Hosea 2:4
“And I will not have mercy upon her children; for they be the children of whoredoms.”
King James Version (KJV)
Read this verse in context with translation switching:
Read Full Chapter →The unfaithfulness of the nation reaches even her children, who share in her estrangement.
What Does Hosea 2:4 Mean?
The judgment widens from the 'mother' to her 'children.' In the prophecy's logic, a nation that abandons God shapes the generation it raises; the children bear the marks of the unfaithfulness they were born into. The phrase echoes the name Lo-ruhamah, 'not pitied,' from chapter 1.
This is sober: sin is never private, and its shadow falls on those we love and lead. Yet the very name being withheld here -- mercy -- is the name God longs to restore, and will, before the chapter ends. The warning measures how far the people have wandered, so that the coming reconciliation will shine all the brighter against it.