Hosea 8:4

The Political and Cultic Sin of Israel

8:4 They enthroned kings without my consent! ¹ 

They appointed princes without my approval! ² 

They made idols out of their silver and gold,

but they will be destroyed! ³ 

Deuteronomy 6:10-12

Exhortation to Worship the Lord Exclusively

6:10 Then when the Lord your God brings you to the land he promised your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob to give you – a land with large, fine cities you did not build, 6:11 houses filled with choice things you did not accumulate, hewn out cisterns you did not dig, and vineyards and olive groves you did not plant – and you eat your fill, 6:12 be careful not to forget the Lord who brought you out of Egypt, that place of slavery. ⁴ 

Deuteronomy 32:18

32:18 You have forgotten ⁵  the Rock who fathered you,

and put out of mind the God who gave you birth.

Psalms 10:4

10:4 The wicked man is so arrogant he always thinks,

“God won’t hold me accountable; he doesn’t care.” ⁶ 

Isaiah 17:10

17:10 For you ignore ⁷  the God who rescues you;

you pay no attention to your strong protector. ⁸ 

So this is what happens:

You cultivate beautiful plants

and plant exotic vines. ⁹ 

Jeremiah 2:32

2:32 Does a young woman forget to put on her jewels?

Does a bride forget to put on her bridal attire?

But my people have forgotten me

for more days than can even be counted.

[8:4]  ¹ tn Heb “but without me”; NCV “without asking my permission”; CEV “without consulting me.”

[8:4]  ² tn Heb “but I did not know”; NRSV “but without my knowledge.”

[8:4]  ³ tn Heb “in order to be cut off.” The text gives the impression that they made the idols for this purpose, but the language is ironic and sarcastic, bringing out the futility of their efforts. One could paraphrase, “they made idols…but only so that they might be destroyed.” Though they had other plans for the idols, God’s judgment would bring their intentions to naught.

[6:12]  ⁴ tn Heb “out of the house of slavery” (so NASB, NRSV).

[32:18]  ⁵ tc The Hebrew text is corrupt here; the translation follows the suggestion offered in HALOT 1477 s.v. שׁיה. Cf. NASB, NLT “You neglected”; NIV “You deserted”; NRSV “You were unmindful of.”

[10:4]  ⁶ tn Heb “the wicked [one], according to the height of his nose, he does not seek, there is no God, all his thoughts.” The phrase “height of his nose” probably refers to an arrogant or snooty attitude; it likely pictures one with his nose turned upward toward the sky in pride. One could take the “wicked” as the subject of the negated verb “seek,” in which case the point is that the wicked do not “seek” God. The translation assumes that this statement, along with “there is no God,” is what the wicked man thinks to himself. In this case God is the subject of the verb “seek,” and the point is that God will not hold the wicked man accountable for his actions. Verse 13 strongly favors this interpretation. The statement “there is no God” is not a philosophical assertion that God does not exist, but rather a confident affirmation that he is unconcerned about how men live morally and ethically (see v. 11).

[17:10]  ⁷ tn Heb “you have forgotten” (so NAB, NIV, NRSV).

[17:10]  ⁸ tn Heb “and the rocky cliff of your strength you do not remember.”

[17:10]  ⁹ tn Heb “a vine, a strange one.” The substantival adjective זָר (zar) functions here as an appositional genitive. It could refer to a cultic plant of some type, associated with a pagan rite. But it is more likely that it refers to an exotic, or imported, type of vine, one that is foreign (i.e., “strange”) to Israel.