Hosea Chapter 13 verse 2 Holy Bible
And now they sin more and more, and have made them molten images of their silver, even idols according to their own understanding, all of them the work of the craftsmen: they say of them, Let the men that sacrifice kiss the calves.
read chapter 13 in ASV
And now their sins are increased; they have made themselves a metal image, false gods from their silver, after their designs, all of them the work of the metal-workers; they say of them, Let them give offerings, let men give kisses to the oxen.
read chapter 13 in BBE
And now they sin more and more, and have made them molten images of their silver, idols according to their own understanding, all of it the work of the craftsmen: they say of them, Let the men that sacrifice kiss the calves.
read chapter 13 in DARBY
And now they sin more and more, and have made them molten images of their silver, and idols according to their own understanding, all of it the work of the craftsmen: they say of them, Let the men that sacrifice kiss the calves.
read chapter 13 in KJV
read chapter 13 in WBT
Now they sin more and more, And have made themselves molten images of their silver, Even idols according to their own understanding, All of them the work of the craftsmen. They say of them, "They offer human sacrifice and kiss the calves."
read chapter 13 in WEB
And now do they add to sin, And make to them a molten image of their silver, By their own understanding -- idols, A work of artizans -- all of it, Of them they say, who `are' sacrificers among men, `The calves let them kiss.'
read chapter 13 in YLT
Pulpit Commentary
Pulpit CommentaryVerse 2. - And now they sin more and more (margin, add to sin), and have made them molten images of their silver, and idols according to their own understanding, all of it the work of the craftsmen. This part of the verse declares their persistent adherence to idolatry. The note of time, "and now," marks the transition from the past period, when Baal-worship had been introduced by Ahab and subsequently overturned by Jehu, to the prophet's own day. Not content with the calves of Jeroboam and the worship of Baal, they added new superstitions and new hideous objects of worship. מַסֵּכָה, a molten image, like the molten calf of Aaron, is singular, but used collectively, so as to correspond with עֲעַבִּים, idols, which is plural. The reference here is, (1) not to the calves or to Baal, but to various other idols which they had adopted, as at Gilgal and Beersheba (Amos 8:14). Or, (2) not content with the calves, they introduced gods of their own as their penates. The material out of which these molten images were manufactured was silver. Kimchi, however, gives a curious explanation in proof that the material was gold: "The calves," he says, "were not silver, but he means to say that, of the silver which they each one gave to procure gold to make the calves, they made for themselves idols according to their understanding; and these were the calves." The manner in which they made these idols was (1) in their understanding, that is, in their understanding, such as it was, so stupidly employed in such sensuous work, or their proficiency in the art of graving. Kimchi explains it somewhat differently: "The explanation of בתבונם is, 'As if they had carefully reflected on the matter what form they should give it, and then had agreed to make a calf, as they did in the wilderness.'" The reading of the word בתי is disputed, but without sufficient ground. No doubt the Septuagint, which is followed by the Chaldee, Arabic, and Jerome, probably read כִּתְבוּנַת rad בנה, to build, like תַּבְנִית, figure, or כִּתְמוּנַת; for they translate . . .
Ellicott's Commentary
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers(2) Ewald, following the hint of the LXX. (who had a slightly different text), renders "according to their pattern of idols." (Comp. the language of satire in Psalms 115; Isaiah 44:10-17.)Men that sacrifice.--More accurately, sacrificers from among men. Others would render "sacrificers of men." But the former is quite consistent with Hebrew usage, while the latter compels us to adopt the unwarrantable supposition that human sacrifices formed part of the calf-worship. The calf images were kissed ike those of the Madonna in Roman Catholic churches at the present day. The Greek ?????????, "to worship," meant originally to adore by kissing (Curtius, Greek Etymology, p. 158).
