Hosea
Bow and sword and battle I will abolish from the land, so that all may lie down in safety.
(Hosea 1:18)
Israel, I will make you my wife;
I will be true and faithful;
I will show you constant love and mercy
and make you mine forever.
I will keep my promise and make you mine,
and you will acknowledge me as Lord.
At that time I will answer
the prayers of my people Israel.
I will make rain fall on the earth,
and the earth will produce
grain and grapes and olives.
I will establish my people in
the land and make them prosper.
I will show love to those who were called “Unloved,”
and to those who were called “Not-My-People.”
I will say, “You are my people,”
and they will answer, “You are our God.”
(Hosea 2:19-23, Good News Bible)
I will say to those who were not My people, You are My people, and they shall say, You are my God.
(Hosea 2:23)
Don’t point our finger at someone else, and try to pass the blame to him.
(Hosea 4:4, Living Bible)
She has been unfaithful, and her people are unfit to worship; me.
(Hosea 5:3, Good News Bible)
I will abandon my people until they have suffered enough for their sins and come looking for me.
(Hosea 5:15, Good News Bible)
What I want from you is plain and clear: I want your constant love, not your animal sacrifices. I would rather have my people know me than have them burn offerings to me.
(Hosea 6:5-6, Good News Bible)
I want your constant love, not your animal sacrifices. I would rather have my people know me than burn offerings to me.
(Hosea 6:6)
My people have defiled themselves by worshipping idols.
(Hosea 6:10)
They do not cry out to me from their hearts.
(Hosea 7:14)
When they sow the wind, they will reap a storm!
(Hosea 8:7, Good News Bible)
You people hate me so much because your sin is so great.
(Hosea 9:7, Good News Bible)
I appointed the prophets to guard my people.
(Hosea 9:8, Living Bible)
Plow new ground for yourselves, plant righteousness, and reap the blessings that your devotion to me will produce.
(Hosea 10:12, Good News Bible)
You have eaten the fruit produced by your lies.
(Hosea 10:13, Good News Bible)
I am God and not a mere human being. I, the Holy One, am with you. I will not come to you in anger.
(Hosea 11:9)
Hold fast to love and mercy, and righteousness and justice, and wait expectantly for your God continually.
(Hosea 12:6)
Riches can’t make up for sin.
(Hosea 12:8, Living Bible)
I along am God, your Lord, and have been ever since I brought you out of Egypt. You have no God but me, for there is no other Savior.
(Hosea 13:4, Living Bible)
O Lord, you show mercy to those who have no one else to turn to.
(Hosea 14:3, Good News Bible)
The Lord say,
“I will bring my people back to me.
I will love them with all my heart;
no longer am I angry with them.
I will be to the people of Israel
like rain in a dry land.
They will blossom like flowers;
they will be firmly rooted like the trees of Lebanon.
They will be alive with new growth,
and beautiful like olive trees.
They will be fragrant like the cedars of Lebanon.
Once again they will live under my protection.
They will grow crops of grain
and be fruitful like a vineyard.
They will be as famous as the wine of Lebanon.
The people of Israel will have\nothing more to do with idols;
I will answer their prayers and take care of them.
Like an evergreen tree I will shelter them;
I am the source of all their blessings.”
(Hosea 14:4-8, Good News Bible)
I am like a green pine tree.
(Hosea 14:8)
The Lord’s ways are right, and righteous people live by following them.
(Hosea 14:9, Good News Bible)