Hosea 2:19 (DRB)

Passage

And I will espouse thee to me for ever: and I will espouse thee to me in justice, and judgment, and in mercy, and in commiserations.

Nearby Context

Hosea 2:17 And I will take away the names of Baalim out of her mouth, and she shall no more remember their name.

Hosea 2:18 And in that day I will make a covenant with them, with the beasts of the field, and with the fowls of the air, and with the creeping things of the earth: and I will destroy the bow, and the sword, and war out of the land: and I will make them sleep secure.

Hosea 2:19 And I will espouse thee to me for ever: and I will espouse thee to me in justice, and judgment, and in mercy, and in commiserations.

Hosea 2:20 And I will espouse thee to me in faith: and thou shalt know that I am the Lord.

Hosea 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.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "mercy", "espouse", "thee", "ever", "justice", and "judgment". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "mercy" and "espouse", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 18's "And in that day I will make..." into verse 20's "And I will espouse thee to me...", so "mercy" and "espouse" 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 "mercy" and "espouse" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.