They have been unfaithful to the LORD; for they have borne illegitimate children. Now the New Moon will devour them along with their land.
Parallel translations
- WEB They are unfaithful to Yahweh; for they have borne illegitimate children. Now the new moon will devour them with their fields.
- KJV They have dealt treacherously against the LORD: for they have begotten strange children: now shall a month devour them with their portions.
- NKJV They have dealt treacherously with the Lord, For they have begotten pagan children. Now a New Moon shall devour them and their heritage.
- NASB They have dealt treacherously with the Lord, For they have given birth to illegitimate children. Now the new moon will devour them with their land.
- NLT They have betrayed the honor of the Lord, bearing children that are not his. Now their false religion will devour them along with their wealth.
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
The people have been faithless to God and raised children in their unfaithfulness, so judgment will swiftly consume them. Betrayal of the covenant brings sure destruction.
Overview
By bearing 'illegitimate children,' Israel has not only sinned but propagated her unfaithfulness into the next generation, perpetuating idolatry. Their treachery against the Lord invites swift judgment, pictured as the new moon devouring them and their fields. The verse shows how covenant unfaithfulness corrupts families and communities, and how it ultimately calls down the consuming judgment of a holy God.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- Hos 6:7But they, like Adam, have transgressed the covenant; there they were unfaithful to Me.
- Ps 144:7Reach down from on high; set me free and rescue me from the deep waters, from the grasp of foreigners,
- Ps 144:11Set me free and rescue me from the grasp of foreigners, whose mouths speak falsehood, whose right hands are deceitful.
- Isa 48:8You have never heard; you have never understood; for a long time your ears have not been open. For I knew how deceitful you are; you have been called a rebel from birth.
- Jer 3:20But as a woman may betray her husband, so you have betrayed Me, O house of Israel,” declares the LORD.
- Hos 2:4I will have no compassion on her children, because they are the children of adultery.
- Ezek 12:28Therefore tell them that this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘None of My words will be delayed any longer. The message I speak will be fulfilled, declares the Lord GOD.’”
- Neh 13:23–24In those days I also saw Jews who had married women from Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab.
- Isa 59:13rebelling and denying the LORD, turning away from our God, speaking oppression and revolt, conceiving and uttering lies from the heart.
- Hos 2:11I will put an end to all her exultation: her feasts, New Moons, and Sabbaths—all her appointed feasts.
- Mal 2:11–15Judah has broken faith; an abomination has been committed in Israel and in Jerusalem. For Judah has profaned the LORD’s beloved sanctuary by marrying the daughter of a foreign god.
- Zech 11:8And in one month I dismissed three shepherds. My soul grew impatient with the flock, and their souls also detested me.
- Jer 5:11For the house of Israel and the house of Judah have been utterly unfaithful to Me,” declares the LORD.
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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 5:7 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.