Israel's Unfaithfulness Punished
1Say ye unto your brethren, Ammi; and to your sisters, Ruhamah.
2Plead 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;
3Lest 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.
4And I will not have mercy upon her children; for they be the children of whoredoms.
5For 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.
6Therefore, behold, I will hedge up thy way with thorns, and make a wall, that she shall not find her paths.
7And 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.
8For she did not know that I gave her corn, and wine, and oil, and multiplied her silver and gold, which they prepared for Baal.
9Therefore 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.
10And now will I discover her lewdness in the sight of her lovers, and none shall deliver her out of mine hand.
11I will also cause all her mirth to cease, her feast days, her new moons, and her sabbaths, and all her solemn feasts.
12And 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.
13And 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.
God's Mercy to Israel
14Therefore, behold, I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak comfortably unto her.
15And 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.
16And it shall be at that day, saith the LORD, that thou shalt call me Ishi; and shalt call me no more Baali.
17For I will take away the names of Baalim out of her mouth, and they shall no more be remembered by their name.
18And 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.
19And 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.
20I will even betroth thee unto me in faithfulness: and thou shalt know the LORD.
21And 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;
22And the earth shall hear the corn, and the wine, and the oil; and they shall hear Jezreel.
23And 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.
Israel’s Adultery Rebuked
1 “Say to your brothers, ‘My people!’ and to your sisters, ‘My loved one!’
2 Contend with your mother! Contend, for she is not my wife, neither am I her husband; and let her put away her prostitution from her face, and her adulteries from between her breasts;
3 Lest I strip her naked, and make her bare as in the day that she was born, and make her like a wilderness, and set her like a dry land, and kill her with thirst.
4 Indeed, on her children I will have no mercy; for they are children of unfaithfulness;
5 For their mother has played the prostitute. She who conceived them has done shamefully; for she said, ‘I will go after my lovers, who give me my bread and my water, my wool and my flax, my oil and my drink.’
6 Therefore, behold, I will hedge up your way with thorns, and I will build a wall against her, that she can’t find her way.
7 She will follow after her lovers, but she won’t overtake them; and she will seek them, but won’t find them. Then she will say, ‘I will go and return to my first husband; for then was it better with me than now.’
8 For she did not know that I gave her the grain, the new wine, and the oil, and multiplied to her silver and gold, which they used for Baal.
9 Therefore I will take back my grain in its time, and my new wine in its season, and will pluck away my wool and my flax which should have covered her nakedness.
10 Now I will uncover her lewdness in the sight of her lovers, and no one will deliver her out of my hand.
11 I will also cause all her celebrations to cease: her feasts, her new moons, her Sabbaths, and all her solemn assemblies.
12 I will lay waste her vines and her fig trees, about which she has said, ‘These are my wages that my lovers have given me; and I will make them a forest,’ and the animals of the field shall eat them.
13 I will visit on her the days of the Baals, to which she burned incense, when she decked herself with her earrings and her jewels, and went after her lovers, and forgot me,” says Yahweh.
God’s Mercy to Israel
14 “Therefore, behold, I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak tenderly to her.
15 I will give her vineyards from there, and the valley of Achor for a door of hope; and she will respond there, as in the days of her youth, and as in the day when she came up out of the land of Egypt.
16 It will be in that day,” says Yahweh, “that you will call me ‘my husband,’ and no longer call me ‘my master.’
17 For I will take away the names of the Baals out of her mouth, and they will no longer be mentioned by name.
18 In that day I will make a covenant for them with the animals of the field, and with the birds of the sky, and with the creeping things of the ground. I will break the bow, the sword, and the battle out of the land, and will make them lie down safely.
19 I will betroth you to me forever. Yes, I will betroth you to me in righteousness, in justice, in loving kindness, and in compassion.
20 I will even betroth you to me in faithfulness; and you shall know Yahweh.
21 It will happen in that day, I will respond,” says Yahweh, “I will respond to the heavens, and they will respond to the earth;
22 and the earth will respond to the grain, and the new wine, and the oil; and they will respond to Jezreel.
23 I will sow her to me in the earth; and I will have mercy on her who had not obtained mercy; and I will tell those who were not my people, ‘You are my people;’ and they will say, ‘My God!’”
Israel’s Adultery Rebuked
1 “Say of your brothers, ‘My people,’ a
and of your sisters, ‘My loved one.’ b
2 Rebuke 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.
3 Otherwise, 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.
4 I will have no compassion on her children,
because they are the children of adultery.
5 For 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.’
6 Therefore, behold,
I will hedge up her path c with thorns;
I will enclose her with a wall,
so she cannot find her way.
7 She 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.’
8 For 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.
9 Therefore 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.
10 And then I will expose her lewdness
in the sight of her lovers,
and no one will deliver her
out of My hands.
11 I will put an end to all her exultation:
her feasts, New Moons, and Sabbaths—
all her appointed feasts.
12 I 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.
13 I will punish her for the days of the Baals
when she burned incense to them,
when she decked herself with rings and jewelry,
and went after her lovers.
But Me she forgot,”
declares the LORD.
God’s Mercy to Israel
14 “Therefore, behold, I will allure her
and lead her to the wilderness,
and speak to her tenderly.
15 There I will give back her vineyards
and make the Valley of Achor d
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.
16 In that day,”
declares the LORD,
“you will call Me ‘my Husband,’ e
and no longer call Me ‘my Master.’ f
17 For I will remove from her lips the names of the Baals;
no longer will their names be invoked.
18 On 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 weapons of war in the land,
and will make them lie down in safety.
19 So I will betroth you to Me forever;
I will betroth you in righteousness and justice,
in loving devotion g and compassion.
20 And 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.
22 And the earth will respond to the grain,
to the new wine and oil,
and they will respond to Jezreel. h
23 And I will sow her as My own in the land,
and I will have compassion on ‘No Compassion.’ i
I will say to those called ‘Not My People,’ j
‘You are My people,’ k
and they will say,
‘You are my God.’ ”
Footnotes:
1 a Hebrew Ammi
1 b Or Mercy is shown ; Hebrew Ruhamah , which means she has received mercy
6 c Hebrew your path
15 d Achor means trouble .
16 e Hebrew my Ishi
16 f Hebrew my Baal
19 g 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 .
22 h Jezreel means God sows .
23 i Hebrew Lo-ruhamah ; LXX I will love her who was not loved
23 j Hebrew Lo-ammi
23 k Cited in Romans 9:25 and 1 Peter 2:10
Israel's Unfaithfulness Punished
1'Say ye to your brethren -- Ammi, And to your sisters -- Ruhamah.
2Plead ye with your mother -- plead, (For she is not My wife, and I am not her husband,) And she turneth her whoredoms from before her, And her adulteries from between her breasts,
3Lest I strip her naked. And have set her up as in the day of her birth, And have made her as a wilderness, And have set her as a dry land, And have put her to death with thirst.
4And her sons I do not pity, For sons of whoredoms are they,
5For gone a-whoring hath their mother, Acted shamefully hath their conceiver, For she hath said, I go after my lovers, Those giving my bread and my water, My wool and my flax, my oil and my drink.
6Therefore, lo, I am hedging up thy way with thorns, And I have made for her a wall, And her paths she doth not find.
7And she hath pursued her lovers, And she doth not overtake them, And hath sought them, and doth not find, And she hath said: I go, and I turn back unto My first husband, For -- better to me then than now.
8And she knew not that I had given to her, The corn, and the new wine, and the oil. Yea, silver I did multiply to her, And the gold they prepared for Baal.
9Therefore do I turn back, And I have taken My corn in its season, And My new wine in its appointed time, And I have taken away My wool and My flax, covering her nakedness.
10And now do I reveal her dishonour before the eyes of her lovers, And none doth deliver her out of My hand.
11And I have caused to cease all her joy, Her festival, her new moon, and her sabbath, Even all her appointed times,
12And made desolate her vine and her fig-tree, Of which she said, A gift they are to me, That my lovers have given to me, And I have made them for a forest, And consumed them hath a beast of the field.
13And I have charged on her the days of the Baalim, To whom she maketh perfume, And putteth on her ring and her ornament, And goeth after her lovers, And Me forgat -- an affirmation of Jehovah.
God's Mercy to Israel
14Therefore, lo, I am enticing her, And have caused her to go to the wilderness, And I have spoken unto her heart,
15And given to her her vineyards from thence, And the valley of Achor for an opening of hope, And she hath responded there as in the days of her youth, And as in the day of her coming up out of the land of Egypt.
16And it hath come to pass, in that day, An affirmation of Jehovah, Thou dost call Me -- My husband, And dost not call Me any more -- My lord.
17And I have turned aside the names of the lords from her mouth, And they are not remembered any more by their name.
18And I have made to them a covenant in that day, with the beast of the field, And with the fowl of the heavens, And the creeping thing of the ground, And bow, and sword, and war I break from off the land, And have caused them to lie down confidently.
19And I have betrothed thee to Me to the age, And betrothed thee to Me in righteousness, And in judgment, and kindness, and mercies,
20And betrothed thee to Me in faithfulness, And thou hast known Jehovah.
21And it hath come to pass in that day, I answer -- an affirmation of Jehovah, I answer the heavens, and they answer the earth.
22And the earth doth answer the corn, And the new wine, and the oil, And they answer Jezreel.
23And I have sowed her to Me in the land, And I have pitied Lo-Ruhamah, And I have said to Lo-Ammi, My people thou art, and it saith, My God!'
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