¹The Lord spoke his word to Hosea, son of Beeri, when Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah were kings of Judah and when Jeroboam, son of Joash, was king of Israel.

Hosea Marries a Prostitute

²When the Lord first spoke to Hosea, the Lord told him, “Marry a prostitute, and have children with that prostitute. The people in this land have acted like prostitutes and abandoned the Lord.” ³So Hosea married Gomer, daughter of Diblaim. She became pregnant and had a son.

⁴The Lord told Hosea, “Name him Jezreel. In a little while I will punish Jehu’s family for the people they slaughtered at Jezreel. Then I will put an end to the kingdom of Israel. ⁵On that day I will break Israel’s bows and arrows in the valley of Jezreel.”

⁶Gomer became pregnant again and had a daughter. The Lord told Hosea, “Name her Lo Ruhamah ^[Unloved^[. I will no longer love the nation of Israel. I will no longer forgive them. ⁷Yet, I will love the descendants of Judah. I will rescue them because I am the Lord their God. I won’t use bows, swords, wars, horses, or horsemen to rescue them.”

⁸After Gomer had weaned Lo Ruhamah, she became pregnant again and had a son. ⁹The Lord said, “Name him Lo Ammi ^[Not My People^[. You are no longer my people, and I am no longer your God.^a^b

¹⁰“Yet, the Israelites will become as numerous as the grains of sand on the seashore. No one will be able to measure them or count them. Wherever they were told, ‘You are not my people,’ they will be told, ‘You are the children of the living God.’ ¹¹The people of Judah and Israel will be gathered together. They will appoint one leader for themselves, and they will grow in the land. The day of Jezreel will be a great day.

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Footnotes

[Proper names or foreign words whose meaning is significant for understanding a particular Bible passage are translated in brackets following the name or phrase
a 1:9 Or “I am no longer I Am to you.” (See Exodus 3:14.)
b 1:9 Hosea 1:10–11 in English Bibles is Hosea 2:1–2 in the Hebrew Bible.