Hosea 1
Chapter 1
1 The LORD gave this message to Hosea son of Beeri during the years when Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah were kings of Judah, and Jeroboam son of Jehoasht was king of Israel.
Hosea’s Wife and Children
2 When the LORD first began speaking to Israel through Hosea, he said to him, “Go and marry a prostitute,t so that some of her children will be conceived in prostitution. This will illustrate how Israel has acted like a prostitute by turning against the LORD and worshiping other gods.”
3 So Hosea married Gomer, the daughter of Diblaim, and she became pregnant and gave Hosea a son.4 And the LORD said, “Name the child Jezreel, for I am about to punish King Jehu’s dynasty to avenge the murders he committed at Jezreel. In fact, I will bring an end to Israel’s independence.
5 I will break its military power in the Jezreel Valley.”
6 Soon Gomer became pregnant again and gave birth to a daughter. And the LORD said to Hosea, “Name your daughter Lo-ruhamah—‘Not loved’—for I will no longer show love to the people of Israel or forgive them.
7 But I will show love to the people of Judah. I will free them from their enemies—not with weapons and armies or horses and charioteers, but by my power as the LORD their God.”
8 After Gomer had weaned Lo-ruhamah, she again became pregnant and gave birth to a second son.
9 And the LORD said, “Name him Lo-ammi—‘Not my people’—for Israel is not my people, and I am not their God.
10 t“Yet the time will come when Israel’s people will be like the sands of the seashore—too many to count! Then, at the place where they were told, ‘You are not my people,’ it will be said, ‘You are children of the living God.’
11 Then the people of Judah and Israel will unite together. They will choose one leader for themselves, and they will return from exile together. What a day that will be—the day of Jezreelt—when God will again plant his people in his land.
HOSEA 1
1 t I am Hosea son of Beeri. When Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah were the kings of Judah, and when Jeroboam son of Jehoasht was king of Israel, t the [Lord] spoke this message to me.Hosea's Family
2 The [Lord] said, “Hosea, Israel has betrayed me like an unfaithful wife.t Marry such a woman and have children by her.”
3 So I married Gomer the daughter of Diblaim, and we had a son.
4 t Then the [Lord] said, “Hosea, name your son Jezreel, t because I will soon punish the descendants of King Jehu of Israel for the murders he committed in Jezreel Valley.t I will destroy his kingdom,
5 and in Jezreel Valley I will break the power of Israel.”
6 Later, Gomer had a daughter, and the [Lord] said, “Name her Lo-Ruhamah, t because I will no longer have mercy and forgive Israel.
7 But I am the [Lord] God of Judah, and I will have mercy and save Judah by my own power—not by wars and arrows or swords and cavalry.”
8 After Gomer had stopped nursing Lo-Ruhamah, she had another son.
9 Then the [Lord] said, “Name him Lo-Ammi, t because these people are not mine, and I am not their God.”Hope for Israel
10 t Someday it will be impossible to count the people of Israel, because there will be as many of them as there are grains of sand along the seashore. They are now called “Not My People,” but in the future they will be called “Children of the Living God.” 11 Israel and Judah will unite and choose one leader. Then they will take back their land, and this will be a great day for Jezreel.t
