Hosea 1:2

Translations

Modern

When 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.”

Traditional

The beginning of the word of the Lord by Hosea. And the Lord said to Hosea, Go, take unto thee a wife of whoredoms and children of whoredoms: for the land hath committed great whoredom, departing from the Lord.

Literal

The beginning when YHWH first spoke by Hosea, YHWH said to Hosea, “Go take for yourself a wife of prostitution, and children of prostitution, for the land is flagrantly prostituting itself from after YHWH!”

Latin

Principium loquendi Domino in Osee. Et dixit Dominus ad Osee: Vade, sume tibi uxorem fornicationum, et fac tibi filios fornicationum, quia fornicans fornicabitur terra a Domino.

Original

Hebrew

English

When 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.”

Notes

Hosea 1:2–3

a prostitute: Some find it hard to believe that God would tell a prophet to marry a prostitute. Because of this, many interpret this story symbolically. Early church members often thought the marriage did not actually happen. They saw it as an allegory, with Hosea representing the Lord and Gomer representing Israel.

Today, most believe the marriage was real, but they have different views on Gomer’s job before marriage. Some think Gomer was a regular prostitute, while others believe she was a sacred prostitute in Canaanite fertility worship. Others think Gomer was a young woman who had not yet engaged in illicit sexual activity, but God knew she was likely to commit adultery and prostitution.

Hosea 1:2–3:5

This section describes a small part of the prophet's life, focusing on his troubled marriage. It highlights God's difficult relationship with Israel, his chosen people.

Theme notes and profiles

Prophetic Sign Acts The Broken Covenant

Events

Prophecies of Hoseac. 785 BC

Related verses

Hosea 3:1
Then the LORD said to me, “Go show love to your wife again, though she is loved by another and is an adulteress. Love her as the LORD loves the Israelites, though they turn to other gods and love to offer raisin cakes to idols.”
Hosea 2:4–5
I will have no compassion on her children, because they are the children of adultery.
Deuteronomy 31:16
And the LORD said to Moses, “You will soon rest with your fathers, and these people will rise up and prostitute themselves with the foreign gods of the land they are entering. They will forsake Me and break the covenant I have made with them.
Psalm 106:39
They defiled themselves by their actions and prostituted themselves by their deeds.
Revelation 17:5
And on her forehead a mysterious name was written: BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF PROSTITUTES AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.
Ezekiel 23:1–49
Again the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
2 Peter 2:14
Their eyes are full of adultery; their desire for sin is never satisfied; they seduce the unstable. They are accursed children with hearts trained in greed.
Revelation 17:1–2
Then one of the seven angels with the seven bowls came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the punishment of the great prostitute, who sits on many waters.
Exodus 34:15–16
Do not make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, for when they prostitute themselves to their gods and sacrifice to them, they will invite you, and you will eat their sacrifices.
Jeremiah 3:9
Indifferent to her own infidelity, Israel had defiled the land and committed adultery with stones and trees.
Ezekiel 6:9
Then in the nations to which they have been carried captive, your survivors will remember Me—how I have been grieved by their adulterous hearts that turned away from Me, and by their eyes that lusted after idols. So they will loathe themselves for the evil they have done and for all their abominations.
Ezekiel 16:1–63
Again the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

People

Hosea: A prophet to the northern kingdom of Israel

Glossary

Covenant Gomer Hosea, Book of Mercy Prophet, Prophetess

Topics

Backsliders: Backsliding of Israel Christian Minister: Trials and Persecutions of Idolatry: Warnings Against, and Punishments of Marriage: Figurative Prophecies Concerning Israel: Prophecies Concerning of Captivity, Famine, and Judgments Prophets: Frequently in Their Actions Were Made Signs to the People Symbols and Similitudes: Marrying a Whore Women: Gomer, the Adulterous Wife of Hosea

Hosea 1:2

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