Hosea 4:8

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

They eat up {H398} the sin {H2403} of my people {H5971}, and they set {H5375} their heart {H5315} on their iniquity {H5771}.

They feed on the sin of my people and are greedy for their crimes.

They feed on the sins of My people and set their hearts on iniquity.

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

Commentary

Commentary on Hosea 4:8 (KJV)

Hosea 4:8 delivers a scathing indictment, primarily against the priests of Israel in the Northern Kingdom, highlighting their profound spiritual corruption and complicity in the nation's decline. This verse is part of a larger prophecy where God outlines His lawsuit against Israel for their pervasive sin.

Context

The Book of Hosea serves as a prophetic warning to Israel (often called Ephraim) before its eventual destruction by Assyria. Chapter 4 opens with a divine charge against the people for their lack of truth, mercy, and knowledge of God (Hosea 4:1). The priests, who were meant to be the spiritual guides and upholders of God's law, are instead depicted as leading the way in moral decay. They have failed in their foundational duty to teach and preserve the knowledge of the Lord, contributing to the nation's spiritual blindness and ultimate downfall.

Key Themes

  • Corrupt Priesthood: The verse directly targets the spiritual leaders, indicating their abandonment of divine standards. They are no longer serving God but exploiting the system.
  • Profiting from Sin: "They eat up the sin of my people" implies that the priests were benefiting financially or materially from the people's transgressions. While priests were legitimately entitled to portions of sin offerings (Leviticus 6:26), this phrase carries a pejorative sense, suggesting they either encouraged sin to increase offerings or reveled in the people's moral failures, finding satisfaction in the ongoing corruption.
  • Desire for Iniquity: "And they set their heart on their iniquity" reveals a deep-seated desire and active embrace of wrongdoing. It's not just passive acceptance, but an eager longing for the continuation of sin, indicating a severe spiritual depravity and a heart turned away from God's righteousness.
  • Spiritual Decay and Judgment: This verse underscores the pervasive spiritual sickness within Israel, particularly among its leaders. Such profound corruption inevitably leads to divine judgment, as God declares He will punish them for their ways (Hosea 4:9).

Linguistic Insights

The phrase "eat up the sin" is significant. The Hebrew word for "sin" (Χ—Φ·Χ˜ΦΈΦΌΧΧͺ - chatta't) can also refer to a "sin offering." This duality is crucial: while priests were permitted to eat portions of sin offerings, Hosea uses this idiom to convey their perverse satisfaction in the people's sinfulness. They figuratively "feed" on the people's moral failures, perhaps because it ensures their livelihood through the endless cycle of offerings, or because they themselves delight in depravity.

The expression "set their heart on their iniquity" uses the Hebrew word for "heart" (ΧœΦ΅Χ‘ - lev), which in biblical thought encompasses not just emotions but also intellect, will, and conscience. To "set their heart" on something signifies a deliberate, passionate commitment and desire, indicating that their corruption was not accidental but deeply ingrained and desired.

Practical Application

Hosea 4:8 serves as a timeless warning about the dangers of spiritual leadership that becomes complacent, corrupt, or even benefits from the sins of those they are meant to guide. It highlights the profound responsibility of those in positions of spiritual authority to uphold righteousness and truth.

  • It reminds us that true spiritual leadership seeks to lead people away from sin and towards God, not to exploit or become comfortable with their iniquity.
  • For individuals, the verse challenges us to examine our own hearts: Do we truly desire righteousness, or do we secretly "set our heart" on our own iniquity, finding comfort or benefit in our shortcomings?
  • It underscores the importance of genuine repentance and a sincere turning towards God, rather than a cycle of sin that feeds complacency.
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Please note that only the commentary section is AI-generated β€” the main Scripture and cross-references are stored on the site and are from trusted and verified sources.

Cross-References

  • Isaiah 56:11

    Yea, [they are] greedy dogs [which] can never have enough, and they [are] shepherds [that] cannot understand: they all look to their own way, every one for his gain, from his quarter.

  • Micah 3:11

    The heads thereof judge for reward, and the priests thereof teach for hire, and the prophets thereof divine for money: yet will they lean upon the LORD, and say, [Is] not the LORD among us? none evil can come upon us.

  • Titus 1:11

    Whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole houses, teaching things which they ought not, for filthy lucre's sake.

  • 1 Samuel 2:29

    Wherefore kick ye at my sacrifice and at mine offering, which I have commanded [in my] habitation; and honourest thy sons above me, to make yourselves fat with the chiefest of all the offerings of Israel my people?

  • Leviticus 6:26

    The priest that offereth it for sin shall eat it: in the holy place shall it be eaten, in the court of the tabernacle of the congregation.

  • Psalms 24:4

    He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully.

  • Malachi 1:10

    Who [is there] even among you that would shut the doors [for nought]? neither do ye kindle [fire] on mine altar for nought. I have no pleasure in you, saith the LORD of hosts, neither will I accept an offering at your hand.
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