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Good News Translation

Hosea 12:8

‘We are rich,' they say. ‘We've made a fortune. And no one can accuse us of getting rich dishonestly.'

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Israel, Prophecies Concerning;   Measure;   Riches;   Self-Delusion;   Self-Righteousness;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Presumption;   Riches;   Self-Delusion;  

Dictionaries:

- Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Hosea;   Jeroboam;   Uzziah;   Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Wealth;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Laodicea;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Canaan, History and Religion of;   History;   Hosea;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Canaanites;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Commerce;   Hosea;   Trade;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Agriculture;   Canaanites, the;   Hawkers and Pedlers;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
But Ephraim thinks,“How rich I have become;I made it all myself.In all my earnings,no one can find any iniquity in methat I can be punished for!”
Hebrew Names Version
Efrayim said, "Surely I have become rich, I have found myself wealth. In all my wealth they won't find in me any iniquity that is sin."
King James Version
And Ephraim said, Yet I am become rich, I have found me out substance: in all my labours they shall find none iniquity in me that were sin.
English Standard Version
Ephraim has said, "Ah, but I am rich; I have found wealth for myself; in all my labors they cannot find in me iniquity or sin."
New American Standard Bible
And Ephraim said, "I have certainly become rich, I have found wealth for myself; In all my labors they will find in me No wrongdoing, which would be sin."
New Century Version
Israel said, "I am rich! I am someone with power!" All their money will do them no good because of the sins they have done.
Amplified Bible
Ephraim said, "I have indeed become rich [and powerful as a nation]; I have found wealth for myself. In all my labors they will not find in me Any wickedness that would be sin."
Geneva Bible (1587)
And Ephraim saide, Notwithstanding I am rich, I haue found me out riches in all my labours: they shall finde none iniquitie in me, that were wickednesse.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
And Ephraim said, "Surely I have become rich, I have found wealth for myself; In all my labors they will find in me No iniquity, which would be sin."
Legacy Standard Bible
And Ephraim said, "Surely I have become rich;I have found wealth for myself;In all my labors they will find in meNo iniquity, which would be sin."
Berean Standard Bible
And Ephraim boasts: "How rich I have become; I have found wealth for myself. In all my labors, they can find in me no iniquity that is sinful."
Contemporary English Version
You say to yourself, "I'm rich! I earned it all on my own, without committing a sin."
Complete Jewish Bible
"A huckster keeps false scales, and he loves to cheat.
Darby Translation
And Ephraim saith, Nevertheless I am become rich, I have found me out substance; in all my labours they shall find none iniquity in me that were sin.
Easy-to-Read Version
Ephraim said, ‘I am rich! I have found true riches! No one will learn about my crimes. No one will learn about my sins.'
George Lamsa Translation
And Ephraim said, Yet I am become rich, I have found grief; but all my labors will not be enough to rid me of the sin which I have sinned.
Lexham English Bible
And Ephraim said, "Surely, I am rich, I gained wealth for myself; in all my toil they have not found guilt in me that is sin.
Literal Translation
And Ephraim said, I am rich; I have found much wealth for myself. In all my labors they shall find in me no iniquity that is sin.
American Standard Version
And Ephraim said, Surely I am become rich, I have found me wealth: in all my labors they shall find in me no iniquity that were sin.
Bible in Basic English
And Ephraim said, Now I have got wealth and much property; in all my works no sin may be seen in me.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
As for the trafficker, the balances of deceit are in his hand. He loveth to oppress.
King James Version (1611)
And Ephraim said, Yet I am become rich, I haue found mee out substance: in all my labours they shall finde none iniquitie in mee, that were sinne.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
And Ephraim hath sayde, Tushe I am riche, I haue good enough: in all my workes shall not one iniquitie be founde wherin I haue offended.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And Ephraim said, Nevertheless I am rich, I have found refreshment to myself. None of his labours shall be found available to him, by reason of the sins which he has committed.
English Revised Version
And Ephraim said, Surely I am become rich, I have found me wealth: in all my labours they shall find in me none iniquity that were sin.
World English Bible
Ephraim said, "Surely I have become rich, I have found myself wealth. In all my wealth they won't find in me any iniquity that is sin."
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And Effraym seide, Netheles Y am maad riche, Y haue founde an idol to me; alle my trauelis schulen not fynde to me the wickidnesse, whiche Y synnede.
Update Bible Version
And Ephraim said, Surely I have become rich, I have found wealth for myself: in all my labors they shall find in me no iniquity which [would be] sin.
Webster's Bible Translation
And Ephraim said, Yet I have become rich, I have found for myself substance: [in] all my labors they shall find no iniquity in me that [were] sin.
New English Translation
Ephraim boasts, "I am very rich! I have become wealthy! In all that I have done to gain my wealth, no one can accuse me of any offense that is actually sinful."
New King James Version
And Ephraim said, "Surely I have become rich, I have found wealth for myself; In all my labors They shall find in me no iniquity that is sin.'
New Living Translation
Israel boasts, "I am rich! I've made a fortune all by myself! No one has caught me cheating! My record is spotless!"
New Life Bible
Ephraim has said, "I have become rich. I have found riches for myself. With all my riches they will not find any sin in me."
New Revised Standard
Ephraim has said, "Ah, I am rich, I have gained wealth for myself; in all of my gain no offense has been found in me that would be sin."
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
So then Ephraim said, Surely I have gotten me riches, I have found wealth for myself, - in all my toils, they cannot find in me perversity which is sin.
Douay-Rheims Bible
And Ephraim said: But yet I am become rich, I have found me an idol: all my labours shall not find me the iniquity that I have committed.
Revised Standard Version
E'phraim has said, "Ah, but I am rich, I have gained wealth for myself": but all his riches can never offset the guilt he has incurred.
Young's Literal Translation
And Ephraim saith: `Surely I have become rich, I have found wealth for myself, All my labours -- they find not against me iniquity that [is] sin.'
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Ephraim thinketh thus: Tush, I am rich, I haue good ynough: In all my workes shal not one fawte be founde, that I haue offended.

Contextual Overview

7 The Lord says, "The people of Israel are as dishonest as the Canaanites; they love to cheat their customers with false scales. 8 ‘We are rich,' they say. ‘We've made a fortune. And no one can accuse us of getting rich dishonestly.' 9 But I, the Lord your God who led you out of Egypt, I will make you live in tents again, as you did when I came to you in the desert. 10 "I spoke to the prophets and gave them many visions, and through the prophets I gave my people warnings. 11 Yet idols are worshiped in Gilead, and those who worship them will die. Bulls are sacrificed in Gilgal, and the altars there will become piles of stone in the open fields." 12 Our ancestor Jacob had to flee to Mesopotamia, where, in order to get a wife, he worked for another man and took care of his sheep. 13 The Lord sent a prophet to rescue the people of Israel from slavery in Egypt and to take care of them. 14 The people of Israel have made the Lord bitterly angry; they deserve death for their crimes. Their Lord will punish them for the disgrace they have brought on him.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Yet: Job 31:24, Job 31:25, Psalms 49:6, Psalms 52:7, Psalms 62:10, Zechariah 11:5, Luke 12:19, Luke 16:13, 1 Timothy 6:5, 1 Timothy 6:17, Revelation 3:17

I have: Deuteronomy 8:17, Isaiah 10:13, Isaiah 10:14, Habakkuk 1:16, Habakkuk 2:5, Habakkuk 2:6

in all: etc. or, all my labours suffice me not; he shall have punishment of iniquity in whom is sin

they: Proverbs 30:12, Proverbs 30:20, Jeremiah 2:23, Jeremiah 2:35, Malachi 2:17, Malachi 3:13, Luke 10:29, Luke 16:15

that: Heb. which.

Reciprocal: Psalms 10:3 - and blesseth Psalms 36:2 - For he Psalms 49:18 - blessed Psalms 73:12 - they Proverbs 20:14 - It is naught Isaiah 23:11 - against the merchant city Isaiah 23:17 - and she shall Jeremiah 5:27 - so are Jeremiah 13:22 - the greatness Jeremiah 16:10 - Wherefore Jeremiah 17:11 - he that Ezekiel 28:5 - and by Hosea 10:1 - to the multitude Micah 6:10 - and Zephaniah 1:11 - all the Malachi 1:6 - And ye John 2:16 - make Acts 19:25 - ye know Acts 24:26 - hoped 1 Timothy 6:9 - they Revelation 18:15 - which

Cross-References

Genesis 4:26
Seth had a son whom he named Enosh. It was then that people began using the Lord 's holy name in worship.
Genesis 12:12
When the Egyptians see you, they will assume that you are my wife, and so they will kill me and let you live.
Genesis 12:14
When he crossed the border into Egypt, the Egyptians did see that his wife was beautiful.
Genesis 12:15
Some of the court officials saw her and told the king how beautiful she was; so she was taken to his palace.
Genesis 12:16
Because of her the king treated Abram well and gave him flocks of sheep and goats, cattle, donkeys, slaves, and camels.
Genesis 13:4
and had built an altar. There he worshiped the Lord .
Genesis 21:33
Then Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba and worshiped the Lord , the Everlasting God.
Genesis 28:19
He named the place Bethel. (The town there was once known as Luz.)
Genesis 35:3
We are going to leave here and go to Bethel, where I will build an altar to the God who helped me in the time of my trouble and who has been with me everywhere I have gone."
Joshua 7:2
Joshua sent some men from Jericho to Ai, a city east of Bethel, near Bethaven, with orders to go and explore the land. When they had done so,

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And Ephraim said, yet I am become rich,.... Notwithstanding they took such unjust methods, as to use deceitful balances, they prospered in the world, got abundance of riches; and therefore concluded from thence that their manner of dealing was not criminal, at least not so bad as the prophets represented to them; and so promised themselves impunity, and that what they were threatened with would not come upon them; and, as long as they got riches, they cared not in what manner; and inasmuch as they prospered and succeeded in their course of trading, they were encouraged to go on, and not fear any evil coming upon them for it. According to Aben Ezra and Kimchi, the sense is, that they became rich of themselves, by their own industry and labour, and did not acknowledge that their riches, and power to get them, were of God. They gloried in them as their own attainments; and which they had little reason to do, since they were treasures of wickedness, and mammon of unrighteousness, which in a day of wrath would be of no service to them;

I have found me out substance; they found ways and means of acquiring great riches, and large estates, by their own wisdom and cunning, and all for themselves, for their own use, to be enjoyed by them for years to come; and they were reckoned by them solid and substantial things, when a mere shadow, emptiness, and vanity; and were not to be employed for their own use and advantage only, but should have been for the good of others; nor were they to be attributed to their own sagacity, prudence, and management, but to the providence of God, admitting they had been got in ever so honourable and just a manner;

[in] all my labours they shall find none iniquity in me that [were] sin: here again Ephraim, or the people of Israel, vainly ascribe all their wealth and riches to their own labour, diligence, and industry, and take no notice of God and his providence, or of his blessing upon them; and pretend to be very upright and honest in their dealings, and that what they got were very honestly got, and would bear the strictest scrutiny; and that if their course of trade was ever so narrowly looked into, there would be nothing found that was very bad or criminal, that they could be justly reproached the; only some little trifling things, that would not bear the name of "sin", or deserve any correction or punishment; so pure were they in their own eyes, so blinded and hardened in sin, and fearless of the divine displeasure; like the adulterous woman, wiped their mouths when they had eaten the sweet morsels of sin, and said they had done no wickedness, Proverbs 30:20; or which was involuntary, and not done knowingly, as Kimchi and Abendana: or rather, as Ben Melech renders it, "no iniquity and sin"; and so others: or, best of all, "no iniquity or sin", as Noldius a; no iniquity, or any kind of sin at all. Thus, as Ephraim was charged before with idolatry and lies in religion, so here with fraudulent dealings, and getting riches in an illicit way in civil things; and of whose repentance and reformation there was no hope.

a Concord. Ebr. Part. p. 104. No. 522.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

And Ephraim said, Yet am I become rich - Literally, “I am simply rich.” As if he said, “the only result of all this, with which the prophets charge me, is that ‘I am become rich:’ and since God thus prospers me, it is a sure proof that he is not displeased with me, that ‘no iniquity’ can be ‘found in me;’” the ordinary practical argument of men, as long as God withholds His punishments, that their ways cannot be so displeasing to Him. With the people of this world, with its politicians, in trade, it is the one decisive argument: “I was in the right, for I succeeded.” “It was a good speculation, for he gained thousands.” “it was good policy, for, see its fruits. An answer, at which the pagan laughed, “the people hisses me, but I, I, safe at home, applaud myself, when the coin jingles in my chest” . The pagan ridiculed it; Christians enact it. But in truth, the fact that God does not punish, is often the evidence of His extremest displeasure.

They shall find none iniquity in me, that were sin - The merchants of Ephraim continue their protest; “in all the toil of my hands, all my buying and selling, my bargains, contracts, they can bring no iniquity home to me,” and then, in a tone of simple innocence, they add, ‘that’ were ‘sin,’ as though they ‘could’ not do, what to do were sin. None suspect themselves less, than those intent on gain. The evil customs of other traders, the habits of trade, the seeming necessity for some frauds, the conventional nature of others, the minuteness of others, with their frequent repetition, blind the soul, until it sees no sin, while, with every smallest sale, “they sell their own souls into the bargain” .

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Hosea 12:8. I am become rich — They boasted in their riches, notwithstanding the unjust manner in which they were acquired.

In all my labours they shall find none iniquity in me — This is frequently the language of merchants, tradesmen, c. None are so full of professions of equity and justice, while all the time they are endeavouring to overreach, both in buying and selling. "Sir, I cannot afford it at that price." "It is not mine for that money." "I assure you that it cost me more than you offer." "I am sorry I cannot take your money but if I did, I should lose by the article," c., &c., &c. I have heard such language over and over, when I knew every word was false. Truth is a sacred thing in the sight of God but who regards it as he should? There are, however, many noble exceptions among merchants and tradesmen. Bp. Newcome gives another turn to the subject, by translating: -

"All his labours shall not be found profitable unto him,

For the iniquity wherewith he hath sinned."


 
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