The beginning of the Word of Jehovah by Hosea. And Jehovah said to Hosea, Go, take to yourself a wife of prostitution, and children of prostitution. For the land has committed adultery against Jehovah with great harlotry.

So he went and took Gomer, the daughter of Diblaim, who conceived and bore him a son.

They say, If a man puts away his wife, and she goes from him and becomes another man's, shall he return to her again? Would not that land be greatly polluted? But you have committed adultery with many lovers; yet turn back to Me, says Jehovah.

Surely as a wife treacherously departs from her companion, so you have dealt treacherously with me, O house of Israel, says Jehovah.

But Jesus said to him, Friend, why are you here? Then they came and laid hands on Jesus and took Him.

How shall I give you up, Ephraim? Shall I deliver you up, Israel? How shall I make you like Admah? Shall I set you as Zeboim? My heart churns within Me; My compassions are kindled together.

For you are a holy people unto Jehovah your God; Jehovah your God has chosen you to be a people for Himself, a special treasure out of all the peoples upon the face of the earth.

Jehovah did not set His love upon you nor choose you because you were more in number than any other people, for you were the least of all peoples;

And they put away the foreign gods from among them and served Jehovah. And His soul was grieved because of Israel's troubles.

But Jehovah was gracious to them, had compassion on them, and regarded them, because of His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and would not yet destroy them or cast them from His presence.

Even when they made a molten calf for themselves, and said, This is your god that brought you up out of Egypt, and worked great blasphemies;

yet in Your manifold mercies You did not forsake them in the wilderness. The pillar of the cloud did not depart from them by day, to lead them on the road; nor the pillar of fire by night, to show them light, and the way they should go.

Nevertheless in Your great mercy You did not annihilate them nor forsake them; for You are the Mighty God, gracious and merciful.

Many times He delivered them; but they rebelled in their counsel, and were brought low for their iniquity.

and remembered His covenant toward them, and was moved to compassion according to the abundance of His mercies.

They say, If a man puts away his wife, and she goes from him and becomes another man's, shall he return to her again? Would not that land be greatly polluted? But you have committed adultery with many lovers; yet turn back to Me, says Jehovah.

Therefore the showers have been withheld, and there has been no latter rain; and you had a harlot's forehead; you refused to be ashamed.

Go and proclaim these words toward the north, and say, Return, O backsliding Israel, says Jehovah; and I will not cause My anger to fall upon you; for I am merciful, says Jehovah, and I will not keep anger forever.

Return, O backsliding children, says Jehovah; for I am married to you. And I will take you, one from a city, and two from a family; and I will bring you to Zion.

Is Ephraim My dear son? Is he a delightful child? For as often as I spoke against him, I call to mind and remember him still. Therefore My heart is stirred for him; I will have mercy and compassion upon him, says Jehovah.

Who is a Mighty God like You, forgiving iniquity and passing over the transgression of the remnant of His possession? His anger does not remain strong forever, for He delights in mercy.

You will give faithfulness to Jacob, goodness to Abraham, which You have sworn to our fathers from the days of old.

Therefore Jehovah says this: I have returned to Jerusalem with compassion; My house shall be built in it, says Jehovah of Hosts, and a line shall be stretched out over Jerusalem.

He has helped His servant Israel, in remembrance of His mercy,

as He spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his seed forever.

Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their masters, as the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress, so our eyes wait upon Jehovah our God, until He shall have mercy upon us.

In that day a man shall look to his Maker, and his eyes shall have respect to the Holy One of Israel.

And he shall not look to the altars, the work of his hands, nor respect that which his fingers have made, neither the groves nor idols.

Turn to Me, and be saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am the Mighty God, and there is no other.

But I will look to Jehovah; I will wait for the God of my salvation. My God will hear me.

Harlotry and wine and new wine snatch away the heart.

In the day of our king, the rulers have made themselves sick, inflamed with wine. He stretches out his hand with scorners.

O Israel, do not rejoice for joy, like the peoples. For you have committed adultery against your God. You have loved for hire on every grain threshing floor.

The threshing floor and the winepress shall not feed them, and the new wine shall fail in her.

And they arose early the next day, offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.

And they went out into the fields, and gathered grapes from their vineyards and trod them, and rejoiced. And they went into the house of their god, and ate and drank, and cursed Abimelech.

And they lie down beside every altar on garments taken in pledge, and drink the wine of those being punished in the house of their God.

who drink wine from bowls, and anoint themselves with the best of ointments; but they are not grieved for the crushing of Joseph!

Neither become idolaters as were some of them. As it is written, The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.

You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; you cannot partake of the Lord's table and of the table of demons.

For we have spent enough of our past lifetime in doing the will of the Gentiles, when we walked in licentiousness, lusts, drunkenness, carousing, drinking parties, and abominable idolatries.