Hosea 8:13
in Hosea 8Though they offer sacrifices as gifts to Me, and though they eat the meat, the LORD does not accept them. Now He will remember their iniquity and punish their sins: They will return to Egypt.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
As for the sacrifices of mine offerings, they sacrifice flesh and eat it; but Jehovah accepteth them not: now will he remember their iniquity, and visit their sins; they shall return to Egypt.
KJV
They sacrifice flesh for the sacrifices of mine offerings, and eat it; but the Lord accepteth them not; now will he remember their iniquity, and visit their sins: they shall return to Egypt.
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This verse in Hosea 8
Commentary
8 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
They sacrifice flesh for the sacrifices of Mine offerings, and eat it; but the Lord accepteth them not - As they rejected God’s law, so God rejected their “sacrifices,” which were not offered according to His law. They, doubtless, thought much of their sacrifices; and this the prophet perhaps expresses by an intensive form ; “the sacrifices of My gifts, gifts,” as though they thought, that they were ever giving. God accounted such sacrifices, not being hallowed by the end for which He instituted them, as mere “flesh.” They “offered flesh” and “ate” it.
This site's exposition
Because Ephraim hath made many altars to sin
on Hosea 8:11-13
Multiplied altars meant to atone for sin become, by their sheer number, altars unto sin, worship increased past what the law commanded and turned into the very offense it was meant to remove. The great things of the Lord's law were treated as a strange thing, a foreign document rather than Israel's own covenant, so the sacrifices offered afterward are flesh eaten for its own sake, not fellowship the Lord will accept. He will remember their iniquity and visit their sins, and the sentence given is a return to Egypt, the exodus reversed, the place of bondage waiting again for a people who had made themselves strangers to their own God.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
"Now their iniquities will be remembered, and their sins will be punished: they themselves will be turned into Egypt, and Israel, their maker, has forgotten them, and has built shrines, and Judah has multiplied fortified cities, and I will send a fire into its cities, and it will devour their houses." LXX: "Now their iniquities will be remembered, and their injustices will be avenged. They themselves turned into Egypt, and forgot him who made them, and they built shrines, and Judah multiplied fortified cities, and I will send fire into their cities, and it will devour their foundations."
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
How should he, when they did not offer their sacrifice upon that altar which alone sanctified the gift, and when they only sacrificed flesh, but not the spiritual sacrifice of a penitent believing heart? Note, Those services only are acceptable to God which are performed according to the rule of his word, and through Jesus Christ, 1 Pet. ii.
5 Thy calf, O Samaria, hath cast thee off; mine anger is kindled against them: how long will it be ere they attain to innocency? 6 For from Israel was it also: the workman made it; therefore it is not God: but the calf of Samaria shall be broken in pieces.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — verbatim-scripture
They sacrifice flesh for the sacrifices of mine offerings, and eat it,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
sacrifices of mine offerings--that is, which they offer to Me. eat it--Their own carnal gratification is the object which they seek, not My honor. now--that is, "speedily." shall return to Egypt-- (Ho 9:3, 6;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase+unbalanced-parens
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
They sacrifice flesh - Bp. Newcome translates thus: “They sacrifice gifts appointed unto me, and eat flesh.” They offer to their idols the things which belong to Jehovah; or, while pretending to offer unto the Lord, they eat and drink idolatrously; and therefore the Lord will not accept them. They shall return to Egypt - Many of them did return to Egypt after the conquest of Palestine by Shalmaneser, and many after the ruin of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar; but they had in effect returned to Egypt by setting up the worship of the golden calves, which were in imitation of the Egyptian Apis.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
I write for them I constantly reprimand them through My prophets, and write for them the great things of My Law, but they are considered a strange thing.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 4 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
16 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| זִבְחֵ֣י | zivchei | [the] sacrifices of | H2077 → | 162 times |
| הַבְהָבַ֗י | havhavai | gifts my | H1890 → | |
| יִזְבְּח֤וּ | yizbechu | they sacrifice | H2076 → | 134 times |
| בָשָׂר֙ | vasar | flesh | H1320 → | |
| וַיֹּאכֵ֔לוּ | vaiyokhelu | and they ate [it] | H398 → | 810 times |
| יְהוָ֖ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| לֹ֣א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| רָצָ֑ם | ratzam | he is pleased with them | H7521 → | |
| עַתָּ֞ה | ʾatah | now | H6258 → | 433 times |
| יִזְכֹּ֤ר | yizkor | he will remember | H2142 → | 230 times |
| עֲוֹנָם֙ | ʾavonam | iniquity their | H5771 → | 233 times |
| וְיִפְקֹ֣ד | veyifkod | so he may punish | H6485 → | 303 times |
| חַטֹּאותָ֔ם | chatotam | sins their | H2403 → | 295 times |
| הֵ֖מָּה | hemah | they | H1992 → | 553 times |
| מִצְרַ֥יִם | mitzrayim | Egypt | H4714 → | 641 times |
| יָשֽׁוּבוּ׃ | yashuvu | they will return | H7725 → | 1056 times |
זִבְחֵ֣י[the] sacrifices of
zivcheiH2077 →162 times
הַבְהָבַ֗יgifts my
havhavaiH1890 →
יִזְבְּח֤וּthey sacrifice
yizbechuH2076 →134 times
בָשָׂר֙flesh
vasarH1320 →
וַיֹּאכֵ֔לוּand they ate [it]
vaiyokheluH398 →810 times
יְהוָ֖הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
לֹ֣אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
רָצָ֑םhe is pleased with them
ratzamH7521 →
עַתָּ֞הnow
ʾatahH6258 →433 times
יִזְכֹּ֤רhe will remember
yizkorH2142 →230 times
עֲוֹנָם֙iniquity their
ʾavonamH5771 →233 times
וְיִפְקֹ֣דso he may punish
veyifkodH6485 →303 times
חַטֹּאותָ֔םsins their
chatotamH2403 →295 times
הֵ֖מָּהthey
hemahH1992 →553 times
מִצְרַ֥יִםEgypt
mitzrayimH4714 →641 times
יָשֽׁוּבוּ׃they will return
yashuvuH7725 →1056 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Amos 8:7The LORD has sworn by the Pride of Jacob: “I will never forget any of their deeds.
it leads to
- Hosea 9:9
They have deeply corrupted themselves as in the days of Gibeah; He will remember their guilt; He will punish their sins.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Amos 6:8
The Lord GOD has sworn by Himself—the LORD, the God of Hosts, has declared: “I abhor Jacob’s pride and detest his citadels, so I will deliver up the city and everything in it.”
- Hosea 9:9
Through
Hosea 9:9They have deeply corrupted themselves as in the days of Gibeah; He will remember their guilt; He will punish their sins.
it leads to
- Hosea 10:9
Since the days of Gibeah you have sinned, O Israel, and there you have remained. Did not the battle in Gibeah overtake the sons of iniquity?
- Judges 19:16
That evening an old man from the hill country of Ephraim, who was residing in Gibeah (the men of that place were Benjamites), came in from his work in the field.
- Hosea 10:9
Through
Hosea 9:6For even if they flee destruction, Egypt will gather them and Memphis will bury them. Their precious silver will be taken over by thistles, and thorns will overrun their tents.
it leads to
- Hosea 10:8
The high places of Aven will be destroyed—it is the sin of Israel; thorns and thistles will overgrow their altars. Then they will say to the mountains, “Cover us!” and to the hills, “Fall…
- Isaiah 5:6
I will make it a wasteland, neither pruned nor cultivated, and thorns and briers will grow up. I will command the clouds that rain shall not fall on it.”
- Hosea 10:8
Through
Amos 5:22Even though you offer Me burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them; for your peace offerings of fattened cattle I will have no regard.
it leads to
- Micah 6:6–7
With what shall I come before the LORD when I bow before the God on high? Should I come to Him with burnt offerings, with year-old calves?
- Micah 6:6–7
Through
Jeremiah 14:10This is what the LORD says about this people: “Truly they love to wander; they have not restrained their feet. So the LORD does not accept them; He will now remember their guilt and…
it leads to
- Psalms 119:101
I have kept my feet from every evil path, that I may keep Your word.
- Psalms 119:101
About Hosea
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Hosea 8:13-14; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.