Hosea 4:2

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 the Lord, people of Israel, for the Lord has a case against the inhabitants of the land: There is no truth, no faithful love, and no knowledge of God in the land! Cursing, lying, murder, stealing, and adultery are rampant; one act of bloodshed follows another. 3For this reason the land mourns, and everyone who lives in it languishes, along with the wild animals and the birds of the sky; even the fish of the sea disappear. 4But let no one dispute; let no one argue, for my case is against you priests.

Hosea 4:2 word by word

אָלֹ֣ה וְכַחֵ֔שׁ וְרָצֹ֥חַ וְגָנֹ֖ב וְנָאֹ֑ף פָּרָ֕צוּ וְדָמִ֥ים בְּדָמִ֖ים נָגָֽעוּ׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• By swearingאָלָה'âlâh · to swearH422
• and lyingכָּחַשׁkâchash · to deceiveH3584
• and killingרָצַחrâtsach · to murderH7523
• and stealingגָּנַבgânab · to stealH1589
• and committing adulteryנָאַףnâ'aph · to commit adulteryH5003
• they break outפָּרַץpârats · to break throughH6555
• and bloodדָּםdâm · bloodH1818
• touchethנָגַעnâga‛ · to touchH5060

Cross-references for Hosea 4:2

• Isaiah 24:5The earth is polluted by its inhabitants, for they have transgressed teachings, overstepped decrees, and broken the permanent covenant.
• Isaiah 48:1“Listen to this, house of Jacob — those who are called by the name Israel and have descended from Judah, who swear by the name of the Lord and declare the God of Israel, but not in truth or righteousness.
• Isaiah 59:2But your iniquities are separating you from your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not listen.
• Jeremiah 5:1Roam through the streets of Jerusalem. Investigate; search in her squares. If you find one person, any who acts justly, who pursues faithfulness, then I will forgive her.
• Jeremiah 6:7As a well gushes out its water, so she pours out her evil. Violence and destruction resound in her. Sickness and wounds keep coming to my attention.
• Jeremiah 7:6if you no longer oppress the resident alien, the fatherless, and the widow and no longer shed innocent blood in this place or follow other gods, bringing harm on yourselves,
• Jeremiah 9:2If only I had a traveler’s lodging place in the wilderness, I would abandon my people and depart from them, for they are all adulterers, a solemn assembly of treacherous people.
• Jeremiah 23:10For the land is full of adulterers; the land mourns because of the curse, and the grazing lands in the wilderness have dried up. Their way of life has become evil, and their power is not rightly used
• Ezekiel 22:2“As for you, son of man, will you pass judgment? Will you pass judgment against the city of blood? Then explain all her detestable practices to her.
• Micah 2:1Woe to those who dream up wickedness and prepare evil plans on their beds! At morning light they accomplish it because the power is in their hands.
• Micah 3:2You hate good and love evil. You tear off people’s skin and strip their flesh from their bones.
• Micah 6:10Are there still the treasures of wickedness and the accursed short measure in the house of the wicked?
• Micah 7:2Faithful people have vanished from the land; there is no one upright among the people. All of them wait in ambush to shed blood; they hunt each other with a net.
• Zephaniah 3:1Woe to the city that is rebellious and defiled, the oppressive city!
• Zechariah 5:3Then he said to me, “This is the curse that is going out over the whole land, for everyone who is a thief, contrary to what is written on one side, has gone unpunished, and everyone who swears falsely, contrary to what is written on the other side, has gone unpunished.
• Zechariah 7:9“The Lord of Armies says this: ‘Make fair decisions. Show faithful love and compassion to one another.

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

• Adultery
• Crime
• Dishonesty
• Falsehood
• Homicide
• Sin
• Theft and Thieves

In the dictionaries

• Languish
• Reject
• Robbery
• Blood
• Break
• Calf, Golden
• Hosea
• Lie; Lying
• Priests and Levites
• Zechariah, Book of

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