Hosea 1:1-2

Contemporary English Version

1 ^(A) I am Hosea son of Beeri. When Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah were the kings of Judah, and when Jeroboam son of Jehoash^[a] was king of Israel,^[b] the Lord spoke this message to me.

Hosea's Family

²The Lord said, “Hosea, Israel has betrayed me like an unfaithful wife.^[c] Marry such a woman and have children by her.”

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Footnotes

1.1 Jehoash: The Hebrew text has “Joash,” another spelling of the name.
1.1 kings of Judah … king of Israel: Uzziah (781–740 b.c.), Jotham (740-736), Ahaz (736–716), Hezekiah (716–687), and Jeroboam II (783–743).
1.2 unfaithful wife: In some Canaanite religions of Old Testament times, young women were expected to have sex with the worshipers of their god before marriage. Such women were called “temple prostitutes.” Many of the Israelite women did this same thing, and Hosea is told to marry one of them to show that the nation has turned from the Lord to worship idols.