Bible Strands
Hosea 9:4
They will not pour out wine offerings to the LORD, and their sacrifices will not please Him, but will be to them like the bread of mourners; all who eat will be defiled. For their bread will be for themselves; it will not enter the house of the LORD.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The prophet Hosea addresses the northern kingdom of Israel (Ephraim) as they face exile in Egypt and Assyria and approach the appointed feast day. He declares the immediate religious consequences of their covenant failure.
The words — The text states that their sacrifices will not יֶֽעֶרְבוּ־ (ye'er.vu-), literally "be pleasing" or "be agreeable" to the Lord. It further states their bread will be כְּ/לֶ֤חֶם (ke./Le.chem), literally "like bread," specifically the ritually defiled bread of mourners.
The thread — The text states that their offerings will not please God, which runs parallel to Jeremiah 6:20 where God rejects their burnt offerings and incense. It also aligns with Hosea 8:13, which notes the Lord will not accept their sacrificial gifts, and echoes the Deuteronomy 26:14 warning against handling sacred portions while unclean.
Why it lands — The text states that religious rituals performed in a broken covenant become defiling rather than acceptable. It requires readers to abandon the assumption that external worship substitutes for covenant faithfulness.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
They shall not offer wine offerings to the Lord, neither shall they be pleasing unto him: their sacrifices shall be unto them as the bread of mourners; all that eat thereof shall be polluted: for their bread for their soul shall not come into the house of the Lord.
Cross-references
- Deuteronomy 26:14 I have not eaten any of the sacred portion while in mourning, or removed any of it while unclean, or offered any of it for the dead. I have obeyed the LORD my God; I have done everything You commanded me.
- Jeremiah 6:20 What use to Me is frankincense from Sheba or sweet cane from a distant land? Your burnt offerings are not acceptable; your sacrifices do not please Me.”
- Hosea 8:13 Though 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.
- Haggai 2:13 So Haggai asked, “If one who is defiled by contact with a corpse touches any of these, does it become defiled?” “Yes, it becomes defiled,” the priests answered.
- Ezekiel 24:17 Groan quietly; do not mourn for the dead. Put on your turban and strap your sandals on your feet; do not cover your lips or eat the bread of mourners.”
- Hosea 3:4 For the Israelites must live many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or sacred pillar, and without ephod or idol.
- Joel 2:14 Who knows? He may turn and relent and leave a blessing behind Him—grain and drink offerings for the LORD your God.
- Exodus 40:23 He arranged the bread on it before the LORD, just as the LORD had commanded him.
- Leviticus 17:11 For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for your souls upon the altar; for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul.
- Leviticus 21:6 They must be holy to their God and not profane the name of their God. Because they present to the LORD the food offerings, the food of their God, they must be holy.