1. in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, Hezekiah, kings of Judah. These monarchs reigned from the middle of the eighth century B.C.E. to the later decades of that century. Given that Hosea was a prophet of the northern kingdom, this notation probably reflects the presence of a later Judahite editor who wanted to place the prophecies in a time frame more familiar to his Judahite audience.

and in the days of Jeroboam son of Joash king of Israel. It has puzzled scholars why only Jeroboam is mentioned because there were several kings of Israel during this period, most of them reigning rather briefly.

2. When the LORD began to speak. The literal sense is “in the beginning of the LORD’s speaking”—the grammatical structure is the same as “When God began to create” at the beginning of Genesis, although a different word for “beginning” is used there.

take you a wife of whoring. Some commentators think she may have been a cult-prostitute rather than a whore for profit, but this notion may well be merely an effort to mitigate the shocking character of what Hosea is commanded to do.

for the land has surely whored. While the Hebrew verb looks like a future, verb tenses are fluid in biblical poetry, and God is surely objecting to trespasses already committed.

4. Call his name Jezreel. Many set out this whole passage as poetry, but it does not really scan.

I will make a reckoning for the blood of Jezreel against the house of Jehu. Jehu, usurping the throne, killed Jezebel and carried out a mass execution of those loyal to her (2 Kings 9–10). The Book of Kings represents these bloody acts as authorized by God, but Hosea appears to have had a very different view of them.

5. I will break the bow of Israel in the Valley of Jezreel. This could be a specific reference to the Assyrian army that repeatedly threatened Israel in this period.

6. Lo-Ruhamah. This inauspicious name means “Not Shown Mercy.” One hopes that this whole story of marrying a whore and blighting two of the three offspring with dire names was a Prophetic fiction, not something Hosea actually did, but there is no way of knowing.

nor will I forgive them in any way. The Hebrew does not show a negative, but this translation assumes that “no” is carried over from the first clause as a double-duty term.

7. But to the house of Judah I will show mercy. It is possible that Hosea, as a prophet of the northern kingdom, draws this contrast to make a didactic point to his audience, even though some scholars infer that this is an insertion by a Judahite editor.

9. and I will not be yours. This brief concluding clause is perfectly coherent as it stands in the Masoretic Text, but some interpreters are inclined to infer that a word was dropped: “I will be your God.”