Hosea 2:5

2:5 For their mother has committed adultery;

she who conceived them has acted shamefully.

For she said, “I will seek out my lovers;

they are the ones who give me my bread and my water,

my wool, my flax, my olive oil, and my wine.

Hosea 9:4

9:4 They will not pour out drink offerings of wine to the Lord;

they will not please him with their sacrifices.

Their sacrifices will be like bread eaten while in mourning;

all those who eat them will make themselves ritually unclean.

For their bread will be only to satisfy their appetite;

it will not come into the temple of the Lord.


tn Heb “I will go after” (so KJV, NAB, NIV, NRSV).

sn This statement alludes to the practice of sexual rites in the Canaanite fertility cult which attempted to secure agricultural fertility from the Canaanite gods (note the following reference to wool, flax, olive oil, and wine).

tn Heb “my drinks.” Many English versions use the singular “drink” here, but cf. NCV, TEV, CEV “wine.”