Hosea 4:6

Authorized King James Version (1611)

¶ My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.

📖 Grammatical Analysis

Original Text

נִדְמ֥וּ עַמִּ֖י מִבְּלִ֣י הַדָּ֑עַת כִּֽי־אַתָּ֞ה הַדַּ֣עַת מָאַ֗סְתָּ וְאֶמְאָֽסְאךָ֙ מִכַּהֵ֣ן לִ֔י וַתִּשְׁכַּח֙ תּוֹרַ֣ת אֱלֹהֶ֔יךָ אֶשְׁכַּ֥ח בָּנֶ֖יךָ גַּם־אָֽנִי׃

Transliteration

nidmû ʿammî mi-bblî haddāʿat kî-ʾattâ haddaʿat māʾastā wə-ʾemʾāsəʾkā mi-kkahēn lî wa-tiškaḥ tôrat ʾĕlōhêkā ʾeškaḥ bānêkā gam-ʾānî

Grammar Details

• *nidmû*: perfect, 3rd person common plural, niphal - they are cut off/destroyed/silenced
• *ʿammî*: noun + 1st person singular suffix - my people
• *mi-bblî*: preposition + negative particle - from lack of/because there is no
• *haddāʿat*: noun with definite article, feminine singular - the knowledge
• *kî*: conjunction - because/for
• *ʾattâ*: pronoun, 2nd person masculine singular - you
• *haddaʿat*: noun with definite article, feminine singular - the knowledge
• *māʾastā*: perfect, 2nd person masculine singular - you have rejected
• *wə-ʾemʾāsəʾkā*: conjunction + imperfect, 1st person singular + 2nd person masculine singular suffix - and I will reject you
• *mi-kkahēn*: preposition + infinitive construct - from being priest
• *lî*: preposition + 1st person singular suffix - for/to me
• *wa-tiškaḥ*: conjunction + imperfect, 2nd person masculine singular - and you forgot/have forgotten
• *tôrat*: construct state, feminine singular - instruction/law of
• *ʾĕlōhêkā*: noun, masculine plural construct form + 2nd person masculine singular suffix - your God
• *ʾeškaḥ*: imperfect, 1st person singular - I will forget
• *bānêkā*: noun, masculine plural + 2nd person masculine singular suffix - your sons/children
• *gam*: adverb - also/even
• *ʾānî*: pronoun, 1st person singular - I

Word Meanings

• *nidmû*: cut off/destroyed/silenced/perish
• *mi-bblî*: from lack of/without/because there is no
• *daʿat*: knowledge/insight/understanding
• *māʾas*: reject/refuse/despise
• *tôrat*: law/instruction/teaching/direction

Referenced Verses

• Isa 5:13 : 13 Therefore my people are gone into captivity, because [they have] no knowledge: and their honourable men [are] famished, and their multitude dried up with thirst.
• Prov 19:2 : 2 ¶ Also, [that] the soul [be] without knowledge, [it is] not good; and he that hasteth with [his] feet sinneth.
• Isa 1:3 : 3 The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master's crib: [but] Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider.
• Isa 17:10 : 10 Because thou hast forgotten the God of thy salvation, and hast not been mindful of the rock of thy strength, therefore shalt thou plant pleasant plants, and shalt set it with strange slips:
• 2 Chr 15:3 : 3 Now for a long season Israel [hath been] without the true God, and without a teaching priest, and without law.
• Hos 8:14 : 14 For Israel hath forgotten his Maker, and buildeth temples; and Judah hath multiplied fenced cities: but I will send a fire upon his cities, and it shall devour the palaces thereof.
• Hos 13:6 : 6 According to their pasture, so were they filled; they were filled, and their heart was exalted; therefore have they forgotten me.
• Hos 4:1 : 1 ¶ Hear the word of the LORD, ye children of Israel: for the LORD hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because [there is] no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land.
• Zech 11:15-17 : 15 ¶ And the LORD said unto me, Take unto thee yet the instruments of a foolish shepherd. 16 For, lo, I will raise up a shepherd in the land, [which] shall not visit those that be cut off, neither shall seek the young one, nor heal that that is broken, nor feed that that standeth still: but he shall eat the flesh of the fat, and tear their claws in pieces. 17 Woe to the idol shepherd that leaveth the flock! the sword [shall be] upon his arm, and upon his right eye: his arm shall be clean dried up, and his right eye shall be utterly darkened.
• Matt 15:14 : 14 ‹Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.›
• Ps 119:61 : 61 ¶ The bands of the wicked have robbed me: [but] I have not forgotten thy law.
• Ps 119:139 : 139 ¶ My zeal hath consumed me, because mine enemies have forgotten thy words.
• Jer 2:8 : 8 The priests said not, Where [is] the LORD? and they that handle the law knew me not: the pastors also transgressed against me, and the prophets prophesied by Baal, and walked after [things that] do not profit.
• 2 Cor 4:3-6 : 3 But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: 4 In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. 5 For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake. 6 For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to [give] the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
• Jer 4:22 : 22 For my people [is] foolish, they have not known me; they [are] sottish children, and they have none understanding: they [are] wise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge.
• Isa 3:12 : 12 [As for] my people, children [are] their oppressors, and women rule over them. O my people, they which lead thee cause [thee] to err, and destroy the way of thy paths.
• Isa 27:11 : 11 When the boughs thereof are withered, they shall be broken off: the women come, [and] set them on fire: for it [is] a people of no understanding: therefore he that made them will not have mercy on them, and he that formed them will shew them no favour.
• Isa 28:7 : 7 But they also have erred through wine, and through strong drink are out of the way; the priest and the prophet have erred through strong drink, they are swallowed up of wine, they are out of the way through strong drink; they err in vision, they stumble [in] judgment.
• Isa 45:20 : 20 ¶ Assemble yourselves and come; draw near together, ye [that are] escaped of the nations: they have no knowledge that set up the wood of their graven image, and pray unto a god [that] cannot save.
• Isa 56:10-12 : 10 His watchmen [are] blind: they are all ignorant, they [are] all dumb dogs, they cannot bark; sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber. 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. 12 Come ye, [say they], I will fetch wine, and we will fill ourselves with strong drink; and to morrow shall be as this day, [and] much more abundant.
• Prov 1:30-32 : 30 They would none of my counsel: they despised all my reproof. 31 Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices. 32 For the turning away of the simple shall slay them, and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them.
• 1 Sam 2:12 : 12 Now the sons of Eli [were] sons of Belial; they knew not the LORD.
• 1 Sam 2:28-36 : 28 And did I choose him out of all the tribes of Israel [to be] my priest, to offer upon mine altar, to burn incense, to wear an ephod before me? and did I give unto the house of thy father all the offerings made by fire of the children of Israel? 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? 30 Wherefore the LORD God of Israel saith, I said indeed [that] thy house, and the house of thy father, should walk before me for ever: but now the LORD saith, Be it far from me; for them that honour me I will honour, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed. 31 Behold, the days come, that I will cut off thine arm, and the arm of thy father's house, that there shall not be an old man in thine house. 32 And thou shalt see an enemy [in my] habitation, in all [the wealth] which [God] shall give Israel: and there shall not be an old man in thine house for ever. 33 And the man of thine, [whom] I shall not cut off from mine altar, [shall be] to consume thine eyes, and to grieve thine heart: and all the increase of thine house shall die in the flower of their age. 34 And this [shall be] a sign unto thee, that shall come upon thy two sons, on Hophni and Phinehas; in one day they shall die both of them. 35 And I will raise me up a faithful priest, [that] shall do according to [that] which [is] in mine heart and in my mind: and I will build him a sure house; and he shall walk before mine anointed for ever. 36 And it shall come to pass, [that] every one that is left in thine house shall come [and] crouch to him for a piece of silver and a morsel of bread, and shall say, Put me, I pray thee, into one of the priests' offices, that I may eat a piece of bread.
• 1 Sam 3:12-15 : 12 In that day I will perform against Eli all [things] which I have spoken concerning his house: when I begin, I will also make an end. 13 For I have told him that I will judge his house for ever for the iniquity which he knoweth; because his sons made themselves vile, and he restrained them not. 14 And therefore I have sworn unto the house of Eli, that the iniquity of Eli's house shall not be purged with sacrifice nor offering for ever. 15 And Samuel lay until the morning, and opened the doors of the house of the LORD. And Samuel feared to shew Eli the vision.
• 2 Kgs 17:16-20 : 16 And they left all the commandments of the LORD their God, and made them molten images, [even] two calves, and made a grove, and worshipped all the host of heaven, and served Baal. 17 And they caused their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire, and used divination and enchantments, and sold themselves to do evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger. 18 Therefore the LORD was very angry with Israel, and removed them out of his sight: there was none left but the tribe of Judah only. 19 Also Judah kept not the commandments of the LORD their God, but walked in the statutes of Israel which they made. 20 And the LORD rejected all the seed of Israel, and afflicted them, and delivered them into the hand of spoilers, until he had cast them out of his sight.
• Matt 21:41-45 : 41 They say unto him, He will miserably destroy those wicked men, and will let out [his] vineyard unto other husbandmen, which shall render him the fruits in their seasons. 42 Jesus saith unto them, ‹Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord's doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes?› 43 ‹Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof.› 44 ‹And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder.› 45 And when the chief priests and Pharisees had heard his parables, they perceived that he spake of them.
• Matt 23:16-26 : 16 ‹Woe unto you,› [ye] ‹blind guides, which say, Whosoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing; but whosoever shall swear by the gold of the temple, he is a debtor!› 17 [Ye] ‹fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gold, or the temple that sanctifieth the gold?› 18 ‹And, Whosoever shall swear by the altar, it is nothing; but whosoever sweareth by the gift that is upon it, he is guilty.› 19 [Ye] ‹fools and blind: for whether› [is] ‹greater, the gift, or the altar that sanctifieth the gift?› 20 ‹Whoso therefore shall swear by the altar, sweareth by it, and by all things thereon.› 21 ‹And whoso shall swear by the temple, sweareth by it, and by him that dwelleth therein.› 22 ‹And he that shall swear by heaven, sweareth by the throne of God, and by him that sitteth thereon.› 23 ‹Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier› [matters] ‹of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.› 24 [Ye] ‹blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel.› 25 ‹Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess.› 26 [Thou] ‹blind Pharisee, cleanse first that› [which is] ‹within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also.›
• Mark 12:8-9 : 8 ‹And they took him, and killed› [him], ‹and cast› [him] ‹out of the vineyard.› 9 ‹What shall therefore the lord of the vineyard do? he will come and destroy the husbandmen, and will give the vineyard unto others.›
• Luke 20:16-18 : 16 ‹He shall come and destroy these husbandmen, and shall give the vineyard to others.› And when they heard [it], they said, God forbid. 17 And he beheld them, and said, ‹What is this then that is written, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner?› 18 ‹Whosoever shall fall upon that stone shall be broken; but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder.›
• Mal 2:1-3 : 1 ¶ And now, O ye priests, this commandment [is] for you. 2 If ye will not hear, and if ye will not lay [it] to heart, to give glory unto my name, saith the LORD of hosts, I will even send a curse upon you, and I will curse your blessings: yea, I have cursed them already, because ye do not lay [it] to heart. 3 Behold, I will corrupt your seed, and spread dung upon your faces, [even] the dung of your solemn feasts; and [one] shall take you away with it.
• Mal 2:7-9 : 7 For the priest's lips should keep knowledge, and they should seek the law at his mouth: for he [is] the messenger of the LORD of hosts. 8 But ye are departed out of the way; ye have caused many to stumble at the law; ye have corrupted the covenant of Levi, saith the LORD of hosts. 9 Therefore have I also made you contemptible and base before all the people, according as ye have not kept my ways, but have been partial in the law.
• Matt 1:6 : 6 And Jesse begat David the king; and David the king begat Solomon of her [that had been the wife] of Urias;
• Matt 15:3-6 : 3 But he answered and said unto them, ‹Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition?› 4 ‹For God commanded, saying, Honour thy father and mother: and, He that curseth father or mother, let him die the death.› 5 ‹But ye say, Whosoever shall say to› [his] ‹father or› [his] ‹mother,› [It is] ‹a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me;› 6 ‹And honour not his father or his mother,› [he shall be free]. ‹Thus have ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition.›
• Matt 15:8 : 8 ‹This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with› [their] ‹lips; but their heart is far from me.›
• Hos 4:12 : 12 ¶ My people ask counsel at their stocks, and their staff declareth unto them: for the spirit of whoredoms hath caused [them] to err, and they have gone a whoring from under their God.
• Hos 6:6 : 6 For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.
• Hos 8:1 : 1 ¶ [Set] the trumpet to thy mouth. [He shall come] as an eagle against the house of the LORD, because they have transgressed my covenant, and trespassed against my law.
• Hos 8:12 : 12 I have written to him the great things of my law, [but] they were counted as a strange thing.
• Zech 11:8-9 : 8 Three shepherds also I cut off in one month; and my soul lothed them, and their soul also abhorred me. 9 Then said I, I will not feed you: that that dieth, let it die; and that that is to be cut off, let it be cut off; and let the rest eat every one the flesh of another.
• Jer 5:21 : 21 Hear now this, O foolish people, and without understanding; which have eyes, and see not; which have ears, and hear not:
• Jer 8:7-9 : 7 Yea, the stork in the heaven knoweth her appointed times; and the turtle and the crane and the swallow observe the time of their coming; but my people know not the judgment of the LORD. 8 How do ye say, We [are] wise, and the law of the LORD [is] with us? Lo, certainly in vain made he [it]; the pen of the scribes [is] in vain. 9 The wise [men] are ashamed, they are dismayed and taken: lo, they have rejected the word of the LORD; and what wisdom [is] in them?
• Hos 2:13 : 13 And I will visit upon her the days of Baalim, wherein she burned incense to them, and she decked herself with her earrings and her jewels, and she went after her lovers, and forgat me, saith the LORD.
• Job 36:12 : 12 But if they obey not, they shall perish by the sword, and they shall die without knowledge.
• Jer 5:3-4 : 3 O LORD, [are] not thine eyes upon the truth? thou hast stricken them, but they have not grieved; thou hast consumed them, [but] they have refused to receive correction: they have made their faces harder than a rock; they have refused to return. 4 Therefore I said, Surely these [are] poor; they are foolish: for they know not the way of the LORD, [nor] the judgment of their God.