Hosea 7:3 kjv
They make the king glad with their wickedness, and the princes with their lies.
Hosea 7:3 nkjv
They make a king glad with their wickedness, And princes with their lies.
Hosea 7:3 niv
"They delight the king with their wickedness, the princes with their lies.
Hosea 7:3 esv
By their evil they make the king glad, and the princes by their treachery.
Hosea 7:3 nlt
"The people entertain the king with their wickedness,
and the princes laugh at their lies.
Hosea 7 3 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Hosea 7:3 | They rejoice in their wickedness and make covenants with falsehood. | Hosea 7:3 (Prophetic Judgment) |
| Psalm 52:5 | God will utterly destroy you, forever he will cast you down. | Psalm 52:5 (Consequences of Wickedness) |
| Psalm 73:3 | For I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. | Psalm 73:3 (Envy of the Wicked) |
| Proverbs 17:15 | The one who justifies the wicked and the one who condemns the just, both of them are an abomination to the LORD. | Proverbs 17:15 (Justice and Wickedness) |
| Isaiah 28:15 | Because you have said, “We have made a covenant with death, and with Sheol we have made an agreement..." | Isaiah 28:15 (False Covenants) |
| Jeremiah 5:31 | The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means; and my people love to have it so: but what will ye do in the end thereof? | Jeremiah 5:31 (Falsehood in Leadership) |
| Jeremiah 11:10 | They have turned back to the iniquities of their ancestors, who refused to hear my words, and they have gone after other gods to serve them. | Jeremiah 11:10 (Turning to Iniquity) |
| Jeremiah 17:9 | The heart is more deceitful than all things, and is desperately sick. | Jeremiah 17:9 (Deceitful Heart) |
| Ezekiel 22:28 | Her prophets have smeared whitewash for them, seeing false visions and uttering lying divinations for them, saying, 'Thus says the Lord GOD,' when the LORD has not spoken. | Ezekiel 22:28 (False Prophecy) |
| Matthew 12:34 | Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. | Matthew 12:34 (Heart's Influence) |
| Romans 1:32 | Though they know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them. | Romans 1:32 (Approval of Wickedness) |
| 2 Timothy 3:4 | They will be lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God. | 2 Timothy 3:4 (Love of Pleasure) |
| 1 John 4:5 | They are of the world; therefore they speak according to the world, and the world listens to them. | 1 John 4:5 (Speaking Worldly Things) |
| Revelation 18:7 | She has lived in self-indulgence and luxury, and in her heart she says, ‘I sit as a queen, I am no widow, and I shall never see mourning.’ | Revelation 18:7 (Self-Indulgence) |
| Psalm 10:3 | For the wicked boast of their heart’s desire, and the greedy rejoice; they even despise the LORD. | Psalm 10:3 (Boasting in Wickedness) |
| Psalm 78:36 | Yet they flattered him with their mouths and lied to him with their tongues. | Psalm 78:36 (Flattery and Lies) |
| Proverbs 4:19 | The way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know over what they stumble. | Proverbs 4:19 (Path of the Wicked) |
| Isaiah 5:20 | Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil, who put darkness for light, and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! | Isaiah 5:20 (Perversion of Morality) |
| Micah 3:11 | Its chiefs rule for a bribe, its priests teach for pay, and its prophets practice divination for money; yet they lean on the LORD and say, “Is not the LORD in our midst? Calamity shall not fall upon us.” | Micah 3:11 (Corrupt Leadership) |
| Malachi 2:15 | Has not one God made them? Why then are they one flesh and one spirit? And what does the one God seek? Seeking godly offspring. Be careful, then, and do not be unfaithful to the wife of your youth. | Malachi 2:15 (Covenants and Faithfulness) |
| Ephesians 5:11 | Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them. | Ephesians 5:11 (Works of Darkness) |
Hosea 7 verses
Hosea 7 3 Meaning
Hosea 7:3 describes the king and princes rejoicing in their wickedness and making covenants with falsehood. Their sin is likened to the heat of an oven prepared by a baker, a hidden yet potent destructive force, that only ceases when it has consumed the dough, implying their sin actively produces its own destruction.
Hosea 7 3 Context
Hosea 7 falls within the broader prophetic book of Hosea, which depicts the covenant unfaithfulness of Israel to God. The chapter continues the theme of judgment against Israel for their sins. Specifically, chapter 7 describes the pervasive corruption in both the leadership and the populace, their reliance on idolatry and alliances with foreign powers rather than God, and the resulting divine judgment that will fall upon them. Verse 3 directly addresses the state of the king and princes who find delight in their wickedness and secure themselves through deceitful alliances, mirroring their overall spiritual harlotry against God.
Hosea 7 3 Word Analysis
- וַיָּשִׂישׂוּ (vayasisu): "and they rejoiced" or "they made merry." This verb implies a strong sense of celebration and delight.
- לְרָעָתָ֑ו (lĕra'atah): "his wickedness" or "his evil deeds." The possessive pronoun "his" likely refers to the sin or rebellion as a unified concept or perhaps points to the king's specific evil.
- וְאֵימֹר֙ (wĕ'êmor): "and a covenant" or "a pact." This refers to an agreement or treaty, often made in ancient times with sworn oaths.
- בְּרִ֑י (bĕrî): "my covenant" or "with my covenant." This appears to be a slightly unusual spelling or interpretation; it is more commonly interpreted as referring to a false or broken covenant. Scholars suggest it might be a corruption of "berît" (covenant).
- לְחִדְלֵי־ (lĕḥidlê-): "in falsehood" or "by a falsehood." This term speaks to deceit, treachery, and the breaking of faith.
- תִּגְרַֽף (tigoraf): "you have prepared" or "you have dug." This verb can denote preparing or laying a trap or foundation.
- אוּר֙ (ûr): "oven" or "furnace." It symbolizes a place of intense heat and active baking or burning.
- נֻֽפוּחַ (nuphuach): "blow" or "kindle." This participle describes the state of the oven being fired up and ready.
- אָפִ֧י (âphi): "his baking" or "my baker." This noun refers to the action of baking.
- עַד־ (‘ad-): "until." A preposition indicating a limit or duration.
- אֶפֶס (efes): "ceases" or "comes to an end."
- תּוּרֵ֣ף (tûrêph): "it has finished." The verb "tuph" (to mix dough) is used here, suggesting the dough is completely mixed or baked, consuming all that is in the oven.
Words-group by words-group analysis:
- "They rejoice in his wickedness": This phrase highlights their active embrace and celebration of evil, showing a moral inversion where sin becomes a source of pleasure.
- "and covenant in falsehood": This speaks to their unreliability and broken commitment, both with God and potentially with other nations, emphasizing deceit as the foundation of their relationships.
- "as a baker prepares an oven heated by blowing": The imagery likens their sin to a baker readying an oven, suggesting intentionality and a readiness to "bake" or consume themselves through their wicked actions. The blowing or kindling implies the active fueling of their destructive path.
- "he stops mixing the dough until it is leavened": This extends the metaphor: the "baker" (God or the consequence of their sin) works the oven, and it will continue its destructive work until the sin's full course is run and their iniquity is complete, signifying a total consumption by their actions.
Hosea 7 3 Bonus Section
The specific phrasing "covenant in falsehood" (בְּרִ֑י לְחִדְלֵי־) can also be interpreted as forming pacts with death or oblivion. This alludes to alliances made with pagan nations whose gods were seen as impotent or leading to spiritual death. The "baker" could represent God, the master of the oven of judgment, actively bringing their sin to completion, or it could represent the inevitable working of sin itself, consuming those who harbor it. The process described is one of inexorable progression toward judgment, where the heat of their own sin actively bakes them until their undoing is complete.
Hosea 7 3 Commentary
Hosea 7:3 paints a grim picture of Israel's leadership actively enjoying their moral depravity. Their "rejoicing" in wickedness and making "covenants in falsehood" reveals a deep-seated corruption that permeated their society and governance. They sought security not in God's faithfulness, but in deceptive alliances and outward appearances. The potent image of the baker's heated oven signifies that their sin was not passive but actively working, self-consuming. This hidden heat, nurtured by their choices, was prepared to bake and ultimately destroy them. This verse serves as a stark warning against finding pleasure in sin and relying on deceitful human efforts rather than divine faithfulness, for such paths inevitably lead to complete ruin. It underscores the principle that sin, once actively cultivated, follows its own trajectory toward ultimate destruction.