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

2And the revolters are profound to make slaughter, though I have been a rebuker of them all. 3I know Ephraim, and Israel is not hid from me: for now, O Ephraim, thou committest whoredom, and Israel is defiled. 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 Yhwh. 5And the pride of Israel doth testify to his face: therefore shall Israel and Ephraim fall in their iniquity; Judah also shall fall with them. 6They shall go with their flocks and with their herds to seek Yhwh; but they shall not find him; he hath withdrawn himself from them.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

• 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
• Yhwhיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068

Cross-references for Hosea 5:4

• Psalms 36:1The transgression of the wicked saith within my heart, that there is no fear of God before his eyes.
• Psalms 78:8And might not be as their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation; a generation that set not their heart aright, and whose spirit was not stedfast with God.
• John 3:19And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
• 2 Thessalonians 2:11And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:
• Hosea 4:12My people ask counsel at their stocks, and their staff declareth unto them: for the spirit of whoredoms hath caused them to err, and they have gone a whoring from under their God.
• Jeremiah 50:38A drought is upon her waters; and they shall be dried up: for it is the land of graven images, and they are mad upon their idols.
• Hosea 4:1Hear the word of Yhwh, ye children of Israel: for Yhwh hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land.
• 1 Samuel 2:12Now the sons of Eli were sons of Belial; they knew not Yhwh.
• Psalms 9:10And they that know thy name will put their trust in thee: for thou, Yhwh, hast not forsaken them that seek thee.
• Jeremiah 9:6Thine habitation is in the midst of deceit; through deceit they refuse to know me, saith Yhwh.
• Jeremiah 22:15Shalt thou reign, because thou closest thyself in cedar? did not thy father eat and drink, and do judgment and justice, and then it was well with him?
• Jeremiah 24:7And I will give them an heart to know me, that I am Yhwh: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God: for they shall return unto me with their whole heart.
• John 8:55Yet ye have not known him; but I know him: and if I should say, I know him not, I shall be a liar like unto you: but I know him, and keep his saying.
• John 16:3And these things will they do unto you, because they have not known the Father, nor me.
• 1 John 2:3And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep 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