israelites though they turn to other gods and love raisin cakes.”^ak

²So I bought her for fifteen shekels of silver and nine bushels of barley.^{EFal 3}I said to her, “You are to live with me many days. You must not be promiscuous or belong to any man, and I will act the same way toward you.”

⁴For the Israelites must live many days without king or prince,^am without sacrifice^a or sacred pillar,^b and without ephod^c or household idols.^{d 5}Afterward, the people of Israel will return^e and seek the Lord their God and David their king.^f They will come with awe to the Lord^g and to his goodness in the last days.

GOD’S CASE AGAINST ISRAEL

4Hear the word of the Lord,^h people of Israel,

for the Lord has a caseⁱ

against the inhabitants of the land:

There is no truth,^j no faithful love,^k

and no knowledge of God^l in the land!

²Cursing,^m lying,ⁿ murder,^o stealing,^p

and adultery^q are rampant;

one act of bloodshed follows another.^r

³For this reason the land mourns,^s

and everyone who lives in it languishes,

along with the wild animals^t and the birds of the sky;

even the fish of the sea disappear.^u

⁴But let no one dispute;^v let no one argue,

for my case is against you priests.^ABw

⁵You will stumble by day;^x

the prophet will also stumble with you by night.

And I will destroy your mother.^y

⁶My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.^z

Because you have rejected knowledge,^aa

I will reject you^ab from serving as my priest.

Since you have forgotten the law of your God,^ac

I will also forget your sons.

⁷The more they multiplied,^ad

the more they sinned against me.

I^C will change their^D honor into disgrace.^ae

⁸They feed on the sin^E of my people;^af

they have an appetite for their iniquity.^ag

⁹The same judgment will happen

to both people and priests.^ah

I will punish them for their ways^ai

and repay them for their deeds.

¹⁰They will eat but not be satisfied;^aj

they will be promiscuous^ak but not multiply.

For they have abandoned their devotion to the Lord.^al

¹¹Promiscuity,^am wine, and new wine

take away one’s understanding.^an

¹²My people consult their wooden idols,^ao

and their divining rods inform them.

For a spirit of promiscuity leads them astray;^ap

they act promiscuously^aq

in disobedience to^F their God.

¹³They sacrifice on the mountaintops,^ar

and they burn offerings on the hills,^as

and under oaks, poplars, and terebinths,^at

because their shade is pleasant.

And so your daughters act promiscuously

and your daughters-in-law commit adultery.

¹⁴I will not punish your daughters

when they act promiscuously

or your daughters-in-law

when they commit adultery,

for the men themselves go off with prostitutes^au

and make sacrifices with cult prostitutes.^av

People without discernment are doomed.^aw

WARNINGS FOR ISRAEL AND JUDAH

¹⁵Israel, if you act promiscuously,

don’t let Judah become guilty!

Do not go to Gilgal^ax

or make a pilgrimage to Beth-aven,^Aay

and do not swear an oath: As the Lord lives!^az

¹⁶For Israel is as obstinate as a stubborn cow.^ba

Can the Lord now shepherd them

like a lamb in an open meadow?^bb

¹⁷Ephraim is attached to idols;^bc

leave him alone!^bd

¹⁸When their drinking is over,

they turn to promiscuity.

Israel’s leaders fervently love disgrace.^C

¹⁹A wind with its wings will carry them off,^Dbe

and they will be ashamed of their sacrifices.