Hosea 10:4 BSB — MannaFest

Hosea 10:4

They speak mere words; with false oaths they make covenants. So judgment springs up like poisonous weeds in the furrows of a field.

BSB

Parallel translations (2) ▾

ASV

They speak vain words, swearing falsely in making covenants: therefore judgment springeth up as hemlock in the furrows of the field.

KJV

They have spoken words, swearing falsely in making a covenant: thus judgment springeth up as hemlock in the furrows of the field.

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Commentary

4 voices

Jerome

Commentary on Hosea 10:3-4 (420)

Because now they will say, 'There is no king for us, for we did not fear the Lord, and what will the king do to us?' Speaking words of useless vision, and you will strike a covenant, and judgment will germinate like bitterness over the furrows of the field. "LXX: "Therefore now they will say, there is no king for us, because we did not fear the Lord, but what will the king do to us? Speaking words, false excuses: he will arrange a testament, and judgment will arise like grass over the desert of the field.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices

John Wesley

1703–1791

Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)

Swearing falsely - By perjury deceiving those they treated with. A covenant - With the Assyrian king. Judgment - Divine vengeance.

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

They swore falsely in making a covenant; they were deceitful in their covenanting with God, the covenant of circumcision, the fair promises they made of reformation when they were in distress; and no marvel if those that were false to their God were false to all mankind.

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible (1832)

They have spoken words - Vain, empty, deceitful words. Swearing falsely - This refers to the alliances made with strange powers, to whom they promised fidelity without intending to be faithful; and from whom they promised themselves protection and support, notwithstanding God was against them, and they knew it. All their words were vain, and in the end as bitter as gall. Judgment springeth up as hemlock - As our land lies without cultivation, so that we have nothing but noxious weeds instead of crops; so we have no administration of justice.

Voices on this verse

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Original language & word study

12 tagged words

Original	Transliteration	Meaning	Word study
דִּבְּר֣וּ	di.be.Ru	they have spoken	H1696 →
דְבָרִ֔ים	de.va.Rim	words	H1697 →
אָל֥וֹת	'a.Lot	they have sworn an oath	H422 →
שָׁ֖וְא	shav'	falsehood	H7723 →
כָּרֹ֣ת	ka.Rot	they have made	H3772 →
בְּרִ֑ית	be.Rit	a covenant	H1285 →
וּפָרַ֤ח	u.fa.Rach	and it sprouts up	H6524 →
כָּרֹאשׁ֙	ka.roSh	like <the> poisonous plant	H7219 →
מִשְׁפָּ֔ט	mish.Pat	justice	H4941 →
עַ֖ל	'al	on	H5921 →
תַּלְמֵ֥י	tal.Mei	[the] furrows of	H8525 →
שָׂדָֽי׃	sa.Dai	a field	H7704 →

Rare words are the text's own signal of a deliberate thread: the fewer the occurrences, the more the places it appears belong together.

The walk

The walk8

Where the connections lead

Follow this verse’s cross-references two steps out. Each card is a verse this one points to, and beneath it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several different paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it. Every stop shows its own words, and every stop is a page.

Through
Amos 5:7
There are those who turn justice into wormwood and cast righteousness to the ground.
leads to
- Amos 6:12
  “Do horses gallop on the cliffs? Does one plow the sea with oxen? But you have turned justice into poison and the fruit of righteousness into wormwood—
  Reached by 2 independent paths from here.
Through
Deuteronomy 29:18
Make sure there is no man or woman, clan or tribe among you today whose heart turns away from the LORD our God to go and worship the gods of those nations. Make sure…
leads to
- Hebrews 12:15
  See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God, and that no root of bitterness springs up to cause trouble and defile many.
- Deuteronomy 11:16–17
  But be careful that you are not enticed to turn aside to worship and bow down to other gods,
- Deuteronomy 13:1–15
  If a prophet or dreamer of dreams arises among you and proclaims a sign or wonder to you,
- Jeremiah 9:15
  Therefore this is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: “Behold, I will feed this people wormwood and give them poisoned water to drink.
Through
Amos 6:12
“Do horses gallop on the cliffs? Does one plow the sea with oxen? But you have turned justice into poison and the fruit of righteousness into wormwood—
leads to
- Amos 5:11–12
  Therefore, because you trample on the poor and exact from him a tax of grain, you will never live in the stone houses you have built; you will never drink the wine from the…
  Reached by 2 independent paths from here.
- Amos 5:7
  There are those who turn justice into wormwood and cast righteousness to the ground.
Through
Hosea 4:2
Cursing and lying, murder and stealing, and adultery are rampant; one act of bloodshed follows another.
leads to
- Hosea 6:9
  Like raiders who lie in ambush, so does a band of priests; they murder on the way to Shechem; surely they have committed atrocities.

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01Commentary

The record, by era

Voices on this verse

02Original language & word study

03The walk

Where the connections lead

04Related verses

05Featured studies on this passage

06About Hosea

The record, by era

Where the connections lead

Commentary

Original language & word study

The walk

Related verses

Featured studies on this passage

About Hosea