Hosea 11:2
in Hosea 11But the more I called Israel, the farther they departed from Me. They sacrificed to the Baals and burned incense to carved images.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
The more the prophets called them, the more they went from them: they sacrificed unto the Baalim, and burned incense to graven images.
KJV
As they called them, so they went from them: they sacrificed unto Baalim, and burned incense to graven images.
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This verse in Hosea 11
Commentary
6 notes on this verse"Just as the morning passes, the king of Israel passes away: for Israel is a boy, and I have loved him, and I called my son out of Egypt: they called them: so they went from their presence: they sacrificed to Baalim, and offered sacrifices to idols." LXX: "They have cast off the morning, the king of Israel has been cast off, because Israel is a little one, and I have loved him, and have called his sons out of Egypt.
This site's exposition
They sacrificed to the Baals
on Hosea 11:2-4
The more the LORD called Israel, "the farther they departed from Me", and they turned to the Baals. Verses 3 and 4 turn tender: the LORD taught Ephraim to walk and took them in His arms. He led them "with cords of kindness, with ropes of love".
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
They were fond of idols, and worshipped them: They sacrificed to Baalim, first one Baal and then another, and burnt incense to graven images, though they were called to by the prophets of the Lord again and again not to do this abominable thing which he hated. Idolatry was the sin which from the beginning, and all along, had most easily beset them.
As they called them, so they went from them,.... That is, the prophets of the Lord, the true prophets, called Israel to the worship and service of God; but they turned a deaf ear to them, and their backs upon them; and the more they called to them, the further they went from them, and from the way of their duty; see Hos 11:
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
As they called them, so they went from them - The prophet changes his tone, no longer speaking of that one first call of God to Israel as a whole, whereby He brought out Israel as one man, His one son; which one call he obeyed. Here he speaks of God’s manifold calls to the people, throughout their whole history, which they as often disobeyed, and not disobeyed only, but went contrariwise. “They called them.” Whether God employed Moses, or the judges, or priests, or kings, or prophets, to call them, it was all one.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
As they called them--"they," namely, monitors sent by Me. "Called," in Ho 11:1, suggests the idea of the many subsequent calls by the prophets. went from them--turned away in contempt (Jer 2:27).
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
The more they called to them, the more they went away from them As much as the prophets call to teach them the good way, so did they turn their backs to run away from them.
2 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
and from Egypt I called My son through My prophets to cleave to My Torah. But what did they do?..
But I sent to train Ephraim, he took them etc. I sent a leader before them who would train them gently.
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
9 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| קָרְא֖וּ | kareu | they summoned | H7121 → | 733 times |
| לָהֶ֑ם | lahem | <to> them | ||
| כֵּ֚ן | ken | so | H3651 → | 771 times |
| הָלְכ֣וּ | halekhu | they went | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| מִפְּנֵיהֶ֔ם | mipeneihem | from before them | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| לַבְּעָלִ֣ים | labealim | to the Baals | H1168 → | 82 times |
| יְזַבֵּ֔חוּ | yezabechu | they sacrificed | H2076 → | 134 times |
| וְלַפְּסִלִ֖ים | velapesilim | and to the idols | H6456 → | |
| יְקַטֵּרֽוּן׃ | yekaterun | they made smoke ! | H6999 → | 116 times |
קָרְא֖וּthey summoned
kareuH7121 →733 times
לָהֶ֑ם<to> them
lahem
כֵּ֚ןso
kenH3651 →771 times
הָלְכ֣וּthey went
halekhuH1980 →1546 times
מִפְּנֵיהֶ֔םfrom before them
mipeneihemH6440 →2123 times
לַבְּעָלִ֣יםto the Baals
labealimH1168 →82 times
יְזַבֵּ֔חוּthey sacrificed
yezabechuH2076 →134 times
וְלַפְּסִלִ֖יםand to the idols
velapesilimH6456 →
יְקַטֵּרֽוּן׃they made smoke !
yekaterunH6999 →116 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
Acts 7:51You stiff-necked people with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit, just as your fathers did.
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 10:16
Circumcise your hearts, therefore, and stiffen your necks no more.
- Isaiah 63:10
But they rebelled and grieved His Holy Spirit. So He turned and became their enemy, and He Himself fought against them.
- Ephesians 4:30
And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, in whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.
- Jeremiah 4:4
Circumcise yourselves to the LORD, and remove the foreskins of your hearts, O men of Judah and people of Jerusalem. Otherwise, My wrath will break out like fire and burn with no one to…
- Leviticus 26:41
and I acted with hostility toward them and brought them into the land of their enemies—and if their uncircumcised hearts will be humbled and they will make amends for their iniquity,
- Deuteronomy 10:16
Through
Jeremiah 18:15Yet 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.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 6:16
This is what the LORD says: “Stand at the crossroads and look. Ask for the ancient paths: ‘Where is the good way?’ Then walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls.…
- Jeremiah 2:32
Does a maiden forget her jewelry or a bride her wedding sash? Yet My people have forgotten Me for days without number.
- Jeremiah 6:16
Through
Hosea 2:13I 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…
it leads to
- Judges 3:7
So the Israelites did evil in the sight of the LORD; they forgot the LORD their God and served the Baals and the Asherahs.
- Judges 3:7
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies13
On this verse
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); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Hosea 11:1-2; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.