“The more they increased, The more they sinned against Me; I will change their glory into shame.
Parallel translations
- WEB As they were multiplied, so they sinned against me. I will change their glory into shame.
- KJV As they were increased, so they sinned against me: therefore will I change their glory into shame.
- BSB The more they multiplied, the more they sinned against Me; they exchanged their Glory for a thing of disgrace.
- NASB ¶The more they multiplied, the more they sinned against Me; I will change their glory into shame.
- NLT The more priests there are, the more they sin against me. They have exchanged the glory of God for the shame of idols.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
As the priests increased, so did their sin, so God will turn their honor into shame. Greater privilege without faithfulness brings greater disgrace.
Overview
The more the priesthood multiplied and prospered, the more it sinned against God, abusing its standing rather than serving Him. In response God will exchange their 'glory' for 'shame,' reversing the honor of their office. The verse warns that increased blessing or status, when divorced from faithfulness, only deepens guilt and invites humiliation.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- Hos 13:6According to their pasture, so were they filled; they were filled, and their heart was exalted. Therefore they have forgotten me.
- Phil 3:19whose end is destruction, whose god is the belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who think about earthly things.
- 1 Sam 2:30“Therefore Yahweh, the God of Israel, says, ‘I said indeed that your house, and the house of your father, should walk before me forever.’ But now Yahweh says, ‘Far be it from me; for those who honor me I will honor, and those who despise me will be lightly esteemed.
- Hos 10:1Israel is a luxuriant vine that produces his fruit. According to the abundance of his fruit he has multiplied his altars. As their land has prospered, they have adorned their sacred stones.
- Mal 2:9“Therefore I have also made you contemptible and base before all the people, according to the way you have not kept my ways, but have had respect for persons in the law.
- Hos 4:10They will eat, and not have enough. They will play the prostitute, and will not increase; because they have abandoned giving to Yahweh.
- Jer 2:26–27As the thief is ashamed when he is found, so is the house of Israel ashamed; they, their kings, their princes, and their priests, and their prophets;
- Ezra 9:7Since the days of our fathers we have been exceeding guilty to this day; and for our iniquities we, our kings, and our priests, have been delivered into the hand of the kings of the lands, to the sword, to captivity, to plunder, and to confusion of face, as it is this day.
- Hos 5:1“Listen to this, you priests! Listen, house of Israel, and give ear, house of the king! For the judgment is against you; for you have been a snare at Mizpah, and a net spread on Tabor.
- Hab 2:16You are filled with shame, and not glory. You will also drink, and be exposed! The cup of Yahweh’s right hand will come around to you, and disgrace will cover your glory.
- Hos 6:9As gangs of robbers wait to ambush a man, so the company of priests murder on the path toward Shechem, committing shameful crimes.
- Hos 13:14I will ransom them from the power of Sheol. I will redeem them from death! Death, where are your plagues? Sheol, where is your destruction? “Compassion will be hidden from my eyes.
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Christ at the center
God's relentless love for an unfaithful bride dramatizes the gospel: 'Out of Egypt I called my son' is fulfilled in Jesus, who redeems an adulterous people at his own cost.
How Hosea 4:7 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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