Hosea 2

2 ¹Talk give your brothers say, "My People," and give your sisters say, "Dem Don Show Am Mercy." ²Beg una mama, beg am well well—because she no be my wife again, and I no be her husband—make she remove her ashawo work from her face and her cheating from between her breast, ³or I go tear all her cloth comot and leave her naked like di day dem born her; I go make her be like wilderness, turn her to dry land wey no get water, and make thirst kill her. ⁴I no go show her pikin dem any tender mercy wey dey pain belle, because dem be pikin of ashawo work. ⁵Their mama don sell herself as ashawo; di one wey carry dem for belle do shameful thing. She talk say, "I go run after my lovers, wey dey give me my bread and my water, my wool and my flax, my oil and my drink."

⁶Na why I dey ready to block her road with thorn; I go build wall surround her so she no go fit find her path. ⁷She go run after her lovers but she no go catch dem; she go look for dem but she no go find dem. Then she go talk say, "I go go back to my first husband, because e better for me that time pass now." ⁸She never understand say na me give her di grain, di new wine, and di oil, na me pour silver and gold plenty give her—wey dem use serve Baal. ^a a v8 Di way e change to 'dem' na to follow di Hebrew—di people of Israel collect di gift wey dem give her and use am serve Baal.

⁹Na why I go collect back my grain wen e ripe and my new wine for im season; I go take back my wool and my flax, wey I give to cover her nakedness. ¹⁰Now I go show her shame for di eye of her lovers, and nobody go fit rescue her from my hand. ¹¹I go stop all her celebration—her festival, her New Moon, her Sabbath, all her festival wey dem set. ¹²I go destroy her vine and fig tree, wey she talk say, "Na my pay be dis wey my lovers give me." I go turn dem to bush, and wild animal go chop dem. ¹³I go make her answer for di days wey she burn offering give di Baals, wen she wear ring and jewelry decorate herself and run after her lovers—but me she forget, na so our Papa talk.

¹⁴"Na why, look, I dey go win her back: I go lead her go inside di wilderness and talk tender words to her heart. ¹⁵For there I go give her back her vineyard dem and make di Valley of Achor be doorway of hope. For there she go answer like for di days of her young age, like for di day wey she comot from Egypt." ^b b v15 Di Valley of Achor mean "trouble"—di place of one old failure wey our Papa turn to di very doorway wey dey enter hope and restoration.

¹⁶For that day, na so our Papa talk, you go call me "my husband," and you no go call me "my Baal" again. ^c c v16 Our Papa goal na closeness, no be control—make dem call am "my husband," no be "my master." "Baal" na di everyday word for "master" and also na di name of di idol wey Israel dey run after; e no go share her heart with am again. ¹⁷I go remove di names of di Baals from her mouth; dem no go call dem by name again. ¹⁸For that day I go make Covenant for dem with di wild animal, di bird of di sky, and di creature dem wey dey crawl for ground; I go drive bow and sword and war comot from di land, so that everybody go fit lie down for safety. ¹⁹I go promise to marry you forever; I go promise to marry you for correct-and-holy way and justice, for Covenant love and tender mercy wey dey pain belle. ²⁰I go promise to marry you for faithfulness, and you go know your Papa.

²¹For that day I go answer, na so our Papa talk—I go answer di heavens, and dem go answer di earth; ²²and di earth go answer di grain, di new wine, and di oil, and dem go answer Jezreel. ^d d v22 Jezreel mean "God dey plant." Di name wey before dey signal scatter and judgment now turn to promise—our Papa dey plant im people back inside di land as im own. ²³I go plant her for myself inside di land. I go show mercy to "No Mercy," and I go talk to "Not My People" say, "Una be my pikin"; and dem go talk say, "You be my Papa." ^e e v23 Di turnaround don complete: di ones wey before dem call "Not My People" now na im pikin, and dem answer am not as far away deity but as Papa—di relationship wey di whole book dey reach towards.