And I will not have mercy upon her children; for they be the children of whoredoms.
Parallel translations
- WEB Indeed, on her children I will have no mercy; for they are children of unfaithfulness;
- BSB I will have no compassion on her children, because they are the children of adultery.
- NKJV “I will not have mercy on her children, For they are the children of harlotry.
- NASB “Also, I will take no pity on her children, Because they are children of infidelity.
- NLT And I will not love her children, for they were conceived in prostitution.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
God says He will withhold mercy from the children because they share in the nation's unfaithfulness. No one is exempt from the consequences of corporate sin.
Overview
The 'children of unfaithfulness' represent a generation shaped by idolatry, not innocent bystanders. Their condition reflects how sin spreads through a people and across generations. Yet this verse, like the surrounding judgment, sits within a book that ultimately moves toward restored mercy, reminding readers that God's discipline aims at recovery and that grace can break even inherited patterns of rebellion.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 14
- Jer 13:14And I will dash them one against another, even the fathers and the sons together, saith the LORD: I will not pity, nor spare, nor have mercy, but destroy them.
- Hos 1:2The beginning of the word of the LORD by Hosea. And the LORD said to Hosea, Go, take unto thee a wife of whoredoms and children of whoredoms: for the land hath committed great whoredom, departing from the LORD.
- Ezek 8:18Therefore will I also deal in fury: mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity: and though they cry in mine ears with a loud voice, yet will I not hear them.
- Jas 2:13For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment.
- Ezek 9:10And as for me also, mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity, but I will recompense their way upon their head.
- Jer 16:5For thus saith the LORD, Enter not into the house of mourning, neither go to lament nor bemoan them: for I have taken away my peace from this people, saith the LORD, even lovingkindness and mercies.
- Hos 1:6And she conceived again, and bare a daughter. And God said unto him, Call her name Loruhamah: for I will no more have mercy upon the house of Israel; but I will utterly take them away.
- Isa 57:3But draw near hither, ye sons of the sorceress, the seed of the adulterer and the whore.
- Rom 11:22Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off.
- Isa 27:11When the boughs thereof are withered, they shall be broken off: the women come, and set them on fire: for it is a people of no understanding: therefore he that made them will not have mercy on them, and he that formed them will shew them no favour.
- John 8:41Ye do the deeds of your father. Then said they to him, We be not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God.
- 2 Kgs 9:22And it came to pass, when Joram saw Jehu, that he said, Is it peace, Jehu? And he answered, What peace, so long as the whoredoms of thy mother Jezebel and her witchcrafts are so many?
- Rom 9:18Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth.
- Zech 1:12Then the angel of the LORD answered and said, O LORD of hosts, how long wilt thou not have mercy on Jerusalem and on the cities of Judah, against which thou hast had indignation these threescore and ten years?
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
God's relentless love for an unfaithful bride dramatizes the gospel: 'Out of Egypt I called my son' is fulfilled in Jesus, who redeems an adulterous people at his own cost.
How Hosea 2:4 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.