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 Living Translation (NLT)They offer sacrifices to idols on the mountaintops. They go up into the hills to burn incense in the pleasant shade of oaks, poplars, and terebinth trees. “That is why your daughters turn to prostitution, and your daughters-in-law commit adultery.

Context of Hosea 4:13

11“Harlotry, wine, and new wine enslave the heart. 12My people ask counsel from their wooden idols, And their staff informs them. For the spirit of harlotry has caused them to stray, And they have played the harlot against their God. 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. 14“I will not punish your daughters when they commit harlotry, Nor your brides when they commit adultery; For the men themselves go apart with harlots, And offer sacrifices with a ritual harlot. Therefore people who do not understand will be trampled. 15“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’—

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

Words taken from the KJV.

• They sacrificeזָבַחzâbach · to sacrificeH2076
• upon the topsרֹאשׁrô'sh · head: topH7218
• of the mountainsהַרhar · mountain: mountH2022
• and burn incenseקָטַרqâţar · to offer: offerH6999
• upon the hillsגִּבְעָהgib‛âh · hillH1389
• under oaksאַלּוֹן'allôn · oakH437
• and poplarsלִבְנֶהlibneh · poplarH3839
• and elmsאֵלָה'êlâh · oakH424
• because the shadowצֵלtsêl · shadowH6738
• goodטוֹבţôb · pleasantH2896
• therefore your daughtersבַּתbath · daughterH1323
• shall commit whoredomזָנָהzânâh · to fornicateH2181
• and your spousesכַּלָּהkallâh · daughter-in-law: brideH3618
• shall commit adulteryנָאַףnâ'aph · to commit adulteryH5003

Cross-references for Hosea 4:13

• Isaiah 1:29For they shall be ashamed of the terebinth trees Which you have desired; And you shall be embarrassed because of the gardens Which you have chosen.
• Isaiah 57:5Inflaming yourselves with gods under every green tree, Slaying the children in the valleys, Under the clefts of the rocks?
• Jeremiah 3:6The Lord said also to me in the days of Josiah the king: “Have you seen what backsliding Israel has done? She has gone up on every high mountain and under every green tree, and there played the harlot.
• Ezekiel 6:13Then you shall know that I am the Lord, when their slain are among their idols all around their altars, on every high hill, on all the mountaintops, under every green tree, and under every thick oak, wherever they offered sweet incense to all their idols.
• Ezekiel 16:16You took some of your garments and adorned multicolored high places for yourself, and played the harlot on them. Such things should not happen, nor be.
• Ezekiel 20:28When I brought them into the land concerning which I had raised My hand in an oath to give them, and they saw all the high hills and all the thick trees, there they offered their sacrifices and provoked Me with their offerings. There they also sent up their sweet aroma and poured out their drink offerings.
• 2 Samuel 12:10Now therefore, the sword shall never depart from 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 if I have lurked at my neighbor’s door,
• Amos 7:17“Therefore thus says the Lord: ‘Your wife shall be a harlot in the city; Your sons and daughters shall fall by the sword; Your land shall be divided by survey line; You shall die in a defiled land; And Israel shall surely be led away captive From his own land.’ ”
• Romans 1:23and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man—and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things.

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