God’s Word Translation
Hosea 1:2
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.”
Hosea 1:2 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)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.
- New International Version (NIV)When the Lord began to speak through Hosea, the Lord said to him, “Go, marry a promiscuous woman and have children with her, for like an adulterous wife this land is guilty of unfaithfulness to the Lord.”
- English Standard Version (ESV)When the Lord first spoke through Hosea, the Lord said to Hosea, "Go, take to yourself a wife of whoredom and have children of whoredom, for the land commits great whoredom by forsaking the Lord."
- New King James Version (NKJV)When the Lord began to speak by Hosea, the Lord said to Hosea: “Go, take yourself a wife of harlotry And children of harlotry, For the land has committed great harlotry By departing from the Lord.”
Context of Hosea 1:2
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. When 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.
Read all of Hosea 1Hosea 1:2 word by word
תְּחִלַּ֥ת דִּבֶּר־יְהוָ֖ה בְּהוֹשֵׁ֑עַ פ וַיֹּ֨אמֶר יְהוָ֜ה אֶל־הוֹשֵׁ֗עַ לֵ֣ךְ קַח־לְךָ֞ אֵ֤שֶׁת זְנוּנִים֙ וְיַלְדֵ֣י זְנוּנִ֔ים כִּֽי־זָנֹ֤ה תִזְנֶה֙ הָאָ֔רֶץ מֵֽאַחֲרֵ֖י יְהוָֽה׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- The beginningתְּחִלָּהtechillâh · beginningH8462
- of the wordדָבַרdâbar · to speak: speakH1696
- of the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
- by Hoseaהוֹשֵׁעַhôshêa‛ · HoseaH1954
- saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- Goיָלַךְyâlak · to walkH3212
- takeלָקַחlâqach · to take: marryH3947
- unto thee a wifeאִשָּׁה'ishshâh nâshîym · woman: wifeH802
- of whoredomsזְנוּנִיםzânûn · fornicationH2183
- and childrenיֶ֫לֶדyeled · youthH3206
- for the landאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: country/planetH776
- hath committed greatזָנָהzânâh · to fornicateH2181
- fromאַחַר'achar · afterH310
Cross-references for Hosea 1:2
- Mark 1:1This is the beginning of the Good News about Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
- Hosea 3:1Then the Lord told me, “Love your wife again, even though she is loved by others and has committed adultery. Love her as I, the Lord, love the Israelites, even though they have turned to other gods and love to eat raisin cakes.”
- Isaiah 20:2At that time the Lord told Isaiah, son of Amoz, “Take off the sackcloth that you are wearing, and take off your sandals!” Isaiah did this and walked around barefoot and naked.
- Jeremiah 13:1This is what the Lord said to me: “Buy a linen belt. Put it around your waist. Don’t let it get wet.”
- Ezekiel 4:1⌞The Lord said,⌟ “Son of man, take clay, put it in front of you, and draw a map of Jerusalem on it.
- Hosea 2:4I won’t love her children, because they are children of a prostitute.
- 2 Peter 2:14They’re always looking for an adulterous woman. They can’t stop looking for sin as they seduce people who aren’t sure of what they believe. Their minds are focused on their greed. They are cursed.
- Exodus 34:15Be careful not to make a treaty with those who live in that land. When they chase after their gods as though they were prostitutes and sacrifice to them, they may invite you to eat the meat from their sacrifices with them.
- Deuteronomy 31:16The Lord said to Moses, “Soon you are going to lie down in death with your ancestors. When these people enter the land and are living among the foreigners there, they will chase after foreign gods as though they were prostitutes. They will abandon me and reject the promise I made to them.
- 2 Chronicles 21:13Instead, you have followed the ways of the kings of Israel. You, like Ahab’s family, have caused Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to chase after foreign gods as if they were prostitutes. You have killed your brothers, your father’s family. Your brothers were better than you.
- Psalms 73:27Without a doubt, those who are far from you will die. You destroy all who are unfaithful to you.
- Psalms 106:39They became filthy because of what they did. They behaved like prostitutes.
- Jeremiah 2:13“My people have done two things wrong. They have abandoned me, the fountain of life-giving water. They have also dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that can’t hold water.
- Jeremiah 3:1A saying: If a man divorces his wife and she leaves him and marries another man, her first husband shouldn’t go back to her again. The land would become thoroughly polluted. “You have acted like a prostitute who has many lovers. And now you want to come back to me!” declares the Lord.
- Ezekiel 6:9Then those who escape will remember me among the nations where they are taken captive. I was hurt by their adulterous hearts, which turned away from me, and by their eyes, which lusted after idols. They will hate themselves for the evil and disgusting things that they have done.
- Ezekiel 16:1The Lord spoke his word to me. He said,
Commentaries on Hosea 1:2
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 2A wife of whoredoms - That is, says Newcome, a wife from among the Israelites, who were remarkable for spiritual fornication, or idolatry. God calls himself the husband of Israel; and this chosen nation owed him the fidelity of a wife. See Exodus 34:15; Deuteronomy 31:16; Judges 2:17; Isaiah 54:5; Jeremiah 3:14; Jeremiah 31:32, Ezekiel 16:17; Ezekiel 23:5, Ezekiel 23:27; Hosea 2, Hosea 5:1-15; Revelation 17:1, Revelation 17:2. He therefore says, with…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 2The beginning of the word of the Lord by Hosea or in Hosea - God first revealed Himself and His mysteries to the prophet‘s soul, by His secret inspiration, and then declared, through him, to others, what He had deposited in him. God enlightened him, and then others through the light in him. And the Lord said unto Hosea - For this thing was to be done by Hosea alone, because God had commanded it, not by others of their own mind. To Isaiah God first…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 2-3a 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…Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 22. beginning--not of the prophet's predictions generally, but of those spoken by Hosea. take ... wife of whoredoms--not externally acted, but internally and in vision, as a pictorial illustration of Israel's unfaithfulness [Hengstenberg]. Compare Eze 16:8, 15, &c. Besides the loathsomeness of such a marriage, if an external act, it would require years for the birth of three children, which would weaken the symbol (compare Eze 4:4). Henderson objects that…Read the comment
Topics related to Hosea 1:2
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Hosea 1
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
God’s Word Translation — © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society
Commentaries