The Meaning of Hosea 4:8 Explained

Hosea 4:8

KJV: They eat up the sin of my people, and they set their heart on their iniquity.

YLT: The sin of My people they do eat, And unto their iniquity lift up their soul.

Darby: They eat the sin of my people, and their soul longeth for their iniquity.

ASV: They feed on the sin of my people, and set their heart on their iniquity.

Discover Hosea 4:8

CONTEXT: What is the Context of Hosea 4:8?

MEANING: What does Hosea 4:8 Mean?

WORDS: What do the individual words in Hosea 4:8 mean?

RELATIONS: What do the major concepts mean in Hosea 4:8?

What is the context of Hosea 4:8?

KJV Reverse Interlinear

They eat up the sin of my people, and they set their heart on their iniquity.

What does Hosea 4:8 Mean?

Verse Meaning

Israel"s priests were feeding on the sin offerings that the people brought to their pagan shrines. Yet since these offerings were to idols it was as though the priests really fed on the people"s sins. The priests desired these offerings, which meant they wanted the people to practice idolatry so they would bring more sacrifices. King Jeroboam I had appointed as priests people from any tribe and all walks of life in Israel ( 1 Kings 12:31; 1 Kings 13:33).

Context Summary

Hosea 4:1-10 - "like People, Like Priest"

This chapter contains a terrible indictment against the whole kingdom. There was neither truth nor mercy in the land, but swearing, lying, and adultery. Apart from the restraints of religion, such would be the condition of human society today. Even atheists have been known to remove from mining-camps, where there was no semblance of religion, to places within the sound of the church-bell. Notice in Hosea 4:3 how man's sin seems to affect even the animals. "The whole creation groaneth and travaileth"¦ waiting for our adoption" as the recognized sons of God, Romans 8:22-23.

Rightly enough, the prophet remonstrates with the priests. They were drunken and sensual; they rejected the knowledge and rule of God; they promoted outward ritual in order to fatten on the offerings of the people; and as it was with them, so it became with the deluded worshipers. What a solemn lesson is contained in the proverb which originated in this passage, Like people, like priest! It is not what we teach, but what we are, that really affects men. The colorless rays of the sun, lying outside the prismatic band of color, give health. [source]

Chapter Summary: Hosea 4

¹ God denounces judgments on Israel, for their aggravated impieties and iniquities
¹² He exposes the ignorance and wickedness of the priests,
¹³ and moral dissolution of the people,
¹⁴ he will leave their wives and daughters to commit lewdness, without present punishment
¹⁵ He warns Judah, not to imitate Israel's crimes, which are still further reproved

What do the individual words in Hosea 4:8 mean?

The sin of My people they eat up and on their iniquity they set their heart

חַטַּ֥את עַמִּ֖י יֹאכֵ֑לוּ וְאֶל־ עֲוֺנָ֖ם יִשְׂא֥וּ נַפְשֽׁוֹ

חַטַּ֥את	The sin
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct Root: חַטָּאָה Sense: sin, sinful.
עַמִּ֖י	of My people
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, first person common singular Root: עַם Sense: nation, people.
יֹאכֵ֑לוּ	they eat up
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine plural Root: אָכַל Sense: to eat, devour, burn up, feed.
וְאֶל־	and on
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Preposition Root: אֶל Sense: to, toward, unto (of motion).
עֲוֺנָ֖ם	their iniquity
Parse: Noun, common singular construct, third person masculine plural Root: עָוֹן Sense: perversity, depravity, iniquity, guilt or punishment of iniquity.
יִשְׂא֥וּ	they set
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine plural Root: נָשָׂא Sense: to lift, bear up, carry, take.
נַפְשֽׁוֹ	their heart
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct, third person masculine singular Root: נֶפֶשׁ Sense: soul, self, life, creature, person, appetite, mind, living being, desire, emotion, passion.

What are the major concepts related to Hosea 4:8?

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Similar Scriptures for Hosea 4:8

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