Hosea 4:10

10 “They will eat but not have enough; they will engage in prostitution but not flourish, because they have deserted the LORDto give themselves

Hosea 4:10 in Other Translations

KJV
10 For they shall eat, and not have enough: they shall commit whoredom, and shall not increase: because they have left off to take heed to the LORD.
ESV
10 They shall eat, but not be satisfied; they shall play the whore, but not multiply, because they have forsaken the LORD to cherish
NLT
10 They will eat and still be hungry. They will play the prostitute and gain nothing from it, for they have deserted the LORD
MSG
10 They'll eat and be as hungry as ever, have sex and get no satisfaction. They walked out on me, their God, for a life of rutting with whores. They Make a Picnic Out of Religion
CSB
10 They will eat but not be satisfied; they will be promiscuous but not multiply; for they have abandoned their devotion to the Lord.

Hosea 4:10 Meaning and Commentary

Hosea 4:10

For they shall eat, and not have enough
Namely, the priests; for of them the words are continued, who ate of the sacrifices of the people, and of feasts made in honour of idols; and yet, either what they ate did not satisfy or nourish them, or else their appetites were still greedy after more of the same kind: or this may respect a famine, either at the siege of Samaria, or in their captivity; when they who had lived so voluptuously should have so little to eat, that it should not satisfy them: or though, as others, they eat to the honour of their idols, expecting to be blessed with plenty by them, they shall not have it: they shall commit whoredom, and shall not increase;
that is, their offspring; they shall not beget children, so the Targum, Jarchi, and Kimchi; or the children they beget shall quickly die; yea, though they commit whoredom in the idol's temple with that view, where the women prostituted themselves for that purpose: because they have left off to take heed to the Lord;
to his word, and worship, and ordinances, which they formerly had some regard unto, but now had relinquished: or, "the Lord they have forsaken", or "left off to observe" F25; his ways, his word, and worship. R. Saadiah connects this with the following words, they have forsaken the Lord to observe fornication and wine; but wrongly.


FOOTNOTES:

F25 (rmvl wbze hwhy ta) "Jehovam desierunt observare", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Rivetus, Liveleus; "ad observandum", Schmidt; "reliquerunt observare", Cocceius; "deseruerunt observare", so some in Vatablus.

Hosea 4:10 In-Context

8 They feed on the sins of my people and relish their wickedness.
9 And it will be: Like people, like priests. I will punish both of them for their ways and repay them for their deeds.
10 “They will eat but not have enough; they will engage in prostitution but not flourish, because they have deserted the LORDto give themselves
11 to prostitution; old wine and new wine take away their understanding.
12 My people consult a wooden idol, and a diviner’s rod speaks to them. A spirit of prostitution leads them astray; they are unfaithful to their God.

Cross References 3

  • 1. S Leviticus 26:26; S Isaiah 55:2; Micah 6:14
  • 2. S Ezekiel 22:9
  • 3. Hosea 7:14; Hosea 9:17
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