They feed on the sins of My people and set their hearts on iniquity.
Parallel translations
- WEB They feed on the sin of my people, and set their heart on their iniquity.
- KJV They eat up the sin of my people, and they set their heart on their iniquity.
- NKJV They eat up the sin of My people; They set their heart on their iniquity.
- NASB They feed on the sin of My people, And long for their wrongdoing.
- NLT “When the people bring their sin offerings, the priests get fed. So the priests are glad when the people sin!
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
The priests feed on the people's sin offerings and even desire the people to sin more. Greed has corrupted their sacred office.
Overview
Because the priests received portions of the sin offerings, they had a perverse interest in the people's continued sinning, which increased their food. They thus profited from the very iniquity they were meant to curb. This exposes the depth of the priesthood's corruption, turning a means of grace into an instrument of self-serving greed, and it sharpens God's case against Israel's leaders.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- Titus 1:11who must be silenced. For the sake of dishonorable gain, they undermine entire households and teach things they should not.
- Mic 3:11Her leaders judge for a bribe, her priests teach for a price, and her prophets practice divination for money. Yet they lean upon the LORD, saying, “Is not the LORD among us? No disaster can come upon us.”
- Isa 56:11Like ravenous dogs, they are never satisfied. They are shepherds with no discernment; they all turn to their own way, each one seeking his own gain:
- Lev 6:26The priest who offers it shall eat it; it must be eaten in a holy place, in the courtyard of the Tent of Meeting.
- 1 Sam 2:29Why then do you kick at My sacrifice and offering that I have prescribed for My dwelling place? You have honored your sons more than Me by fattening yourselves with the best of all the offerings of My people Israel.’
- Lev 7:6–7Every male among the priests may eat of it. It must be eaten in a holy place; it is most holy.
- Mal 1:10“Oh, that one of you would shut the temple doors, so that you would no longer kindle useless fires on My altar! I take no pleasure in you,” says the LORD of Hosts, “and I will accept no offering from your hands.
- Ps 24:4He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to an idol or swear deceitfully.
- Rom 16:18For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive.
- Ezek 14:7For when any Israelite or any foreigner dwelling in Israel separates himself from Me, sets up idols in his heart, and puts a wicked stumbling block before his face, and then comes to the prophet to inquire of Me, I the LORD will answer him Myself.
- Ezek 14:3“Son of man, these men have set up idols in their hearts and put wicked stumbling blocks before their faces. Should I consult with them in any way?
- Ps 25:1Of David. To You, O LORD, I lift up my soul;
- 2 Pet 2:3In their greed, these false teachers will exploit you with deceptive words. The longstanding verdict against them remains in force, and their destruction does not sleep.
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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 4:8 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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