The word of the LORD that came to 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 to you a wife of prostitutions and children of prostitutions: for the land has committed great prostitution, departing from the LORD.
So he went and took Gomer the daughter of Diblaim; which conceived, and bore him a son.
And the LORD said to him, Call his name Jezreel; for yet a little while, and I will avenge the blood of Jezreel on the house of Jehu, and will cause to cease the kingdom of the house of Israel.
And it shall come to pass at that day, that I will break the bow of Israel, in the valley of Jezreel.
And she conceived again, and bore a daughter. And God said to him, Call her name Loruhamah: for I will no more have mercy on the house of Israel; but I will utterly take them away.
But I will have mercy on the house of Judah, and will save them by the LORD their God, and will not save them by bow, nor by sword, nor by battle, by horses, nor by horsemen.
Now when she had weaned Loruhamah, she conceived, and bore a son.
Then said God, Call his name Loammi: for you are not my people, and I will not be your God.
Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured nor numbered; and it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said to them, You are not my people, there it shall be said to them, You are the sons of the living God.
Then shall the children of Judah and the children of Israel be gathered together, and appoint themselves one head, and they shall come up out of the land: for great shall be the day of Jezreel.
Canonical academic citations for Hosea 1 (AKJV) — copy in your preferred format.
Hosea 1 (AKJV). Prime Bible, accessed August 24, 2026. https://primebible.com/akjv/hosea/1.
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God tells Hosea to marry Gomer (‘a wife of whoredom’) and their children’s prophetic names (Jezreel, Lo-ruhamah, Lo-ammi) announce judgment on Israel—yet a future reunion of Judah & Israel is promised.
Marriage metaphor portrays Israel's unfaithfulness and God's persistent love.
Hosea 1 is presented with the full Hebrew interlinear, Strong's numbers, and verse-by-verse cross-references on Prime Bible — a free, nonprofit Bible study platform.