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, O people of Israel! The Lord has brought charges against you, saying: “There is no faithfulness, no kindness, no knowledge of God in your land. You make vows and break them; you kill and steal and commit adultery. There is violence everywhere— one murder after another. 3That is why your land is in mourning, and everyone is wasting away. Even the wild animals, the birds of the sky, and the fish of the sea are disappearing. 4“Don’t point your finger at someone else and try to pass the blame! My complaint, you priests, is with you.

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 suffers for the sins of its people, for they have twisted God’s instructions, violated his laws, and broken his everlasting covenant.
• Isaiah 48:1“Listen to me, O family of Jacob, you who are called by the name of Israel and born into the family of Judah. Listen, you who take oaths in the name of the Lord and call on the God of Israel. You don’t keep your promises,
• Isaiah 59:2It’s your sins that have cut you off from God. Because of your sins, he has turned away and will not listen anymore.
• Jeremiah 5:1“Run up and down every street in Jerusalem,” says the Lord. “Look high and low; search throughout the city! If you can find even one just and honest person, I will not destroy the city.
• Jeremiah 6:7She spouts evil like a fountain. Her streets echo with the sounds of violence and destruction. I always see her sickness and sores.
• Jeremiah 7:6only if you stop exploiting foreigners, orphans, and widows; only if you stop your murdering; and only if you stop harming yourselves by worshiping idols.
• Jeremiah 9:2Oh, that I could go away and forget my people and live in a travelers’ shack in the desert. For they are all adulterers— a pack of treacherous liars.
• Jeremiah 23:10For the land is full of adultery, and it lies under a curse. The land itself is in mourning— its wilderness pastures are dried up. For they all do evil and abuse what power they have.
• Ezekiel 22:2“Son of man, are you ready to judge Jerusalem? Are you ready to judge this city of murderers? Publicly denounce her detestable sins,
• Micah 2:1What sorrow awaits you who lie awake at night, thinking up evil plans. You rise at dawn and hurry to carry them out, simply because you have the power to do so.
• Micah 3:2but you are the very ones who hate good and love evil. You skin my people alive and tear the flesh from their bones.
• Micah 6:10What shall I say about the homes of the wicked filled with treasures gained by cheating? What about the disgusting practice of measuring out grain with dishonest measures?
• Micah 7:2The godly people have all disappeared; not one honest person is left on the earth. They are all murderers, setting traps even for their own brothers.
• Zephaniah 3:1What sorrow awaits rebellious, polluted Jerusalem, the city of violence and crime!
• Zechariah 5:3Then he said to me, “This scroll contains the curse that is going out over the entire land. One side of the scroll says that those who steal will be banished from the land; the other side says that those who swear falsely will be banished from the land.
• Zechariah 7:9“This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: Judge fairly, and show mercy and kindness 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