Print Page Options Listen to Hosea 1

Hosea’s Unfaithful Wife

The word of the Lord that came to Hosea the son of Beeri, in the days of (A)Uzziah, (B)Jotham, (C)Ahaz, and (D)Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and in the days of (E)Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel.

The Family of Hosea

When the Lord began to speak by Hosea, the Lord said to Hosea:

(F)“Go, take yourself a wife of harlotry
And children of harlotry,
For (G)the land has committed great [a]harlotry
By departing from the Lord.”

So he went and took Gomer the daughter of Diblaim, and she conceived and bore him a son. Then the Lord said to him:

“Call his name Jezreel,
For in a little while
(H)I will avenge the bloodshed of Jezreel on the house of Jehu,
(I)And bring an end to the kingdom of the house of Israel.
(J)It shall come to pass in that day
That I will break the bow of Israel in the Valley of Jezreel.”

And she conceived again and bore a daughter. Then God said to him:

“Call her name [b]Lo-Ruhamah,
(K)For I will no longer have mercy on the house of Israel,
[c]But I will utterly take them away.
(L)Yet I will have mercy on the house of Judah,
Will save them by the Lord their God,
And (M)will not save them by bow,
Nor by sword or battle,
By horses or horsemen.”

Now when she had weaned Lo-Ruhamah, she conceived and bore a son. Then God said:

“Call his name [d]Lo-Ammi,
For you are not My people,
And I will not be your God.

The Restoration of Israel

10 “Yet (N)the number of the children of Israel
Shall be as the sand of the sea,
Which cannot be measured or numbered.
(O)And it shall come to pass
In the place where it was said to them,
‘You are [e]not My (P)people,’
There it shall be said to them,
You are (Q)sons of the living God.’
11 (R)Then the children of Judah and the children of Israel
Shall be gathered together,
And appoint for themselves one head;
And they shall come up out of the land,
For great will be the day of Jezreel!

Footnotes

  1. Hosea 1:2 Spiritual adultery
  2. Hosea 1:6 Lit. No-Mercy
  3. Hosea 1:6 Or That I may forgive them at all
  4. Hosea 1:9 Lit. Not-My-People
  5. Hosea 1:10 Heb. lo-ammi, v. 9

Hosea’s Wife and Children

The word of the Lord that came to Hosea the son of Beeri in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash king of Israel.

When the Lord first spoke through Hosea, the Lord said to him, “Go, take for yourself a [a]wife of prostitution and have children of [her] prostitution; for the land commits great acts of prostitution by [b]not following the Lord.” So he went and took Gomer the daughter of Diblaim, and she conceived and bore him a son. And the Lord said to him, “Name him Jezreel; for yet in a little while I will avenge the blood [that was shed in the Valley] of Jezreel and inflict the punishment for it on the house of [c]Jehu, and I will put an end to the kingdom of the [d]house of Israel.(A) On that day I will break the bow [of the military power] of Israel in the Valley of Jezreel.”

Then Gomer conceived again and gave birth to a daughter. And the Lord said to Hosea, “Name her Lo-Ruhamah (not shown mercy), for I will no longer have mercy on the house of Israel, that I would ever forgive them. But I will have mercy on the house of Judah and will rescue them by the Lord their God, and will [e]not rescue them by bow, sword, war, horses, or horsemen.”(B)

Now when Gomer had weaned Lo-Ruhamah, she conceived and gave birth to a son. And the Lord said, “Name him Lo-Ammi (not my people), for you are not My people and I am not your God.”

10 
Yet the number of the [f]sons of Israel
Shall be like the sand of the sea,
Which cannot be measured or numbered;
And in the place
Where it is said to them,
“You are not My people,”
It will be said to them,
You are the sons of the living God.”(C)
11 
Then the sons of Judah and the sons of Israel shall be gathered together,
And they will appoint for themselves one leader,
And they will go up from the land,
For great and glorious will be the day of [g]Jezreel.(D)

Footnotes

  1. Hosea 1:2 Some scholars interpret this to mean that Gomer was chaste at the time of the marriage, but later became an adulteress. As such, she symbolizes the future unfaithfulness of Israel.
  2. Hosea 1:2 Lit forsaking.
  3. Hosea 1:4 Jehu murdered Ahab’s sons in order to seize the throne of Israel.
  4. Hosea 1:4 I.e. Israel, the Northern Kingdom, which included ten of the original tribes of Israel. Samaria was the capital city.
  5. Hosea 1:7 Isaiah also made this prophecy (Is 31:8, 9) and both he and Hosea lived to see its fulfillment (Is 37:36). See also 2 Kin 19:35-37.
  6. Hosea 1:10 In general, sons (children) of Israel or Israel or Israelites refers to all the people (males and females) of the various tribes descended from the twelve sons (Gen 35:23-26) of Jacob (later renamed Israel by God). In verses about things such as warfare or circumcision, sons of Israel or Israel or Israelites usually refers only to the males. Tribes of ancient people were identified by the name of their founding ancestor. Therefore, this same general rule applies to individual tribal groups, e.g., sons of Reuben, Reuben, Reubenites, and so throughout.
  7. Hosea 1:11 The spiritually reborn Israel, the people whom the Lord has chosen and blessed.

The word of the Lord that came unto Hosea, the son of Beeri, in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel.

The beginning of the word of the Lord by Hosea. And the Lord said to Hosea, Go, take unto thee a wife of whoredoms and children of whoredoms: for the land hath committed great whoredom, departing from the Lord. So he went and took Gomer the daughter of Diblaim; which conceived, and bare him a son. And the Lord said unto him, Call his name Jezreel; for yet a little while, and I will avenge the blood of Jezreel upon the house of Jehu, and will cause to cease the kingdom of the house of Israel. And it shall come to pass at that day, that I will break the bow of Israel in the valley of Jezreel.

And she conceived again, and bare a daughter. And God said unto him, Call her name Lo-ruhamah: for I will no more have mercy upon the house of Israel; but I will utterly take them away. But I will have mercy upon the house of Judah, and will save them by the Lord their God, and will not save them by bow, nor by sword, nor by battle, by horses, nor by horsemen.

Now when she had weaned Lo-ruhamah, she conceived, and bare a son. Then said God, Call his name Lo-ammi: for ye are not my people, and I will not be your God.

10 Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured nor numbered; and it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people, there it shall be said unto them, Ye are the sons of the living God. 11 Then shall the children of Judah and the children of Israel be gathered together, and appoint themselves one head, and they shall come up out of the land: for great shall be the day of Jezreel.

Hosea

1 The time wherein Hosea prophesied. 2 The idolatry of the people. 10 The calling of the Gentiles. 11 Christ is the head of all people.

The word of the Lord that came unto Hosea the son of Beeri, in the days [a]of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, [b]kings of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash king of Israel.

At the beginning the Lord spake by Hosea, and the Lord said unto Hosea, Go, take unto thee a wife [c]of fornications, and children of fornications: for the land hath committed great whoredom, departing from the Lord.

So he went, and took [d]Gomer, the daughter of Diblaim, which conceived and bare him a son.

And the Lord said unto him, Call his name [e]Jezreel: for yet a little, and I will visit the blood of Jezreel upon the house of [f]Jehu, and will cause to cease the kingdom of the house of Israel.

And at that [g]day will I also break the bow of Israel in the valley of Jezreel.

She conceived yet again, and bare a daughter, and God said unto him, Call her name [h]Lo-Ruhamah: for I will no more have pity upon the house of Israel: but I will utterly [i]take them away.

Yet I will have mercy upon the house of Judah, and will [j]save them by the Lord their God, and will not save them by bow, nor by sword, nor by battle, by horses, nor by horsemen.

Now when she had weaned Lo-Ruhamah, she conceived, and bare a son.

Then said God, Call his name [k]Lo-Ammi: for ye are not my people: therefore will I not be yours.

10 Yet the number of the [l]children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured nor told: and in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people, it shall be said unto them, Ye are the sons of the living God.

11 Then shall the children of Judah, and the children of Israel be [m]gathered together, and appoint themselves one head, and they shall come up out of the land: for great is the [n]day of Jezreel.

Footnotes

  1. Hosea 1:1 Called also Azariah, who being a leper was disposed from his kingdom.
  2. Hosea 1:1 So that it may be gathered by the reign of these four kings, that he preached above threescore years.
  3. Hosea 1:2 That is, one that of long time hath accustomed to play the harlot: not that the Prophet did this thing in effect, but he saw this in a vision, or else was commanded by God to set forth under this parable or figure the idolatry of the Synagogue, and of the people her children.
  4. Hosea 1:3 Gomer signifieth a consumption or corruption, and Diblaim clusters of figs, declaring that they were all corrupt like rotten figs.
  5. Hosea 1:4 Meaning, that they should be no more called Israelites of the which name they boasted because Israel, did prevail with God: but that they were as bastard, and therefore should be called Jezreelites, that is scattered people, alluding to Jezreel, which was the chief city of the ten tribes under Ahab where Jehu shed so much blood, 2 Kings 10:8.
  6. Hosea 1:4 I will be revenged upon Jehu for the blood that he shed in Jezreel: for albeit God stirred him up to execute his judgments, yet he did them for his own ambition, and not for the glory of God as the end declared: for he built up that idolatry which he had destroyed.
  7. Hosea 1:5 When the measure of their iniquity is full, and I shall take vengeance and destroy all their policy and force.
  8. Hosea 1:6 That is, not obtaining mercy: whereby he signifieth, that God’s favor was departed from them.
  9. Hosea 1:6 For the Israelites never returned after that they were taken captives by the Assyrians.
  10. Hosea 1:7 For after their captivity he restored him miraculously by the means of Cyrus, Ezra 1:1.
  11. Hosea 1:9 That is, not my people.
  12. Hosea 1:10 Because they thought that God could not have been true in his promise except he had preserved them, he declareth though they were destroyed, yet the true Israelites, which are the sons of the promise, should be without number, which stand both of the Jews and the Gentiles, Rom. 9:26.
  13. Hosea 1:11 To wit, after the captivity of Babylon when the Jews were restored, but chiefly this is referred to the time of Christ, who should be the head both of the Jews and Gentiles.
  14. Hosea 1:11 The calamity and destruction of Israel shall be so great, that to restore them shall be as a miracle.

A word of Jehovah that hath been unto Hosea, son of Beeri, in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam son of Joash, king of Israel:

The commencement of Jehovah's speaking by Hosea. And Jehovah saith unto Hosea, `Go, take to thee a woman of whoredoms, and children of whoredoms, for utterly go a-whoring doth the land from after Jehovah.'

And he goeth and taketh Gomer daughter of Diblaim, and she conceiveth and beareth to him a son;

and Jehovah saith unto him, `Call his name Jezreel, for yet a little, and I have charged the blood of Jezreel on the house of Jehu, and have caused to cease the kingdom of the house of Israel;

and it hath come to pass in that day that I have broken the bow of Israel, in the valley of Jezreel.'

And she conceiveth again, and beareth a daughter, and He saith to him, `Call her name Lo-Ruhamah, for I add no more to pity the house of Israel, for I do utterly take them away;

and the house of Judah I pity, and have saved them by Jehovah their God, and do not save them by bow, and by sword, and by battle, by horses, and by horsemen.'

And she weaneth Lo-Ruhamah, and conceiveth, and beareth a son;

and He saith, `Call his name Lo-Ammi, for ye [are] not My people, and I am not for you;

10 and the number of the sons of Israel hath been as the sand of the sea, that is not measured nor numbered, and it hath come to pass in the place where it is said to them, Ye [are] not My people, it is said to them, Sons of the Living God;

11 and gathered have been the sons of Judah and the sons of Israel together, and they have appointed to themselves one head, and have gone up from the land, for great [is] the day of Jezreel.