Israel's Corruption and Priestly Failure
Hosea 4:1-19
Hos.4.1 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- שמעו: VERB,qal,impv,2,m,pl
- דבר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- בני: NOUN,m,pl,construct
- ישראל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- כי: CONJ
- ריב: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ליהוה: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,def
- עם: PREP
- יושבי: PTC,qal,ptc,mp,cons
- הארץ: NOUN,f,sg,def
- כי: CONJ
- אין: PART,neg
- אמת: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- ואין: CONJ+PART,exist
- חסד: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ואין: CONJ+PART,exist
- דעת: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- אלהים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- בארץ: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,def
Parallels
- Micah 6:2-3 (verbal): Uses the same idea/language of the LORD having a 'controversy' with his people—calling them to hear and answer, mirroring Hosea's opening summons.
- Hosea 4:6 (structural): Immediate parallel within Hosea: 'My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge' directly echoes and develops Hosea 4:1's charge of 'no knowledge of God'.
- Jeremiah 4:22 (thematic): Accuses the people of not knowing God ('for my people are foolish, they have not known me'), paralleling Hosea's diagnosis of spiritual ignorance.
- Jeremiah 6:13-14 (thematic): Denounces widespread falsehood and superficial 'peace' from leaders ('they heal the hurt of my people slightly'), paralleling Hosea's charge of no truth and no mercy in the land.
- Psalm 14:1 (thematic): Declares the folly/denial of God ('The fool says in his heart, “There is no God”'), resonating with Hosea's indictment of a land lacking truth and knowledge of God.
Alternative generated candidates
- Hear the word of the LORD, O children of Israel: for the LORD has a contention with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no faithfulness, no steadfast love, and no knowledge of God in the land.
- Hear the word of the LORD, O sons of Israel: for the LORD has a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth, no steadfast love, and no knowledge of God in the land.
Hos.4.2 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- אלה: DEM,pl,abs
- וכחש: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- ורצח: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- וגנב: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ונאף: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- פרצו: VERB,qal,perf,3,pl
- ודמים: CONJ+NOUN,m,pl,abs
- בדמים: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,abs
- נגעו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
Parallels
- Proverbs 6:16-19 (verbal): A short list of abominations that includes a lying tongue and hands that shed innocent blood—parallels Hosea’s pairing of lying and bloodshed.
- Isaiah 59:3-4 (verbal): Isaiah links defilement of hands with blood and lists injustice and deceit—echoes Hosea’s motif of pervasive lies, violence, and ‘blood upon blood.’
- Ezekiel 22:2-4, 6-12 (thematic): Ezekiel indicts Jerusalem for murder, theft, adultery and oppression, cataloguing social sins much like Hosea’s catalogue of lying, killing, stealing and adultery.
- Amos 2:6-7 (thematic): Amos condemns Israel for injustice, selling the righteous and sexual exploitation—another prophetic list condemning moral and social corruption similar to Hosea’s charges.
- Romans 1:29-32 (thematic): Paul enumerates a catalogue of vices—deceit, murder, malice, sexual immorality—showing a New Testament parallel to the prophetic lists of pervasive sin found in Hosea.
Alternative generated candidates
- There is swearing and deceit, murder, theft and adultery; they break out—blood upon blood.
- There is swearing, deceit, murder, theft, and adultery; they break forth—blood upon blood.
Hos.4.3 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- על: PREP
- כן: ADV
- תאבל: VERB,qal,impf,3,f,sg
- הארץ: NOUN,f,sg,def
- ואמלל: CONJ+VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- כל: DET
- יושב: VERB,qal,ptcp,1,m,sg
- בה: PREP+PRON,3,f,sg
- בחית: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,cons
- השדה: NOUN,m,sg,def
- ובעוף: CONJ+PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- השמים: NOUN,m,pl,def
- וגם: CONJ
- דגי: NOUN,m,pl,cons
- הים: NOUN,m,sg,abs,def
- יאספו: VERB,qal,imperfect,3,m,pl
Parallels
- Isaiah 24:4-6 (verbal): Isaiah speaks of the earth mourning and languishing and of creation suffering under divine judgment—language and imagery closely echo Hosea's picture of land and creatures afflicted.
- Joel 1:20 (thematic): Joel describes beasts of the field, birds of the heavens and even the fish being affected by locusts, drought and judgment; thematically parallels Hosea's depiction of all creation mourning because of Israel's sin.
- Job 12:7-10 (allusion): Job appeals to beasts, birds and fish as witnesses to God's sovereign control of life and death—connects to Hosea's motif of creation reflecting divine action against human sin.
- Amos 4:6-9 (structural): Amos lists successive calamities (blight, famine, pestilence, drought) that strike land, crops and livestock as punishment for Israel's disobedience, paralleling Hosea's linking of moral failure to ecological devastation.
Alternative generated candidates
- Therefore the land mourns, and all who dwell in it languish; the beasts of the field, the birds of the heavens, even the fish of the sea are taken away.
- Therefore the land mourns, and all who dwell in it languish; the beasts of the field, the birds of the heavens, and also the fish of the sea are taken away.
Hos.4.4 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- אך: PART
- איש: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אל: NEG
- ירב: VERB,qal,juss,3,m,sg
- ואל: CONJ+PREP
- יוכח: VERB,qal,juss,3,m,sg
- איש: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ועמך: NOUN,m,sg,suff-2ms
- כמריבי: PREP+NOUN,ptc,m,pl,cs
- כהן: NOUN,m,sg,const
Parallels
- Proverbs 9:7-8 (verbal): Warns against reproving a scoffer and the futility/danger of rebuke, echoing Hos 4:4's injunction about not reproving or contending with one's neighbor.
- Hosea 4:6 (structural): Immediate contextual parallel within Hosea: links priestly failure and the people's ignorance ('My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge'), explaining why people are quarrelsome and at odds with priests.
- Malachi 2:8-9 (thematic): Prophetic critique of priests who corrupt instruction and lead the people astray—connects to Hos 4:4's picture of a people who contend with or are like the contentious priests.
- Ezekiel 34:2-4 (thematic): Condemns shepherds/priests who fail their flock and act selfishly; thematically parallels Hosea's denunciation of priestly misconduct and the resulting disorder among the people.
- 1 Samuel 2:12-17 (thematic): Narrative depiction of corrupt priests (the sons of Eli) who abuse their office—a background motif to Hosea's charge that the people mirror contentious, failing priests.
Alternative generated candidates
- But let no one contend, and let no man reprove his neighbor; for your people are like those who contend with the priest.
- But do not let any man contend, nor reprove another; for your people quarrel with the priest.
Hos.4.5 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- וכשלת: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,sg
- היום: NOUN,m,sg,def
- וכשל: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- גם: ADV
- נביא: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- עמך: NOUN,m,sg,suff-2m
- לילה: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ודמיתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,_,sg
- אמך: NOUN,f,sg,abs+PRON,2,m,sg
Parallels
- Isaiah 56:10-11 (verbal): Speaks of watchmen/prophets who are blind, ignorant and lead people astray—language and the idea of prophetic failure echo Hosea's picture of prophets stumbling and seers erring.
- Jeremiah 23:16-22 (thematic): Condemns false prophets who prophesy lies and mislead the people; thematically parallels Hosea's accusation that prophets and seers are failing and causing the nation's downfall.
- Ezekiel 13:3-7 (allusion): Denounces 'foolish' prophets whose false visions mislead Israel—echoes Hosea's charge of prophetic error and the resulting social/religious corruption.
- 1 Kings 22:19-23 (thematic): Narrative instance where prophets are instruments of deception (a lying spirit causes them to mislead Ahab); provides a literary parallel showing prophets leading the people into error.
Alternative generated candidates
- You shall stumble by day; the prophet also shall stumble with you by night, and I will destroy your mother.
- You shall stumble by day; the prophet shall stumble with you by night, and I will lay waste your mother.
Hos.4.6 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- נדמו: VERB,niphal,perf,3,m,pl
- עמי: NOUN,m,sg,abs+1s
- מבלי: PREP
- הדעת: NOUN,f,sg,def
- כי: CONJ
- אתה: PRON,2,m,sg
- הדעת: NOUN,f,sg,def
- מאסת: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,sg
- ואמאסאך: VERB,qal,impf,1,c,sg
- מכהן: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- לי: PREP+PRON,1,sg
- ותשכח: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,sg
- תורת: NOUN,f,sg,cons
- אלהיך: NOUN,m,sg,prsuf-2ms
- אשכח: VERB,qal,imperfect,1,m,sg
- בניך: NOUN,m,pl,abs+POSS,2,m,sg
- גם: ADV
- אני: PRON,1,sg
Parallels
- Isaiah 5:13 (verbal): Uses the same language linking 'lack of knowledge' to national ruin/exile—close verbal and thematic parallel to Hosea's causal formula for destruction.
- Ezekiel 22:26 (thematic): Accuses priests of violating the law and profaning holiness; like Hosea, Ezekiel holds priestly failure and forgetting God's law responsible for communal judgment.
- Malachi 2:8-9 (thematic): Condemns priests for causing people to stumble and profaning the covenant; God announces judgment on the priesthood—parallels Hosea's threat to reject unfaithful priests.
- Proverbs 1:22-23 (thematic): Scolds those who 'say, “We have no need of you”' and refuse wisdom; portrays rejection of instruction/knowledgebringing inevitable calamity, echoing Hosea's link of rejected knowledge with destruction.
Alternative generated candidates
- My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from being priest to me; since you have forgotten the law of your God, I too will forget your children.
- My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from being priest to me; because you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children.
Hos.4.7 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- כרבם: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs+PRON,3,m,pl
- כן: ADV
- חטאו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- לי: PREP+PRON,1,sg
- כבודם: NOUN,m,sg,abs,3,m,pl
- בקלון: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אמיר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Hos.4.6 (structural): Immediate context: the people are 'destroyed for lack of knowledge'—explains why Israel's honor has become shame and connects the charge against priests/people in v.7 to the wider indictment in ch.4.
- Hos.4.8 (structural): Continues the same denunciation: priests and leaders 'feed on the sin of my people' and set their heart on iniquity, paralleling v.7's claim that their glory has become shame through ongoing sin.
- Ezek.34:2-4 (thematic): Ezekiel condemns shepherds (leaders) who feed themselves and neglect or devour the flock—parallel critique of corrupt leaders whose behavior brings shame and harm on the people.
- Jer.23:1-2 (thematic): Jeremiah's rebuke of false shepherds who scatter and destroy the flock echoes Hosea's accusation that leadership sin has led to Israel's disgrace and ruin.
Alternative generated candidates
- As they increased, so they sinned against me; their glory I will turn into shame.
- As they increased, so they sinned against me; I will change their glory into shame.
Hos.4.8 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- חטאת: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- עמי: NOUN,m,sg,abs+1s
- יאכלו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- ואל: CONJ+PREP
- עונם: NOUN,m,sg,abs+PRON,3,m,pl
- ישאו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- נפשו: NOUN,f,sg,abs+PRON,3,m,sg
Parallels
- Ezek. 34:2-4 (thematic): Condemns shepherds (leaders/priests) who feed themselves instead of tending the flock — echoes Hosea’s image of leaders consuming what belongs to God’s people and neglecting their duty.
- Ezek. 22:25-27 (thematic): Describes princes and priests exploiting the people, like wolves/devouring prey and profiting from corruption — parallels the charge that leaders ‘eat’ the people’s sin and are devoted to iniquity.
- Jer. 6:13-14 (thematic): Accuses prophets and priests of greed and of giving false, self-serving assurances (‘peace, peace’) rather than true leadership — similar critique of religious leaders aligning themselves with wrongdoing.
- Amos 5:12 (thematic): Declares that Israel’s transgressions include oppression, bribery, and mistreatment of the needy — connects to the social and religious corruption implied by leaders feeding on the people's sin.
Alternative generated candidates
- They devour the sin of my people and lift up their souls to their iniquity.
- The priest feeds on the sin of my people and sets his heart on their iniquity.
Hos.4.9 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- והיה: VERB,qal,imperfect,3,m,sg
- כעם: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ככהן: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ופקדתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,com,sg
- עליו: PREP,3,m,sg
- דרכיו: NOUN,f,pl,abs,3ms
- ומעלליו: NOUN,m,pl,suff,3,m,sg
- אשיב: VERB,hiphil,impf,1,sg
- לו: PRON,3,m,sg
Parallels
- Ezekiel 22:26-31 (thematic): Ezekiel condemns priestly corruption (polluting the holy) and depicts God visiting/judging the leaders of the land—parallel theme of priests held accountable and punished for their ways.
- Micah 3:11-12 (verbal): Micah charges priests and prophets with taking bribes and perverting justice and announces coming judgment on Jerusalem—closely parallels Hosea's indictment of priestly wrongdoing and divine retribution.
- Jeremiah 23:1-4 (thematic): Jeremiah pronounces woe on shepherds (leaders/priests) who scatter the flock and promises God will seek and punish them and restore the remnant—similar motif of divine visitation on leaders for their deeds.
- Malachi 2:1-9 (allusion): Malachi censures priests for profaning the covenant and warns of a rebuke/curse from the LORD; echoes Hosea's theme that priests are not exempt from judgment for their corrupt ways.
Alternative generated candidates
- And it shall be—like people, like priest—I will discipline their ways and repay their deeds to them.
- And it shall be—like people, like priest—I will requite to them their ways and repay their deeds.
Hos.4.10 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ואכלו: VERB,qal,imp,2,mp
- ולא: CONJ
- ישבעו: VERB,qal,imprf,3,m,pl
- הזנו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- ולא: CONJ
- יפרצו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- כי: CONJ
- את: PRT,acc
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- עזבו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- לשמר: VERB,qal,inf
Parallels
- Deuteronomy 32:15-16 (thematic): Like Hosea's indictment, Deuteronomy depicts Israel (Jeshurun) growing prosperous, then forsaking the God who made them—abandonment of the LORD leading to judgment and loss of blessing.
- Jeremiah 2:13 (thematic): Both verses portray Israel's turning away from the LORD as fountain/source (spiritual sustenance) and seeking other 'sources'—an accusation that abandoning God produces spiritual barrenness and sin.
- Ezekiel 16:15-19 (allusion): Ezekiel uses the same marriage/harlotry imagery to describe Israel's unfaithfulness after being nourished and favored by God; both passages link divine provision with Israel's later sexual/ religious prostitution and consequent punishment.
- Jeremiah 3:8-9 (structural): Jeremiah frames Israel's repeated apostasy as 'playing the harlot' and resulting legal/prophetic consequences (divorce, judgment), echoing Hosea's charge that unfaithfulness (harlotry) follows departure from the LORD.
Alternative generated candidates
- They feed, yet are not satisfied; they play the harlot and will not prosper, because they have forsaken the LORD to practice unfaithfulness.
- They devour and are not satisfied; they play the harlot and do not prosper, for they have forsaken the LORD to pursue harlotry.
Hos.4.11 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- זנות: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- ויין: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ותירוש: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יקח: VERB,qal,imperfect,3,m,sg
- לב: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Isaiah 28:7 (verbal): Explicitly links wine/strong drink with moral and intellectual error—"they err through wine"—paralleling Hosea's claim that whoredom and wine seize the heart/understanding.
- Proverbs 23:29-35 (thematic): Graphic description of the corrupting, stupefying effects of wine and strong drink (reeling, loss of judgment), echoing Hosea's association of wine with moral ruin.
- Revelation 17:2-4 (allusion): Uses the image of a harlot whose fornication intoxicates the nations—combines sexual unfaithfulness and wine imagery much like Hosea's pairing of whoredom and wine.
- Amos 6:6 (thematic): Condemns luxury, drunken indulgence and moral indifference among Israel's elite—links habitual drinking with social and religious corruption as in Hosea 4:11.
Alternative generated candidates
- Harlotry, wine, and new wine take away the understanding.
- Harlotry, wine, and new wine steal the heart.
Hos.4.12 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- עמי: NOUN,m,sg,abs+1s
- בעצו: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,poss3s
- ישאל: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- ומקלו: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,poss3s
- יגיד: VERB,hif,impf,3,m,sg
- לו: PRON,3,m,sg
- כי: CONJ
- רוח: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- זנונים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- התעה: VERB,hithpael,perf,3,f,sg
- ויזנו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- מתחת: PREP
- אלהיהם: NOUN,m,pl,abs+3mp
Parallels
- Isaiah 44:12-20 (verbal): Describes idols made by human hands (wood/stone) that cannot speak and depicts a deluded heart leading people astray—parallel to Hosea's critique of consulting wooden idols and being led away.
- Jeremiah 10:3-5 (verbal): Denounces worship of man-made idols that cannot speak or help and portrays them as false counselors—echoes Hosea's image of people asking counsel of wooden stocks.
- Ezekiel 14:3-4 (thematic): Warns against setting up idols in one's heart and consulting them, with God opposing those who do so—thematically parallels Hosea's condemnation of seeking guidance from idols rather than God.
- Judges 17–18 (esp. Judges 18:14–20) (structural): Narrative account of household idols/ephod/teraphim being used and consulted for guidance by Israelites—an illustrative instance of the practiced idolatrous counsel Hosea condemns.
- Ezekiel 23:37 (thematic): Uses sexual/harlotry imagery to describe Israel's idolatrous unfaithfulness to God, paralleling Hosea's 'spirit of harlotry' that leads the people astray.
Alternative generated candidates
- My people consult wooden idols and a diviner’s staff gives them answer; for a spirit of harlotry has led them astray, and they have prostituted themselves under their gods.
- My people consult wooden images, and their rod informs them; for a spirit of harlotry has led them astray, and they have played the harlot under their God.
Hos.4.13 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- על: PREP
- ראשי: NOUN,m,sg,abs+PRON,1,sg
- ההרים: NOUN,m,pl,def
- יזבחו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- ועל: CONJ+PREP
- הגבעות: NOUN,f,pl,def
- יקטרו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- תחת: PREP
- אלון: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ולבנה: CONJ+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- ואלה: CONJ+DEM,pl,abs
- כי: CONJ
- טוב: ADJ,m,pl,abs
- צלה: NOUN,m,sg,suff
- על: PREP
- כן: ADV
- תזנינה: VERB,qal,impf,3,f,pl
- בנותיכם: NOUN,f,pl,abs+2mp
- וכלותיכם: CONJ+NOUN,f,pl,abs,2mp
- תנאפנה: VERB,qal,impf,3,f,pl
Parallels
- Deuteronomy 12:2-3 (thematic): Commands Israel to destroy high places and not to worship on hills or under trees — antithesis to the local/high-place cultic offerings criticized in Hosea 4:13.
- 2 Kings 17:10-11 (verbal): Describes Israelites burning incense on high hills and under every green tree — language and cultic behavior closely parallel to Hosea’s indictment.
- Jeremiah 2:20 (verbal): Accuses Israel of bowing on every high hill and under every green tree and of playing the harlot — uses the same imagery of illicit worship and sexual unfaithfulness.
- 1 Kings 14:23-24 (thematic): Reports Judah/Israel’s persistence in high-place cults, Asherah poles and cultic prostitution — mirrors Hosea’s link between open idol worship on hills/trees and social/sexual corruption.
Alternative generated candidates
- On the tops of the mountains they sacrifice, on the hills they burn incense—under every green tree, under the oak, the poplar, and the terebinth—because its shade is good; therefore your daughters commit harlotry and your daughters-in-law commit adultery.
- They sacrifice on the tops of the mountains and burn incense on the hills, under oaks, poplars, and terebinths—because their shade is good. Therefore your daughters play the harlot and your daughters-in-law commit adultery.
Hos.4.14 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- לא: PART_NEG
- אפקוד: VERB,qal,impf,1,sg
- על: PREP
- בנותיכם: NOUN,f,pl,abs+2mp
- כי: CONJ
- תזנינה: VERB,qal,impf,3,f,pl
- ועל: CONJ+PREP
- כלותיכם: NOUN,f,pl,abs+2mp
- כי: CONJ
- תנאפנה: VERB,qal,impf,3,f,pl
- כי: CONJ
- הם: PRON,personal,3,m,pl
- עם: PREP
- הזנות: NOUN,f,sg,def
- יפרדו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- ועם: CONJ+PREP
- הקדשות: NOUN,f,pl,def
- יזבחו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- ועם: CONJ+PREP
- לא: PART_NEG
- יבין: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ילבט: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
Parallels
- Hos.4.6 (verbal): Same Hosea theme: lack of knowledge brings destruction—4:6's 'my people are destroyed for lack of knowledge' echoes 4:14's 'and with not knowing he stumbles.'
- Ezek.16:25-26 (thematic): Accuses Jerusalem/Judah of prostitution and idolatrous rites; parallels Hosea's linking of sexual unfaithfulness with cultic/communal corruption and judgment.
- Ezek.23:37-39 (thematic): Graphic indictment of Samaria and Jerusalem's whoring and sacrificial impurities; similar charge that sexual immorality is entwined with spiritual ignorance and provoking God's wrath.
- Jer.3:1-3 (thematic): Uses marriage/adultery imagery to describe Israel/Judah's unfaithfulness and its consequences; resonates with Hosea's marital-metaphor critique of communal infidelity.
- Prov.7:6-23 (thematic): Portrait of the seductress luring the naive to ruin—parallels Hosea's denunciation of sexual immorality and the folly/ignorance of those led into it.
Alternative generated candidates
- I will not punish your daughters when they play the harlot, nor your daughters-in-law when they commit adultery; for the men themselves go with the harlots and sacrifice with temple prostitutes, and a people without understanding shall be ruined.
- I will not punish your daughters when they play the harlot, nor your daughters-in-law when they commit adultery; for the men themselves go aside with harlots and sacrifice with temple-prostitutes, and among a people lacking understanding they mingle.
Hos.4.15 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- אם: CONJ
- זנה: VERB,qal,perf,3,f,sg
- אתה: PRON,2,m,sg
- ישראל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אל: NEG
- יאשם: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- יהודה: NOUN,m,sg,prop
- ואל: CONJ+PREP
- תבאו: VERB,qal,imperf,2,m,pl
- הגלגל: NOUN,m,sg,def
- ואל: CONJ+PREP
- תעלו: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,pl
- בית: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- און: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ואל: CONJ+PREP
- תשבעו: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,pl
- חי: ADJ,m,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Amos 5:5 (verbal): Uses almost identical injunctions against going to Bethel and Gilgal; both passages forbid seeking those sanctuaries because they are associated with illegitimate cultic practice.
- Hos.9:15 (verbal): Within Hosea, Gilgal is explicitly identified as a center of wickedness and the object of divine judgment, echoing 4:15’s condemnation of going to Gilgal.
- 1 Kings 12:28-30 (thematic): Describes Jeroboam’s establishment of rival shrines at Bethel (and Dan), explaining the historical/idolatrous background behind Hosea’s denunciation of Bethel/Beth-aven and Gilgal.
- Exodus 20:7 (thematic): The commandment against taking the LORD’s name in vain connects to Hosea’s warning not to swear ‘As the LORD lives,’ critiquing improper use of God’s name in oaths.
Alternative generated candidates
- O Israel, if you play the harlot, do not let Judah be guilty; do not go to Gilgal, do not go up to Beth-aven, and do not swear, 'As the LORD lives!'
- If you act like a harlot, O Israel, let not Judah be put to shame; do not go up to Gilgal, and do not ascend to Beth-aven, and do not swear, ‘As the LORD lives.’
Hos.4.16 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- כי: CONJ
- כפרה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- סררה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- סרר: VERB,qal,perf,3,ms,sg
- ישראל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- עתה: ADV
- ירעם: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- ככבש: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- במרחב: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Hos.5.14 (verbal): Uses the same lion‑judgment imagery toward Ephraim/Israel — God as a lion who rends and punishes for covenant unfaithfulness, closely echoing the hostile/YHWH‑as‑predator motif.
- Jer.3.6-10 (thematic): Complaint against Israel's spiritual adultery and unfaithfulness to the covenant and the resulting announcement of judgment and repudiation — parallels Hosea’s charge of Israel’s rebellion and moral prostitution.
- Ezek.16:15-22 (thematic): Graphic portrayal of Israel/Jerusalem as a harlot and the punitive consequences of her infidelity to Yahweh; closely parallels Hosea’s emphasis on sexualized idolatry and divine punishment.
- Isa.1:21 (thematic): Lament over Zion turned into a harlot and justice perverted; both texts condemn urban/institutional corruption and frame God’s response in terms of judgment for moral betrayal.
- Deut.31:17-18 (allusion): Divine warning that because of Israel’s apostasy God will hide his face and abandon them to ruin — echoes Hosea’s motif that God withdraws/acts decisively when Israel rebels.
Alternative generated candidates
- Like a stubborn heifer was her apostasy—Israel has rebelled; now the LORD will pasture them like a lamb in a broad pasture.
- Ephraim is joined to idols—leave him alone.
Hos.4.17 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- חבור: VERB,qal,ptc,3,m,sg
- עצבים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- אפרים: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- הנח: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- לו: PRON,3,m,sg
Parallels
- Hos.4.12 (verbal): Same chapter/poem: earlier accuses Israel of seeking advice from wooden idols and stones—directly echoes the charge that Ephraim is joined to idols.
- Judges 2:11-15 (thematic): Israel’s repeated turning to Baal and the resulting divine withdrawal/judgment parallels Hosea’s depiction of Ephraim ‘left’ because of idolatry.
- Psalm 81:12 (thematic): ’So I gave them over to their stubborn heart’ (or ‘let them alone’)—a close theological parallel describing divine abandonment as judgment for persistent disobedience.
- Romans 1:24 (thematic): Paul’s formulation that God ‘gave them up’ because they exchanged the truth for idolatry echoes Hosea’s ‘let him alone’ as God’s response to covenantal idolatry.
Alternative generated candidates
- Ephraim is joined to idols—leave him alone.
- They are bound to wooden images; Ephraim, let him be.
Hos.4.18 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- סר: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- סבאם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- הזנה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- הזנו: VERB,piel,perf,3,pl
- אהבו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg,3ms.obj
- הבו: VERB,qal,imp,2,pl
- קלון: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- מגניה: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Hosea 4:11 (verbal): Same chapter/theme — both accuse Israel of whoredom and sexual/ spiritual unfaithfulness; vocabulary and moral charge recur close by.
- Ezekiel 22:26 (thematic): Accuses priests of violating God’s law and profaning holy things, paralleling Hosea’s charge against leaders and cultic corruption.
- Jeremiah 3:8 (thematic): God depicts Israel (and Judah) as faithless/harlots and issues judgment for continued spiritual adultery, matching Hosea’s imagery of whoredom and shame.
- Ezekiel 16:15 (allusion): Uses the extended metaphor of Jerusalem/Israel as a harlot who loved shame and profaned covenantal fidelity, echoing Hosea’s eroticized indictment.
Alternative generated candidates
- Their drink is rebellion; they have committed harlotry and loved shame; with their rulers they take pleasure in disgrace.
- They have gone astray into harlotry; they love disgrace and clothe themselves with shame—thus they bring shame upon their defenders.
Hos.4.19 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- צרר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- רוח: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- אותה: PRON,dem,3,f,sg
- בכנפיה: PREP+NOUN,f,pl,abs+3,f,sg
- ויבשו: VERB,qal,perf,3,pl
- מזבחותם: NOUN,m,pl,abs+SUFF,3,m,pl
Parallels
- Hosea 8:7 (verbal): Shared wind imagery of divine judgment—'they sow the wind' and the coming destructive consequences echo the notion of being carried/scattered by the wind.
- Isaiah 1:11-15 (thematic): God rejects ritual sacrifices because of covenantal unfaithfulness—parallels 'their sacrifices shall be dry' as a refusal of offerings when Israel sins.
- Amos 5:21-23 (thematic): Direct condemnation of empty cultic worship—'I hate, I despise your feast days... though you offer me your burnt offerings I will not accept them' parallels the rejection/drying up of sacrifices.
- Psalm 1:4 (verbal): Uses the image of chaff driven by the wind to portray the wicked—parallels the motif of being scattered/driven by the wind as a symbol of judgment.
Alternative generated candidates
- I will sweep them away with the blast of my anger on the wings of the wind, and their altars shall be laid waste.
- A wind shall take her away in its wings, and her altars shall be put to shame.
Hear the word of the LORD, O children of Israel; for the LORD has a contention with the inhabitants of the land—there is no truth, no mercy, and no knowledge of God in the land.
There is deceit, falsehood, murder, theft, and adultery; they break out—blood touches blood.
Therefore the land mourns, and all who dwell in it languish; the beasts of the field, the birds of the heavens, and even the fish of the sea are taken away.
Yet let no one contend, nor reproach his neighbor; for your people are as those who contend with the priest.
You shall stumble day by day, and the prophet also shall stumble with you by night, and I will destroy your mother.
My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from being priest to Me. Since you have forgotten the law of your God, I will also forget your children.
As they increased so they sinned against Me; I will make their honor a reproach.
They feed on the sin of my people and lift up their soul to their iniquity.
Like people, like priest—I will visit their ways upon them and give them back for their deeds.
They will eat and not be satisfied; they have prostituted themselves and will not thrive, because they have forsaken the LORD to practice unfaithfulness.
Harlotry, wine, and new wine steal away the heart.
My people inquire of their wood, and their walking-stick gives them answer; for a spirit of harlotry has led them astray, they have played the harlot from beneath their God.
On the tops of the mountains they sacrifice, and on the hills they burn incense—under the oak, the poplar, and the terebinth, because their shade is pleasant—therefore your daughters commit harlotry, and your daughters-in-law commit adultery.
I will not punish your daughters when they commit harlotry, nor your daughters-in-law when they commit adultery; for the men themselves go aside with prostitutes and sacrifice with shrine harlots, and with a people lacking understanding they are confused.
If you, Israel, play the harlot, do not let Judah become guilty; do not come to Gilgal, do not go up to Beth-aven, and do not swear, ‘As the LORD lives.’
For Israel is stubborn—an obstinate heifer; now the LORD will pasture them like a lamb in a broad pasture.
Ephraim is joined to idols; leave him alone.
Their deeds will not allow them to return to their God; they have prostituted themselves, they love disgrace, and shame will come upon their defenders.
A wind will carry them off on its wings, and their altars shall be put to shame.