Hosea 4:17

Ephraim is joined to idols: let him alone.

King James Version · Read in your translation · Open the Explore console

Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
Ephraim	אֶפְרָ֖יִם 'ef.Ra.yim	H669	Ephrajim · proper noun, a man's name
joined	חֲב֧וּר cha.Vur	H2266	to join (literally or figuratively) · verb, qal passive participle, masculine singular construct
idols	עֲצַבִּ֛ים 'a.tza.Bim	H6091	an (idolatrous) image · noun, common masculine plural absolute
alone	יָנַח yânach	H3240	to deposit

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Psalms 81:12 So I gave them up unto their own hearts’ lust: and they walked in their own counsels.
Revelation 22:11 He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous…
Hosea 4:4 Yet let no man strive, nor reprove another: for thy people are as they that strive with the priest.
Hosea 11:2 As they called them, so they went from them: they sacrificed unto Baalim, and burned incense to graven images.
Hosea 13:2 And now they sin more and more, and have made them molten images of their silver, and idols according to their own understanding, all of it…
Matthew 15:14 Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.
Hosea 12:1 Ephraim feedeth on wind, and followeth after the east wind: he daily increaseth lies and desolation; and they do make a covenant with the As…

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Hosea 4:12–end

In these verses we have, as before, I. The sins charged upon the people of Israel, for which God had a controversy with them, and they are, 1. Spiritual whoredom, or idolatry. They have in them a spirit of whoredoms, a strong inclination to that sin; the bent and bias of their hearts are that way; it is their own iniquity; they are carried out towards it with an unaccountable violence, and this causes them to err. Note, The errors and mistakes of the judgment are commonly owing to the corrupt affections; men therefore have a good opinion of sin, because they have a disposition towards it. And having such erroneous notions of idols, and such passionate motions towards them, no marvel that wit…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Hosea 4:17

Ephraim--the ten tribes. Judah was at this time not so given to idolatry as afterwards. joined to--closely and voluntarily; identifying themselves with them as a whoremonger becomes one flesh with the harlot (Num 25:3; Co1 6:16-17). idols--The Hebrew means also "sorrows," "pains," implying the pain which idolatry brings on its votaries. let him alone--Leave him to himself. Let him reap the fruits of his own perverse choice; his case is desperate; say nothing to him (compare Jer 7:16). Here Hos 4:15 shows the address is to Judah, to avoid the contagion of Israel's bad example. He is bent on his own ruin; leave him to his fate, lest, instead of saving him, thou fall thyself (Isa 48:20; J…

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Adam Clarke on Hosea 4:17

Ephraim - The ten tribes. Is joined to idols - Is become incorporated with false gods. Let him alone - They are irreclaimable, leave them to the consequences of their vicious conduct.

John Gill on Hosea 4:17

Ephraim is joined to idols,.... That is, the ten tribes of Israel, frequently so called after their separation from the rest, because that Jeroboam, by whom the revolt was made, was of that tribe; and because that tribe was the principal of them, and Samaria, the metropolis of their kingdom, was in it: and so the Targum here renders it, "the house of Israel are joined to idols;'' to the calves at Dan and Bethel; to Baal, and other idols, they worshipped: the phrase expresses their strong affection for them, their constant worship of them, and their obstinate persisting therein, and the difficulty there was of bringing them off of it; they cleaved to their idols, were glued, and as it were…

The Church Fathers

"Partaker of their idols is Ephraim, leave him." LXX: "Ephraim, a participant in idols, has placed scandals for himself." Ephraim, of whose tribe Jeroboam son of Nabath, who first set up golden calves in Bethel and Dan, is king of ten tribes. Therefore, O Judah, whom I mentioned above, if Israel commits fornication, let at least Judah not sin. Listen to my advice, do not disregard the words of the prophets; for Ephraim once was a friend and partner with idols. Leave him, do not follow his impiety, for his worship and religion and food are separated from your fellowship. This same thing can also be referred to heretics, and it is said to Judah, that is, to an ecclesiastical man, because Israel, who is interpreted as bearing fruit, promises himself a false richness of doctrine, and fruitful teachings, and once was a friend of demons, dismiss him and despise him: especially since their sacrifices are separated from your own sacrifices.
— Jerome, Commentary on Hosea 4:17-19

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Alliances · 7:2; — 7:2;
Company · EVIL — EVIL
Idolatry · Obstinate sinners judicially given up to — Obstinate sinners judicially given up to
Impenitence · 2:4,5;3:1-11,19,26;12:2;20:8,13,21;33:4,5,9; — 2:4,5;3:1-11,19,26;12:2;20:8,13,21;33:4,5,9;
Judgments · Different kinds of: Abandonment by God — Different kinds of: Abandonment by God
Self-Delusion · Obstinate sinners often given up to — Obstinate sinners often given up to

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

Hosea 4:17

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Hosea 4:12–end

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Hosea 4:17

Adam Clarke on Hosea 4:17

John Gill on Hosea 4:17

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Hosea 4:17

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Hosea 4:12–end

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Hosea 4:17

Adam Clarke on Hosea 4:17

John Gill on Hosea 4:17

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John Calvin on Hosea 4:17

Keil & Delitzsch on Hosea 4:17

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Hosea 4:15

Rashi on Hosea 4:17