Hosea 4:15

Hosea 4:15 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Though thou, Israel, play the harlot, yet let not Judah offend; and come not ye unto Gilgal, neither go ye up to Beth–aven, nor swear, The Lord liveth.
• New International Version (NIV)“Though you, Israel, commit adultery, do not let Judah become guilty. “Do not go to Gilgal; do not go up to Beth Aven. And do not swear, ‘As surely as the Lord lives!’
• English Standard Version (ESV)Though you play the whore, O Israel, let not Judah become guilty. Enter not into Gilgal, nor go up to Beth-aven, and swear not, "As the Lord lives."
• New King James Version (NKJV)“Though you, Israel, play the harlot, Let not Judah offend. Do not come up to Gilgal, Nor go up to Beth Aven, Nor swear an oath, saying, ‘As the Lord lives’—

Context of Hosea 4:15

13They offer sacrifices on the tops of the mountains. They burn offerings on the hills. They do this under the oak trees, the poplar trees and the other big trees. They enjoy the shade under those trees. As a result, your daughters serve the false gods as prostitutes. Your sons' wives are also guilty of adultery. 14But I will not punish them for those sins, because the men are just as guilty! They sleep with prostitutes. They join with prostitutes to offer sacrifices to the false gods. All of this shows that people who cannot think properly destroy themselves.’ You people of Israel are not faithful to the Lord. But do not let the people of Judah become guilty of the same sins. Do not travel to Gilgal to worship! Do not go to Beth Aven! Do not say, ‘I promise this is true, as surely as the Lord lives’. 16Israel's people have turned against the Lord. They are like a young cow that refuses to obey its owner. So how can the Lord take care of them? Will he put them in a big field to eat the grass like lambs? 17The people of Israel enjoy their idols. Do not go near them!

Hosea 4:15 word by word

אִם־זֹנֶ֤ה אַתָּה֙ יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל אַל־יֶאְשַׁ֖ם יְהוּדָ֑ה וְאַל־תָּבֹ֣אוּ הַגִּלְגָּ֗ל וְאַֽל־תַּעֲלוּ֙ בֵּ֣ית אָ֔וֶן וְאַל־תִּשָּׁבְע֖וּ חַי־יְהוָֽה׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Though thou, Israelיִשְׂרָאֵלyiώrâ'êl · IsraelH3478
• play the harlotזָנָהzânâh · to fornicateH2181
• let not Judahיְהוּדָהyehûdâh · JudahH3063
• offendאָשַׁם'âsham 'âshêm · be guiltyH816
• and comeבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): comeH935
• not ye unto Gilgalגִּלְגָּלgilgâl · GilgalH1537
• neither go ye upעָלָה‛âlâh · to ascend: riseH5927
• to Beth–avenבֵּית אָ֫וֶןbêyth 'âven · Beth-avenH1007
• nor swearשָׁבַעshâba‛ · to swearH7650
• The Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• livethחַיchay · aliveH2416

Cross-references for Hosea 4:15

• Hosea 4:12They ask wooden idols to tell them what to do! A stick tells them what will happen in the future! They have turned away from me and they have lost their way. They have not been faithful to me, their God, as a prostitute is not faithful to her husband.
• Jeremiah 3:6The Lord spoke to me while Josiah was king of Judah. He said, ‘Look at what the Israelites have done. They have not been faithful to me. They have worshipped other gods under every big tree and on every high hill. Israel has been like a wife who is not faithful to her husband.
• Ezekiel 23:4The older sister was called Oholah. The younger one was called Oholibah. In this story, Oholah is Samaria. Oholibah is Jerusalem. They became my wives, and later they gave birth to sons and daughters for me.
• Hosea 11:12The Lord says, ‘Ephraim's people are always speaking lies to me. Yes, Israel's descendants try to deceive me. But Judah's people have stayed with God as their guide. They continue to be faithful to the Holy God.’
• 2 Kings 17:18The Lord was so angry with Israel that he sent them far away from himself. Only the tribe of Judah remained.
• Jeremiah 3:10Still Judah has not turned back to me. She wants me to think that she has, but she has not. Like her sister, Israel, she has not been faithful.’ That is what the Lord says.
• Luke 12:47A servant may know what his master wants him to do. Then he should prepare himself and do that. If he does not, his master will punish him very much. He will hit him a lot.
• Ephesians 5:11People whose minds are in the dark do things that have no good purpose. Keep away from wrong things like that. Instead, show how bad those things really are.
• Hosea 9:15The Lord says, ‘They started to do evil things at Gilgal. It was there that I began to hate them. Because they do evil things, I will chase them out of my land. I will not love them any more. Their leaders have all turned against me.
• Hosea 12:11The people in Gilead do wicked things. They will become as useless as their idols. At Gilgal, the people offer bulls as sacrifices on their altars. Those altars will be like heaps of stones in a farmer's field.’
• Amos 4:4The Lord also says, ‘You like to go to Bethel. You say that it is your holy place. And when you go there, you do wrong things. So go there, if you must, and do your bad things. Go to Gilgal, if you must, and do more bad things there. You bring your sacrifices there every morning as a gift. But that does not make me happy. Every three days, you bring your gifts. But that also does not make me happy.
• Amos 5:5Do not go to Bethel, Gilgal, or Beersheba. Do not try to find me there, because I am not there. I will send enemies to destroy those places. They will take the people away as slaves.’
• Hosea 5:8‘Make a noise with your horns in Gibeah! Make a noise with your trumpets in Ramah! Warn the people in Beth Aven of danger! Men of Benjamin's tribe, prepare to fight!
• Hosea 10:5The people who live in Samaria will be afraid. They will worry about their image of a calf at Beth Aven. They will weep because it will go away from them. The priests who serve the idol will cry too. They know that an enemy will take away their great and beautiful idol.
• 1 Kings 12:28So King Jeroboam talked to his advisors. He used gold to make images of two young cows. He said to the people, ‘It is too difficult for you to go to Jerusalem to worship the Lord, as you have done before. So I have made these gold cows for you instead. Look at them, Israelite people! These are your gods that rescued you and brought you out from Egypt.’
• Isaiah 48:1Listen to this, family of Jacob. You are called ‘Israel’, and you are Judah's descendants. You use the name of the Lord when you make promises. You pray to Israel's God. But you do not do those things honestly and fairly.

Commentaries on Hosea 4:15

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 15Let not Judah offend - Israel was totally dissolute; Judah was not so. Here she is exhorted to maintain her integrity. If the former will go to what was once Beth-el, the house of God, now Beth-aven, the house of iniquity, because Jeroboam has set up his calves there, let not Judah imitate them. Gilgal was the place where the covenant of circumcision was renewed when the people passed over Jordan; but was rendered infamous by the worship of idols, after…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 15Let not Judah offend - The sentence of Israel had been pronounced; she had been declared incorrigible. The prophet turns from her now to Judah. Israel had abandoned God‘s worship, rejected or corrupted His priests, given herself to the worship of the calves; no marvel what further excess of riot she run into! But Judah, who had the law and the temple and the service of God, let not her, (he would say,) involve herself in Israel‘s sin. If Israel, in…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 12-19Verses 12-19 The people consulted images, and not the Divine word. This would lead to disorder and sin. Thus men prepare scourges for themselves, and vice is spread through a people. Let not Judah come near the idolatrous worship of Israel. For Israel was devoted to idols, and must now be let alone. When sinners cast off the easy yoke of Christ, they go on in sin till the Lord saith, Let them alone. Then they receive no more warnings, feel no more…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 15Beth-aven refers to the wicked acts happening at Bethel, the main worship center in northern Israel (see Amos 7:13; compare Hosea 5:8; 10:5).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1515. Though Israel's ten tribes indulge in spiritual harlotry, at least thou, Judah, who hast the legal priesthood, and the temple rites, and Jerusalem, do not follow her bad example. Gilgal--situated between Jordan and Jericho on the confines of Samaria; once a holy place to Jehovah (Jos 5:10-15; 1Sa 10:8; 15:21); afterwards desecrated by idol-worship (Ho 9:15; 12:11; Am 4:4; 5:5; compare Jud 3:19, Margin). Beth-aven--that is, "house of vanity" or idols…Read the comment

Topics related to Hosea 4:15

• Beth-Aven
• Example
• Gilgal
• Idolatry
• Oath

In the dictionaries

• Gilgal
• Israel
• Judah
• Israel, Israelites
• Jacob, Israel
• Judah, kingdom of Judah
• Judea, Judah
• Beth-Aven
• Bethaven
• Bethel

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