Hosea 8:11

Because Ephraim hath made many altars to sin, altars shall be unto him to sin.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
Ephraim	אֶפְרַ֛יִם 'ef.Ra.yim	H669	Ephrajim · proper noun, a man's name
many	הִרְבָּ֥ה hir.Bah	H7235	to increase (in whatever respect) · verb, hiphil perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
altars	מִזְבְּחֹ֖ת miz.be.Chot	H4196	an altar · noun, common feminine plural absolute
sin	לַחֲטֹ֑א la.cha.To'	H2398	properly · preposition + verb, qal infinitive construct
altars	מִזְבְּח֖וֹת miz.be.Chot	H4196	an altar · noun, common feminine plural absolute
sin	לַחֲטֹֽא la.cha.To'	H2398	properly · preposition + verb, qal infinitive construct

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Hosea 12:11 Is there iniquity in Gilead? surely they are vanity: they sacrifice bullocks in Gilgal; yea, their altars are as heaps in the furrows of the…
Deuteronomy 4:28 And there ye shall serve gods, the work of men’s hands, wood and stone, which neither see, nor hear, nor eat, nor smell.
Isaiah 10:10-11 As my hand hath found the kingdoms of the idols, and whose graven images did excel them of Jerusalem and of Samaria;
Jeremiah 16:13 Therefore will I cast you out of this land into a land that ye know not, neither ye nor your fathers; and there shall ye serve other gods da…
Hosea 10:1-2 Israel is an empty vine, he bringeth forth fruit unto himself: according to the multitude of his fruit he hath increased the altars; accordi…
Hosea 10:8 The high places also of Aven, the sin of Israel, shall be destroyed: the thorn and the thistle shall come up on their altars; and they shall…

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Hosea 8:8–end

It was the honour and happiness of Israel that they had but one God to trust to and he all-sufficient in every strait, and but one God to serve, and he well worthy of all their devotions. But it was their sin, and folly, and shame, that they knew not when they were well off, that they forsook their own mercies for lying vanities; for, I. They multiplied their alliances (Hos 8:9): They have hired lovers, or (as the margin reads it) they have hired loves. They were at great expense to purchase the friendship of the nations about them, that otherwise had no value nor affection at all for them, nor cared for having any thing to do with them but only upon the Shechemites' principles - Shall not t…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Hosea 8:11

God in righteous retribution gives them up to their own way; the sin becomes its own punishment (Pro 1:31). many altars--in opposition to God's law (Deu 12:5-6, Deu 12:13-14). to sin . . . to sin--Their altars which were "sin" (whatever religious intentions they might plead) should be treated as such, and be the source of their punishment (Kg1 12:30; Kg1 13:34).

Adam Clarke on Hosea 8:11

Many altars to sin - Though it does not appear that the Jews in Babylon were obliged to worship the idols of the country, except in the case mentioned by Daniel, yet it was far otherwise with the Israelites in Assyria, and the other countries of their dispersion. Because they had made many altars to sin while they were in their own land, they were obliged to continue in the land of their captivity a similar system of idolatry against their will. Thus they felt and saw the evil of their idolatry, without power to help themselves.

John Gill on Hosea 8:11

Because Ephraim hath, made many altars to sin,.... Not with an intention to commit sin, but to offer sacrifice for sin, and make atonement for it, as they thought; but these altars being erected for the sake of idols, and sacrifices offered on them to them, they sinned in so doing, and were the cause of sin in others, who were drawn into it by their example; as they were made to sin, or drawn into it, by Jeroboam their king, These altars were those set up at Dan and Bethel, and in all high places, and tops of mountains, where they sacrificed to idols; and which was contrary to the express command of God, who required sacrifice only at one place, and on one altar, Deuteronomy 12:5; typical of…

The Church Fathers

Because Ephraim has multiplied altars to sin, altars have been made for him to sin on. He said, led into captivity, they'll cease for a short while from the burden of the king and prince. And this they suffer, because Ephraim their prince has multiplied altars, not in which to sacrifice to the Lord, but in which to join sins and sins: these altars, that is, will turn into a sin for them, so that the more there are, the more their crimes will multiply. Then as he had said before: "What shall I do to you, Ephraim? What shall I do to you, Judah?" as if doubting and seeking, with what remedy he might heal the sick, and with what counsels he might draw the sinner back to salvation.
— Jerome, Commentary on Hosea 8:11

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Altar · Used in idolatrous worship — Used in idolatrous worship
Idolatry · Altars raised for — Altars raised for

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

Hosea 8:11

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Hosea 8:8–end

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Hosea 8:11

Adam Clarke on Hosea 8:11

John Gill on Hosea 8:11

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Hosea 8:11

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Hosea 8:8–end

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Hosea 8:11

Adam Clarke on Hosea 8:11

John Gill on Hosea 8:11

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John Calvin on Hosea 8:11

Keil & Delitzsch on Hosea 8:11-12

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Hosea 8:11

Rashi on Hosea 8:11