Hosea 3–4

Hosea’s Reconciliation With His Wife

3The Lord said to me, “Go, show your love to your wife again, though she is loved by another man and is an adulteress.^j Love her as the Lord loves the Israelites, though they turn to other gods and love the sacred raisin cakes.^k”

²So I bought her for fifteen shekels^a of silver and about a homer and a lethek^b of barley. ³Then I told her, “You are to live with me many days; you must not be a prostitute or be intimate with any man, and I will behave the same way toward you.”

⁴For the Israelites will live many days without king or prince,^l without sacrifice^m or sacred stones,ⁿ without ephod^o or household gods.^{p 5}Afterward the Israelites will return and seek^q the Lord their God and David their king.^r They will come trembling^s to the Lord and to his blessings in the last days.^t

The Charge Against Israel

4Hear the word of the Lord, you Israelites,

because the Lord has a charge^u to bring

against you who live in the land:^v

“There is no faithfulness,^w no love,

no acknowledgment^x of God in the land.^y

²There is only cursing,^a lying^z and murder,^a

stealing^b and adultery;^c

they break all bounds,

and bloodshed follows bloodshed.^d

³Because of this the land dries up,^e

and all who live in it waste away;^f

the beasts of the field, the birds in the sky

and the fish in the sea are swept away.^g

⁴“But let no one bring a charge,

let no one accuse another,

for your people are like those

who bring charges against a priest.^h

⁵You stumbleⁱ day and night,

and the prophets stumble with you.

So I will destroy your mother^j—

⁶my people are destroyed from lack of knowledge.^k

“Because you have rejected knowledge,

I also reject you as my priests;

because you have ignored the law^l of your God,

I also will ignore your children.

⁷The more priests there were,

the more they sinned against me;

they exchanged their glorious God^bm for something disgraceful.ⁿ

⁸They feed on the sins of my people

and relish their wickedness.^o

⁹And it will be: Like people, like priests.^p

I will punish both of them for their ways

and repay them for their deeds.^q

¹⁰“They will eat but not have enough;^r

they will engage in prostitution^s but not flourish,

because they have deserted^t the Lord

to give themselves ¹¹to prostitution;^u

old wine^v and new wine

take away their understanding.^w

¹²My people consult a wooden idol,^x

and a diviner’s rod speaks to them.^y

A spirit of prostitution^z leads them astray;^a

they are unfaithful^b to their God.

¹³They sacrifice on the mountaintops

and burn offerings on the hills,

under oak,^c poplar and terebinth,

where the shade is pleasant.^d

Therefore your daughters turn to prostitution^e

and your daughters-in-law to adultery.^f

¹⁴“I will not punish your daughters

when they turn to prostitution,

nor your daughters-in-law

when they commit adultery,

because the men themselves consort with harlots^g

and sacrifice with shrine prostitutes^h—

a people without understandingⁱ will come to ruin!^j

¹⁵“Though you, Israel, commit adultery,

do not let Judah become guilty.

“Do not go to Gilgal;^k

do not go up to Beth Aven.^cl

And do not swear, ‘As surely as the Lord lives!’^m

¹⁶The Israelites are stubborn,ⁿ

like a stubborn heifer.^o

How then can the Lord pasture them

like lambs^p in a meadow?

¹⁷Ephraim is joined to idols;

leave him alone!

¹⁸Even when their drinks are gone,

they continue their prostitution;

their rulers dearly love shameful ways.

¹⁹A whirlwind^q will sweep them away,

and their sacrifices will bring them shame.^r