2:1 Then you will call your brother, “My People” (Ammi)! You will call your sister, “Pity” (Ruhamah)! Idolatrous Israel Will Be Punished Like a Prostitute 2:2 Plead earnestly with your mother (for she is not my wife, and I am not her husband), so that she might put an end to her adulterous lifestyle, and turn away from her sexually
An Illustration of God’s Love for Idolatrous Israel 3:1 The LORD said to me, “Go, show love to your wife again, even though she loves another man and continually commits adultery. Likewise, the LORD loves the Israelites although they turn to other gods and love to offer raisin cakes to idols.” 3:2 So I paid fifteen
The Lord’s Covenant Lawsuit against the Nation Israel 4:1 Hear the word of the LORD, you Israelites! For the LORD has a covenant lawsuit against the people of Israel. For there is neither faithfulness nor loyalty in the land, nor do they acknowledge God. 4:2 There is only cursing, lying, murder, stealing, and adultery. They resort to violence and bloodshed. 4:3 Therefore
Announcement of Sin and Judgment 5:1 Hear this, you priests! Pay attention, you Israelites! Listen closely, O king! For judgment is about to overtake you! For you were like a trap to Mizpah, like a net spread out to catch Tabor. 5:2 Those who revolt are knee-deep in slaughter, but I will discipline them all. 5:3 I know Ephraim all too well; the evil of
Superficial Repentance Breeds False Assurance of God’s Forgiveness 6:1 “Come on! Let’s return to the LORD! He himself has torn us to pieces, but he will heal us! He has injured us, but he will bandage our wounds! 6:2 He will restore us in a very short time; he will heal us in a little while, so that we may live in his
Whenever I want to restore the fortunes of my people, 7:1 whenever I want to heal Israel, the sin of Ephraim is revealed, and the evil deeds of Samaria are exposed. For they do what is wrong; thieves break into houses, and gangs rob people out in the streets. 7:2 They do not realize that I remember all of their wicked deeds. Their evil
God Will Raise Up the Assyrians to Attack Israel 8:1 Sound the alarm! An eagle looms over the temple of the LORD! For they have broken their covenant with me, and have rebelled against my law. 8:2 Israel cries out to me, “My God, we acknowledge you!” 8:3 But Israel has rejected what is morally good; so an enemy will pursue him. The Political
Fertility Cult Festivals Have Intoxicated Israel 9:1 O Israel, do not rejoice jubilantly like the nations, for you are unfaithful to your God. You love to receive a prostitute's wages on all the floors where you thresh your grain. 9:2 Threshing floors and wine vats will not feed the people, and new wine only deceives them. Assyrian Exile Will Reverse the Egyptian
Israel is Guilty of Fertility Cult Worship 10:1 Israel was a fertile vine that yielded fruit. As his fruit multiplied, he multiplied altars to Baal. As his land prospered, they adorned the fertility pillars. 10:2 Their heart is slipping; soon they will be punished for their guilt. The LORD will break their altars; he will completely destroy their fertility pillars. The Lord Will Punish Israel by
Reversal of the Exodus: Return to Egypt and Exile in Assyria 11:1 When Israel was a young man, I loved him like a son, and I summoned my son out of Egypt. 11:2 But the more I summoned them, the farther they departed from me. They sacrificed to the Baal idols and burned incense to images. 11:3 Yet it was I who