Return to God
An EasyEnglish Bible Version with Notes (1200 word vocabulary) on the Book of Hosea
Mark Kirkpatrick
The translated Bible text has yet to go through Advanced Checking.
Words in boxes are comments on the text.
A word list at the end explains words with a *star by them.
Hosea wrote his book in the middle of the 8th century B.C. (Before Christ). He gave most of his messages to Israel, the country in the north. But some of the messages were for Judah, the country in the south. The book has many good things and many bad things to say to the people in Israel. If we want to understand this book, we need to understand the *covenant at Sinai. This was the place where God gave his rules to Moses. The good things and bad things in Hosea are part of this *covenant. Hosea’s job was to tell his people that there was danger. God would make sure that people in Israel obeyed the *covenant. Israel’s people will have to live in the right way. It is the same message that many of the *prophets gave before the *exile. In most of the book, Hosea says that Israel will have death and illness. He also says that another country will destroy them. They will take the people in Israel away. These things will have to happen. Then God will be able to do good to Israel again. It is important that we understand what these promises mean. There is no hope that God will not be angry. Israel has not obeyed the *covenant and so bad things are going to happen soon.
There were only a few people in Israel who *worshipped God in a true way at this time. There were more people in Judah who followed God’s rules. Israel was a strong and rich country and they were good at fighting wars. Because of this, people from Israel met people from other countries. This meant that they knew about other people’s gods. People forgot the rules of Sinai. Jehu started to rule Israel in 842 *B.C. After he died, there were several more kings. This group of kings came to an end with the death of Jeroboam 2nd (793 - 753 *B.C.). But, when he died, there were 6 more kings in Israel. It was a time when things were not easy. Very bad leaders killed these kings. Also, there was a war between Assyria and Israel in 734 *B.C. Israel became a much smaller country. This was the beginning of the end for Israel. Then, in 722 *B.C., Assyria destroyed Israel.
We do not know for sure where Hosea gave his messages. It is possible that it was in Samaria and Bethel. None of the messages have dates. Perhaps Hosea knew Amos, who was older than him. Amos also wrote messages to Israel. We do not know if Hosea spoke his messages to people. The message of 5:1-7 may mean that he did. We know very little about Hosea and his family. Hosea tells us very few things about himself. We do not know for sure if the wife or wives of chapters one and three are the same. Also, we do not know for sure if Gomer really was a *prostitute. There are other difficult questions with these chapters.
To know God as a person is important to Hosea. He has been called the Saint John of the *Old Testament. He wanted the people’s *sacrifices to really mean something to God. He wanted people to follow God. Then they could know God in a true way.
v1 This is the message of the *Lord that came to Hosea, the son of Beeri. This message came during the time that Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah were kings of Judah. This was during the time of Jeroboam, son of Jehoash, who was king of Israel.
v2 The *Lord began to speak to Israel through Hosea. The *Lord said to Hosea, ‘Go, and marry a *prostitute. I want you to have children by her. The children will be like her. In the same way, my people have left me and they have not followed me.’ v3 So Hosea married a woman called Gomer, the daughter of Diblaim. After this, a child began to grow in her and she gave birth to their first child, a son. v4 The *Lord said to Hosea, ‘Give him the name Jezreel. This is because I will soon hurt the family of Jehu. I will hurt them because of the murders by Jehu at Jezreel. Then I will put an end to the country of Israel. v5 And, in the Valley of Jezreel, I will at that time completely destroy the armies of Israel.’
v6 Gomer had a second child. This time it was a daughter. The *Lord said to Hosea, ‘Call her Lo-Ruhamah. This is because I will not continue to show great love to the people in Israel. I will not forget their *sins. v7 But I will show love to the people in Judah. I, the *Lord, will save them. I will not do it by war. I will not use *weapons. I will not use horses and people who ride horses.’
v8 After Gomer gave her own milk to Lo-Ruhamah, a child began to grow in her again. She gave birth to a son. v9 Then the *Lord said to Hosea, ‘Call him Lo-Ammi. This is because the people in Israel are not my people and I am not their God.’
Verses 3-5 God does not ask Hosea to marry a *prostitute in the usual way that the word means. Perhaps the word means that his wife was like a *prostitute. Later, in 4:12 and 5:4, Hosea uses the word *prostitute in another way. Israel is like a *prostitute. Gomer’s children are also like *prostitutes. They, too, are part of a bad group of people. Hosea does not mean that the children were born to Gomer before she married Hosea. He does not suggest that the children were not his own. The names Lo-Ruhama and Lo-Ammi mean No Compassion (great love) and Not My People.
v10 At a future time, the number of Israel’s people will be like the sand of the sea. You cannot measure the sand or count it. Now God says to them, ‘You are not my people.’ But the day will come when he will say to them, ‘You are the children of the living God!’ v11 The people from Judah and the people from Israel will come together again. They will choose for themselves a single leader. Their country will grow and do well in their land. The day of Jezreel will be an important day. (Chapter 2) v1 Then you will tell your brothers, ‘You are my people.’ And you will tell your sisters, ‘He has shown compassion (great love) to you.’
v2 My children, argue with your mother. Argue! This is because she is not my wife. And I am not her husband. Tell her to stop living like a *prostitute. Tell her to take away the men that she loved from between her breasts. v3 If she does not do this, I will take away all her clothes. She will be like the day that she was born. I will leave her to die. She will die because she will have no water. I will leave her in a dry *desert. v4-5 I will not show great love to her children. They are the children of a *prostitute. This *prostitute takes no thought about what she does. She herself said, ‘I will go to the men whom I love. They give me food and water, clothes and cloth, oil from trees and *wine.’
v6 So I (the *Lord) will put something in the way of your (Israel’s people’s) road. I will use plants that hurt. I will build a wall so that she cannot find her way. v7 She will run after the men that she loves, but she will not catch them. She will look for them, but she will not catch them. Then she will say, ‘I will go back to my first husband (God). Life was better for me when I was with him. Life was better then than it is now.’
Verse 2 In this chapter, Hosea is saying things in a special way. He says that God is like a *judge who is going to decide things about Israel. He will decide them in a ‘*court’.
Verses 4-5 Israel is like a girl. When this girl was born, she needed God. But when she grew up, she went to other men for help. The men that she loved were the Baals (*idols).
v8 ‘She (Israel) did not believe that I (the *Lord) was the one who gave her *grain, *wine and oil from trees. I was the one who gave her plenty of *silver and gold. She used this *silver and gold when she wanted to *worship Baal. v9 So I will take back my *grain at the time when it is ready. I will take back my new *wine when it is ready. I will take back my clothes and cloth. This was what you wanted to use to cover yourself. This was your body that had no clothes. v10 Now I will take away her clothes. This is so that all the men who loved her will see her as she is. Nobody will be able to take her from my power. v11 I (God) will stop the special times that she enjoys herself. I will stop her holidays and the meals that she has at a new moon. v12 I will destroy her *grapes and her fruit trees. She said that there were men who loved her. These men paid her with these things. But I will change her gardens. They will become like a wild forest. Wild animals will come and eat from those plants. v13 I will hurt her for the times that she burnt special plants to the god, Baal. I will hurt her because she wore special stones. Then she could run after the men who loved her. But she forgot me.’ The *Lord has said this.
Verse 11 Israel had *holy holidays. These were special days when the people *worshipped God. But God was angry because Israel’s holidays became days for the god, Baal. The god, Baal was an *idol. God wanted people to rest on a special day. But this, too, became a holiday for special meals.
v14 So I (the *Lord) will say words of love to her. I will lead her into the *desert and speak kind words to her. v15 There, I will give back the *grapes to her that she had. I will give her Trouble Valley. This will be a way for her to hope in me. Then she will answer me like the time that she came out of Egypt. v16 Then, at a future time, she will call me her husband. She will not call me her god, Baal again. v17 I will never let her speak the name of the god, Baal again. Then people will not use Baal’s names again. v18 At that time, I and Israel’s people will agree on how we will do things together. I will do this also with the animals of the field. I will agree with the birds of the sky. I will agree with animals. These are the animals that move along the ground. I also will break the things that Israel’s people used in war. I will remove the things that men use to make war. None of these things will be left in the land. My people will live in a time when people do not attack them. They will be safe.
v19 I (the *Lord) will make you my wife *forever.
I will be good and fair; I will always love you and show *mercy.
I will make you mine *forever.
v20 I will make you a wife that follows me.
Then you will know the *Lord in a true way.
v21 At that time I will answer the *prayers of my people Israel.
I will speak to the sky and then rain will fall on the earth.
v22 The ground will give back *grain, *wine and oil from trees.
They will have an answer for Jezreel.
v23 I will plant many seeds on her land.
To Lo-Ruhamah, I will show great love.
To Lo-Ammi, I will say, ‘You are my people.’
And they will say to me,
‘You are my God.’
Verse 15 Trouble Valley (the Valley of Achor) was a place where a man from Israel did not obey God (Joshua 7:24).
Verse 19 Again, Hosea says what the *judge is going to do. But this time it is a message about love. The *desert was the place where God and Israel ‘married’.
v1 Then the *Lord said to me again, ‘Show love to a woman again. Love the woman, although another man loves her. Love her, although she goes after other men. But you must continue to love her. You must love her in the same way that the *Lord loves Israel’s people. But they continue to *worship other gods. And they like to offer fruit to these gods.’ v2 So I bought the woman with 15 pieces of *silver and 9 parts of *grain. v3 Then I told her, ‘You must stay at home with me for a long time. You must not be like a *prostitute. You must not be too friendly with another man. And I will live with you.’ v4 In the same way, Israel’s people will continue to live for a long time without a king or leader. They will not have *sacrifices, or stones to help them to remember God. They will not have any *ephods or gods in their homes. v5 At a future time Israel’s people will come back. Then they will give great value to the *Lord their God and David their king. They will come to the *Lord and they will receive his gifts.
Verse 1 The word ‘love’ can mean different things in the *Hebrew language. It includes a kind of love about sex. It includes a love from God. It also means a love when a man loves his wife.
Verse 2 It is not certain if the ‘woman’ was Gomer. Perhaps it was another woman. Perhaps she was another *prostitute. Maybe Gomer was a slave. We do not know.
Verse 4 Hosea starts to speak to Israel’s people. Israel will have no king. Another country, perhaps Assyria, will rule Israel. The ‘stone’ was a place where Israel made *sacrifices. These *sacrifices were made to another god. *Ephods were special clothes that the leader of the *priests wore.
v1 People in Israel, listen to the *Lord’s message! The *Lord will argue against the people that live in this country. ‘People in this country do not really know God. The people do not love him. They do not have any hope in him. v2 They hope that bad things will happen to people. They tell people things that are not true. They kill and rob people. They do the *sin of *adultery. The people kill each other again and again. v3 So the people cry. And everything that lives is slowly dying. All the animals and birds, and even the fish, are dying. v4 No person should argue or say that another person is wrong. *Priest, I am arguing with you! v5 You fall over during the day and night. And the *prophets fall with you. And I will destroy your mother, Israel. v6 You are destroying my people because they do not know me. You have refused to learn. So I will refuse to let you be a *priest for me. You have forgotten your God’s rules, so I will forget your children.’
Verse 1 God is taking his people to a ‘*court’. The people will have to give an answer for their *sins. The first of these *sins is that the people do not love God. They do not know God.
Verse 4 God does not have one *priest that he is thinking of. He is thinking of all the *priests and *prophets in Israel.
v7 ‘The more *priests that there are of you, the more you *sin against me. And so I will change the way that you are great into something else. You will not like what will happen to you. v8 The *priests eat when the people *sin. So the *priests are happy when the people *sin. v9 The *priests are no different than the people. I will tell them both what they should do. They will have to change their ways. I will make them pay for the wrong things that they did. v10 You people will eat your part of the *sacrifices, but you will still be hungry. You will live like *prostitutes, but you will not have babies. This is because you have turned away from me to follow other gods.’
Verse 7 The *priests became rich when Jeroboam 2nd was king. They gave help to the rich people and leaders. They did not tell them that they were wrong.
v11 ‘To drink *wine, both old and new, means that my people cannot understand anything. v12 My people are asking a piece of wood for help. They think that those sticks will tell them what they want to know! That is because they have followed those false gods like *prostitutes. They left their gods and now they do not obey their God. v13 They make *sacrifices on the tops of the mountains. They burn *incense on the hills. They do this under many different kinds of trees. The shade under those trees is so nice! So your daughters become like *prostitutes. Also your son’s wives do the *sin of *adultery. v14 Your daughters are *prostitutes. Your son’s wives do the *sin of *adultery. Yet I will not tell them that they are wrong. This is because the men, too, go to be with *prostitutes. They go and offer *sacrifices with *prostitutes. So these silly people will destroy themselves.’
Verse 12 The ‘wood’ might mean an *idol. Perhaps it means a way of finding out what God wants about something. The sticks of wood would fall in a certain way (Ezekiel 21:21).
v15 ‘Israel’s people, you live like a *prostitute. But do not let Judah’s people also do wrong things. Do not *worship at Gilgal or Beth Aven. Do not make promises there in the name of the *Lord. Do not say, “As the *Lord lives.” v16 Israel is like a young cow. It does not go where someone tells it to go. It is not possible to feed my people. I want to take them, like young sheep, to a field where there is much grass. v17 The people in Israel have become friends with *idols. Let them go their own way. v18 After they have drunk *wine, they are happy to be with *prostitutes. They do not think about what people will say about them. v19 A wind will take them away. Now they cannot think any more. Their *sacrifices will mean that people will think bad things about them.’
Verse 15 Hosea’s message is sometimes the same as Amos’s message (Amos 5:5). They both do not want Israel to *worship at Gilgal or Beth Aven. Gilgal was an important place for Israel’s people. They stopped there after they crossed the river Jordan (Joshua 4:19). Beth Aven means ‘House of Trouble’. It is Hosea’s name for Bethel, which means ‘House of God’.
Verse 19 God does not want to wait. It is time for God to *judge them.
v1 Listen to this, you *priests! Be careful how you listen, people in Israel! Listen, you that belong to the family of kings! I have decided what to do with you. You have tried to catch people at Mizpah. You were like a *net on the ground at Tabor. v2 The people have been very bad at Shittim. So I will tell them that they are wrong. v3 I know what the people from Ephraim are like. They cannot hide from me. They live like a *prostitute and they have become very bad. v4 Israel’s people have done bad things. This stops them from returning to their God. They are like *prostitutes. They do not know the *Lord. v5 Israel’s people think that they are too good. This is something that I have against them. Their *sins make them fall. But Judah will fall with them. v6 They take their sheep and cows to offer as *sacrifices to the *Lord. But it does them no good. They cannot find the *Lord because he has left them. v7 They have not obeyed the *Lord. Their children do not belong to him. They have times when they enjoy themselves at the New Moon. But the Moon will destroy them and their fields.
Verse 1 There were two places called Mizpah in Israel. One was in Gilead, east of the river Jordan. The other place was Mizpah in Benjamin’s country. The word ‘catch’ means that the leaders tried to take people away from God. Tabor is a mountain. Perhaps bad things happened there.
Verse 2 Israel’s people stayed at Shittim before they crossed the Jordan (Joshua 2:1; 3:1). They *worshipped *idols there. Hosea says that the *sins of the people are even worse now.
Verse 6 Israel’s people thought that many *sacrifices were important (see 2 Kings 3:27). The people will try to find God, but God has left them.
Verse 7 A new moon is a small part of the moon that a person sees.
v8 ‘Blow the *horn in Gibelah!
Blow the *trumpet in Ramah!
Raise the cry of war at Beth Aven!
Go into war, men of Benjamin’s family!
v9 The day will come. Then I will tell them that they are wrong.
There will be nothing left of Ephraim’s people.
People in Israel, you can be sure that this will happen.
v10 The leaders of Judah are like people who rob. They have robbed land from Israel. So I (God) will not be pleased with them in any way. It will be like a time when water covers the earth.
v11 Israel is having a difficult time because people attack her. Other countries have come as *judges. This is because Israel’s people wanted help from *idols.
v12 I (God) will destroy Israel,
like a moth (an insect) that destroys a piece of cloth.
I will destroy Judah,
like water destroys a piece of wood.
v13 Ephraim saw that she was sick.
Judah saw that she had *injuries.
So they went to Assyria for help.
They told their problems to King Jareb,
But that king cannot bring you health.
He cannot stop you hurting.
v14 I will attack the Ephraim’s people like a *lion.
I will attack Judah’s people like a young *lion.
I, the *Lord, will break them into pieces.
I will carry them away.
And no person will be able to save them.
v15 I will go back to my place,
until the people can see that they have done wrong.
Then they will come to look for me.
Perhaps they will try to find me when they are in pain.’
Verse 8 A new part of Hosea begins here. Most of these verses are about war. Hosea tells Israel’s people to prepare for war. Gibea, Ramah and Beth Aven were all near Jerusalem. The war will come from the south of Israel. The people from Benjamin’s family lived near the south of Israel. A horn and a trumpet are things that make music.
Verse 10 Hosea has bad things to say about Judah. He says that they have moved special things. These things showed people where Israel’s land and Judah’s land met. This was against God’s rules (Deuteronomy 19:14).
Verse 13 Perhaps King Jareb was Tiglath-pileser 3rd. We cannot be sure. Judah’s people asked Assyria for help after Syria and Israel attacked them in 734 *B.C.
v1 ‘Come. We should return to the *Lord.
He attacked us, but he will bring us health.
He has caused us pain.
But he will cover, with pieces of cloth, the parts that hurt us.
v2 After two days he will cause us to live again.
He will raise us up on the third day.
Then we can live near him.
v3 We should try to know the *Lord. We can be sure that he will come.
It will be like the sun when it rises at the beginning of the day.
He will come to us like the rain.
It will be like spring rain. It will bring water to the ground.’
v4 ‘Israel’s people, I do not know what I should do with you.
Judah’s people, I do not know what I should do with you.
You soon stop loving me. You are like the morning cloud.
Your love is like the low cloud that goes away early in the morning.
v5 This is why I have sent my *prophets to you.
I wanted to cut you in pieces.
I wanted to kill you with words.
I will *judge you. Then things will become clear.
v6 I will *judge you because I want a real love.
I do not want your *sacrifices of animals.
I want my people to know me.
I do not want them to bring *sacrifices.
v7 But like Adam, the people did not obey the *covenant.
They did not follow me in their country.
v8 Gilead is a city of men who do very bad things.
People have killed each other.
v9 There are people who rob. They hide and wait to attack someone.
In the same way, *priests wait on the road to Shechem.
They attack people who pass by.
They have done very bad things.
v10 Yes, I have seen many bad things in Israel.
Ephraim’s people are like a *prostitute.
She is very bad.
v11 People in Judah, I have made a special time for you. I will bring in the *crops. At that time I will tell you what you should do.
But I wanted very much to bring back the good times for my people!’ God says.
Verse 1 Israel can hope in God. He will not forget them. God needed to tell Israel’s people that they were wrong. But he now chooses to say different words.
Verse 2 The two or three days mean a time that God has decided on. He has chosen a time. It will be like a dead person who lives again.
Verse 5 The ‘words’ are the *covenants. In Deuteronomy 33:9, the ‘word’ and the ‘*covenant’ mean the same thing.
Verse 7 We do not know for sure what the name ‘Adam’ means. It might mean a city. It might mean that Israel has looked at the *covenant like dirt.
Verse 9 Shechem was an important city. We do not know the event that Hosea was thinking about.
v1 ‘I wanted to give health to my people, but they had too many *sins!
Samaria is full of people who do not say true things.
It is full of people who rob from houses.
They also rob people in the streets.
v2 They do not know that I (God) will remember their *sins.
The *sins that they did are everywhere to see.
I can see these *sins in a clear way.
v3 Their very bad ways make their king happy.
Their wrong ways make their leaders happy too.
v4 They are all bad and they do not obey me.
A baker takes flour to make bread.
He starts to cook the bread.
The bread rises. But the baker does not make the fire hotter.
Israel’s people are always making their fire hotter.
v5 On holidays for the king, the leaders drink too much *wine.
The *wine makes them do things in a silly way.
The king joins with people. Those people think that good things are silly.
v6 The people make their secret plans.
They are very angry. So they feel that their hearts are like an *oven.
It is like the time when they were cooking bread.
During the night, they became angrier.
And in the morning, there was a fire.
v7 They were so angry that they killed their leaders.
They killed their kings.
All of their kings fell.
Nobody prays to me for help.’
Verse 2 God sees everything. He remembers things for thousands of years (Psalm 105:8). When he looks at Israel’s people, he sees their *sins. He does not only see people.
Verse 4 Hosea uses an example of a baker to say several things. Bakers were men who made bread in large ovens (places where people cook food in). They were round. They had a large door on the top of them. They made a fire inside it. Then they shut the door. The bread then cooked for a long time. The leaders in Israel were like this bread. They became leaders because they were so angry.
Verse 6 The leaders never stop thinking about very bad things. In the night, the *oven became cool. But in the morning, someone made sure that the *oven became hot again. The leaders of Israel are like the *oven. It is only at night that they stop thinking of very bad things.
v8 ‘Israel’s people mix with people from other countries.
Israel is like a cake that someone did not cook on both sides.
v9 People in Israel mix with foreign people.
Israel’s people do not know that this makes my people less strong.
Israel is like an old man with grey hair.
He does not know how old and weak he is now.
v10 Israel thinks that she is so important!
This is something that makes me angry with her.
The people had many troubles.
But they still did not go back to the *Lord their God.
The people did not look to him for help.
v11 Ephraim is like a silly dove (a bird),
a dove that does not understand anything.
The people looked to Egypt for help.
The people went to Assyria for help.
v12 When they do this, I will throw my *net over them.
I will catch them like birds as they go by.
I will tell them what they should do in a strong way.
This is because of the bad things that they do.
v13 It will be very bad for them.
They have left me. They refused to obey me.
So I will destroy them.
I wanted to save them.
But they do not say true things about me.
v14 They do not pray to me from deep inside them.
But they cry on their beds.
When they pray for *grain and *wine, they cut themselves.
They have left me.
v15 I taught them and made them strong.
But they have made plans against me that are very bad.
v16 They now follow false gods.
They are like a *weapon that does not work.
Their leaders think that they are very important.
They will die quickly.
Then the people in Egypt will think that they are silly.’
Verse 8 Hosea continues to use the example of an *oven. At this time, Assyria became more powerful. So, Israel’s people needed other countries to help them. They went to Egypt, Syria-Damascus and Philistia. They did not want to hope in God.
Verse 11 God thinks that Israel’s people are like a dove. Doves are silly birds. It was easy for other countries to use their power against Israel.
Verse 14 Perhaps the ‘beds’ were part of a meal. The meal was part of a *sacrifice when the *Israelites rested near the *altar (see Isaiah 57:7; Amos 2:8). This was when they cried and cut themselves.
v1 ‘People must know about what will happen! Make sure that they do know.
The enemy will come down like an eagle (a big dangerous bird).
The eagle will come on to the *Lord’s people
because they have not obeyed my *covenant.
They have not obeyed the things that I taught them.
v2 Israel’s people call out to me. They say, “We in Israel know you.”
v3 But they refused the good things that I give.
So the enemy followed them.
v4 My people chose kings, but they did not ask me for help.
My people chose leaders. But they did not choose men that I knew.
The people used their *silver and gold to make *idols for themselves.
I will destroy them because of this.
v5 I do not like the gold *bull that the people in Samaria *worship.
I am very angry with the people in Israel.
It will take a long time for them to be without *sin.
v6 A worker from Israel made that *idol.
It is not God.
I will break Samaria’s *bull into pieces.
v7 Israel’s people did a silly thing.
It was like trying to plant the wind.
But they will only get troubles.
They will receive a very strong wind in return.
The plants in the field will grow, but they will not give any food.
If the plants grew, then foreign people would eat them.
v8 Israel has become like the other countries.
She is like a pot that is broken.
Nobody can use it.
v9 Israel has gone to Assyria for help.
She is like a wild animal that walks without any direction.
The people in Ephraim have sold themselves to other countries. They wanted to love these countries.
v10 They will try to make friends among these countries. But I will bring Israel’s people together.
They will feel some pain.
This pain will come from a foreign king.
v11 Israel’s people built more and more *altars.
They built them so that God would not see their *sin.
But they have used these places to *sin even more!
v12 I gave Israel’s people all my rules.
But they look at those rules as if they were strange.
v13 Israel’s people love *sacrifices.
They offer meat in these *sacrifices and then they eat it.
The *Lord does not accept these *sacrifices.
He remembers their *sins.
And he will tell them what they should do.
They will have to return to Egypt.
v14 Israel’s people built houses for kings.
But they forgot the person who made Israel!
Judah’s people have made their towns strong.
But I will send fire on the cities in Judah.
And this fire will destroy these strong towns!’
Verse 1 An eagle is a kind of large bird.
Verse 5 We do not know what the *idol was like. Perhaps it was a person with the head of a *bull. Perhaps it was a young *bull. Maybe they had made it from wood. But a person cannot see God. So God will destroy this *bull.
Verse 11 God did not like the *altars in the North. There were too many of them. The *covenant said that there should only be one *altar. It was Jeroboam 1st who put in all these altars (1 Kings 12:26-33). But the altars became places where people ate and drank too much. They became a place to *sin.
v1 People in Israel, do not be happy at special times like foreign countries!
You were like a *prostitute and you left your God.
You are like a *prostitute whom someone has paid to have sex.
You have done this on the floors where people work with *corn.
v2 But soon you will not have enough *corn or *wine.
There will be no more *wine.
v3 You will not stay in the *Lord’s land.
You will have to go back to Egypt.
In Assyria, you will have to eat food that you should not eat.
v4 Israel’s people will not be able to offer *wine to the *Lord.
Their *sacrifices will not make God happy.
People eat special bread when other people die. Their *sacrifices will be like that bread.
Whoever eats this bread will not be clean.
This food will only be for themselves.
It will not come into the *temple of the *Lord.
v5 Israel’s people will not be able to enjoy special days.
Those are the special days when people remember God.
v6 Perhaps Assyria will not destroy you.
But Egypt will take the people in war.
Memphis will bury them. Weeds will grow over their *silver.
Weeds will grow over the places where they live.
v7 The time will come. Then I will tell you what to do.
The time will come when I will have to hurt you.
I will have to hurt you because of what you have done.
When that happens, Israel will know it!
You have so may *sins. You are so angry with me.
This is why you think that I am a silly person.
You think that I have God’s Spirit but I am crazy.
v8 God has sent me as a *prophet to make sure that Israel knows things.
But people try to say bad things about me in the places where I go.
And people do not like a *prophet in the house of God.
v9 They have done some very bad *sins.
They were like the *sins that Israel’s people did at Gibeah.
The *Lord will remember their very bad *sins.
He will tell them what to do because of their *sins.
Verse 1 Israel was happy at these special times. But she was happy for the wrong reasons. Israel thought that God was the god, Baal. She thought that God should *bless the *grain and *corn. They wanted God to do things in the same way as the god, Baal. Also, *prostitutes visited the floors where people worked with the *grain and *corn. Men stayed there at night so that nobody would rob anything.
Verse 5 Maybe the ‘special days’ were in the autumn. This was when people brought in the plants from the fields.
Verse 9 Gibeah is where very bad things happened. See Judges chapters 19, 20.
v10 ‘When I found Israel,
it was like finding *grapes in the *desert.
When I saw your fathers,
it was like finding early fruit on a *fig tree.
But then they came to the god, Baal-Peor.
They began to *worship that very bad *idol.
They became like the *idol that they loved so much.
v11 Israel is great. But this special time will finish.
She will be like a bird.
There will be no more times when babies grow inside women.
There will be no more times when women give birth to babies.
There will be no more children.
v12 But even if Israel’s people have children,
the children will die. There will be none left.
I will leave them. They will have nothing but trouble.
v13 *Lord, I can see that Ephraim’s people are going to a difficult place.
They are going to someone who will kill them.
v14 *Lord, give these people the things that you want to give them.
Make it impossible for their women to have babies!
Make it impossible for their breasts to give milk to their babies!
v15 All their very bad ways began at Gilgal.
It was there that I began to not like them in any way.
I will tell them that they must leave my land.
I will not love them any more.
Their leaders have not followed me.
v16 Ephraim’s people have bad trouble.
They are like a plant that has no water.
This plant will have no fruit.
They will have no children.
Even if they have children, I will kill the children.
These are children that they think are so important.
v17 My God will refuse to accept them.
This is because they have not obeyed him.
They will have to travel from place to place in different countries.’
Verse 10 Israel came to Baal-Peor (Numbers 25:1-5). Things went wrong here. Men from Israel had sex with women from Moab and Midian. A fig is a kind of fruit.
Verse 15 Gilgal was across the Jordan River from the god, Baal-Peor. It was an important place where people *worshipped other gods. Amos also said bad things about Gilgal (Amos 4:4; 5:5). God was very angry about Gilgal. He wanted to stop the things that happened there.
v1 ‘Israel is like a *vine that has plenty of fruit.
But Israel became more and more rich,
and so the people built more *altars.
Their land became better and better.
So they could build special stones that they could *worship.
v2 Their hearts are not honest.
But now they must understand that they have done wrong things.
The *Lord will destroy their *altars.
He will destroy their special stones.
v3 Soon these people will say, “We have no king.
We do not *worship the *Lord in a true way.
But if we had a king, he could not do anything for us.”
v4 They make many promises. But what they say is not true.
They agree about things with other countries.
People do not agree with each other in *courts.
These things are like weeds that have poison.
Weeds that are growing in a field will soon grow into plants.
v5 The people who live in Samaria will be afraid.
They will cry because their *idol at Beth Aven has gone.
Their very bad *priests will cry too.
They were very happy with their beautiful *idol.
But now someone will carry the *idol away.
v6 Assyria’s people will carry the *idol away.
It will be a gift for the king of Assyria.
Ephraim’s people will feel very sad.
They will be very sorry that they *worshipped their *idol.
v7 God will destroy Samaria and Samaria’s king.
He (the king) will be like a piece of wood that water carries away.
v8 God will destroy these high places at Aven.
These are places where Israel’s people have *sinned.
Weeds will grow on their *altars.
Then the people will say to the mountains, “Hide us!”
They will say to the hills, “Fall on us!” ’, God says.
Verse 1 A *vine is a plant that *grapes grow on.
Verse 5 People *worshipped at Beth Aven. They worshipped a gold *bull. Beth Aven was Hosea’s name for Bethel. Beth Aven means ‘House of Very Bad Things’. Bethel means ‘House of God’.
Verse 6 Assyria will take the *idol away when they win the war.
Verse 7 King Hoshea was put in prison in 723 *B.C. (2 Kings 17:4).
Assyria destroyed Samaria in 722 *B.C. Nobody built it again.
v9 ‘Israel’s people, you have *sinned since the time of Gibeah.
You have continued to *sin since then.
But those very bad people at Gibeah had a war.
v10 I (God) will tell these very bad people what they should do.
Countries will join together to attack them.
They will put the people from Israel in prison because of their very bad *sins.
v11 Ephraim’s people are like a young cow that someone has taught.
She is a cow that loves to walk on *grain.
But I decided to put a *yoke on her beautiful neck.
I wanted to show her the right way.
Then she could work hard.
I wanted Judah’s people to break up the ground.
Jacob’s people, too, must break up the ground.
v12 If you plant good things, these plants will grow.
Then you will have true love.
Make your ground less hard. This is the ground that you plant things in.
Do this because it is time for you to look for the *Lord.
When he comes, he will make good things come down on you like rain!
v13 But you planted very bad things.
These plants have grown and now you have trouble.
You have not told things that are true. So you have had the results of this.
This is because you hoped that your power and your soldiers would help you.
v14 Your people will hear the noise of war.
Your enemies will destroy your strong places.
It will be like the time that King Shalman destroyed Betharbel city in war.
At that time, people killed mothers with their children.
v15 The same thing will happen to you at Bethel.
This is because you did so many very bad things.
When that day begins, the king of Israel will die.’
Verse 9 Hosea writes again about what he said in 9:9. Israel *sinned very badly at the time of Gibeah. She was not able to stop doing this *sin.
Verse 11 He wanted people to know him in the best way, like Jacob. The *Hebrew word is ‘hesed’. It means a love that never stops. This can be a love for another person or for God. The same thought is in 6:6.
Verse 14 We do not know about the events at Betharbel. We also do not know about Shalman. But very bad things happened in war in those days.
v1 ‘Israel is like a man. I, (the *Lord), loved him when he was a child.
I brought him out of Egypt as my son.
v2 But the more I spoke to him,
the more he turned away from me.
My people gave *sacrifices to the god, Baal.
They burned *incense and offered this to *idols.
v3 But it was I who taught this child to walk!
I took my people up in my arms!
I gave them health.
But they did not know this.
v4 I led them with love and kind words.
I was like a person who let them be free.
I bent down to feed them.
v5 Israel’s people refuse to return to me.
So they must return to Egypt.
Assyria will rule over them.
v6 Their cities will have war.
People will break down the city gates.
Their strong places will not help them.
v7 My people are trying very much not to obey me.
They will call to God above.
But I will not listen to them.’
Verse 5 The word ‘Egypt’ means the enemy.
v8 ‘Ephraim, I do not want to forget about you.
I do not want to give you to someone else.
I do not want to make you like Admah.
I do not want to make you like Zeboiim.
My heart will not let me do it!
My love for you is too strong.
v9 I will not tell you that you are wrong.
This is even when I am angry.
I will not destroy Israel again.
This is because I am God and not a man.
I am the *Holy One and I am with you.
I will not show you that I am angry.
v10 I will make a loud sound like a *lion.
I will make a loud sound and my children will come.
They will follow me.
My children will come from the west.
They will be afraid when they come.
v11 They will be like birds from Egypt.
They will be like birds from Assyria.
They will be afraid.
I will bring them back to their homes again.
I, the *Lord, have spoken.’
Verse 8 Admah and Zeboiim were cities that were near Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 10:19). God destroyed Admah and Zeboiim when he destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 19:24-25). This was when he was very angry.
v12 Israel says things that are not true.
These things are all round me.
Israel has not told me true things.
But Judah has not obeyed God.
Judah does not obey the *Holy One.
v1 There is much that the people in Israel do from morning to night.
But it has no worth and it destroys things.
The people also do not say true things.
Israel and Assyria come together to agree about things.
They carry their *olive oil to Egypt.
v2 The *Lord says,
‘I want to take Judah’s people to a *court.
I must tell Jacob that he is wrong.
This is because of his bad ways.
I must tell him what he should do.
This is because of the things that he has done.
v3 Their *ancestor Jacob held on to his brother’s foot.
He did this when they were both inside their mother’s body.
When Jacob was a man, he fought with God.
v4 He fought against an *angel and he won.
He cried and asked for *blessings.
He met God at Bethel. God spoke with him there.
v5 This was the *Lord God *Almighty.
The *Lord is his name.
v6 So you must return to your God.
You must love each other. You must be fair in your rules.
You must be patient. And you must wait for your God to do what he wants.
v7 There are people in business. Their ways are not true.
The weights of things that they use to measure things are false.
v8 Israel says, “We are rich! We are now very rich!
Because I am rich, people will not find any *sin in me.”
v9 But I am the *Lord your God.
I brought you out of Egypt.
I will make sure that you live in *tents again.
It will be like the time that you had special holidays.
v10 I spoke to the *prophets. I gave them many *visions.
I told *parables so that they could teach my lessons to the people’, God is saying.
v11 The people in Gilead are very bad.
They are not worth anything.
There are many very bad *idols in Gilead.
These *idols are not worth anything.
They made *sacrifices of animals at Gilgal.
Their *altars will become like stones in a field.
v12 Our *ancestor Jacob ran away to the country called Aram.
He worked there so that he could get a wife.
He kept sheep safe so that he could pay for her.
v13 The *Lord used a *prophet to bring Israel’s people out of Egypt.
He used a *prophet to keep them safe.
v14 Ephraim’s people have made the *Lord very angry.
They have killed many people.
So I will tell them what to do.
This is because of the wrong things that they have done.
They will know that the *Lord will think very badly about them.
Verse 1 God promised to keep Israel safe. But Israel’s people looked to other countries so that they could be safe. The *Hebrew uses the word ‘wind’. This means something that has no value (see Ecclesiastes 1:6, 14). People use oil to cook with.
Verse 3 The story of Jacob’s name comes from Genesis 25:21-26. An ancestor is someone in a person’s family from a long time ago.
Verse 4 An angel is a very good person from *heaven. Angels bring messages from God.
Verse 10 A vision is something like a dream but you might not be asleep. A parable is a kind of story that means something.
Verse 11 Hosea is perhaps thinking about a murder in Gilead (see 6:8). The city called Gilead was a place where many bad things happened. It is possible that Assyria had destroyed Gilead at this time. That is why the city would not be worth anything.
Verse 12 An ancestor is someone from your family from a long time ago.
v1 In past times, when Ephraim spoke, other people in Israel were afraid.
People thought that Israel was important.
But the people *sinned by their *worship of the god, Baal.
And because of this, they died.
v2 Now the people in Israel *sin more and more.
They make *idols for themselves from their metals.
They are clever in the way that they make these *idols.
And then they say, ‘Offer *sacrifices to them!’
How can anyone kiss those *idols!
They are *idols in the shape of animals!
v3 That is why those people will soon go away.
They will be like the cloud in the morning.
They will be like the low cloud that goes away early in the morning.
Israel’s people will be like seed that a wind blows from the floor.
They will be like smoke that goes out of a window.
v4 The *Lord says,
‘I am the *Lord your God who led you out of Egypt.
You do not know any other God except me.
I only am the person who can *redeem you.
v5 I did not forget you in the *desert.
This was when you were in a hot dry land.
v6 I gave food to Israel’s people.
They ate that food. They became full and really liked the food.
They began to think that they were important.
And they forgot me.
v7 That is why I will be like an animal to them.
I will be like an animal that is waiting by the road.
v8 I will attack them like an animal that has lost her children.
I will break Israel’s people into pieces.
I will eat them like an animal.
I will break them in pieces like an animal.
v9 I will destroy you, people in Israel.
There will be nobody to help you.
v10 Nobody can find your king. He cannot help you.
Nobody can find your leaders.
In past times you asked for a king and leaders.
v11 I was angry, so I gave you a king.
And when I became very angry, I took him away.
v12 I have written about Ephraim’s people’s *guilt and *sin.
I have kept these words in a safe place.
v13 I have offered the people new birth.
They are like a child inside a woman.
But the child cannot come out.
They are so silly! They are silly not to want this!
v14 I will *redeem this people. People will not have to bury them.
I will *redeem them from death.
Death, your illnesses have gone.
Death, you cannot destroy any longer.
I will not be sorry for this people any longer.
v15 Israel was like a plant that grew well among other plants.
But a strong east wind will come.
It will blow in from the *desert.
Then Israel’s wells will become dry.
The water that comes from the ground will stop.
The wind will take everything away that has value.
v16 The people in Samaria must know about their *guilt.
They are guilty because they did not obey their God.
Their people will die in war.
Their enemies will throw Samaria’s children to the ground.
Their enemies will break women into pieces.
These are women who have babies inside them.’
Verse 1 Ephraim was the most important group in Israel.
Verse 4 God gave Israel’s people what they needed (Exodus chapter 16). It was God who fed them. Israel’s people were like a child. The child needed a father to stay alive. God gave them everything that they needed in the *desert. But they forgot him.
Verse 14 Paul, in 1 Corinthians 15:55, uses two lines from this verse. He uses them to write about *resurrection. Paul did not think about death in a bad way. But Hosea says that God will tell Israel what she should do.
v1 Return to the *Lord your God, Israel’s people.
Your *sin has destroyed you.
v2 Think about the things that you will say.
And return to the *Lord.
Say to him, ‘*Forgive all our *sins.
Accept the good things that we are doing.
We will offer *praise from our lips.
v3 Assyria cannot save us.
Our war horses cannot keep us away from trouble.
We will never again say to *idols that they are our God.
Because you are someone who shows great love.
You show great love to children who have no parents.’
v4 The *Lord says, ‘I will *forgive them for leaving me.
I will give them much love.
I am not angry with them now.
v5 I will be like the rain in the morning to Israel’s people.
They will become like flowers.
They will be like the tall trees of Lebanon.
These trees will be very strong in the ground.
v6 They will become alive with new branches.
They will be beautiful like *olive trees.
They will have a smell like the tall trees of Lebanon.
v7 Israel’s people will live again in a shade.
They will grow well like *grain.
They will grow well like a *vine (a plant that grows *grapes).
They will be famous like the *wine from Lebanon.
v8 Ephraim’s people, I do not want to see any more *idols.
I will answer their *prayers. I will take an interest in them.
I (God) am like a tree that is always green.
Your fruit comes from me.’
v9 A clever person understands these things.
A clever person learns about these things.
The ways of the *Lord are correct.
Good people will live by these ways.
But the people who *sin will hurt themselves.
Verse 4 God makes promises to Israel’s people. They will not have to be afraid of God. He will stop being angry. Isaiah 54:6-8 gives us another idea that is like this. Israel is like a wife who is coming back to her husband. Israel’s people cannot buy God’s love. God can be angry, but instead he will bring Israel’s people many more *blessings. These *blessings will include water and plants.
Verses 6-7 The *olive tree was a good place for shade (verse 6). It was also good for fruit. Lebanon was a good place for the smell of trees. Ezekiel uses the idea of a small tree to mean a new start for Israel (Ezekiel 17:22). God will *bless Israel’s people by the land. He will keep them safe too. It will be God’s shade that they will live in. Sometimes the Book of Psalms uses the same idea of shade (Psalms 17:8; 91:1).
Verse 9 The ways of God are right. A silly person would not listen. There will be trouble for people who do not obey. But a clever person will obey the *Lord (Psalm 18:22). He will choose the right way.
adultery ~ to break the marriage promise by sex with someone else.
almighty ~ has the power to beat all his enemies; is better than everyone else; the *Lord of everything; all-powerful.
altar ~ special table for people to burn animals or other gifts which they offer to God.
ancestor ~ someone in a person’s family from a long time ago.
angel ~ an angel is a very good person from *heaven; angels bring messages from God.
B.C. ~ 600 B.C. means the year that was 600 years before Jesus came to earth, and so on.
bless, blessing ~ when someone says or does much good to a person.
bull ~ male cow.
corn ~ a kind of *grain.
court ~ a place outside the *temple.
covenant ~ when people agree something together; when God and a person or people agree to a special thing.
crops ~ plants that a farmer plants for food.
desert ~ a wild place where no people live, because it is very dry.
ephod ~ ephods were special clothes that the leader of the *priests wore.
exile ~ away from your own country.
fig ~ a kind of fruit.
forever ~ a time that will never end.
forgive ~ to stop being angry with another person who has done bad things.
grain ~ a hard seed that you can eat; or you can make it into bread.
grapes ~ a kind of fruit that people use to make *wine.
guilt ~ when we know that we have done wrong things; we feel bad about them.
heaven ~ God’s home.
Hebrew ~ the language that the *Jews spoke and wrote.
holy ~ what God is like; different and better than all other things; all good with no bad in it; a thing that God has; separate from *sin, clean.
horn ~ a thing that you can make music with.
idol ~ a thing that people make out of wood, stone or metal. It looks like a man or a god. People *worship it and pray to it instead of God.
incense ~ something that gives a nice smell when it burns; the *Jews used it to show love to God in the *temple in Jerusalem.
injury ~ a place in someone’s body where someone or something has hurt them.
Israelites ~ people who live in Israel, children of Jacob.
Jacob ~ another name for Israel, both the people and the land. (Jacob was Abraham’s grandson.)
Jew ~ a person who is born from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children.
judge ~ to say about other people whether they are good or not; or to *punish.
lion ~ a big, wild animal (like a cat) that can kill a man; a big wild cat that kills other animals and eats them.
Lord ~ the special name that God gave for himself to the *Jews in the *Old Testament.
mercy ~ to be kind when you do not have to be kind.
net ~ thin *rope that you tie together; you use it to catch fish.
Old Testament ~ the first part of the Bible, which the writers wrote before the life of Jesus.
olive ~ a tree with small fruits (or the fruits themselves) that people use to make oil. They use the oil to cook food.
oven ~ a thing that people cook food in.
parable ~ a kind of story that means something.
praise ~ to say how good a person is; to tell God how great he is, as when we are praying or singing to him.
prayers ~ the words that people say when they talk to God.
priest ~ a man whom God chose to do a special work for him. The priests worked in the *temple.
prophet ~ a person who hears God’s words, and tells them to other people; a person who spoke God’s words. Some prophets wrote books in the Bible.
prostitute ~ a woman who sells her body to men for sex.
punish ~ to hurt someone for the wrong things that they have done. For example, a person who has robbed another person must go to prison.
redeem ~ when someone pays the price to let a person in prison go free; to get back by giving money; to get back, to bring back from a dangerous place; when you have help out of a problem.
resurrection ~ to become alive again.
rope ~ strong material that you can use to tie things together.
sacrifice ~ when you put an animal on the *altar to offer it to God; to give something valuable, or die for someone, or for God.
silver ~ a white metal that shines and is very valuable.
sin ~ when a person does bad things against God or other people.
temple ~ a building that people *praise God in.
tent ~ a home or building that people have made from animal skins; a place to live in that people have made out of cloth. You can move a tent-house to different places.
trumpet ~ a thing that you can make music with.
vine ~ a plant that *grapes grow on.
vision ~ something like a dream but you might not be asleep.
weapons ~ things that people use to help them to fight other people with.
wine ~ a drink which has alcohol in it; people make it from small, sweet fruit called grapes. You can use it as medicine.
worship ~ to give thanks to God; to tell God that he is very great; to show God that we love him very much; to tell someone that they are very great and that you love them.
yoke ~ a wood thing that you put over the neck of animals. Then they can pull things along.
Douglas Stuart ~ Hosea – Jonah ~ Word Biblical Commentary
William Barclay ~ Twelve Prophets Vol. 1 ~ Daily Study Bible
Elizabeth Achtemeier ~ Minor Prophets 1 ~ New International Biblical Commentary
Hosea ~ D. A. Hubbard ~ Tyndale Commentary
New Bible Commentary Revised ~ D. Guthrie, J. A. Motyer, A. M. Stibbs, D. J. Wiseman
© 1997-2004, Wycliffe Associates (UK)
This publication is written in EasyEnglish Level A (1200 words).
June 2004
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