Hosea 8:6
New International Version
They are from Israel! This calf—a metalworker has made it; it is not God. It will be broken in pieces, that calf of Samaria.

New Living Translation
This calf you worship, O Israel, was crafted by your own hands! It is not God! Therefore, it must be smashed to bits.

English Standard Version
For it is from Israel; a craftsman made it; it is not God. The calf of Samaria shall be broken to pieces.

Berean Standard Bible
For this thing is from Israel—a craftsman made it, and it is not God. It will be broken to pieces, that calf of Samaria.

King James Bible
For from Israel was it also: the workman made it; therefore it is not God: but the calf of Samaria shall be broken in pieces.

New King James Version
For from Israel is even this: A workman made it, and it is not God; But the calf of Samaria shall be broken to pieces.

New American Standard Bible
For from Israel comes even this! A craftsman made it, so it is not God; Assuredly, the calf of Samaria will be broken to pieces.

NASB 1995
For from Israel is even this! A craftsman made it, so it is not God; Surely the calf of Samaria will be broken to pieces.

NASB 1977
For from Israel is even this! A craftsman made it, so it is not God; Surely the calf of Samaria will be broken to pieces.

Legacy Standard Bible
For from Israel is even this! A craftsman made it, so it is not God; Surely the calf of Samaria will be smashed to splinters.

Amplified Bible
For even this [loathsome calf] is from Israel. A craftsman made it, so it is not God; Surely the calf of Samaria will be broken to pieces and go up in flames.

Christian Standard Bible
For this thing is from Israel — a craftsman made it, and it is not God. The calf of Samaria will be smashed to bits!

Holman Christian Standard Bible
For this thing is from Israel— a craftsman made it, and it is not God. The calf of Samaria will be smashed to bits!

American Standard Version
For from Israel is even this; the workman made it, and it is no God; yea, the calf of Samaria shall be broken in pieces.

Contemporary English Version
Someone from Israel built that idol for you, but only I am God. And so it will be smashed to pieces.

English Revised Version
For from Israel is even this; the workman made it, and it is no God: yea, the calf of Samaria shall be broken in pieces.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
Samaria's calf-shaped idol was made in Israel. Skilled workers made it. It is not a god. It will be smashed to pieces.

Good News Translation
An Israelite craftsman made the idol, and it is not a god at all! The gold bull worshiped in Samaria will be smashed to pieces!

International Standard Version
Because from Israel it was fashioned by craftsmen, it is not God; therefore Samaria's calf will be broken in pieces.

Majority Standard Bible
For this thing is from Israel?a craftsman made it, and it is not God. It will be broken to pieces, that calf of Samaria.

NET Bible
That idol was made by a workman--it is not God! The calf idol of Samaria will be broken to bits.

New Heart English Bible
For this is even from Israel. The workman made it, and it is no God; indeed, the calf of Samaria shall be broken in pieces.

Webster's Bible Translation
For from Israel was it also: the workman made it; therefore it is not God: but the calf of Samaria shall be broken in pieces.

World English Bible
For this is even from Israel! The workman made it, and it is no God; indeed, the calf of Samaria shall be broken in pieces.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
For even it [is] of Israel; a craftsman made it, "" And it [is] not God, "" For the calf of Samaria is fragments!

Young's Literal Translation
For even it is of Israel; an artificer made it, And it is not God, For the calf of Samaria is fragments!

Smith's Literal Translation
For from Israel, and this workman made it, and it is not God: for the calf of Shomeron shall be broken in pieces.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
For itself also is the invention of Israel: a workman made it, and it is no god: for the calf of Samaria shall be turned to spiders' webs.

Catholic Public Domain Version
For it is itself also from Israel: a workman made it, and it is not God. For the calf of Samaria will be used for the webs of spiders.

New American Bible
An artisan made it, it is no god at all. The calf of Samaria will be dashed to pieces.

New Revised Standard Version
For it is from Israel, an artisan made it; it is not God. The calf of Samaria shall be broken to pieces.
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
For the idol is the product of Israel; a carpenter made it, therefore it is not God; but your calf, O Samaria, was made for deception.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
Because it is from Israel and a Carpenter made it and it is not God, but your calf was for a deception, Samaria
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
For from Israel is even this: The craftsman made it, and it is no God; Yea, the calf of Samaria shall be broken in shivers.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
Whereas the workman made it, and it is not God; wherefore thy calf, Samaria, was a deceiver:

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Israel will Reap the Whirlwind
5He has rejected your calf, O Samaria. My anger burns against them. How long will they be incapable of innocence? 6For this thing is from Israel— a craftsman made it, and it is not God. It will be broken to pieces, that calf of Samaria. 7For they sow the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind. There is no standing grain; what sprouts fails to yield flour. Even if it should produce, the foreigners would swallow it up.…

Cross References
Exodus 32:4
He took the gold from their hands, and with an engraving tool he fashioned it into a molten calf. And they said, “These, O Israel, are your gods, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!”

1 Kings 12:28-30
After seeking advice, the king made two golden calves and said to the people, “Going up to Jerusalem is too much for you. Here, O Israel, are your gods, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.” / One calf he set up in Bethel, and the other in Dan. / And this thing became a sin; the people walked as far as Dan to worship before one of the calves.

Isaiah 44:9-20
All makers of idols are nothing, and the things they treasure are worthless. Their witnesses fail to see or comprehend, so they are put to shame. / Who fashions a god or casts an idol which profits him nothing? / Behold, all his companions will be put to shame, for the craftsmen themselves are only human. Let them all assemble and take their stand; they will all be brought to terror and shame. ...

Jeremiah 10:3-5
For the customs of the peoples are worthless; they cut down a tree from the forest; it is shaped with a chisel by the hands of a craftsman. / They adorn it with silver and gold and fasten it with hammer and nails, so that it will not totter. / Like scarecrows in a cucumber patch, their idols cannot speak. They must be carried because they cannot walk. Do not fear them, for they can do no harm, and neither can they do any good.”

2 Kings 17:16
They abandoned all the commandments of the LORD their God and made for themselves two cast idols of calves and an Asherah pole. They bowed down to all the host of heaven and served Baal.

Deuteronomy 9:16
And I saw how you had sinned against the LORD your God; you had made for yourselves a molten calf. You had turned aside quickly from the way that the LORD had commanded you.

Psalm 115:4-8
Their idols are silver and gold, made by the hands of men. / They have mouths, but cannot speak; they have eyes, but cannot see; / they have ears, but cannot hear; they have noses, but cannot smell; ...

Psalm 135:15-18
The idols of the nations are silver and gold, made by the hands of men. / They have mouths, but cannot speak; they have eyes, but cannot see; / they have ears, but cannot hear; nor is there breath in their mouths. ...

1 Corinthians 8:4-6
So about eating food sacrificed to idols: We know that an idol is nothing at all in the world, and that there is no God but one. / For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as there are many so-called gods and lords), / yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we exist. And there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we exist.

Romans 1:22-23
Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools, / and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images of mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.

Acts 17:29
Therefore, being offspring of God, we should not think that the Divine Being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by man’s skill and imagination.

Isaiah 46:6-7
They pour out their bags of gold and weigh out silver on scales; they hire a goldsmith to fashion it into a god, so they can bow down and worship. / They lift it to their shoulder and carry it along; they set it in its place, and there it stands, not budging from that spot. They cry out to it, but it does not answer; it saves no one from his troubles.

Jeremiah 2:27-28
say to a tree, ‘You are my father,’ and to a stone, ‘You gave me birth.’ They have turned their backs to Me and not their faces. Yet in the time of trouble, they say, ‘Rise up and save us!’ / But where are the gods you made for yourselves? Let them rise up in your time of trouble and save you if they can; for your gods are as numerous as your cities, O Judah.

1 Corinthians 10:19-20
Am I suggesting, then, that food sacrificed to an idol is anything, or that an idol is anything? / No, but the sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons, not to God. And I do not want you to be participants with demons.

2 Chronicles 11:15
And Jeroboam appointed his own priests for the high places and for the goat demons and calf idols he had made.


Treasury of Scripture

For from Israel was it also: the workman made it; therefore it is not God: but the calf of Samaria shall be broken in pieces.

from.

Psalm 106:19,20
They made a calf in Horeb, and worshipped the molten image…

the workman.

Psalm 115:4-8
Their idols are silver and gold, the work of men's hands…

Psalm 135:15-18
The idols of the heathen are silver and gold, the work of men's hands…

Isaiah 44:9-20
They that make a graven image are all of them vanity; and their delectable things shall not profit; and they are their own witnesses; they see not, nor know; that they may be ashamed…

the calf.

Hosea 10:2,5,6
Their heart is divided; now shall they be found faulty: he shall break down their altars, he shall spoil their images…

Jeremiah 43:12,13
And I will kindle a fire in the houses of the gods of Egypt; and he shall burn them, and carry them away captives: and he shall array himself with the land of Egypt, as a shepherd putteth on his garment; and he shall go forth from thence in peace…

Jeremiah 50:2
Declare ye among the nations, and publish, and set up a standard; publish, and conceal not: say, Babylon is taken, Bel is confounded, Merodach is broken in pieces; her idols are confounded, her images are broken in pieces.

shall.

2 Kings 23:15,19
Moreover the altar that was at Bethel, and the high place which Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin, had made, both that altar and the high place he brake down, and burned the high place, and stamped it small to powder, and burned the grove…

2 Chronicles 31:1
Now when all this was finished, all Israel that were present went out to the cities of Judah, and brake the images in pieces, and cut down the groves, and threw down the high places and the altars out of all Judah and Benjamin, in Ephraim also and Manasseh, until they had utterly destroyed them all. Then all the children of Israel returned, every man to his possession, into their own cities.

2 Chronicles 34:6,7
And so did he in the cities of Manasseh, and Ephraim, and Simeon, even unto Naphtali, with their mattocks round about…

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Hosea 8
1. Destruction is threatened both to Israel and Judah for their impiety and idolatry.














For this thing was made by a craftsman
This phrase highlights the man-made nature of the idol, emphasizing its lack of divine origin or power. The Hebrew word for "craftsman" is "ḥārāš," which refers to a skilled artisan or smith. In the ancient Near Eastern context, craftsmen were highly regarded for their ability to create objects of beauty and utility. However, the use of this term here is ironic, as it underscores the futility of worshiping something that is merely the product of human hands. The Bible consistently contrasts the living God, who is the Creator of all, with idols that are created by humans (Isaiah 44:9-20). This serves as a reminder that true worship should be directed towards the Creator, not the creation.

it is not God
This phrase is a direct and unequivocal statement about the nature of the idol. The Hebrew word for "God" here is "Elohim," a term that can denote the one true God or, in some contexts, gods in general. The declaration "it is not God" serves to dismantle any illusion of divinity that might be attributed to the idol. In the broader biblical narrative, this assertion aligns with the first commandment, which prohibits the worship of other gods (Exodus 20:3). It is a call to recognize the uniqueness and sovereignty of the one true God, who is not confined to or represented by any physical object.

Ephraim will be broken to pieces
"Ephraim" refers to the northern kingdom of Israel, often called Ephraim after its dominant tribe. The phrase "will be broken to pieces" uses the Hebrew verb "šābar," which conveys a sense of being shattered or destroyed. This is a prophetic warning of impending judgment due to the nation's idolatry and unfaithfulness. Historically, this prophecy was fulfilled when the Assyrian Empire conquered Israel in 722 BC. The breaking of Ephraim serves as a sobering reminder of the consequences of turning away from God and relying on false idols. It underscores the biblical principle that disobedience leads to destruction, while faithfulness to God brings blessing and protection.

he cannot stand
The inability to "stand" signifies a lack of strength, stability, or endurance. In Hebrew, the verb "ʿāmad" means to stand or remain firm. This phrase indicates that Ephraim, having placed its trust in idols rather than in God, will not be able to withstand the coming judgment. It is a powerful metaphor for the futility of relying on anything other than God for security and salvation. Throughout Scripture, the ability to stand is often associated with righteousness and divine support (Ephesians 6:13). This serves as an exhortation to believers to ground their lives in the truth and strength of God, who alone can provide the foundation needed to withstand life's trials and challenges.

(6) It is best to abandon the Masoretic punctuation, and translate, For it (i.e., the calf) is from Israel (not of Divine origin); as for it, an artificer made it, and it is no god. Yea, the calf of Samaria shall be shattered to fragments (literally, become splinters or fine dust).

Verse 6. - For from Israel was it also: the workman made it; therefore it is not God. The prophet here vindicates the justness of Jehovah's complaint and the folly of Israel's conduct. The first clause points out the orion of this idolatry - this god of gold was out of Israel, it proceeded from them and was invented by their kings. The second clause shows that it was of human manufacture; while the natural inference follows in the third clause to the effect that, having its origin with man and being made by man, it could not be God. Or if the rendering, "Thy calf disgusts," be adopted, the ki introduces the explanation of the disgust which that abomination caused. This idol was of home manufacture, not imported from abroad, as Baal and Ashtaroth from the Sidoniaus, Chemosh from the Moabites, and Moloch from the Ammonites. The Israelites themselves and their king Jeroboam made for the northern kingdom what had been learnt in Egypt. Thus Israel's god was a creature of Israel's own devising. How stupid and how absurd! Israel's god man-made, how enormous and abominable the iniquity! But the calf of Samaria shall be broken in pieces. It shall become splinters; the hapaz legomenon, שבי is derived from an Arabic root, shaba, to cut; and thus, as the calf at Sinai was burnt and pulverized, the calf of Samaria shall be broken into splinters and destroyed. The whole verse is well explained by Kimchi: "Now ye will see if the calf is able to deliver its worshippers; it cannot even deliver itself, for it shall become splinters, as if he said that the enemies shall break it up and carry it away for the worth of the gold, not for any utility that is in it while it is still in the form of a calf. שבי is equivalent to שבדים (broken pieces, shivers), fragments." The Septuagintal rendering, πλανῶν, is probably due to the reading שׁובֵב, Micah 2:4, "turning away."

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
For
כִּ֤י (kî)
Conjunction
Strong's 3588: A relative conjunction

this thing
וְה֔וּא (wə·hū)
Conjunctive waw | Pronoun - third person masculine singular
Strong's 1931: He, self, the same, this, that, as, are

is from Israel—
מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל֙ (mî·yiś·rā·’êl)
Preposition-m | Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3478: Israel -- 'God strives', another name of Jacob and his desc

a craftsman
חָרָ֣שׁ (ḥā·rāš)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 2796: A fabricator, any material

made it,
עָשָׂ֔הוּ (‘ā·śā·hū)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person masculine singular | third person masculine singular
Strong's 6213: To do, make

and it
ה֑וּא (hū)
Pronoun - third person masculine singular
Strong's 1931: He, self, the same, this, that, as, are

is not
וְלֹ֥א (wə·lō)
Conjunctive waw | Adverb - Negative particle
Strong's 3808: Not, no

God.
אֱלֹהִ֖ים (’ĕ·lō·hîm)
Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 430: gods -- the supreme God, magistrates, a superlative

It will be
יִֽהְיֶ֔ה (yih·yeh)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 1961: To fall out, come to pass, become, be

broken to pieces,
שְׁבָבִ֣ים (šə·ḇā·ḇîm)
Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 7616: Probably splinters

that calf
עֵ֖גֶל (‘ê·ḡel)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 5695: A, calf, one nearly grown

of Samaria.
שֹׁמְרֽוֹן׃ (šō·mə·rō·wn)
Noun - proper - feminine singular
Strong's 8111: Samaria -- capital of northern kingdom of Israel


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OT Prophets: Hosea 8:6 For this is even from Israel! (Ho Hs Hos.)
Hosea 8:5
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