Hosea 7:3 — Word Study
WLCבְּרָעָתָ֖ם יְשַׂמְּחוּ־ מֶ֑לֶךְ וּבְכַחֲשֵׁיהֶ֖ם שָׂרִֽים׃
BSAThey delightsâmach▸ [make glad, bring joy to] the kingmelek [ruler, monarch] with their evilraʻ [wickedness, badness, moral harm] and the princessar [leaders, rulers, those in charge] with their lieskachash [deception, falsehoods, hypocrisy]
| Greek | English | Parsing |
|---|---|---|
| בְּרָעָתָ֖ם | by evil their | Preposition, noun common feminine singular construct, suffix |
| יְשַׂמְּחוּ־ | they make glad | Verb, Piel, imperfect third person masculine plural |
| מֶ֑לֶךְ | [the] king | Noun common, masculine singular absolute |
| וּבְכַחֲשֵׁיהֶ֖ם | and by lies their | Conjunction, preposition, noun common masculine plural construct |
| שָׂרִֽים׃ | princes | Noun common, masculine plural absolute |
Every word in the verse. Click a row to open it in the panel on the left.
| BSB | They delight the king with their evil, and the princes with their lies. |
| KJV | They make the king glad with their wickedness, and the princes with their lies. |
| ASV | They make the king glad with their wickedness, and the princes with their lies. |
| YLT | With their wickedness they make glad a king, And with their lies — princes. |
| WEB | They make the king glad with their wickedness, and the princes with their lies. |
| BBE | In their sin they make a king for themselves, and rulers in their deceit. |
The translations agree on the essential meaning of the verse, emphasizing the relationship between the people's actions and the joy of their leaders.
The sentence structure shows a main clause followed by two prepositional phrases, emphasizing the sources of delight for the king and princes.
8 commentators on this verse
Gill, Jamieson, Poole, Trapp & more — read them ›
clause
verbשָׂמַח
The sentence as the grammar sees it Open the tree ›
Every word here is used elsewhere in the Old Testament.
Bars are logarithmic — אֵת, the commonest word in the Hebrew Bible, stands about 11,000 times, so a linear scale would leave everything else invisible. Click a row to open that word.
Deep Study — Hosea 7:3
Sections marked generated are written from the data on this page rather than by a named author. Everything else — the lexicon entries, the cross references, the manuscript readings, the counts — is quoted from its source unchanged.
Context — Critique of Israel's Leadershipgenerated
Hosea 7:3 highlights the moral decay of Israel, where the people delight their king and princes with evil and lies. This reflects a broader theme in Hosea, where the prophet calls out the unfaithfulness of Israel and its leaders. The surrounding verses illustrate the consequences of such actions, emphasizing that their deeds are ever before God, who remembers their wickedness.
Cross References
| Reference | Text (BSB) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hosea 5:11 | Ephraim is oppressed, crushed in judgment, for he is determined to follow worthless idols. |
| 2 | 1 Kings 22:6–13 | So the king of Israel assembled the prophets, about four hundred men, and asked them, “Should I go to war against Ramoth-gilead, or should I refrain?” “Go up,” they replied, “and the Lord will deliver it into the hand of the king.” |
| 3 | Jeremiah 5:31 | The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests rule by their own authority. My people love it so, but what will you do in the end? |
| 4 | Jeremiah 9:2 | If only I had a traveler’s lodge in the wilderness, I would abandon my people and depart from them, for they are all adulterers, a crowd of faithless people. |
| 5 | Jeremiah 28:1–4 | In the fifth month of that same year, the fourth year, near the beginning of the reign of King Zedekiah of Judah, the prophet Hananiah son of Azzur, who was from Gibeon, said to me in the house of the LORD in the presence of the priests and all the people: |
The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge — 11 references, hung on the phrase they belong to
The Key Word — בְּרָעָתָ֖ם, be.ra.'a.Tamgenerated
The word רַע (ra) means bad or evil, encompassing various negative qualities such as distress and ethical wrongdoing. In this verse, it describes the moral harm caused by the people's actions, indicating a deep sense of misery and injury.
As a construct with a suffix, בְּרָעָתָ֖ם conveys the idea of 'by their evil,' emphasizing that their wickedness is the means by which they bring joy to their leaders. This highlights the troubling relationship between the people's actions and the satisfaction of those in power.
How Translations Differ — measured against the Berean Standard Biblegenerated
Translations of this verse agree on the core message that the people delight the king and princes with their evil and lies.
Sentence Structuregenerated
The finite verb יְשַׂמְּחוּ (ye.sa.me.chu-), meaning 'they make glad,' governs the whole verse. It connects directly to the objects מֶ֑לֶךְ (me.lekh, 'king') and שָׂרִֽים (sa.Rim, 'princes'), showing that both the king and princes are recipients of the joy brought by the people's actions.
The structure of the verse emphasizes the relationship between the people's evil and the joy experienced by their leaders, illustrating a troubling dynamic of moral compromise.
Septuagint Backgroundgenerated
In the Septuagint, the Hebrew בְּרָעָתָ֖ם is rendered with the Greek word ἐν (en), indicating a similar concept of being 'in' or 'by' their evil. This choice shows a consistent understanding of the moral implications of the people's actions.
The translation maintains the focus on the relationship between the people's wickedness and the satisfaction of their rulers, aligning closely with the Hebrew text.
In plain words — the whole versegenerated
Hosea 7:3 tells us that the people of Israel make their king and princes happy by doing evil and telling lies. This reflects their moral failures and the consequences of their actions, as they forget that God sees all their deeds.
Frequently Asked Questionsgenerated
It suggests that the leaders are complicit in the people's wrongdoing, finding satisfaction in their actions despite the moral implications.
It shows a troubling dynamic where the leaders are pleased by the people's wickedness, indicating a failure of moral leadership.
These could include deceitful practices, false promises, or hypocrisy that serve to maintain power or influence.
It highlights that despite the apparent success of their deceit, God is aware of their true actions and will hold them accountable.
Reflection Questionsgenerated
- In what ways do I see the influence of evil in leadership today?
- How can I ensure that my actions do not contribute to the wrongdoing of those in power?
- What steps can I take to promote truth and integrity in my community?
- How does this verse challenge my understanding of morality and accountability?
The early church on this verse — how the Fathers read it
Early interpretations of this verse highlight the moral implications of the people's actions. Quotations from Jerome and Richard Challoner illustrate the concerns regarding leadership and the consequences of deceit.
"In their malice, they made the king rejoice, and in their lies, the princes." LXX: "In their wickedness, the kings rejoiced, and in their lies, the princes." It explains what they did before Him: In their wickedness,Early Church Fathers on Hosea 7 →
Made the king glad: To please Jeroboam, and their other kings they have given themselves up to the wicked worship of idols, which are mere falsehood and lies.Early Church Fathers on Hosea 7 →
Commentators on this verse — 8 expositors, verse by verse
Each of these wrote on Hosea 7:3 itself, not merely on the chapter around it.
John Gill1697–1771Gill's Exposition of the Entire BibleThey make the king glad with their wickedness,.... Not any particular king; not Jeroboam the first, as Kimchi; nor Jehu, as Grotius; if any particular king, rather Jeroboam the second; but their
Read John Gill on Hosea 7 →Robert Jamieson1802–1880Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown's CommentaryThey make the king glad with their wickedness, and the princes with their lies. They make the king glad with their wickedness, and the princes with their lies.
Read Robert Jamieson on Hosea 7 →Matthew Poole1624–1679Matthew Poole's Commentary on the Holy BibleThey, either the subjects in general, or rather the courtiers in particular who were about the king, make the king glad with their wickedness: the kings of Israel, every one of them from first to last, were addicted to vicious practices, and their minds were vitiated, deeply tainted with all kind of sins, and they it seems took pleasure in sins, both in their own and other men’ s; and here are a parcel of flagitious fellows that make it their work to invent pleasing wickedness, to acquaint their king with it, who is so far from doing his duty in discountenancing it, that it is one of his delights to hear or see it. The princes; great men about the court. With their lies; with false…
Read Matthew Poole on Hosea 7 →John Trapp1601–1669Trapp's Complete Commentary on the Old and New TestamentsHosea 7:3 They make the king glad with their wickedness, and the princes with their lies.Ver. 3. They make the king glad with their wickedness] A sad commentary surely of king and people, exhilarating themselves and each other in wickedness. Their kings were well paid of their people’ s compliances with their unlawful edicts; and the people no less well pleased to gratify and flatter their kings, as the Romans did Tiberius and other tyrants, who therefore said of them, that they were servum pecus, servile souls, et homines ad servitutem parati, men-made slaves. Tyrants care not how wicked their subjects are; for then they know they will swallow down any command, though never so impious…
Read John Trapp on Hosea 7 →Charles John Ellicott1819–1905Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers(3) Glad.—The evil awakens no alarm, but rather sympathy and gladness, in the breasts of their kings and rulers, who are ready to follow suit in all deeds of violence.
Read Charles John Ellicott on Hosea 7 →AdamClarkeAdam Clarke's Commentary on the BibleVerse 3. They make the king glad] They pleased Jeroboam by coming readily into his measures, and heartily joining with him in his idolatry. And they professed to be perfectly happy in their change, and to be greatly advantaged by their new gods; and that the religion of the state now was better than that of Jehovah. Thus, they made all their rulers, "glad with their lies."
Read AdamClarke on Hosea 7 →CambridgeThe Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges3–6. The highest personages are not too refined for the most sensual pleasures. A consuming passion inflames them as if with the heat of a furnace. Their way of celebrating a royal commemoration is to indulge in monstrous excess.
Read Cambridge on Hosea 7 →Albert Barnes1798–1870Barnes' Notes on the BibleThey make the king glad with their wickedness - Wicked sovereigns and a wicked people are a curse to each other, each encouraging the other in sin.
Read Albert Barnes on Hosea 7 →The verse in English, compared — 17 translations, and where they part company
Every translation on this page is a decision someone had to make and commit to. Read down a column and you see one translator's judgement; read across a row and you see the range the Greek actually allows. The BSB is the wording the rest of this page is measured against, so it is listed first.
Modern formal
They delight the king with their evil, and the princes with their lies.
They make the king glad with their wickedness, and the princes with their lies.
They delight the king with their evil, and the princes with their lies.
The royal advisers delight the king with their evil schemes, the princes make him glad with their lies.
Tyndale line
They make the king glad with their wickedness, and the princes with their lies.
They make the king glad with their wickedness, and the princes with their lies.
They make the king glad with their wickedness, and the princes with their lies.
They make the king glad with their wickedness, and the princes with their lies.
They make the King glad with their wickednesse, and the princes with their lies.
Strictly literal
They make the king glad with their wickedness, and the princes with their lies.
With their wickedness they make glad a king, And with their lies — princes.
With their wickedness they make a king glad, || And with their lies—princes.
With their wickedness they make the king glad, and with their lies the princes.
With their evil they make the king glad, and by their lies the officials.
From the Latin
They have made the king glad with their wickedness: and the princes with their lies.
Simplified
They make their king happy with their wickedness, and the princes with their lies.
In their sin they make a king for themselves, and rulers in their deceit.
Counted from the translations carried on this site, not from a survey of every English Bible. A rendering shared by many versions is usually inherited rather than independently arrived at — the Tyndale line in particular runs through most of them.
The sentence as the grammar sees it — from the MACULA Hebrew treebank
This is not our own analysis: it is the scholarly syntax tree for the verse, showing how the clause actually holds together.
Boxes are the grammarian's groupings — clause, noun phrase, prepositional phrase.
The four witnesses to this verse — Masoretic, Septuagint, Samaritan, Qumran
The Masoretic Text and the Septuagint agree on the wording of this verse, with all five words matched between the two texts. This consistency suggests a shared understanding of the moral critique being presented.
בְּרָעָתָ֖ם יְשַׂמְּחוּ־ מֶ֑לֶךְ וּבְכַחֲשֵׁיהֶ֖ם שָׂרִֽים׃
5 of the 5 words are matched. This is the word-by-word correspondence, not the Septuagint's own sentence — its word order and its articles are its own.
Four traditions, not one. “On the leather” means the letters physically survive on the scroll, as against letters an editor has supplied to fill a hole in it — a restoration is a scholar’s reading, not a reading of the manuscript. Words in [square brackets] are supplied; the notes count them apart from what survives.
The map of this verse — what each word keeps company with
This is a map of two things, both counted rather than judged. Company kept: which words stand within three words of each of these, anywhere in the Hebrew Bible — the thicker the line, the more often the pair meet compared with chance. Built from: the words a word is made out of, taken from its own Strong’s entry. It is not a map of meaning: nothing here claims two words mean the same thing. Click any circle to see the numbers behind it.
Lexicons — every word in Hosea 7:3
One dossier per word, with every reference work grouped by kind — Hebrew lexicons, morphology, Bible dictionaries, topical chains and the English of the translators themselves. The verse sits at the head of each block with the word under study lit, so you never lose your place. The panel above gives the short answer; this is the long one, and it is the part of the page worth indexing.
Every entry below is the lexicographer's own text. On the Hebrew: Brown-Driver-Briggs entire and its gloss set, Strong's Hebrew Dictionary, and Tyndale House's Translators Brief lexicon. Where a cell says a work has no entry, that work genuinely has none for this word.
רַע (ra) is a Hebrew word meaning bad or evil, encompassing a range of negative qualities such as distress, misery, and ethical wrongdoing. It can describe unpleasantness, harm, or low value, and is used in various contexts, including emotional states and moral judgments. The entries also note its comparative form, indicating worse than or worst. The word has feminine forms, such as רָעָה (ra.ah), which similarly convey concepts of evil and distress.
רַע 228 adj. bad, evil
bad, disagreeable, malignant
bad, unpleasant, giving pain, unhappiness, misery
evil, displeasing
bad of its kind
bad, , i.e. of low value
מִן comp., worse than
sad, unhappy
devise evil (hurtful) device
bad, unkind, vicious in disposition or temper
ethically bad, evil, wicked
base
רַע 126 n.m. evil, distress, misery, injury, calamity
evil, distress, adversity
evil, injury, wrong
ethical evil
base
רָעָה 310 n.f. evil, misery, distress, injury
evil, misery, distress
evil, injury, wrong
ethical evil
base
H7451a רַע bad, evil . bad, disagreeable, malignant
. bad, unpleasant, giving pain, unhappiness, misery
. evil, displeasing
. bad of its kind
. bad, , i.e. of low value
. + מִן comp., worse than
. sad, unhappy
. devise evil (hurtful) device
. bad, unkind, vicious in disposition or temper
. ethically bad, evil, wicked
H7451b רַע evil, distress, misery, injury, calamity . evil, distress, adversity
. evil, injury, wrong
. ethical evil
H7451c רָעָה evil, misery, distress, injury . evil, misery, distress
. evil, injury, wrong
. ethical evil
7451 ra` rah
from 7489; bad or (as noun) evil (natural or moral):--
adversity, affliction, bad, calamity, + displease(-ure),
distress, evil((- favouredness), man, thing), + exceedingly, X
great, grief(-vous), harm, heavy, hurt(-ful), ill (favoured),
+ mark, mischief(-vous), misery, naught(-ty), noisome, + not
please, sad(-ly), sore, sorrow, trouble, vex,
wicked(-ly, -ness, one), worse(-st), wretchedness, wrong.
(Incl. feminine raaah; as adjective or noun.).
see HEBREW for 07489
רַע (ra) — bad: harmful.
: harmful
adj
1) bad, evil
1a) bad, disagreeable, malignant
1b) bad, unpleasant, evil (giving pain, unhappiness, misery)
1c) evil, displeasing
1d) bad (of its kind-land, water, etc)
1e) bad (of value)
1f) worse than, worst (comparison)
1g) sad, unhappy
1h) evil (hurtful)
1i) bad, unkind (vicious in disposition)
1j) bad, evil, wicked (ethically)
1j1) in general, of persons, of thoughts
1j2) deeds, actions
רַע (ra) — bad: evil.
1) evil, distress, misery, injury, calamity
1a) evil, distress, adversity
1b) evil, injury, wrong
1c) evil (ethical)
רָעָה (ra.ah) — distress: harm.
: harm
1) evil, misery, distress, injury
1a) evil, misery, distress
1b) evil, injury, wrong
1c) evil (ethical)
רַע (ra) — bad: evil.
: evil
adj
1) bad, evil
1a) bad, disagreeable, malignant
1b) bad, unpleasant, evil (giving pain, unhappiness, misery)
1c) evil, displeasing
Prep | N-fs | Suff — Preposition · noun common feminine singular construct · suffixHR/Ncfsc/Sp3mp
שָׂמַח (samach) is a Hebrew verb meaning to rejoice or be glad. It can express joy in everyday life, religious contexts, or even exultation. The verb has different forms: Qal (to rejoice), Piel (to cause to rejoice), and Hiphil (to make glad). The entries indicate a range of meanings related to joy and merriment.
שָׂמַח, שָׂמִ֑חַ 154 vb. rejoice, be glad
Qal 126
in common life
rejoice religiously
subj. י׳
Pi. cause to rejoice, gladden
Hiph. = Pi.
base
H8055 שָׂמַח, שָׂמִ֑חַ rejoice, be glad
8055 samach saw-makh'
a primitive root; probably to brighten up, i.e.
(figuratively) be (causatively, make) blithe or
gleesome:--cheer up, be (make) glad, (have, make) joy(-ful),
be (make) merry, (cause to, make to) rejoice, X very.
שָׂמַח (sa.mach) — to rejoice.
1) to rejoice, be glad
1a) (Qal)
1a1) to rejoice
1a2) to rejoice (arrogantly), exult (at)
1a3) to rejoice (religiously)
1b) (Piel) to cause to rejoice, gladden, make glad
1c) (Hiphil) to cause to rejoice, gladden, make glad
V-Piel-Imperf-3mp — Verb · Piel · imperfect third person masculine pluralHVpi3mp
The Hebrew word מֶ֫לֶךְ (*melek*) means 'king.' It is derived from a root that suggests royalty. The term appears in various contexts, including references to specific kings and locations, such as the 'King's Highway' in Numbers 20:17 and the 'King's Valley' in Genesis 14:17. The lexicons note its Aramaic equivalent and mention its use in the context of individuals like Hammelech in Jeremiah.
מֶ֫לֶךְ 2513 n.m. king
base
H4428 מֶ֫לֶךְ king
4428 melek meh'-lek
from 4427; a king:--king, royal.
see HEBREW for 04427
מֶ֫לֶךְ (me.lekh) — king.
1) king
Aramaic equivalent: me.lekh (מֶ֫לֶךְ "king" H4430)
הַמֶּלֶךְ (me.lekh) — `the king`.
'the king' or a name, Hammelech in KJV of Jer.36.26; 38.6- a man living at the time of Divided Monarchy, first mentioned at Jer.36.26;
father of: Jerahmeel (H3396I) and Malchijah (H4441H); also translated "the king";
§ A man living at the time of Divided Monarchy, first mentioned at Jer.36.26;
father of: Jerahmeel (H3396I) and Malchijah (H4441H); also translated "the king";
מֶ֫לֶךְ (me.lekh) — King's.
King's (Highway) (Num.20.17)
מֶ֫לֶךְ (me.lekh) — King's.
Another name of she.lach (שֶׁ֫לַח "Shelah" H7975A)
מֶ֫לֶךְ (me.lekh) — Milcom.
Another name of mo.lekh (מֹ֫לֶךְ "Molech" H4432)
מֶ֫לֶךְ (me.lekh) — King's.
King's (Valley) (Gen.14.17)
N-ms — Noun common · masculine singular absoluteHNcmsa
King
Is in Scripture very generally used to denote one invested with authority, whether extensive or limited. There were thirty-one kings in Canaan (Josh. 12:9, 24), whom Joshua subdued. Adonibezek subdued seventy kings (Judg. 1:7). In the New Testament the Roman emperor is spoken of as a king (1 Pet. 2:13, 17); and Herod Antipas, who was only a tetrarch, is also called a king (Matt. 14:9; Mark 6:22).
This title is applied to God (1 Tim. 1:17), and to Christ, the Son of God (1 Tim. 6:15, 16;
"a chief ruler, one invested with supreme authority over a nation, tribe or country." --Webster. In the Bible the word does not necessarily imply great power or great extent of country. Many persons are called kings whom we should rather call chiefs or leaders. The word is applied in the Bible to God as the sovereign and ruler of the universe, and to Christ the Son of God as the head and governor of the Church. The Hebrews were ruled by a king during a period of about 500 years previous to the destruction of Jerusalem, B.C. 586. The immediate occasion of the substitution of a regal form of government for that of judges seems to have been the siege of Jabesh-gilead by Nahash king of the Ammonites. (1 Samuel 11:1; 12:12) The conviction seems to have forced itself on the Israelites that they could not resist their formidable neighbor…
כַּ֫חַשׁ (kachash) refers to both lying or deception and physical leanness or emaciation, suggesting a failure of flesh. The word is derived from a root that emphasizes the idea of failure. It encompasses both literal and figurative meanings, with no significant disagreement among lexicons.
כַּ֫חַשׁ n.m. 1. lying. 2. leanness
base
H3585 כַּ֫חַשׁ
3585 kachash kakh'-ash
from 3584; literally, a failure of flesh, i.e. emaciation;
figuratively, hypocrisy:--leanness, lies, lying.
see HEBREW for 03584
כַּ֫חַשׁ (ka.chash) — lie.
1) lying, deception
2) leanness, failure
Conj | Prep | N-mp | Suff — Conjunction · preposition · noun common masculine plural construct · suffixHC/R/Ncmpc/Sp3mp
שַׂר (sar) refers to a leader or ruler, encompassing a range of meanings from prince and chief to official and captain. It denotes various ranks, including military commanders and religious leaders, and can also imply a noble or merchant of high status. The word is derived from a root meaning 'to rule'.
שַׂר 420 n.m. chieftain, chief, ruler, official, captain, prince
base
H8269 שַׂר chieftain, chief, ruler, official, captain, prince
8269 sar sar
from 8323; a head person (of any rank or class):--captain
(that had rule), chief (captain), general, governor, keeper,
lord, ((-task- ))master, prince(-ipal), ruler, steward.
see HEBREW for 08323
שַׂר (sar) — ruler.
1) prince, ruler, leader, chief, chieftain, official, captain
1a) chieftain, leader
1b) vassal, noble, official (under king)
1c) captain, general, commander (military)
1d) chief, head, overseer (of other official classes)
1e) heads, princes (of religious office)
1f) elders (of representative leaders of people)
1g) merchant-princes (of rank and dignity)
1h) patron-angel
1i) Ruler of rulers (of God)
1j) warden
N-mp — Noun common · masculine plural absoluteHNcmpa