Hear ye this, O priests; and hearken, ye house of Israel; and give ye ear, O house of the king; for judgment is toward you, because ye have been a snare on Mizpah, and a net spread upon Tabor.

HOSEA 5:1KJV
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Hosea 5:1 (KJV)

What does Hosea 5:1 mean?

Hosea 5:1 is a warning from God, spoken through the prophet Hosea, directed at the priests, the people of Israel, and the royal family, telling them that judgment is coming because they have led others into sin, like setting traps at Mizpah and Tabor. The verse uses the images of a snare and a net to show how these leaders have caused harm rather than guiding people rightly.

The speaker is Hosea, delivering God’s message to three groups: the priests (religious leaders), the house of Israel (the people), and the house of the king (the royal family). The situation is one of widespread corruption, where those who should guide and protect the nation have instead become stumbling blocks. The mention of Mizpah and Tabor points to specific locations where idolatry or wrongdoing happened, making the warning very concrete and direct.

The Hebrew behind Hosea 5:1

  • "Snare" (פַּח, pach, H6341) and "net" (שְׁחָה, shekhah, H7568) both refer to traps used for catching animals, here used as metaphors for how the leaders have ensnared the people spiritually.
  • "Judgment" (מִשְׁפָּט, mishpat, H4941) means a legal decision or verdict, stressing that God’s response is not random anger but a just and reasoned consequence for wrongdoing.
  • "Mizpah" (מִצְפָּה, mitzpeh, H4709) and "Tabor" (תָּבוֹר, tavor, H8396) are real locations, so the accusation is not vague but points to known centers of corrupt activity.

Why Hosea 5:1 matters

  • Hosea 5:1 makes clear that God holds leaders—religious and political—especially responsible for leading people astray, not just the general population.
  • The verse shows that God’s judgment is targeted and specific, not just a general statement of displeasure; it names the guilty parties and their actions.
  • By referencing Mizpah and Tabor, Hosea 5:1 ties the warning to actual events and places, helping readers see that God’s concerns are rooted in real-world actions, not just abstract ideas.

Where else these words appear

“Tabor” Hebrew H8396 · used in 10 verses

  • Joshua 19:22 And the coast reacheth to Tabor, and Shahazimah, and Bethshemesh; and the outgoings of their border were at Jordan: sixteen cities with their villages.
  • Judges 4:14 And Deborah said unto Barak, Up; for this is the day in which the LORD hath delivered Sisera into thine hand: is not the LORD gone out before thee? So Barak went down from mount Tabor, and ten thousand men after him.
  • 1 Chronicles 6:77 Unto the rest of the children of Merari were given out of the tribe of Zebulun, Rimmon with her suburbs, Tabor with her suburbs:

“net” Hebrew H7568 · used in 21 verses

  • Exodus 27:4 And thou shalt make for it a grate of network of brass; and upon the net shalt thou make four brasen rings in the four corners thereof.
  • Psalms 25:15 Mine eyes are ever toward the LORD; for he shall pluck my feet out of the net.
  • Proverbs 29:5 A man that flattereth his neighbour spreadeth a net for his feet.

“snare” Hebrew H6341 · used in 25 verses

  • Exodus 39:3 And they did beat the gold into thin plates, and cut it into wires, to work it in the blue, and in the purple, and in the scarlet, and in the fine linen, with cunning work.
  • Psalms 119:110 The wicked have laid a snare for me: yet I erred not from thy precepts.
  • Isaiah 8:14 And he shall be for a sanctuary; but for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offence to both the houses of Israel, for a gin and for a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

“Mizpah” Hebrew H4709 · used in 31 verses

  • Genesis 31:49 And Mizpah; for he said, The LORD watch between me and thee, when we are absent one from another.
  • 1 Samuel 7:6 And they gathered together to Mizpeh, and drew water, and poured it out before the LORD, and fasted on that day, and said there, We have sinned against the LORD. And Samuel judged the children of Israel in Mizpeh.
  • Nehemiah 3:15 But the gate of the fountain repaired Shallun the son of Colhozeh, the ruler of part of Mizpah; he built it, and covered it, and set up the doors thereof, the locks thereof, and the bars thereof, and the wall of the pool of Siloah by the king's garden, and unto the stairs that go down from the city of David.