Hosea 4:18
New International Version
Even when their drinks are gone, they continue their prostitution; their rulers dearly love shameful ways.

New Living Translation
When the rulers of Israel finish their drinking, off they go to find some prostitutes. They love shame more than honor.

English Standard Version
When their drink is gone, they give themselves to whoring; their rulers dearly love shame.

Berean Standard Bible
When their liquor is gone, they turn to prostitution; their rulers dearly love disgrace.

King James Bible
Their drink is sour: they have committed whoredom continually: her rulers with shame do love, Give ye.

New King James Version
Their drink is rebellion, They commit harlotry continually. Her rulers dearly love dishonor.

New American Standard Bible
Their liquor is gone, They prostitute themselves continually; Their rulers dearly love shame.

NASB 1995
Their liquor gone, They play the harlot continually; Their rulers dearly love shame.

NASB 1977
Their liquor gone, They play the harlot continually; Their rulers dearly love shame.

Legacy Standard Bible
Their drink gone; They play the harlot continually; Their rulers dearly love disgrace.

Amplified Bible
When their liquor is gone [and their drinking parties are over], They habitually go to play the prostitute; Ephraim’s rulers continue to dearly love shame [more than her glory which is the LORD, Israel’s God].

Christian Standard Bible
When their drinking is over, they turn to promiscuity. Israel’s leaders fervently love disgrace.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
When their drinking is over, they turn to promiscuity. Israel’s leaders fervently love disgrace.

American Standard Version
Their drink is become sour; they play the harlot continually; her rulers dearly love shame.

Contemporary English Version
You get drunk, then sleep with prostitutes; you would rather be vulgar than lead a decent life.

English Revised Version
Their drink is become sour: they commit whoredom continually; her rulers dearly love shame.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
When they're done drinking their wine, they continue to have sex with the prostitutes. Their rulers dearly love to act shamefully.

Good News Translation
After drinking much wine, they delight in their prostitution, preferring disgrace to honor.

International Standard Version
While drinking to excess, they prostitute themselves. They're in love with dishonor.

Majority Standard Bible
When their liquor is gone, they turn to prostitution; their rulers dearly love disgrace.

NET Bible
They consume their alcohol, then engage in cult prostitution; they dearly love their shameful behavior.

New Heart English Bible
Their drink has become sour. They play the prostitute continually. Her rulers dearly love their shameful way.

Webster's Bible Translation
Their drink is sour: they have been guilty of lewd deeds continually: her rulers with shame do love, Give ye.

World English Bible
Their drink has become sour. They play the prostitute continually. Her rulers dearly love their shameful way.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
Sour [is] their drink, "" They have gone whoring diligently, "" Her protectors have thoroughly loved shame.

Young's Literal Translation
Sour is their drink, They have gone diligently a-whoring, Her protectors have loved shame thoroughly.

Smith's Literal Translation
Their drinking bout departed: committing fornication, they committed fornication: they loved, give ye shame upon her shields.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
Their banquet is separated, they have gone astray by fornication: they that should have protected them have loved to bring shame upon them.

Catholic Public Domain Version
Their feasting has been set aside; they have committed fornication after fornication. They love to bring disgrace to their protectors.

New American Bible
When their drinking is over, they give themselves to prostitution; they love shame more than their honor.

New Revised Standard Version
When their drinking is ended, they indulge in sexual orgies; they love lewdness more than their glory.
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
They all commit whoredom, and they love shame and idolatry.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
All of them have committed whoredom and they loved disgrace and fear
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
When their carouse is over, They take to harlotry; Her rulers deeply love dishonour.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
He has chosen the Chananites: they have grievously gone a-whoring: they have loved dishonour through her insolence.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
God's Charges Against Israel
17Ephraim is joined to idols; leave him alone! 18When their liquor is gone, they turn to prostitution; their rulers dearly love disgrace. 19The whirlwind has wrapped them in its wings, and their sacrifices will bring them shame.…

Cross References
Jeremiah 5:7-9
“Why should I forgive you? Your children have forsaken Me and sworn by gods that are not gods. I satisfied their needs, yet they committed adultery and assembled at the houses of prostitutes. / They are well-fed, lusty stallions, each neighing after his neighbor’s wife. / Should I not punish them for these things?” declares the LORD. “Should I not avenge Myself on such a nation as this?

Isaiah 1:21-23
See how the faithful city has become a harlot! She once was full of justice; righteousness resided within her, but now only murderers! / Your silver has become dross; your fine wine is diluted with water. / Your rulers are rebels, friends of thieves. They all love bribes and chasing after rewards. They do not defend the fatherless, and the plea of the widow never comes before them.

Ezekiel 23:1-4
Again the word of the LORD came to me, saying, / “Son of man, there were two women, daughters of the same mother, / and they played in Egypt, prostituting themselves from their youth. Their breasts were fondled there, and their virgin bosoms caressed. ...

Amos 2:6-8
This is what the LORD says: “For three transgressions of Israel, even four, I will not revoke My judgment, because they sell the righteous for silver and the needy for a pair of sandals. / They trample on the heads of the poor as on the dust of the earth; they push the needy out of their way. A man and his father have relations with the same girl and so profane My holy name. / They lie down beside every altar on garments taken in pledge. And in the house of their God, they drink wine obtained through fines.

Micah 3:11
Her leaders judge for a bribe, her priests teach for a price, and her prophets practice divination for money. Yet they lean upon the LORD, saying, “Is not the LORD among us? No disaster can come upon us.”

Revelation 17:1-2
Then one of the seven angels with the seven bowls came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the punishment of the great prostitute, who sits on many waters. / The kings of the earth were immoral with her, and those who dwell on the earth were intoxicated with the wine of her immorality.”

Jeremiah 3:6-10
Now in the days of King Josiah, the LORD said to me, “Have you seen what faithless Israel has done? She has gone up on every high hill and under every green tree to prostitute herself there. / I thought that after she had done all these things, she would return to Me. But she did not return, and her unfaithful sister Judah saw it. / She saw that because faithless Israel had committed adultery, I gave her a certificate of divorce and sent her away. Yet that unfaithful sister Judah had no fear and prostituted herself as well. ...

Isaiah 57:3-5
“But come here, you sons of a sorceress, you offspring of adulterers and prostitutes! / Whom are you mocking? At whom do you sneer and stick out your tongue? Are you not children of transgression, offspring of deceit, / who burn with lust among the oaks, under every luxuriant tree, who slaughter your children in the valleys, under the clefts of the rocks?

Ezekiel 16:30-34
How weak-willed is your heart, declares the Lord GOD, while you do all these things, the acts of a shameless prostitute! / But when you built your mounds at the head of every street and made your lofty shrines in every public square, you were not even like a prostitute, because you scorned payment. / You adulterous wife! You receive strangers instead of your own husband! ...

Amos 4:1-3
Hear this word, you cows of Bashan on Mount Samaria, you women who oppress the poor and crush the needy, who say to your husbands, “Bring us more to drink.” / The Lord GOD has sworn by His holiness: “Behold, the days are coming when you will be taken away with hooks, and your posterity with fishhooks. / You will go out through broken walls, each one straight ahead of her, and you will be cast out toward Harmon,” declares the LORD.

1 Corinthians 6:15-20
Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and unite them with a prostitute? Never! / Or don’t you know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body? For it is said, “The two will become one flesh.” / But he who unites himself with the Lord is one with Him in spirit. ...

Revelation 18:3
All the nations have drunk the wine of the passion of her immorality. The kings of the earth were immoral with her, and the merchants of the earth have grown wealthy from the extravagance of her luxury.”

Jeremiah 9:2-6
If only I had a traveler’s lodge in the wilderness, I would abandon my people and depart from them, for they are all adulterers, a crowd of faithless people. / “They bend their tongues like bows; lies prevail over truth in the land. For they proceed from evil to evil, and they do not take Me into account,” declares the LORD. / “Let everyone guard against his neighbor; do not trust any brother, for every brother deals craftily, and every friend spreads slander. ...

Isaiah 28:7-8
These also stagger from wine and stumble from strong drink: Priests and prophets reel from strong drink and are befuddled by wine. They stumble because of strong drink, muddled in their visions and stumbling in their judgments. / For all their tables are covered with vomit; there is not a place without filth.

Ezekiel 22:25-28
The conspiracy of the princes in her midst is like a roaring lion tearing its prey. They devour the people, seize the treasures and precious things, and multiply the widows within her. / Her priests do violence to My law and profane My holy things. They make no distinction between the holy and the common, and they fail to distinguish between the clean and the unclean. They disregard My Sabbaths, so that I am profaned among them. / Her officials within her are like wolves tearing their prey, shedding blood, and destroying lives for dishonest gain. ...


Treasury of Scripture

Their drink is sour: they have committed prostitution continually: her rulers with shame do love, Give you.

drink.

Deuteronomy 32:32,33
For their vine is of the vine of Sodom, and of the fields of Gomorrah: their grapes are grapes of gall, their clusters are bitter: …

Isaiah 1:21,22
How is the faithful city become an harlot! it was full of judgment; righteousness lodged in it; but now murderers…

Jeremiah 2:21
Yet I had planted thee a noble vine, wholly a right seed: how then art thou turned into the degenerate plant of a strange vine unto me?

sour.

Hosea 4:2,10
By swearing, and lying, and killing, and stealing, and committing adultery, they break out, and blood toucheth blood…

2 Kings 17:7-17
For so it was, that the children of Israel had sinned against the LORD their God, which had brought them up out of the land of Egypt, from under the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and had feared other gods, …

her.

Exodus 23:8
And thou shalt take no gift: for the gift blindeth the wise, and perverteth the words of the righteous.

Deuteronomy 16:19
Thou shalt not wrest judgment; thou shalt not respect persons, neither take a gift: for a gift doth blind the eyes of the wise, and pervert the words of the righteous.

1 Samuel 8:3
And his sons walked not in his ways, but turned aside after lucre, and took bribes, and perverted judgment.

rulers.

Psalm 47:9
The princes of the people are gathered together, even the people of the God of Abraham: for the shields of the earth belong unto God: he is greatly exalted.

Jump to Previous
Band Bitter Carouse Committed Completely Continually Continue Dearly Deeds Deeply Dishonour Drink Drinks Drunkards False. Glory Great Guilty Harlot Harlotry Love Passionately Play Pleasure Prostitute Rulers Shame Shameful Sour Themselves Way Ways Whoredom
Jump to Next
Band Bitter Carouse Committed Completely Continually Continue Dearly Deeds Deeply Dishonour Drink Drinks Drunkards False. Glory Great Guilty Harlot Harlotry Love Passionately Play Pleasure Prostitute Rulers Shame Shameful Sour Themselves Way Ways Whoredom
Hosea 4
1. God denounces judgments on Israel, for their aggravated impieties and iniquities.
12. He exposes the ignorance and wickedness of the priests,
13. and moral dissolution of the people,
14. he will leave their wives and daughters to commit lewdness, without present punishment.
15. He warns Judah, not to imitate Israel's crimes, which are still further reproved.














When their liquor is gone
The phrase "when their liquor is gone" refers to the state of inebriation and indulgence in wine, which is a recurring theme in the book of Hosea. The Hebrew word for "liquor" here is "sobe," which implies a state of drunkenness or excessive drinking. In the historical context of ancient Israel, wine was a common part of daily life, but it also symbolized moral and spiritual decay when consumed in excess. This phrase highlights the people's abandonment of self-control and their pursuit of temporary pleasures, which ultimately leads to their downfall. The imagery of wine running out suggests a depletion of spiritual vitality and a turning away from God.

they turn to prostitution
The act of turning to prostitution is both literal and metaphorical in the context of Hosea. The Hebrew word "zanah" is used here, which means to commit fornication or to be unfaithful. Historically, this reflects the Israelites' engagement in pagan rituals and idolatry, often involving temple prostitution as part of Canaanite religious practices. Spiritually, it signifies Israel's unfaithfulness to God, akin to an adulterous relationship. This turning away from God to other deities and practices is a central theme in Hosea, illustrating the nation's spiritual infidelity and the consequences of forsaking their covenant with Yahweh.

their rulers dearly love disgrace
The phrase "their rulers dearly love disgrace" underscores the moral corruption and failure of leadership in Israel. The Hebrew word for "rulers" is "sarim," which refers to those in positions of authority and governance. These leaders, who should have been guiding the people in righteousness, instead embraced and even cherished disgraceful behavior. The word "disgrace" is translated from "kelimmah," meaning shame or dishonor. This highlights the leaders' preference for actions that bring shame rather than honor to the nation. In a broader scriptural context, this reflects the failure of Israel's leaders to uphold God's laws and their role in leading the people astray, contributing to the nation's spiritual and moral decline.

(18, 19) The Authorised version is here very defective. Translate, Their carousal hath become degraded; with whoring they whore. Her shields love shame. A blast hath seized her in its wings, so that they are covered with shame for their offerings. "Shields" mean the princes of the people, as in Psalm 47:9. The fern. "her" in these verses refers to Ephraim, in accordance with the common Hebrew idiom. The change of person to the masculine plural is characteristic of the style of Hebrew prophecy. The storm-wind hath seized upon her with its wings--carried her away like a swarm of locusts or a baffled bird.

Verses 18, 19. - The first of these two verses gives a picture of the degeneracy of the times; the second predicts the destruction that would ensue. Their drink is sour (margin, is gone): they have committed whoredom continually. If the first clause be taken literally,

(1) it denotes a charge of drunkenness preferred against Ephraim. To this vice the people of the northern kingdom, as is well known, were addicted: the wine, from oft-repeated potations, became sour in the stomach and produced loathsome eructations.

(2) Some, connecting closely the first and second clauses, and translating as in the margin, explain the meaning to be that "when their intoxication is gone they commit whoredom." But though drunkenness and debauchery frequently go together, it is rather during the former than afterwards that the latter is indulged in.

(3) The first clause had better be understood figuratively, and the latter either literally or figuratively, or both. Thus the sense is the degeneracy of principle among the people in general, or rather among the principal men of that day. By the finest wine becoming vapid, the prophet represents the leading men of the nation, on whom so much depended and from whom so much might be expected, as becoming unprincipled, and as being addicted to immorality or idolatry, or probably both (hazneh hiznu): "whoring they have committed whoredom." . . .

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
When their liquor
סָבְאָ֑ם (sā·ḇə·’ām)
Noun - masculine singular construct | third person masculine plural
Strong's 5435: A drink, liquor

is gone,
סָ֖ר (sār)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 5493: To turn aside

they turn to prostitution;
הַזְנֵ֣ה (haz·nêh)
Verb - Hifil - Infinitive absolute
Strong's 2181: To commit adultery, to commit idolatry

their rulers
מָגִנֶּֽיהָ׃ (mā·ḡin·ne·hā)
Noun - masculine plural construct | third person feminine singular
Strong's 4043: A shield, a protector, the scaly hide of the crocodile

dearly
הֵב֛וּ (hê·ḇū)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person common plural
Strong's 157: To have affection f

love
אָהֲב֥וּ (’ā·hă·ḇū)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person common plural
Strong's 157: To have affection f

disgrace.
קָל֖וֹן (qā·lō·wn)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 7036: Disgrace, the pudenda


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OT Prophets: Hosea 4:18 Their drink has become sour (Ho Hs Hos.)
Hosea 4:17
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