# Hosea 2.20 **Book:** [Hosea](/codex/hosea/) · ASV ## Immediate context (±2 verses) **ASV** ([ASV](/codex/asv/)) > 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; 22. and the earth shall answer the grain, and the new wine, and the oil; and they shall answer Jezreel. (Hosea 2:18-22, ASV) **WEB** ([WEB](/codex/web/)) > 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; 22. and the earth will respond to the grain, and the new wine, and the oil; and they will respond to Jezreel. (Hosea 2:18-22, WEB) **KJV** ([KJV](/codex/kjv/)) > 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; 22. And the earth shall hear the corn, and the wine, and the oil; and they shall hear Jezreel. (Hosea 2:18-22, KJV) **YLT** ([YLT](/codex/ylt/)) > 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. 22. And the earth doth answer the corn, And the new wine, and the oil, And they answer Jezreel. (Hosea 2:18-22, YLT) ## Setting - **Speaker:** YHWH through Hosea - **Audience:** the Northern Kingdom of Israel in covenantal apostasy - **Location:** Northern Kingdom (Israel) - **Time period:** Hosea's ministry, c. 755-715 BC ## Theological reading Hosea 2:20 is the climactic verse of the marriage-betrothal oracle (vv. 14-23), which pictures YHWH's covenant restoration of unfaithful Israel as a renewed marriage. The verse closes the betrothal-attribute list of vv. 19-20: YHWH betroths His people *in righteousness, justice, lovingkindness, mercies*, and finally *in [emunah](/codex/h0530-emunah/)*. The placement of *emunah* as the climactic attribute is theologically loaded: covenant marriage is grounded in God's reliable faithfulness, and the consequence is *knowledge of YHWH* ([*yada*](/codex/h3045-yada/)). The Hosea-betrothal-emunah / *yada* pairing becomes one of the OT's clearest pictures of relational covenant: God's *emunah* invites the believer's *yada*, knowing YHWH personally and covenantally. The verse anticipates the new-covenant promise of universal knowledge of God (Jer 31:34) and the NT marriage-of-the-Lamb (Rev 19:7-9). ## Key words - [H0530 - emunah](/codex/h0530-emunah/), *emunah* - [H3045 - yada](/codex/h3045-yada/), *yada*, *"thou shalt know Jehovah"* - [H2617 - hesed](/codex/h2617-hesed/), *hesed* (v. 19) ## See also - [H0530 - emunah](/codex/h0530-emunah/), the lexical hub - [H3045 - yada](/codex/h3045-yada/) - [Hosea](/codex/hosea/) - [New Covenant](/codex/jeremiah-31-33/) ## Quoted in **Lexicon:** - [H0530 - emunah](/codex/h0530-emunah/) ## 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.