The Meaning of Hosea 4:4 Explained

Hosea 4:4

KJV: Yet let no man strive, nor reprove another: for thy people are as they that strive with the priest.

YLT: Only, let no one strive, nor reprove a man, And thy people are as those striving with a priest.

Darby: Yet let no man strive, and let no man reprove; for thy people are as they that strive with the priest.

ASV: Yet let no man strive, neither let any man reprove; for thy people are as they that strive with the priest.

Discover Hosea 4:4

CONTEXT: What is the Context of Hosea 4:4?

MEANING: What does Hosea 4:4 Mean?

WORDS: What do the individual words in Hosea 4:4 mean?

RELATIONS: What do the major concepts mean in Hosea 4:4?

What is the context of Hosea 4:4?

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Yet let no man strive, nor reprove another: for thy people [are] as they that strive with the priest.

What does Hosea 4:4 Mean?

Verse Meaning

Israel"s guilt was so clear that the Lord forbade the people from denying His charge against them. As Judges , He silenced them in His court. In defying Him they were like witnesses who brazenly defied their authority on earth, the priest.

Context Summary

Hosea 4:1-10 - "like People, Like Priest"

This chapter contains a terrible indictment against the whole kingdom. There was neither truth nor mercy in the land, but swearing, lying, and adultery. Apart from the restraints of religion, such would be the condition of human society today. Even atheists have been known to remove from mining-camps, where there was no semblance of religion, to places within the sound of the church-bell. Notice in Hosea 4:3 how man's sin seems to affect even the animals. "The whole creation groaneth and travaileth"¦ waiting for our adoption" as the recognized sons of God, Romans 8:22-23.

Rightly enough, the prophet remonstrates with the priests. They were drunken and sensual; they rejected the knowledge and rule of God; they promoted outward ritual in order to fatten on the offerings of the people; and as it was with them, so it became with the deluded worshipers. What a solemn lesson is contained in the proverb which originated in this passage, Like people, like priest! It is not what we teach, but what we are, that really affects men. The colorless rays of the sun, lying outside the prismatic band of color, give health. [source]

Chapter Summary: Hosea 4

¹ God denounces judgments on Israel, for their aggravated impieties and iniquities
¹² He exposes the ignorance and wickedness of the priests,
¹³ and moral dissolution of the people,
¹⁴ he will leave their wives and daughters to commit lewdness, without present punishment
¹⁵ He warns Judah, not to imitate Israel's crimes, which are still further reproved

What do the individual words in Hosea 4:4 mean?

Now man no let contend or rebuke another for your people [are] like those who contend with the priest

אַ֥ךְ אִ֛ישׁ אַל־ יָרֵ֖ב וְאַל־ יוֹכַ֣ח אִ֑ישׁ וְעַמְּךָ֖ כִּמְרִיבֵ֥י כֹהֵֽן

אַ֥ךְ	Now
Parse: Adverb Root: אַךְ Sense: indeed, surely (emphatic).
אִ֛ישׁ	man
Parse: Noun, masculine singular Root: אִישׁ Sense: man.
אַל־	no
Parse: Adverb Root: אַל Sense: not, no, nor, neither, nothing (as wish or preference).
יָרֵ֖ב	let contend
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect Jussive, third person masculine singular Root: רִיב Sense: to strive, contend.
יוֹכַ֣ח	rebuke
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Imperfect Jussive, third person masculine singular Root: יָכַח Sense: to prove, decide, judge, rebuke, reprove, correct, be right.
אִ֑ישׁ	another
Parse: Noun, masculine singular Root: אִישׁ Sense: man.
וְעַמְּךָ֖	for your people [are]
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine singular construct, second person masculine singular Root: עַם Sense: nation, people.
כִּמְרִיבֵ֥י	like those who contend with
Parse: Preposition-k, Verb, Hifil, Participle, masculine plural construct Root: רִיב Sense: to strive, contend.
כֹהֵֽן	the priest
Parse: Noun, masculine singular Root: כֹּהֵן Sense: priest, principal officer or chief ruler.

What are the major concepts related to Hosea 4:4?

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Similar Scriptures for Hosea 4:4

		Deuteronomy 17:12 [5]
		Amos 5:13 [3]
		Hosea 4:17 [3]
		Matthew 7:3-6 [2]
		Jeremiah 18:18 [2]
		Amos 6:10 [2]
		Ezekiel 3:26 [2]