'Children' in the Bible

When the Lord first spoke through Hosea, the Lord said to him, “Go, take for yourself a wife of prostitution and have children of [her] prostitution; for the land commits great acts of prostitution by not following the Lord.”

Yet the number of the sons of IsraelShall be like the sand of the sea,Which cannot be measured or numbered;And in the placeWhere it is said to them,“You are not My people,”It will be said to them,“You are the sons of the living God.”

Then the sons of Judah and the sons of Israel shall be gathered together,And they will appoint for themselves one leader,And they will go up from the land,For great and glorious will be the day of Jezreel.

“Also, I will have no mercy on her children,Because they are the children of prostitution.

Then the Lord said to me, “Go again, love a woman (Gomer) who is beloved by her husband and yet is an adulteress, even as the Lord loves the children of Israel, though they turn to other gods and love the raisin cakes [used in the feasts in pagan worship].”

For the sons of Israel will remain for many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or [idolatrous] pillar, and without ephod or teraphim (household idols).

Afterward the sons of Israel will return [in deep repentance] and seek the Lord their God and [seek from the line of] David their king [the King of kings—the Messiah]; and they will come trembling to the Lord and to His goodness and blessing in the last days.

Hear the word of the Lord, you children of Israel,For the Lord has a [legal] case with the inhabitants of the land,Because there is no faithfulness [no steadfast love, no dependability] or loyalty or kindnessOr knowledge of God [from personal experience with Him] in the land.

My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge [of My law, where I reveal My will].Because you [the priestly nation] have rejected knowledge,I will also reject you from being My priest.Since you have forgotten the law of your God,I will also forget your children.

They have dealt treacherously against the Lord,For they have borne illegitimate (pagan) children.Now the New Moon will devour them along with their land [bringing judgment and captivity].

Even though they bring up their children,Yet I will bereave them until not one is left.Indeed, woe (judgment is coming) to them when I look away and withdraw [My blessing] from them!

Ephraim, as I have seen,Is planted in a pleasant [and prosperous] meadow like Tyre;But Ephraim will bring out his children to the executioner [for slaughter].

Ephraim is stricken, their root is dried up,They will bear no fruit.Even though they give birth,I will slay the precious children of their womb.

Therefore an uproar will arise among your people,And all your fortresses will be destroyed,As Shalman destroyed Beth-arbel on the day of battle,When mothers were dashed in pieces with their children.

The pains of childbirth come on him;But he is not a wise son,For it is not the time to delay [his chance at a new birth] as the womb opens [but he ignores the opportunity to change].