The beginning of the word of the LORD by Hosea. And the LORD said to Hosea, Go, take unto thee a wife of whoredoms and children of whoredoms: for the land hath committed great whoredom, {departing} from the LORD.

They did not destroy the nations, concerning whom the LORD commanded them:

Lest thou make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, and they go a whoring after their gods, and do sacrifice unto their gods, and {one} call thee, and thou eat of his sacrifice;

And upon her forehead {was} a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. {harlots: or, fornications}

Rejoice not, O Israel, for joy, as {other} people: for thou hast gone a whoring from thy God, thou hast loved a reward upon every cornfloor. {upon: or, in, etc}

And they forsook the LORD God of their fathers, which brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods, of the gods of the people that {were} round about them, and bowed themselves unto them, and provoked the LORD to anger.

And it came to pass, as soon as Gideon was dead, that the children of Israel turned again, and went a whoring after Baalim, and made Baalberith their god.

And yet they would not hearken unto their judges, but they went a whoring after other gods, and bowed themselves unto them: they turned quickly out of the way which their fathers walked in, obeying the commandments of the LORD; {but} they did not so.

For {so} it was, that the children of Israel had sinned against the LORD their God, which had brought them up out of the land of Egypt, from under the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and had feared other gods,

But Jeshurun waxed fat, and kicked: thou art waxen fat, thou art grown thick, thou art covered {with fatness}; then he forsook God {which} made him, and lightly esteemed the Rock of his salvation.

Now it came to pass, after that Amaziah was come from the slaughter of the Edomites, that he brought the gods of the children of Seir, and set them up {to be} his gods, and bowed down himself before them, and burned incense unto them.

So all Israel were reckoned by genealogies; and, behold, they {were} written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah, {who} were carried away to Babylon for their transgression.

{And} Pul the king of Assyria came against the land: and Menahem gave Pul a thousand talents of silver, that his hand might be with him to confirm the kingdom in his hand.

For we will not inherit with them on yonder side Jordan, or forward; because our inheritance is fallen to us on this side Jordan eastward.

And the LORD said unto him, Call his name Jezreel; for yet a little {while}, and I will avenge the blood of Jezreel upon the house of Jehu, and will cause to cease the kingdom of the house of Israel. {avenge: Heb. visit}