The prophetic book of Hosea
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Verse by verse, account of the book of Hosea.

Hosea: chapter 1

Hosea takes Gomer, a harlot as his wife.

¹The prophecy that came to Hosea, in the days of four kings of Judah and of Jeroboam king of Israel. ²The LORD spoke to Hosea, saying; Take for yourself an adulterous, wife and children of adultery. For the land is guilty of great harlotry, due to departing from Me.

³So Hosea took Gomer the daughter of Diblaim for a wife and she bore him a son. ⁴The LORD said to Hosea; call his name Jezreel, (NOTE: the name means: God will scatter). For in a little while, through bloodshed, I will bring an end to the kingdom of Israel. ⁵And I shall break their strength in the valley of Jezreel.

⁶Gomer again conceived and bore Hosea a daughter. God said; call her name Lo-Ruhamah, (NOTE: the name means: not pitied). For I will no longer have mercy on Israel, but I will lead them away into captivity. ⁷However, I will have mercy on the House of Judah. I will save them by My mercy and not by the sword in battle.

⁸Shortly after she had given birth to Lo-Ruhamah, Gomer conceived and bore a son. ⁹And God said; Call his name, Lo-Ammi, (NOTE: the name means: not my people, not loved). For you are not My people and I will not be your God.

¹⁰Yet, the children of Israel shall become as the sand of the sea, that cannot be numbered. And where it was once said to them, you are not My people, it shall now be said to them, you are sons of the living God. ¹¹Then the children of Judah and Israel will be united and appoint for themselves one head. The people shall then come up from the land, for great will be the day of Jezreel. Brothers will be united and mercy will be shown.

Hosea: chapter 2

Hosea's prophecy was patterned through his marriage to Gomer.

¹Hosea, say to your brethren, you are My people and tell the daughters that, they have obtained mercy, ²However, plead with your nation, (Israel) for she is not My wife nor am I her husband. Plead with her to stop displaying her breasts that lead to her fornications. ³Least I strip her naked and expose as in the day of her birth. making her as a dry land and slaying her with thirst. ⁴Nor will I have mercy on her children for they are children of harlotry. ⁵For their mother has played the harlot and has behaved shamelessly. She has pursued them thinking they were her providers of bread and water.

⁶Therefore, I will hedge her (Israel) in and confuse her ways. ⁷She will seek her lovers to no avail. Then she will turn and seek her first husband, realizing it was better for her then, than it is now. ⁸For she did not realize that I was her provider of her silver and gold, wine and oil that she turned and spent on false idols. ⁹Therefore, I will take away My provisions from her that I have given her to cover her nakedness. ¹⁰Then I shall uncover her lewdness and shame in the sight of her lovers and no one shall deliver her from My hand. ¹¹I will cause her joy to cease, having no special occasions to celebrate. ¹²And will destroy her wages that she is so proud of having acquired them as payment of her harlotry. ¹³I will punish her for her days of worshiping other gods. For back then she made herself up with earrings and jewels and went after her lovers, haven forgotten all about Me.

¹⁴Therefore, I will allure her (Israel), I will bring her low and speak comfort to her. ¹⁵From there I will prosper her and give her hope. There she shall rejoice, as in the days of her youth, as in the day when she came up from the land of Egypt.

¹⁶In that day says the LORD, it shall be that you will call Me Husband and no longer Master. ¹⁷For I shall remove the false gods from her memory. ¹⁸In that day I shall make a covenant with the beasts of the field, the birds of the air and every creeping thing of the ground and they shall live in peace. ¹⁹I will betroth you to me forever in righteousness, justice, in compassion and mercy. ²⁰I shall betroth you to Me in faithfulness and you shall know the LORD. ²¹In that day, I will answer the heavens and they shall respond to the earth. ²²The earth shall then bring forth its grain, new wine and oil and Israel shall be restored. ²³Then I shall claim her for Myself and have mercy on her who had not obtained mercy and shall say to those who were not My people, You are My people! And they shall reply, You are my God!

Hosea: chapter 3

Hosea buys Gomer, his wife, back off the slave auction block.

¹The LORD then said to Hosea; Again love an adulterous woman, just as the love of the LORD is for the children of Israel, as they chase after other gods and desire the food of the pagans. ²So I, Hosea brought Gomer off a slave block and paid for her half in silver and half in barley, (NOTE: the price of a slave). ³I then said to her, you shall not play the harlot but remain celibate for many days, as I will also be towards you. ⁴For the children of Israel shall abide many days without a king, without giving sacrifices to gods in idol worship or consulting the true God. ⁵And after such a dry spell, the children of Israel shall return to their land. They shall seek the LORD their God and David their King. And fear the LORD and His goodness, in the latter days.

Hosea: chapter 4

¹Children of Israel, hear the Word of the LORD, for the LORD brings a charge against the people of the land. For there is no truth, mercy or knowledge of God in the land. ²For by swearing, lying, killing, stealing and committing adultery, you have broken all restraints, heaping bloodshed upon bloodshed. ³Therefore the land continually mourns and all who dwell there shall waste away, with the rest of the animals. ⁴Let no man contended with or rebuke his neighbor for the LORD's contention is with His priests. ⁵For they shall all stumble in that day and likewise, the false prophet also shall stumble in the night with you and the LORD will cut off the priests of Israel. ⁶His people are destroyed for lack of knowledge, because they have rejected knowledge, therefore, He will also reject you as being His priests. Because you have forgotten the law of the LORD your God, thus He will also forget your children.

⁷The more the children of Israel increased in number, grew in prosperity and power, the more they also sinned against the LORD. Therefore, He will change their glory into shame. ⁸The priests feed on the sins of His people and the people set their hearts on iniquity. ⁹And so it is as the people do, the priests also do. So shall the LORD punish them for their deeds and repay them according. ¹⁰Therefore, they shall eat but not be filled and commit harlotry but not increase, because they have quit obeying the LORD.

¹¹For harlotry and wine enslave the heart. ¹²And the LORD's people take counsel from their false gods and become informed by the spirit of harlotry. As they play the harlot against their God and go astray. ¹³They offer sacrifices to these false gods at their leisure and in their comfort. This is why your daughters commit harlotry and your bride's adultery. ¹⁴But they shall not be punished for this, for the men also go into harlots and worship with them to their pagan gods. For their own lack of understanding has brought their demise. ¹⁵Even though Israel is playing the harlot, do not also entice Judah to offend. ¹⁶But Israel is stubborn and the LORD will take all restraint off her allowing her to run wild as a lamb in the open country. ¹⁷Though Israel is joined to idols, she shall be left alone. ¹⁸Their drink is rebellion, they constantly commit harlotry and their rulers love dishonor. ¹⁹Disaster lurks at her door and when it comes, they shall be ashamed of their sacrifices.

Hosea: chapter 5

¹Priests of Israel, hear this! House of the king and house of Israel, this is your judgment because you have been a snare to your own people, (worshiping idols). ²The LORD rebukes them all, for these men are deeply involved in bloodshed. ³Let the northern kingdom of Israel know that they are not hidden from the LORD, for He knows that you commit harlotry and are defiled. ⁴Your deeds are not directed towards turning to your God. For the spirit of harlotry is with them and they do not know the LORD. ⁵Israel's own pride testifies against itself. Therefore the northern kingdom of Israel stumbles in its own iniquity and Judah also stumbles with them. ⁶They seek the LORD with sacrifices but shall not find Him, for He has withdrawn Himself from them. ⁷For they had dealt treacherously with the LORD and have begotten pagan children, trading their heritage for a new moon and pagan rituals.

⁸Make known the coming judgment in the major cities and tribes of Israel. ⁹The northern kingdom of Israel will be made desolate in the day of rebuke. ¹⁰The heads of Judah continually compromise between right and wrong, the LORD will pour out His wrath on them. ¹¹Israel is burdened and broken in judgment because he chose to walk after idols into condemnation. ¹²Therefore the LORD will consume Israel and the house of Judah. ¹³When Israel and Judah became aware of their wounds, Israel turned for assistance to other nations, but they cannot heal you of your wound, for you received it in righteous judgment. ¹⁴For the LORD will be unrelenting to Israel and Judah, they shall be torn away and no one shall rescue them. ¹⁵And the LORD shall turn aside, until they acknowledge their offence and in their affliction they will earnestly seek Him.

Hosea: chapter 6

¹Let us return to the LORD, for he has afflicted us, but will also heal us. ²After two days He will gather us together and on the third day we will be lifted up to live before Him. ³Let us pursue the knowledge of the LORD. For His going forth is as the morning established each day, for He comes to us as the latter and former rain on the earth.

⁴Israel and Judah, what shall I do with you? For your faithfulness is like a vapor that soon goes away, says the Lord. ⁵My prophets have been slain because of speaking My Words, with judgments that go forth from My mouth as lights. ⁶For I desire mercy rather than sacrifice and that you have the knowledge of God, more than burnt offerings. ⁷But they have transgressed My covenant, being disloyal and dealing treacherously with Me. ⁸Their cities are full of evildoings and are defiled with blood. ⁹Just as a band of robbers lie in wait for their pray, so does the company of priest's murder and commit lewdness as they travel down the road. ¹⁰I have seen vile things in Israel. The northern kingdom plays the harlot and she is defiled. ¹¹Also a day of judgment awaits Judah, when My people will be taken captive.

Hosea: chapter 7

¹I would have healed Israel, yet their iniquity and wickedness was revealed, yet they have committed crimes as a band of robbers pillage and take the spoil. ²They do not believe in their hearts that I remember all of their wickedness, now their own deeds encompass them and they are before My face. ³With their wicked ways and lies, they please men and kings but not God. ⁴They are all adulterers, their lust burns so hot it consumes them. ⁵All dignity is lost, for in the day of the kings they get drunk and carry on as commoners. ⁶Their lust burns out of control and they lie in wait. ⁷There self justice is great and they rise above their judges all of their kings have fallen, for none of them call upon Me. ⁸Israel has taken on some of the other nation's customs and thus is complete in nether. ⁹Foreigners have taken away his strength, yet he does not know it. ¹⁰Israel's own pride keeps them from turning back to the LORD, nor do they seek Him in their time of trouble.

¹¹Israel is without sense. They foolishly call to foreign lands. ¹²But wherever they go, I will spread My net on them, I will bring them down and chastise them according to My Word that they have heard. ¹³Woe to them, destruction is theirs, for they have transgressed Me and fled from Me. Though I have redeemed them, they have spoken lies against Me. ¹⁴Even when they fell on their beds and wept, they did not cry out to Me with their hearts. They assembled themselves together for their own indulgences and they further rebelled against Me. ¹⁵Even though I have disciplined them and provide for their substance, they devised evil against Me. ¹⁶After all of this, though they returned it was not to the LORD Most High. They have missed the mark, their princes shall fall by the sword, for the cursing of their own mouth condemns them.

Hosea: chapter 8

¹Sound the trumpet, destruction shall come upon you quickly, for they have transgressed My covenant and rebelled against My law. ²Israel will cry to Me, saying; we know our God! ³Yet they have rejected the good and now their enemy will pursue them. ⁴They shall set up kings of their own accord, but I did not acknowledge them. And from their gold and silver they have made idols, cutting themselves off from Me. ⁵Their golden calf I have rejected and My anger burns against them. How long will it be until they turn back to their innocence? ⁶Even now, Israel is busy making her useless idols, but in the end they shall be broken into pieces.

⁷They will sow in vain and if they do produce crops, foreigners will eat of them. ⁸Israel has been swallowed up by foreign countries, now they have no pleasure. ⁹Foolishly they have gone up to Assyria alone, without any moral guidance and to play the harlot, thinking they will make an alliance with them. ¹⁰Even though they have done these things, I will gather them up. And they shall sorrow a little because of their ways. ¹¹Israel has made many altars and they have become altars of their sin. ¹²For the wise things of the law, they have counted as strange and foolish. ¹³Even their sacrifices made to Me are in error and I do not accept them. I shall remember their iniquities and punish their sins and they shall return back into bondage. ¹⁴For Israel has forgotten his Maker. Building temples and fortified cities, but I shall destroy all these with fire.

Hosea: chapter 9

¹Do not rejoice Israel with joy like others, for you have played the harlot against your God. ²You have played the harlot everywhere you have stepped foot. Now even your own land shall fail to feed you, for all of your crops shall fail. ³You shall not dwell in the LORD's land, but rather be in bondage in foreign lands and eat unclean things. ⁴In those days, they shall not give wine offerings to Me, nor shall they be pleasing to Me. And when they do sacrifice, it shall be as the bread of sorrows to them. The offering they eat shall be only to satisfy their physical hunger, it shall not come into the house of the LORD. ⁵What will you then do in the appointed feast days of the LORD? ⁶For they will be gone! Because of the destruction to come. ⁷The days of punishment have come, for Israel has mocked and called God's prophets, fools and His spiritual men, insane. As is the greatness of your iniquity so will be the greatness of your hatred. ⁸The prophets of Israel were with God, but you considered them to be fools in all of their ways and to be despised in the house of his God. ⁹The people are deeply corrupted and the LORD will remember their iniquity and punish their sins.

¹⁰I first saw a freshness in Israel, but to their shame, they have separated themselves from Me and have now become an abomination, as are the things they chase after. ¹¹Israel's glory shall depart from them along with the blessing of God, for they are barren. ¹²Even though they bring up their sons, yet I will make them childless, woe also to them when I depart from them! ¹³Israel may dwell in a pleasant place, but they shall bring out their sons to the murderer.

¹⁴Give them their due Oh LORD, a miscarrying womb and no means of nurturing. ¹⁵All of their deeds are wicked and I hated them because of the evil of their hearts. I will drive them from My house and will love them no more. All of their leaders are deceitful and rebellious. ¹⁶Israel is dried up, it has no foundation and shall bear no fruit. And if they were to bear children, I would kill the fruit of their womb. ¹⁷I shall cast them away because they did not obey Me and they shall be wanderers among other nations.

Hosea: chapter 10

¹Israel is a bountiful yet an empty vine, for they bring forth fruit but only for their own physical needs. According to their numbers, they have increased their altars and they embellish their false gods. ²Their heart is divided and they are held guilty. And the LORD will destroy their altars and ruin their false gods. ³For they are an arrogant people, not fearing God nor man. ⁴They have even made their own false covenants, for this judgment comes back upon them as poison. ⁵The people of Israel remember and fear because of the idol, the golden calf. Their people mourn and their priests grieve over it, because the glory has departed from it. ⁶Out of their pride they shall give it as a gift to the king of Assyria, to the shame of Israel's own counsel. ⁷Their king shall be cut off. ⁸Also Israel's sin acquired from their useless high places shall be destroyed. These altars of idolatry shall become desolate as they say to the mountains, Cover us and to the hills, Fall on us, Luke 23:30, Revelation 6:16.

⁹Israel has sinned from near the very beginning, at the battle of Gibeah, Judges chapter 19,20 where the tribe of Benjamin was slain by their own brothers, so the sons of unrighteousness would not overtake them. ¹⁰In the LORD's own time He shall discipline them, nations shall come against them when He places their transgressions upon them. ¹¹Israel loves the simple, but He will soon put them to hard labor. ¹²They shall sow righteousness and reap mercy, breaking up the hard ground (their hearts), seeking the LORD until He comes and rains righteousness on them. ¹³But they have sown wickedness and reaped iniquity, they have eaten the fruit of their lies. Because they trust in their own ways and their own might. ¹⁴Therefore disputes shall rise among their own people, their cities shall be attacked and plundered, both mother and child shall be slain. ¹⁵Because of your great wickedness and at dawn the king of Israel shall be slain.

Hosea: chapter 11

¹When Israel was a child, I loved him and called him My son, bringing him out of Egypt. ²Immediately after, they begin to make sacrifices to false gods. ³I taught them from early on, but they did not realize I was providing for all their needs and was their Healer. ⁴I loved them, fed them and even lightened their work load. ⁵Israel shall not go back to Egypt, Numbers 14:1-4, but they shall go into captivity, Jeremiah 25:11, because they refuse to repent. ⁶Yes, the sword shall come against them and their cities shall be destroyed, because of their own counsel. ⁷For My people are set on backsliding from Me, although they call out to Me, they don't exalt Me. ⁸How can I give you up Israel? And turn you over to destruction? My heart churns within Me and My sympathies are stirred. ⁹I will not act on My anger, I will not again destroy Israel, for I am God and not man. The Holy One and I will not come with terror. ¹⁰They shall one day follow Me, I shall roar like a mighty lion and in that day, My sons shall come out of their captivity, trembling. ¹¹Then they shall be at peace and I shall cause them to dwell in their houses. ¹²Israel may have encircled Me with their lies and deceit, but Judah still walks with God and the Holy One who is faithful.

Hosea: chapter 12

¹Israel feeds on every wind of change, they increase daily in lies and their spoil increases. Making a covenant with the Assyrians, as their goods are carried off. ²The LORD also has a charge against Judah and will punish the tribes of Israel according to their ways. ³Even in the womb he was fighting with his brother and in his strength he struggled and prevailed with the Angel of God. ⁴Weeping he sought favor with God at the place of Bethel, Genesis 32:22-32. ⁵And the God of Hosts is His memorial. ⁶So turn and wait on your God keeping mercy and judgment forever. ⁷Israel, whose value has slipped much like a cunning merchant, loves to oppress. ⁸And has said to themselves; I have become rich from my own hand, surely there can be found no sin in me. ⁹But the LORD has been their God from the beginning and He will again take away your comfort and make you dwell in tents as in the days of the wilderness.

¹⁰I have spoken to you through the prophets and have even increased visions to the people. ¹¹Yet the people make sacrifices to vain idols, thus their altars shall be destroyed. ¹²Even as, Jacob fled to a foreign country and labored there to obtain a wife. ¹³By the prophet Moses I brought Israel out of Egypt and preserved them. ¹⁴However, Israel provoked Moses to anger, Numbers 20:10 and therefore, the guilt of his bloodshed rests upon him.

Hosea: chapter 13

¹When the children of Israel trembled and spoke, they exalted themselves in Israel, but when they gave offerings to false gods they died. ²And their sin keeps on increasing for they have made themselves idols of silver according to their own understanding. And the craftsmen who make them, will tell you to "kiss the calves". ³Therefore they shall blow away like chaff in the wind.

⁴Yet the LORD has been your God ever since He brought you out of Egypt and you shall know no other God but Him, for there is no Savior other than Him. ⁵For He knew you in the wilderness, in your time of need. ⁶But when they became filled and their hearts became proud, they forgot Him. ⁷Therefore He will be to them as a lion stocking his prey, ⁸In anger He will meet them and devour them like a lion. ⁹Israel shall be destroyed, if only you knew that your help comes from the LORD. ¹⁰Where is your king and your judges now, that you wished for so badly, thinking they would save you? ¹¹In My anger, I gave you a king, 1^st Samuel 9:1 and in My wrath I took him away, 1^st Samuel 15:1. ¹²The sin of Israel is being stored up. ¹³For as a woman undergoes the pains of childbirth, this unwise son prefers to stay in his iniquities rather than enter out into life. ¹⁴However, the LORD will ransom them from the power of the grave and will restore them from death. Oh death where is your final destruction? ¹⁵Though this seems like a time of prospering, a destructive wind of the LORD shall come upon you. You shall wither away and every treasure that you own shall be plundered. ¹⁶All of Israel shall fall by the sword and become a wasteland, for she has rebelled against her God. Their babies shall be cut into pieces and their women with child shall be ripped open.

Hosea: chapter 14

The LORD reconciled with Israel.

¹Israel, return to the LORD your God, for you have stumbled because of your own iniquity. ²Speak to the LORD and ask Him to take away all of your iniquity, that He would receive you graciously receiving the sacrifice of thanks that we speak. ³Foreign countries shall not save you, nether shall you say any more we shall find mercy from our gods, the works of our own hands.

⁴I will then heal Israel's backsliding and love them, for My wrath has turned away from them. ^5-6I shall provide for Israel and he shall grow and become beautiful having a sweet fragrance. ⁷Even those who dwell under his care shall prosper. ⁸And Israel shall put away all the idols and will now start bearing the LORD's fruit found within Him. ⁹Let the wise and prudent men know and understand these things. For the ways of the LORD are right and the righteous walk in them, but transgressors stumble in them.