# Hosea 2.19 **Book:** [Hosea](/codex/hosea/) · ASV ## Immediate context (±2 verses) **ASV** ([ASV](/codex/asv/)) > 17. For I will take away the names of the Baalim out of her mouth, and they shall no more be mentioned by their name. 18. And in that day will I make a covenant for them with the beasts of the field, and with the birds of the heavens, and with the creeping things of the ground: and I will break the bow and the sword and the battle out of the land, and will make them to lie down safely. > > **19. And I will betroth thee unto me for ever; yea, I will betroth thee unto me in righteousness, and in justice, and in lovingkindness, and in mercies.** > > 20. I will even betroth thee unto me in faithfulness; and thou shalt know Jehovah. 21. And it shall come to pass in that day, I will answer, saith Jehovah, I will answer the heavens, and they shall answer the earth; (Hosea 2:17-21, ASV) **WEB** ([WEB](/codex/web/)) > 17. For I will take away the names of the Baals out of her mouth, and they will no longer be mentioned by name. 18. In that day I will make a covenant for them with the animals of the field, and with the birds of the sky, and with the creeping things of the ground. I will break the bow, the sword, and the battle out of the land, and will make them lie down safely. > > **19. I will betroth you to me forever. Yes, I will betroth you to me in righteousness, in justice, in loving kindness, and in compassion.** > > 20. I will even betroth you to me in faithfulness; and you shall know Yahweh. 21. It will happen in that day, I will respond,” says Yahweh, “I will respond to the heavens, and they will respond to the earth; (Hosea 2:17-21, WEB) **KJV** ([KJV](/codex/kjv/)) > 17. For I will take away the names of Baalim out of her mouth, and they shall no more be remembered by their name. 18. And in that day will I make a covenant for them with the beasts of the field, and with the fowls of heaven, and with the creeping things of the ground: and I will break the bow and the sword and the battle out of the earth, and will make them to lie down safely. > > **19. And I will betroth thee unto me for ever; yea, I will betroth thee unto me in righteousness, and in judgment, and in lovingkindness, and in mercies.** > > 20. I will even betroth thee unto me in faithfulness: and thou shalt know the LORD. 21. And it shall come to pass in that day, I will hear, saith the LORD, I will hear the heavens, and they shall hear the earth; (Hosea 2:17-21, KJV) **YLT** ([YLT](/codex/ylt/)) > 17. And I have turned aside the names of the lords from her mouth, And they are not remembered any more by their name. 18. And I have made to them a covenant in that day, with the beast of the field, And with the fowl of the heavens, And the creeping thing of the ground, And bow, and sword, and war I break from off the land, And have caused them to lie down confidently. > > **19. And I have betrothed thee to Me to the age, And betrothed thee to Me in righteousness, And in judgment, and kindness, and mercies,** > > 20. And betrothed thee to Me in faithfulness, And thou hast known Jehovah. 21. And it hath come to pass in that day, I answer, an affirmation of Jehovah, I answer the heavens, and they answer the earth. (Hosea 2:17-21, YLT) ## Setting - **Speaker:** YHWH through Hosea (covenant-marriage allegory) - **Audience:** the northern kingdom of Israel under Jeroboam II and successors - **Location:** northern kingdom of Israel - **Time period:** Hosea's ministry c. 750-715 BC ## Theological reading The verse stands at the climax of Hosea's marriage-allegory reversal: YHWH, the betrayed husband, will not merely take back unfaithful Israel but will *re-betroth* her, and the bridal qualities are stacked as a five-fold *gift list*, righteousness (*tzedeq*), justice (*mishpat*), lovingkindness (*hesed*), compassion (*rachamim*), and faithfulness (*emunah*, v. 20). The five together constitute the full covenantal character. The placement of *rachamim* in the chain is significant: tender womb-compassion is named as one of the *bridal* qualities by which YHWH binds Himself to His people, not a contingent benefit but a constitutive feature of the new covenant relation. The NT picks up the betrothal-imagery for Christ and the church (2 Cor 11:2; Eph 5:25-32; Rev 19:7-9; 21:2, 9), making this verse one of the OT roots of the *marriage-of-the-Lamb* eschatology. ## Key words - [H7356 - rachamim](/codex/h7356-rachamim/), *rachamim* (Strong's H7356). Here in the five-fold bridal-qualities chain as the divine womb-compassion that YHWH brings into the betrothal. ## See also - [Hosea 2.21-23](/codex/hosea-2-21-23/), the immediate continuation of the covenant-renewal oracle - [Hesed](/codex/h2617-hesed/), the *hesed* + *rachamim* pairing - [New Covenant](/codex/jeremiah-31-33/), the doctrinal frame - Marriage of the Lamb, NT bridal-imagery (if hub exists) ## Quoted in **Lexicon:** - [H4941 - mishpat](/codex/h4941-mishpat/) - [H7356 - rachamim](/codex/h7356-rachamim/) ## Why these four translations ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the **most literal English translations available** (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the **public domain in the United States**, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance. The four: - **[ASV](/codex/asv/)** (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition. - **[WEB](/codex/web/)** (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English. - **[KJV](/codex/kjv/)** (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base. - **[YLT](/codex/ylt/)** (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff. See [Bibles](/codex/bibles/) for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.