4:8a–b
Notice the parallel parts that are similar in meaning:
8a They feed on the sins of My people
8b and set their hearts on iniquity.
Line 4:8a is the reason for 4:8b. The reason that the priests set their hearts on iniquity (4:8b) is that the priests feed on their sins (4:8a). The priests wanted the sins of the people to increase, in order that they might receive a greater supply of sacrificial meat to eat. Some versions make explicit that 4:8a is the reason for 4:8b. For example:
8a Since the priests live off the sin offerings of the people, 8b they want the people to sin more and more. (New Century Version)
4:8a
They feed on the sins of My people: In Hebrew, the word sins has a double meaning here. One meaning is sins, and a second meaning is “sin offerings.” Sin offerings were animals that the people brought to the priest to be sacrificed for sin. The laws in the book of Leviticus allowed the priests to eat a portion of these sacrificial animals. See Leviticus 6:24–30.
The double meaning of sins makes this clause a play on words. The priests were feeding on the people’s sins by eating the sin offerings that the people brought. The New Living Translation (1996) translates both parts of the double meaning:
The priests get fed when the people sin and bring their sin offerings to them (New Living Translation (1996))
Most versions do not include both meanings of this word play. Instead, they translate one of the meanings and leave the other meaning implied. For example:
they feed on the sin of my people (New Revised Standard Version)
-or-
They feed on the sin offerings of my people (NET Bible)
The clause may imply that the priests were eating large quantities of the meat from the sacrifices. For example:
you can stuff yourselves on their sin offerings (Contemporary English Version)
It may also be a figure of speech (synecdoche) that represents a prosperous lifestyle. For example:
You grow rich from the sins of my people (Good News Translation)
4:8b
set their hearts on iniquity: The Hebrew phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as set their hearts is literally “they lift up their throat/appetite.” This is a Hebrew idiom that emphasizes a person’s desire or greed. In this phrase, it means that they intensely desired the people to sin against the LORD.
Some versions keep a figurative word such as “appetite” or “greed” because of the connection with eating the sin offerings (4:8a). For example:
their appetites long for their iniquity (NET Bible)
-or-
they are greedy for their iniquity (New Revised Standard Version)
Other versions translate the meaning without using a figurative term. For example:
you want them to sin more and more (Good News Translation)
-or-
they want them to do wicked things (God’s Word)
General Comment on 4:8a–b
In some languages, it will be more natural to put 4:8b first and the reason second. For example:
8b You encourage others to sin, 8a so you can stuff yourselves on their sin offerings. (Contemporary English Version)
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