Hosea 4:14
in Hosea 4I will not punish your daughters when they prostitute themselves, nor your daughters-in-law when they commit adultery. For the men themselves go off with prostitutes and offer sacrifices with shrine prostitutes. So a people without understanding will come to ruin.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
I will not punish your daughters when they play the harlot, nor your brides when they commit adultery; for the men themselves go apart with harlots, and they sacrifice with the prostitutes; and the people that doth not understand shall be overthrown.
KJV
I will not punish your daughters when they commit whoredom, nor your spouses when they commit adultery: for themselves are separated with whores, and they sacrifice with harlots: therefore the people that doth not understand shall fall.
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This verse in Hosea 4
Commentary
9 notes on this verse"Therefore, your daughters will prostitute themselves, and your daughters-in-law will commit adultery. I will not punish your daughters when they fornicate or your daughters-in-law when they commit adultery, because they themselves consorted with prostitutes and offered sacrifices with effeminate men, and the people who do not understand will be punished." LXX: "Therefore your daughters will prostitute themselves, and your brides will commit adultery; I will not punish them for prostitution nor for adultery, because they went to prostitutes and arranged pagan temple rites with sacred prostitutes; a senseless people they are."
This site's exposition
Whoredom and wine and new wine
on Hosea 4:11-14
Whoredom and wine and new wine take away the heart, the three named together as what dulls a people's capacity to know God, and the note carries the physical wording (whoredom, harlots) as the text's own idiom for covenant unfaithfulness under the gracious rule, never applied to any living people. The people ask counsel of wooden stocks and staffs, a spirit of whoredoms leading them astray from under their God, sacrificing on the hilltops under shady trees because the shade is pleasant, the older writers noting the appeal of convenience over the temple's harder road. Because the fathers' cultic prostitution corrupted the daughters and wives in turn, the Lord will not single out the young women for punishment, since the whole household shares the same collapse, the people without understanding brought down together.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
And when these things occur, he says, I will remain calm, and I will not lay charges. Because of the misfortunes of the war and the troubles of the captivity, it seems right that all that will happen be predicted to the sinners. For they who once captured and overcame others will do with the captives as they like, making use of power without bridle and shamelessly attacking whomever they please, neither taking into account the law or considering what is likely or proper. But hardened and extremely wild in soul, they refuse to refrain from any kind of wretchedness. Therefore he clearly showed that the young children will be exposed to enemies because of the insult and shameless conduct of the fornicators.
Hear what he says through the prophet. When he had enumerated abominable things that the people had committed, he adds these words also: "And for this reason I will not visit your daughters when they fornicate, nor your daughters-in-law when they commit adultery." This is terrible! This is the outcome when we are no longer reproached for sins, when we offend and are no longer corrected. For then, when we have exceeded the measure of sinning "the jealous God" turns his jealousy away from us, as he said above, "For my jealousy will be removed from you, and I will no longer be angry over you." I have said these things about the statement "God is jealous."
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
I will not punish your daughters when they commit whoredoms, nor your spouses when they commit adultery,.... Either not punish them at all, so that they shall go on in sin, and to a greater degree, to the disgrace and reproach of their parents and husbands; or not as yet, or not so severely in them, because it was by their example they were led into it. Jarchi's note is very impertinent, that God threatens them with the disuse of the bitter waters of jealousy.
): I will not punish your daughters; and, not being punished for their sin, they would go on in it. Note, The impunity of one sinner is sometimes made the punishment of another. Or, " I will not punish them as I will punish you; for you must own, as Judah did concerning his daughter-in-law, that they are more righteous than you, " Gen. xxxviii.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
Nor your spouses - I will give them up to their own hearts. For themselves - The husband and fathers are examples to their wives and daughters. Therefore the people - The sottish ignorant people, that know not God.
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
I will not punish - Why should you be stricken any more; ye will revolt more and more. When God, in judgment, removes his judgments, the case of that people is desperate. While there is hope, there is correction. Themselves are separated - There is a reference here to certain debaucheries which should not be described.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
I will not punish your daughters - God threatens, as the severest woe, that He will not punish their sins with the correction of a Father in this present life, but will leave the sinners, unheeded, to follow all iniquity. It is the last punishment of persevering stoners, that God leaves them to prosper in their sins and in those things which help them to sin. Hence, we are taught to pray, “O Lord, correct me, but in judgment, not in Thine anger” Jer 10:24. For since God chastiseth those whom He loveth, it follows, “if we be without chasetisement, whereof all are partakers, then are we bastards, and not sons” Heb 12:8. To be chastened severely for lesser sins, is a token of great love of God toward us; to sin on without punishment is a token of God’s extremest displeasure, and a sign of reprobation. : “Great is the offence, if, when thou hast sinned, thou art undeserving of the wrath of God.” For themselves are separated with whores - God turns from them as unworthy to be spoken to anymore, and speaks of them, They “separate themselves,” from whom? and with whom? They separate themselves “from” God, and with the degraded ones and “with” devils. Yet so do all those who choose willful sin. And they sacrifice - (continually, as before) with (the) harlots The unhappy women here spoken of were such as were “consecrated” (as their name imports) to their vile gods and goddesses, and to prostitution. This dreadful consecration, yea desecration, whereby they were taught to seek honor in their disgrace, was spread in different forms over Phoenicia, Syria, Phrygia, Assyria, Babylonia. Ashtaroth, (the Greek Astarte) was its chief object. This horrible worship prevailed in Midian, when Israel was entering the promised land, and it suggested the devilish device of Balaam Num. 25; Num 31:8, Num 31:16 to entangle Israel in sin whereby they might forfeit the favor of God. […]
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
I will not punish your daughters anymore, to test them with the ‘bitter waters’ should they commit adultery. Why? Because their husbands join with harlots; for once the man is not free of sin, the waters do not test his wife. [based on Sifrei Num.:82 and Sotah 47a]
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
oaks kיsna (chיna) in old French, upon which grows a fruit called ‘glant’ in old French (acorns).
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. 4 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
22 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| לֹֽא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| אֶפְק֨וֹד | ʾefkod | I will visit [judgment] | H6485 → | 303 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| בְּנוֹתֵיכֶ֜ם | benoteikhem | daughters your | H1323 → | 588 times |
| כִּ֣י | ki | if | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| תִזְנֶ֗ינָה | tizneinah | they prostitute themselves | H2181 → | 94 times |
| וְעַל־ | veal- | and on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| כַּלּֽוֹתֵיכֶם֙ | kaloteikhem | brides your | H3618 → | |
| כִּ֣י | ki | if | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| תְנָאַ֔פְנָה | tenaafnah | they commit adultery | H5003 → | 31 times |
| כִּי־ | ki- | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| הֵם֙ | hem | they [masc] | H1992 → | 553 times |
| עִם־ | ʾim- | with | H5973 → | 1050 times |
| הַזֹּנ֣וֹת | hazonot | the prostitutes | H2181 → | 94 times |
| יְפָרֵ֔דוּ | yefaredu | they go apart | H6504 → | |
| וְעִם־ | veim- | and with | H5973 → | 1050 times |
| הַקְּדֵשׁ֖וֹת | hakedeshot | the cult prostitutes | H6948 → | |
| יְזַבֵּ֑חוּ | yezabechu | they sacrifice | H2076 → | 134 times |
| וְעָ֥ם | veam | and a people | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| לֹֽא־ | lo'- | [which] not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יָבִ֖ין | yavin | it understands | H995 → | 170 times |
| יִלָּבֵֽט׃ | yilavet | it will be ruined | H3832 → |
לֹֽא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
אֶפְק֨וֹדI will visit [judgment]
ʾefkodH6485 →303 times
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
בְּנוֹתֵיכֶ֜םdaughters your
benoteikhemH1323 →588 times
כִּ֣יif
kiH3588 →4482 times
תִזְנֶ֗ינָהthey prostitute themselves
tizneinahH2181 →94 times
וְעַל־and on
veal-H5921 →5755 times
כַּלּֽוֹתֵיכֶם֙brides your
kaloteikhemH3618 →
כִּ֣יif
kiH3588 →4482 times
תְנָאַ֔פְנָהthey commit adultery
tenaafnahH5003 →31 times
כִּי־for
ki-H3588 →4482 times
הֵם֙they [masc]
hemH1992 →553 times
עִם־with
ʾim-H5973 →1050 times
הַזֹּנ֣וֹתthe prostitutes
hazonotH2181 →94 times
יְפָרֵ֔דוּthey go apart
yefareduH6504 →
וְעִם־and with
veim-H5973 →1050 times
הַקְּדֵשׁ֖וֹתthe cult prostitutes
hakedeshotH6948 →
יְזַבֵּ֑חוּthey sacrifice
yezabechuH2076 →134 times
וְעָ֥םand a people
veamH5971 →1873 times
לֹֽא־[which] not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
יָבִ֖יןit understands
yavinH995 →170 times
יִלָּבֵֽט׃it will be ruined
yilavetH3832 →
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
Ephesians 4:18They are darkened in their understanding and alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardness of their hearts.
it leads to
- Matthew 13:15
For this people’s heart has grown callous; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts,…
- Ephesians 2:12
remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world.
- Romans 1:21–23
For although they knew God, they neither glorified Him as God nor gave thanks to Him, but they became futile in their thinking and darkened in their foolish hearts.
- John 12:40
“He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts, so that they cannot see with their eyes, and understand with their hearts, and turn, and I would heal them.”
- Matthew 13:15
Through
1 Corinthians 6:16Or don’t you know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body? For it is said, “The two will become one flesh.”
it leads to
- Genesis 2:24
For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.
- Ephesians 5:31
“For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.”
- Mark 10:8
and the two will become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two, but one flesh.
- Genesis 2:24
Through
Hebrews 12:8If you do not experience discipline like everyone else, then you are illegitimate children and not true sons.
it leads to
- Hebrews 12:6
For the Lord disciplines the one He loves, and He chastises every son He receives.”
- Hebrews 12:6
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Hosea
This page draws on 10 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); Cyril of Alexandria, COMMENTARY ON HOSEA 3:46; Edward Bouverie Pusey, The Minor Prophets: A Commentary; Jerome, Commentary on Hosea 4:14; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Origen of Alexandria, HOMILIES ON EXODUS 8.