Hosea 1

1 A word of YHWH that has been to Hosea, son of Beeri, in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam son of Joash, king of Israel:

[I am] Hosea, the son of Beeri. Yahweh gave me these messages [at various times] during the years that Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah were the kings of Judah, and Jeroboam the son of Jehoash was the King of Israel.

2 The commencement of YHWH’s speaking by Hosea. And YHWH says to Hosea, “Go, take a woman of whoredoms for yourself, and children of whoredoms, for the land goes utterly whoring from after YHWH.”

When Yahweh first [began to] give messages to me [to tell to the people of Israel], he said to me, “Go and marry a prostitute. But [some of] her children will be born as a result of her having sex with men to whom she is not married. That will illustrate how the people of Israel have turned away from me and worship (idols/other gods).”

3 And he goes and takes Gomer daughter of Diblaim, and she conceives and bears a son to him;

So I married Gomer, the daughter of Diblaim. She became pregnant and gave birth to my son.

4 and YHWH says to him, “Call his name Jezreel, for yet a little, and I have charged the blood of Jezreel on the house of Jehu, and have caused the kingdom of the house of Israel to cease;

Yahweh said to me, “Give him the name Jezreel, [which means ‘God scatters’], because I will soon punish the descendants [MTY] of [King] Jehu [by scattering them], because he killed many of my people at Jezreel [town]. [Some day] I will end the kingdom of Israel,

5 and it has come to pass in that day that I have broken the bow of Israel in the Valley of Jezreel.”

by destroying the power [MTY] of [the army of] Israel in Jezreel Valley.”

6 And she conceives again, and bears a daughter, and He says to him, “Call her name Lo-Ruhamah [(Not Loved)], for I no longer pity the house of Israel, for I utterly take them away;

[Later] Gomer became pregnant [again], and she gave birth to a daughter. Yahweh said to me “Give her the name Lo-ruhamah, [which means ‘not loved],’ because I will no longer [show that I] love the people [MET] of Israel, and I will not forgive them [for the sins that they have committed].

7 and I pity the house of Judah, and have saved them by their God YHWH, and do not save them by bow, and by sword, and by battle, by horses, and by horsemen.”

But I will [show that I] love the people [MTY] of Judah [by saving them from their enemies]. However, it will not be by weapons and armies or horses and chariots that I will save them. Instead, it will be by [the power that I], Yahweh their God, [have].”

8 And she weans Lo-Ruhamah, and conceives, and bears a son;

After Gomer had (weaned/stopped breast-feeding) Lo-ruhamah, she became pregnant again, and she gave birth to another son.

9 and He says, “Call his name Lo-Ammi [(Not My People)], for you [are] not My people, and I am not for you;

Yahweh said “Give him the name Lo-ammi, [which means 'not my people', ] because the people of Israel are no [longer my people], and I am not their God.

10 and the number of the sons of Israel has been as the sand of the sea that is not measured nor numbered, and it has come to pass in the place where it is said to them, You [are] not My people, it is said to them, Sons of the Living God;

But [some day] the people of Israel will be [as numerous] as [SIM] the [grains of] sand on the seashore; no one will be able to count them. Now [I] am saying to them, ‘You are not my people,’ but then people will say to them, ‘[You are the] children of God who is all-powerful.’

11 and the sons of Judah and the sons of Israel have been gathered together, and they have appointed one head for themselves, and have gone up from the land, for great [is] the day of Jezreel.”

[At that time], the people of Judah and the people of Israel will unite. They will appoint one leader for all of them, and they will return from the countries [to which they have been (exiled/forced to go)]. That will be a great time; Jezreel [also means ‘God plants’, and it will be as though God will plant them in this country again].”