HOS 4:7 Parallel Verse View

Note: This view shows ‘verses’ which are not natural language units and hence sometimes only part of a sentence will be visible—click on any Bible version abbreviation down the left-hand side to see the verse in more of its context. Normally the OET discourages the reading of individual ‘verses’, but this view is only designed as a tool for doing comparisons of different translations—the older translations are further down the page (so you can read up from the bottom to trace the English translation history). The OET segments on this page are still very early looks into the unfinished texts of the Open English Translation of the Bible—please double-check these texts in advance before using in public.

Text critical issues=small word differences Clarity of original=clear Importance to us=normal (All still tentative.)

OET (OET-RV) ⇔ The more the priests multiplied, the more they sinned against me.
⇔ → I will change their high status into shame.

Key: khaki:verbs.
Note: Automatic aligning of the OET-RV to the LV is done by some temporary software, hence the OET-RV alignments are incomplete (and may occasionally be wrong).

BrLXX Κατὰ τὸ πλῆθος αὐτῶν, οὕτως ἥμαρτόν μοι· τὴν δόξαν αὐτῶν εἰς ἀτιμίαν θήσομαι.
(Kata to plaʸthos autōn, houtōs haʸmarton moi; taʸn doxan autōn eis atimian thaʸsomai. )

BrTr According to their multitude, so they sinned against me: I will turn their glory into shame.

ULT The more they multiplied,
⇔ the more they sinned against me.
⇔ I will change their glory into shame.

UST The more numerous you priests become,
⇔ the more you do the things that I have forbidden.
⇔ You have abandoned me in order to become shameful.

4:7 Or they exchanged their glorious God (Syriac); MT I will exchange their glory

OEB ⇔ The more priests there are, the more they sin against me.
⇔ I will change their dignity to dishonour.

WEBBE As they were multiplied, so they sinned against me.
⇔ I will change their glory into shame.

WMBB (Same as above)

MSG ^(4-10)“But don’t look for someone to blame.
  No finger pointing!
You, priest, are the one in the dock.
  You stumble around in broad daylight,
And then the prophets take over and stumble all night.
  Your mother is as bad as you.
My people are ruined
  because they don’t know what’s right or true.
Because you’ve turned your back on knowledge,
  I’ve turned my back on you priests.
Because you refuse to recognize the revelation of God,
  I’m no longer recognizing your children.
The more priests, the more sin.
  They traded in their glory for shame.
They pig out on my people’s sins.
  They can’t wait for the latest in evil.
The result: You can’t tell the people from the priests,
  the priests from the people.
I’m on my way to make them both pay
  and take the consequences of the bad lives they’ve lived.
They’ll eat and be as hungry as ever,
  have sex and get no satisfaction.
They walked out on me, their God,
  for a life of rutting with whores.

NET The more the priests increased in numbers,
⇔ the more they rebelled against me.
⇔ They have turned their glorious calling
⇔ into a shameful disgrace!

LSV According to their abundance so they sinned against Me,
I change their glory into shame.

FBV The more there were of them,[fn] the more they sinned against me, so I will change their glory into shame.

4:7 Referring to the priests.

T4T As there are more and more priests,
⇔ they have sinned against me more and more.
⇔ So I will no longer allow them to be honored;
⇔ instead, I will cause them to be disgraced.

LEB • When they became many, their sin increased against me; they changed[fn] their glory into shame.

4:? Hebrew uncertain; MT “I will exchange”

BBE Even while they were increasing in number they were sinning against me; I will let their glory be changed into shame.

Moff ⇔ The more they multiply the more thy sin,
⇔ they change my glory for a shameful worship;

JPS The more they were increased, the more they sinned against Me; I will change their glory into shame.

ASV As they were multiplied, so they sinned against me: I will change their glory into shame.

DRA According to the multitude of them so have they sinned against me: I will change their glory into shame.

YLT According to their abundance so they sinned against Me, Their honour into shame I change.

Drby As they were multiplied, so they sinned against me: I will change their glory into shame.

RV As they were multiplied, so they sinned against me: I will change their glory into shame.

SLT As they multiplied so they sinned against me: I will change their glory into dishonor.

Wbstr As they were increased, so they sinned against me: therefore will I change their glory into shame.

KJB-1769 As they were increased, so they sinned against me: therefore will I change their glory into shame.

KJB-1611 As they were increased, so they sinned against me: therfore wil I change their glory into shame.
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from marking of added words (and possibly capitalisation and punctuation))

Bshps The more they increased in multitude, the more they sinned against me, therfore wyll I chaunge their honour into shame.
(The more they increased in multitude, the more they sinned against me, therefore will I change their honour into shame.)

Gnva As they were increased, so they sinned against me: therefore will I chaunge their glorie into shame.
(As they were increased, so they sinned against me: therefore will I change their glory into shame. )

Cvdl The more they increased in multitude, the more they synned agaynst me, therfore wil I chaurge their honoure in to shame.
(The more they increased in multitude, the more they sinned against me, therefore will I chaurge their honour in to shame.)

Wycl Bi the multitude of hem, so thei synneden ayens me. Y schal chaunge the glorie of hem in to schenschipe.
(By the multitude of hem, so they sinned against me. I shall change the glory of hem in to harm/trouble.)

Luth Je mehr ihrer wird, je mehr sie wider mich sündigen; darum will ich ihre Ehre zuschanden machen.
(Ye more of_their/her becomes, each/ever more they/she/them against me sin(v); therefore will I their/her honour(n) to_shame make.)

ClVg Secundum multitudinem eorum sic peccaverunt mihi: gloriam eorum in ignominiam commutabo.
(After/Second multitude their so they_sinned to_me: glory their in/into/on disgrace I_will_change. )

SOTN SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 4:4–11a: The Sinful Priests

In this section, the LORD promised to punish the priests more severely than anyone else, because they were the ones who led the people to worship false gods.

Here are some other examples of section headings:

The Lord Accuses the Priests (GNT)

Against the Priests (NJB)

Paragraph 4:7–11a

In this paragraph, the LORD gave more details about the sinful behavior of the priests (4:7–8). He then described his response to that behavior (4:9–11a).

As in chapter 2, the Hebrew pronouns alternate between “you” and “she.” In 4:4–6 the LORD used “you” when speaking to the priests, but in 4:7–10, he referred to the same priests as “they.” The BSB uses the pronoun “they.” The GNT continues to use “you.” Use a natural way in your language to refer to the priests. Be consistent throughout this paragraph. It should be clear in your translation that the LORD is speaking here to the same group of priests as in 4:4–6.

4:7a

The more they multiplied, the more they sinned against Me;

¶ “As the priests increased, their sins against me also increased.
¶ “Whenever you^(plur) priests became more numerous and more important, you also sinned more against me.

The more they multiplied, the more they sinned against Me: There is a close connection here between the priests increasing and their sins increasing.

Here are some other ways to express this connection:

Whenever the priests increased, their sins also increased.

The priests kept increasing. When that happened, they also sinned more and more.

they: The pronoun they refers to the priests.

multiplied: The word multiplied refers partly to an increase in the number of priests. Some versions make this idea explicit. For example:

The more of you priests there are, the more you sin against me (GNT)

However, the word multiplied probably also refers to an increase in their prestige and power. As their power grew, so did their sin and so did their influence to corrupt the people.Stuart (pages 78–79) and Macintosh (pages 141–142).

Here is another way to express their increase in both numbers and prestige:

The more their numbers and influence grew, the more their sins against me grew.

sinned: In Hebrew, the form of the verb sinned indicates here that the sinful behavior of the priests was habitual. Some versions, such as the BSB, use past tense to indicate this. Other versions use present tense. For example:

the more they sin against me (NLT)

Use a natural way in your language to indicate that the sinful pattern of behavior of the priests was already established.

4:7b

they exchanged their Glory for a thing of disgrace.

I will take away their high status as my priests, and they will be humiliated/disgraced.
So I will change your^(plur) dignity/honor into shame/disgrace.

This verse part is the result of 4:7a. The result of the priests’ increasing sinfulness is that the LORD will humiliate them. For example:

therefore will I change their glory into shame (KJV)

So I’ll turn their honor into disgrace (Voice)

Most versions leave this relationship implied.

The ESV has been used as the source line for 4:7b, because it follows the textual recommendation regarding the pronoun “I” or “they.” It also follows the recommended interpretation regarding “glory” or “Glory.” Notice that the NET and NRSV followed textual option (2), but chose interpretation (1).

(ESV) I will change their glory into shame: There is a textual issue here:

The Masoretic Text has “I will exchange their glory.”The MT is supported by Hubbard (page 102), Keil (page 78), Macintosh (page 141), and Pusey (page 49). Wood (page 186) and McComiskey (page 63) follow the MT, but do not discuss the textual issue. This statement continues the pattern that was set in 4:6. The pattern is that the LORD responds to the sin of the priests with a statement of judgment. Here the LORD’s judgment is that he will take away the glory of the priests and give them something disgraceful instead. (CEV, ESV, GNT, GW, KJV, NASB, NCV, NJPS, REB, RSV)
An ancient scribal tradition has “They have exchanged their glory.”According to the NET footnote on this verse, the Masoretic scribes intentionally made this change, because they believed that the received consonantal text was corrupt. This variant is also supported by Andersen and Freedman (page 355) and Stuart (page 72). This tradition is followed by the Targum and by the ancient Syriac translation. In this context, it indicates that the priests rejected their Glory (God) and accepted something disgraceful instead. (BSB, NET, NIV, NJB, NLT, NRSV)

It is recommended that you follow option (1) along with most versions and commentaries. The MT makes good sense and fits the overall context of the LORD’s punishment of the priests.

(ESV) their glory: There are two main ways to interpret this phrase:

It refers to the glory or honor of the priests. It may refer to their wealth and power or to the high status they enjoyed in the eyes of the people. For example:
their dignity (NJPS)
your honor (GNT) (CEV, ESV, GNT, GW, KJV, NASB, NCV, NET, NJPS, NRSV, REB)Notice that the NRSV preferred “their” to “I” in the textual issue, but here it followed “glory” (small g). The NET also changed their preference in the interpretation issue. It has “their glorious calling.”
It refers to God, the Glory of Israel. This is the way this phrase is understood in Psalm 106:20 and Jeremiah 2:11. For example:
their Glory (NIV)
the glory of God (NLT) (BSB, NIV, NJB, NLT)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1) along with most versions and commentaries. This interpretation better fits the context, because the previous high status of the priests contrasts with their shameful removal from the priesthood.

(ESV) shame: In Hebrew, this word here means disgrace, humiliation, or dishonor. It is the opposite of glory and honor.TWOT (#2024a, qalon). See also BDB (#3519, page 459). It identifies sense 3 “honour, dignity of position” as being an antithesis to qalon in Hosea 4:7.

Here are some other ways to translate this whole verse part:

I will take away their honor and give them shame. (NCV)

and so I will turn your honor into disgrace (GNT)

Parallel HOS 4:7

Section 4:4–11a: The Sinful Priests

Paragraph 4:7–11a

4:7a

4:7b