King James Version
Hosea 1:2
2The 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.
Hosea 1:2 in other versions
- 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.”
- New Living Translation (NLT)When the Lord first began speaking to Israel through Hosea, he said to him, “Go and marry a prostitute, so that some of her children will be conceived in prostitution. This will illustrate how Israel has acted like a prostitute by turning against the Lord and worshiping other gods.”
Context of Hosea 1:2
1The word of the Lord that came unto Hosea, the son of Beeri, in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel. 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. 3So he went and took Gomer the daughter of Diblaim; which conceived, and bare him a son. 4And the Lord said unto him, Call his name Jezreel; for yet a little while, and I will avenge the blood of Jezreel upon the house of Jehu, and will cause to cease the kingdom of the house 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
- 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 1:1The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God;
- Hosea 3:1Then said the Lord unto me, Go yet, love a woman beloved of her friend, yet an adulteress, according to the love of the Lord toward the children of Israel, who look to other gods, and love flagons of wine.
- Isaiah 20:2At the same time spake the Lord by Isaiah the son of Amoz, saying, Go and loose the sackcloth from off thy loins, and put off thy shoe from thy foot. And he did so, walking naked and barefoot.
- Jeremiah 13:1Thus saith the Lord unto me, Go and get thee a linen girdle, and put it upon thy loins, and put it not in water.
- Ezekiel 4:1Thou also, son of man, take thee a tile, and lay it before thee, and pourtray upon it the city, even Jerusalem:
- Hosea 2:4And I will not have mercy upon her children; for they be the children of whoredoms.
- 2 Peter 2:14Having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease from sin; beguiling unstable souls: an heart they have exercised with covetous practices; cursed children:
- Exodus 34:15Lest thou make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, and they go a whoring after their gods, and do sacrifice unto their gods, and one call thee, and thou eat of his sacrifice;
- Deuteronomy 31:16And the Lord said unto Moses, Behold, thou shalt sleep with thy fathers; and this people will rise up, and go a whoring after the gods of the strangers of the land, whither they go to be among them, and will forsake me, and break my covenant which I have made with them.
- 2 Chronicles 21:13But hast walked in the way of the kings of Israel, and hast made Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to go a whoring, like to the whoredoms of the house of Ahab, and also hast slain thy brethren of thy father’s house, which were better than thyself:
- Psalms 73:27For, lo, they that are far from thee shall perish: thou hast destroyed all them that go a whoring from thee.
- Psalms 106:39Thus were they defiled with their own works, and went a whoring with their own inventions.
- Jeremiah 2:13For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.
- Jeremiah 3:1They say, If a man put away his wife, and she go from him, and become another man’s, shall he return unto her again? shall not that land be greatly polluted? but thou hast played the harlot with many lovers; yet return again to me, saith the Lord.
- Ezekiel 6:9And they that escape of you shall remember me among the nations whither they shall be carried captives, because I am broken with their whorish heart, which hath departed from me, and with their eyes, which go a whoring after their idols: and they shall lothe themselves for the evils which they have committed in all their abominations.
- Ezekiel 16:1Again the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
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
King James Version — Public Domain except in the United Kingdom (Crown rights)
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