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.
Parallel translations
- WEB Their deeds won’t allow them to turn to their God; for the spirit of prostitution is within them, and they don’t know Yahweh.
- KJV 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.
- NKJV “They do not direct their deeds Toward turning to their God, For the spirit of harlotry is in their midst, And they do not know the Lord.
- NASB Their deeds will not allow them To return to their God. For a spirit of infidelity is within them, And they do not know the Lord.
- NLT Your deeds won’t let you return to your God. You are a prostitute through and through, and you do not know the Lord.
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
Their sinful deeds keep them from returning to God, for a spirit of unfaithfulness controls them and they do not know Him. Sin has become a self-perpetuating bondage.
Overview
Israel's habitual sin has so gripped them that repentance has become difficult; their deeds 'won't allow them to turn.' The 'spirit of prostitution' within them and their failure to 'know Yahweh' reveal a heart enslaved to idolatry. The verse shows how sin entangles and blinds, hardening people against return to God. It points to humanity's need for God's gracious initiative to free and renew the heart, a deliverance fulfilled in Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 17
- Hos 4:12My 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 Jn 2:3–4By this we can be sure that we have come to know Him: if we keep His commandments.
- John 8:55You 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.
- John 16:3They will do these things because they have not known the Father or Me.
- 2 Th 2:11–12For this reason God will send them a powerful delusion so that they believe the lie,
- Hos 4:1Hear 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!
- John 3:19–20And 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.
- Jer 9:24But 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.
- Jer 24:7I 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.
- Jer 22:15–16Does 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.
- Hos 4:6My 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.
- Jer 50:38A 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.
- 1 Sam 2:12Now the sons of Eli were wicked men; they had no regard for the LORD
- Ps 36:1–4For the choirmaster. A Psalm of David, the servant of the LORD. An oracle is in my heart regarding the transgression of the wicked man: There is no fear of God before his eyes.
- Ps 78:8Then they will not be like their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation, whose heart was not loyal, whose spirit was not faithful to God.
- Jer 9:6You dwell in the midst of deception; in their deceit they refuse to know Me,” declares the LORD.
- Ps 9:10Those who know Your name trust in You, for You, O LORD, have not forsaken those who seek You.
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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 5:4 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
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