Hosea 7:3

3 "They make the king happy with their wickedness; their rulers are glad with their lies.

Hosea 7:3 Meaning and Commentary

Hosea 7:3

They make the king glad with their wickedness
Not any particular king; not Jeroboam the first, as Kimchi; nor Jehu, as Grotius; if any particular king, rather Jeroboam the second; but their kings in general, as the Septuagint render it, in succession, one after another; who were highly delighted and pleased with the priests in offering sacrifice to the calves, and with the people in attending to that idolatrous worship, by which they hoped to secure the kingdom of Israel to themselves, and prevent the people going to Jerusalem to worship: it made them glad to the heart to hear them say that God was as well pleased with sacrifices offered at Dan and Bethel, as at Jerusalem: and the princes with their lies;
with their idols and idolatrous practices, which are vanity and a lie; though some interpret this of their flatteries, either of them, or their favourites; and of their calumnies and detractions of such they had a dislike of.

Hosea 7:3 In-Context

1 When I heal Israel, Israel's sin will go away, and so will Samaria's evil. "They cheat a lot! Thieves break into houses, and robbers are in the streets.

2 It never enters their minds that I remember all their evil deeds. The bad things they do are all around them; they are right in front of me.

3 "They make the king happy with their wickedness; their rulers are glad with their lies.

4 But all of them are traitors. They are like an oven heated by a baker. While he mixes the dough, he does not need to stir up the fire.

5 The kings get so drunk they get sick every day. The rulers become crazy with wine; they make agreements with those who do not know the true God.