Hosea 4:15

Warning to Judah: Do Not Join in Israel’s Apostasy!

4:15 Although you, O Israel, commit adultery,

do not let Judah become guilty!

Do not journey to Gilgal!

Do not go up to Beth Aven! ¹ 

Do not swear, “As surely as the Lord lives!”

Hosea 9:15

9:15 Because of all their evil in Gilgal,

I hate them there.

On account of their evil deeds,

I will drive them out of my land. ² 

I will no longer love them;

all their rulers are rebels.

Amos 4:4

Israel has an Appointment with God

4:4 “Go to Bethel ³  and rebel! ⁴ 

At Gilgal ⁵  rebel some more!

Bring your sacrifices in ⁶  the morning,

your tithes on ⁷  the third day!

Amos 5:5

5:5 Do not seek Bethel! ⁸ 

Do not visit Gilgal!

Do not journey down ⁹  to Beer Sheba!

For the people of Gilgal ¹⁰  will certainly be carried into exile; ¹¹ 

and Bethel will become a place where disaster abounds.” ¹² 

[4:15]  ¹ sn Beth Aven means “house of wickedness” in Hebrew; it is a polemic reference to “Bethel,” which means “house of God.” Cf. CEV “at sinful Bethel.”

[9:15]  ² tn Heb “out of my house” (so NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV); TEV, NCV, NLT “my land.”

[4:4]  ³ sn Bethel and Gilgal were important formal worship centers because of their importance in Israel’s history. Here the Lord ironically urges the people to visit these places so they can increase their sin against him. Their formal worship, because it was not accompanied by social justice, only made them more guilty in God’s sight by adding hypocrisy to their list of sins. Obviously, theirs was a twisted view of the Lord. They worshiped a god of their own creation in order to satisfy their religious impulses (see 4:5: “For you love to do this”). Note that none of the rituals listed in 4:4-5 have to do with sin.

[4:4]  ⁴ tn The Hebrew word translated “rebel” (also in the following line) could very well refer here to Israel’s violations of their covenant with God (see also the term “crimes” in 1:3 [with note] and the phrase “covenant transgressions” in 2:4 [with note]; 3:14).

[4:4]  ⁵ sn See the note on Bethel earlier in this verse.

[4:4]  ⁶ tn Or “for.”

[4:4]  ⁷ tn Or “for.”

[5:5]  ⁸ sn Ironically, Israel was to seek after the Lord, but not at Bethel (the name Bethel means “the house of God” in Hebrew).

[5:5]  ⁹ tn Heb “cross over.”

[5:5]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “For Gilgal.” By metonymy the place name “Gilgal” is used instead of referring directly to the inhabitants. The words “the people of” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[5:5]  ¹¹ tn In the Hebrew text the statement is emphasized by sound play. The name “Gilgal” sounds like the verb גָּלָה (galah, “to go into exile”), which occurs here in the infinitival + finite verb construction (גָּלֹה יִגְלֶה, galoh yigleh). The repetition of the “ג” (g) and “ל” (l) sounds draws attention to the announcement and suggests that Gilgal’s destiny is inherent in its very name.

[5:5]  ¹² tn Heb “disaster,” or “nothing”; NIV “Bethel will be reduced to nothing.”