Hosea 4:12

Linguistic Bible Translation from Source Texts

My people consult their wooden idols, and their staffs provide guidance for them. A spirit of prostitution has led them astray; they have been unfaithful under their God.

📖 Grammatical Analysis

Original Text

עַמִּי֙ בְּעֵצ֣וֹ יִשְׁאָ֔ל וּמַקְל֖וֹ יַגִּ֣יד ל֑וֹ כִּ֣י ר֤וּחַ זְנוּנִים֙ הִתְעָ֔ה וַיִּזְנ֖וּ מִתַּ֥חַת אֱלֹהֵיהֶֽם׃

Transliteration

ʿammî bə-ʿēṣô yišʾāl û-maqlô yaggîd lô kî rûaḥ zənûnîm hitʿâ wa-yiznû mi-ttaḥat ʾĕlōhêhem

Grammar Details

• *ʿammî*: noun + 1st person singular suffix - my people
• *bə-ʿēṣô*: preposition + noun + 3rd person masculine singular suffix - in/with his wood/wooden idol
• *yišʾāl*: imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular - he asks/inquires
• *û-maqlô*: conjunction + noun + 3rd person masculine singular suffix - and his staff/rod
• *yaggîd*: imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular, hiphil - it tells/informs/declares
• *lô*: preposition + 3rd person masculine singular suffix - to him
• *kî*: conjunction - for/because
• *rûaḥ*: noun, feminine singular construct - spirit of
• *zənûnîm*: noun, masculine plural - harlotries/prostitutions
• *hitʿâ*: perfect, 3rd person masculine singular, hiphil - it led astray
• *wa-yiznû*: conjunction + imperfect, 3rd person masculine plural - and they commit fornication
• *mi-ttaḥat*: preposition + preposition - from under
• *ʾĕlōhêhem*: noun, masculine plural + 3rd person masculine plural suffix - their God

Word Meanings

• *ʿēṣ*: wood/tree/wooden idol
• *šāʾal*: ask/inquire/request
• *maqqēl*: staff/rod/stick/divining rod
• *nāgad* (hiphil): tell/inform/declare/announce
• *rûaḥ*: spirit/wind/breath
• *zənûnîm*: harlotry/prostitution/unfaithfulness
• *tāʿâ* (hiphil): lead astray/cause to wander/mislead
• *mi-ttaḥat*: from under/from beneath

Other Translations

• King James Version 1769 (Standard Version)

  My people ask counsel at their stocks, and their staff declareth unto them: for the spirit of wredoms hath caused them to err, and they have gone a wring from under their God.

• KJV1611 – Modern English

  My people ask counsel from their wooden idols, and their staff declares to them, for the spirit of harlotry has caused them to err, and they have gone astray under their God.

• King James Version 1611 (Original)

  My people ask counsel at their stocks, and their staff declareth unto them: for the spirit of whoredoms hath caused them to err, and they have gone a whoring from under their God.

• American Standard Version with Strong's Numbers

  My people ask counsel at their stock, and their staff declareth unto them; for the spirit of whoredom hath caused them to err, and they have played the harlot, [departing] from under their God.

• King James Version with Strong's Numbers

  My people ask counsel at their stocks, and their staff declareth unto them: for the spirit of whoredoms hath caused them to err, and they have gone a whoring from under their God.

• Coverdale Bible (1535)

  My people axe councel at their stockes, their staffe must tell them. For an whorish mynde hath disceaued them, so yt they comitte fornicacion agaynst their God.

• Geneva Bible (1560)

  My people aske counsell at their stockes, and their staffe teacheth them: for the spirite of fornications hath caused them to erre, and they haue gone a whoring from vnder their God.

• Bishops' Bible (1568)

  My people aske counsell at their stockes, and their staffe teacheth them: for the spirite of fornication hath caused them to go astray, and they haue committed fornication against their God.

• Authorized King James Version (1611)

  ¶ My people ask counsel at their stocks, and their staff declareth unto them: for the spirit of whoredoms hath caused [them] to err, and they have gone a whoring from under their God.

• Webster's Bible (1833)

  My people consult with their wooded idol, And answer to a stick of wood. Indeed the spirit of prostitution has led them astray, And they have been unfaithful to their God.

• Young's Literal Translation (1862/1898)

  My people at its staff asketh and its rod declareth to it, For a spirit of whoredoms hath caused to err, And they go a-whoring from under their God.

• American Standard Version (1901)

  My people ask counsel at their stock, and their staff declareth unto them; for the spirit of whoredom hath caused them to err, and they have played the harlot, `departing' from under their God.

• American Standard Version (1901)

  My people ask counsel at their stock, and their staff declareth unto them; for the spirit of whoredom hath caused them to err, and they have played the harlot, [departing] from under their God.

• Bible in Basic English (1941)

  My people get knowledge from their tree, and their rod gives them news; for a false spirit is the cause of their wandering, and they have been false to their God.

• World English Bible (2000)

  My people consult with their wooden idol, and answer to a stick of wood. Indeed the spirit of prostitution has led them astray, and they have been unfaithful to their God.

• NET Bible® (New English Translation)

  They consult their wooden idols, and their diviner’s staff answers with an oracle. The wind of prostitution blows them astray; they commit spiritual adultery against their God.

Referenced Verses

• Jer 2:27 : 27 They say to a tree, ‘You are my father,’ and to a stone, ‘You gave birth to me.’ They have turned their backs to me and not their faces. Yet in their time of trouble, they will say, ‘Arise and save us!’
• Hos 5:4 : 4 Their deeds do not allow them to return to their God, for a spirit of prostitution is within them, and they do not know the Lord.
• Hab 2:19 : 19 Woe to him who says to wood, 'Awake!' or to silent stone, 'Arise!' Can it teach? Look, it is overlaid with gold and silver, yet there is no breath at all within it.
• Isa 44:18-20 : 18 They have no knowledge or understanding; their eyes are plastered over so they cannot see, and their hearts so they cannot understand. 19 No one considers in his heart, no one has the knowledge or insight to say, 'Half of it I burned in the fire; I also baked bread on its coals, roasted meat, and ate. Now, should I make an abomination of the rest? Should I bow down to a block of wood?' 20 He feeds on ashes. A deceived heart has led him astray, and he cannot save himself or say, 'Isn't there a lie in my right hand?'
• 2 Thess 2:9-9 : 9 The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with the workings of Satan, with all kinds of power, false signs, and wonders, 10 and with every kind of deceit targeting those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. 11 For this reason, God sends them a powerful delusion, so that they will believe the lie,
• Hos 9:1 : 1 Do not rejoice, Israel, like other nations, for you have been unfaithful to your God. You have loved the wages of a prostitute on every threshing floor of grain.
• Mic 2:11 : 11 If someone full of wind and deceit lies and says, 'I will preach to you about wine and strong drink,' that would be just the preacher for this people!
• Jer 3:1-3 : 1 If a man divorces his wife and she leaves him to marry another, should he take her back again? Wouldn't such a land become completely defiled? You have lived as a prostitute with many lovers—yet you want to return to me? declares the LORD. 2 Lift up your eyes to the barren heights and see. Where have you not been violated? By the roads you sat waiting for lovers, like a nomad in the desert. You have defiled the land with your prostitution and wickedness. 3 Therefore, the showers have been withheld, and no spring rains have fallen. Yet you have the brazen face of a prostitute; you refuse to show any shame.
• Jer 10:8 : 8 They are all senseless and foolish; their instruction comes from worthless idols.
• Ezek 16:1-9 : 1 The word of the LORD came to me, saying: 2 Son of man, make known to Jerusalem her abominations, 3 and say, ‘This is what the Lord GOD says to Jerusalem: Your ancestry and birth were in the land of the Canaanites—your father was an Amorite and your mother was a Hittite.’ 4 On the day you were born, your umbilical cord was not cut, nor were you washed with water to cleanse you; you were not rubbed with salt or wrapped in cloths. 5 No eye looked on you with pity to do any of these things for you, out of compassion. Instead, you were thrown out into the open field, for you were despised on the day you were born. 6 Then I passed by and saw you kicking about in your blood, and as you lay in your blood, I said to you, ‘Live!’ Yes, I said to you, ‘Live!’ 7 I made you grow like a plant of the field. You grew and became tall and reached the age of maturity. Your breasts were formed, and your hair grew, but you were still naked and bare. 8 Then I passed by you again and saw you, and behold, you were at the age for love. So I spread the corner of my garment over you and covered your nakedness. I made my vow to you, entered into a covenant with you, declares the Lord GOD, and you became mine. 9 Then I washed you with water and rinsed the blood from you and anointed you with oil. 10 I clothed you with embroidered garments, put sandals of fine leather on you, wrapped you in fine linen, and covered you with silk. 11 I adorned you with jewelry: I put bracelets on your wrists and a necklace around your neck. 12 I put a ring on your nose, earrings on your ears, and a beautiful crown on your head. 13 So you were adorned with gold and silver, and your garments were of fine linen, silk, and embroidery. You ate fine flour, honey, and oil, and you became exceedingly beautiful and advanced to royalty. 14 Your fame spread among the nations because of your beauty, for it was perfect through the splendor that I had bestowed on you, declares the Lord GOD. 15 But you trusted in your beauty and acted like a prostitute because of your fame. You lavished your acts of prostitution on every passerby, willing to be his. 16 You took your garments and made colorful high places for yourself, and on them, you committed prostitution. Such things should not have happened, nor should they occur. 17 You also took the fine jewelry made of gold and silver that I had given you, and you made male idols for yourself and engaged in prostitution with them. 18 You took your embroidered garments to cover them, and you presented my oil and incense before them. 19 Also, the food I provided for you–the fine flour, oil, and honey that I fed you–you set before them as a pleasing aroma. And so it was, declares the Lord GOD. 20 You even took the sons and daughters you bore to me and sacrificed them to the idols as food. Was your prostitution not enough? 21 You slaughtered my children and offered them up by making them pass through fire to these idols. 22 In all your detestable practices and prostitution, you did not remember the days of your youth when you were naked and bare, kicking about in your blood. 23 Woe! Woe to you, declares the Lord GOD, after all your wickedness. 24 You built yourselves a mound and made high places at every street corner. 25 At the head of every street, you built your high places. You degraded your beauty by spreading your legs to every passerby and multiplied your acts of prostitution. 26 You engaged in prostitution with your lustful neighbors, the Egyptians, and multiplied your acts of prostitution to anger me. 27 So now I have stretched out my hand against you and reduced your portion. I gave you over to the greed of your enemies, the daughters of the Philistines, who were ashamed of your lewd conduct. 28 You prostituted yourself with the Assyrians because you were never satisfied. Even after prostituting yourself with them, you were not satisfied. 29 You also multiplied your promiscuity in the land of Canaan and even with the Chaldeans, yet even with this, you were not satisfied. 30 ‘How weak is your heart,’ declares the Lord GOD, ‘that you do all these things, the actions of a brazen prostitute! 31 When you built your mounds at the head of every road and made your high places in every street, you were not like a prostitute, because you scorned payment. 32 You adulterous wife, who prefers strangers instead of her own husband! 33 All prostitutes receive gifts, but you give gifts to all your lovers. You bribe them to come to you from all around for your acts of prostitution. 34 So your prostitution is the opposite of others; you gave payment instead of receiving it, and no one pays you. You are the opposite. 35 Therefore, O prostitute, hear the word of the LORD. 36 This is what the Lord GOD says: Because you poured out your lust and exposed your nakedness in your promiscuity with your lovers and because of all your detestable idols and the blood of your children you gave to them, 37 therefore I am going to gather all your lovers with whom you found pleasure, those you loved as well as those you hated. I will gather them against you from every side, and I will expose your nakedness to them, so they may see all your shame. 38 I will sentence you to the punishment of women who commit adultery and shed blood. I will bring upon you the wrath and jealousy of my judgment. 39 I will deliver you into their hands, and they will tear down your mounds and demolish your high places. They will strip you of your clothes, take your fine jewelry, and leave you naked and bare. 40 They will bring a crowd against you, stone you to death, and cut you to pieces with their swords. 41 They will burn down your houses and execute judgment on you in the sight of many women. I will bring an end to your prostitution, and you will no longer pay fees to anyone. 42 Then my wrath against you will subside, and my jealousy will turn away from you. I will be calm and no longer angry. 43 Because you did not remember the days of your youth but enraged me with all these things, I will bring your conduct down upon your own head, declares the Lord GOD. Have you not committed lewdness in addition to all your other detestable acts? 44 Everyone who uses proverbs will use this proverb about you: ‘Like mother, like daughter.’ 45 You are a true daughter of your mother, who loathed her husband and her children. And you are a sister of your sisters, who loathed their husbands and their children. Your mother was a Hittite, and your father an Amorite. 46 Your elder sister was Samaria, who lived with her daughters to the north of you. Your younger sister was Sodom, who lived with her daughters to the south of you. 47 You not only followed their ways and acted according to their detestable practices but in a very short time, you became more depraved than they were in all your ways. 48 As surely as I live, declares the Lord GOD, your sister Sodom and her daughters did not do as you and your daughters have done. 49 Behold, this was the iniquity of your sister Sodom: pride, fullness of food, and abundant ease were hers and her daughters', but they did not strengthen the hand of the poor and needy. 50 They became haughty and committed abominations before me; therefore, I removed them as I saw fit. 51 Samaria did not sin as much as you did. You multiplied your abominations more than they did, and your actions have justified your sisters in comparison to all your abominations. 52 Now bear your disgrace as you have judged your sisters. Because your sins were more abominable than theirs, they appear more righteous than you. So, be ashamed and bear your disgrace, for you have justified your sisters. 53 But I will restore their captivity—the captivity of Sodom and her daughters, Samaria and her daughters, and I will restore your captivity along with theirs. 54 In order that you may bear your disgrace and feel ashamed for all you have done, as you console them. 55 Your sisters, Sodom and her daughters, and Samaria and her daughters, will return to their former state, and you and your daughters will return to your former state. 56 You did not even mention your sister Sodom during the days of your pride, 57 before your own wickedness was exposed, like the time you were taunted by the daughters of Aram and all her neighbors, and by the daughters of the Philistines, who looked down on you from every side. 58 You have borne the penalty of your lewdness and abominations, declares the LORD. 59 For this is what the Lord GOD says: I will deal with you as you have done, since you despised the oath by breaking the covenant. 60 Yet I will remember the covenant I made with you in the days of your youth, and I will establish an everlasting covenant with you. 61 Then you will remember your ways and be ashamed, when you receive your older and younger sisters. I will give them to you as daughters, but not because of your covenant. 62 I will establish my covenant with you, and you will know that I am the LORD. 63 So that you may remember and be ashamed, and never again open your mouth because of your disgrace, when I forgive you for all you have done, declares the Lord GOD.
• Ezek 21:21 : 21 Unite yourself for the blow, turn to the right, and move to the left, whichever direction your edges are appointed.
• Ezek 23:1-9 : 1 The word of the LORD came to me, saying: 2 Son of man, there were two women, daughters of the same mother. 3 They committed adultery in Egypt; in their youth, they acted unfaithfully. There, their breasts were fondled, and their virginity was violated. 4 Their names were Oholah, the elder, and Oholibah, her sister. They became mine and gave birth to sons and daughters. Their names represent Samaria as Oholah, and Jerusalem as Oholibah. 5 Oholah was unfaithful to me and lusted after her lovers—the Assyrians, who were near. 6 They were clothed in blue, governors and officials, all of them young and desirable men, skilled horsemen riding on horses. 7 She gave herself to them, all the elite of the Assyrians, and defiled herself with all the idols she lusted after. 8 She did not abandon the adulteries she began in Egypt, where men slept with her in her youth, fondling her virgin breasts and pouring out their lust upon her. 9 Therefore, I handed her over to her lovers, the Assyrians whom she lusted after. 10 They exposed her nakedness, seized her sons and daughters, and killed her with the sword. She became a byword among women, and they carried out judgment against her. 11 Her sister Oholibah saw this, yet she was even more corrupt in her lust, and her adulteries exceeded those of her sister. 12 She too lusted after the Assyrians—governors and officials nearby—elegantly clothed, skilled horsemen, and all young and desirable men. 13 I saw that she too was defiled; both had followed the same corrupt path. 14 But she went even further with her adulteries. She saw men carved on the walls, images of the Chaldeans portrayed in vermilion. 15 They were girded with belts at their waists, with flowing turbans on their heads. All of them looked like officers, resembling the men of Babylon, born in Chaldea. 16 As soon as she saw them, she lusted after them and sent messengers to them in Chaldea. 17 Then the Babylonians came to her, to her bed of love, and defiled her with their lust. After she was defiled by them, she turned away from them in disgust. 18 When she openly displayed her prostitution and exposed her nakedness, I turned away from her in disgust, just as I had turned away from her sister. 19 Yet she increased her prostitution, remembering the days of her youth when she prostituted herself in the land of Egypt. 20 She lusted after her lovers there, whose genitals were like those of donkeys and whose emission was like that of horses. 21 So you revisited the lewdness of your youth, when the Egyptians fondled your breasts and caressed your young bosom. 22 Therefore, Oholibah, this is what the Lord GOD says: 'I am about to stir up your lovers against you, those from whom you turned away in disgust, and I will bring them against you from every side— 23 the Babylonians and all the Chaldeans, Pekod, Shoa, and Koa, and all the Assyrians with them, handsome young men, governors and commanders, chariot soldiers, and men of renown, all mounted on horses. 24 They will come against you with weapons, chariots, and wagons, and with a vast army. They will take up shields, helmets, and armor against you on every side. I will hand you over to them for judgment, and they will punish you according to their laws. 25 I will direct my jealous fury against you, and they will deal with you in anger. They will cut off your nose and ears, and your survivors will fall by the sword. They will take your sons and daughters, and those who remain will be consumed by fire. 26 They will strip you of your clothes and take your beautiful jewelry. 27 So I will put an end to your lewdness and your prostitution, which you brought from the land of Egypt. You will not look longingly at them again or remember Egypt anymore. 28 For this is what the Sovereign LORD says: 'I am about to deliver you into the hands of those you hate, into the hands of those you turned away from in disgust.' 29 They will deal with you in hatred, take away all you have worked for, and leave you naked and bare. The shame of your prostitution will be exposed—your lewdness and promiscuity. 30 These things will be done to you because you prostituted yourself to the nations, defiling yourself with their idols. 31 You have followed in the path of your sister; therefore, I will put her cup into your hand. 32 This is what the Sovereign LORD says: 'You will drink your sister’s cup, a cup deep and wide. It will bring scorn and ridicule, as it holds much to bear.' 33 It will be a cup filled with drunkenness and sorrow, a cup of horror and desolation, the cup of your sister Samaria. 34 You will drink it and drain it dry, and then gnaw on its broken pieces and tear your breasts. For I have spoken, declares the Sovereign LORD. 35 Therefore this is what the Sovereign LORD says: 'Because you have forgotten me and thrust me behind your back, you must also bear the consequences of your lewdness and prostitution.' 36 The LORD said to me: 'Son of man, will you judge Oholah and Oholibah? Then confront them with their abominations.' 37 For they have committed adultery and blood is on their hands. They committed adultery with their idols; they even sacrificed their children, whom they bore to me, passing them through the fire as food for their idols. 38 They have also done this to me: On the same day they defiled my sanctuary and desecrated my Sabbaths. 39 When they slaughtered their children as sacrifices to their idols, they came to my sanctuary on the same day to desecrate it. See, this is what they have done in my house. 40 Furthermore, they sent for men from far away, messengers were dispatched to them, and they came. You bathed yourself, painted your eyes, and adorned yourself with jewelry. 41 You sat on a glorious couch with a table prepared before it, where you placed my incense and my oil. 42 The sound of a carefree crowd was with her, and drunkards were brought from the desert. They put bracelets on their wrists and beautiful crowns on their heads. 43 Then I said about the one worn out by adultery, ‘Now they will continue their acts of fornication with her.’ 44 They went to her as men go to a prostitute. In the same way, they went to Oholah and Oholibah, the immoral women. 45 But righteous men will judge them for committing adultery and shedding blood, because they are adulteresses, and blood is on their hands. 46 For this is what the Sovereign LORD says: ‘Bring a great assembly against them and hand them over to terror and plunder.' 47 They will stone them and cut them down with their swords. They will kill their sons and daughters and burn down their houses with fire. 48 So I will put an end to lewdness in the land, so that all women may be warned and refrain from imitating your immoral ways. 49 You will bear the punishment for your lewdness and the sins of your idols. Then you will know that I am the Sovereign LORD.
• Lev 17:7 : 7 They must no longer offer their sacrifices to goat-demons, after whom they have been unfaithful. This is to be a lasting ordinance for them and for their descendants.
• Lev 20:5 : 5 then I will set my face against that man and his family, and I will cut off from their people both him and all who follow him in prostituting themselves to Molech.
• Num 15:39 : 39 These tassels will serve as a reminder. When you see them, you will remember all the commandments of the Lord and obey them. You will not follow the desires of your own heart and eyes, which lead you astray.
• Deut 31:16 : 16 The LORD said to Moses, 'Behold, you are going to rest with your ancestors, and this people will rise up and prostitute themselves to the foreign gods of the land they are entering. They will forsake me and break the covenant I made with them.'
• 2 Chr 21:13 : 13 But you followed the ways of the kings of Israel and led Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem into unfaithfulness, just as the house of Ahab led people into idolatry. You even killed your brothers, the members of your father's family, who were better than you.
• Ps 73:27 : 27 Those who are far from You will perish; You destroy all who are unfaithful to You.