Hosea 8 · Verse 5

Hosea 8:5

Thy calf, O Samaria, hath cast thee off; mine anger is kindled against them: how long will it be ere they attain to innocency?
Hosea 8:5, King James Version

Hosea 8:5 in other translations

BSBHe has rejected your calf, O Samaria. My anger burns against them. How long will they be incapable of innocence?
WEBLet Samaria throw out his calf idol! My anger burns against them! How long will it be until they are capable of purity?
ASVHe hath cast off thy calf, O Samaria; mine anger is kindled against them: how long will it be ere they attain to innocency?
YLTCast off hath thy calf, O Samaria, Burned hath Mine anger against them, Till when are they not capable of purity?
DARBYThy calf, O Samaria, hath cast thee off; mine anger is kindled against them: how long will they be incapable of purity?
BBEI will have nothing to do with your young ox, O Samaria; my wrath is burning against them; how long will it be before the children of Israel make themselves clean?
WebsterThy calf, O Samaria, hath cast thee off; my anger is kindled against them: how long will it be ere they attain to innocence?

What does Hosea 8:5 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
5. hath cast thee off--As the ellipsis of thee is unusual, Maurer translates, "thy calf is abominable." But the antithesis to Ho 8:3 establishes English Version, "Israel hath cast off the thing that is good"; therefore, in just retribution, "thy calf hath cast thee off," that is, is made by God the cause of thy being cast off (Ho 10:15). Jeroboam, during his sojourn in Egypt, saw Apis worshipped at Memphis, and Mnevis at Heliopolis, in the form of an ox; this, and the temple cherubim, suggested the idea of the calves set up at Dan and Beth-el. how long ... ere they attain to innocency?--How long will they be incapable of bearing innocency? [Maurer].

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 5 Thy calf, O Samaria, hath cast thee off - Bishop Newcome translates: "Remove far from thee thy calf, O Samaria!" Abandon thy idolatry; for my anger is kindled against thee. How long will it be ere they attain to innocency? - How long will ye continue your guilty practices? When shall it be said that ye are from these vices? The calf or ox, which was the object of the idolatrous worship of the Israelites, was a supreme deity in Egypt; and it was there they learned this idolatry. A white ox was worshipped under the name of Apis, at Memphis; and another ox under the name of Mnevis, was worshipped at On, or Heliopolis. To Osiris the males of this genus were consecrated, and the females to Isis. It is a most ancient superstition, and still prevails in the East. The cow is a most sacred animal among the Hindoos.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Hosea 8:5-10
They promised themselves plenty, peace, and victory, by worshipping idols, but their expectations came to nothing. What they sow has no stalk, no blade, or, if it have, the bud shall yield no fruit, there was nothing in them. The works of darkness are unfruitful; nay, the end of those things is death. The hopes of sinners will deceive them, and their gains will be snares. In times of danger, especially in the day of judgment, all carnal devices will fail. They take a course by themselves, and like a wild ass by himself, they will be the easier and surer prey for the lion. Man is in nothing more like the wild ass's colt, than in seeking for that succour and that satisfaction in the creature, which are to be had in God only. Though men may sorrow a little, yet if it is not after a godly sort, they will be brought to sorrow everlastingly.

Matthew Henry, 1706 · public domain

Hosea 8:5 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

זָנַח֙za.Nachhe has rejectedH2186
עֶגְלֵ֣ךְ'eg.Lekhcalf yourH5695
שֹֽׁמְר֔וֹןsho.me.RonO SamariaH8111
חָרָ֥הcha.Rahit has burnedH2734
אַפִּ֖י'a.Pianger myH639
בָּ֑םBamon them
עַד\־'ad-untilH5704
מָתַ֕יma.Taiwhen?H4970
לֹ֥אlo'notH3808
יוּכְל֖וּyu.khe.Luwill they be ableH3201
נִקָּיֹֽן\׃ni.ka.YoninnocenceH5356

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Hosea 8:5

  • Hosea 10:5

    The inhabitants of Samaria shall fear because of the calves of Beth–aven: for the people thereof shall mourn over it, and the priests thereof that rejoiced on it, for the glory thereof, because it is departed from it.

  • Jeremiah 13:27

    I have seen thine adulteries, and thy neighings, the lewdness of thy whoredom, and thine abominations on the hills in the fields. Woe unto thee, O Jerusalem! wilt thou not be made clean? when shall it once be?

  • Proverbs 1:22

    How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? and the scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge?

  • Jeremiah 4:14

    O Jerusalem, wash thine heart from wickedness, that thou mayest be saved. How long shall thy vain thoughts lodge within thee?

  • 2 Kings 17:16-18

    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. 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. 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.

  • Hosea 8:6

    For from Israel was it also: the workman made it; therefore it is not God: but the calf of Samaria shall be broken in pieces.

  • Isaiah 45:20

    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.

  • Acts 7:41

    And they made a calf in those days, and offered sacrifice unto the idol, and rejoiced in the works of their own hands.

  • 2 Kings 17:21-23

    For he rent Israel from the house of David; and they made Jeroboam the son of Nebat king: and Jeroboam drave Israel from following the Lord, and made them sin a great sin. For the children of Israel walked in all the sins of Jeroboam which he did; they departed not from them; Until the Lord removed Israel out of his sight, as he had said by all his servants the prophets. So was Israel carried away out of their own land to Assyria unto this day.

  • Deuteronomy 32:22

    For a fire is kindled in mine anger, and shall burn unto the lowest hell, and shall consume the earth with her increase, and set on fire the foundations of the mountains.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
calf.
6; 10:5; Isa 45:20; Ac 7:41
mine.
De 32:22; 2Ki 17:16-18,21-23
how.
Pr 1:22; Jer 4:14; 13:27

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Hosea 8:4

    They have set up kings, but not by me: they have made princes, and I knew it not: of their silver and their gold have they made them idols, that they may be cut off.

  • Hosea 8:5

    Thy calf, O Samaria, hath cast thee off; mine anger is kindled against them: how long will it be ere they attain to innocency?

  • Hosea 8:6

    For from Israel was it also: the workman made it; therefore it is not God: but the calf of Samaria shall be broken in pieces.

Read all of Hosea 8

Hosea 8:5 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Tu becerro, oh Samaria, te hizo alejar; encendióse mi enojo contra ellos, hasta que no pudieron alcanzar inocencia.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Ton veau t’a rejetée, Samarie! Ma colère s’est enflammée contre eux. Jusques à quand seront-ils incapables d’innocence?
German
Elberfelder 1871		Er hat dein Kalb verworfen, Samaria: mein Zorn ist wider sie entbrannt. Bis wann sind sie der Reinheit unfähig?
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Projectus est vitulus tuus, Samaria; iratus est furor meus in eos. Usquequo non poterunt emundari?