Hosea 4:7

‘As they were multiplied, so they sinned against me. I will change their glory into shame.'

YHWH then draws attention to what He had done for them. He had caused them to multiply (compare Hosea 1:10), and He had given them prosperity (‘glory'). This was always seen as a sign of God's approval. And what was the result? The more they multiplied the more they sinned against Him. Thus they turned God's goodness into an excuse for more sin. In return therefore He would turn their glory into shame. The glory of a nation was found in its wealth and prosperity (see Isaiah 17:3), so that this was saying that He would destroy their wealth and render them poverty-stricken with the result that they would be ashamed, a situation certainly fulfilled in the various exiles.

Alternatively the idea may be that it was the priests who had multiplied in numbers, which had simply resulted in their sinning more, but it seems more probable that the reference is to the people as a whole. Either way their punishment would be justified.