Hosea 5:4

Hosea 5:4 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)They will not frame their doings to turn unto their God: for the spirit of whoredoms is in the midst of them, and they have not known the Lord.
• New International Version (NIV)“Their deeds do not permit them to return to their God. A spirit of prostitution is in their heart; they do not acknowledge the Lord.
• English Standard Version (ESV)Their deeds do not permit them to return to their God. For the spirit of whoredom is within them, and they know not the Lord.
• New King James Version (NKJV)“They do not direct their deeds Toward turning to their God, For the spirit of harlotry is in their midst, And they do not know the Lord.

Context of Hosea 5:4

2You have dug a deep pit to trap them at Acacia Grove. But I will settle with you for what you have done. 3I know what you are like, O Ephraim. You cannot hide yourself from me, O Israel. You have left me as a prostitute leaves her husband; you are utterly defiled. Your deeds won’t let you return to your God. You are a prostitute through and through, and you do not know the Lord. 5“The arrogance of Israel testifies against her; Israel and Ephraim will stumble under their load of guilt. Judah, too, will fall with them. 6When they come with their flocks and herds to offer sacrifices to the Lord, they will not find him, because he has withdrawn from them.

Hosea 5:4 word by word

לֹ֤א יִתְּנוּ֙ מַ֣עַלְלֵיהֶ֔ם לָשׁ֖וּב אֶל־אֱלֹֽהֵיהֶ֑ם כִּ֣י ר֤וּחַ זְנוּנִים֙ בְּקִרְבָּ֔ם וְאֶת־יְהוָ֖ה לֹ֥א יָדָֽעוּ׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• They will not frameנָתַןnâthan · to give: allowH5414
• their doingsמַעֲלָלma‛ălâl · deedH4611
• to turnשׁוּבshûb · to return: returnH7725
• unto their Godאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
• for the spiritרוּחַrûach · spiritH7307
• of whoredomsזְנוּנִיםzânûn · fornicationH2183
• in the midstקֶ֫רֶבqereb · entrails: amongH7130
• of them, and they have not knownיָדַעyâda‛ · to knowH3045
• the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068

Cross-references for Hosea 5:4

• Psalms 36:1Sin whispers to the wicked, deep within their hearts. They have no fear of God at all.
• Psalms 78:8Then they will not be like their ancestors— stubborn, rebellious, and unfaithful, refusing to give their hearts to God.
• John 3:19And the judgment is based on this fact: God’s light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil.
• 2 Thessalonians 2:11So God will cause them to be greatly deceived, and they will believe these lies.
• Hosea 4:12They ask a piece of wood for advice! They think a stick can tell them the future! Longing after idols has made them foolish. They have played the prostitute, serving other gods and deserting their God.
• Jeremiah 50:38A drought will strike her water supply, causing it to dry up. And why? Because the whole land is filled with idols, and the people are madly in love with them.
• Hosea 4:1Hear 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.
• 1 Samuel 2:12Now the sons of Eli were scoundrels who had no respect for the Lord
• Psalms 9:10Those who know your name trust in you, for you, O Lord, do not abandon those who search for you.
• Jeremiah 9:6They pile lie upon lie and utterly refuse to acknowledge me,” says the Lord.
• Jeremiah 22:15But a beautiful cedar palace does not make a great king! Your father, Josiah, also had plenty to eat and drink. But he was just and right in all his dealings. That is why God blessed him.
• Jeremiah 24:7I will give them hearts that recognize me as the Lord. They will be my people, and I will be their God, for they will return to me wholeheartedly.
• John 8:55but you don’t even know him. I know him. If I said otherwise, I would be as great a liar as you! But I do know him and obey him.
• John 16:3This is because they have never known the Father or me.
• 1 John 2:3And we can be sure that we know him if we obey his commandments.

Commentaries on Hosea 5:4

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 4They will not frame their doings - They never purpose to turn to God, they have fully imbibed the spirit of idolatry.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 4They will not frame their doings … - They were possessed by an evil spirit, impelling and driving them to sin; “the spirit of whoredoms is in the midst of them,” i. e., in their very inward self, their center, so to speak; in their souls, where reside the will, the reason, the judgment; and so long as they did not, by the strength of God, dislodge him, they would and could not frame their acts, so as to repent and turn to God. For a mightier impulse…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 4Israel’s worship of idols was so deeply rooted that the people seemed unable to return to the Lord. the spirit of prostitution is within them: Israel’s sin was not only an action. It had become part of the nation’s basic character. The people naturally chose what was corrupt instead of what was pure. Only through God’s saving work could Israel be freed from this.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 44. They--Turning from a direct address to Ephraim, he uses the third person plural to characterize the people in general. The Hebrew is against the Margin, their doings will not suffer them" the omission of "them" in the Hebrew after the verb being unusual. The sense is, they are incurable, for they will not permit (as the Hebrew literally means) their doings to be framed so as to turn unto God. Implying that they resist the Spirit of God, not suffering…Read the comment

Topics related to Hosea 5:4

• Backsliders
• Blindness
• Impenitence
• Wicked (People)

In the dictionaries

• God
• god, false god, goddess, idol, idolater, idolatrous, idolatry
• Profound
• Rebuke
• Frame
• Hosea
• Zechariah, Book of

Commentaries on Hosea 5

• 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