Hosea 13:6 · Bible study
Hosea 13:6 Commentary: The Paradox of Prosperity and Spiritual Amnesia
Hebrew · 11 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
Hosea 13:6 reveals the dangerous sequence: fullness, pride, forgetfulness. Explore the theological significance and Deuteronomy connections.
Research Summary
- Meaning: Abundance leads to pride, which causes forgetfulness of God, fulfilling Deuteronomy's warnings.
- Key words: H4830 mar'ît (pasture); H7646 śāva' (to be satisfied); H7911 šākhakh (to forget).
- Main debate: Whether 'their pasture' refers to God's good gifts or to the people's selfish desires for earthly things.
- Theological theme: Grace and human ingratitude; the paradoxical danger of blessing; God's justice in response to covenantal unfaithfulness.
- Best use: A warning passage for those in seasons of prosperity, calling to gratitude and continued dependence on God.
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
When they had pasture, they became satisfied; when they were satisfied, their hearts became proud, and as a result they forgot Me.
WEB World English Bible 2000
According to their pasture, so were they filled; they were filled, and their heart was exalted. Therefore they have forgotten me.
KJV King James Version 1769
According to their pasture, so were they filled; they were filled, and their heart was exalted; therefore have they forgotten me.
ASV American Standard Version 1901
According to their pasture, so were they filled; they were filled, and their heart was exalted: therefore have they forgotten me.
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
According to their feedings they are satiated, They have been satiated, And their heart is lifted up, Therefore they have forgotten Me,
Darby Darby Bible 1890
According to their pasture, they became full; they became full, and their heart was exalted: therefore have they forgotten me.
Douay-Rheims Douay-Rheims Bible 1899
According to their pastures they were filled, and were made full: and they lifted up their heart, and have forgotten me.
Translations in other languages (10 available)
En sus pastos se hartaron, hartáronse, y ensoberbecióse su corazón: por esta causa se olvidaron de mí.
Depois se fartaram em seus pastos; quando ficaram fartos, seus corações se exaltaram; por isso se esqueceram de mim.
Ils se sont rassasiés dans leurs pâturages;
Aber weil sie geweidet sind, daß sie satt geworden sind und genug haben, erhebt sich ihr Herz; darum vergessen sie mein.
Daarna zijn zij, naardat hunlieder weide was, zat geworden; als zij zat zijn geworden, heeft zich hun hart verheven; daarom hebben zij Mij vergeten.
Quando aveano pastura, si saziavano; quand’erano sazi, il loro cuore s’inorgogliva; perciò mi dimenticarono.
Dobremi pastwiskami swemi nasyceni są; ale gdy się nasycili, podniosło się serce ich; przetoż mię zapomnieli.
Имея пажити, они были сыты; а когда насыщались, то превозносилось сердце их, и потому они забывали Меня.
這些民照我所賜的食物 得了飽足；既得飽足，心 就高傲， 忘記了我。
When I gave them food they were full, and their hearts were full of pride, and they did not keep me in mind.
Verse in Context
Original Language (Biblical Hebrew)
Old Testament · Biblical Hebrew · Hosea 13:6
Source: STEPBible TAGNT/TEHB (CC-BY 4.0). Click or tap a morphology code to see the full parsing.
Scholars' Consensus
Commentators across traditions agree that this verse describes a tragic sequence. God brought Israel into the rich pasture of Canaan, satisfying their hunger. Yet that very satisfaction led to pride, and pride to forgetfulness of God. Adam Clarke notes that they "became exalted in their heart, forgot their God, and became a prey to their enemies." Barnes expands: "they abused God's gifts." Calvin sees the sequence as proof of Israel's intractable nature: they "extinguished the memory of their redemption." Keil and Delitzsch observe that the words echo Deuteronomy 8:11 and 32:15, showing that Moses' warning had come true. The repeated Hebrew verb śāv'û ("they were filled") emphasizes the completeness of their satisfaction, and "heart exalted" (yārom libbām) literally means "their heart was lifted up" in arrogance. The result, shĕkhēḥûnî ("they forgot me"), is the ultimate covenantal failure. The consensus is clear: abundance, intended as a gift, became a snare when they took it without gratitude.
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Low
What is clear: The sequence of fullness leading to pride and forgetfulness is an undisputed indictment of Israel's covenant unfaithfulness, rooted in ingratitude.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning of 'their pasture' | All agree it refers to God's provision for Israel in Canaan, a land of abundance. | Barnes emphasizes that 'their pasture' may connote the people's selfish cravings (as in Numbers 11:4-6), while Calvin and others see it simply as God's good gifts. |
| Cause of forgetfulness | Pride (exalted heart) is the intermediate step between fullness and forgetting God. | Some commentators focus on self-exaltation in achievements (Gill); others on a sense of security that leads to neglect (Matthew Henry). |
| Corporate vs. individual application | The verse directly indicts the nation of Israel in the covenant context. | Some traditions apply it directly as a moral warning for individuals; others see it as a historical example of corporate unfaithfulness that must be interpreted through the lens of the covenant community. |
| Connection to Deuteronomy | The verse echoes Deuteronomy 8:12-14 and 32:15; the warning was anticipated in the Torah. | A small debate exists over whether Hosea is intentionally quoting these passages or using common prophetic language that developed from the same tradition. |
Historical & Cultural Context
The book of Hosea is set in the eighth century BC, during the final decades of the Northern Kingdom (Israel). Hosea 13 stands in the middle of a courtroom-style indictment (chs. 12-14) where God charges Israel with covenant violation. Verse 5 recalls God's care in the wilderness: "I knew you in the wilderness, in the land of great drought." That was a time of dependence. But after entering Canaan, a land of abundance, Israel experienced kĕmar'îtām, "according to their pasture," or more literally, "as was their feeding." The word mar'ît (pasture) belongs to the shepherd-flock world: God had led them to lush grazing. Yet the result was not humble thanksgiving but satiety, pride, and amnesia. The sequence perfectly fulfills the warnings of Deuteronomy 6:10-12 and 8:12-14, where Moses cautioned that fullness would lead to a lifted heart and forgetting the Lord. In the ancient Near East, kings and nations often boasted of their own strength after military success and agricultural plenty. Israel's forgetfulness took concrete form in idolatry: they made molten images and kissed calves (v. 2). Their prosperity, intended to display God's blessing, became the occasion for rebellion. The historical context of this verse is therefore not merely a moral lesson but a legal exhibit in God's case against his people.
Textual Notes
The consulted sources note no significant textual variants for Hosea 13:6. The Hebrew text is stable across manuscripts, and the verse is consistently preserved.
Reception History
This verse has been used throughout church history as a warning against the dangers of prosperity. The Reformers, especially Calvin, saw it as demonstrating human depravity: even God's blessings become occasions for sin. In the Wesleyan tradition, Adam Clarke used it to illustrate the sin of pride and ingratitude. More recently, preachers have used it to challenge the assumption that material blessings always indicate God's favor. The imagery of cattle waxing fat and kicking (Deuteronomy 32:15) is often cited alongside it. The verse has also been a key text in sermons on spiritual amnesia, urging believers to cultivate habits of remembrance and gratitude.
Preaching This Verse
Three-point outline
- God's lavish provision. The verse begins with pasture: God's gift of a good land, productivity, and well-being. Israel did not earn this; God led them from barren wilderness to fertile fields.
- Sin's predictable response: pride. Fullness led to a lifted heart. The Hebrew verb yārom ("was exalted") carries the sense of self-elevation. They began to think their prosperity came from their own hand.
- The tragic outcome: forgetfulness of God. They ceased to remember the Giver. Forgetfulness here is not mere absentmindedness but a willful neglect of covenant relationship.
Five-point outline
- God's historic care (implied from v. 5): Known them in the wilderness, provided in drought.
- Abundance in the land: Good pasture, satisfying their every need.
- Satiety turning to arrogance: The heart was lifted up: pride in possessions and self-sufficiency.
- Spiritual amnesia: They forgot the Lord, the source of all blessing.
- Divine judgment announced (vv. 7-8): God becomes a lion, leopard, bear. The blessing turns to curse.
Illustration hooks
- A child given every toy and treat soon takes them for granted and ignores the parents who gave them.
- A professional who climbs from poverty to success can easily credit only hard work, forgetting the opportunities and health that came from outside themselves.
- A church that has grown comfortable and well-resourced may begin to rely on programs and finances instead of on prayer and the Spirit.
Questions your congregation is asking
- “I have a good life. Why does reading this verse make me uncomfortable?”
- “How can I tell if I have forgotten God in my prosperity?”
- “What does remembering God look like in day-to-day practice?”
Leading a Discussion
This verse confronts a painful pattern: God's blessings become the soil in which pride and forgetfulness grow. The same heart that cried out in the wilderness can become self-sufficient in the land of plenty. As a group, work through the verse with these questions.
Discussion questions
- Read Hosea 13:4-6 slowly. What does God say about his relationship with Israel in the wilderness?
- The verse uses the image of pasture. Why is that a fitting picture of God's care? In what ways does a "pasture" mindset affect how we view our daily blessings?
- The Hebrew repeats "they were filled" twice. What does that repetition emphasize about their state?
- How does a "lifted heart" (pride) lead to forgetting God? Can you think of a time when success made you less reliant on God instead of more grateful?
- Cross-reference Deuteronomy 8:11-14. Hosea seems to quote that warning. Why would God warn his people about prosperity? What does that say about human nature?
- Israel forgot God by turning to idols (v. 2). What "idols" might fill the space when we forget God in our plenty?
- What practical habits can help us remember God in seasons of abundance, so we avoid the sequence of this verse?
Word Study
The key original-language words in this verse. Select any word for its full lexicon entry — meaning, every occurrence in Scripture, and related words.
Cross-References
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (TSK, public domain)
| Deuteronomy 6:10 | It shall be, when Yahweh your God brings you into the land which he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give you, great and goodly cities which you didn’t build, |
| Deuteronomy 6:12 | then beware lest you forget Yahweh, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. |
| Deuteronomy 8:12 | lest, when you have eaten and are full, and have built fine houses and lived in them; |
| Deuteronomy 8:14 | then your heart might be lifted up, and you forget Yahweh your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage; |
| Deuteronomy 32:13 | He made him ride on the high places of the earth. He ate the increase of the field. He caused him to suck honey out of the rock, oil out of the flinty rock; |
| Deuteronomy 32:15 | But Jeshurun grew fat, and kicked. You have grown fat. You have grown thick. You have become sleek. Then he abandoned God who made him, and rejected the Rock of his salvation. |
| Deuteronomy 32:18 | Of the Rock who became your father, you are unmindful, and have forgotten God who gave you birth. |
| Nehemiah 9:25 | They took fortified cities and a rich land, and possessed houses full of all good things, cisterns dug out, vineyards, olive groves, and fruit trees in abundance. So they ate, were filled, became fat, and delighted themselves in your great goodness. |
Interlinear and lexical data from STEPBible (CC BY 4.0). Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0). Commentaries are public domain.
For personal reflection
Read the devotional page — prayer, application, and "for families"
What the Commentators Say
11 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.
Adam Clarke's Commentary Methodist/Wesleyan 1826
Clarke notes that those who enjoy great abundance become proud and forget their God. This leads them to fall into enemy hands because the proud will be humbled. Your hope lies in Christ who rises again.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible Protestant 1832
Barnes sees their filling as a source of blame because they sought God only for material rewards. They grew proud and forgot God due to their abundance. You hold them close in your love.
Calvin's Commentaries Reformed 1564
Calvin notes that after Israel was fed in the desert they came to rich land and their hearts grew proud so they forgot God. Their nature was so wild that they could never be made obedient.
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges Anglican 1880
Christians who hold this view point to Hosea 13:6 while others emphasize Hosea 2:8 Hosea 4:7 and Hosea 10:1. Both seek to be faithful to Scripture.
Geneva Bible Notes Reformed 1599
The Geneva Notes trace a downward spiral: being well-fed in their pastures made Israel proud, and that pride caused them to forget God. The point is that prosperity itself, not hardship, became the occasion for their spiritual failure.
Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748
Gill emphasizes that the people's very prosperity became the cause of their downfall. Their abundance in the land led them to self-indulgence and pride, making them credit themselves rather than God. This forgetfulness of the true Giver was the direct result of their luxury and self-exaltation.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary Protestant 1871
Jamieson Fausset Brown notes that when people enjoy plenty they often become proud. They forget God because their good fortune makes them think they do not need Him. You may find peace in remembering God always.
Keil & Delitzsch OT Commentary Protestant 1876
Keil and Delitzsch note that the good pasture in the land caused Israel to become full and proud so they forgot their God. This shows what Moses warned them about in Deuteronomy happened exactly as he said.
Lange's Commentary Reformed 1857
Lange highlights that this verse echoes the exact warning Moses gave in Deuteronomy 8. Israel's prosperity in the land God provided led to satisfaction, then pride, and finally forgetfulness of their Benefactor. The goodness God lavished on them was tragically abused.
Matthew Henry's Commentary Reformed/Presbyterian 1710
Henry notes that after being fed by God in the wilderness he explains Israel became proud because their supply grew abundant. They forgot their Provider because their wealth made them arrogant.
Wesley's Explanatory Notes Methodist/Wesleyan 1754
Wesley sees a direct link between Israel's prosperity in Canaan and their moral decline. The very abundance God gave them became the occasion for luxury and pride, turning their pasture into a snare.