Hosea 1:2 (DBY)

Passage

The beginning of the word of Jehovah through Hosea. And Jehovah said to Hosea, Go, take unto thee a wife of whoredoms, and children of whoredoms; for the land is entirely given up to whoredom, away from Jehovah.

Nearby Context

Hosea 1:1 The word of Jehovah that came unto Hosea, the son of Beeri, in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel.

Hosea 1:2 The beginning of the word of Jehovah through Hosea. And Jehovah said to Hosea, Go, take unto thee a wife of whoredoms, and children of whoredoms; for the land is entirely given up to whoredom, away from Jehovah.

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

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

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "beginning", "word", "jehovah", "through", "hosea", and "said". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "beginning" and "word", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 1's "The word of Jehovah that came unto..." into verse 3's "And he went and took Gomer the...", so "beginning" and "word" 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 "beginning" and "word" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.