Hosea 4:4

Hosea 4:4 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Yet let no man strive, nor reprove another: for thy people are as they that strive with the priest.
• New International Version (NIV)“But let no one bring a charge, let no one accuse another, for your people are like those who bring charges against a priest.
• English Standard Version (ESV)Yet let no one contend, and let none accuse, for with you is my contention, O priest.
• New King James Version (NKJV)“Now let no man contend, or rebuke another; For your people are like those who contend with the priest.

Context of Hosea 4:4

2You make vows and break them; you kill and steal and commit adultery. There is violence everywhere— one murder after another. 3That is why your land is in mourning, and everyone is wasting away. Even the wild animals, the birds of the sky, and the fish of the sea are disappearing. “Don’t point your finger at someone else and try to pass the blame! My complaint, you priests, is with you. 5So you will stumble in broad daylight, and your false prophets will fall with you in the night. And I will destroy Israel, your mother. 6My people are being destroyed because they don’t know me. Since you priests refuse to know me, I refuse to recognize you as my priests. Since you have forgotten the laws of your God, I will forget to bless your children.

Hosea 4:4 word by word

אַ֥ךְ אִ֛ישׁ אַל־יָרֵ֖ב וְאַל־יוֹכַ֣ח אִ֑ישׁ וְעַמְּךָ֖ כִּמְרִיבֵ֥י כֹהֵֽן׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Yet let no manאִישׁ'îysh · man: anyoneH376
• striveרִיבrîyb rûb · to contendH7378
• nor reproveיָכַחyâkach · to rebukeH3198
• for thy peopleעַם‛am · peopleH5971
• with the priestכֹּהֵןkôhên · priestH3548

Cross-references for Hosea 4:4

• Hosea 4:17Leave Israel alone, because she is married to idolatry.
• Amos 5:13So those who are smart keep their mouths shut, for it is an evil time.
• Amos 6:10And when a relative who is responsible to dispose of the dead goes into the house to carry out the bodies, he will ask the last survivor, “Is anyone else with you?” When the person begins to swear, “No, by . . . ,” he will interrupt and say, “Stop! Don’t even mention the name of the Lord.”)
• Matthew 7:3“And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye when you have a log in your own?
• Deuteronomy 17:12Anyone arrogant enough to reject the verdict of the judge or of the priest who represents the Lord your God must die. In this way you will purge the evil from Israel.
• Jeremiah 18:18Then the people said, “Come on, let’s plot a way to stop Jeremiah. We have plenty of priests and wise men and prophets. We don’t need him to teach the word and give us advice and prophecies. Let’s spread rumors about him and ignore what he says.”

Commentaries on Hosea 4:4

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 4Yet let no man strive - Or, no man contendeth. All these evils stalk abroad unreproved, for all are guilty. None can say, "Let me pluck the mote out of thy eye," because he knows that "there is a beam in his own." For thy people are - The people and the priest are alike rebels against the Lord; the priests having become idolaters, as well as the people. Bp. Newcome renders this clause, "And as is the provocation of the priest, so is that of my people."…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 4Yet let no man strive, nor reprove another - Literally, “Only man let him, not strive, and let not man reprove.” God had taken the controversy with His people into His own hands; the Lord, He said, “hath a controversy (rib) with the inhabitants of the land” Hosea 4:1. Here He forbids man to intermeddle; man let him not strive. He again uses the same word. The people were obstinate and would not hear; warning and reproof, being neglected, only aggravated…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 4-5When accused of a crime, people often blame others. However, God made it clear that Israel’s apostasy was the fault of its religious leaders, priests, and false prophets. God’s judgment on the priests and prophets was that they would stumble and fall, both in their work and in their personal lives. (The same Hebrew word is used for both kinds of stumbling.)Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 44. let no man ... reprove--Great as is the sin of Israel, it is hopeless to reprove them; for their presumptuous guilt is as great as that of one who refuses to obey the priest when giving judgment in the name of Jehovah, and who therefore is to be put to death (De 17:12). They rush on to their own destruction as wilfully as such a one. thy people--the ten tribes of Israel; distinct from Judah (Ho 4:1).Read the comment

Topics related to Hosea 4:4

• Priest
• Sin

In the dictionaries

• Languish
• Reject
• Deuteronomy
• Hosea
• Priests and Levites
• Zechariah, Book of

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