“ Suppose a man divorces his wife. What if she then marries another man? Should her first husband return to her again? If he does, won’t the land become completely‘ unclean’? People of Israel, you have lived like a prostitute. You have loved many other gods. So do you think you can return to me now?” announces the Lord.

“有话说：人若休妻，妻离他而去，作了别人的妻，前夫岂能再收回她来？若收回她来，那地岂不是大大玷污了吗？但你和许多亲爱的行邪淫，还可以归向我。这是耶和华说的。

耶和华说：“人若休妻，妻离他而去，做了别人的妻子，前夫岂能再回到她那里呢？那地岂不是大大污秽了吗？但你和许多情郎行淫，还是可以回到我这里。这是耶和华说的。

耶和华说：“人若休妻，妻离他而去，做了别人的妻子，前夫岂能再回到她那里呢？那地岂不是大大污秽了吗？但你和许多情郎行淫，还是可以回到我这里。这是耶和华说的。

耶和华说：“如果丈夫休掉妻子，妻子离去另嫁别人，前夫怎会再娶她呢？那样做岂不完全玷污了土地吗？你曾与许多情人苟合，现在要归向我吗？

耶和华说：“人若是休妻，妻子离开了他，又嫁了别人，前夫怎能与她复合呢？如果复合，那地不是大大玷污了吗？你曾与许多情人行淫，还想归向我。”这是耶和华的宣告。

有話說：人若休妻，妻離他而去，作了別人的妻，前夫豈能再收回她來？若收回她來，那地豈不是大大玷污了嗎？但你和許多親愛的行邪淫，還可以歸向我。這是耶和華說的。

耶和華說：「人若休妻，妻離他而去，做了別人的妻子，前夫豈能再回到她那裏呢？那地豈不是大大污穢了嗎？但你和許多情郎行淫，還是可以回到我這裏。這是耶和華說的。

耶和華說：「人若休妻，妻離他而去，做了別人的妻子，前夫豈能再回到她那裏呢？那地豈不是大大污穢了嗎？但你和許多情郎行淫，還是可以回到我這裏。這是耶和華說的。

耶和華說：「如果丈夫休掉妻子，妻子離去另嫁別人，前夫怎會再娶她呢？那樣做豈不完全玷污了土地嗎？你曾與許多情人苟合，現在要歸向我嗎？

耶和華說：“人若是休妻，妻子離開了他，又嫁了別人，前夫怎能與她復合呢？如果復合，那地不是大大玷污了嗎？你曾與許多情人行淫，還想歸向我。”這是耶和華的宣告。

永恆主的話傳與我，說：『人若把妻子離出去，而妻子離開他而去，做了別人的妻子，她哪能再回轉來歸前夫呢？那麼那婦人豈不是大大被玷污了麼？然而你，你和許多情人行淫，還要回轉來歸於我？永恆主發神諭說。

有曰、人出其妻、妻離之而他適、前夫豈復納之、若然、斯地非受污之甚乎、耶和華曰、惟爾相愛者眾、與之行淫、猶思歸我乎、

有言出妻、任其他適、既出勿納、恐斯邦染其污衊。耶和華曰、惟爾縱欲背予、崇事他上帝、今使爾歸試於我、

主有言諭我曰、人若出妻、遂離之為他人之妻、前夫豈可復娶之乎、如復娶、豈不使地沾染污穢乎、爾從事多神、若婦之與多人行淫、猶思歸我乎、爾從事多神若婦之與多人行淫猶思歸我乎或作爾雖崇事多神若婦之與多人行淫我仍命爾當歸誠於我此乃主所言、

“ If a man divorces his wife and she leaves him and marries another man, should he return to her again? Would not the land be completely defiled? But you have lived as a prostitute with many lovers— would you now return to me?” declares the Lord.

“ If a man divorces his wife and she goes from him and becomes another man’s wife, will he return to her? Would not that land be greatly polluted? You have played the whore with many lovers; and would you return to me? declares the Lord.

“ If a man divorces a woman and she goes and marries someone else, he will not take her back again, for that would surely corrupt the land. But you have prostituted yourself with many lovers, so why are you trying to come back to me?” says the Lord.

If a man divorces his wife and she leaves him to marry another, can he ever return to her? Wouldn’t such a land become totally defiled? But you! You have prostituted yourself with many partners— can you return to me? This is the LORD’s declaration.

God says,“ If a husband divorces his wife And she leaves him And becomes another man’s wife, Will he return to her again? Would that land not be completely defiled? But you are a prostitute with many lovers; Yet you turn to Me,” declares the Lord.

“ They say,‘ If a man divorces his wife, And she goes from him And becomes another man’s, May he return to her again?’ Would not that land be greatly polluted? But you have played the harlot with many lovers; Yet return to Me,” says the Lord.

They say, If a man put away his wife, and she go from him, and become another man’s, will he return unto her again? will not that land be greatly polluted? But thou hast played the harlot with many lovers; yet return again to me, saith Jehovah.

If a man divorces his wife and she leaves him to marry another, can he ever return to her? Wouldn’t such a land become totally defiled? But you! You have played the prostitute with many partners— can you return to Me? This is the Lord’s declaration.

They say, If a man put away his wife, and she go from him, and become another man’s, shall he return unto her again? shall not that land be greatly polluted? but thou hast played the harlot with many lovers; yet return again to me, saith the LORD.

“ If a man divorces his wife and she leaves him and becomes another man’s wife, he may not take her back again. Doing that would utterly defile the land. But you, Israel, have given yourself as a prostitute to many gods. So what makes you think you can return to me?” says the LORD.

“ They say,‘ If a man puts away his wife, and she goes from him, and becomes another man’s, should he return to her again?’ Wouldn’t that land be greatly polluted? But you have played the prostitute with many lovers; yet return again to me,” says Yahweh.

Suppose a man marries a woman. But later he decides he doesn’t like her. He finds something shameful about her. So he gives her a letter of divorce and sends her away from his house.Then after she leaves his house she becomes another man’s wife.But her second husband doesn’t like her either. So he gives her a letter of divorce and sends her away from his house. Or perhaps he dies.Then her first husband isn’t allowed to marry her again. The Lord would hate that. When her first husband divorced her, she became“ unclean.” Don’t bring sin on the land the Lord your God is giving you as your own.

“ If you, Israel, will return,” announces the Lord,“ then return to me. Put the statues of your gods out of my sight. I hate them. Stop going astray.

You committed shameful acts with the people of Egypt. They were your neighbors who were ready to have sex with you. You offered yourself to them again and again. That made me very angry.

“ Long ago you broke off the yoke I put on you. You tore off the ropes I tied you up with. You said,‘ I won’t serve you!’ In fact, on every high hill you lay down like a prostitute. You worshiped other gods under every green tree.

Their mother hasn’t been faithful to me. She who became pregnant with them has brought shame on herself. She said,‘ I will chase after my lovers. They give me my food and water. They provide me with wool and linen. They give me olive oil and wine.’So I will block her path with bushes that have thorns. I’ll build a wall around her. Then she can’t go to her lovers.She will still chase after her lovers. But she won’t catch them. She’ll look for them. But she won’t find them. Then she’ll say,‘ I’ll go back to my husband. That’s where I was at first. I was better off then than I am now.’

Israel, return to the Lord your God. Your sins have destroyed you!Tell the Lord you are turning away from your sins. Return to him. Say to him,“ Forgive us for all our sins. Please be kind to us. Welcome us back to you. Then our lips will offer you our praise.Assyria can’t save us. We won’t trust in our war horses. Our own hands have made statues of gods. But we will never call them our gods again. We are like children whose fathers have died. But you show us your tender love.”Then the Lord will answer,“ My people always wander away from me. But I will put an end to that. My anger has turned away from them. Now I will love them freely.

But she wasn’t faithful to him. She left him. She went back to her parents’ home in Bethlehem in Judah. She stayed there for four months.

“ You say,‘ I am“ clean.” I haven’t followed the gods that are named Baal.’ How can you say that? Remember how you acted in the valley. Consider what you have done. You are like a female camel running quickly here and there.

The older sister was named Oholah. The younger one was Oholibah. They belonged to me. Sons and daughters were born to them. Oholah stands for Samaria. And Oholibah stands for Jerusalem.“ Oholah was unfaithful to me even while she still belonged to me. She longed for her Assyrian lovers. They included soldierswho wore blue uniforms. They also included governors and commanders. All of them were young and handsome. They rode horses.She gave herself as a prostitute to all Assyria’s finest warriors. She made herself impure with the statues of the gods of everyone she longed for.She started being a prostitute in Egypt. And she never stopped. When she was young, men had sex with her. They kissed her virgin breasts. They used up all their sinful desires on her.“ So I handed her over to her Assyrian lovers. She longed for them.They stripped her naked. They took away her sons and daughters. And they killed her with their swords. Other women laughed when that happened. I was the one who had punished her.“ Her sister Oholibah saw it. But her evil desire for sexual sin was worse than her sister’s.She too longed for the men of Assyria. They included governors and commanders. They included soldiers who wore fancy uniforms. They also included men who rode horses. All of them were young and handsome.I saw that she too made herself impure. So both sisters did the same evil things.“ But Oholibah went even further with her sexual sins. She saw pictures of men drawn on a wall. They were figures of Babylonians drawn in red.They had belts around their waists. They wore flowing turbans on their heads. All of them looked like Babylonian chariot officers. They were from the land of the Chaldeans.As soon as she saw the pictures, she longed for the men. So she sent messengers to them in Babylon.Then the Babylonians came to her. They went to bed with her. They had sex with her. They made her impure when they had sex with her. After they did it, she became sick of them. So she turned away from them.She acted like a prostitute who had no shame at all. She openly showed her naked body. I became sick of what she was doing. So I turned away from her. I had also turned away from her sister.But Oholibah offered her body to her lovers again and again. She remembered the days when she was a young prostitute in Egypt.There she had longed for her lovers. Their private parts seemed as big as those of donkeys. And their flow of semen appeared to be as much as that of horses.So you wanted to return to the days when you were young. You longed for the time when you first became impure in Egypt. That was when you allowed your breasts to be kissed. And you permitted your young breasts to be touched.”So the Lord and King says,“ Oholibah, I will stir up your lovers against you. You became sick of them. You turned away from them. But I will bring them against you from every side.They include the Babylonians and all the Chaldeans. They include the men from Pekod, Shoa and Koa. They also include all the Assyrians. They are young and handsome. Some of them are governors and commanders. Others are chariot officers. Still others are very high officials. All of them ride horses.So a huge army will come against you with weapons, chariots and wagons. They will take up positions against you on every side. They will carry large and small shields. They will wear helmets. I will turn you over to them to be punished. They will punish you in their own way.I will pour out my jealous anger on you. And the army’s anger will burn against you. They will cut off your noses and ears. Some of you who are left will be killed by swords. They will take away your sons and daughters. Others of you who are left will be burned up.The army will also strip off your clothes. They will take your fine jewelry away from you.You became an impure prostitute in Egypt. But I will put a stop to all of that. You will no longer want to do any of it. You will not remember Egypt anymore.”The Lord and King says,“ I am about to hand you over to people you hate. You became sick of them. You turned away from them.They will punish you because they hate you so much. They will take away from you everything you have worked for. They will leave you completely naked. Then everyone will see that you are a prostitute who has no shame at all. You were impure. You offered your body to your lovers again and again.That is why you will be punished. You longed for lovers in other nations. You made yourself impure by worshiping their gods.You did the same things your sister Oholah did. So I will put her cup in your hand. It is filled with the wine of my anger.”The Lord and King says to Oholibah,“ You will drink from your sister’s cup. It is large and deep. It is filled with the wine of my anger. So others will laugh at you. They will make fun of you.You will become drunk and sad. The cup of my anger will completely destroy you. It is the same cup your sister Samaria drank from.You will drink from it until it is empty. Then you will chew on its pieces. And you will claw at your breasts. I have spoken,” announces the Lord and King.So the Lord and King says,“ You have forgotten me. You have turned your back on me. You have been impure. You have acted like a prostitute. So I will punish you.”The Lord said to me,“ Son of man, are you going to judge Oholah and Oholibah? Then tell them they have done many evil things. I hate those things.They have committed adultery. Their hands are covered with the blood of the people they have murdered. They have worshiped other gods. They have not been faithful to me. They have even sacrificed their children as food to other gods. Those children belonged to me.Here are some other things the sisters have done to me. They have made my temple‘ unclean.’ They have misused my Sabbath days.They have sacrificed their children to their gods. On that same day they entered my temple and made it‘ unclean.’ That is what they have done in my house.“ They even sent messengers to bring men from far away. When the men arrived, Oholibah took a bath. She put makeup on her eyes. She put her jewelry on.She sat down on a beautiful couch. A table was in front of it. There she put the incense and olive oil that belonged to me.“ The noise of a carefree crowd was all around her. Men who drink too much were brought from the desert. Other men were brought along with them. They put bracelets on the wrists of the two sisters. They put beautiful crowns on their heads.Then I spoke about Oholibah. She was worn out by adultery. I said,‘ Let them use her as a prostitute. After all, that is what she is.’So they slept with her. In fact, they slept with both of these impure women, Oholah and Oholibah. They slept with them just as men sleep with prostitutes.But judges who are right with God will sentence the sisters to be punished. They will be punished in the same way as women who commit adultery and murder. After all, they have committed adultery. And their hands are covered with the blood of the people they have murdered.”The Lord and King says,“ Bring an angry crowd against the sisters. Hand them over to those who will terrify them and steal everything they have.The crowd will kill them by throwing stones at them. They will use swords to cut them down. They will kill their sons and daughters. And they will burn down their houses.“ So I will put an end to impurity in the land. Then all its women will be warned. They will not want to be like the sisters.Those sisters will be punished because of the impure things they have done. They will be judged because they have worshiped other gods. Then they will know that I am the Lord and King.”

The son wanted to fill his stomach with the food the pigs were eating. But no one gave him anything.“ Then he began to think clearly again. He said,‘ How many of my father’s hired servants have more than enough food! But here I am dying from hunger!I will get up and go back to my father. I will say to him,“ Father, I have sinned against heaven. And I have sinned against you.I am no longer fit to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants.” ’So he got up and went to his father.“ While the son was still a long way off, his father saw him. He was filled with tender love for his son. He ran to him. He threw his arms around him and kissed him.“ The son said to him,‘ Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer fit to be called your son.’“ But the father said to his servants,‘ Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet.Bring the fattest calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate.This son of mine was dead. And now he is alive again. He was lost. And now he is found.’ So they began to celebrate.

“ Jeremiah, tell them,‘ The Lord says,“‘ “When people fall down, don’t they get up again? When someone turns away, don’t they come back?Then why have the people of Jerusalem turned away from me? Why do they always turn away? They keep on telling lies. They refuse to come back to me.I have listened carefully. But they do not say what is right. They refuse to turn away from their sins. None of them says,‘ What have I done?’ Each of them goes their own way. They are like horses charging into battle.

Perhaps while you are there, you will seek the Lord your God. You will find him if you seek him with all your heart and with all your soul.All the things I’ve told you about might happen to you. And you will be in trouble. But later you will return to the Lord your God. You will obey him.The Lord your God is tender and loving. He won’t leave you or destroy you. He won’t forget the covenant he made with your people of long ago. He gave his word when he made it.

And now he says to us,“ Return to me. Then I will return to you,” announces the Lord.

Turn to the Lord before it’s too late. Call out to him while he’s still ready to help you.Let those who are evil stop doing evil things. And let them quit thinking evil thoughts. Let them turn to the Lord. The Lord will show them his tender love. Let them turn to our God. He is always ready to forgive.“ My thoughts are not like your thoughts. And your ways are not like my ways,” announces the Lord.“ The heavens are higher than the earth. And my ways are higher than your ways. My thoughts are higher than your thoughts.

Tell them,‘ When sinful people die, it does not give me any joy. But when they turn away from their sins and live, that makes me very happy. And that is just as sure as I am alive,’ announces the Lord and King.‘ So turn away from your sins! Change your evil ways! Why should you die, people of Israel?’

Israel was not faithful to me, but that did not bother them at all. They made the land‘ unclean.’ They worshiped gods that were made out of stone and wood.

You also committed shameful acts with the people of Assyria. Nothing ever seemed to satisfy you. You could never get enough.Then you offered yourself to the people of Babylon. But that did not satisfy you either. There are many traders in the land of Babylon.

People of Jerusalem, wash your sins from your hearts and be saved. How long will you hold on to your evil thoughts?

The Lord began to speak through Hosea. He said to him,“ Go. Marry a woman who has sex with anyone she wants. Have children with her. Do this because the people of the land are like that kind of wife. They have not been faithful to me.”

But I brought you into a land that has rich soil. I gave you its fruit and its finest food. In spite of that, you made my land impure. You turned it into something I hate.

Go. Announce this message to the people in the north. Tell them,“‘ Israel, you have not been faithful,’ announces the Lord.‘ Return to me. Then I will do good things for you again. That’s because I am faithful,’ announces the Lord.‘ I will not be angry with you forever.Admit that you are guilty of doing what is wrong. You have refused to obey me. I am the Lord your God. You have committed adultery with other gods. You worshiped them under every green tree. And you have not obeyed me,’ ” announces the Lord.“ You people have not been faithful,” announces the Lord.“ Return to me. I am your husband. I will choose one of you from each town. I will choose two from each territory. And I will bring you to the city of Zion.

Get up! Leave this land! It is no longer your resting place. You have made it‘ unclean.’ You have completely destroyed it.

“ You have not been faithful,” says the Lord.“ Return to me. I will heal you. Then you will not turn away from me anymore.”“ Yes,” the people say.“ We will come to you. You are the Lord our God.

“‘ Do not make yourselves“ unclean” in any of these ways. That is how other nations became“ unclean.” So I am going to drive those nations out of the land to make room for you.Even their land was not“ clean.” So I punished it because of its sin. The land itself threw out the people who lived there.But you must keep my rules and my laws. You must not do any of the things I hate. It does not matter whether you are Israelites or outsiders.All these things were done by the people who lived in the land before you. That is how the land became“ unclean.”If you make the land“ unclean,” it will throw you out. It will get rid of you just as it got rid of the nations there before you.

Then she must be brought to the door of her father’s house. There the people of her town will put her to death by throwing stones at her. She has done a very terrible thing in Israel. She has slept with a man before she was married. Get rid of that evil person.

The earth is polluted by its people. They haven’t obeyed the laws of the Lord. They haven’t done what he told them to do. They’ve broken the covenant that will last forever.