Hosea 2

Berean Standard Bible · Compare translations · 753 BC – 722 BC · Divided kingdom · Tap a verse to copy, share or highlight ·

23 verses · 626 words · ~3 min read · ~4 min listen

Israelʼs Adultery Rebuked

¹“Say of your brothers, ‘My people,’

and of your sisters, ‘My loved one.’

²Rebuke your mother,

rebuke her,

for she is not My wife,

and I am not her husband.

Let her remove the adultery from her face

and the unfaithfulness from between her breasts.

³Otherwise, I will strip her naked

and expose her like the day of her birth.

I will make her like a desert

and turn her into a parched land,

and I will let her die of thirst.

⁴I will have no compassion on her children,

because they are the children of adultery.

⁵For their mother has played the harlot

and has conceived them in disgrace.

For she thought,

‘I will go after my lovers,

who give me bread and water,

wool and linen, oil and drink.’

⁶Therefore, behold,

I will hedge up her path with thorns;

I will enclose her with a wall,

so she cannot find her way.

⁷She will pursue her lovers but not catch them;

she will seek them but not find them.

Then she will say,

‘I will return to my first husband,

for then I was better off than now.’

⁸For she does not acknowledge

that it was I who gave her grain,

new wine, and oil,

who lavished on her silver and gold—

which they crafted for Baal.

⁹Therefore I will take back My grain in its time

and My new wine in its season;

I will take away My wool and linen,

which were given to cover her nakedness.

¹⁰And then I will expose her lewdness

in the sight of her lovers,

and no one will deliver her

out of My hands.

¹¹I will put an end to all her exultation:

her feasts, New Moons, and Sabbaths—

all her appointed feasts.

¹²I will destroy her vines and fig trees,

which she thinks are the wages paid by her lovers.

So I will make them into a thicket,

and the beasts of the field will devour them.

¹³I will punish her for the days of the Baals

when she burned incense to them,

when she adorned herself with rings and jewelry,

and went after her lovers.

But Me she forgot,”

declares the Lord.

Godʼs Mercy to Israel

¹⁴“Therefore, behold, I will allure her

and lead her to the wilderness,

and speak to her tenderly.

¹⁵There I will give back her vineyards

and make the Valley of Achor

into a gateway of hope.

There she will respond as she did

in the days of her youth,

as in the day she came up out of Egypt.

¹⁶In that day,”

declares the Lord,

“you will call Me ‘my Husband,’

and no longer call Me ‘my Master.’

¹⁷For I will remove from her lips the names of the Baals;

no longer will their names be invoked.

¹⁸On that day I will make a covenant for them

with the beasts of the field and the birds of the air

and the creatures that crawl on the ground.

And I will abolish bow and sword

and battle in the land,

and will make them lie down in safety.

¹⁹So I will betroth you to Me forever;

I will betroth you in righteousness and justice,

in loving devotion and compassion.

²⁰And I will betroth you in faithfulness,

and you will know the Lord.”

²¹“On that day I will respond—”

declares the Lord—

“I will respond to the heavens,

and they will respond to the earth.

²²And the earth will respond to the grain,

to the new wine and oil,

and they will respond to Jezreel.

²³And I will sow her as My own in the land,

and I will have compassion on ‘No Compassion.’

I will say to those called ‘Not My People,’

‘You are My people,’

and they will say,

‘You are my God.’”

Footnotes (11)

a v1 Hebrew Ammi
b v1 Or Mercy is shown; Hebrew Ruhamah, which means she has received mercy
c v6 Hebrew your path
d v15 Achor means trouble.
e v16 Hebrew my Ishi
f v16 Hebrew my Baal
g v19 Forms of the Hebrew chesed are translated here and in most cases throughout the Scriptures as loving devotion; the range of meaning includes love, goodness, kindness, faithfulness, and mercy, as well as loyalty to a covenant.
h v22 Jezreel means God sows.
i v23 Hebrew Lo-ruhamah; LXX I will love her who was not loved
j v23 Hebrew Lo-ammi
k v23 Cited in Romans 9:25and 1 Peter 2:10

Study notes on this chapter · 3

Prophecy & fulfillmentWidely held reading

A new exodus

Isaiah and Hosea describe Israel's return from exile in the language of the Exodus: a highway in the wilderness, water in the desert, and being led by the LORD. Many scholars see the New Testament drawing on this new-exodus theme: Mark opens with Isaiah 40, and Luke says Jesus spoke with Moses and Elijah about his 'departure' (Greek exodos) at Jerusalem.

When: Isaiah, c. 700–540 BC; the gospels, c. AD 60–95.

Original passageIsaiah 43:16–21Isaiah 40:3–5Hosea 2:14–15

Echoed inMark 1:2–3Luke 9:30–31

Editorial note by BibleWay. Interpretations vary; dates are approximate scholarly estimates.

Type / patternWidely held reading

The bridegroom and his people

Hosea, Isaiah and Ezekiel describe God as husband and Israel as his bride. Jesus calls himself the bridegroom, John the Baptist describes himself as the bridegroom's friend, Paul compares Christ and the church to husband and wife, and Revelation describes the marriage of the Lamb.

When: Hosea, c. 750 BC; Isaiah, c. 700–540 BC; Ephesians, c. AD 60.

Original passageHosea 2:19–20Isaiah 62:5Ezekiel 16:8

Echoed inMark 2:19–20John 3:29Ephesians 5:25–32Revelation 19:7

Editorial note by BibleWay. Interpretations vary; dates are approximate scholarly estimates.

Prophecy & fulfillmentLinked by the New Testament

Not my people will be called my people

Hosea's children were named 'Not my people' and 'No mercy' as a sign of judgment, and then promised restoration as 'my people' and 'mercy shown'. Paul applies this to Gentiles who are now called God's people, and Peter applies it to the church as a whole.

When: Hosea, c. 750–722 BC; Romans, c. AD 57; 1 Peter, c. AD 60–65.

Original passageHosea 2:23Hosea 1:10

Where the New Testament applies itRomans 9:24–261 Peter 2:10

Ways people read this (2)

Paul applies to Gentiles a promise first given to rebellious Israel, by analogy: God calls those who were not his people.
Some think Paul sees the promise as reaching both the remnant of Israel and the Gentiles together.

Editorial note by BibleWay. Interpretations vary; dates are approximate scholarly estimates.

See all prophecy & fulfillment notes →

Hosea 2

Israelʼs Adultery Rebukedⓘ

Godʼs Mercy to Israelⓘ

Study notes on this chapter · 3

A new exodus

The bridegroom and his people

Not my people will be called my people

Israelʼs Adultery Rebuked

Godʼs Mercy to Israel