Yet the number of the sons of Israel Will be like the sand of the sea, Which cannot be measured or numbered; And it will be that in the place Where it is said to them, “You are not My people,” It will be said to them, “You are the sons of the living God.”
Hosea 1:8 Then she weaned Lo-ruhamah. And she conceived and gave birth to a son.
Hosea 1:9 And Yahweh said, “Name him Lo-ammi, for you are not My people, and I am not your God.”
Hosea 1:10 Yet the number of the sons of Israel Will be like the sand of the sea, Which cannot be measured or numbered; And it will be that in the place Where it is said to them, “You are not My people,” It will be said to them, “You are the sons of the living God.”
Hosea 1:11 And the sons of Judah and the sons of Israel will be gathered together, And they will set for themselves one head, And they will go up from the land, For great will be the day of Jezreel.
The verse centers on "number", "sons", "israel", "like", "sand", "measured", "numbered", and "place". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "number" and "sons", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.
The nearby context moves from verse 9's "And Yahweh said Name him Lo-ammi for..." into verse 11's "And the sons of Judah and the...", so "number" and "sons" 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 "number" and "sons" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.