


Hosea 4:14
Bible Versions
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.
I will not punish {H6485} your daughters {H1323} when they commit whoredom {H2181}, nor your spouses {H3618} when they commit adultery {H5003}: for themselves are separated {H6504} with whores {H2181}, and they sacrifice {H2076} with harlots {H6948}: therefore the people {H5971} that doth not understand {H995} shall fall {H3832}.
I won't punish your daughters when they act like whores, or your daughters-in-law when they commit adultery; because the men are themselves going off with whores and sacrificing with prostitutes. Yes, a people without understanding will come to ruin."
I 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.
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.
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Hosea 4:1
¶ Hear the word of the LORD, ye children of Israel: for the LORD hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because [there is] no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land. -
John 8:43
Why do ye not understand my speech? [even] because ye cannot hear my word. -
2 Kings 23:7
And he brake down the houses of the sodomites, that [were] by the house of the LORD, where the women wove hangings for the grove. -
Romans 3:11
There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. -
1 Kings 15:12
And he took away the sodomites out of the land, and removed all the idols that his fathers had made. -
Isaiah 56:11
Yea, [they are] greedy dogs [which] can never have enough, and they [are] shepherds [that] cannot understand: they all look to their own way, every one for his gain, from his quarter. -
Hosea 14:9
Who [is] wise, and he shall understand these [things]? prudent, and he shall know them? for the ways of the LORD [are] right, and the just shall walk in them: but the transgressors shall fall therein.
Context of Hosea 4:14
Hosea, a prophet to the Northern Kingdom of Israel (Ephraim) in the 8th century BC, delivers a powerful message of judgment and ultimate restoration. Chapter 4 begins with God's indictment against Israel for a widespread moral and spiritual breakdown. The people have abandoned truth, mercy, and the knowledge of God (Hosea 4:1). This decay is evident in their rampant swearing, lying, murder, stealing, and adultery (Hosea 4:2). The priests, who should have been moral guides, are themselves complicit in the nation's spiritual prostitution (Hosea 4:6).
Meaning of Hosea 4:14
In this verse, God declares a shocking non-punishment: "I will not punish your daughters when they commit whoredom, nor your spouses when they commit adultery." This is not an act of leniency, but a profound statement of divine judgment through moral abandonment. God is essentially saying that the men of Israel – the fathers and husbands who should uphold righteousness and protect their families from corruption – have themselves become so deeply steeped in spiritual and literal immorality that they have forfeited any moral authority to condemn their own women. Their hypocrisy nullifies their right to judge.
The reason for this is explicitly given: "for themselves are separated with whores, and they sacrifice with harlots." This refers to the men's active participation in pagan idolatry, specifically the cultic prostitution associated with Baal worship and other fertility cults. These were not merely casual acts but ritualistic engagements where men "separated themselves" or "went apart" with temple prostitutes (harlots) as part of their false worship. By leading the way in such egregious sin, the men had lost their standing to enforce God's law upon their own households.
The verse concludes with the dire consequence: "therefore the people [that] doth not understand shall fall." This powerful statement directly links the nation's downfall to a profound lack of spiritual understanding and knowledge of God's covenant and character. Because the leaders and people failed to comprehend God's ways and the severe implications of their idolatry and immorality, they were destined for destruction. This echoes the earlier declaration that God's people are "destroyed for lack of knowledge" (Hosea 4:6).
Key Themes
Linguistic Insights
Practical Application
Hosea 4:14 serves as a timeless warning about the dangers of spiritual compromise and moral decay. For us today, it underscores several vital principles: