Bible in Basic English
For this cause I will put thorns in her road, building up a wall round her so that she may not go on her way.
And if she goes after her lovers she will not overtake them; if she makes search for them she will not see them; then will she say, I will go back to my first husband, for then it was better for me than now.
For she had no knowledge that it was I who gave her the grain and the wine and the oil, increasing her silver and gold which they gave to the Baal.
So I will take away again my grain in its time and my wine, and I will take away my wool and my linen with which her body might have been covered.
And now I will make her shame clear before the eyes of her lovers, and no one will take her out of my hand.
And I will put an end to all her joy, her feasts, her new moons, and her Sabbaths, and all her regular meetings.
And I will make waste her vines and her fig-trees, of which she has said, These are the payments which my lovers have made to me; and I will make them a waste of trees, and the beasts of the field will take them for food.
And I will give her punishment for the days of the Baals, to whom she has been burning perfumes, when she made herself fair with her nose-rings and her jewels, and went after her lovers, giving no thought to me, says the Lord.
For this cause I will make her come into the waste land and will say words of comfort to her.
And I will give her vine-gardens from there, and the valley of Achor for a door of hope; and she will give her answer there as in the days when she was young, and as in the time when she came up out of the land of Egypt.
And in that day, says the Lord, you will say to me, Ishi; and you will never again give me the name of Baali;
For I will take away the names of the Baals out of her mouth, and never again will she say their names.
And in that day I will make an agreement for them with the beasts of the field and the birds of heaven and the things which go low on the earth; I will put an end to the bow and the sword and war in all the land, and will make them take their rest in peace.
And I will take you as my bride for ever; truly, I will take you as my bride in righteousness and in right judging, in love and in mercies.
I will take you as my bride in good faith, and you will have knowledge of the Lord.
And it will be, in that day, says the Lord, that I will give an answer to the heavens, and the heavens to the earth;
And the earth will give its answer to the grain and the wine and the oil, and they will give an answer to Jezreel;
And I will put her as seed in the earth, and I will have mercy on her to whom no mercy was given; and I will say to those who were not my people, You are my people, and they will say, My God.
— Hosea 2:6-1964, Bible in Basic English
“The Lord’s Discipline Will Bring Israel Back Therefore, I will soon fence her in with thorns; I will wall her in so that she cannot find her way. Then she will pursue her lovers, but she will not catch them; she will seek them, but she will not find them. Then she will say,“I will go back to my husband, because I was better off then than I am now.” Agricultural Fertility Withdrawn from Israel Yet until now she has refused to acknowledge that I was the one who gave her the grain, the new wine, and the olive oil; and that it was I who lavished on her the silver and gold– which they used in worshiping Baal! Therefore, I will take back my grain during the harvest time and my new wine when it ripens; I will take away my wool and my flax which I had provided in order to clothe her. Soon I will expose her lewd nakedness in front of her lovers, and no one will be able to rescue her from me! I will put an end to all her celebration: her annual religious festivals, monthly new moon celebrations, and weekly Sabbath festivities– all her appointed festivals. I will destroy her vines and fig trees, about which she said,“These are my wages for prostitution that my lovers gave to me!” I will turn her cultivated vines and fig trees into an uncultivated thicket, so that wild animals will devour them. “I will punish her for the festival days when she burned incense to the Baal idols; she adorned herself with earrings and jewelry, and went after her lovers, but she forgot me!” says the LORD. Future Repentance and Restoration of Israel However, in the future I will allure her; I will lead her back into the wilderness, and speak tenderly to her. From there I will give back her vineyards to her, and turn the“Valley of Trouble” into an“Opportunity for Hope.” There she will sing as she did when she was young, when she came up from the land of Egypt. “At that time,” declares the LORD,“you will call,‘My husband’; you will never again call me,‘My master.’ For I will remove the names of the Baal idols from your lips, so that you will never again utter their names!” New Covenant Relationship with Repentant Israel“At that time I will make a covenant for them with the wild animals, the birds of the air, and the creatures that crawl on the ground. I will abolish the warrior’s bow and sword– that is, every weapon of warfare– from the land, and I will allow them to live securely.” I will commit myself to you forever; I will commit myself to you in righteousness and justice, in steadfast love and tender compassion. I will commit myself to you in faithfulness; then you will acknowledge the LORD.” Agricultural Fertility Restored to the Repentant Nation“At that time, I will willingly respond,” declares the LORD.“I will respond to the sky, and the sky will respond to the ground; then the ground will respond to the grain, the new wine, and the olive oil; and they will respond to‘God Plants’(Jezreel)! Then I will plant her as my own in the land. I will have pity on‘No Pity’(Lo-Ruhamah). I will say to‘Not My People’(Lo-Ammi),‘You are my people!’ And he will say,‘You are my God!’””
For fear that I may take away her robe from her, making her uncovered as in the day of her birth; making her like a waste place and a dry land, causing her death through need of water.
And I will have no mercy on her children, for they are the children of her loose ways.
For their mother has been untrue; she who gave them birth has done things of shame, for she said, I will go after my lovers, who give me my bread and my water, my wool and my linen, my oil and my wine.
For this cause I will put thorns in her road, building up a wall round her so that she may not go on her way.
And if she goes after her lovers she will not overtake them; if she makes search for them she will not see them; then will she say, I will go back to my first husband, for then it was better for me than now.
For she had no knowledge that it was I who gave her the grain and the wine and the oil, increasing her silver and gold which they gave to the Baal.
So I will take away again my grain in its time and my wine, and I will take away my wool and my linen with which her body might have been covered.
And now I will make her shame clear before the eyes of her lovers, and no one will take her out of my hand.
And I will put an end to all her joy, her feasts, her new moons, and her Sabbaths, and all her regular meetings.
And I will make waste her vines and her fig-trees, of which she has said, These are the payments which my lovers have made to me; and I will make them a waste of trees, and the beasts of the field will take them for food.
And I will give her punishment for the days of the Baals, to whom she has been burning perfumes, when she made herself fair with her nose-rings and her jewels, and went after her lovers, giving no thought to me, says the Lord.
For this cause I will make her come into the waste land and will say words of comfort to her.
And I will give her vine-gardens from there, and the valley of Achor for a door of hope; and she will give her answer there as in the days when she was young, and as in the time when she came up out of the land of Egypt.
And in that day, says the Lord, you will say to me, Ishi; and you will never again give me the name of Baali;
For I will take away the names of the Baals out of her mouth, and never again will she say their names.
And in that day I will make an agreement for them with the beasts of the field and the birds of heaven and the things which go low on the earth; I will put an end to the bow and the sword and war in all the land, and will make them take their rest in peace.
And I will take you as my bride for ever; truly, I will take you as my bride in righteousness and in right judging, in love and in mercies.
I will take you as my bride in good faith, and you will have knowledge of the Lord.
And it will be, in that day, says the Lord, that I will give an answer to the heavens, and the heavens to the earth;
And the earth will give its answer to the grain and the wine and the oil, and they will give an answer to Jezreel;
And I will put her as seed in the earth, and I will have mercy on her to whom no mercy was given; and I will say to those who were not my people, You are my people, and they will say, My God.