The Word Am I

The Prophet Hosea

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- Chapter 1 -

1
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.(a)
2
The beginning of the Lord’s conversation with Hosea. And the Lord said to Hosea: “Go, take to yourself a wife of fornications, and make for yourself sons of fornications, because, by fornicating, the land will fornicate away from the Lord.”(b) (c)
3
And he went out and took Gomer the daughter of Diblaim; and she conceived and bore him a son.
4
And the Lord said to him: “Call his name Jezreel because, after a little while, I will visit the blood of Jezreel upon the house of Jehu, and I will put the kingdom of the house of Israel to rest.
5
And in that day, I will crush the stronghold of Israel in the valley of Jezreel.”(d)
6
And after a while, she conceived and bore a daughter. And he said to him: “Call her name, Without Mercy, for I will no longer have mercy on the house of Israel, but I will utterly forget them.(e)
7
Yet I will have mercy on the house of Judah, and I will save them by the Lord their God. And I will not save them by bow and sword and battle and horses and horsemen.”
8
And she weaned her, who was called Without Mercy. And she conceived and bore a son.
9
And he said: “Call his name, Not My People, for you are not my people, and I will not be yours.(f)
10
And the number of the sons of Israel will be like the sand of the sea, which is without measure and cannot be numbered. And in the place where it will be said to them, ‘You are not my people,’ this will happen: it will be said to them, ‘You are the sons of the living God.’(g)
11
And the sons of Judah, and the sons of Israel, will be gathered together. And they will place over themselves one head, and they will rise up from the earth, for great is the day of Jezreel.”(h) (i) (j)

Footnotes

(a)1:1 The verb ‘factum est’ could be translated as ‘has been made’ or ‘has been done’ or ‘has happened to,’ or ‘has been given to,’ but the more common translation is ‘came to.’ The phrase could be rendered: ‘The Word of the Lord that happened to Hosea.’(Conte)
(b)1:2 A wife of fornications:That is, a wife that has been given to fornication. This was to represent the Lord’s proceedings with his people Israel, who, by spiritual fornication, were continually offending him.(Challoner)
(c)1:2 Children of fornications:So called from the character of their mother, if not also from their own wicked dispositions.(Challoner)
(d)1:5 The word ‘arcum’ can refer to a bow (a weapon used in battle) or to a citadel or stronghold. In this case, the nation of Israel could be said to have a metaphorical bow (strength in battle), but the translation of ‘stronghold’ is more fitting when the possessor of the ‘arcum’ is a nation, not an individual.(Conte)
(e)1:6 Without mercy:Lo-Ruhamah.(Challoner)
(f)1:9 Not my people:Lo-ammi.(Challoner)
(g)1:10 The number, etc:Viz., of the true Israelites, the children of the church of Christ.(Challoner)
(h)1:11 The one head placed over Israel and Judah refers to one Pope set over all Christians. This verse refers to the future unification of all Christians in one Catholic Church. The phrase ‘ponet sibi met’ can also be translated as ‘appoint to harvest (or to reap) themselves,’ or, perhaps, ‘appoint to measure (i.e. govern and judge) themselves.’(Conte)
(i)1:11 One head:viz., Christ.(Challoner)
(j)1:11 Great is the day of Jezrahel:That is, of the seed of God; for Jezrahel signifies the seed of God.(Challoner)
1
The LORD’s(a) word 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.
2
When the LORD spoke at first by Hosea, the LORD said to Hosea, “Go, take for yourself a wife of prostitution and children of unfaithfulness; for the land commits great adultery, forsaking the LORD.”
3
So he went and took Gomer the daughter of Diblaim; and she conceived, and bore him a son.
4
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 the kingdom of the house of Israel to cease.
5
It will happen in that day that I will break the bow of Israel in the valley of Jezreel.”
6
She conceived again, and bore a daughter. Then he said to him, “Call her name Lo-Ruhamah,(b) for I will no longer have mercy on the house of Israel, that I should in any way pardon them.
7
But I will have mercy on the house of Judah, and will save them by the LORD their God,(c) and will not save them by bow, sword, battle, horses, or horsemen.”
8
Now when she had weaned Lo-Ruhamah, she conceived, and bore a son.
9
He said, “Call his name Lo-Ammi,(d) for you are not my people, and I will not be yours.
10
Yet the number of the children of Israel will be as the sand of the sea, which can’t be measured or counted; and it will come to pass that, in the place where it was said to them, ‘You are not my people,’ they will be called ‘sons of the living God.’
11
The children of Judah and the children of Israel will be gathered together, and they will appoint themselves one head, and will go up from the land; for great will be the day of Jezreel.

Footnotes

(a)1:1 When rendered in ALL CAPITAL LETTERS, “LORD” or “GOD” is the translation of God’s Proper Name.
(b)1:6 Lo-Ruhamah means “not loved”.
(c)1:7 The Hebrew word rendered “God” is “אֱלֹהִ֑ים” (Elohim).
(d)1:9 Lo-Ammi means “not my people”.
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