Samaria shall become desolate; for she hath rebelled against her God: they shall fall by the sword: their infants shall be dashed in pieces, and their women with child shall be ripped up.

HOSEA 13:16KJV
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Hosea 13:16 (KJV)

What does Hosea 13:16 mean?

Hosea 13:16 describes a coming judgment on Samaria, saying the city will be left empty and ruined because its people have turned against God. The verse uses graphic language to show the violence and suffering that will happen, including the deaths of children and pregnant women, as a result of this rebellion.

In this verse, the prophet Hosea is speaking God’s message to the people of the northern kingdom of Israel, whose capital was Samaria. The warning is about the consequences of their ongoing unfaithfulness and rejection of God, which will lead to a devastating military defeat. The harsh descriptions reflect the real brutality of ancient warfare and are meant to show how serious the consequences of turning away from God would be.

The Hebrew behind Hosea 13:16

  • "Samaria" (שֹׁמְרוֹן, Shomron) is the capital city of the northern kingdom of Israel, so the judgment is aimed at the whole nation, not just a single city.
  • "Desolate" (אָשֵׁם, ashem) means to be made guilty or laid waste, emphasizing both the moral guilt and the physical destruction that will come.
  • "Rebelled" (מָרָה, marah) means to act defiantly or stubbornly against authority, highlighting that the disaster comes as a direct result of Israel’s deliberate choice to reject God.
  • "Infants" (עוֹלֵל, olel) and "pieces" (רָטַשׁ, ratash) are used to describe the violence against the most vulnerable, which underlines the totality and horror of the coming destruction.

Why Hosea 13:16 matters

  • Hosea 13:16 clears up the idea that the destruction of Samaria was just a political event; the verse frames it as a direct result of spiritual rebellion against God.
  • The verse emphasizes the seriousness of turning away from God, showing that the consequences are not just personal but affect entire communities, including the innocent.
  • Hosea 13:16 connects to the wider message of the book, where Hosea repeatedly warns that unfaithfulness to God leads to real and devastating consequences, using vivid language to get the people's attention.

Where else these words appear

“pieces” Hebrew H7376 · used in 6 verses

  • 2 Kings 8:12 And Hazael said, Why weepeth my lord? And he answered, Because I know the evil that thou wilt do unto the children of Israel: their strong holds wilt thou set on fire, and their young men wilt thou slay with the sword, and wilt dash their children, and rip up their women with child.
  • Isaiah 13:16 Their children also shall be dashed to pieces before their eyes; their houses shall be spoiled, and their wives ravished.
  • Hosea 10:14 Therefore shall a tumult arise among thy people, and all thy fortresses shall be spoiled, as Shalman spoiled Betharbel in the day of battle: the mother was dashed in pieces upon her children.

“child” Hebrew H2030 · used in 16 verses

  • Genesis 16:11 And the angel of the LORD said unto her, Behold, thou art with child, and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael; because the LORD hath heard thy affliction.
  • Judges 13:7 But he said unto me, Behold, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and now drink no wine nor strong drink, neither eat any unclean thing: for the child shall be a Nazarite to God from the womb to the day of his death.
  • Isaiah 7:14 Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

“infants” Hebrew H5768 · used in 20 verses

  • 1 Samuel 15:3 Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass.
  • Psalms 137:9 Happy shall he be, that taketh and dasheth thy little ones against the stones.
  • Lamentations 2:11 Mine eyes do fail with tears, my bowels are troubled, my liver is poured upon the earth, for the destruction of the daughter of my people; because the children and the sucklings swoon in the streets of the city.

“desolate” Hebrew H816 · used in 32 verses

  • Leviticus 4:13 And if the whole congregation of Israel sin through ignorance, and the thing be hid from the eyes of the assembly, and they have done somewhat against any of the commandments of the LORD concerning things which should not be done, and are guilty;
  • Numbers 5:6 Speak unto the children of Israel, When a man or woman shall commit any sin that men commit, to do a trespass against the LORD, and that person be guilty;
  • Jeremiah 50:7 All that found them have devoured them: and their adversaries said, We offend not, because they have sinned against the LORD, the habitation of justice, even the LORD, the hope of their fathers.