Hosea 8:6

Hosea 8:6 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)For from Israel was it also: the workman made it; therefore it is not God: but the calf of Samaria shall be broken in pieces.
• New International Version (NIV)They are from Israel! This calf—a metalworker has made it; it is not God. It will be broken in pieces, that calf of Samaria.
• English Standard Version (ESV)For it is from Israel; a craftsman made it; it is not God. The calf of Samaria shall be broken to pieces.
• New King James Version (NKJV)For from Israel is even this: A workman made it, and it is not God; But the calf of Samaria shall be broken to pieces.

Context of Hosea 8:6

4My people chose kings to rule them, but they did not ask me about it. They chose people to lead them, but I did not agree. They used their silver and their gold to make idols for themselves. But that will destroy them in the end. 5People of Samaria, you have made an image of a calf as your idol. But I hate that idol! I am very angry with the Israelites. How much longer will it be before I have to punish them? That idol is not a true god! An Israelite worker with special skills made it. Samaria's idol of a calf will break into pieces! 7Like a farmer, Israel's people have planted the wind. So their harvest will be a strong storm! The crops that grow in their fields will not have any grain. So they will not be able to make flour for bread. Even if the crops do make some grain, foreign people will take it for themselves. 8Israel will become lost among the other nations. It will be like a useless pot that nobody needs.

Hosea 8:6 word by word

כִּ֤י מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל֙ וְה֔וּא חָרָ֣שׁ עָשָׂ֔הוּ וְלֹ֥א אֱלֹהִ֖ים ה֑וּא כִּֽי־שְׁבָבִ֣ים יִֽהְיֶ֔ה עֵ֖גֶל שֹׁמְרֽוֹן׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• For from Israelיִשְׂרָאֵלyiώrâ'êl · IsraelH3478
• it also: the workmanחָרָשׁ, חֲרָשִׁיםchârâsh · artificerH2796
• madeעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to makeH6213
• not Godאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
• but the calfעֵ֫גֶל‛êgel · calfH5695
• of Samariaשֹׁמְרוֹןshômerôn · SamariaH8111
• shall be broken in piecesשְׁבָבִיםshâbâb · fragmentH7616

Cross-references for Hosea 8:6

• Psalms 106:19At Horeb, the Israelites used gold to make a cow, and they worshipped it.
• Psalms 115:4Those people's idols are made from silver and gold. Yes, human hands make them!
• Psalms 135:15Other nations make idols with silver and gold. People worship things that they have made with their hands!
• Isaiah 44:9All the people who make idols are fools. The images which make them so happy are useless. Those who worship idols cannot see the truth. They do not understand what they are doing, and they will be ashamed.
• Jeremiah 10:3The customs of those people are useless. They cut down a tree in the forest. A worker uses his tools to make it into an idol.
• Habakkuk 2:18What value does an idol have? What help can it give? Somebody has made it as the image of a false god. It can only tell false messages. Why should its maker trust it for help? He has used wood or metal to make it and it cannot speak!
• Acts 17:29So, because we are God's children, we should not think that he is a thing like an idol. Clever people use gold or silver or stone to make images of gods. But God is not like these things that people choose to make for themselves.
• Acts 19:26Also, you can see what this man Paul is doing. You have heard his message. Many people here in Ephesus, and in nearly all the places in Asia region, believe what he says. Paul teaches people this: “Anything that men have made is not really a god.”
• Hosea 10:2They do not truly trust God. They are guilty and they must receive their punishment. The Lord will break their altars. He will destroy their special pillars.
• Jeremiah 43:12He will burn the temples of Egypt's gods with fire. He will burn their gods or he will carry them away. He will take everything that he wants from Egypt. He will return home in good health.
• Jeremiah 50:2‘Tell this news to the nations! Wave a flag to make sure that people listen! Do not try to hide anything. Say this: “Enemies will take Babylon. Bel will become ashamed. Yes, Marduk will be afraid. All Babylon's disgusting idols will be ashamed.”
• 2 Kings 23:15Josiah also destroyed the altar at Bethel. It was an altar for false gods that Nebat's son, King Jeroboam had made. King Jeroboam had caused the people of Israel to do bad things. Josiah completely destroyed that altar. He broke its stones into small pieces so that only dust remained. He also burned the Asherah pole.
• 2 Chronicles 31:1The Passover festival finished. Then the Israelites who were there went to all the towns in Judah. They knocked down the stone pillars that people worshipped. They also cut down the Asherah poles. They destroyed all the altars and places for worship on the hills. They did that everywhere in Judah, Benjamin, Ephraim and Manasseh. After they finished, all the Israelites returned to their homes in their own towns.
• 2 Chronicles 34:6He went to the towns that belonged to the tribes of Manasseh, Ephraim and Simeon. He even went as far as Naphtali. He did the same thing in all those towns, as well as in the villages around them where nobody lived.

Commentaries on Hosea 8:6

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 6The workman made it; therefore it is not God - As God signifies the supreme eternal Good, the Creator and Upholder of all things, therefore the workman cannot make Him who made all things. This is an overwhelming argument against all idols. Nothing need be added. The workman has made them; therefore they are not God.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 6For - This verse may assign the reasons of God‘s displeasure, “mine anger is kindled;” or of Israel‘s impenitency, “How long will it be?” This indeed is only going a little further back, for Israel‘s incorrigibleness was the ground of God‘s displeasure. And they were incorrigible; because they had themselves devised it; “for from Israel was it also.” Those are especially incorrigible, who do not fall into error through ignorance, but who through malice…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 5-10Verses 5-10 They promised themselves plenty, peace, and victory, by worshipping idols, but their expectations came to nothing. What they sow has no stalk, no blade, or, if it have, the bud shall yield no fruit, there was nothing in them. The works of darkness are unfruitful; nay, the end of those things is death. The hopes of sinners will deceive them, and their gains will be snares. In times of danger, especially in the day of judgment, all carnal…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 5-6your calf: Jeroboam I was the first king of the northern kingdom of Israel. He ruled from 931 to 910 BC. When he became king, he set up worship places in Dan and Bethel. He did this to prevent people from traveling to the temple in Jerusalem, the capital of the southern kingdom. At each site, he placed a gold calf for the people to worship (1 Kings 12:26–30).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 66. from Israel was it--that is, the calf originated with them, not from Me. "It also," as well as their "kings set up" by them, "but not by Me" (Ho 8:4).Read the comment

Topics related to Hosea 8:6

• Calf
• Idolatry

In the dictionaries

• God
• Israel
• Samaria
• Israel, Israelites
• Jacob, Israel
• Samaria, Samaritan
• god, false god, goddess, idol, idolater, idolatrous, idolatry
• Calf, Golden
• Hosea
• Idolatry

Commentaries on Hosea 8

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings