Hosea 10:13
in Hosea 10You have plowed wickedness and reaped injustice; you have eaten the fruit of lies. Because you have trusted in your own way and in the multitude of your mighty men,
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Ye have plowed wickedness, ye have reaped iniquity; ye have eaten the fruit of lies; for thou didst trust in thy way, in the multitude of thy mighty men.
KJV
Ye have plowed wickedness, ye have reaped iniquity; ye have eaten the fruit of lies: because thou didst trust in thy way, in the multitude of thy mighty men.
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This verse in Hosea 10
Commentary
12 notes on this verse"You harvested impiety and iniquity; you consumed the fruit of lies." LXX: "Why are you silent about his impieties and injustices? You harvested the fruit of deceit." Against my will, I often find myself debating the nuances of the Hebrew language. For we do not merely repeat sentiments in the manner of rhetoricians, we construct words and rouse the admiration of our listeners or readers by means of our declamatory style. Instead, we strive to explain what is obscure, especially to those who are unfamiliar with the language of others.
This site's exposition
an heifer that is taught
on Hosea 10:11-13
Ephraim is as an heifer that is taught, and loveth to tread out the corn pictures the easiest labor an ox can do, unmuzzled and eating as it works (Deut 25:4), and the Lord now puts the yoke of harder labor on her fair neck, plowing rather than treading, discipline replacing an indulged ease. Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy turns the agricultural figure into a call to repentance, the harvest a man reaps matching exactly what he has sown, and it is time to seek the Lord names the window still open before verse 13's charge lands: ye have plowed wickedness, ye have reaped iniquity, the fruit of lies already gathered in.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
A commentator
Apostolic ConstitutionsCONSTITUTIONS OF THE HOLY APOSTLES 2:3.17 · Written before 380.
proposed
It is the bishop's duty not to be silent in the case of offenders but to admonish them, to exhort them, to wrestle them down, to afflict them with fastings, that so he may strike a pious dread into the rest. For he is called to bring up the children of Israel in piety. For the bishop must be one who discourages sin by exhortations, who sets a pattern of righteousness, who proclaims those good things that are prepared by God, and who declares that wrath which will come at the day of judgment, lest he neglect the field of God and increase its condemnation. To avoid this carelessness, hear that which is said by Hosea: "Why have you held your peace at impiety? You have reaped the fruit of lies."
"They ate the fruit of deception," namely, they had a useless and senseless hope. For the true fruit is the one that can save and help, the love toward God and the glory of righteousness. On the contrary, the false fruit would reasonably be considered impiety, for in the end it altogether descends to what is abominable.
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Eaten - Fed yourselves with vain hopes. In thy way - Their way was their idolatry. Mighty men - The next lie on which they lived was the wisdom and valour of their great men.
(2.) If we do our part, God will do his. If we sow to ourselves in righteousness --if we be careful and diligent to do our duty, in a dependence upon his grace--he will shower down his grace upon us, will rain righteousness, the very thing that those need most who are to sow in righteousness; for by the grace of God we are what we are.
You have done much to damn your souls; will you not undo it again, and do something to save them?" (5.) We never got any thing in the service of sin. They have ploughed wickedness (that is, they have done the drudgery of sin), and they have reaped iniquity, that is, they have got all that is to be got by it; they have carried it on to the harvest, and what the better?
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — odd-straight-quotes
5 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
8 The high places also of Aven, the sin of Israel, shall be destroyed: the thorn and the thistle shall come up on their altars; and they shall say to the mountains, Cover us; and to the hills, Fall on us. What the sins are which are here laid to Israel's charge, the national sins which bring down national judgment.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — verbatim-run:40w-of-60
Ye have ploughed wickedness,....
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
reaped iniquity--that is, the fruit of iniquity; as "righteousness" (Ho 10:12) is "the fruit of righteousness" (Job 4:8; Ga 6:7, 8). lies--false and spurious worship. trust in thy way--thy perverse way (Isa 57:10; Jer 2:23), thy worship of false gods.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
Ye have ploughed wickedness - Ye have labored sinfully. Ye have reaped iniquity - The punishment due to your iniquity. Ye have eaten the fruit of lies - Your false worship and your false gods have brought you into captivity and misery. Because thou didst trust in thy way - Didst confide in thy own counsels, and in thy mighty men, and not in the God who made you.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Ye have plowed wickedness - They not only did not that which God commanded, but they did the exact contrary. They cultivated wickedness. They broke up their fallow ground, yet to sow, not wheat, but tares.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
you have eaten fruit of lies You have received the retribution for your deeds.
2 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
Sow righteousness for yourselves But you have plowed wickedness etc.; therefore, a tumult shall rise in your people.
And a tumult shall rise in your peoples i.e., a voice shouting, “Flee! Flee!”
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 3 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
12 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| חֲרַשְׁתֶּם־ | charashtem- | you have plowed | H2790 → | |
| רֶ֛שַׁע | resha' | wickedness | H7562 → | |
| עַוְלָ֥תָה | ʾavlatah | injustice | H5766 → | |
| קְצַרְתֶּ֖ם | ketzartem | you have reaped | H7114 → | 49 times |
| אֲכַלְתֶּ֣ם | ʾakhaltem | you have eaten | H398 → | 810 times |
| פְּרִי־ | peri- | [the] fruit of | H6529 → | 119 times |
| כָ֑חַשׁ | khachash | lying | H3585 → | 6 times |
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| בָטַ֥חְתָּ | vatachta | you have trusted | H982 → | |
| בְדַרְכְּךָ֖ | vedarkekha | in own way your | H1870 → | 707 times |
| בְּרֹ֥ב | bero | in [the] multitude of | H7230 → | 149 times |
| גִּבּוֹרֶֽיךָ׃ | giboreikha | warriors your | H1368 → |
חֲרַשְׁתֶּם־you have plowed
charashtem-H2790 →
רֶ֛שַׁעwickedness
resha'H7562 →
עַוְלָ֥תָהinjustice
ʾavlatahH5766 →
קְצַרְתֶּ֖םyou have reaped
ketzartemH7114 →49 times
אֲכַלְתֶּ֣םyou have eaten
ʾakhaltemH398 →810 times
פְּרִי־[the] fruit of
peri-H6529 →119 times
כָ֑חַשׁlying
khachashH3585 →6 times
כִּֽי־for
ki-H3588 →4482 times
בָטַ֥חְתָּyou have trusted
vatachtaH982 →
בְדַרְכְּךָ֖in own way your
vedarkekhaH1870 →707 times
בְּרֹ֥בin [the] multitude of
beroH7230 →149 times
גִּבּוֹרֶֽיךָ׃warriors your
giboreikhaH1368 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Hosea 8:7For they sow the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind. There is no standing grain; what sprouts fails to yield flour. Even if it should produce, the foreigners would swallow it up.
it leads to
- Proverbs 22:8
He who sows injustice will reap disaster, and the rod of his fury will be destroyed.
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- Galatians 6:7
Do not be deceived: God is not to be mocked. Whatever a man sows, he will reap in return.
- Proverbs 22:8
Through
Job 4:8As I have observed, those who plow iniquity and those who sow trouble reap the same.
it leads to
- Galatians 6:7–8
Do not be deceived: God is not to be mocked. Whatever a man sows, he will reap in return.
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- Hosea 8:7
For they sow the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind. There is no standing grain; what sprouts fails to yield flour. Even if it should produce, the foreigners would swallow it up.
- Hosea 10:12–13
Sow for yourselves righteousness and reap the fruit of loving devotion; break up your unplowed ground. For it is time to seek the LORD until He comes and sends righteousness upon you like rain.
- Galatians 6:7–8
Through
Proverbs 22:8He who sows injustice will reap disaster, and the rod of his fury will be destroyed.
it leads to
- Job 4:8
As I have observed, those who plow iniquity and those who sow trouble reap the same.
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- Job 4:8
Through
Proverbs 1:31So they will eat the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices.
it leads to
- Proverbs 14:14
The backslider in heart receives the fill of his own ways, but a good man is rewarded for his ways.
- Jeremiah 6:19
Hear, O earth! I am bringing disaster on this people, the fruit of their own schemes, because they have paid no attention to My word and have rejected My instruction.
- Proverbs 14:14
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Hosea
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Apostolic Constitutions, CONSTITUTIONS OF THE HOLY APOSTLES 2:3.17; Cyril of Alexandria, COMMENTARY ON HOSEA 6:122; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Hosea 10:13; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.