Section 1:2–9
Hosea married an unfaithful wife and fathered three children
The LORD commanded Hosea to marry Gomer. She was an immoral woman who would be unfaithful to him. Her unfaithfulness illustrated Israel’s unfaithfulness to the LORD. The LORD also commanded Hosea to give their three children names that would serve as warnings of future judgments.
Here are some other possible headings for this section:
Hosea’s wife and children (Good News Translation)
-or-
Hosea’s marriage symbolized the LORD’s relationship to Israel
Paragraph 1:2
1:2a
When the LORD first spoke through Hosea, He told him: These words introduce Hosea’s prophetic ministry. They refer to the first time that the LORD spoke to Israel through Hosea.
Here are some other ways to translate these two clauses:
When the LORD first spoke through Hosea, the Lord said to Hosea (New Revised Standard Version)
-or-
This is the beginning of the Lord ’s message given by Hosea. (Revised English Bible)
In some languages, it may be necessary to make explicit who the LORD spoke to when he spoke through Hosea. For example:
When the Lord first spoke to Israel through Hosea, he said to Hosea (Good News Translation)
1:2b
Go, take a prostitute as your wife: These two commands function as a single command to get married. The word Go serves primarily to introduce the second command. It may emphasize the need for Hosea to take action. It does not imply that Hosea should first go on a journey and then marry someone.
Here are some other ways to translate this kind of double command:
• Use a word or phrase that directs attention to the main command to get married. For example:
Go marry… (NET Bible)
-or-
What I want you to do is to get married to…
• Translate the main command to get married. Leave a word or phrase such as Go implied. For example:
Marry… (God’s Word)
Translate these commands in a way that is clear and natural in your language.
a prostitute as your wife: The Hebrew phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as a prostitute as your wife is literally “a wife/woman of immoralities.” The Hebrew word “immoralities” refers to sexual activity that is contrary to God’s law. It includes both adultery and sexual relations between unmarried people. Some forms of this word refer to prostitution, that is, offering to have sexual intercourse for pay.
In this context, the plural form “immoralities” indicates repeated or habitual behavior. There are two main ways to interpret this phrase:
(1) The LORD told Hosea to marry a woman who had already engaged in sexual relations contrary to God’s law. She may have been a prostitute. People knew about her immoral character before her marriage to Hosea. For example:
Go and marry a prostitute (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
Go marry a promiscuous woman (NIV2011)
(2) The LORD told Hosea to marry a woman who would be unfaithful to him after their marriage. Her promiscuous character would develop or become clear only after she became his wife. For example:
Go and get married; your wife will be unfaithful (Good News Translation)
-or-
Go marry a woman who will commit adultery.
Some English versions translate the Hebrew phrase “wife/woman of immoralities” quite literally. For example, the King James Version, English Standard Version, Tanakh: The Holy Scriptures, and New Revised Standard Version have “wife of whoredom(s).” The New American Standard Bible has “wife of harlotry.” These expressions can refer to more than one interpretation, so the Notes have not listed them under either one.
It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1) along with most English versions. However, both interpretations have good commentary support. So it is also recommended that you mention interpretation (2) in a footnote. You may also want to mention interpretation (2) for the next phrase (“children of unfaithfulness”) in the same footnote, because the two interpretations correspond to each other.
and have children of adultery: In Hebrew, this phrase is literally “and children of immoralities.” There are three main interpretations of this phrase:
(1) The children born to Gomer and Hosea would be born to an immoral mother. Nothing is indicated about the behavior of the children. For example:
and have children with her (NIV2011)
(Contemporary English Version, God’s Word, NIV2011, New Jerusalem Bible, Revised English Bible)
(2) The children born to Gomer and Hosea would be like their mother in their behavior and character. The immoral character of each would become evident in the future. For example:
and your children will be just like her (Good News Translation)
(Good News Translation, New Century Version)
(3) The children born to Gomer after her marriage would be a result of her adultery. Hosea would not be their father. For example:
a prostitute who will bear illegitimate children conceived through prostitution (NET Bible)
(NET Bible, New Living Translation (2004))
It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1) along with most versions.
1:2c
because: In Hebrew, this word introduces the reason that the LORD commanded Hosea to marry “a woman of immoralities.” The reason is that his marriage to an unfaithful wife would illustrate the LORD’s relationship to his unfaithful people, the Israelites.
Some English versions translate this word as “for” or because. Other versions leave it implied. Use a natural way in your language to introduce the LORD’s reason for his command to Hosea. In some languages, it may be necessary to make more information explicit. For example:
This will illustrate how Israel… (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
Do that, because it will show how the people in this land…
this land: Here the term this land is a figure of speech (metonymy). It represents the people who lived in the land, that is, the Israelites.
Here are some other ways to translate this figure of speech:
the people in this country (New Century Version)
-or-
my people (Good News Translation)
is flagrantly prostituting itself: In Hebrew, this expression refers here to committing sexual immorality or behaving as a prostitute. It is used here as a figure of speech (metaphor). In this metaphor, the people of Israel are compared to a wife who is repeatedly unfaithful to her husband, because they had stopped worshiping the LORD and begun to worship other gods. See the General Comment on 1:2c for other ways to translate this figure of speech.
The form of the Hebrew expression emphasizes the extent of their immorality. It may imply several things:
(a) They repeatedly or continually commit immoral acts.
(b) They are openly, brazenly, or flagrantly immoral.
(c) Their immoral behavior is vile, extreme, or of the worst kind.
Here are some ways to express this emphasis:
have been completely unfaithful (New Century Version)
-or-
continually commit adultery
-or-
openly committing adultery (New Living Translation (1996))
You should express this emphasis in a way that is appropriate in your language.
by departing from the LORD: In Hebrew, this phrase is literally “from after the LORD.” By worshiping other gods, the people of Israel had abandoned the LORD. To make the meaning clear, English translations supply a verb such as departing (Berean Standard Bible), “forsaking” (New Revised Standard Version), “abandon” (God’s Word), “turning away” (NET Bible). You may also have to supply additional words to make the meaning clear in your language.
the LORD: The LORD referred to himself in the third person, the LORD, as if he were speaking about someone else. This was good style in Old Testament Hebrew. In some languages, it may be more natural to use the pronoun “me” to make it explicit that the LORD is referring to himself. For example:
the people in this land have abandoned me, the LORD.
Another way to avoid confusion is to use only the pronoun “me.” It may not be necessary to repeat the words the LORD. For example:
my people have left me and become unfaithful. (Good News Translation)
General Comment on 1:2c
The phrase “in departing from the LORD” explains the meaning of the figure of speech “vilest adultery” in nonfigurative language.
Here are some other ways to express these two phrases:
• Change the phrase “vilest adultery” into a simile. For example:
it is like the people of this land are being totally immoral, because they have turned their backs on me, the LORD.
• Place the nonfigurative phrase “in departing from the LORD” first. For example:
the people of this land have abandoned the LORD. They are like a woman who repeatedly commits adultery.
• Combine the two phrases into one phrase. For example:
the people in this country have been completely unfaithful to the Lord (New Century Version)
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