Hosea

aVv. 1–3 anticipate the conclusion of the chapter. The number of the people of Israel shall be like that of the sands of the sea, which cannot be measured or counted; and instead of being told, “You are Not-My-People,”bYou are Not-My-People See 1.9. they shall be called Children-of-the-Living-God.

The people of Judah and the people of Israel shall assemble together and appoint one head over them; and they shall rise from the groundcfrom the ground Meaning, perhaps, “from their wretched condition,” or “to ascendancy over the land.”—for marvelous shall be the day of Jezreel!dthe day of Jezreel I.e., the day when the name Jezreel will convey a promise (2.23–25) instead of a threat (1.4–5).

Oh, callecall GOD addresses Hosea and his fellow North Israelites; see 1.9. The mother is the nation; her children the individual North Israelites. your brothers “My People,”And your sisters “Lovingly Accepted!”

fSee preceding note. In this passage, GOD speaks as if in a family quarrel, or in a court of law. Remonstrate your mother, remonstrate her—For she is not My wifeAnd I am not her husbandgshe is not My wife / And I am not her husband A declaration of divorce.—And let her put away her whoredom from her faceAnd her adultery from between her breasts.

Else will I strip her nakedAnd leave her as on the day she was born:And I will make her like a wilderness,Render her like desert land,And let her die of thirst.

I will also disown her children;For they are now a whore’s brood,

In that their mother has played the whore,She that conceived them has acted shamelessly—Because she thought,“I will go after my lovers,Who supply my bread and my water,My wool and my linen,My oil and my drink.”

Assuredly,I will hedge up herhher Heb. “your.” Vv. 8–9 would read well after v. 15. roads with thornsAnd raise walls against her,And she shall not find her paths.

Pursue her lovers as she will,She shall not overtake them;And seek them as she may,She shall never find them.Then she will say,“I will go and returnTo my first husband,For then I fared better than now.”

And she did not consider this:It was I who bestowed on herThe new grain and wine and oil;I who lavished silver on herAnd gold—which they used for Baal.

Assuredly,I will take back My new grain in its timeAnd My new wine in its season,And I will snatch away My wool and My linenThat serve to cover her nakedness.

Now will I uncover her shameIn the very sight of her lovers,And none shall save her from Me.

And I will end all her rejoicing:Her festivals, new moons, and sabbaths—All her festive seasons.

I will lay waste her vines and her fig trees,Which she thinks are a feeShe received from her lovers;I will turn them into brushwood,And beasts of the field shall devour them.

Thus will I punish herFor the days of the Baalim,On which she brought them offerings;When, decked with earrings and jewels,She would go after her lovers,Forgetting Me—declares GOD.

Assuredly,I will speak coaxingly to herAnd lead her through the wildernessiwilderness I.e., her ravaged land (see vv. 5, 10–11, 14); so Ibn Ezra. And speak to her tenderly.

I will give her her vineyards from there,And the Valley of AchorjValley of Achor A desolate region; cf. Isa. 65.10; see further Josh. 7.25–26. as a plowland of hope.kplowland of hope Connecting pethaḥ with pittaḥ “to plow” (see Isa. 28.24). Meaning of Heb. uncertain; in contrast to others “door of hope.” There she shall respond as in the days of her youth,When she came up from the land of Egypt.

And in that day—declares GOD—You will call [Me] Ishi,lIshi I.e., “my husband.” And no more will you call Me Baali.mBaali Like Ishi, Baali means “my husband,” but it also means “my Baal.”

For I will remove the names of the Baalim from her mouth,And they shall nevermore be mentioned by name.

In that day, I will make a covenant for them with the beasts of the field, the birds of the air, and the creeping things of the ground; I will also banishnbanish Lit. “break.” bow, sword, and war from the land. Thus I will let them lie down in safety.

And I will espouse you forever:I will espouse you with righteousness and justice,And with goodness and mercy,

And I will espouse you with faithfulness;owith righteousness and justice,…with goodness and mercy,…with faithfulness As the bride-price to be paid upon marriage, the bridegroom (GOD) will confer these qualities on the bride (the people of Israel), which she had lacked during their first marriage, so that their second one will last forever. Then you shall be devoted to GOD.

In that day,I will respond—declares GOD—I will respond to the sky,And it shall respond to the earth;

And the earth shall respondWith new grain and wine and oil,And they shall respond to Jezreel.pJezreel I.e., “God sows.” The names of Hosea’s children (1.3–8) are applied here to Israel.

I will sow her in the land as My own;And take Lo-ruhamah back in favor;And I will say to Lo-ammi, “You are My people,”And he will respond, “[You are] my God.”