Hosea 12:11 Is there iniquity in Gilead? They will surely come to nothing. Do they sacrifice bulls in Gilgal? Indeed, their altars will be heaps of stones in the furrows of the field.

◄ Hosea 12:11 ►

New International Version
Is Gilead wicked? Its people are worthless! Do they sacrifice bulls in Gilgal? Their altars will be like piles of stones on a plowed field.

New Living Translation
But the people of Gilead are worthless because of their idol worship. And in Gilgal, too, they sacrifice bulls; their altars are lined up like the heaps of stone along the edges of a plowed field.

English Standard Version
If there is iniquity in Gilead, they shall surely come to nothing: in Gilgal they sacrifice bulls; their altars also are like stone heaps on the furrows of the field.

Berean Standard Bible
Is there iniquity in Gilead? They will surely come to nothing. Do they sacrifice bulls in Gilgal? Indeed, their altars will be heaps of stones in the furrows of the field.

King James Bible
Is there iniquity in Gilead? surely they are vanity: they sacrifice bullocks in Gilgal; yea, their altars are as heaps in the furrows of the fields.

New King James Version
Though Gilead has idols— Surely they are vanity— Though they sacrifice bulls in Gilgal, Indeed their altars shall be heaps in the furrows of the field.

New American Standard Bible
Is there injustice in Gilead? Certainly they are worthless. In Gilgal they sacrifice bulls, Yes, their altars are like stone heaps Beside the furrows of a field.

NASB 1995
Is there iniquity in Gilead? Surely they are worthless. In Gilgal they sacrifice bulls, Yes, their altars are like the stone heaps Beside the furrows of the field.

NASB 1977
Is there iniquity in Gilead? Surely they are worthless. In Gilgal they sacrifice bulls, Yes, their altars are like the stone heaps Beside the furrows of the field.

Legacy Standard Bible
Is there wickedness in Gilead? Surely they are worthless. In Gilgal they sacrifice bulls; Yes, their altars are like the stone heaps Beside the furrows of the field.

Amplified Bible
Is there wickedness (idolatry) in Gilead? Surely the people there are worthless. In Gilgal [they defy Me when] they sacrifice bulls, Yes, [after My judgment] their [pagan] altars are like the stone heaps In the furrows of the fields.

Christian Standard Bible
Since Gilead is full of evil, they will certainly come to nothing. They sacrifice bulls in Gilgal; even their altars will be like piles of rocks on the furrows of a field.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
Since Gilead is full of evil, they will certainly come to nothing. They sacrifice bulls in Gilgal; even their altars will be like heaps of rocks on the furrows of a field.

American Standard Version
Is Gilead iniquity? they are altogether false; in Gilgal they sacrifice bullocks; yea, their altars are as heaps in the furrows of the field.

Contemporary English Version
Gilead is terribly sinful and will end up ruined. Bulls are sacrificed in Gilgal on altars made of stones, but those stones will be scattered in every field.

English Revised Version
Is Gilead iniquity? they are altogether vanity; in Gilgal they sacrifice bullocks: yea, their altars are as heaps in the furrows of the field.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
The people of Gilead are evil. They are worthless. They sacrifice bulls in Gilgal. But their altars will become like piles of rubble beside a plowed field.

Good News Translation
Yet idols are worshiped in Gilead, and those who worship them will die. Bulls are sacrificed in Gilgal, and the altars there will become piles of stone in the open fields."

International Standard Version
"There's iniquity in Gilead, isn't there? They have become truly vain. They sacrifice bulls in Gilgal; their altars are like piles of stone in furrowed fields.

Majority Standard Bible
Is there iniquity in Gilead? They will surely come to nothing. Do they sacrifice bulls in Gilgal? Indeed, their altars will be heaps of stones in the furrows of the field.

NET Bible
Is there idolatry in Gilead? Certainly its inhabitants will come to nothing! Do they sacrifice bulls in Gilgal? Surely their altars will be like stones heaped up on a plowed field!

New Heart English Bible
If Gilead is wicked, surely they are worthless. In Gilgal they sacrifice bulls. Indeed, their altars are like heaps in the furrows of the field.

Webster's Bible Translation
Is there iniquity in Gilead? surely they are vanity: they sacrifice bullocks in Gilgal; yes, their altars are as heaps in the furrows of the fields.

World English Bible
If Gilead is wicked, surely they are worthless. In Gilgal they sacrifice bulls. Indeed, their altars are like heaps in the furrows of the field.

Literal Translations

Literal Standard Version
Surely Gilead [is] iniquity, "" They have been only vanity, "" In Gilead they have sacrificed bullocks, "" Also their altars [are] as heaps, on the furrows of a field.

Young's Literal Translation
Surely Gilead is iniquity, Only, vanity they have been, In Gilead bullocks they have sacrificed, Also their altars are as heaps, on the furrows of a field.

Smith's Literal Translation
If Gilead nothing? Surely they were vanity: in Gilgal they sacrificed oxen; also their altars as heaps upon the furrows of the field.

Catholic Translations

Douay-Rheims Bible
If Galaad be an idol, then in vain were they in Galgal offering sacrifices with bullocks: for their altars also are as heaps in the furrows of the field.

Catholic Public Domain Version
If Gilead is an idol, then they have been sacrificing cattle in Gilgal to no purpose. For even their altars are like clutter on the soil of the field.

New American Bible
In Gilead is falsehood, they have come to nothing; in Gilgal they sacrifice bulls, But their altars are like heaps of stones in the furrows of the field.

New Revised Standard Version
In Gilead there is iniquity, they shall surely come to nothing. In Gilgal they sacrifice bulls, so their altars shall be like stone heaps on the furrows of the field.

Translations from Aramaic

Lamsa Bible
In Gilead you suffered pain, and in Gilgal you sacrificed bullocks to falsehood; your altars are like dry stalks in a barren field.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
In Gelad there was pain and in Galgala you sacrificed bulls for futility, also your altars were like straw in a field of barren land

OT Translations

JPS Tanakh 1917
If Gilead be given to iniquity Becoming altogether vanity, In Gilgal they sacrifice unto bullocks; Yea, their altars shall be as heaps In the furrows of the field.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
If Galaad exists not, then the chiefs in Galaad when they sacrificed were false, and their altars were as heaps on the ground of the field.

Additional Translations ...

Audio Bible

Context

A Reproof of Ephraim, Judah, Jacob
…10I spoke through the prophets and multiplied their visions; I gave parables through the prophets. 11Is there iniquity in Gilead? They will surely come to nothing. Do they sacrifice bulls in Gilgal? Indeed, their altars will be heaps of stones in the furrows of the field. 12Jacob fled to the land of Aram and Israel worked for a wife—for a wife he tended sheep.…

Berean Standard Bible · Download

Cross References

Isaiah 1:11-14
“What good to Me is your multitude of sacrifices?” says the LORD. “I am full from the burnt offerings of rams and the fat of well-fed cattle; I take no delight in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats. / When you come to appear before Me, who has required this of you—this trampling of My courts? / Bring your worthless offerings no more; your incense is detestable to Me. New Moons, Sabbaths, and convocations—I cannot endure iniquity in a solemn assembly. ...

Amos 5:21-23
“I hate, I despise your feasts! I cannot stand the stench of your solemn assemblies. / Even though you offer Me burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them; for your peace offerings of fattened cattle I will have no regard. / Take away from Me the noise of your songs! I will not listen to the music of your harps.

Micah 6:6-8
With what shall I come before the LORD when I bow before the God on high? Should I come to Him with burnt offerings, with year-old calves? / Would the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I present my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? / He has shown you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you but to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?

Jeremiah 7:21-23
This is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: Add your burnt offerings to your other sacrifices and eat the meat yourselves! / For when I brought your fathers out of the land of Egypt, I did not merely command them about burnt offerings and sacrifices, / but this is what I commanded them: Obey Me, and I will be your God, and you will be My people. You must walk in all the ways I have commanded you, so that it may go well with you.

1 Samuel 15:22
But Samuel declared: “Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obedience to His voice? Behold, obedience is better than sacrifice, and attentiveness is better than the fat of rams.

Isaiah 66:3
Whoever slaughters an ox is like one who slays a man; whoever sacrifices a lamb is like one who breaks a dog’s neck; whoever presents a grain offering is like one who offers pig’s blood; whoever offers frankincense is like one who blesses an idol. Indeed, they have chosen their own ways and delighted in their abominations.

Matthew 15:8-9
‘These people honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me. / They worship Me in vain; they teach as doctrine the precepts of men.’”

Mark 7:6-7
Jesus answered them, “Isaiah prophesied correctly about you hypocrites, as it is written: ‘These people honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me. / They worship Me in vain; they teach as doctrine the precepts of men.’

Isaiah 29:13
Therefore the Lord said: “These people draw near to Me with their mouths and honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me. Their worship of Me is but rules taught by men.

Psalm 51:16-17
For You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; You take no pleasure in burnt offerings. / The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.

Hebrews 10:5-6
Therefore, when Christ came into the world, He said: “Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, but a body You prepared for Me. / In burnt offerings and sin offerings You took no delight.

Isaiah 58:1-5
“Cry aloud, do not hold back! Raise your voice like a ram’s horn. Declare to My people their transgression and to the house of Jacob their sins. / For day after day they seek Me and delight to know My ways, like a nation that does what is right and does not forsake the justice of their God. They ask Me for righteous judgments; they delight in the nearness of God.” / “Why have we fasted, and You have not seen? Why have we humbled ourselves, and You have not noticed?” “Behold, on the day of your fast, you do as you please, and you oppress all your workers. ...

1 Corinthians 13:1-3
If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a ringing gong or a clanging cymbal. / If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have absolute faith so as to move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. / If I give all I possess to the poor and exult in the surrender of my body, but have not love, I gain nothing.

Matthew 23:23
Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You pay tithes of mint, dill, and cumin. But you have disregarded the weightier matters of the law: justice, mercy, and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former.

Romans 12:1-2
Therefore I urge you, brothers, on account of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. / Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.

Treasury of Scripture

Is there iniquity in Gilead? surely they are vanity: they sacrifice bullocks in Gilgal; yes, their altars are as heaps in the furrows of the fields.

iniquity.

Hosea 6:8
Gilead is a city of them that work iniquity, and is polluted with blood.

1 Kings 17:1
And Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead, said unto Ahab, As the LORD God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word.

surely.

Jeremiah 10:8,15
But they are altogether brutish and foolish: the stock is a doctrine of vanities…

Jonah 2:8
They that observe lying vanities forsake their own mercy.

they sacrifice.

Hosea 4:15
Though thou, Israel, play the harlot, yet let not Judah offend; and come not ye unto Gilgal, neither go ye up to Bethaven, nor swear, The LORD liveth.

Hosea 9:15
All their wickedness is in Gilgal: for there I hated them: for the wickedness of their doings I will drive them out of mine house, I will love them no more: all their princes are revolters.

Amos 4:4
Come to Bethel, and transgress; at Gilgal multiply transgression; and bring your sacrifices every morning, and your tithes after three years:

their altars.

Hosea 8:11
Because Ephraim hath made many altars to sin, altars shall be unto him to sin.

Hosea 10:1
Israel is an empty vine, he bringeth forth fruit unto himself: according to the multitude of his fruit he hath increased the altars; according to the goodness of his land they have made goodly images.

2 Kings 17:9-11
And the children of Israel did secretly those things that were not right against the LORD their God, and they built them high places in all their cities, from the tower of the watchmen to the fenced city…

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Altars Altogether Bullocks Bulls Evil Field Fields Furrows Gilead Gilgal Heaps Hollows Indeed Iniquity Masses Nought Offerings Oxen Piles Ploughed Quite Sacrifice Stone Stones Surely Value Vanity Wicked Worthless

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Hosea 12

1. A reproof of Ephraim, Judah, and Jacob.
3. By former favors he exhorts to repentance.
7. Ephraim's sins provoke God.

Berean Study Bible

Is there iniquity in Gilead?
The word "iniquity" in Hebrew is "אָוֶן" (aven), which often denotes not just sin, but a deep-seated moral corruption or wickedness. Gilead, a region east of the Jordan River, was known for its balm, a healing ointment, yet here it is ironically questioned for its moral decay. This juxtaposition highlights the contrast between the physical healing properties of Gilead and its spiritual sickness. Historically, Gilead was a place of refuge and healing, but Hosea points out that despite its reputation, it is rife with sin. This serves as a reminder that outward appearances or reputations do not always reflect inner spiritual realities.

Surely they are worthless
The Hebrew word for "worthless" is "שָׁוְא" (shav), which can mean vanity, emptiness, or falsehood. This term underscores the futility of the people's actions and the emptiness of their religious practices. In a conservative Christian perspective, this phrase serves as a warning against hollow religiosity—practices that are devoid of true faith and obedience to God. It calls believers to examine the substance of their faith and ensure it is not just a facade.

In Gilgal they sacrifice bulls
Gilgal was a significant location in Israel's history, often associated with important events such as the Israelites' first encampment in the Promised Land. However, it became a center of idolatrous worship. The act of sacrificing bulls, which was intended for the worship of Yahweh, had been corrupted into idolatrous practices. The Hebrew root "זָבַח" (zabach) for "sacrifice" implies a ritual act that should be sacred and pleasing to God. This highlights the tragedy of Israel's spiritual decline, where sacred acts are performed in a context of disobedience and idolatry.

even their altars will be heaps of stones
The imagery of altars becoming "heaps of stones" is a powerful prophetic declaration of judgment. Altars, which were meant to be places of worship and communion with God, are reduced to rubble. The Hebrew word "גַּל" (gal) for "heap" suggests a pile or mound, often used to describe ruins. This serves as a vivid picture of the consequences of Israel's unfaithfulness. In a conservative Christian view, it is a sobering reminder of the eventual downfall that comes from turning away from God.

on the furrows of the field
The "furrows" refer to the plowed lines in a field, indicating a place of labor and potential growth. The Hebrew word "תֶּלֶם" (telem) suggests preparation for planting and harvest. The image of altars becoming heaps on the furrows signifies the complete desolation and futility of Israel's religious efforts. Instead of yielding a harvest of righteousness, their actions result in destruction. This serves as a metaphor for the spiritual barrenness that results from idolatry and disobedience, urging believers to cultivate a faith that is genuine and fruitful.

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(11) Translate, If Gilead be worthless, surely they have become nought. In Gilgal they sacrificed bullocks; their altars also are like heaps upon the field's furrows, referring to a past event, the desolating invasion of Gilead by Tiglath-pileser, in 734 B.C. To this military expedition we have undoubted references in the inscriptions of Tiglath-pileser II. But unfortunately they are in a very mutilated condition. From one passage we learn:--"The city Gil [ead] and [A] bel [Maacha] which is on this side the land Beth Omri (Samaria) the distant . . . I joined in its whole extent to the territory of Assyria." The biblical passage, 2Kings 15:29, supplements this account by stating that Napntali and Galilee also fell victims to the victorious arms of the invader. From the verse before us we infer that Gilgal, on the western bank of the Jordan near Jericho (see Note on 4:15), likewise felt the heavy hand of the conqueror, or perhaps the inhabitants fled in panic and the local shrines became deserted ruins. From this time forth we hear no more of Gilgal as a religious centre. Nowack, however, follows Ewald in regarding the passage as prophetic of a coming calamity. (See Introduction.) In the word for "heaps" (gallim) there is a play on the name Gilgal.

Parallel Commentaries ...

Hebrew

Is there
אִם־ (’im-)
Conjunction
Strong's 518: Lo!, whether?, if, although, Oh that!, when, not

iniquity
אָ֙וֶן֙ (’ā·wen)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 205: Strictly nothingness, trouble, vanity, wickedness, an idol

[in] Gilead?
גִּלְעָ֥ד (gil·‘āḏ)
Noun - proper - feminine singular
Strong's 1568: Gilead -- a region in Palestine, also the name of several Israelites

They will surely
אַךְ־ (’aḵ-)
Adverb
Strong's 389: A particle of affirmation, surely

come
הָי֔וּ (hā·yū)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person common plural
Strong's 1961: To fall out, come to pass, become, be

to nothing.
שָׁ֣וְא (šāw)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 7723: Evil, idolatry, uselessness

Do they sacrifice
זִבֵּ֑חוּ (zib·bê·ḥū)
Verb - Piel - Perfect - third person common plural
Strong's 2076: To slaughter for sacrifice

bulls
שְׁוָרִ֣ים (šə·wā·rîm)
Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 7794: A head of cattle (bullock, ox, etcetera)

in Gilgal?
בַּגִּלְגָּ֖ל (bag·gil·gāl)
Preposition-b, Article | Noun - proper - feminine singular
Strong's 1537: Gilgal -- 'circle (of stones)', the name of several places in Palestine

Indeed,
גַּ֤ם (gam)
Conjunction
Strong's 1571: Assemblage, also, even, yea, though, both, and

their altars [will be]
מִזְבְּחוֹתָם֙ (miz·bə·ḥō·w·ṯām)
Noun - masculine plural construct | third person masculine plural
Strong's 4196: An altar

heaps of stones
כְּגַלִּ֔ים (kə·ḡal·lîm)
Preposition-k | Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 1530: Something rolled, a heap of stone, dung, a spring of water

in
עַ֖ל (‘al)
Preposition
Strong's 5921: Above, over, upon, against

the furrows
תַּלְמֵ֥י (tal·mê)
Noun - masculine plural construct
Strong's 8525: A bank, terrace

of the field.
שָׂדָֽי׃ (śā·ḏāy)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 7704: Field, land

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OT Prophets: Hosea 12:11 If Gilead is wicked surely they (Ho Hs Hos.)