Hosea 7 14

Hosea 7:14 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.

Hosea 7:14 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;

Hosea 7:14 niv

They do not cry out to me from their hearts but wail on their beds. They slash themselves, appealing to their gods for grain and new wine, but they turn away from me.

Hosea 7:14 esv

They do not cry to me from the heart, but they wail upon their beds; for grain and wine they gash themselves; they rebel against me.

Hosea 7:14 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.

Hosea 7 verses

Hosea 7 14 meaning

Hosea 7:14 depicts a profound spiritual brokenness within Israel, portraying their expressions of need to God as entirely superficial and insincere. Their distress is not a heartfelt cry for genuine repentance or restoration to God, but rather a self-centered wailing for material provisions—grain and wine—often accompanied by pagan cultic practices like self-laceration, mirroring the rituals used to appease Canaanite fertility gods. This outward show of religious activity is an empty performance, as their hearts are utterly turned away from the true God, signifying a complete betrayal of their covenant relationship.

Hosea 7 14 Context

Hosea 7 portrays the pervasive corruption and moral decay within Ephraim (Israel) just prior to its fall to Assyria. The chapter vividly illustrates a society deeply steeped in sin, characterized by political intrigue, violence, and a desperate reliance on foreign alliances rather than God. Israel is like "a baking oven" (v. 4-7) inflamed with unbridled passions and rebellious kings. They have become "a cake not turned" (v. 8), half-baked and inconsistent, mixed with foreign ways, demonstrating a spiritual blindness where they do not recognize God's discipline. Within this backdrop of national crisis and deep spiritual apostasy, verse 14 highlights the utter insincerity of their religious cries. Their external shows of devotion are exposed as superficial, serving self-interest rather than true devotion or penitence, indicating their spiritual death in spite of ritual. Historically, Israel often mimicked the religious practices of surrounding Canaanite cultures, believing these rituals would guarantee agricultural fertility, reflecting a fundamental lack of trust in their covenant God.

Hosea 7 14 Word analysis

• They do not cry to me (וְלֹא־זָעֲקוּ אֵלַי - wĕlō-zā‘ăqū ’ēlāy): The Hebrew verb za‘aq (זעק) means "to cry out for help, to appeal for relief." It signifies a deep, often desperate, plea. The critical phrase "not to Me" emphasizes that their distress calls are directed elsewhere, or lack a proper relationship to God, even if His name is uttered. This highlights their spiritual independence and rejection of divine reliance.
• from the heart (בְּלִבָּם - bĕlibām): The noun leb (לֵב) refers to the innermost being—the seat of intellect, will, emotions, and moral character. "From the heart" signifies authenticity, sincerity, and depth of conviction. Its absence reveals a profound lack of true devotion and repentance; their prayers are hollow.
• but wail (כִּי יְיֵלִילוּ - kî yĕyēlīlū): The verb yalal (ילל) means "to howl, lament, wail." This sound often accompanies public mourning or deep distress, but here it suggests a superficial display, a cry of complaint for their circumstances rather than a broken confession of sin before God. It implies self-pity over the consequences of sin, not contrition for sin itself.
• on their beds (עַל־מִשְׁכְּבוֹתָם - ‘al-mišḵĕvōṯām): The noun mišḵāḇ (מִשְׁכָּב) means "bed" or "couch." This setting points to privacy or individual dwelling, possibly where they engage in personal idol worship, dream interpretation, or, most tellingly, private expressions of distress driven by self-interest and physical needs. The setting highlights the self-contained and isolated nature of their sorrow, distinct from a communal, covenantal turning to God.
• they gash themselves (עַל־דָּגָן וְתִירֹשׁ יִתְגּוֹרָרוּ - ‘al-dāgān wĕṯîrôš yiṯgôrārū): This phrase presents a textual challenge, with scholarly debate over yiṯgôrārū (יתגוררו). While some propose "they rebel" or "they assemble," the majority and most contextually fitting interpretation (following comparison to Ugaritic and Phoenician ritual practices, and mirroring 1 Ki 18:28) suggests "they gash/lacerate themselves." This refers to pagan practices of self-mutilation performed to provoke or gain the favor of fertility gods like Baal for agricultural prosperity. This demonstrates an act of desperate superstition, rejecting God's provision for idolatrous means.
• for grain and wine (עַל־דָּגָן וְתִירֹשׁ - ‘al-dāgān wĕṯîrôš): Dāgān (דָּגָן) is "grain," and tîrôš (תִּירֹשׁ) is "new wine." These are staple crops and critical indicators of agricultural bounty and national prosperity in ancient Israel. Seeking these through pagan rituals or superficial cries directly challenges God as the ultimate provider and reflects a focus on material survival over spiritual integrity.
• they turn away from me (יָסוּרוּ בִּי - yāsūrū bî): The verb sûr (סור) means "to turn aside, depart, leave." The preposition bî (minnî, "from me") emphatically declares their active departure and rebellion against God. This encapsulates their state of apostasy and rejection of the covenant relationship, rendering all their prior "cries" or "wailings" hypocritical and meaningless in God's eyes.

Hosea 7 14 Bonus section

The intense language of "gash themselves" (יִתְגּוֹרָרוּ) used by Hosea contains a polemic against the fertility cults of Canaan. The Israelite covenant law (Dt 14:1) explicitly forbade such practices as markers of heathen mourning and devotion. By associating Israel's wailing for sustenance with these very rituals, Hosea emphasizes how deeply compromised and indistinguishable Israel had become from the pagan nations they were commanded to avoid. It highlights the profound irony and tragedy that God, the true giver of all blessings (Hos 2:8), was forsaken for rituals that desecrated the very bodies created in His image, seeking His blessings from powerless idols. This verse also implicitly contrasts the Israelite liturgical practices for repentance (fasting, sackcloth) with these pagan mutilations, underscoring the spiritual bankruptcy of the nation.

Hosea 7 14 Commentary

Hosea 7:14 serves as a stark divine indictment of Israel's hollow piety. God laments that their cries, ostensibly for help, are utterly devoid of genuine repentance and heart-felt appeal to Him. Their "wailing on their beds" is a self-pitying lament over consequences, likely prompted by drought or famine (threats to grain and wine), not true sorrow for their pervasive sin. This private lament further devolves into a desperate act of idolatry, as the phrase "they gash themselves for grain and wine" powerfully suggests their engagement in self-mutilating pagan rituals. This extreme measure, practiced to coerce fertility deities for agricultural bounty, reveals the depths of their faithlessness. Their true devotion lies with their material security and false gods, unequivocally proving they have "turned away from Me," thus shattering the covenant. This verse encapsulates their profound spiritual infidelity, where outward religious forms become a mockery when the heart remains estranged and seeks worldly solutions over God's unwavering faithfulness.