The Book of
Author
Hosea, whose name means “Salvation” or “Deliverance,” was chosen by God to live out his message to his people by marrying a woman who would be unfaithful to him. His sensitivity toward the sinful condition of his countrymen and his sensitivity toward the loving heart of God fitted him for this difficult ministry.
Background and Date
Hosea gives the historical setting for his ministry by naming the kings of the southern kingdom of Judah (Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah) and the king of the northern kingdom of Israel (Jeroboam II) who ruled during the period of his prophecy (1:1). This sets the dates from 755 B.C. to 715 B.C. Hosea was from the northern kingdom of Israel and ministered to this kingdom immediately after the ministry of Amos.
Though all the gauges of outward success seemed positive for Israel, underneath disaster was lurking. The people of this period enjoyed peace, plenty, and prosperity; but anarchy was brewing, and it would bring the political collapse of the nation in a few short years. Hosea describes the characteristic social conditions of his day: corrupt leaders, unstable family life, widespread immorality, class hatred, and poverty. Though people continued a form of worship, idolatry was more and more accepted and the priests were failing to guide the people into ways of righteousness. In spite of the darkness of these days, Hosea holds out hope to inspire his people to turn back to God.
Content
The Book of Hosea is about a people who needed to hear the love of God, a God who wanted to tell them, and the unique way God chose to demonstrate His love to His people. The people thought that love could be bought (“Ephraim has hired lovers,” 8:9), that love was the pursuit of self-gratification (“I will go after my lovers who give me,” 2:5), and that loving unworthy objects could bring positive benefits (“They became an abomination like the thing they loved,” 9:10). God wanted Israel to know His love, which reached out for unlikely and unworthy objects (“When Israel was a child, I loved him,” 11:1), which guided with gentle discipline (“bands of love,” 11:4), and which persisted in spite of the peoples’ running and resisting (“How can I give you up?” 11:8).
The problem was how to get this message of God’s love to a people not inclined to listen, and not likely to understand if they did listen. God’s solution was to let the prophet be his own sermon. Hosea would marry an impure woman (“wife of harlotry,” 1:2), love her fully and have children by her (1:3), and go after her and bring her back when she strays (“Go again, love,” 3:1). In sum, Hosea was to show by his own love for Gomer the kind of love God had for Israel.
Personal Application
These lessons stand out clearly from the Book of Hosea:
1. If the people around us do not see the love of God in us, they will not find it anywhere. Like Hosea, all believers are called to demonstrate to their neighbors by their attitudes and by their actions God’s love in Christ to a world blindly groping for indications of authentic love.
2. The only perfect example of love is found in God Himself. When God enters into marriage with His people, He recites vows that promise permanence, a right relationship, fair treatment, love unfailing, tenderness, security, and continuing self-revelation (2:19, 20). Our love must drink from this spring; then draw for others, offering to them, not the best form of human love we can give, but the pure, undiluted love of God in Christ.
Christ Revealed
The New Testament writers draw upon Hosea for teaching about the life and ministry of Christ. Matthew sees in 11:1 a prophecy that was fulfilled when Jesus as a baby was literally taken into and brought out of Egypt, parallel to Israel’s long stay in Egypt and the Exodus (Matt. 2:15). The writer of Hebrews finds in Jesus the One who enables believers to offer acceptable sacrifices of praise by which we become recipients of God’s merciful forgiveness (14:2; Heb. 13:15). For Peter, Jesus provides the basis by which those who were outside the family of God are now admitted to a relationship with Him (1:6, 9; 1 Pet. 2:10). To Paul, Jesus fulfills Hosea’s promise that One would break the power of death and the grave, and bring resurrection victory (13:14; 1 Cor. 15:55). Paul’s teaching on Christ as the Groom and the church as the bride corresponds to the marriage ceremony and vows whereby God enters into a permanent relationship with Israel (2:19, 20; Eph. 5:25–32).
Jesus also, in at least two of His sermons to the Pharisees, takes His text from Hosea. When questioned about His spending time in the homes of tax collectors and sinners, Jesus quotes Hosea to show that God desires not just empty words or heartless rituals, but genuine care and concern for people (6:6; Matt. 9:13). And, when the Pharisees accuse Jesus’ disciples of Sabbath breaking, Jesus defends them with the same reminder that the heart of God places concern for human need above religious form (Matt. 12:7).
The Holy Spirit at Work
The Book of Hosea teaches two outstanding lessons concerning the Holy Spirit: 1) It is important to depend on the presence of the Spirit, and 2) negative things happen when the Holy Spirit is missing from a life. Twice Hosea uses the phrase “the spirit of harlotry” (4:12; 5:4), and tells the consequences of being filled with an unholy spirit. Like Paul in Ephesians, Hosea connects such a spirit with wine, which enslaves the heart. This spirit of harlotry also causes people to stray into false ways and false worship in contrast to the Holy Spirit who guides us in true ways and true worship (4:11–13; Eph. 5:17–21). John records the words of Jesus concerning the ministry of the Holy Spirit who will witness to Christ; on the other hand, the spirit of harlotry keeps people from knowing God (5:4; John 15:26).
The love of Hosea for his wayward wife reminds us that the preeminent fruit of the Spirit is love (Gal. 5:22). “The love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us” (Rom. 5:5).
Outline of Hosea
A. Hosea’s marriage to Gomer 1:1–9
1. The setting 1:1
3. The children 1:3–9
B. Yahweh’s marriage to Israel 1:10—2:23
1. Israel as God’s people 1:10—2:1
2. Israel’s unfaithfulness 2:2–8
3. Israel’s punishment for unfaithfulness 2:9–13
4. God’s love for Israel 2:14–23
C. Hosea’s taking back of Gomer 3:1–5
1. Gomer bought out of slavery 3:1–3
2. Israel’s return to God 3:4, 5
II. Yahweh and Israel 4:1—14:9
1. Israel’s sinful state 4:1–19
2. Announcement of judgment 5:1—6:11
3. Israel’s sins listed 7:1—8:14
4. Forms of judgment specified 9:1—10:15
B. Love and restoration 11:1—14:9
1. God’s father love for Israel 11:1–12
2. God in Israel’s history 12:1—13:6
3. God in Israel’s future 13:7–16
4. God’s promise of restoration 14:1–9
1 THE word of the LORD that came to Hosea the son of Beeri, in the days of aUzziah, bJotham, cAhaz, and dHezekiah, kings of Judah, and in the days of eJeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel.
The Family of Hosea
2 When the LORD began to speak by Hosea, the LORD said to Hosea:
a“Go, take yourself a wife of harlotry
And children of harlotry,
For bthe land has committed great 1harlotry
By departing from the LORD.”
3 So he went and took Gomer the daughter of Diblaim, and she conceived and bore him a son.
4 Then the LORD said to him:
“Call his name Jezreel,
For in a little while
aI will avenge the *bloodshed of Jezreel on the house of Jehu,
bAnd bring an end to the kingdom of the house of Israel.
5 aIt shall come to pass in that day
That I will break the bow of Israel in the Valley of Jezreel.”
6 And she conceived again and bore a daughter. Then God said to him:
“Call her name 1Lo-Ruhamah,
aFor I will no longer have mercy on the house of Israel,
2But I will utterly take them away.
7 aYet I will have mercy on the house of Judah,
Will save them by the LORD their God,
And bwill not save them by bow,
Nor by sword or battle,
By horses or horsemen.”
8 Now when she had weaned Lo-Ruhamah, she conceived and bore a son.
9 Then God said:
“Call his name 1Lo-Ammi,
For you are not My people,
And I will not be your God.
The Restoration of Israel
10 “Yet athe number of the children of Israel
Shall be as the sand of the sea,
Which cannot be measured or numbered.
bAnd it shall come to pass
In the place where it was said to them,
There it shall be said to them,
‘You are dsons of the living God.’
11 aThen the children of Judah and the children of Israel
Shall be gathered together,
And appoint for themselves one head;
And they shall come up out of the land,
For great will be the day of Jezreel!
1 Say to your brethren, 1‘My people,’ And to your sisters, 2‘Mercy is shown.’
God’s Unfaithful People
2 “Bring1 charges against your mother, 2bring charges;
For ashe is not My wife, nor am I her Husband!
Let her put away her bharlotries from her sight,
And her adulteries from between her breasts;
3 Lest aI strip her naked
And expose her, as in the day she was bborn,
And make her like a wilderness,
And set her like a dry land,
And slay her with cthirst.
4 “I will not have mercy on her children,
For they are the achildren of harlotry.
5 For their mother has played the harlot;
She who conceived them has behaved shamefully.
For she said, ‘I will go after my lovers,
aWho give me my bread and my water,
My wool and my linen,
My oil and my drink.’
6 “Therefore, behold,
aI will hedge up your way with thorns,
And 1wall her in,
So that she cannot find her paths.
But not overtake them;
Yes, she will seek them, but not find them.
Then she will say,
a‘I will go and return to my bfirst husband,
For then it was better for me than now.’
8 For she did not aknow
That I gave her grain, new wine, and oil,
And multiplied her silver and gold—
Which they prepared for Baal.
9 “Therefore I will return and take away
My grain in its time
And My new wine in its season,
And will take back My wool and My linen,
Given to cover her nakedness.
10 Now aI will uncover her lewdness in the sight of her lovers,
And no one shall deliver her from My hand.
11 aI will also cause all her mirth to cease,
Her feast days,
Her New Moons,
Her Sabbaths—
All her appointed feasts.
12 “And I will destroy her vines and her fig trees,
Of which she has said,
‘These are my wages that my lovers have given me.’
So I will make them a forest,
And the beasts of the field shall eat them.
13 I will punish her
For the days of the Baals to which she burned incense.
She decked herself with her earrings and jewelry,
And went after her lovers;
But Me she forgot,” says the LORD.
God’s Mercy on His People
14 “Therefore, behold, I will allure her,
Will bring her into the wilderness,
And speak 1comfort to her.
15 I will give her her vineyards from there,
And athe Valley of Achor as a door of hope;
She shall sing there,
As in bthe days of her youth,
cAs in the day when she came up from the land of Egypt.
16 “And it shall be, in that day,”
Says the LORD,
“That you will call Me 1‘My Husband,’
And no longer call Me 2‘My Master,’
17 For aI will take from her mouth the names of the Baals,
And they shall be remembered by their name no more.
18 In that day I will make a acovenant for them
With the beasts of the field,
With the birds of the air,
And with the creeping things of the ground.
Bow and sword of battle bI will shatter from the earth,
To make them clie down safely.
19 “I will betroth you to Me forever;
Yes, I will betroth you to Me
In righteousness and justice,
In lovingkindness and mercy;
20 I will betroth you to Me in *faithfulness,
And ayou shall know the LORD.
21 “It shall come to pass in that day
That aI will answer,” says the LORD;
“I will answer the heavens,
And they shall answer the earth.
With grain,
With new wine,
And with oil;
They shall answer 1Jezreel.
23 Then aI will sow her for Myself in the earth,
bAnd I will have mercy on her who had 1not obtained mercy;
Then cI will say to those who were 2not My people,
‘You are 3My people!’
And they shall say, ‘You are my God!’ ”
Israel Will Return to God
1 Then the LORD said to me, “Go again, love a woman who is loved by a alover1* and is committing adultery, just like the love of the LORD for the children of Israel, who look to other gods and love the raisin cakes of the pagans.”
2 So I bought her for myself for fifteen shekels of silver, and one and one-half homers of barley.
3 And I said to her, “You shall astay with me many days; you shall not play the harlot, nor shall you have a man—so, too, will I be toward you.”
4 For the children of Israel shall abide many days awithout king or prince, without sacrifice or sacred pillar, without bephod* or cteraphim.
5 Afterward the children of Israel shall return and aseek the LORD their God and bDavid their king. They shall fear the LORD and His goodness in the clatter days.
God’s Charge Against Israel
1 Hear the *word of the LORD, You children of Israel,
For the LORD brings a acharge1 against the inhabitants of the land:
“There is no truth or *mercy
Or bknowledge of God in the land.
2 By swearing and lying,
Killing and stealing and committing adultery,
They break all restraint,
With bloodshed 1upon bloodshed.
3 Therefore athe land will *mourn;
And beveryone who dwells there will waste away
With the beasts of the field
And the birds of the air;
Even the fish of the sea will be taken away.
4 “Now let no man contend, or rebuke another;
For your people are like those awho contend with the priest.
5 Therefore you shall stumble ain the day;
The prophet also shall stumble with you in the night;
And I will destroy your mother.
6 aMy people are destroyed for lack of *knowledge.
Because you have rejected knowledge,
I also will reject you from being priest for Me;
bBecause you have forgotten the law of your God,
I also will forget your children.
7 “The more they increased,
The more they sinned against Me;
aI1 will change 2their glory into shame.
8 They eat up the sin of My people;
They set their 1heart on their iniquity.
9 And it shall be: alike people, like *priest.
So I will punish them for their ways,
And 1reward them for their deeds.
10 For athey shall eat, but not have enough;
They shall commit harlotry, but not increase;
Because they have ceased obeying the LORD.
The Idolatry of Israel
11 “Harlotry, wine, and new wine aenslave the heart.
12 My people ask counsel from their awooden idols,
And their 1staff informs them.
For bthe spirit of harlotry has caused them to stray,
And they have played the harlot against their God.
13 aThey offer sacrifices on the mountaintops,
And burn incense on the hills,
Under oaks, poplars, and terebinths,
Because their shade is good.
bTherefore your daughters commit harlotry,
And your brides commit adultery.
14 “I will not punish your daughters when they commit harlotry,
Nor your brides when they commit adultery;
For the men themselves go apart with harlots,
And offer sacrifices with a aritual harlot.
Therefore people who do not understand will be trampled.
15 “Though you, Israel, play the harlot,
Let not Judah offend.
aDo not come up to Gilgal,
cNor swear an oath, saying, ‘As the LORD lives’—
Like a stubborn calf;
Now the LORD will let them *forage
Like a lamb in 1open country.
17 “Ephraim is joined to idols,
aLet him alone.
They commit harlotry continually.
aHer 2rulers 3dearly love dishonor.
19 aThe wind has wrapped her up in its wings,
And bthey shall be ashamed because of their sacrifices.
Impending Judgment on Israel and Judah
1 “Hear this, O priests!Take heed, O house of Israel!
Give ear, O house of the king!
For 1yours is the judgment,
Because ayou have been a snare to Mizpah
And a net spread on Tabor.
2 The revolters are adeeply involved in slaughter,
Though I rebuke them all.
3 aI know Ephraim,
And Israel is not hidden from Me;
For now, O Ephraim, byou commit harlotry;
Israel is defiled.
4 “They1 do not direct their deeds
Toward turning to their God,
For athe spirit of harlotry is in their midst,
And they do not know the LORD.
5 The apride of Israel testifies to his face;
Therefore Israel and Ephraim stumble in their iniquity;
Judah also stumbles with them.
6 “With their flocks and herds
aThey shall go to seek the LORD,
But they will not find Him;
He has withdrawn Himself from them.
7 They have adealt treacherously with the LORD,
For they have begotten 1pagan children.
Now a New Moon shall devour them and their heritage.
8 “Blowa the ram’s horn in Gibeah,
The trumpet in Ramah!
‘Look behind you, O Benjamin!’
9 Ephraim shall be desolate in the day of rebuke;
Among the tribes of Israel I make known what is sure.
10 “The princes of Judah are like those who aremove a landmark;
I will pour out My wrath on them like water.
11 Ephraim is aoppressed and broken in judgment,
Because he willingly walked by bhuman precept.
12 Therefore I will be to Ephraim like a moth,
And to the house of Judah alike rottenness.
13 “When Ephraim saw his sickness,
And Judah saw his awound,
Then Ephraim went bto Assyria
And sent to King Jareb;
Yet he cannot cure you,
Nor heal you of your wound.
14 For aI will be like a lion to Ephraim,
And like a young lion to the house of Judah.
bI, even I, will tear them and go away;
I will take them away, and no one shall rescue.
15 I will return again to My place
Till they 1acknowledge their offense.
Then they will seek My face;
In their affliction they will earnestly seek Me.”
A Call to Repentance
1 Come,a and let us return to the LORD; For bHe has torn, but cHe will heal us;
He has stricken, but He will 1bind us up.
2 aAfter two days He will revive us;
On the third day He will raise us up,
That we may live in His sight.
3 aLet us know,
Let us pursue the knowledge of the LORD.
His going forth is established bas the morning;
cHe will come to us dlike the rain,
Like the latter and former rain to the earth.
Impenitence of Israel and Judah
4 “O Ephraim, what shall I do to you?
O Judah, what shall I do to you?
For your faithfulness is like a morning cloud,
And like the early dew it goes away.
5 Therefore I have hewn them by the prophets,
I have slain them by athe words of My mouth;
And 1your judgments are like light that goes forth.
6 For I desire amercy1 and bnot sacrifice,
And the cknowledge* of God more than burnt offerings.
7 “But like 1men they transgressed the covenant;
There they dealt treacherously with Me.
8 aGilead is a city of evildoers
And 1defiled with blood.
9 As bands of robbers lie in wait for a man,
So the company of apriests bmurder on the way to Shechem;
Surely they commit clewdness.
10 I have seen a horrible thing in the house of Israel:
There is the 1harlotry of Ephraim;
Israel is defiled.
11 Also, O Judah, a harvest is appointed for you,
When I return the captives of My people.
1 “When I would have healed Israel,Then the iniquity of Ephraim was uncovered,
And the wickedness of Samaria.
For athey have committed fraud;
A thief comes in;
A band of robbers 1takes spoil outside.
2 They 1do not consider in their hearts
That aI remember all their wickedness;
Now their own deeds have surrounded them;
They are before My face.
3 They make a aking glad with their wickedness,
And princes bwith their lies.
Like an oven heated by a baker—
He ceases stirring the fire after kneading the dough,
Until it is leavened.
5 In the day of our king
Princes have made him sick, 1inflamed with awine;
He stretched out his hand with scoffers.
6 They prepare their heart like an oven,
While they lie in wait;
1Their baker sleeps all night;
In the morning it burns like a flaming fire.
7 They are all hot, like an oven,
And have devoured their judges;
All their kings have fallen.
aNone among them calls upon Me.
8 “Ephraim ahas mixed himself among the peoples;
Ephraim is a cake unturned.
9 aAliens have devoured his strength,
But he does not know it;
Yes, gray hairs are here and there on him,
Yet he does not know it.
10 And the apride of Israel testifies to his face,
But bthey do not return to the LORD their God,
Nor seek Him for all this.
Futile Reliance on the Nations
11 “Ephraima also is like a silly dove, without 1sense—
bThey call to Egypt,
They go to cAssyria.
12 Wherever they go, I will aspread My net on them;
I will bring them down like birds of the air;
I will *chastise them
bAccording to what their *congregation has heard.
13 “Woe to them, for they have fled from Me!
Destruction to them,
Because they have transgressed against Me!
Though aI redeemed them,
Yet they have spoken lies against Me.
14 aThey did not cry out to Me with their heart
When they wailed upon their beds.
“They 1assemble together for grain and new bwine,
2They rebel against Me;
15 Though I disciplined and strengthened their arms,
Yet they devise evil against Me;
16 They return, but not 1to the Most High;
aThey are like a treacherous bow.
Their princes shall fall by the sword
For the bcursings of their tongue.
This shall be their derision cin the land of Egypt.
The Apostasy of Israel
1 “Set the 1trumpet to your mouth!He shall come alike an eagle against the house of the LORD,
Because they have transgressed My covenant
And rebelled against My law.
2 aIsrael will cry to Me,
‘My God, bwe know You!’
3 Israel has rejected the good;
The enemy will pursue him.
4 “Theya set up kings, but not by Me;
They made princes, but I did not acknowledge them.
From their silver and gold
They made idols for themselves—
That they might be cut off.
5 Your 1calf 2is rejected, O Samaria!
My anger is aroused against them—
aHow long until they attain to innocence?
6 For from Israel is even this:
A aworkman made it, and it is not God;
But the calf of Samaria shall be broken to pieces.
And reap the whirlwind.
The stalk has no bud;
It shall never produce meal.
If it should produce,
bAliens would swallow it up.
8 aIsrael is swallowed up;
Now they are among the *Gentiles
bLike a vessel in which is no pleasure.
9 For they have gone up to Assyria,
Like aa wild donkey alone by itself;
Ephraim bhas hired lovers.
10 Yes, though they have hired among the nations,
Now aI will gather them;
And they shall 1sorrow a little,
Because of the 2burden of bthe king of princes.
11 “Because Ephraim has made many altars for sin,
They have become for him altars for sinning.
12 I have *written for him athe great things of My law,
But they were considered a strange thing.
13 For the sacrifices of My offerings athey *sacrifice flesh and eat it,
bBut the LORD does not accept them.
cNow He will *remember their iniquity and punish their sins.
They shall return to Egypt.
14 “Fora Israel has forgotten bhis Maker,
And has built 1temples;
Judah also has multiplied cfortified cities;
But dI will send fire upon his cities,
And it shall devour his 2palaces.”
Judgment of Israel’s Sin
1 Doa not rejoice, O Israel, with joy like other peoples,
For you have played the harlot against your God.
You have made love for bhire on every threshing floor.
2 The threshing floor and the winepress
Shall not feed them,
And the new wine shall fail in her.
3 They shall not dwell in athe LORD’s land,
bBut Ephraim shall return to Egypt,
And cshall eat *unclean things in Assyria.
4 They shall not offer wine offerings to the LORD,
Nor ashall their bsacrifices be pleasing to Him.
It shall be like bread of mourners to them;
All who eat it shall be defiled.
For their bread shall be for their own life;
It shall not come into the house of the LORD.
5 What will you do in the appointed day,
And in the day of the feast of the LORD?
6 For indeed they are gone because of destruction.
Egypt shall gather them up;
Memphis shall bury them.
aNettles shall possess their valuables of silver;
Thorns shall be in their tents.
7 The adays of punishment have come;
The days of recompense have come.
Israel knows!
The prophet is a bfool,
cThe spiritual man is insane,
Because of the greatness of your iniquity and great enmity.
8 The awatchman of Ephraim is with my God;
But the prophet is a 1fowler’s snare in all his ways—
Enmity in the house of his God.
As in the days of bGibeah.
He will remember their iniquity;
He will punish their sins.
10 “I found Israel
Like grapes in the awilderness;
I saw your fathers
As the bfirstfruits on the fig tree in its first season.
But they went to cBaal Peor,
And 1separated themselves to that shame;
dThey became an abomination like the thing they loved.
11 As for Ephraim, their glory shall fly away like a bird—
No birth, no pregnancy, and no conception!
12 Though they bring up their children,
Yet I will bereave them to the last man.
Yes, awoe to them when I depart from them!
13 Just aas I saw Ephraim like Tyre, planted in a pleasant place,
So Ephraim will bring out his children to the murderer.”
What will You give?
Give them aa miscarrying womb
And dry breasts!
15 “All their wickedness is in aGilgal,
For there I hated them.
Because of the evil of their deeds
I will drive them from My house;
I will love them no more.
bAll their princes are rebellious.
16 Ephraim is astricken,
Their root is dried up;
They shall bear no fruit.
Yes, were they to bear children,
I would kill the darlings of their womb.”
17 My God will acast them away,
Because they did not obey Him;
And they shall be bwanderers among the nations.
Israel’s Sin and Captivity
1 Israel aempties his vine; He brings forth fruit for himself.
According to the multitude of his fruit
bHe has increased the altars;
According to the bounty of his land
They have embellished his sacred pillars.
Now they are held guilty.
He will break down their altars;
He will ruin their sacred pillars.
3 For now they say,
“We have no king,
Because we did not fear the LORD.
And as for a king, what would he do for us?”
4 They have spoken words,
Swearing falsely in *making a covenant.
Thus judgment springs up alike hemlock in the furrows of the field.
5 The inhabitants of Samaria fear
Because of the acalf1 of Beth Aven.
For its people mourn for it,
And 2its priests *shriek for it—
Because its bglory has departed from it.
6 The idol also shall be carried to Assyria
As a present for King aJareb.
Ephraim shall receive shame,
And Israel shall be ashamed of his own counsel.
7 As for Samaria, her king is cut off
Like a twig on the water.
8 Also the ahigh places of 1Aven, bthe sin of Israel,
Shall be destroyed.
The thorn and thistle shall grow on their altars;
cThey shall say to the mountains, “Cover us!”
And to the hills, “Fall on us!”
9 “O Israel, you have sinned from the days of aGibeah;
There they stood.
The bbattle in Gibeah against the children of 1iniquity
Did not 2overtake them.
10 When it is My desire, I will *chasten them.
aPeoples shall be gathered against them
When I bind them 1for their two transgressions.
11 Ephraim is aa trained heifer
That loves to thresh grain;
But I harnessed her fair neck,
I will make Ephraim 1pull a plow.
Judah shall plow;
Jacob shall break his clods.”
12 Sow for yourselves righteousness;
Reap in mercy;
aBreak up your fallow ground,
For it is time to seek the LORD,
Till He bcomes and rains righteousness on you.
13 aYou have plowed wickedness;
You have reaped iniquity.
You have eaten the fruit of lies,
Because you trusted in your own way,
In the multitude of your mighty men.
14 Therefore tumult shall arise among your people,
And all your fortresses shall be plundered
As Shalman plundered Beth Arbel in the day of battle—
A mother dashed in pieces upon her children.
15 Thus it shall be done to you, O Bethel,
Because of your great wickedness.
At dawn the king of Israel
Shall be cut off utterly.
God’s Continuing Love for Israel
1 “When Israel was a 1child, I *loved him,
And out of Egypt aI *called My bson.
They sacrificed to the Baals,
And burned incense to carved images.
3 “Ia taught Ephraim to walk,
Taking them by 1their arms;
But they did not know that bI healed them.
4 I drew them with 1gentle cords,
With bands of love,
And aI was to them as those who take the yoke from their 2neck.
bI stooped and fed them.
5 “He shall not return to the land of Egypt;
But the Assyrian shall be his king,
Because they refused to repent.
6 And the sword shall slash in his cities,
Devour his districts,
And consume them,
Because of their own counsels.
7 My people are bent on abacksliding* from Me.
Though 1they call 2to the Most High,
None at all exalt Him.
8 “Howa can I give you up, Ephraim?
How can I hand you over, Israel?
How can I make you like bAdmah?
How can I set you like Zeboiim?
My sympathy is stirred.
9 I will not execute the fierceness of My anger;
I will not again destroy Ephraim.
aFor I am God, and not man,
The Holy One in your midst;
And I will not 1come with terror.
10 “They shall walk after the LORD.
When He roars,
Then His sons shall come trembling from the west;
11 They shall come trembling like a bird from Egypt,
aLike a dove from the land of Assyria.
bAnd I will let them dwell in their houses,”
Says the LORD.
God’s Anger with Judah
12 “Ephraim has encircled Me with lies,
And the house of Israel with deceit;
But Judah still walks with God,
Even with the 1Holy One who is faithful.
1 “Ephraim afeeds on the wind,And pursues the east wind;
He daily increases lies and 1desolation.
bAlso they make a 2covenant with the Assyrians,
And coil is carried to Egypt.
2 “Thea LORD also brings a 1charge against Judah,
And will punish Jacob according to his ways;
According to his deeds He will recompense him.
3 He took his brother aby the heel in the womb,
And in his strength he bstruggled with God.
4 Yes, he struggled with the *Angel and prevailed;
He wept, and sought favor from Him.
He found Him in aBethel,
And there He spoke to us—
5 That is, the LORD God of hosts.
The LORD is His amemorable name.
6 aSo you, by the help of your God, return;
Observe mercy and justice,
And *wait on your God continually.
aDeceitful scales are in his hand;
He loves to oppress.
a‘Surely I have become rich,
I have found wealth for myself;
In all my labors
They shall find in me no iniquity that is sin.’
9 “But I am the LORD your God,
Ever since the land of Egypt;
aI will again make you dwell in tents,
As in the days of the appointed feast.
10 aI have also spoken by the prophets,
And have multiplied *visions;
I have given 1symbols 2through the witness of the prophets.”
Surely they are 1vanity—
Though they sacrifice bulls in bGilgal,
Indeed their altars shall be heaps in the furrows of the field.
12 Jacob afled to the country of Syria;
bIsrael served for a spouse,
And for a wife he tended sheep.
13 aBy a prophet the LORD brought Israel out of Egypt,
And by a prophet he was *preserved.
14 Ephraim aprovoked* Him to anger most bitterly;
Therefore his *Lord will leave the guilt of his bloodshed upon him,
bAnd return his reproach upon him.
Relentless Judgment on Israel
1 When Ephraim spoke, trembling, He exalted himself in Israel;
But when he offended through Baal worship, he died.
2 Now they sin more and more,
And have made for themselves molded images,
Idols of their silver, according to their skill;
All of it is the work of craftsmen.
They say of them,
“Let 1the men who sacrifice 2kiss the calves!”
3 Therefore they shall be like the morning cloud
And like the early dew that passes away,
aLike chaff blown off from a threshing floor
And like smoke from a chimney.
4 “Yet aI am the LORD your God
Ever since the land of Egypt,
And you shall know no God but Me;
For bthere is no savior besides Me.
5 aI 1knew you in the wilderness,
bIn the land of 2great drought.
6 aWhen they had pasture, they were filled;
They were filled and their heart was *exalted;
Therefore they forgot Me.
7 “So aI will be to them like a lion;
Like ba leopard by the road I will lurk;
8 I will meet them alike a bear deprived of her cubs;
I will tear open their rib cage,
And there I will devour them like a lion.
The 1wild beast shall tear them.
9 “O Israel, 1you are destroyed,
But 2your help is from Me.
aWhere is any other,
That he may save you in all your cities?
And your judges to whom byou said,
‘Give me a king and princes’?
11 aI gave you a king in My anger,
And took him away in My wrath.
12 “Thea iniquity of Ephraim is bound up;
His sin is stored up.
13 aThe sorrows of a woman in childbirth shall come upon him.
He is an unwise son,
For he should not stay long where children are born.
14 “I will *ransom them from the 1power of 2the grave;
I will redeem them from death.
aO Death, 3I will be your plagues!
O 4Grave, 5I will be your destruction!
bPity is hidden from My eyes.”
15 Though he is fruitful among his *brethren,
aAn east wind shall come;
The wind of the LORD shall come up from the wilderness.
Then his spring shall become dry,
And his fountain shall be dried up.
He shall plunder the treasury of every desirable prize.
16 Samaria 1is held guilty,
For she has arebelled against her God.
They shall fall by the sword,
Their infants shall be dashed in pieces,
And their women with child bripped open.
Israel Restored at Last
1 O Israel, areturn to the LORD your God,
For you have stumbled because of your iniquity;
2 Take words with you,
And return to the LORD.
Say to Him,
“Take away all iniquity;
Receive us graciously,
For we will offer the asacrifices1 of our lips.
3 Assyria shall anot save us,
bWe will not ride on horses,
Nor will we say anymore to the work of our hands,
‘You are our gods.’
cFor in You the fatherless finds mercy.”
4 “I will *heal their abacksliding,*
I will blove them freely,
For My anger has turned away from him.
5 I will be like the adew to Israel;
He shall 1grow like the lily,
And 2lengthen his roots like Lebanon.
6 His branches shall 1spread;
aHis beauty shall be like an olive tree,
And bhis fragrance like Lebanon.
7 aThose who dwell under his shadow shall *return;
They shall be revived like grain,
And 1grow like a vine.
Their 2scent shall be like the wine of Lebanon.
‘What have I to do anymore with idols?’
I have heard and observed him.
I am like a green cypress tree;
aYour fruit is found in Me.”
9 Who is wise?
Let him *understand these things.
Who is prudent?
Let him know them.
For athe ways of the LORD are right;
The righteous walk in them,
But transgressors stumble in them.
1:1 Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah reigned in the southern kingdom and Jeroboam II in the northern kingdom (which was Hosea’s homeland), indicating that Hosea’s ministry covered about 40 years (755–715 B.C.).
1:2, 3 See section 1 of Truth-In-Action at the end of Hos.
1:2 Wife of harlotry has been interpreted three ways: 1) as an allegory showing God’s relationship with Israel; 2) Gomer fell into an immoral life after Hosea married her; 3) Hosea knew that Gomer was a prostitute when he married her. The simple direct reading of the text commends the third view as correct.
As for the children, whether each was fathered by Hosea or by another man, they were the offspring of a harlot mother, just as the children of Israel were the offspring of spiritually adulterous parents.
The reason for God’s call to His prophet is quickly given: for the land has committed great harlotry. From the very beginning the connection between Hosea’s experience and that of the Lord is seen, so setting the major theme of the book.
1:3 See section 4 of Truth-In-Action at the end of Hos.
1:4 Jezreel means “God Scatters” or “God Sows.” Jezreel was the name of the place where Jehu had killed the 70 sons of Ahab (2 Kin. 10:11). As Jehu brought an end to the line of Ahab, so now God will bring an end to the whole dynasty of Israel. By 722 B.C. the northern kingdom and its capital, Samaria, will fall.
1:5 Break the bow: Symbolic of Israel’s military power. Hosea emphasizes his point here by playing on the similar sounds of the words Israel (Hebrew yisra’el) and Jezreel (Hebrew yizre’el).
1:6 Lo-Ruhamah, meaning “No Mercy,” indicates a lifting of the Lord’s compassion from the rebellious nation.
1:7 Judah, the southern kingdom, still maintains the true worship of the Lord. Save them by the LORD: In the reign of Hezekiah (v. 1), the angel of the Lord killed 185,000 Assyrians, thus postponing the fall of Jerusalem for almost 150 years (2 Kin. 19).
1:9 Lo-Ammi, meaning “Not My People,” indicates the end of the relationship.
1:11 Though some reunification of the two kingdoms will occur after the Exile, their coming under one head will not be completely fulfilled until Messiah brings them together. Jezreel, used in 1:4, 5 to mean “God Scatters,” now takes its positive meaning, “God Plants.”
2:2 God calls on the individuals in the nation to seek justice, as children of a home broken by adultery. She is not My wife because her adulterous actions have broken the relationship.
2:4 Her children continue in the sins of their mother.
2:6 God’s mercy is displayed as He uses all means to keep Israel from running from Him.
2:7 Sin will not bring the satisfaction Israel is seeking.
2:10 Lewdness: Immodesty or shamelessness.
2:11 God has established the feast days so the people could remember His blessings to them. Without this element, they had lost their true meaning and so will be brought to an end.
2:13 Multiple Baals were recognized, each representing a different manifestation or domain of authority of the god.
2:14 The wilderness is not here a place of punishment but a place of privacy.
2:15 Achor means “Trouble,” and was the scene of Achan’s sin (Josh. 7:26). God redeems situations, bringing present hope in the place of previous trouble.
2:16 My Master interprets the Hebrew word Baali, implying “owner” or “possessor,” while my husband expresses the affection of a family relationship.
2:18 V. 16 is futuristic, and v. 18 is even more futuristic, perhaps millennial.
2:19, 20 God renews His covenant with Israel in the form of wedding vows. He promises a relationship characterized by permanence, right standards, fair treatment, love unfailing, tenderness, security, and continuing self-revelation.
2:21–23 The image is of the earth crying out to the heavens and the heavens crying out to God for His touch upon the land’s fruitfulness. He responds by reversing the punishments that were contained in the names of Hosea’s three children.
3:1–5 See section 1 of Truth-In-Action at the end of Hos.
3:1 The Lord renews the call of Hosea to love his wife who has returned to her immoral life-style.
3:2 Ex. 21:32 gives the price of a slave as 30 shekels, so Hosea pays part of the price in silver and part in goods. Fifteen shekels of silver was about 4/10 of an ounce. One and one-half homers is about 5 bushels.
3:3 The return to the home involves a period of discipline.
3:4 During the Exile, Israel would be without all the structures and resources they had depended on for help and guidance. The list of things Israel would be without for guidance was a mixture of essentials ordained of God for Israel’s worship and practices forbidden by God, indicating how far the people had moved toward a syncretistic form of religion.
For example, the ephod was the part of the high priest’s clothing to which the Urim and Thummim were attached, but the teraphim were household gods, probably images of ancestors.
3:5 David is here the messianic king. To fear … His goodness is to marvel at the gracious dealings of God with a people who had rebelled against Him.
4:1, 2 Two kinds of sins characterized the people: 1) they lacked the basic ethical elements necessary for society; 2) they broke the basic commandments.
4:1 Knowledge of God refers to intimate fellowship with Him rather than to an understanding of who He is. They have rejected relationship with God, and this will eventually destroy them (v. 6).
4:2 The commandments that govern relationships with one’s fellowman are constantly being broken.
4:3 Man’s sin has a detrimental effect on his environment. See Rom. 8:20–22.
4:4 Casting blame should be avoided since all are guilty.
4:5 Prophet here represents the false prophets. Mother is the nation (see 2:2, 5).
4:6–10 This section addresses the particular sins of the priests.
4:6, 7 See section 4 of Truth-In-Action at the end of Hos.
4:7 Glory into shame: Their office, which was intended as one of high honor, has been used in disgraceful ways.
4:8 Sin: Sin-offering.
4:11–14 The spiritual immorality/drunkenness of the pagan cults promoted physical immorality and drunkenness, so the text moves between spiritual, physical, and double meanings.
4:12 Staff: Sticks were used in their attempt to find direction. See marginal note.
4:14 God’s punishment would not be uneven as theirs would be, charging the women and exonerating the men. All who are void of spiritual knowledge will be trampled. See note on v. 1.
4:15 Judah can avoid Israel’s fate if she will stay close to God. Beth Aven (“House of Iniquity”) is used for Bethel (“House of God”). Gilgal and Bethel were places of idol worship.
4:16 A lamb in open country will get lost or fall prey to predators.
4:17 Ephraim is used throughout the rest of Hosea as a synonym for the northern kingdom of Israel. It was the chief tribe.
4:18 An unusual word for rulers is used here. Normally it means “shield,” and the implication here is that those who should have protected their people have left them uncovered.
4:19 The enemy will come with strength and suddenness like a storm.
5:1 Mizpah was a site in Gilead on the east side of the Jordan River. Tabor is a dome-shaped mountain in the Valley of Jezreel on the west side of the Jordan. Both had become places of idolatrous worship.
5:2 The leaders of the land were guilty of slaughter, either many murders or abundance of idolatrous sacrifices.
5:5 Their pride witnessed against them and condemned them. After the nation divided into two kingdoms, Israel was rather constant in its evil kings and pagan loyalties while Judah went back and forth.
5:6 They take flocks and herds for sacrifices.
5:7 Dealt treacherously means literally that they have “clothed themselves,” or acted under cover, so deceitfully. The monthly sacrifices, new moon, will be offered in vain.
5:8 Gibeah was 3 miles north of Jerusalem; Ramah, 5 miles north of Jerusalem. Beth Aven: See note on 4:15.
5:10 The leaders of Judah conspire to commit the most serious offenses, like those who remove a landmark, a practice strongly condemned in Deut. 19:14; 27:17.
5:11 The people suffer because they follow the way of other men in worshiping idols.
5:12 Moth and rottenness both work silently, surely, and from the inside to bring devastation.
5:13 Jareb means “Quarrelsome, Contentious,” indicating that in their desperation, Israel sought help from one opposed to them.
5:15 See section 3 of Truth-In-Action at the end of Hos.
5:15 Having acted as a lion coming out to take his prey, now God will withdraw to His place, to heaven, and leave Israel to consider the consequences of their evil actions.
6:1–3 See section 2 of Truth-In-Action at the end of Hos.
6:1, 2 Scholars debate whether this is true repentance or a partial blaming of God. They also debate whether the references to days refer to the fact that their punishment will be less than permanent or are reflective of a false hope in its brevity.
6:4 The spirit of this response of God toward His sinful people is reflected in Jesus’ words in Matt. 23:37: “O Jerusalem, … How often I wanted to gather your children together, … but you were not willing.” Israel’s show of repentance was merely transitory, like a cloud or dew.
6:5 God had sent the prophets to shape the nation, but by rejecting them the people have called upon themselves the penalty that now must follow.
6:6 See section 2 of Truth-In-Action at the end of Hos.
6:6 Mercy (Hebrew hesed) is a loyal covenant love, extended to others because it has been experienced in one’s own relationship with God.
6:7 Like men can also mean “like Adam,” who violated his relationship with God.
6:9 The priests, intended to bring blessing and a way of life to those they served, have instead taken advantage of the people and led them into deadly paths. Shechem, designated a city of refuge, became the scene of murder.
6:10 The Hebrew root for horrible thing is the same as the word for “hair,” thus bristling, something that makes the hair stand on end.
6:11 When … people parallels the phrase at the beginning of 7:1, and means “When I would turn around the captivity of My people.”
7:1 Surgical attempts to heal sometimes only reveal the depth of the problem.
7:3 Evil rulers delighted in the sins of their subjects.
7:4–7 Their passions burn in them, find gratification, then quickly return in an endless cycle, like the baker at his oven.
7:5 The day of our king, the coronation day, was celebrated with drunkenness and mockery.
7:8 Because Israel had entered into foreign alliances and assimilated other cultures, it had lost the distinctions that gave it worth. Further, Israel was like a cake burned on one side and underdone on the other, fit only to be tossed aside.
7:9 Their alliances, rather than empowering them, have sapped their strength.
7:11 A silly dove is one open to deception, easily misled. Israel’s foolishness was shown in their thinking that they could find help in any human resource, even powerful Egypt and Assyria.7:12 The punishment for their wickedness was what had already been told them by the prophets (see 6:5).
7:13 God wanted to and would have redeemed them, but they rejected His offer.
7:14 They pray for provision, although they have removed themselves from a relationship with the Provider.
7:16 A treacherous bow is literally a “slack, loose,” one that does not shoot straight.
8:1 The Assyrian army will come on them, as swiftly as an eagle descending on its prey.
8:4 They tried to establish their own government, and even their own religion, apart from God.
8:5 Your calf was the idolatrous golden image. How long? Will Israel ever be able to return to the pure worship of the Lord?
8:7 Just as sowing good produces an even greater amount of blessing, sowing evil produces an even greater amount of punishment.
8:9 Even a wild donkey can survive independently, but Israel has become dependent on its foreign alliances. Hired lovers: Israel sought to obtain by purchase what God had freely promised: His protection and provision.
8:10 Sorrow a little: Seeking help from Assyria will not mean gain, but loss to them.
8:11 Adding idolatrous altars increased their transgression, rather than remitting it.
8:13 Egypt is symbolic of a place of exile and bondage.
9:1 Love for hire: Israel considered their crops to be the payoff of their worship of idols rather than a gift from God.
9:4 Bread of mourners: Num. 19:14, 15 declares that things in the home of one who has died become unclean and, therefore, unacceptable offerings.
9:6 Memphis was south of Cairo alongside the Nile, noted for its large burial grounds.
9:7 As punishment comes, Israel will realize that the false prophets who predicted victory and prosperity were mistaken.
9:8 In contrast to the false prophets of v. 7, a true prophet like Hosea is considered by the people and the priests to be a hostile element in their midst.
9:9 Judg. 19 tells how men of Gibeah raped and murdered the concubine of a Levite.
9:10 Though the Lord bestowed His special favor on Israel, she abandoned Him to worship such idols as Baal Peor (Num. 25), just one of many names/manifestations of Baal.
9:11–16 Though the name Ephraim means “Fruitful,” its fruitfulness will end, indicating an end to God’s blessing.
9:13 Tyre, a major seaport of considerable wealth and influence, would be destroyed (Is. 23). The same fate awaited Ephraim.
9:15 Gilgal, the place where Israel camped upon crossing the Jordan into the Promised Land, had become a center of idolatrous worship.
10:1 Israel is like a fruitful vine, but their prosperity only leads them into more and more sin.
10:3 Having abandoned God, their true King, an earthly king cannot help them.
10:4 Because their system of justice is wrong, it is like hemlock, a deadly poison, which destroys the possibility of life and fruitfulness in the land.
10:5 Beth Aven: See note on 4:15. The Hebrew word for priests here is not the usual cohen, but comer, priests who served pagan gods.
10:6 King Jareb: See note on 5:13.
10:8 Aven: Beth Aven. See note on 4:15.
10:11 In their own land Israel had worked hard and enjoyed the fruit of their work, but in the Exile they will be subjected to servile labor.
10:12 See section 3 of Truth-In-Action at the end of Hos.
10:12 Fallow ground is land left uncultivated.
10:14 Shalman refers to the Assyrian king Shalmaneser, who defeated the 10 northern tribes of Israel (see 2 Kin. 17:3). Beth Arbel is a town in Galilee.
11:1 That this section on the fatherly love of God for His people follows so closely on a prophecy of the total destruction of Israel (ch. 10) demonstrates Hosea’s incapacity to point to punishment without balancing it with God’s special care and concern for Israel.
11:2 They called: The prophets called.
11:5–7 Hosea returns to the inevitable result of Israel’s sin if they persist in turning from God.
11:8, 9 See section 2 of Truth-In-Action at the end of Hos.
11:8 Admah and Zeboiim are mentioned in connection with the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah in Gen. 14:8 and Deut. 29:23.
11:9 This verse furnishes one of the keys to understanding the message of the Book of Hosea. A man like Hosea can reflect some aspects of God’s nature and love, but he is limited in this capacity. But God has no limits to His patience and love.
11:10, 11 When God calls His people back from captivity, they will respond as certainly as young lions called back to the lair and as swiftly as birds returning to their roost.
11:12 Beginning with this verse and continuing through ch. 12, Hosea reviews Israel’s history, especially as epitomized in Jacob, to show a continuing propensity to turn away from God’s way of truth to follow their own deceitful paths.
12:1 Feeds on the wind means that they sought futile, empty ways to satisfy desires that only God could fill.
12:3, 4 Hosea makes a wordplay on the Hebrew names of Jacob: Heel is the root of the name “Jacob”; struggled is the root of the name “Israel.”
12:6 See section 3 of Truth-In-Action at the end of Hos.
12:7, 8 Canaanite also means “trader,” implying one whose business practices are dishonest. Israel had become such an individual and thought its sin could not be detected.
12:10 Among the symbols by which the prophets represented God’s message was the life of Hosea himself and his relationship with his wife Gomer, intended to depict God’s love for Israel.
12:11 Gilead (6:8) and Gilgal (see note on 9:15) were places thoroughly devoted to the worship of idols.
13:1 No matter how long it took the nation to realize that it had died, death had nonetheless occurred. Similarly, for an individual, sin brings death, though the realization of it may not occur immediately.
13:2 How far Israel has departed from the true worship of the Lord is seen in the call of the idolatrous priests to worship the calf images of Baal by kissing them. See 1 Kin. 19:18.
13:3 Cloud, dew: See note on 6:4.
13:4 See section 4 of Truth-In-Action at the end of Hos.
13:4 Shall know no God: See note on 4:1.
13:5 God knew Israel, that is, He entered into a relationship with them characterized by love and concern.
13:10, 11 The succession of human kings from Saul onward proved a failure in representing God, their true King.
13:13 Like an unwise child in the birth process, Israel refuses to come to birth, to newness of life.
13:14 God will not only release people from the power of the grave and death, He will also take away the threat of death. God can bring back His people from certain extinction in a land of exile in Hosea’s time; and, as Paul indicates in 1 Cor. 15:15, God can once and for all remove the abiding menace of death on the basis of the victory won through the resurrection of Christ.
14:2 The sacrifices God desires are words of true repentance (see Heb. 13:15).
14:5–8 Hosea uses a series of examples from nature to show how God will restore His people with fruitfulness (the lily), stability (roots like the cedars of Lebanon), beauty (olive tree), and fragrance (wine). Then God Himself promises to be an evergreen place of shelter (cypress tree).
14:9 Hosea here summarizes the message of his book: the main thing is to know God and His ways, to follow Him and so find righteousness, and to avoid paths that lead to destruction.
CHAPTER 1
1 Spiritual adultery
b 2 Kin. 15:8–10; 17:6, 23; 18:11
* See WW at Lev. 17:11.
1 Lit. No-Mercy
2 Or That I may forgive them at all
1 Lit. Not-My-People
a Gen. 22:17; 32:12; Jer. 33:22
d Is. 63:16; 64:8; [John 1:12]
a Is. 11:11–13; Jer. 3:18; 50:4; [Ezek. 34:23; 37:15–28]
CHAPTER 2
1 Or Contend with
2 Or contend
a Jer. 13:22, 26; Ezek. 16:37–39
1 Lit. wall up her wall
b Is. 54:5–8; Jer. 2:2; 3:1; Ezek. 16:8; 23:4
1 Or pursue
a Jer. 7:34; 16:9; Hos. 3:4; Amos 5:21; 8:10
1 Lit. to her heart