Bible Strands
Hosea 4:15
Though you prostitute yourself, O Israel, may Judah avoid such guilt! Do not journey to Gilgal, do not go up to Beth-aven, and do not swear on oath, ‘As surely as the LORD lives!’
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The prophet delivers this warning following a declaration of judgment on Israel's sexual and religious immorality. He addresses both northern Israel and southern Judah, urging Judah to avoid Israel's guilt while forbidding both nations from traveling to specific cultic sites.
The words — The text uses זֹנֶה (zo.Neh), literally "[are] prostituting yourself," to describe Israel's unfaithfulness. It pairs this with יֶאְשַׁם (ye'.Sham), meaning "it become guilty," to warn Judah against sharing that specific legal and moral liability.
The thread — The condemnation of Gilgal appears in Hosea 9:15 and Hosea 12:11, while the pairing of Bethel and Gilgal recurs in Amos 4:4. These references consistently mark those locations as centers of corrupted worship rather than legitimate shrines.
Why it lands — The text commands Judah to physically and verbally separate from Israel's idolatrous practices at Gilgal and Beth-aven. It asks readers to recognize that covenant loyalty requires rejecting the very rituals and oaths that mask rebellion against the LORD.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
Though thou, Israel, play the harlot, yet let not Judah offend; and come not ye unto Gilgal, neither go ye up to Beth–aven, nor swear, The Lord liveth.
Cross-references
- Hosea 9:15 All their evil appears at Gilgal, for there I hated them. I will drive them from My house for the wickedness of their deeds. I will no longer love them; all their leaders are rebellious.
- Hosea 12:11 Is there iniquity in Gilead? They will surely come to nothing. Do they sacrifice bulls in Gilgal? Indeed, their altars will be heaps of stones in the furrows of the field.
- Amos 4:4 “Go to Bethel and transgress; rebel even more at Gilgal! Bring your sacrifices every morning, your tithes every three days.
- Amos 5:5 Do not seek Bethel or go to Gilgal; do not journey to Beersheba, for Gilgal will surely go into exile, and Bethel will come to nothing.
- Jeremiah 5:2 Although they say, ‘As surely as the LORD lives,’ they are swearing falsely.”
- Hosea 5:8 Blow the ram’s horn in Gibeah, the trumpet in Ramah; raise the battle cry in Beth-aven: Lead on, O Benjamin!
- Hosea 10:5 The people of Samaria will fear for the calf of Beth-aven. Indeed, its people will mourn over it with its idolatrous priests—those who rejoiced in its glory—for it has been taken from them into exile.
- Hosea 10:8 The high places of Aven will be destroyed—it is the sin of Israel; thorns and thistles will overgrow their altars. Then they will say to the mountains, “Cover us!” and to the hills, “Fall on us!”
- Amos 8:14 Those who swear by the guilt of Samaria and say, ‘As surely as your god lives, O Dan,’ or, ‘As surely as the way of Beersheba lives’—they will fall, never to rise again.”
- Ephesians 5:11 Have no fellowship with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them.