Hosea 1
Berean Standard Bible · Compare translations · 760 BC – 715 BC · Divided kingdom · Tap a verse to copy, share or highlight ·
11 verses · 321 words · ~2 min read · ~2 min listen
Hoseaʼs Wife and Children
1This is the word of the Lord that came to Hosea son of Beeri in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and of Jeroboam son of Jehoash, king of Israel.
2When the Lord first spoke through Hosea, He told him, “Go, take a prostitute as your wife and have children of adultery, because this land is flagrantly prostituting itself by departing from the Lord.”
3So Hosea went and married Gomer daughter of Diblaim, and she conceived and bore him a son.
4Then the Lord said to Hosea, “Name him Jezreel, for soon I will bring the bloodshed of Jezreel upon the house of Jehu, and I will put an end to the kingdom of Israel. 5And on that day I will break the bow of Israel in the Valley of Jezreel.”
6Gomer again conceived and gave birth to a daughter, and the Lord said to Hosea, “Name her Lo-ruhamah, for I will no longer have compassion on the house of Israel, that I should ever forgive them. 7Yet I will have compassion on the house of Judah, and I will save them—not by bow or sword or war, not by horses and cavalry, but by the Lord their God.”
8After she had weaned Lo-ruhamah, Gomer conceived and gave birth to a son. 9And the Lord said, “Name him Lo-ammi, for you are not My people, and I am not your God.
10Yet the number of the Israelites will be like the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured or counted. And it will happen that in the very place where it was said to them, ‘You are not My people,’ they will be called ‘sons of the living God.’ 11Then the people of Judah and of Israel will be gathered together, and they will appoint for themselves one leader, and will go up out of the land. For great will be the day of Jezreel.
Footnotes (6)
- a v1 Hebrew Joash, a variant of Jehoash
- b v4 Jezreel means God sows; also in verse 11.
- c v6 Lo-ruhamah means she has not received mercy.
- d v9 Lo-ammi means not My people.
- e v9 Hebrew I am not yours
- f v10 Cited in Romans 9:26
Study notes on this chapter · 1
Not my people will be called my people
Hosea's children were named 'Not my people' and 'No mercy' as a sign of judgment, and then promised restoration as 'my people' and 'mercy shown'. Paul applies this to Gentiles who are now called God's people, and Peter applies it to the church as a whole.
When: Hosea, c. 750–722 BC; Romans, c. AD 57; 1 Peter, c. AD 60–65.
Ways people read this (2)
- Paul applies to Gentiles a promise first given to rebellious Israel, by analogy: God calls those who were not his people.
- Some think Paul sees the promise as reaching both the remnant of Israel and the Gentiles together.
Editorial note by BibleWay. Interpretations vary; dates are approximate scholarly estimates.