Hosea 2:3

Translations

Modern

Otherwise, I will strip her naked and expose her like the day of her birth. I will make her like a desert and turn her into a parched land, and I will let her die of thirst.

Traditional

Lest I strip her naked, and set her as in the day that she was born, and make her as a wilderness, and set her like a dry land, and slay her with thirst.

Literal

…lest I strip her naked, and expose her like the day of her being born, and make her like the desert, and set her like a parched land, and kill her with thirst!

Latin

…ne forte expoliem eam nudam, et statuam eam secundum diem nativitatis suæ, et ponam eam quasi solitudinem, et statuam eam velut terram inviam, et interficiam eam siti.

Original

Hebrew

English

Otherwise, I will strip her naked and expose her like the day of her birth. I will make her like a desert and turn her into a parched land, and I will let her die of thirst.

Notes

Hosea 2:3

The Lord warns unfaithful Israel that unless she repents and returns to her covenant partner, he will expose her nakedness (see also Hosea 2:10). Ezekiel also uses this image of judgment and shame (Ezekiel 16:36–37).

Hosea 2:2–23

Rebuke your mother, rebuke her: At first glance, the Lord, like an upset husband, seems to be giving a divorce to his unfaithful wife, Israel (see Deuteronomy 24:1). However, as the passage continues, it becomes clear that God’s goal in this lawsuit is not divorce, but reconciliation (Hosea 2:14–23).

God’s case against Israel aims to make Israel aware of her sin and offer her a chance to return to her true husband. The Lord’s desire for reconciliation with Israel is surprising because the law required the death penalty for an unfaithful spouse (Deuteronomy 22:22; see also Genesis 38:24; Leviticus 21:9).

Hosea 1:2–3:5

This section describes a small part of the prophet's life, focusing on his troubled marriage. It highlights God's difficult relationship with Israel, his chosen people.

Theme notes and profiles

God’s Faithfulness to His People Retribution The Broken Covenant

Events

Prophecies of Hoseac. 785 BC

Related verses

Ezekiel 16:22
And in all your abominations and acts of prostitution, you did not remember the days of your youth when you were naked and bare, wallowing in your own blood.
Ezekiel 19:13
Now it is planted in the wilderness, in a dry and thirsty land.
Amos 8:11–13
Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord GOD, when I will send a famine on the land—not a famine of bread or a thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the words of the LORD.
Jeremiah 13:22
And if you ask yourself, “Why has this happened to me?” It is because of the magnitude of your iniquity that your skirts have been stripped off and your body has been exposed.
Isaiah 32:13–14
…and for the land of my people, overgrown with thorns and briers—even for every house of merriment in this city of revelry.
Exodus 17:3
But the people thirsted for water there, and they grumbled against Moses: “Why have you brought us out of Egypt—to make us and our children and livestock die of thirst?”
Jeremiah 22:6
For this is what the LORD says concerning the house of the king of Judah: “You are like Gilead to Me, like the summit of Lebanon; but I will surely turn you into a desert, like cities that are uninhabited.
Ezekiel 16:37–39
…therefore I will surely gather all the lovers with whom you found pleasure, all those you loved and all those you hated. I will gather them against you from all around and expose you before them, and they will see you completely naked.
Judges 15:18
And being very thirsty, Samson cried out to the LORD, “You have accomplished this great deliverance through Your servant. Must I now die of thirst and fall into the hands of the uncircumcised?”
Jeremiah 13:26
So I will pull your skirts up over your face, that your shame may be seen.
Revelation 17:16
And the ten horns and the beast that you saw will hate the prostitute. They will leave her desolate and naked, and they will eat her flesh and burn her with fire.
Jeremiah 51:43
Her cities have become a desolation, a dry and arid land, a land where no one lives, where no son of man passes through.

Glossary

Adultery Covenant Desert Gomer Hosea, Book of Mercy People of God Ruhamah

Topics

Deserts: Those Deprived of Blessings Idolatry: Warnings Against, and Punishments of Prophecies Concerning Israel: Prophecies Concerning of Captivity, Famine, and Judgments

Hosea 2:3

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Translations

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Events

Related verses

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Topics