They haven’t cried to me with their heart, but they howl on their beds. They assemble themselves for grain and new wine. They turn away from me.
Parallel translations
- KJV And they have not cried unto me with their heart, when they howled upon their beds: they assemble themselves for corn and wine, and they rebel against me.
- BSB They do not cry out to Me from their hearts when they wail upon their beds. They slash themselves for grain and new wine, but turn away from Me.
- NKJV They did not cry out to Me with their heart When they wailed upon their beds. “They assemble together for grain and new wine, They rebel against Me;
- NASB And they do not cry to Me from their heart When they wail on their beds; For the sake of grain and new wine they assemble themselves, They turn against Me.
- NLT They do not cry out to me with sincere hearts. Instead, they sit on their couches and wail. They cut themselves, begging foreign gods for grain and new wine, and they turn away from me.
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
They do not cry to God from the heart but wail on their beds, gathering for grain and wine while turning away from Him.
Overview
Their religion is self-interested, focused on material blessings of grain and new wine rather than true devotion. Their cries are not heartfelt repentance but the howling of those seeking provision, possibly in pagan fertility rites. God exposes worship aimed at gain rather than at Him, calling instead for the sincere heart that the gospel creates.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 18
- Job 35:9–10“By reason of the multitude of oppressions they cry out. They cry for help by reason of the arm of the mighty.
- Jas 4:3You ask, and don’t receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it for your pleasures.
- Jer 3:10Yet for all this her treacherous sister, Judah, has not returned to me with her whole heart, but only in pretense,” says Yahweh.
- Ps 78:34–37When he killed them, then they inquired after him. They returned and sought God earnestly.
- Zech 7:5“Speak to all the people of the land, and to the priests, saying, ‘When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and in the seventh month for these seventy years, did you at all fast to me, really to me?
- Mic 2:11If a man walking in a spirit of falsehood lies: “I will prophesy to you of wine and of strong drink”; he would be the prophet of this people.
- Phil 3:19whose end is destruction, whose god is the belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who think about earthly things.
- Amos 2:8and they lay themselves down beside every altar on clothes taken in pledge; and in the house of their God they drink the wine of those who have been fined.
- Isa 29:13The Lord said, “Because this people draws near with their mouth and with their lips to honor me, but they have removed their heart far from me, and their fear of me is a commandment of men which has been taught;
- Isa 65:14Behold, my servants will sing for joy of heart, but you will cry for sorrow of heart, and will wail for anguish of spirit.
- Judg 9:27They went out into the field, harvested their vineyards, trod the grapes, held festival, and went into the house of their god, and ate and drank, and cursed Abimelech.
- Rom 16:18For those who are such don’t serve our Lord, Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by their smooth and flattering speech, they deceive the hearts of the innocent.
- Hos 3:1Yahweh said to me, “Go again, love a woman loved by another, and an adulteress, even as Yahweh loves the children of Israel, though they turn to other gods, and love cakes of raisins.”
- Exod 32:6They rose up early on the next day, and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play.
- Amos 8:3The songs of the temple will be wailings in that day,” says the Lord Yahweh. “The dead bodies will be many. In every place they will throw them out with silence.
- Jas 5:1Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries that are coming on you.
- Hos 13:16Samaria will bear her guilt; for she has rebelled against her God. They will fall by the sword. Their infants will be dashed in pieces, and their pregnant women will be ripped open.”
- Isa 52:5“Now therefore, what do I do here,” says Yahweh, “seeing that my people are taken away for nothing? Those who rule over them mock,” says Yahweh, “and my name is blasphemed continually all day long.
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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 7:14 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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