A little while ago I read through the book of Hosea and compared verses (KJV - NIV). Here are the most notable differences:

1:6      “for I will no more have mercy upon the house of Israel; but I will utterly take them away.”

            “for I will no longer show love to the house of Israel, that I should at all forgive them.”

 

1:9      “for ye are not my people, and I will not be your God.”

            “for you are not my people, and I am not your God.”

 

2:2      “Plead with your mother, plead: for she is not my wife, neither am I her husband: let her therefore put away her whoredoms out of her sight, and her adulteries from between her breasts;”

“Rebuke your mother, rebuke her, for she is not my wife, and I am not her husband. Let her remove the adulterous look from her face and the unfaithfulness from between her breasts.”

 

2:7      “And she shall follow after her lovers, but she shall not overtake them; and she shall seek them, but shall not find them: then shall she say, I will go and return to my first husband; for then was it better with me than now.”

“She will chase after her lovers but not catch them; she will look for them but not find them. Then she will say, 'I will go back to my husband as at first, for then I was better off than now.'”

 

2:8      “For she did not know that I gave her corn, and wine, and oil, and multiplied her silver and gold, which they prepared for Baal.”

“She has not acknowledged that I was the one who gave her the grain, the new wine and oil, who lavished on her the silver and gold-- which they used for Baal.”

 

2:9      “Therefore will I return, and take away my corn in the time thereof...”

            “Therefore I will take away my grain when it ripens...”

 

2:11    “I will also cause all her mirth to cease, her feast days, her new moons, and her sabbaths, and all her solemn feasts.”

“I will stop all her celebrations: her yearly festivals, her New Moons, her Sabbath days--all her appointed feasts.”

 

2:17    “For I will take away the names of Baalim out of her mouth, and they shall no more be remembered by their name.”

“I will remove the names of the Baals from her lips; no longer will their names be invoked.”

 

2:20    “I will even betroth thee unto me in faithfulness: and thou shalt know the LORD.”

            “I will betroth you in faithfulness, and you will acknowledge the LORD.”

 

2:21    “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; And the earth shall hear the corn, and the wine, and the oil; and they shall hear Jezreel.”

“In that day I will respond," declares the LORD-- "I will respond to the skies, and they will respond to the earth; and the earth will respond to the grain, the new wine and oil, and they will respond to Jezreel.”

 

2:23    “and I will have mercy upon her that had not obtained mercy”

            “I will show my love to the one I called 'Not my loved one.’”

 

3:1      “according to the love of the LORD toward the children of Israel, who look to other gods, and love flagons of wine.”

“Love her as the LORD loves the Israelites, though they turn to other gods and love the sacred raisin cakes.”

 

4:3      “Therefore shall the land mourn, and every one that dwelleth therein shall languish, with the beasts of the field, and with the fowls of heaven; yea, the fishes of the sea also shall be taken away.”

“Because of this the land mourns, and all who live in it waste away; the beasts of the field and the birds of the air and the fish of the sea are dying.”

 

4:5      “Therefore shalt thou fall in the day, and the prophet also shall fall with thee in the night”

            “You stumble day and night, and the prophets stumble with you.”

 

4:7      “As they were increased, so they sinned against me: therefore will I change their glory into shame.”

“The more the priests increased, the more they sinned against me; they exchanged their Glory for something disgraceful.”

 

4:11    “Whoredom and wine and new wine take away the heart.”

            “prostitution, to old wine and new, which take away the understanding”

 

4:13    “They sacrifice upon the tops of the mountains, and burn incense upon the hills, under oaks and poplars and elms, because the shadow thereof is good: therefore your daughters shall commit whoredom, and your spouses shall commit adultery.”

“They sacrifice on the mountaintops and burn offerings on the hills, under oak, poplar and terebinth, where the shade is pleasant. Therefore your daughters turn to prostitution and your daughters-in-law to adultery.”

 

4:14    “I will not punish your daughters when they commit whoredom, nor your spouses when they commit adultery:”

“I will not punish your daughters when they turn to prostitution, nor your daughters-in-law when they commit adultery,”

 

4:16    “For Israel slideth back as a backsliding heifer: now the LORD will feed them as a lamb in a large place.”

“The Israelites are stubborn, like a stubborn heifer. How then can the LORD pasture them like lambs in a meadow?”

 

5:4      “They will not frame their doings to turn unto their God: for the spirit of whoredoms is in the midst of them, and they have not known the LORD.”

“Their deeds do not permit them to return to their God. A spirit of prostitution is in their heart; they do not acknowledge the LORD.”

 

5:5      “And the pride of Israel doth testify to his face: therefore shall Israel and Ephraim fall in their iniquity; Judah also shall fall with them.”

“Israel's arrogance testifies against them; the Israelites, even Ephraim, stumble in their sin; Judah also stumbles with them.”

 

6:3      “Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the LORD:”

            “Let us acknowledge the LORD; let us press on to acknowledge him.”

 

6:7      “But they like men have transgressed the covenant: there have they dealt treacherously against me.”

            “Like Adam, they have broken the covenant-- they were unfaithful to me there.”

 

6:11    “Also, O Judah, he hath set an harvest for thee, when I returned the captivity of my people.”

            “Also for you, Judah, a harvest is appointed.”

 

7:6      “For they have made ready their heart like an oven, whiles they lie in wait: their baker sleepeth all the night; in the morning it burneth as a flaming fire.”

“Their hearts are like an oven; they approach him with intrigue. Their passion smolders all night; in the morning it blazes like a flaming fire.”

 

7:12    “I will bring them down as the fowls of the heaven; I will chastise them, as their congregation hath heard.”

“I will pull them down like birds of the air. When I hear them flocking together, I will catch them.”

 

7:13    “Woe unto them! for they have fled from me: destruction unto them! because they have transgressed against me: though I have redeemed them, yet they have spoken lies against me.”

“Woe to them, because they have strayed from me! Destruction to them, because they have rebelled against me! I long to redeem them but they speak lies against me.”

 

8:2      “Israel shall cry unto me, My God, we know thee.”

            “Israel cries out to me, 'O our God, we acknowledge you!'”

 

8:5      “Thy calf, O Samaria, hath cast thee off; mine anger is kindled against them: how long will it be ere they attain to innocency?”

“Throw out your calf-idol, O Samaria! My anger burns against them. How long will they be incapable of purity?”

 

9:7-8   “The days of visitation are come, the days of recompense are come; Israel shall know it: the prophet is a fool, the spiritual man is mad, for the multitude of thine iniquity, and the great hatred. The watchman of Ephraim was with my God: but the prophet is a snare of a fowler in all his ways, and hatred in the house of his God.”

“The days of punishment are coming, the days of reckoning are at hand. Let Israel know this. Because your sins are so many and your hostility so great, the prophet is considered a fool, the inspired man a maniac. The prophet, along with my God, is the watchman over Ephraim, yet snares await him on all his paths, and hostility in the house of his God.”

 

11:12  “Ephraim compasseth me about with lies, and the house of Israel with deceit: but Judah yet ruleth with God, and is faithful with the saints.”

“Ephraim has surrounded me with lies, the house of Israel with deceit. And Judah is unruly against God, even against the faithful Holy One.”

 

13:4    “Yet I am the LORD thy God from the land of Egypt, and thou shalt know no god but me: for there is no saviour beside me.”

“But I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt. You shall acknowledge no God but me, no Savior except me.”

 

13:10  “I will be thy king: where is any other that may save thee in all thy cities?”

            “Where is your king, that he may save you? Where are your rulers in all your towns,”

 

13:14  “O death, I will be thy plagues; O grave, I will be thy destruction: repentance shall be hid from mine eyes.”

“Where, O death, are your plagues? Where, O grave, is your destruction? "I will have no compassion,”

-Richard Bostock