American Standard Version
Hosea 4:2
2There is nought but swearing and breaking faith, and killing, and stealing, and committing adultery; they break out, and blood toucheth blood.
Hosea 4:2 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)By swearing, and lying, and killing, and stealing, and committing adultery, they break out, and blood toucheth blood.
- New International Version (NIV)There is only cursing, lying and murder, stealing and adultery; they break all bounds, and bloodshed follows bloodshed.
- English Standard Version (ESV)there is swearing, lying, murder, stealing, and committing adultery; they break all bounds, and bloodshed follows bloodshed.
- New King James Version (NKJV)By swearing and lying, Killing and stealing and committing adultery, They break all restraint, With bloodshed upon bloodshed.
Context of Hosea 4:2
1Hear the word of Jehovah, ye children of Israel; for Jehovah hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth, nor goodness, nor knowledge of God in the land. There is nought but swearing and breaking faith, and killing, and stealing, and committing adultery; they break out, and blood toucheth blood. 3Therefore shall the land mourn, and every one that dwelleth therein shall languish, with the beasts of the field and the birds of the heavens; yea, the fishes of the sea also shall be taken away. 4Yet let no man strive, neither let any man reprove; for thy people are as they that strive with the priest.
Read all of Hosea 4Hosea 4:2 word by word
אָלֹ֣ה וְכַחֵ֔שׁ וְרָצֹ֥חַ וְגָנֹ֖ב וְנָאֹ֑ף פָּרָ֕צוּ וְדָמִ֥ים בְּדָמִ֖ים נָגָֽעוּ׃Read the interlinear
Cross-references for Hosea 4:2
- Isaiah 24:5The earth also is polluted under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, violated the statutes, broken the everlasting covenant.
- Isaiah 48:1Hear ye this, O house of Jacob, who are called by the name of Israel, and are come forth out of the waters of Judah; who swear by the name of Jehovah, and make mention of the God of Israel, but not in truth, nor in righteousness
- Isaiah 59:2but your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, so that he will not hear.
- Jeremiah 5:1Run ye to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, and see now, and know, and seek in the broad places thereof, if ye can find a man, if there be any that doeth justly, that seeketh truth; and I will pardon her.
- Jeremiah 6:7As a well casteth forth its waters, so she casteth forth her wickedness: violence and destruction is heard in her; before me continually is sickness and wounds.
- Jeremiah 7:6if ye oppress not the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow, and shed not innocent blood in this place, neither walk after other gods to your own hurt:
- Jeremiah 9:2Oh that I had in the wilderness a lodging-place of wayfaring men; that I might leave my people, and go from them! for they are all adulterers, an assembly of treacherous men.
- Jeremiah 23:10For the land is full of adulterers; for because of swearing the land mourneth; the pastures of the wilderness are dried up. And their course is evil, and their might is not right;
- Ezekiel 22:2And thou, son of man, wilt thou judge, wilt thou judge the bloody city? then cause her to know all her abominations.
- Micah 2:1Woe to them that devise iniquity and work evil upon their beds! when the morning is light, they practise it, because it is in the power of their hand.
- Micah 3:2ye who hate the good, and love the evil; who pluck off their skin from off them, and their flesh from off their bones;
- Micah 6:10Are there yet treasures of wickedness in the house of the wicked, and a scant measure that is abominable?
- Micah 7:2The godly man is perished out of the earth, and there is none upright among men: they all lie in wait for blood; they hunt every man his brother with a net.
- Zephaniah 3:1Woe to her that is rebellious and polluted! to the oppressing city!
- Zechariah 5:3Then said he unto me, This is the curse that goeth forth over the face of the whole land: for every one that stealeth shall be cut off on the one side according to it; and every one that sweareth shall be cut off on the other side according to it.
- Zechariah 7:9Thus hath Jehovah of hosts spoken, saying, Execute true judgment, and show kindness and compassion every man to his brother;
Commentaries on Hosea 4:2
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 2By swearing, and lying - Where there is no truth there will be lies and perjury; for false swearing is brought in to confirm lying statements. And when there is no mercy, killing, slaying, and murders, will be frequent. And where there is no knowledge of God, no conviction of his omnipresence and omniscience, private offenses, such as stealing, adulteries, etc., will prevail. These, sooner or later, break out, become a flood, and carry all before them…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 2By swearing, and lying - Literally, “swearing or cursing”, “and lying, and killing, and stealing, and committing adultery!” The words in Hebrew are nouns of action. The Hebrew form is very vivid and solemn. It is far more forcible than if he had said, “They swear, lie, kill, and steal.” It expresses that these sins were continual, that nothing else (so to speak) was going on; that it was all one scene of such sins, one course of them, and of nothing…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 2The prophet also accused the Israelites of committing sins. These crimes are all forbidden in the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:3–17; Deuteronomy 5:7–21), which are the basic covenant responsibilities. Since the Israelites did not know the Lord, they failed to follow even the simplest covenant standards.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 22. they break out--bursting through every restraint. blood toucheth blood--literally, "bloods." One act of bloodshed follows another without any interval between (see 2Ki 15:8-16, 25; Mi 7:2).Read the comment
Topics related to Hosea 4:2
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Hosea 4
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
American Standard Version — 1901 — Public Domain
Commentaries