Hosea 4:13

Hosea 4:13 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)They sacrifice upon the tops of the mountains, and burn incense upon the hills, under oaks and poplars and elms, because the shadow thereof is good: therefore your daughters shall commit whoredom, and your spouses shall commit adultery.
• New International Version (NIV)They sacrifice on the mountaintops and burn offerings on the hills, under oak, poplar and terebinth, where the shade is pleasant. Therefore your daughters turn to prostitution and your daughters-in-law to adultery.
• English Standard Version (ESV)They 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.
• New King James Version (NKJV)They offer sacrifices on the mountaintops, And burn incense on the hills, Under oaks, poplars, and terebinths, Because their shade is good. Therefore your daughters commit harlotry, And your brides commit adultery.

Context of Hosea 4:13

11Infidelity, wine, and new wine take away the understanding. 12My people consult their wooden idol, and their diviner’s wand informs them; For a spirit of infidelity has led them astray, And they have been unfaithful, departing from their God. They offer sacrifices on the tops of the mountains And burn incense on the hills, Under oak, poplar, and terebinth, Because their shade is pleasant. Therefore your daughters play the prostitute, And your brides commit adultery. 14I will not punish your daughters when they play the prostitute, Or your brides when they commit adultery, Because the men themselves slip away with the prostitutes And offer sacrifices with temple prostitutes; So the people without understanding are ruined. 15Though you, Israel, play the prostitute, Judah must not become guilty; Also you are not to go to Gilgal, Nor go up to Beth-aven And take the oath: “As the Lord lives!”

Hosea 4:13 word by word

עַל־רָאשֵׁ֨י הֶהָרִ֜ים יְזַבֵּ֗חוּ וְעַל־הַגְּבָעוֹת֙ יְקַטֵּ֔רוּ תַּ֣חַת אַלּ֧וֹן וְלִבְנֶ֛ה וְאֵלָ֖ה כִּ֣י ט֣וֹב צִלָּ֑הּ עַל־כֵּ֗ן תִּזְנֶ֙ינָה֙ בְּנ֣וֹתֵיכֶ֔ם וְכַלּוֹתֵיכֶ֖ם תְּנָאַֽפְנָה׃Read the interlinear

• They offerזָבַחzâbach · to sacrificeH2076
• topsרֹאשׁrô'sh · head: topH7218
• of the mountainsהַרhar · mountain: mountH2022
• burnקָטַרqâţar · to offer: burnH6999
• on the hillsגִּבְעָהgib‛âh · hillH1389
• Underתַּחַתtachath · underneath: underH8478
• oakאַלּוֹן'allôn · oakH437
• poplarלִבְנֶהlibneh · poplarH3839
• and terebinthאֵלָה'êlâh · oakH424
• Becauseכִּיkîy · forH3588
• their shadeצֵלtsêl · shadowH6738
• is pleasantטוֹבţôb · pleasantH2896
• Thereforeעַל‛al · uponH5921
• Thereforeכֵּןkên · soH3651
• your daughtersבַּתbath · daughterH1323
• playזָנָהzânâh · to fornicateH2181
• bridesכַּלָּהkallâh · daughter-in-law: brideH3618
• commitנָאַףnâ'aph · to commit adulteryH5003

Cross-references for Hosea 4:13

• Isaiah 1:29You certainly will be ashamed of the oaks which you have desired, And you will be embarrassed by the gardens which you have chosen.
• Isaiah 57:5Who inflame yourselves among the oaks, Under every luxuriant tree, Who slaughter the children in the ravines, Under the clefts of the rocks?
• Jeremiah 3:6Then the Lord said to me in the days of King Josiah, “Have you seen what faithless Israel did? She went up on every high hill and under every leafy tree, and she prostituted herself there.
• Ezekiel 6:13Then you will know that I am the Lord, when their dead are among their idols around their altars, on every high hill, on all the tops of the mountains, under every leafy tree and under every massive oak with thick branches--the places where they offered a soothing aroma to all their idols.
• Ezekiel 16:16You took some of your clothes, made for yourself high places of various colors, and committed prostitution on them, which should not come about nor happen.
• Ezekiel 20:28When I had brought them into the land which I swore to give to them, then they saw every high hill and every tree thick with branches, and there they offered their sacrifices and there they presented the provocation of their offering. There also they made their soothing aroma and there they poured out their drink offerings.
• 2 Samuel 12:10Now then, the sword shall never leave your house, because you have despised Me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.’
• Job 31:9“If my heart has been enticed by a woman, Or I have lurked at my neighbor’s doorway,
• Amos 7:17Therefore, this is what the Lord says: ‘Your wife will become a prostitute in the city, your sons and your daughters will fall by the sword, your land will be parceled up by a measuring line, and you yourself will die upon unclean soil. Furthermore Israel will certainly go from its land into exile.’”
• Romans 1:23and they exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible mankind, of birds, four-footed animals, and crawling creatures.

Commentaries on Hosea 4:13

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 13Under oaks - אלון allon, from אלל alal, he was strong. Hence, the oak, in Latin, is called robur; which word means also, strength, the oak being the strongest of all the trees of the forest. The shadow thereof is good - Their "daughters committed whoredom, and their spouses committed adultery." Their deities were worshipped by prostitution. They drank much in their idol worship, Hosea 4:11, and thus their passions became inflamed. 3. The thick groves were…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 13They sacrifice upon the tops of the mountains - The tops of hills or mountains seemed nearer heaven, the air was purer, the place more removed from the world. To worship the Unseen God upon them, was then the suggestion of natural feeling and of simple devotion. God Himself directed the typical sacrifice of Isaac to take place on a mountain; on that same mountain He commanded that the temple should be built; on a mountain, God gave the law; on a mountain…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. 13Many Canaanite religious rituals took place on mountaintops and hills. On these pagan "high places," sacred trees were often used in fertility worship (1 Kings 14:23; Jeremiah 2:20). Israelite daughters and brides also engaged in sexual acts during the worship of Baal; their fathers and husbands possibly forced them to participate.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1313. upon ... mountains--High places were selected by idolaters on which to sacrifice, because of their greater nearness to the heavenly hosts which they worshipped (De 12:2). elms--rather, "terebinths" [Maurer]. shadow ... good--screening the lascivious worshippers from the heat of the sun. daughters ... commit whoredom ... spouses ... adultery--in the polluted worship of Astarte, the Phoenician goddess of love.Read the comment

Topics related to Hosea 4:13

• Elm
• Idolatry
• Minister, Christian
• Mountain
• Poplar
• Women

In the dictionaries

• Elm
• Jeroboam
• Languish
• Poplar
• Reject
• Spouse
• Teil tree
• Deuteronomy
• Harlot
• Hill; Mount; Mountain

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