Hosea 1

₁I am Hosea son of Beeri. When Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah were the kings of Judah, and when Jeroboam son of Jehoash was king of Israel, the LORD spoke this message to me.

₂The LORD said, “Hosea, Israel has betrayed me like an unfaithful wife. Marry such a woman and have children by her.” ₃So I married Gomer the daughter of Diblaim, and we had a son.

₄Then the LORD said, “Hosea, name your son Jezreel, because I will soon punish the descendants of King Jehu of Israel for the murders he committed in Jezreel Valley. I will destroy his kingdom, ₅and in Jezreel Valley I will break the power of Israel.”

₆Later, Gomer had a daughter, and the LORD said, “Name her Lo-Ruhamah, because I will no longer have mercy and forgive Israel. ₇But 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.”

₈After Gomer had stopped nursing Lo-Ruhamah, she had another son. ₉Then the LORD said, “Name him Lo-Ammi, because these people are not mine, and I am not their God.”

₁₀Some day 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”. ₁₁Israel and Judah will unite and choose one leader. Then they will take back their land, and this will be a great day for Jezreel.