God’s Word Translation
Hosea 4:8
8They feed on the sins of my people, and they want them to do wicked things.
Hosea 4:8 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)They eat up the sin of my people, and they set their heart on their iniquity.
- New International Version (NIV)They feed on the sins of my people and relish their wickedness.
- English Standard Version (ESV)They feed on the sin of my people; they are greedy for their iniquity.
- New King James Version (NKJV)They eat up the sin of My people; They set their heart on their iniquity.
Context of Hosea 4:8
6I will destroy my people because they are ignorant. You have refused to learn, so I will refuse to let you be my priests. You have forgotten the teachings of your God, so I will forget your children. 7The more priests there are, the more they sin against me. So I will turn their glory into shame. They feed on the sins of my people, and they want them to do wicked things. 9So the priests will be punished like the people. I will punish them for their wicked ways and pay them back for what they have done. 10“They will eat, but they’ll never be full. They will have sex with prostitutes, but they’ll never have children. They have abandoned the Lord.
Read all of Hosea 4Hosea 4:8 word by word
חַטַּ֥את עַמִּ֖י יֹאכֵ֑לוּ וְאֶל־עֲוֹנָ֖ם יִשְׂא֥וּ נַפְשֽׁוֹ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Hosea 4:8
- Leviticus 6:26The priest who makes the offering for sin will eat it in a holy place, in the courtyard of the tent of meeting.
- Leviticus 7:6Any male among the priests may eat it. It will be eaten in a holy place. It is very holy.
- 1 Samuel 2:29Why do you show no respect for my sacrifices and grain offerings that I have commanded people to make in my dwelling place? Why do you honor your sons more than me by making yourselves fat on the best of all the sacrifices offered by my people Israel?
- Psalms 24:4⌞The one who⌟ has clean hands and a pure heart and does not long for what is false or lie when he is under oath.
- Psalms 25:1To you, O Lord, I lift my soul.
- Isaiah 56:11These dogs have huge appetites. They are never full. They are the shepherds, but they don’t understand. All of them have turned to go their own ways. Each one seeks his own gain.
- Ezekiel 14:3“Son of man, these people are devoted to their idols, and they are allowing themselves to fall into sin. Should they be allowed to ask me for help?
- Micah 3:11Your leaders exchange justice for bribes. Your priests teach for a price. Your prophets tell the future for money. But they rely on the Lord when they say, “After all, the Lord is with us. Nothing bad will happen to us.”
- Malachi 1:10“I wish one of you would shut the doors ⌞to my house⌟ so that you could not light fires on my altar for no reason. I’m not pleased with you,” says the Lord of Armies, “and I won’t accept your offerings.
- Romans 16:18People like these are not serving Christ our Lord. They are serving their own desires. By their smooth talk and flattering words they deceive unsuspecting people.
- 2 Peter 2:3In their greed they will use good-sounding arguments to exploit you. The verdict against them from long ago is still in force, and their destruction is not asleep.
Commentaries on Hosea 4:8
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 8They eat up the sin of my people - חטאת chattath, the sin-offering, though it be offered contrary to the law; for their hearts are set on iniquity, they wish to do whatever is contrary to God.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 8They eat up the sin of My people - The priests made a gain of the sins of the people, lived upon them and by them, conniving at or upholding the idolatries of the people, partaking in their idol-sacrifices and idolatrous rites, which, as involving the desertion of God, were “the sin of the people,” and the root of all their other sins. This the priests did knowingly. True or false, apostate or irregularly appointed, they knew that there was no truth in…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 6-11Verses 6-11 Both priests and people rejected knowledge; God will justly reject them. They forgot the law of God, neither desired nor endeavoured to retain it in mind, and to transmit the remembrance to their posterity; therefore God will justly forget them and their children. If we dishonour God with that which is our honour, it will, sooner or later, be turned into shame to us. Instead of warning the people against sin, from the consideration of the…Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 88. eat ... sin of my people--that is, the sin offerings (Le 6:26; 10:17). The priests greedily devoured them. set their heart on their iniquity--literally, "lift up the animal soul to lust after," or strongly desire. Compare De 24:15, Margin; Psa 24:4; Jr 22:27. The priests set their own hearts on the iniquity of the people, instead of trying to suppress it. For the more the people sinned, the more sacrificial victims in atonement for sin the priests…Read the comment
Topics related to Hosea 4:8
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Hosea 4
- 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
God’s Word Translation — © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society
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