Introduction to Hosea Table of Contents The Prophet Hosea lived in the northern Israelite kingdom, Israel as distinct from Judah, in the 8th Century B.C.E. Israel, located to the north of Jerusalem, was made up of the ten tribes which had broken The Book of Hosea away from Solomon’s successor, Rehoboam. This political entity was destroyed Translated from The Vulgate by Assyrian invaders in 722 B.C.E. Hosea lived and wrote in the generation leading up to that event. The Book of Hosea Hosea 1:1 verbum Domini quod factum est ad Osee filium Beeri in diebus Oziae Ioatham Ahaz Ezechiae ©2008, John G. Cunyus regum Iuda et in diebus All Rights to the English Hieroboam filii Ioas regis Translation Reserved www.JohnCunyus.com Israhel Latin text from “The Latin The Lord’s word, which Vulgate.” Biblia Sacra Iuxta came to Hosea, Beeri’s son, Vulgatam Versionem, Fourth in the days of Uzziah, Revised Edition, edited by Roger Gryson, © 1994 Deutsche Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart. Used Judah’s Kings, and in the by permission. days of Jeroboam, Joah’s The Book of Hosea, 2 son, Israel’s King. super domum Hieu et quiescere faciam regnum 1:2 principium loquendi domus Israhel Dominum in Osee et dixit Dominus ad Osee vade sume And the Lord said to him, tibi uxorem fornicationum et “Call his name Jezreel, filios fornicationum quia because yet a little while and fornicans fornicabitur terra a I will visit Jezreel’s blood Domino over Jehu’s house.1 And I will make the house of The beginning of the Lord’s Israel’s kingdom sleep. speaking through Hosea. 1:5 et in illa die conteram And the Lord said to Hosea, arcum Israhel in valle “Go, take yourself a wife of Hiezrahel prostitution and children of prostitution, because, “And in that day, I will prostituting, the land will pound Israel’s bow to pieces fornicate before the Lord.” in Jezreel valley.” 1:3 et abiit et accepit Gomer 1:6 et concepit adhuc et filiam Debelaim et concepit peperit filiam et dixit ei voca et peperit filium nomen eius Absque misericordia quia non addam And he went and took ultra misereri domui Israhel Gomer, Debelaim’s daughter, sed oblivione obliviscar and she conceived and eorum birthed a son. And she conceived again and 1:4 et dixit Dominus ad eum birthed a daughter. And He voca nomen eius Hiezrahel quoniam adhuc modicum et visitabo sanguinem Hiezrahel 1 The story of Jehu at Jezreel is found in 2 Kings 9 and 10. The Book of Hosea, 3 said to him, “Call her name And He said, “Call his name Without Mercy, because I Not My People, because you will not add further mercy to are not my people, and I will Israel’s house. But I will not be yours. forget them in oblivion. 1:10 et erit numerus filiorum 1:7 et domui Iuda miserebor Israhel quasi harena maris et salvabo eos in Domino quae sine mensura est et non Deo suo et non salvabo eos numerabitur et erit in loco in arcu et gladio et in bello et ubi dicetur eis non populus in equis et in equitibus meus vos dicetur eis filii Dei viventis “And I will have mercy on Judah’s house, and will make “And the number of Israel’s them secure in the Lord their children will be like the sea’s God. Yet I will not make sand, which is without them secure by bow or measure and will not be sword, or by war, or by horse, counted. And it will be in the or by rider.” place where it will be said to them, ‘You are not my 1:8 et ablactavit eam quae people,’ it will be said to erat absque misericordia et them, ‘The living God’s concepit et peperit filium children.’ And she weaned her who was 1:11 et congregabuntur filii without mercy. And she Iuda et filii Israhel pariter et conceived and birthed a son. ponent sibimet caput unum et ascendent de terra quia 1:9 et dixit voca nomen eius magnus dies Hiezrahel Non populus meus quia vos non populus meus et ego non “And Judah’s children and ero vester Israel’s children will gather together. And they will The Book of Hosea, 4 appoint for themselves one Hosea 2:1 dicite fratribus head. And they will go up vestris Populus meus et from the land, because sorori vestrae Misericordiam Jezreel’s day is great. consecuta “Say to your brothers, ‘My People’, and to your sisters, ‘Mercy Follows’. 2:2 iudicate matrem vestram iudicate quoniam ipsa non uxor mea et ego non vir eius auferat fornicationes suas a facie sua et adulteria sua de medio uberum suorum “Judge your mother. Judge, because she is not my wife and I am not her husband. Take her prostitutions away from her face, and her adulteries from between her breasts, 2:3 ne forte expoliem eam nudam et statuam eam secundum diem nativitatis suae et ponam eam quasi solitudinem et statuam eam velut terram inviam et interficiam eam siti “unless, perhaps, I strip her The Book of Hosea, 5 naked and appoint her like 2:6 propter hoc ecce ego the day of her birth. And I sepiam viam tuam spinis et will place her like a desert, sepiam eam maceria et and stand her like an semitas suas non inveniet untraveled land, and I will kill her with thirst. “Because of this, look, I will surround your way with 2:4 et filiorum illius non thorns, and surround her by miserebor quoniam filii walls, and she will not find fornicationum sunt her paths. “And I will not have mercy 1:7 et sequetur amatores on her children, because they suos et non adprehendet eos are prostitution’s children, et quaeret eos et non inveniet et dicet vadam et revertar ad 2:5 quia fornicata est mater virum meum priorem quia eorum confusa est quae bene mihi erat tunc magis concepit eos quia dixit quam nunc vadam post amatores meos qui dant panes mihi et aquas “And she will pursue her meas lanam meam et linum lovers and not catch them. meum oleum meum et potum And she will seek them and meum not find. And she will say, ‘I will go and return to my first “because their mother was husband, because it was well prostituted. She who with me then, more than conceived them was now.’ ashamed, because she said, ‘I will go after my lovers, who 2:8 et haec nescivit quia ego give me bread and my waters dedi ei frumentum et vinum et and my wool and my linen oleum et argentum and my oil and my drink.’ multiplicavi ei et aurum quae fecerunt Baal The Book of Hosea, 6 rescue her from my hand. “And she did not know that I gave her grain and wine and 2:11 et cessare faciam omne oil. And I multiplied silver gaudium eius sollemnitatem and gold for her, which they eius neomeniam eius made for Baal.2 sabbatum eius et omnia festa tempora eius 2:9 idcirco convertar et sumam frumentum meum in “And I will make all her joy, tempore suo et vinum meum her solemnities, her new in tempore suo et liberabo moons, her Sabbaths, and all lanam meam et linum meum her holiday seasons cease. quae operiebant ignominiam eius 2:12 et corrumpam vineam eius et ficum eius de quibus “Therefore, I will change and dixit mercedes hae meae sunt take back my grain in its quas dederunt mihi amatores season, and my wine in its mei et ponam eam in saltu et season. And I will free my comedet illam bestia agri wool and my linen, which covered her shamefulness. “And I will corrupt her vine and her fig tree, of which she 2:10 et nunc revelabo said, ‘These are my rewards, stultitiam eius in oculis which my lovers have given amatorum eius et vir non me.’ And I will put her in a eruet eam de manu mea narrow pass, and a field’s beasts will eat her. “And now I will make clear her foolishness in her lovers’ 2:13 et visitabo super eam eyes. And man will not dies Baalim quibus accendebat incensum et ornabatur inaure sua et 2 Baal was a pagan god among monili suo et ibat post the Canaanites, Israel’s neighbors. The Book of Hosea, 7 amatores suos et mei days, and like the days of her obliviscebatur dicit Dominus coming up out of Egypt’s land. “And I will visit over her Baal’s days, to whom she 2:16 et erit in die illo ait burned incense and was Dominus vocabit me Vir adorned with her earrings and meus et non vocabit me ultra her necklace. And she went Baali after her lovers and forgot me, the Lord says. “And it will be in that day, the Lord said, she will call 2:14 propter hoc ecce ego me My Husband. And she lactabo eam et ducam eam in will not call me My Baal solitudinem et loquar ad cor anymore. eius 2:17 et auferam nomina “Because of this, I will nurse Baalim de ore eius et non her and lead her in solitude, recordabitur ultra nominis and speak to her heart. eorum 2:15 et dabo ei vinitores eius “And I will take away the ex eodem loco et vallem Baals’ names from her Achor ad aperiendam spem mouth, and she will not et canet ibi iuxta dies remember their name iuventutis suae et iuxta dies anymore.