Hosea 1:9 Meaning and Explanation
“Then said God, Call his name Loammi: for ye are not my people, and I will not be your God.”
King James Version (KJV)
Read this verse in context with translation switching:
Read Full Chapter →The third child is named Lo-ammi, 'not my people,' marking the most severe word of the chapter: the covenant bond seems undone.
What Does Hosea 1:9 Mean?
The final child receives the heaviest name of all: Lo-ammi, not my people. This reverses the ancient covenant promise in which God said, You shall be my people, and I will be your God. By this name, the breach between the LORD and the northern kingdom is spoken aloud in its starkest form.
Yet to feel the weight of this name is to remember the covenant it negates, a covenant of belonging that God Himself had made. The very sorrow of not my people only makes sense against the backdrop of a love that claimed them. As the next verses reveal, this is not the end of the story but the deep night before an astonishing dawn.
Hosea 1:9 in the Original Language
ammi (עַמִּי), 'my people' -- the covenant word of belonging that this name, Lo-ammi, sorrowfully reverses.
Frequently Asked Questions About Hosea 1:9
What does Hosea 1:9 mean?
The third child is named Lo-ammi, 'not my people,' marking the most severe word of the chapter: the covenant bond seems undone.