Hosea 1:4 (ASV)

Passage

And Jehovah said unto him, Call his name Jezreel; for yet a little while, and I will avenge the blood of Jezreel upon the house of Jehu, and will cause the kingdom of the house of Israel to cease.

Nearby Context

Hosea 1:2 When Jehovah spake at the first by Hosea, Jehovah said unto Hosea, Go, take unto thee a wife of whoredom and children of whoredom; for the land doth commit great whoredom, [departing] from Jehovah.

Hosea 1:3 So he went and took Gomer the daughter of Diblaim; and she conceived, and bare him a son.

Hosea 1:4 And Jehovah said unto him, Call his name Jezreel; for yet a little while, and I will avenge the blood of Jezreel upon the house of Jehu, and will cause the kingdom of the house of Israel to cease.

Hosea 1:5 And it shall come to pass at that day, that I will break the bow of Israel in the valley of Jezreel.

Hosea 1:6 And she conceived again, and bare a daughter. And [Jehovah] said unto him, Call her name Lo-ruhamah; for I will no more have mercy upon the house of Israel, that I should in any wise pardon them.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "jehovah", "said", "call", "name", "jezreel", "little", "avenge", and "blood". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "jehovah" and "said", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 3's "So he went and took Gomer the..." into verse 5's "And it shall come to pass at...", so "jehovah" and "said" belong inside that flow. In Hosea context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "jehovah" and "said" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.