Hosea 2:13
in Hosea 2I will punish her for the days of the Baals when she burned incense to them, when she decked herself with rings and jewelry, and went after her lovers. But Me she forgot,” declares the LORD.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And I will visit upon her the days of the Baalim, unto which she burned incense, when she decked herself with her earrings and her jewels, and went after her lovers, and forgat me, saith Jehovah.
KJV
And I will visit upon her the days of Baalim, wherein she burned incense to them, and she decked herself with her earrings and her jewels, and she went after her lovers, and forgat me, saith the Lord.
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This verse in Hosea 2
Commentary
8 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
I will visit upon her the days of Baalim, or Baals - When men leave the one true God, they make to themselves many idols. They act, as if they could make up a god piece-meal out of the many attributes of the One God, and create their Creator. His power of production becomes one God; His power of destroying, another; His providence, a third; and so on, down to the very least acts.
This site's exposition
now will I discover her lewdness in the sight of her lovers
on Hosea 2:10-13
The judgment widens from provision to worship itself, her feast days, her new moons, and her sabbaths silenced along with the vines and fig trees she called my rewards that my lovers have given me, the commentators noting the bitter irony of gifts she attributed to Baal now turned into forest for wild beasts to strip. The days of Baalim visited upon her, the burning of incense, the earrings and jewels put on for her lovers, the whole apparatus of the fertility cult is named item by item rather than gestured at generally. The section closes on the charge that names the root of everything listed, and forgat me, saith the Lord, forgetfulness rather than ignorance now the explicit verdict.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
"And I will visit upon her the days of the Baals, wherein she burnt incense to them, and adorned herself with her earrings and her jewels, and went after her lovers: and she forgot me, saith the Lord." LXX: "And I will take vengeance upon her during the days of the Baals, when she sacrificed to them and adorned herself with her earrings and necklaces.
The Puritans and the Awakening4 voices
The days - The sins of those days. Of Baalim - Baal was the great idol of the ten tribes; here it is plural Baalim, to denote the multitude of idols which they worshipped, all called by this one name.
Wherewith they made Baal (so the margin reads it), that is, the image of Baal. Note, It is a very great dishonour to the God of heaven to make those gifts of his providence the food and fuel of our lusts which he gave us for our support in his service, and to be oil to the wheels of our obedience. How justly their plenty should be taken from them: " Therefore will I return;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — odd-straight-quotes
And, I will visit upon her the days of Baalim,....
Some think it may be translated, Afterwards, or nevertheless, I will allure her. It comes all to one; the design is plainly to magnify free grace to those on whom God will have mercy purely for mercy's sake. Now that which is here promised to Israel is, I.
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Days of Baalim - To visit signifies to inflict punishment; the days are taken for the acts of idolatrous worship committed on them; and Baalim means the multitude of false gods worshipped by them. Baal was a general name for a male idol, as Astarte was for a female. Baalim includes all the male idols, as Ashtaroth all those that were female. But the species of idol was often designated by some adjunct; as Baal-Zebub, Baal-Peor, Baal-Zephon, Baal-Berith, etc. Her earrings - נזמה nizmah, signifies rather a nose jewel. These are worn by females in the East to the present day, in great abundance. And her jewels - וחליתה vechelyatah, rings, armlets, bracelets, ankle-rings, and ornaments of this kind.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
and no man shall save her from My hand Even the merits of the Patriarchs have been depleted. [from Shabbath 55a]
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. 5 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
18 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וּפָקַדְתִּ֣י | ufakadti | and I will visit | H6485 → | 303 times |
| עָלֶ֗יהָ | ʾaleiha | on her | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| יְמֵ֤י | yemei | [the] days of | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| הַבְּעָלִים֙ | habealim | the Baals | H1168 → | 82 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֣ר | ʾasher | when | H834 → | 5497 times |
| תַּקְטִ֣יר | taktir | she made smoke | H6999 → | 116 times |
| לָהֶ֔ם | lahem | to them | ||
| וַתַּ֤עַד | vataad | and she ornamented herself | H5710 → | |
| נִזְמָהּ֙ | nizmah | ring[s] her | H5141 → | |
| וְחֶלְיָתָ֔הּ | vechelyatah | and jewelry her | H2484 → | |
| וַתֵּ֖לֶךְ | vatelekh | and she went | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| אַחֲרֵ֣י | ʾacharei | after | H310 → | 715 times |
| מְאַהֲבֶ֑יהָ | meahaveiha | lovers her | H157 → | 211 times |
| וְאֹתִ֥י | veoti | and <obj.> me | H853 → | 10935 times |
| שָׁכְחָ֖ה | shakhechah | she forgot | H7911 → | 102 times |
| נְאֻם־ | neum- | [the] utterance of | H5002 → | 376 times |
| יְהוָֽה׃ פ | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
וּפָקַדְתִּ֣יand I will visit
ufakadtiH6485 →303 times
עָלֶ֗יהָon her
ʾaleihaH5921 →5755 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
יְמֵ֤י[the] days of
yemeiH3117 →2304 times
הַבְּעָלִים֙the Baals
habealimH1168 →82 times
אֲשֶׁ֣רwhen
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
תַּקְטִ֣ירshe made smoke
taktirH6999 →116 times
לָהֶ֔םto them
lahem
וַתַּ֤עַדand she ornamented herself
vataadH5710 →
נִזְמָהּ֙ring[s] her
nizmahH5141 →
וְחֶלְיָתָ֔הּand jewelry her
vechelyatahH2484 →
וַתֵּ֖לֶךְand she went
vatelekhH1980 →1546 times
אַחֲרֵ֣יafter
ʾachareiH310 →715 times
מְאַהֲבֶ֑יהָlovers her
meahaveihaH157 →211 times
וְאֹתִ֥יand <obj.> me
veotiH853 →10935 times
שָׁכְחָ֖הshe forgot
shakhechahH7911 →102 times
נְאֻם־[the] utterance of
neum-H5002 →376 times
יְהוָֽה׃ פYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
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 13:6When they had pasture, they became satisfied; when they were satisfied, their hearts became proud, and as a result they forgot Me.
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 32:13–15
He made him ride on the heights of the land and fed him the produce of the field. He nourished him with honey from the rock and oil from the flinty crag,
- Deuteronomy 8:12–14
Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses in which to dwell,
- Deuteronomy 32:13–15
Through
Hosea 11:2But the more I called Israel, the farther they departed from Me. They sacrificed to the Baals and burned incense to carved images.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 18:15
Yet My people have forgotten Me. They burn incense to worthless idols that make them stumble in their ways, leaving the ancient roads to walk on rutted bypaths instead of on the highway.
- Isaiah 65:7
both for your iniquities and for those of your fathers,” says the LORD. “Because they burned incense on the mountains and scorned Me on the hills, I will measure into their laps full payment…
- Jeremiah 18:15
Through
Jeremiah 7:9Will you steal and murder, commit adultery and perjury, burn incense to Baal, and follow other gods that you have not known,
it leads to
- Exodus 20:3
You shall have no other gods before Me.
- Jeremiah 7:6
if you no longer oppress the foreigner and the fatherless and the widow, and if you no longer shed innocent blood in this place or follow other gods to your own harm,
- Jeremiah 11:13
Your gods are indeed as numerous as your cities, O Judah; the altars of shame you have set up—the altars to burn incense to Baal—are as many as the streets of Jerusalem.’
- Exodus 20:3
Through
Judges 3:7So the Israelites did evil in the sight of the LORD; they forgot the LORD their God and served the Baals and the Asherahs.
it leads to
- Exodus 34:13
Rather, you must tear down their altars, smash their sacred stones, and chop down their Asherah poles.
- Exodus 34:13
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Hosea
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jerome, Commentary on Hosea 2:13; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; 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.