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.

HOSEA 13:2KJV
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Hosea 13:2 (KJV)

What does Hosea 13:2 mean?

Hosea 13:2 says that the people keep sinning even more by making silver idols shaped by their own ideas and skilled workers, and then treating these idols as sacred by performing rituals like kissing the calves. The verse points out how deeply the people have turned to idol worship, following their own thinking instead of God.

In this verse, the prophet Hosea is speaking to the people of Israel on behalf of God. The setting is a time when Israel has turned away from worshipping God and is making and honoring idols, especially calf-shaped images. The verse highlights not just the making of idols, but also the way people justify and ritualize their worship, showing how far they have strayed from their original faith.

The Hebrew behind Hosea 13:2

  • "sin" (חָטָא, ḥāṭā’): This word means to miss the mark or go astray, emphasizing that the people are not just making mistakes but are actively turning away from what is right.
  • "understanding" (תְּבוּנָה, tevunah): This word refers to human insight or reasoning. The verse points out that the idols are made according to people's own ideas, not God's instructions, stressing the self-made nature of their religion.
  • "kiss" (נָשַׁק, nashaq): In this context, kissing the calves means showing reverence or devotion to the idol, a physical act of worship that replaces true devotion to God.

Why Hosea 13:2 matters

  • Hosea 13:2 clarifies that Israel’s idolatry is not accidental or naive; it is a deliberate, creative process involving both thought and skilled labor.
  • The verse stresses that the people’s worship practices are shaped by their own understanding, not by divine command, highlighting the self-centeredness of their religion.
  • This verse connects to the wider message of Hosea, where God’s complaint is not just about idol worship itself, but about the heart and reasoning behind it, showing how far the people have moved from genuine faith.

Where else these words appear

“idols” Hebrew H6091 · used in 17 verses

  • 1 Samuel 31:9 And they cut off his head, and stripped off his armour, and sent into the land of the Philistines round about, to publish it in the house of their idols, and among the people.
  • Psalms 106:38 And shed innocent blood, even the blood of their sons and of their daughters, whom they sacrificed unto the idols of Canaan: and the land was polluted with blood.
  • 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.

“images” Hebrew H4541 · used in 28 verses

  • Exodus 32:4 And he received them at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, after he had made it a molten calf: and they said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.
  • Judges 17:4 Yet he restored the money unto his mother; and his mother took two hundred shekels of silver, and gave them to the founder, who made thereof a graven image and a molten image: and they were in the house of Micah.
  • Nehemiah 9:18 Yea, when they had made them a molten calf, and said, This is thy God that brought thee up out of Egypt, and had wrought great provocations;

“craftsmen” Hebrew H2796 · used in 32 verses

  • Exodus 28:11 With the work of an engraver in stone, like the engravings of a signet, shalt thou engrave the two stones with the names of the children of Israel: thou shalt make them to be set in ouches of gold.
  • 1 Chronicles 14:1 Now Hiram king of Tyre sent messengers to David, and timber of cedars, with masons and carpenters, to build him an house.
  • Isaiah 44:12 The smith with the tongs both worketh in the coals, and fashioneth it with hammers, and worketh it with the strength of his arms: yea, he is hungry, and his strength faileth: he drinketh no water, and is faint.

“kiss” Hebrew H5401 · used in 35 verses

  • Genesis 27:26 And his father Isaac said unto him, Come near now, and kiss me, my son.
  • Exodus 4:27 And the LORD said to Aaron, Go into the wilderness to meet Moses. And he went, and met him in the mount of God, and kissed him.
  • 1 Kings 19:20 And he left the oxen, and ran after Elijah, and said, Let me, I pray thee, kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow thee. And he said unto him, Go back again: for what have I done to thee?