In the house of Israel I have seen a horrible thing: Ephraim practices prostitution there, and Israel is defiled.
Parallel translations
- WEB In the house of Israel I have seen a horrible thing. There is prostitution in Ephraim. Israel is defiled.
- KJV I have seen an horrible thing in the house of Israel: there is the whoredom of Ephraim, Israel is defiled.
- NKJV I have seen a horrible thing in the house of Israel: There is the harlotry of Ephraim; Israel is defiled.
- NASB In the house of Israel I have seen a horrible thing; Ephraim’s infidelity is there, Israel has defiled itself.
- NLT Yes, I have seen something horrible in Ephraim and Israel: My people are defiled by prostituting themselves with other gods!
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
In Israel's house God has seen a horrible thing: Ephraim's spiritual prostitution has defiled the whole nation.
Overview
God describes Israel's idolatry as spiritual harlotry that has rendered the nation defiled and abhorrent in His sight. The word "horrible" conveys God's revulsion at covenant betrayal dressed up in religious forms. Such defilement can only be cleansed by the gospel, where Christ purifies an unfaithful people to present them as His own.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- Hos 5:3I know all about Ephraim, and Israel is not hidden from Me. For now, O Ephraim, you have turned to prostitution; Israel is defiled.
- Ezek 23:5Oholah prostituted herself while she was still Mine. She lusted after her lovers, the Assyrians—warriors
- Jer 5:30–31A horrible and shocking thing has happened in the land.
- Jer 23:14And among the prophets of Jerusalem I have seen a horrible thing: They commit adultery and walk in lies. They strengthen the hands of evildoers, so that no one turns his back on wickedness. They are all like Sodom to Me; the people of Jerusalem are like Gomorrah.”
- 2 Kgs 17:7All this happened because the people of Israel had sinned against the LORD their God, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt from under the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. They had worshiped other gods
- Jer 18:13Therefore this is what the LORD says: “Inquire among the nations: Who has ever heard things like these? Virgin Israel has done a most terrible thing.
- Jer 3:6Now in the days of King Josiah, the LORD said to me, “Have you seen what faithless Israel has done? She has gone up on every high hill and under every green tree to prostitute herself there.
- 1 Kgs 12:8But Rehoboam rejected the advice of the elders; instead, he consulted the young men who had grown up with him and served him.
- Jer 2:12–13Be stunned by this, O heavens; be shocked and utterly appalled,” declares the LORD.
- 1 Kgs 15:30because of the sins Jeroboam had committed and had caused Israel to commit, and because he had provoked the LORD, the God of Israel, to anger.
- Hos 4:17Ephraim is joined to idols; leave him alone!
- Hos 4:11Promiscuity, wine, and new wine take away understanding.
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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 6:10 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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