English Standard Version
Hosea 4:15
15Though 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."
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!’
- 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’—
- New Living Translation (NLT)“Though you, Israel, are a prostitute, may Judah not be guilty of such things. Do not join the false worship at Gilgal or Beth-aven, and do not take oaths there in the Lord’s name.
Context of Hosea 4:15
13They sacrifice on the tops of the mountains and burn offerings on the hills, under oak, poplar, and terebinth, because their shade is good. Therefore your daughters play the whore, and your brides commit adultery. 14I will not punish your daughters when they play the whore, nor your brides when they commit adultery; for the men themselves go aside with prostitutes and sacrifice with cult prostitutes, and a people without understanding shall come to ruin. 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." 16Like a stubborn heifer, Israel is stubborn; can the Lord now feed them like a lamb in a broad pasture? 17Ephraim is joined to idols; leave him alone.
Read all of Hosea 4Hosea 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 4:12My people inquire of a piece of wood, and their walking staff gives them oracles. For a spirit of whoredom has led them astray, and they have left their God to play the whore.
- Jeremiah 3:6The Lord said to me in the days of King Josiah: "Have you seen what she did, that faithless one, Israel, how she went up on every high hill and under every green tree, and there played the whore?
- Ezekiel 23:4Oholah was the name of the elder and Oholibah the name of her sister. They became mine, and they bore sons and daughters. As for their names, Oholah is Samaria, and Oholibah is Jerusalem.
- Hosea 11:12Ephraim has surrounded me with lies, and the house of Israel with deceit, but Judah still walks with God and is faithful to the Holy One.
- 2 Kings 17:18Therefore the Lord was very angry with Israel and removed them out of his sight. None was left but the tribe of Judah only.
- Jeremiah 3:10Yet for all this her treacherous sister Judah did not return to me with her whole heart, but in pretense, declares the Lord."
- Luke 12:47And that servant who knew his master's will but did not get ready or act according to his will, will receive a severe beating.
- Ephesians 5:11Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them.
- Hosea 9:15Every evil of theirs is in Gilgal; there I began to hate them. Because of the wickedness of their deeds I will drive them out of my house. I will love them no more; all their princes are rebels.
- Hosea 12:11If there is iniquity in Gilead, they shall surely come to nothing: in Gilgal they sacrifice bulls; their altars also are like stone heaps on the furrows of the field.
- Amos 4:4"Come to Bethel, and transgress; to Gilgal, and multiply transgression; bring your sacrifices every morning, your tithes every three days;
- Amos 5:5but do not seek Bethel, and do not enter into Gilgal or cross over to Beersheba; for Gilgal shall surely go into exile, and Bethel shall come to nothing."
- Hosea 5:8Blow the horn in Gibeah, the trumpet in Ramah. Sound the alarm at Beth-aven; we follow you, O Benjamin!
- Hosea 10:5The inhabitants of Samaria tremble for the calf of Beth-aven. Its people mourn for it, and so do its idolatrous priests— those who rejoiced over it and over its glory— for it has departed from them.
- 1 Kings 12:28So the king took counsel and made two calves of gold. And he said to the people, "You have gone up to Jerusalem long enough. Behold your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt."
- Isaiah 48:1Hear this, O house of Jacob, who are called by the name of Israel, and who came from the waters of Judah, who swear by the name of the Lord and confess the God of Israel, but not in truth or right.
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
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
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