Hosea 8:5
in Hosea 8He has rejected your calf, O Samaria. My anger burns against them. How long will they be incapable of innocence?
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
He hath cast off thy calf, O Samaria; mine anger is kindled against them: how long will it be ere they attain to innocency?
KJV
Thy calf, O Samaria, hath cast thee off; mine anger is kindled against them: how long will it be ere they attain to innocency?
⋯
This verse in Hosea 8
Commentary
8 notes on this verseYour calf has been cast away, Samaria. My fury is against them: how long will they be incapable of purity? Because he is also from Israel: the craftsman made it, and it is not a god: for the calf of Samaria shall become spider's webs." LXX: "Cast away your calf, Samaria: my wrath is kindled against them: how long will they be incapable of purity in Israel? And the craftsman made it, and it is not a god: because your calf, Samaria, was deceiving."
This site's exposition
They have set up kings, but not by me
on Hosea 8:4-6
Kings and princes set up without the Lord's sanction is the political half of the indictment, the dynasty's own instability read here as a kind of idolatry, choosing rulers the way Israel had learned to choose gods. Silver and gold meant for honest use become idols instead, and the calf of Samaria receives the sharpest mockery in the book, the workman made it, therefore it is not God, an object unable to outlast its own maker's hands. The verdict lands hard, the calf of Samaria shall be broken in pieces, and the bench reads the sentence at two levels together, the image smashed and the whole religious system it stood for coming down with it.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
They in trouble cry, How long will it be ere God return to us in a way of mercy? but they do not hear him ask, How long will it be ere they return to God in a way of duty? Here are some particular sins which they are charged with, are convicted of the folly of, and warned of the fatal consequences of, and for which God's anger is kindled against them.
Cast thee off - Hath provoked God to cast thee off. Against them - Idols, and idol worshippers. How long - How long will it be, ere they repent and reform?
Thy calf, O Samaria, hath cast thee off,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
hath cast thee off--As the ellipsis of thee is unusual, MAURER translates, "thy calf is abominable." But the antithesis to Ho 8:3 establishes English Version, "Israel hath cast off the thing that is good"; therefore, in just retribution, "thy calf hath cast thee off," that is, is made by God the cause of thy being cast off (Ho 10:15).
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
Thy calf, O Samaria, hath cast thee off - Bishop Newcome translates: “Remove far from thee thy calf, O Samaria!” Abandon thy idolatry; for my anger is kindled against thee. How long will it be ere they attain to innocency? - How long will ye continue your guilty practices? When shall it be said that ye are from these vices? The calf or ox, which was the object of the idolatrous worship of the Israelites, was a supreme deity in Egypt; and it was there they learned this idolatry. A white ox was worshipped under the name of Apis, at Memphis; and another ox under the name of Mnevis, was worshipped at On, or Heliopolis. To Osiris the males of this genus were consecrated, and the females to Isis. It is a most ancient superstition, and still prevails in the East. The cow is a most sacred animal among the Hindoos.
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Thy calf, O Samaria, hath cast thee off - Israel had cast off God, his good.
The words behind it
11 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| זָנַח֙ | zanach | he has rejected | H2186 → | |
| עֶגְלֵ֣ךְ | ʾeglekh | calf your | H5695 → | 35 times |
| שֹֽׁמְר֔וֹן | shomeron | O Samaria | H8111 → | 109 times |
| חָרָ֥ה | charah | it has burned | H2734 → | |
| אַפִּ֖י | ʾapi | anger my | H639 → | 276 times |
| בָּ֑ם | bam | on them | ||
| עַד־ | ʾad- | until | H5704 → | 1261 times |
| מָתַ֕י | matai | when? | H4970 → | |
| לֹ֥א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יוּכְל֖וּ | yukhelu | will they be able | H3201 → | 194 times |
| נִקָּיֹֽן׃ | nikayon | innocence | H5356 → |
זָנַח֙he has rejected
zanachH2186 →
עֶגְלֵ֣ךְcalf your
ʾeglekhH5695 →35 times
שֹֽׁמְר֔וֹןO Samaria
shomeronH8111 →109 times
חָרָ֥הit has burned
charahH2734 →
אַפִּ֖יanger my
ʾapiH639 →276 times
בָּ֑םon them
bam
עַד־until
ʾad-H5704 →1261 times
מָתַ֕יwhen?
mataiH4970 →
לֹ֥אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
יוּכְל֖וּwill they be able
yukheluH3201 →194 times
נִקָּיֹֽן׃innocence
nikayonH5356 →
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
Jeremiah 4:14Wash the evil from your heart, O Jerusalem, so that you may be saved. How long will you harbor wicked thoughts within you?
it leads to
- James 4:8
Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
- Isaiah 55:7
Let the wicked man forsake his own way and the unrighteous man his own thoughts; let him return to the LORD, that He may have compassion, and to our God, for He will freely…
- Acts 8:22
Repent, therefore, of your wickedness, and pray to the Lord. Perhaps He will forgive you for the intent of your heart.
- Luke 11:39
“Now then,” said the Lord, “you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness.
- Romans 1:21
For although they knew God, they neither glorified Him as God nor gave thanks to Him, but they became futile in their thinking and darkened in their foolish hearts.
- James 4:8
Through
Hosea 10:5The people of Samaria will fear for the calf of Beth-aven. Indeed, its people will mourn with its idolatrous priests— those who rejoiced in its glory— for it has been taken from them into…
it leads to
- Hosea 9:11
Ephraim’s glory will fly away like a bird, with no birth, no pregnancy, and no conception.
- 2 Kings 23:5
Josiah also did away with the idolatrous priests ordained by the kings of Judah to burn incense on the high places of the cities of Judah and in the places all around Jerusalem—those who…
- Hosea 5:8
Blow the ram’s horn in Gibeah, the trumpet in Ramah; raise the battle cry in Beth-aven: Lead on, O Benjamin!
- Hosea 9:11
About Hosea
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Carl Friedrich Keil, The Twelve Minor Prophets; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Hosea 8:5-6; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; 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.