Hosea 2:20 (ASV)

Passage

I will even betroth thee unto me in faithfulness; and thou shalt know Jehovah.

Nearby Context

Hosea 2:18 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.

Hosea 2:19 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.

Hosea 2:20 I will even betroth thee unto me in faithfulness; and thou shalt know Jehovah.

Hosea 2:21 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 2:22 and the earth shall answer the grain, and the new wine, and the oil; and they shall answer Jezreel.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "faith", "even", "betroth", "thee", "faithfulness", "thou", "shalt", and "jehovah". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "faith" and "even", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 19's "And I will betroth thee unto me..." into verse 21's "And it shall come to pass in...", so "faith" and "even" belong inside that flow. In Hosea context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "faith" and "even" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.