Hosea 2:4 kjv
And I will not have mercy upon her children; for they be the children of whoredoms.
Hosea 2:4 nkjv
"I will not have mercy on her children, For they are the children of harlotry.
Hosea 2:4 niv
I will not show my love to her children, because they are the children of adultery.
Hosea 2:4 esv
Upon her children also I will have no mercy, because they are children of whoredom.
Hosea 2:4 nlt
And I will not love her children,
for they were conceived in prostitution.
Hosea 2 4 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Hos 1:6 | "And she conceived again, and bare a daughter. And [the Lord] said unto him, Call her name Lo-ruhamah: for I will no more have mercy..." | Prophetic name, 'No Mercy' on Israel |
| Hos 1:9 | "Then said [the Lord], Call his name Lo-ammi: for ye are not my people..." | Rejection as 'Not My People' |
| Hos 4:11-12 | "Whoredom and wine and new wine take away the heart. My people ask counsel..." | Idolatry consumes and leads astray |
| Jer 3:6-9 | "...harlotry. And though she has done all this, still her treacherous sister Judah did not fear, but she too went and played the harlot." | Israel and Judah's spiritual harlotry |
| Ez 16:15-19 | "...played the harlot with them. You also took your beautiful jewelry from my gold..." | Graphic depiction of Israel's spiritual prostitution |
| Ez 23:37 | "For they have committed adultery, and blood is on their hands..." | Spiritual adultery leading to bloodshed |
| Lev 20:5 | "...then I myself will set my face against that man and against his clan, and will cut them off from among their people..." | Consequences for idolatry/Molech worship |
| Num 14:18 | "The LORD is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love... but will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children..." | Generational consequences of sin |
| Exod 34:7 | "keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression... but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers..." | God's justice in generational sin |
| Deut 5:9 | "...visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me..." | Generational curse for hatred of God |
| Deut 31:29 | "For I know that after my death you will surely act corruptly and turn aside from the way..." | Foreknowledge of Israel's apostasy |
| Ps 78:57-58 | "But turned back and acted faithlessly like their fathers; they twisted like a deceitful bow. For they provoked him to anger with their high places..." | Repeated rebellion of Israel |
| Isa 1:4 | "Ah, sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, offspring of evildoers, children who deal corruptly!" | Israel depicted as corrupt offspring |
| Ez 18:20 | "The soul who sins will die. The son will not bear the guilt of the father... the righteousness of the righteous will be credited to them, and the wickedness of the wicked will be charged to them." | Individual accountability, contrasts group consequence |
| Jer 3:20 | "But as a treacherous wife leaves her husband, so have you been treacherous to me, O house of Israel..." | Treachery compared to an unfaithful wife |
| Isa 54:5 | "For your Maker is your husband, the LORD of hosts is his name..." | God as Israel's divine Husband |
| Hos 2:23 | "And I will sow her for myself in the land. And I will have mercy on Lo-ruhamah, and say to Lo-ammi, ‘You are my people’..." | Future hope of restored mercy and relationship |
| Rom 9:15-16 | "For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” So then it depends not on human will..." | God's sovereign right to grant mercy |
| 1 Pet 2:10 | "Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy." | Fulfillment of 'No Mercy/No People' reversed |
| Heb 4:1 | "Therefore, while the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us fear lest any of you should seem to have failed to reach it." | Warning against inheriting disobedience |
| Eph 5:11 | "Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them." | Call to avoid deeds of spiritual darkness |
| Jas 4:4 | "You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God?" | Friendship with world as spiritual adultery |
| 1 Cor 6:9-10 | "Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters..." | Warning against unrighteousness |
| Deut 28:15 | "But if you will not obey the voice of the LORD your God... then all these curses shall come upon you and overtake you." | Covenant curses for disobedience |
| Gal 6:7 | "Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap." | Reaping what is sown (individual/collective) |
Hosea 2 verses
Hosea 2 4 Meaning
Hosea 2:4 pronounces a severe judgment from God, declaring a complete withdrawal of His compassion from the children of Israel. This lack of mercy is justified by their nature as "children of whoredoms," a direct reflection of Israel's widespread spiritual unfaithfulness and idolatry. The verse underscores that the consequences of the nation's apostasy would extend to the next generation, embodying their parents' and their own continuation of covenant-breaking against Yahweh. It emphasizes a collective spiritual defilement that warranted divine rejection of compassion.
Hosea 2 4 Context
Hosea 2:4 appears in the prophetic book of Hosea, which vividly portrays Israel's spiritual unfaithfulness to God using the analogy of Hosea's own tumultuous marriage to Gomer, an unfaithful woman. In this specific verse, God, speaking through Hosea, states His decision to withhold compassion from Israel's children. This declaration is a direct continuation of the divine legal case presented in 2:2-3 against "her," which refers to Israel personified as Gomer. God vows to strip "her" of her "lover's" gifts (representing idolatrous gains from Baal worship), expose her shame, and bring desolation. Verse 4 explains that this judgment, particularly the withdrawal of mercy, extends to her offspring because they are "children of whoredoms"—not necessarily literally illegitimate in birth, but spiritually and morally corrupt, having adopted and perpetuated the nation's idolatrous ways. Historically, the Northern Kingdom of Israel, addressed by Hosea, was deeply immersed in Baal worship and other Canaanite religious practices, mixing them with the worship of Yahweh. This syncretism was viewed by God as spiritual harlotry, a breach of their covenant vows. The "children" therefore represent a generation deeply ingrained in this national apostasy.
Hosea 2 4 Word analysis
- And I will not have mercy:
- וְאֶת-בָּנֶיהָ (və'et-bānehā) - "and her children/sons." The prefix 'and' connects this statement to the preceding judgments against the "mother" (Israel/Gomer). "בָּנֶיהָ" (bānehā), 'her sons' or 'her children,' points to the offspring of the unfaithful nation, directly linked to her spiritual state.
- לֹא אֲרַחֵם (lō' 'araḥem) - "I will not have mercy/compassion." "לֹא" (lō') is a strong negative, denoting absolute denial. "אֲרַחֵם" ('araḥem) derives from the Hebrew root רחם (raḥam), meaning "to be compassionate," "to show mercy," often related to the deeply protective love of a parent, like the tenderness associated with a "womb" (rechem). This phrase directly echoes the symbolic name Lo-Ruhamah ("no mercy" or "not pitied") given to Hosea’s daughter in 1:6, underscoring God’s decided withdrawal of His deep covenantal tenderness towards Israel as a whole.
- upon her children: (covered in "And I will not have mercy")
- for they are:
- כִּי (kî) - "for," or "because." This particle introduces the justification or reason for the preceding declaration. God's action is not arbitrary but rooted in righteous cause.
- הֵמָּה (hemma) - "they" (emphatic). This plural pronoun strongly emphasizes the children themselves as the very individuals described by the subsequent phrase.
- the children of whoredoms:
- בְנֵי זְנוּנִים (vəney zənunim) - "children of whoredoms/harlotry." "בְנֵי" (vəney) means "sons of" or "children of." "זְנוּנִים" (zənunim) is a plural noun derived from זנה (zanah), meaning "to commit harlotry" or "prostitution." In biblical prophetic language, "זנה" (zanah) almost exclusively refers to spiritual infidelity – the act of abandoning Yahweh for other gods (idolatry) or other worldly attachments, effectively breaching the covenant relationship which is likened to a marriage. This is not referring to their biological paternity but their spiritual character and origin, signifying that they were a generation raised in, embodying, and perpetuating the spiritual harlotry of their nation. They are products of a system saturated with spiritual impurity.
Hosea 2 4 Bonus section
The severe language in Hosea 2:4 must be understood within the broader Hoseanic narrative, which ultimately moves towards a message of restoration and renewed mercy (e.g., Hos 2:23). God's "no mercy" (Lo-Ruhamah) in chapter 1 and here in 2:4 is not his final word for Israel. It reflects a necessary disciplinary phase where Israel must experience the full consequences of their actions to be purged of their idolatry and eventually turn back to Him. While Ezekiel 18:20 emphasizes individual accountability, Hosea's context often speaks of corporate solidarity and the ripple effects of collective sin. The children in Hosea 2:4 are not punished solely for the sins of their parents, but they bear the collective shame and consequences because they are continuing in that very sin. This also reflects the teaching that those born into a nation in covenant with God inherit covenant blessings for obedience but also covenant curses for disobedience.
Hosea 2 4 Commentary
Hosea 2:4 serves as a potent declaration of divine judgment. God states a decisive withdrawal of His compassionate regard for Israel's "children" because their very essence is defined by "whoredoms." This is not an arbitrary abandonment of the innocent but a response to Israel's deep-seated and generational idolatry. The "children of whoredoms" are not necessarily illegitimate by birth, but are a generation that has grown up in and become thoroughly characterized by the spiritual harlotry of their nation, actively participating in and inheriting the unfaithfulness of their parents. Their spiritual identity is bound up with this collective apostasy. This verse reveals the severity of God's response to covenant breaking, where the consequences of national sin affect even successive generations, leading to a state of being unworthy of His special mercy. It is a sobering reminder that widespread unfaithfulness inevitably leads to collective suffering, illustrating the natural outflow of ungodly seeds bearing corrupt fruit within a community, bringing about disciplinary action.