New King James Version
Hosea 8:4
4“They set up kings, but not by Me; They made princes, but I did not acknowledge them. From their silver and gold They made idols for themselves— That they might be cut off.
Hosea 8:4 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)They have set up kings, but not by me: they have made princes, and I knew it not: of their silver and their gold have they made them idols, that they may be cut off.
- New International Version (NIV)They set up kings without my consent; they choose princes without my approval. With their silver and gold they make idols for themselves to their own destruction.
- English Standard Version (ESV)They made kings, but not through me. They set up princes, but I knew it not. With their silver and gold they made idols for their own destruction.
- New Living Translation (NLT)The people have appointed kings without my consent, and princes without my approval. By making idols for themselves from their silver and gold, they have brought about their own destruction.
Context of Hosea 8:4
2Israel will cry to Me, ‘My God, we know You!’ 3Israel has rejected the good; The enemy will pursue him. “They set up kings, but not by Me; They made princes, but I did not acknowledge them. From their silver and gold They made idols for themselves— That they might be cut off. 5Your calf is rejected, O Samaria! My anger is aroused against them— How long until they attain to innocence? 6For from Israel is even this: A workman made it, and it is not God; But the calf of Samaria shall be broken to pieces.
Read all of Hosea 8Hosea 8:4 word by word
הֵ֤ם הִמְלִיכוּ֙ וְלֹ֣א מִמֶּ֔נִּי הֵשִׂ֖ירוּ וְלֹ֣א יָדָ֑עְתִּי כַּסְפָּ֣ם וּזְהָבָ֗ם עָשׂ֤וּ לָהֶם֙ עֲצַבִּ֔ים לְמַ֖עַן יִכָּרֵֽת׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- They have set up kingsמָלַךְmâlak · to reignH4427
- but not by me: they have made princesשׂוּרώûr · to reignH7786
- and I knewיָדַעyâda‛ · to knowH3045
- not: of their silverכֶּ֫סֶףkeseph · silver: moneyH3701
- and their goldזָהָבzâhâb · goldH2091
- have they madeעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to makeH6213
- them idolsעָצָב‛âtsâb · idolH6091
- that they may be cut offכָּרַתkârath · to cut: eliminateH3772
Cross-references for Hosea 8:4
- 1 Kings 12:16Now when all Israel saw that the king did not listen to them, the people answered the king, saying: “What share have we in David? We have no inheritance in the son of Jesse. To your tents, O Israel! Now, see to your own house, O David!” So Israel departed to their tents.
- 2 Kings 15:10Then Shallum the son of Jabesh conspired against him, and struck and killed him in front of the people; and he reigned in his place.
- Matthew 25:12But he answered and said, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.’
- Luke 13:25When once the Master of the house has risen up and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open for us,’ and He will answer and say to you, ‘I do not know you, where you are from,’
- John 10:14I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own.
- Galatians 4:9But now after you have known God, or rather are known by God, how is it that you turn again to the weak and beggarly elements, to which you desire again to be in bondage?
- Hosea 2:8For she did not know That I gave her grain, new wine, and oil, And multiplied her silver and gold— Which they prepared for Baal.
- Hosea 13:2Now they sin more and more, And have made for themselves molded images, Idols of their silver, according to their skill; All of it is the work of craftsmen. They say of them, “Let the men who sacrifice kiss the calves!”
- 1 Kings 12:28Therefore the king asked advice, made two calves of gold, and said to the people, “It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem. Here are your gods, O Israel, which brought you up from the land of Egypt!”
- 1 Kings 16:31And it came to pass, as though it had been a trivial thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, that he took as wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal, king of the Sidonians; and he went and served Baal and worshiped him.
- Hosea 13:9“O Israel, you are destroyed, But your help is from Me.
- 1 Kings 13:34And this thing was the sin of the house of Jeroboam, so as to exterminate and destroy it from the face of the earth.
- Jeremiah 44:7“Now therefore, thus says the Lord, the God of hosts, the God of Israel: ‘Why do you commit this great evil against yourselves, to cut off from you man and woman, child and infant, out of Judah, leaving none to remain,
- Ezekiel 18:31Cast away from you all the transgressions which you have committed, and get yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. For why should you die, O house of Israel?
Commentaries on Hosea 8:4
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 4They have set up kings, but not by me - Properly speaking, not one of the kings of Israel, from the defection of the ten tribes from the house of David, was the anointed or the Lord. I knew it not - It had not my approbation. In this sense the word know is frequently understood. That they may be cut off - That is, They shall be cut off in consequence of their idolatry.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 4They have set up kings, but not by ME - God Himself foretold to Jeroboam by Ahijah the prophet, that He would “rend the kingdom out of the hands of Solomon, and give ten tribes” to him, “and” would “take” him, “and” he “should reign according to all that” his soul desired and” should “be king over Israel” 1 Kings 11:31, 1 Kings 11:37; and, after the ten tribes had made Jeroboam king, God said by Shemaiah the prophet to Rehoboam and the two tribes, “Ye…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 4They make princes, but without My approval: They quickly removed one king and chose another if they believed it would save their nation (see Hosea 7:7). They did all of this without consulting their true king, the Lord.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 44. kings ... not by me--not with My sanction (1Ki 11:31; 12:20). Israel set up Jeroboam and his successors, whereas God had appointed the house of David as the rightful kings of the whole nation. I knew it not--I approved it not (Psa 1:6). of ... gold ... idols--(Ho 2:8; 13:2). that they may be cut off--that is, though warned of the consequences of idolatry, as it were with open eyes they rushed on their own destruction. So Jr 27:10, 15; 44:8.Read the comment
Topics related to Hosea 8:4
In the dictionaries
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
New King James Version — © 1982 Thomas Nelson, Inc
Commentaries