Hosea 4:6

NET Bible® (New English Translation)

You have destroyed my people by failing to acknowledge me! Because you refuse to acknowledge me, I will reject you as my priests. Because you reject the law of your God, I will reject your descendants.

📖 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 will be deported because of their lack of understanding. Their leaders will have nothing to eat, their masses will have nothing to drink.
• Prov 19:2 : 2 It is dangerous to have zeal without knowledge, and the one who acts hastily makes poor choices.
• Isa 1:3 : 3 An ox recognizes its owner, a donkey recognizes where its owner puts its food; but Israel does not recognize me, my people do not understand.”
• Isa 17:10 : 10 For you ignore the God who rescues you; you pay no attention to your strong protector. So this is what happens: You cultivate beautiful plants and plant exotic vines.
• 2 Chr 15:3 : 3 For a long time Israel had no true God, or priest to instruct them, or law.
• Hos 8:14 : 14 Israel has forgotten his Maker and built royal palaces, and Judah has built many fortified cities. But I will send fire on their cities; it will consume their royal citadels.
• Hos 13:6 : 6 When they were fed, they became satisfied; when they were satisfied, they became proud; as a result, they forgot me!
• Hos 4:1 : 1 The Lord’s Covenant Lawsuit against the Nation Israel Listen to the LORD’s message, you Israelites! For the LORD has a covenant lawsuit against the people of Israel. For there is neither faithfulness nor loyalty in the land, nor do they acknowledge God.
• Zech 11:15-17 : 15 Again the LORD said to me,“Take up once more the equipment of a foolish shepherd. 16 Indeed, I am about to raise up a shepherd in the land who will not take heed to the sheep headed to slaughter, will not seek the scattered, and will not heal the injured. Moreover, he will not nourish the one that is healthy but instead will eat the meat of the fat sheep and tear off their hooves. 17 Woe to the worthless shepherd who abandons the flock! May a sword fall on his arm and his right eye! May his arm wither completely away, and his right eye become completely blind!”
• Matt 15:14 : 14 Leave them! They are blind guides. If someone who is blind leads another who is blind, both will fall into a pit.”
• Ps 119:61 : 61 The ropes of the wicked tighten around me, but I do not forget your law.
• Ps 119:139 : 139 My zeal consumes me, for my enemies forget your instructions.
• Jer 2:8 : 8 Your priests did not ask,‘Where is the LORD?’ Those responsible for teaching my law did not really know me. Your rulers rebelled against me. Your prophets prophesied in the name of the god Baal. They all worshiped idols that could not help them.
• 2 Cor 4:3-6 : 3 But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled only to those who are perishing, 4 among whom the god of this age has blinded the minds of those who do not believe so they would not see the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God. 5 For we do not proclaim ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your slaves for Jesus’ sake. 6 For God, who said“Let light shine out of darkness,” is the one who shined in our hearts to give us the light of the glorious knowledge of God in the face of Christ.
• Jer 4:22 : 22 The LORD answered,“This will happen because my people are foolish. They do not know me. They are like children who have no sense. They have no understanding. They are skilled at doing evil. They do not know how to do good.”
• Isa 3:12 : 12 Oppressors treat my people cruelly; creditors rule over them. My people’s leaders mislead them; they give you confusing directions.
• Isa 27:11 : 11 When its branches get brittle, they break; women come and use them for kindling. For these people lack understanding, therefore the one who made them has no compassion on them; the one who formed them has no mercy on them.
• Isa 28:7 : 7 Even these men stagger because of wine, they stumble around because of beer– priests and prophets stagger because of beer, they are confused because of wine, they stumble around because of beer; they stagger while seeing prophetic visions, they totter while making legal decisions.
• Isa 45:20 : 20 Gather together and come! Approach together, you refugees from the nations! Those who carry wooden idols know nothing, those who pray to a god that cannot deliver.
• Isa 56:10-12 : 10 All their watchmen are blind, they are unaware. All of them are like mute dogs, unable to bark. They pant, lie down, and love to snooze. 11 The dogs have big appetites; they are never full. They are shepherds who have no understanding; they all go their own way, each one looking for monetary gain. 12 Each one says,‘Come on, I’ll get some wine! Let’s guzzle some beer! Tomorrow will be just like today! We’ll have everything we want!’
• Prov 1:30-32 : 30 they did not comply with my advice, they spurned all my rebuke. 31 Therefore they will eat from the fruit of their way, and they will be stuffed full of their own counsel. 32 For the waywardness of the simpletons will kill them, and the careless ease of fools will destroy them.
• 1 Sam 2:12 : 12 But the sons of Eli were wicked men. They did not acknowledge the LORD’s authority.
• 1 Sam 2:28-36 : 28 I chose your ancestor from all the tribes of Israel to be my priest, to offer sacrifice on my altar, to burn incense, and to bear the ephod before me. I gave to your ancestor’s house all the fire offerings made by the Israelites. 29 Why are you scorning my sacrifice and my offering that I commanded for my dwelling place? You have honored your sons more than you have me by having made yourselves fat from the best parts of all the offerings of my people Israel.’ 30 Therefore the LORD, the God of Israel, says,‘I really did say that your house and your ancestor’s house would serve me forever.’ But now the LORD says,‘May it never be! For I will honor those who honor me, but those who despise me will be cursed! 31 In fact, days are coming when I will remove your strength and the strength of your father’s house. There will not be an old man in your house! 32 You will see trouble in my dwelling place! Israel will experience blessings, but there will not be an old man in your house for all time. 33 Any man of yours that I do not cut off from my altar, I will cause his eyes to fail and will cause him grief. All of those born to your family will die by the sword of man. 34 This will be a confirming sign for you that will be fulfilled through your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas: in a single day they both will die! 35 Then I will raise up for myself a faithful priest. He will do what is in my heart and soul. I will build for him a lasting dynasty and he will serve my chosen one for all time. 36 Everyone who remains in your house will come to bow before him for a little money and for a scrap of bread. Each will say,‘Assign me to a priestly task so I can eat a scrap of bread.’”
• 1 Sam 3:12-15 : 12 On that day I will carry out against Eli everything that I spoke about his house– from start to finish! 13 You should tell him that I am about to judge his house forever because of the sin that he knew about. For his sons were cursing God, and he did not rebuke them. 14 Therefore I swore an oath to the house of Eli,‘The sin of the house of Eli can never be forgiven by sacrifice or by grain offering.’” 15 So Samuel lay down until morning. Then he opened the doors of the LORD’s house. But Samuel was afraid to tell Eli about the vision.
• 2 Kgs 17:16-20 : 16 They abandoned all the commandments of the LORD their God; they made two metal calves and an Asherah pole, bowed down to all the stars in the sky, and worshiped Baal. 17 They passed their sons and daughters through the fire, and practiced divination and omen reading. They committed themselves to doing evil in the sight of the LORD and made him angry. 18 So the LORD was furious with Israel and rejected them; only the tribe of Judah was left. 19 Judah also failed to keep the commandments of the LORD their God; they followed Israel’s example. 20 So the LORD rejected all of Israel’s descendants; he humiliated them and handed them over to robbers, until he had thrown them from his presence.
• Matt 21:41-45 : 41 They said to him,“He will utterly destroy those evil men! Then he will lease the vineyard to other tenants who will give him his portion at the harvest.” 42 Jesus said to them,“Have you never read in the scriptures:‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. This is from the Lord, and it is marvelous in our eyes’? 43 For this reason I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit. 44 The one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, and the one on whom it falls will be crushed.” 45 When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they realized that he was speaking about them.
• Matt 23:16-26 : 16 “Woe to you, blind guides, who say,‘Whoever swears by the temple is bound by nothing. But whoever swears by the gold of the temple is bound by the oath.’ 17 Blind fools! Which is greater, the gold or the temple that makes the gold sacred? 18 And,‘Whoever swears by the altar is bound by nothing. But if anyone swears by the gift on it he is bound by the oath.’ 19 You are blind! For which is greater, the gift or the altar that makes the gift sacred? 20 So whoever swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it. 21 And whoever swears by the temple swears by it and the one who dwells in it. 22 And whoever swears by heaven swears by the throne of God and the one who sits on it. 23 “Woe to you, experts in the law and you Pharisees, hypocrites! You give a tenth of mint, dill, and cumin, yet you neglect what is more important in the law– justice, mercy, and faithfulness! You should have done these things without neglecting the others. 24 Blind guides! You strain out a gnat yet swallow a camel! 25 “Woe to you, experts in the law and you Pharisees, hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. 26 Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup, so that the outside may become clean too!
• Mark 12:8-9 : 8 So they seized him, killed him, and threw his body out of the vineyard. 9 What then will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy those tenants and give the vineyard to others.
• Luke 20:16-18 : 16 He will come and destroy those tenants and give the vineyard to others.” When the people heard this, they said,“May this never happen!” 17 But Jesus looked straight at them and said,“Then what is the meaning of that which is written:‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone’? 18 Everyone who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, and the one on whom it falls will be crushed.”
• Mal 2:1-3 : 1 The Sacrilege of the Priestly Message“Now, you priests, this commandment is for you. 2 If you do not listen and take seriously the need to honor my name,” says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies,“I will send judgment on you and turn your blessings into curses– indeed, I have already done so because you are not taking it to heart. 3 I am about to discipline your children and will spread offal on your faces, the very offal produced at your festivals, and you will be carried away along with it.
• Mal 2:7-9 : 7 For the lips of a priest should preserve knowledge of sacred things, and people should seek instruction from him because he is the messenger of the LORD of Heaven’s Armies. 8 You, however, have turned from the way. You have caused many to violate the law; you have corrupted the covenant with Levi,” says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies. 9 “Therefore, I have caused you to be ignored and belittled before all people to the extent to which you are not following after me and are showing partiality in your instruction.”
• Matt 1:6 : 6 and Jesse the father of David the king.David was the father of Solomon(by the wife of Uriah),
• Matt 15:3-6 : 3 He answered them,“And why do you disobey the commandment of God because of your tradition? 4 For God said,‘Honor your father and mother’ and‘Whoever insults his father or mother must be put to death.’ 5 But you say,‘If someone tells his father or mother,“Whatever help you would have received from me is given to God,” 6 he does not need to honor his father.’ You have nullified the word of God on account of your tradition.
• Matt 15:8 : 8 ‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me,
• Hos 4:12 : 12 They consult their wooden idols, and their diviner’s staff answers with an oracle. The wind of prostitution blows them astray; they commit spiritual adultery against their God.
• Hos 6:6 : 6 For I delight in faithfulness, not simply in sacrifice; I delight in acknowledging God, not simply in whole burnt offerings.
• Hos 8:1 : 1 God Will Raise Up the Assyrians to Attack Israel Sound the alarm! An eagle looms over the temple of the LORD! For they have broken their covenant with me, and have rebelled against my law.
• Hos 8:12 : 12 I spelled out my law for him in great detail, but they regard it as something totally unknown to them!
• Zech 11:8-9 : 8 Next I eradicated the three shepherds in one month, for I ran out of patience with them and, indeed, they detested me as well. 9 I then said,“I will not shepherd you. What is to die, let it die, and what is to be eradicated, let it be eradicated. As for those who survive, let them eat each other’s flesh!”
• Jer 5:21 : 21 Tell them:‘Hear this, you foolish people who have no understanding, who have eyes but do not discern, who have ears but do not perceive:
• Jer 8:7-9 : 7 Even the stork knows when it is time to move on. The turtledove, swallow, and crane recognize the normal times for their migration. But my people pay no attention to what I, the LORD, require of them. 8 How can you say,“We are wise! We have the law of the LORD”? The truth is, those who teach it have used their writings to make it say what it does not really mean. 9 Your wise men will be put to shame. They will be dumbfounded and be brought to judgment. Since they have rejected the LORD’s message, what wisdom do they really have?
• Hos 2:13 : 13 “I will punish her for the festival days when she burned incense to the Baal idols; she adorned herself with earrings and jewelry, and went after her lovers, but she forgot me!” says the LORD.
• Job 36:12 : 12 But if they refuse to listen, they pass over the river of death, and expire without knowledge.
• Jer 5:3-4 : 3 LORD, I know you look for faithfulness. But even when you punish these people, they feel no remorse. Even when you nearly destroy them, they refuse to be corrected. They have become as hardheaded as a rock. They refuse to change their ways. 4 I thought,“Surely it is only the ignorant poor who act this way. They act like fools because they do not know what the LORD demands. They do not know what their God requires of them.