1 {1:1} The word of the LORD that came unto Hosea, the
son of Beeri, in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, [and]
Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the
son of Joash, king of Israel. {1:2} The beginning of the
word of the LORD by Hosea. And the LORD said to Hosea,
Go, take unto thee a wife of whoredoms and children of
whoredoms: for the land hath committed great whoredom,
[departing] from the LORD. {1:3} So he went and took
Gomer the daughter of Diblaim; which conceived, and bare
him a son. {1:4} And the LORD said unto him, Call his
name Jezreel; for yet a little [while,] and I will avenge the
blood of Jezreel upon the house of Jehu, and will cause to
cease the kingdom of the house of Israel. {1:5} And it shall
come to pass at that day, that I will break the bow of Israel
in the valley of Jezreel.
{1:6} And she conceived again, and bare a daughter. And
[God] said unto him, Call her name Lo-ruhamah: for I will
no more have mercy upon the house of Israel; but I will
utterly take them away. {1:7} But I will have mercy upon
the house of Judah, and will save them by the LORD their
God, and will not save them by bow, nor by sword, nor by
battle, by horses, nor by horsemen.
{1:8} Now when she had weaned Lo-ruhamah, she
conceived, and bare a son. {1:9} Then said [God,] Call his
name Lo-ammi: for ye [are] not my people, and I will not be
your [God.]
{1:10} Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be
as the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured nor
numbered; and it shall come to pass, [that] in the place
where it was said unto them, Ye [are] not my people, [there]
it shall be said unto them, [Ye are] the sons of the living
God. {1:11} Then shall the children of Judah and the
children of Israel be gathered together, and appoint
themselves one head, and they shall come up out of the
land: for great [shall be] the day of Jezreel.
2 {2:1} Say ye unto your brethren, Ammi; and to your
sisters, Ru-hamah. {2:2} Plead with your mother, plead: for
she [is] not my wife, neither [am] I her husband: let her
therefore put away her whoredoms out of her sight, and her
adulteries from between her breasts; {2:3} Lest I strip her
naked, and set her as in the day that she was born, and make
her as a wilderness, and set her like a dry land, and slay her
with thirst. {2:4} And I will not have mercy upon her
children; for they [be] the children of whoredoms. {2:5} For
their mother hath played the harlot: she that conceived them
hath done shamefully: for she said, I will go after my lovers,
that give [me] my bread and my water, my wool and my
flax, mine oil and my drink.
{2:6} Therefore, behold, I will hedge up thy way with
thorns, and make a wall, that she shall not find her paths.
{2:7} And she shall follow 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
husband; for then [was it] better with me than now. {2:8}
For she did not know that I gave her corn, and wine, and oil,
and multiplied her silver and gold, [which] they prepared
for Baal. {2:9} Therefore will I return, and take away my
corn in the time thereof, and my wine in the season thereof,
and will recover my wool and my flax [given] to cover her
nakedness. {2:10} And now will I discover her lewdness in
the sight of her lovers, and none shall deliver her out of
mine hand. {2:11} I will also cause all her mirth to cease,
her feast days, her new moons, and her sabbaths, and all her
solemn feasts. {2:12} And I will destroy her vines and her
fig trees, whereof she hath said, These [are] my rewards that
my lovers have given me: and I will make them a forest,
and the beasts of the field shall eat them. {2:13} And I will
visit upon her the days of Baalim, wherein she burned
incense to them, and she decked herself with her earrings
and her jewels, and she went after her lovers, and forgat me,
saith the LORD.
{2:14} Therefore, behold, I will allure her, and bring her
into the wilderness, and speak comfortably unto her. {2:15}
And I will give her her vineyards from thence, and the
valley of Achor 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. {2:16} And it shall be at that
day, saith the LORD, [that] thou shalt call me Ishi; and shalt
call me no more Baali. {2:17} For I will take away the
names of Baalim out of her mouth, and they shall no more
be remembered by their name. {2:18} And in that day will I
make a covenant for them with the beasts 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
battle out of the earth, and will make them to lie down
safely. {2:19} And I will betroth thee unto me for ever; yea,
I will betroth thee unto me in righteousness, and in
judgment, and in lovingkindness, and in mercies. {2:20} I
will even betroth thee unto me in faithfulness: and thou
shalt know the LORD. {2:21} And it shall come to pass in
that day, I will hear, saith the LORD, I will hear the
heavens, and they shall hear the earth; {2:22} And the earth
shall hear the corn, and the wine, and the oil; and they shall
hear Jezreel. {2:23} And I will sow her unto me in the
earth; and I will have mercy upon her that had not obtained
mercy; and I will say to [them which were] not my people,
Thou [art] my people; and they shall say, [Thou art] my
God.
3 {3:1} Then said the LORD unto me, Go yet, love a
woman beloved of [her] friend, yet an adulteress, according
to the love of the LORD toward the children of Israel, who
look to other gods, and love flagons of wine. {3:2} So I
bought her to me for fifteen [pieces] of silver, and [for] an
homer of barley, and an half homer of barley: {3:3} And I
said unto her, Thou shalt abide for me many days; thou shalt
not play the harlot, and thou shalt not be for [another] man:
so [will] I also [be] for thee. {3:4} For the children of Israel
shall abide many days without a king, and without a prince,
and without a sacrifice, and without an image, and without
an ephod, and [without] teraphim: {3:5} Afterward shall the
children of Israel return, and seek the LORD their God, and
David their king; and shall fear the LORD and his goodness
in the latter days.
4 {4:1} Hear the word of the LORD, ye children of Israel:
for the LORD hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the
land, because [there is] no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge
of God in the land. {4:2} By swearing, and lying, and
killing, and stealing, and committing adultery, they break
out, and blood toucheth blood. {4:3} Therefore shall the
land mourn, and every one that dwelleth therein shall
languish, with the beasts of the field, and with the fowls of
heaven; yea, the fishes of the sea also shall be taken away.
{4:4} Yet let no man strive, nor reprove another: for thy
people [are] as they that strive with the priest. {4:5}
Therefore shalt thou fall in the day, and the prophet also
shall fall with thee in the night, and I will destroy thy
mother.
{4:6} My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge:
because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject
thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast
forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.
{4:7} As they were increased, so they sinned against me:
[therefore] will I change their glory into shame. {4:8} They
eat up the sin of my people, and they set their heart on their
iniquity. {4:9} And there shall be, like people, like priest:
and I will punish them for their ways, and reward them their
doings. {4:10} For they shall eat, and not have enough: they
shall commit whoredom, and shall not increase: because
they have left off to take heed to the LORD. {4:11}
Whoredom and wine and new wine take away the heart.
{4:12} My people ask counsel at their stocks, and their
staff declareth unto them: for the spirit of whoredoms hath
caused [them] to err, and they have gone a whoring from
under their God. {4:13} They sacrifice upon the tops of the
mountains, and burn incense upon the hills, under oaks and
poplars and elms, because the shadow thereof [is] good:
therefore your daughters shall commit whoredom, and your
spouses shall commit adultery. {4:14} I will not punish
your daughters when they commit whoredom, nor your
spouses when they commit adultery: for themselves are
separated with whores, and they sacrifice with harlots:
therefore the people [that] doth not understand shall fall.
{4:15} Though thou, Israel, play the harlot, [yet] let not
Judah offend; and come not ye unto Gilgal, neither go ye up
to Beth-aven, nor swear, The LORD liveth. {4:16} For
Israel slideth back as a backsliding heifer: now the LORD
will feed them as a lamb in a large place. {4:17} Ephraim
[is] joined to idols: let him alone. {4:18} Their drink is
sour: they have committed whoredom continually: her
rulers [with] shame do love, Give ye. {4:19} The wind hath
bound her up in her wings, and they shall be ashamed
because of their sacrifices.
5 {5:1} Hear ye this, O priests; and hearken, ye house of
Israel; and give ye ear, O house of the king; for judgment
[is] toward you, because ye have been a snare on Mizpah,
and a net spread upon Tabor. {5:2} And the revolters are
profound to make slaughter, though I [have been] a rebuker
of them all. {5:3} I know Ephraim, and Israel is not hid
from me: for now, O Ephraim, thou committest whoredom,
[and] Israel is defiled. {5:4} They will not frame their
doings to turn unto their God: for the spirit of whoredoms
[is] in the midst of them, and they have not known the
LORD. {5:5} And the pride of Israel doth testify to his face:
therefore shall Israel and Ephraim fall in their iniquity;
Judah also shall fall with them. {5:6} They shall go with
their flocks and with their herds to seek the LORD; but they
shall not find [him;] he hath withdrawn himself from them.
{5:7} They have dealt treacherously against the LORD: for
they have begotten strange children: now shall a month
devour them with their portions. {5:8} Blow ye the cornet
in Gibeah, [and] the trumpet in Ramah: cry aloud [at] Beth-
aven, after thee, O Benjamin. {5:9} Ephraim shall be
desolate in the day of rebuke: among the tribes of Israel
have I made known that which shall surely be. {5:10} The
princes of Judah were like them that remove the bound:
[therefore] I will pour out my wrath upon them like water.
{5:11} Ephraim [is] oppressed [and] broken in judgment,
because he willingly walked after the commandment.
{5:12} Therefore [will] I [be] unto Ephraim as a moth, and
to the house of Judah as rottenness. {5:13} When Ephraim
saw his sickness, and Judah [saw] his wound, then went
Ephraim to the Assyrian, and sent to king Jareb: yet could
he not heal you, nor cure you of your wound. {5:14} For I
will [be] unto Ephraim as a lion, and as a young lion to the
house of Judah: I, [even] I, will tear and go away; I will take
away, and none shall rescue [him.]
{5:15} I will go [and] return to my place, till they
acknowledge their offence, and seek my face: in their
affliction they will seek me early.
6 {6:1} Come, and let us return unto the LORD: for he hath
torn, and he will heal us; he hath smitten, and he will bind
us up. {6:2} After two days will he revive us: in the third
day he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight. {6:3}
Then shall we know, [if] we follow on to know the LORD:
his going forth is prepared as the morning; and he shall
come unto us as the rain, as the latter [and] former rain
unto the earth.
{6:4} O Ephraim, what shall I do unto thee? O Judah,
what shall I do unto thee? for your goodness [is] as a
morning cloud, and as the early dew it goeth away. {6:5}
Therefore have I hewed [them] by the prophets; I have slain
them by the words of my mouth: and thy judgments [are as]
the light [that] goeth forth. {6:6} For I desired mercy, and
not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt
offerings. {6:7} But they like men have transgressed the
covenant: there have they dealt treacherously against me.
{6:8} Gilead [is] a city of them that work iniquity, [and is]
polluted with blood. {6:9} And as troops of robbers wait for
a man, [so] the company of priests murder in the way by
consent: for they commit lewdness. {6:10} I have seen an
horrible thing in the house of Israel: there [is] the whoredom
of Ephraim, Israel is defiled. {6:11} Also, O Judah, he hath
set an harvest for thee, when I returned the captivity of my
people.
7 {7:1} When I would have healed Israel, then the iniquity
of Ephraim was discovered, and the wickedness of Samaria:
for they commit falsehood; and the thief cometh in, [and]
the troop of robbers spoileth without. {7:2} And they
consider not in their hearts [that] I remember all their
wickedness: now their own doings have beset them about;
they are before my face. {7:3} They make the king glad
with their wickedness, and the princes with their lies. {7:4}
They [are] all adulterers, as an oven heated by the baker,
[who] ceaseth from raising after he hath kneaded the dough,
until it be leavened. {7:5} In the day of our king the princes
have made [him] sick with bottles of wine; he stretched out
his hand with scorners. {7:6} For they have made ready
their heart like an oven, whiles they lie in wait: their baker
sleepeth all the night; in the morning it burneth as a flaming
fire. {7:7} They are all hot as an oven, and have devoured
their judges; all their kings are fallen: [there is] none among
them that calleth unto me. {7:8} Ephraim, he hath mixed
himself among the people; Ephraim is a cake not turned.
{7:9} Strangers have devoured his strength, and he knoweth
[it] not: yea, gray hairs are here and there upon him, yet he
knoweth not. {7:10} And the pride of Israel testifieth to his
face: and they do not return to the LORD their God, nor
seek him for all this.
{7:11} Ephraim also is like a silly dove without heart:
they call to Egypt, they go to Assyria. {7:12} When they
shall go, I will spread my net upon them; I will bring them
down as the fowls of the heaven; I will chastise them, as
their congregation hath heard. {7:13} Woe unto them! for
they have fled from me: destruction unto them! because
they have transgressed against me: though I have redeemed
them, yet they have spoken lies against me. {7:14} And
they have not cried unto me with their heart, when they
howled upon their beds: they assemble themselves for corn
and wine, [and] they rebel against me. {7:15} Though I
have bound [and] strengthened their arms, yet do they
imagine mischief against me. {7:16} They return, [but] not
to the most High: they are like a deceitful bow: their princes
shall fall by the sword for the rage of their tongue: this
[shall be] their derision in the land of Egypt.
8 {8:1} [Set] the trumpet to thy mouth. [He shall come] as
an eagle against the house of the LORD, because they have
transgressed my covenant, and trespassed against my law.
{8:2} Israel shall cry unto me, My God, we know thee.
{8:3} Israel hath cast off [the thing that is] good: the enemy
shall pursue him. {8:4} They have set up kings, but not by
me: they have made princes, and I knew [it] not: of their
silver and their gold have they made them idols, that they
may be cut off.
{8:5} Thy calf, O Samaria, hath cast [thee] off; mine
anger is kindled against them: how long [will it be] ere they
attain to innocency? {8:6} For from Israel [was] it also: the
workman made it; therefore it [is] not God: but the calf of
Samaria shall be broken in pieces. {8:7} For they have
sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind: it hath no
stalk: the bud shall yield no meal: if so be it yield, the
strangers shall swallow it up. {8:8} Israel is swallowed up:
now shall they be among the Gentiles as a vessel wherein
[is] no pleasure. {8:9} For they are gone up to Assyria, a
wild ass alone by himself: Ephraim hath hired lovers.
{8:10} Yea, though they have hired among the nations, now
will I gather them, and they shall sorrow a little for the
burden of the king of princes. {8:11} Because Ephraim hath
made many altars to sin, altars shall be unto him to sin.
{8:12} I have written to him the great things of my law,
[but] they were counted as a strange thing. {8:13} They
sacrifice flesh [for] the sacrifices of mine offerings, and [eat
it;] but the LORD accepteth them not; now will he
remember their iniquity, and visit their sins: they shall
return to Egypt. {8:14} For Israel hath forgotten his Maker,
and buildeth temples; and Judah hath multiplied fenced
cities: but I will send a fire upon his cities, and it shall
devour the palaces thereof.
9 {9:1} Rejoice not, O Israel, for joy, as [other] people: for
thou hast gone a whoring from thy God, thou hast loved a
reward upon every cornfloor. {9:2} The floor and the
winepress shall not feed them, and the new wine shall fail in
her. {9:3} They shall not dwell in the LORD’S land; but
Ephraim shall return to Egypt, and they shall eat unclean
[things] in Assyria. {9:4} They shall not offer wine
[offerings] to the LORD, neither shall they be pleasing unto
him: their sacrifices [shall be] unto them as the bread of
mourners; all that eat thereof shall be polluted: for their
bread for their soul shall not come into the house of the
LORD. {9:5} What will ye do in the solemn day, and in the
day of the feast of the LORD? {9:6} For, lo, they are gone
because of destruction: Egypt shall gather them up,
Memphis shall bury them: the pleasant [places] for their
silver, nettles shall possess them: thorns [shall be] in their
tabernacles. {9:7} The days of visitation are come, the days
of recompence are come; Israel shall know [it:] the prophet
[is] a fool, the spiritual man [is] mad, for the multitude of
thine iniquity, and the great hatred. {9:8} The watchman of
Ephraim [was] with my God: [but] the prophet [is] a snare
of a fowler in all his ways, [and] hatred in the house of his
God. {9:9} They have deeply corrupted [themselves,] as in
the days of Gibeah: [therefore] he will remember their
iniquity, he will visit their sins. {9:10} I found Israel like
grapes in the wilderness; I saw your fathers as the firstripe
in the fig tree at her first time: [but] they went to Baal-peor,
and separated themselves unto [that] shame; and [their]
abominations were according as they loved. {9:11} [As for]
Ephraim, their glory shall fly away like a bird, from the
birth, and from the womb, and from the conception. {9:12}
Though they bring up their children, yet will I bereave
them, [that there shall] not [be] a man [left:] yea, woe also
to them when I depart from them! {9:13} Ephraim, as I saw
Tyrus, [is] planted in a pleasant place: but Ephraim shall
bring forth his children to the murderer. {9:14} Give them,
O LORD: what wilt thou give? give them a miscarrying
womb and dry breasts. {9:15} All their wickedness [is] in
Gilgal: for there I hated them: for the wickedness of their
doings I will drive them out of mine house, I will love them
no more: all their princes [are] revolters. {9:16} Ephraim is
smitten, their root is dried up, they shall bear no fruit: yea,
though they bring forth, yet will I slay [even] the beloved
[fruit] of their womb. {9:17} My God will cast them away,
because they did not hearken unto him: and they shall be
wanderers among the nations.
10 {10:1} Israel [is] an empty vine, he bringeth forth fruit
unto himself: according to the multitude of his fruit he hath
increased the altars; according to the goodness of his land
they have made goodly images. {10:2} Their heart is
divided; now shall they be found faulty: he shall break
down their altars, he shall spoil their images. {10:3} For
now they shall say, We have no king, because we feared not
the LORD; what then should a king do to us? {10:4} They
have spoken words, swearing falsely in making a covenant:
thus judgment springeth up as hemlock in the furrows of the
field. {10:5} The inhabitants of Samaria shall fear because
of the calves of Beth-aven: for the people thereof shall
mourn over it, and the priests thereof [that] rejoiced on it,
for the glory thereof, because it is departed from it. {10:6}
It shall be also carried unto Assyria [for] a present to king
Jareb: Ephraim shall receive shame, and Israel shall be
ashamed of his own counsel. {10:7} [As for] Samaria, her
king is cut off as the foam upon the water. {10:8} The high
places also of Aven, the sin of Israel, shall be destroyed: the
thorn and the thistle shall come up on their altars; and they
shall say to the mountains, Cover us; and to the hills, Fall on
us. {10:9} O Israel, thou hast sinned from the days of
Gibeah: there they stood: the battle in Gibeah against the
children of iniquity did not overtake them. {10:10} [It is] in
my desire that I should chastise them; and the people shall
be gathered against them, when they shall bind themselves
in their two furrows. {10:11} And Ephraim [is as] an heifer
[that is] taught, [and] loveth to tread out [the corn;] but I
passed over upon her fair neck: I will make Ephraim to ride;
Judah shall plow, [and] Jacob shall break his clods. {10:12}
Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up
your fallow ground: for [it is] time to seek the LORD, till he
come and rain righteousness upon you. {10:13} Ye have
plowed wickedness, ye have reaped iniquity; ye have eaten
the fruit of lies: because thou didst trust in thy way, in the
multitude of thy mighty men. {10:14} Therefore shall a
tumult arise among thy people, and all thy fortresses shall
be spoiled, as Shalman spoiled Beth-arbel in the day of
battle: the mother was dashed in pieces upon [her] children.
{10:15} So shall Bethel do unto you because of your great
wickedness: in a morning shall the king of Israel utterly be
cut off.
11 {11:1} When Israel [was] a child, then I loved him, and
out of Egypt I called my son . {11:2} The more I called them,
the further they went from me: they sacrificed unto Baalim, and
burned incense to graven images. {11:3} Yet it was I who taught
Ephraim to walk, taking them up in my arms; but they knew not
that I cared for them. {11:4} I drew them with cords of a man,
with bands of love: and I was to them as they that take off
the yoke on their jaws, and I laid meat unto them.
{11:5} He shall not return into the land of Egypt, but the
Assyrian shall be his king, because they refused to return.
{11:6} And the sword shall abide on his cities, and shall
consume his branches, and devour [them,] because of their
own counsels. {11:7} And my people are bent to
backsliding from me: though they called them to the most
High, none at all would exalt [him.] {11:8} How shall I give
thee up, Ephraim? [how] shall I deliver thee, Israel? how
shall I make thee as Admah? [how] shall I set thee as
Zeboim? my heart is turned within me, my repentings are
kindled together. {11:9} I will not execute the fierceness of
mine anger, I will not return to destroy Ephraim: for I [am]
God, and not man; the Holy One in the midst of thee: and I
will not enter into the city. {11:10} They shall walk after
the LORD: he shall roar like a lion: when he shall roar, then
the children shall tremble from the west. {11:11} They shall
tremble as a bird out of Egypt, and as a dove out of the land
of Assyria: and I will place them in their houses, saith the
LORD. {11:12} Ephraim compasseth me about with lies,
and the house of Israel with deceit: but Judah yet ruleth with
God, and is faithful with the saints.
12 {12:1} Ephraim feedeth on wind, and followeth after the
east wind: he daily increaseth lies and desolation; and they
do make a covenant with the Assyrians, and oil is carried
into Egypt. {12:2} The LORD hath also a controversy with
Judah, and will punish Jacob according to his ways;
according to his doings will he recompense him. {12:3} He
took his brother by the heel in the womb, and by his
strength he had power with God: {12:4} Yea, he had power
over the angel, and prevailed: he wept, and made
supplication unto him: he found him [in] Bethel, and there
he spake with us; {12:5} Even the LORD God of hosts; the
LORD [is] his memorial. {12:6} Therefore turn thou to thy
God: keep mercy and judgment, and wait on thy God
continually.
{12:7} [He is] a merchant, the balances of deceit [are] in
his hand: he loveth to oppress. {12:8} And Ephraim said,
Yet I am become rich, I have found me out substance: [in]
all my labours they shall find none iniquity in me that
[were] sin. {12:9} And I [that am] the LORD thy God from
the land of Egypt will yet make thee to dwell in tabernacles,
as in the days of the solemn feast. {12:10} I have also
spoken by the prophets, and I have multiplied visions, and
used similitudes, by the ministry of the prophets. {12:11}
[Is there] iniquity [in] Gilead? surely they are vanity: they
sacrifice bullocks in Gilgal; yea, their altars [are] as heaps
in the furrows of the fields. {12:12} And Jacob fled into the
country of Syria, and Israel served for a wife, and for a wife
he kept [sheep. ]{12:13} And by a prophet the LORD
brought Israel out of Egypt, and by a prophet was he
preserved. {12:14} Ephraim provoked [him] to anger most
bitterly: therefore shall he leave his blood upon him, and his
reproach shall his Lord return unto him.
13 {13:1}When Ephraim spake trembling, he exalted
himself in Israel; but when he offended in Baal, he died.
{13:2} And now they sin more and more, and have made
them molten images of their silver, [and] idols according to
their own understanding, all of it the work of the craftsmen:
they say of them, Let the men that sacrifice kiss the calves.
{13:3} Therefore they shall be as the morning cloud, and as
the early dew that passeth away, as the chaff [that] is driven
with the whirlwind out of the floor, and as the smoke out of
the chimney. {13:4} Yet I [am] the LORD thy God from the
land of Egypt, and thou shalt know no god but me: for
[there is] no saviour beside me.
{13:5} I did know thee in the wilderness, in the land of
great drought. {13:6} According to their pasture, so were
they filled; they were filled, and their heart was exalted;
therefore have they forgotten me. {13:7} Therefore I will be
unto them as a lion: as a leopard by the way will I observe
[them:] {13:8} I will meet them as a bear [that is] bereaved
[of her whelps,] and will rend the caul of their heart, and
there will I devour them like a lion: the wild beast shall tear
them. {13:9} O Israel, thou hast destroyed thyself; but in
me [is] thine help. {13:10} I will be thy king: where [is any
other] that may save thee in all thy cities? and thy judges of
whom thou saidst, Give me a king and princes? {13:11} I
gave thee a king in mine anger, and took [him] away in my
wrath. {13:12} The iniquity of Ephraim [is] bound up; his
sin [is] hid. {13:13} The sorrows of a travailing woman
shall come upon him: he [is] an unwise son; for he should
not stay long in [the place of] the breaking forth of children.
{13:14} I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I
will redeem them from death: O death, I will be thy plagues;
O grave, I will be thy destruction: repentance shall be hid
from mine eyes.
{13:15} Though he be fruitful among [his] brethren, an
east wind shall come, the wind of the LORD shall come up
from the wilderness, and his spring shall become dry, and
his fountain shall be dried up: he shall spoil the treasure of
all pleasant vessels. {13:16} Samaria shall become desolate;
for she hath rebelled against her God: they shall fall by the
sword: their infants shall be dashed in pieces, and their
women with child shall be ripped up.
14 {14:1} O Israel, return unto the LORD thy God; for thou
hast fallen by thine iniquity. {14:2} Take with you words,
and turn to the LORD: say unto him, Take away all iniquity,
and receive [us] graciously: so will we render the calves of
our lips. {14:3} Asshur shall not save us; we will not ride
upon horses: neither will we say any more to the work of
our hands, [Ye are] our gods: for in thee the fatherless
findeth mercy.
{14:4} I will heal their backsliding, I will love them
freely: for mine anger is turned away from him. {14:5} I
will be as the dew unto Israel: he shall grow as the lily, and
cast forth his roots as Lebanon. {14:6} His branches shall
spread, and his beauty shall be as the olive tree, and his
smell as Lebanon. {14:7} They that dwell under his shadow
shall return; they shall revive [as] the corn, and grow as the
vine: the scent thereof [shall be] as the wine of Lebanon.
{14:8} Ephraim [shall say,] What have I to do any more
with idols? I have heard [him,] and observed him: I [am]
like a green fir tree. From me is thy fruit found. {14:9} Who
[is] wise, and he shall understand these [things?] prudent,
and he shall know them? for the ways of the LORD [are]
right, and the just shall walk in them: but the transgressors
shall fall therein.