Hosea 1
English Standard Version
1 The word of the Lord that came to Hosea, the son of Beeri, (A)in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and in the days of (B)Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel.
Hosea's Wife and Children
2 When the Lord first spoke through Hosea, the Lord said to Hosea, (C)“Go, take to yourself a wife of whoredom and have (D)children of whoredom, for (E)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 (F)I will punish the house of Jehu for the blood of Jezreel, and (G)I will put an end to the kingdom of the house of Israel. 5 And on that day (H)I will break the bow of Israel (I)in the Valley of Jezreel.”
6 She conceived again and bore a daughter. And the Lord said to him, (J)“Call her name No Mercy,[a] for (K)I will no more have mercy on the house of Israel, to forgive them at all. 7 But (L)I will have mercy on the house of Judah, and I will save them by the Lord their God. I (M)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, (N)“Call his name Not My People,[b] for (O)you are not my people, and I am not your God.”[c]
10 [d] Yet (P)the number of the children of Israel shall be (Q)like the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured or numbered. (R)And (S)in the place where it was said to them, (T)“You are not my people,” it shall be said to them, (U)“Children[e] of (V)the living God.” 11 And (W)the children of Judah and the children of Israel shall be gathered together, and (X)they shall appoint for themselves one head. And they shall go up from the land, for great shall be the day of Jezreel.
Footnotes
- Hosea 1:6 Hebrew Lo-ruhama, which means she has not received mercy
- Hosea 1:9 Hebrew Lo-ammi, which means not my people
- Hosea 1:9 Hebrew I am not yours
- Hosea 1:10 Ch 2:1 in Hebrew
- Hosea 1:10 Or Sons
Hosea 1
New Century Version
1 The Lord spoke his word to Hosea son of Beeri during the time that Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah were kings of Judah and Jeroboam son of Jehoash was king of Israel.
Hosea’s Wife and Children
2 When the Lord began speaking through Hosea, the Lord said to him, “Go, and marry an unfaithful woman and have unfaithful children, because the people in this country have been completely unfaithful to the Lord.” 3 So Hosea married Gomer daughter of Diblaim, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Hosea’s son.
4 The Lord said to Hosea, “Name him Jezreel, because soon I will punish the family of Jehu for the people they killed at Jezreel. In the future I will put an end to the kingdom of Israel 5 and break the power of Israel’s army in the Valley of Jezreel.”
6 Gomer became pregnant again and gave birth to a daughter. The Lord said to Hosea, “Name her Lo-Ruhamah,[a] because I will not pity Israel anymore, nor will I forgive them. 7 But I will show pity to the people of Judah. I will save them, but not by using bows or swords, horses or horsemen, or weapons of war. I, the Lord their God, will save them.”
8 After Gomer had stopped nursing Lo-Ruhamah, she became pregnant again and gave birth to another son. 9 The Lord said, “Name him Lo-Ammi,[b] because you are not my people, and I am not your God.
God’s Promise to Israel
10 “But the number of the Israelites will become like the grains of sand of the sea, which no one can measure or count. They were called, ‘You are not my people,’ but later they will be called ‘children of the living God.’ 11 The people of Judah and Israel will join together again and will choose one leader for themselves. They will come up from the land, because the day of Jezreel[c] will be truly great.
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.
