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

4The 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. 5“O Samaria, I reject this calf— this idol you have made. My fury burns against you. How long will you be incapable of innocence? This calf you worship, O Israel, was crafted by your own hands! It is not God! Therefore, it must be smashed to bits. 7“They have planted the wind and will harvest the whirlwind. The stalks of grain wither and produce nothing to eat. And even if there is any grain, foreigners will eat it. 8The people of Israel have been swallowed up; they lie among the nations like an old discarded pot.

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 106:19The people made a calf at Mount Sinai; they bowed before an image made of gold.
• Psalms 115:4Their idols are merely things of silver and gold, shaped by human hands.
• Psalms 135:15The idols of the nations are merely things of silver and gold, shaped by human hands.
• Isaiah 44:9How foolish are those who manufacture idols. These prized objects are really worthless. The people who worship idols don’t know this, so they are all put to shame.
• Jeremiah 10:3Their ways are futile and foolish. They cut down a tree, and a craftsman carves an idol.
• Habakkuk 2:18“What good is an idol carved by man, or a cast image that deceives you? How foolish to trust in your own creation— a god that can’t even talk!
• Acts 17:29And since this is true, we shouldn’t think of God as an idol designed by craftsmen from gold or silver or stone.
• Acts 19:26But as you have seen and heard, this man Paul has persuaded many people that handmade gods aren’t really gods at all. And he’s done this not only here in Ephesus but throughout the entire province!
• Hosea 10:2The hearts of the people are fickle; they are guilty and must be punished. The Lord will break down their altars and smash their sacred pillars.
• Jeremiah 43:12He will set fire to the temples of Egypt’s gods; he will burn the temples and carry the idols away as plunder. He will pick clean the land of Egypt as a shepherd picks fleas from his cloak. And he himself will leave unharmed.
• Jeremiah 50:2This is what the Lord says: “Tell the whole world, and keep nothing back. Raise a signal flag to tell everyone that Babylon will fall! Her images and idols will be shattered. Her gods Bel and Marduk will be utterly disgraced.
• 2 Kings 23:15The king also tore down the altar at Bethel—the pagan shrine that Jeroboam son of Nebat had made when he caused Israel to sin. He burned down the shrine and ground it to dust, and he burned the Asherah pole.
• 2 Chronicles 31:1When the festival ended, the Israelites who attended went to all the towns of Judah, Benjamin, Ephraim, and Manasseh, and they smashed all the sacred pillars, cut down the Asherah poles, and removed the pagan shrines and altars. After this, the Israelites returned to their own towns and homes.
• 2 Chronicles 34:6He did the same thing in the towns of Manasseh, Ephraim, and Simeon, even as far as Naphtali, and in the regions all around them.

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