Bible Strands
Hosea 5:4
Their deeds do not permit them to return to their God, for a spirit of prostitution is within them, and they do not know the LORD.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Yahweh speaks through the prophet to Ephraim and Israel during a confirmed period of covenant defilement. The address confronts the northern kingdom's active rebellion before Judah's parallel stumble is noted.
The words — ר֫וּחַ (Ruach) renders literally as "spirit," denoting the internal force compelling their behavior. The verb יִתְּנוּ (yittenû) means "they permit," showing their own actions actively block their return to God.
The thread — The "spirit of prostitution" motif appears in Hosea 4:12, where it drives idolatrous consultation. The link between knowing God and observable obedience is echoed in 1 John 2:3 and Jeremiah 9:24.
Why it lands — The text states that persistent sin creates an internal barrier that actively prevents repentance. It requires readers to recognize that their own deeds, not external circumstances, determine their capacity to know God.
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
They will not frame their doings to turn unto their God: for the spirit of whoredoms is in the midst of them, and they have not known the Lord.
Cross-references
- Hosea 4:12 My people consult their wooden idols, and their divining rods inform them. For a spirit of prostitution leads them astray and they have played the harlot against their God.
- 1 John 2:3 By this we can be sure that we have come to know Him: if we keep His commandments.
- Jeremiah 9:24 But let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the LORD, who exercises loving devotion, justice and righteousness on the earth—for I delight in these things,” declares the LORD.
- Jeremiah 22:15 Does it make you a king to excel in cedar? Did not your father have food and drink? He administered justice and righteousness, and so it went well with him.
- Jeremiah 24:7 I will give them a heart to know Me, that I am the LORD. They will be My people, and I will be their God, for they will return to Me with all their heart.
- Jeremiah 50:38 A drought is upon her waters, and they will be dried up. For it is a land of graven images, and the people go mad over idols.
- Hosea 4:1 Hear the word of the LORD, O children of Israel, for the LORD has a case against the people of the land: “There is no truth, no loving devotion, and no knowledge of God in the land!
- Hosea 4:6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I will also reject you as My priests. Since you have forgotten the law of your God, I will also forget your children.
- John 3:19 And this is the verdict: The Light has come into the world, but men loved the darkness rather than the Light because their deeds were evil.
- John 8:55 You do not know Him, but I know Him. If I said I did not know Him, I would be a liar like you. But I do know Him, and I keep His word.