Hosea's Wife and Children

² When the Lord first spoke through Hosea, the Lord said to Hosea, ^(A)“Go, take to yourself a wife of whoredom and have ^(B)children of whoredom, for ^(C)the land commits great whoredom by forsaking the Lord.” ³ So he went and took Gomer, the daughter of Diblaim, and she conceived and bore him a son.

⁴ And the Lord said to him, “Call his name Jezreel, for in just a little while ^(D)I will punish the house of Jehu for the blood of Jezreel, and ^(E)I will put an end to the kingdom of the house of Israel. ⁵ And on that day ^(F)I will break the bow of Israel ^(G)in the Valley of Jezreel.”

⁶ She conceived again and bore a daughter. And the Lord said to him, ^(H)“Call her name No Mercy,^[a] for ^(I)I will no more have mercy on the house of Israel, to forgive them at all. ⁷ But ^(J)I will have mercy on the house of Judah, and I will save them by the Lord their God. I ^(K)will not save them by bow or by sword or by war or by horses or by horsemen.”

⁸ When she had weaned No Mercy, she conceived and bore a son. ⁹ And the Lord said, ^(L)“Call his name Not My People,^[b] for ^(M)you are not my people, and I am not your God.”^[c]

¹⁹ And I will betroth you to me ^(A)forever. ^(B)I will betroth you to me in righteousness and in justice, in steadfast love and in mercy. ^20 (C)I will betroth you to me in faithfulness. And ^(D)you shall know the Lord.