HOSEA

Hosea 8

Destruction is threatened both to Israel and Judah for their impiety and idolatry.


1SET the 1trumpet to thy 2mouth. 3He shall come as an 4eaglea against the 5house of the LORD, because they have transgressed my covenant,b and 6trespassed against my law.

1 This is a hasty and abrupt kind of expression, such as is usual in unexpected sudden raid. It may be taken here as God’s speech to the prophet, charging him to lift up his voice as a trumpet, by reason of the people’s obstinacy and senselessness, as Isa. 58:1, etc. Or, as a lively representation of the instant danger and approach of the enemy, which is signified by sounding alarms. See Hosea 5:8.

2 Hebr. palate.

3 Namely, the enemy, the king of Assyria.

4 Compare Jer. 48 on verse 40.

a Deut. 28:49.

5 Namely, Israel, or the ten tribes (as the sequel shows), which bore the name likewise, and would be still accounted God’s people. Some think that God speaks here against Judah, and understand the temple of Jerusalem, and by the enemy Nebuchadnezzar.

b Hosea 6:7.

6 See Hosea 7 on verse 13.

27Israel shall 8cry unto me, My God, 9we know thee.

7 Or, Than shall they cry unto me, My God, we, Israel, know thee. Namely, those of Israel, as the next verse explains.

8 Not out of faith and repentance, but only through the sense of their foretold and threatened miseries.

9 Surely we bear the name of Thy people Israel, and have heard Thy Word and profess Thy worship. Compare Mat. 7:21, 22; Luke 13:26, 27. Others thus: we know thee, we are Israel; the sense being one and the same.

3Israel hath cast off the thing that is 10good: the 11enemy shall pursue him.

10 All My beneficial instructions and admonitions, whereof the imitation would have been their spiritual and physical salvation.

11 Spoken of in verse 1.

4They have set up kings, but not 12by me: they have made 13princes, and I knew it 14not: of their silver and their gold have they made them 15idols, 16that they may be cut off.

12 That is, without asking My advice, or waiting for My command, for the choosing and setting up of their kings: although in another case, the separation of the ten tribes from Judah happened not without God’s righteous disposing and government. See 1 Kings 11:31, etc.; Hosea 13:11, and compare Isa. 30:1; 54:15.

13 The words kings and princes are taken here interchangeably, as Hosea 7:7, 16.

14 Not as if the all-knowing God had been ignorant of it in any way, but this manner of speech wants to express that God did not approve of their appointment of kings. Compare Psalm 1:6; Psalm 1 on verse 6.

15 See of the Hebrew word 2 Sam. 5 on verse 21, and understand here the golden calves at Dan and Bethel, together with other idolatrous images, as Hosea 13:2; 14:9.

16 Hebr. that he may be destroyed, that is, every one of them, of Israel. The meaning is: that by this idolatry they caused their own destruction. Compare Jer. 18:16; Micah 6:16, and Jer. 18 on verse 16; Micah 6 on verse 16.

5¶Thy 17calf, O Samaria, hath cast 18thee off; mine anger is kindled against them: how long will it be ere they 19attain to 20innocency?

17 Your idolatrous calf-worship, which your kings, O Samaria, (who have kept court within you) have established and maintained.

18 Namely, you the Israelites. The sense is: As they had rejected the good from themselves (verse 3), so would the evil, which they chose, that is, their idolatry, reject and thrust them forth out of the land, that is, being the cause of it. Other, Thy calf hath forsaken thee, having to be executed in this country, even, as it were, into captivity. See Hosea 10:6. Or thus: the LORD hath rejected thy calf, O Samaria; as ye have rejected His good thing, so He rejecteth your evil.

19 Or, let avail. It may also be an abrupt kind of speech, out of grief and anger, thus: How long shall they not be able, namely, to obtain, to achieve, to practice innocency?

20 Compare Jer. 13:27.

6For from Israel was 21it also: the workman made it; therefore it is not God: but the calf of Samaria shall be broken in 22pieces.

21 Namely, the golden calf (mentioned at the beginning of the previous verse and in the end of this verse) came from Israel. They have not learned it from Me. It is an invention and workmanship of their own wickedness, as formerly the calf in the wilderness was an invention of their forefathers.

22 Or, it shall become shavings, shivers, grindings. This seems to have respect to the grinding of the golden calf, Exod. 32:20, as if God said: what a nice god this is, that knows no better how to preserve itself!

7For they have sown the 23wind, and they shall reap the 24whirlwind: 25it hath no stalk: the 26bud shall 27yield no meal: if so be it yield, the 28strangers shall swallow it up.

23 That is, they have run after idolatry and pagan alliances and confederacies, and from it they shall enjoy the fruit of their own works; such is their act, such punishment shall follow upon it. Compare Job 4:8; Job 4 on verse 8; Hosea 12:2.

24 That is, God’s terrible and unavoidable judgments. See Job 9:17; Psalm 83:15; Prov. 1:27; Jer. 4:13; Amos 1:14, with the annotations.

25 Namely, the seed, or, he, namely, Israel. As they have busied themselves with vanity, so shall their labor be in vain, or bring forth nothing, or if it produced ought, the enemies shall have the benefit thereof.

26 Or, growth, if anything come forth of it.

27 That is, give, it shall not produce any meal; and so in the sequel and Hosea 9:16. See Psalm 1 on verse 3.

28 Or, foreigners, that is, pagan enemies.

8Israel 29is swallowed up: 30now shall they be among the Gentiles as a 31vessel wherein is no pleasure.

29 That is, shall assuredly be destroyed by the enemies, whereof the beginnings are apparent.

30 They are already a scorn to the neighboring pagan nations and shall be more contemptible yet. Compare verse 10.

31 As Jer. 22:28; see there. Likewise Psalm 31:12, and compare Isa. 30:14.

9For they are gone up to 32Assyria, a 33wild ass alone by himself: Ephraim hath hired 34lovers.

32 To secure their state by the favor and help of the king of Assyria. See 2 Kings 15:19, 20.

33 That is, wild, cruel and ill-mannered ones, preying only for himself, and seeking nothing but his own advantage, nor caring how it fared with others. See Job 24:5; 39:8. Some apply it to Israel, running everywhere for help and allies, like an unruly wild ass, that roams at random, and seeks for food without foresight, finding oft-times none, and rather becoming himself a prey to others. Compare Jer. 2:24.

34 That is, helpers and confederates, forsaking their rightful Husband, Lord and Confederate, namely, God. Hebr. loves, love-affairs or adulterous cupidity, that is, lovers, wooers. See Job 35 on verse 13; Jer. 27 on verse 9.

10Yea, 35though they have hired among the nations, now will I gather 36them, and 37they shall sorrow a little for the 38burden of the king 39of princes.

35 Or, although, however, but though, etc., yet will I gather them, etc., as the Hebrew words are taken in Hosea 9:16. As if the Lord would say: Let them choose as many helpers as they desire, it shall avail them nothing.

36 Those pagan helpers, whom they hired, I shall gather them against themselves, instead of help, to destroy them. Compare Ezek. 16:37. Other, I will gather them (the Israelites), namely, to deliver them up unto their enemies, and to drive them out of the land, as this word is likewise taken sometimes for to gather unto punishment. See Psalm 26 on verse 9.

37 The lovers, whom they sought and hired to help them, have already begun to plague them, yet that is but little in comparison of the rest which is to follow. Other, that they shall have small pain of, etc., that is, the succeeding sufferings shall be so great that they shall not remember this burden.

38 That is, the tribute which the king of Assyria had laid upon Israel. See 2 Kings 15:19, 20; 17:3.

39 From the great king of Assyria, who has many rulers and princes under him. Compare 2 Kings 18:19, 24; Isa. 10:8; Ezekiel 31.

11Because Ephraim hath 40made many altars to sin, altars shall be unto him to sin.

40 Since they only wanted to commit the abominable sin of idolatry without end and measure, so shall I also permit them to continue therein, and heap sin upon sin unto their righteous punishment; or, I shall carry them away among the heathen, where they shall have idolatrous altars enough or to the full, and even be compelled to all manner of idolatry. See Jer. 5:19; Hosea 9:3, and of the word sin in the matter of idolatry 1 Kings 14:16; 15:30, 34; 16:2, likewise 1 Kings 12:30; 13:34; 1 Kings 12 on verse 30; 13 on verse 34.

12I have written to him the 41great things of my 42law, but 43they were counted as a 44strange thing.

41 That is, I have caused those excellent, eminent, glorious and excellent instructions of My Word to be set before them, not only by word of mouth, but in writing also, very abundantly; whereof by the keeping of them they would be great and mighty. Compare Isa. 42:21.

42 Or, doctrine. See Psalm 1 on verse 2.

43 The excellent instructions of My Word.

44 They do reject the same, as if all My instructions concerned them not at all, and they had nothing to do with them; they take delight in nothing but their own lust, their own fancies and devices, or what they take up from the heathen.

13They sacrifice flesh for the sacrifices of 45mine offerings, and 46eat it; but the LORD 47accepteth 48them not; now will he 49remember their iniquity, and 50visit their sins: they shall return to 51Egypt.

45 That is, the freewill thank offering, which they pretend to offer Me (from those gifts which I gave them in truth) to show in pretense that they truly ask for Me still and not to despise Me.

46 Turning my sacrifices into profane gourmandizing, having no regard to My service, but only to their mouth and stomach. Compare Jer. 7:21.

47 For they offered not at the place which God had appointed, namely, in the temple at Jerusalem, but against the express command of God, where it pleased them to the great contempt of God, and consequently without faith and repentance.

48 Namely, those sacrificers, of which iniquity He will remember, as follows. Other, therein, or, in the same, namely, offerings. Compare Ezek. 20:40; 43:27; Amos 5:22.

49 Showing it by punishments. Also Jer. 14:10; Hosea 9:9. See Gen. 8 on verse 1, and see the contrary Psalm 79:8; Jer. 31:34; Ezek. 18:22, etc.

50 Namely, with punishments. See Gen. 21 on verse 1.

51 That is, into Assyria, where they shall be entertained as in former times they were in Egypt, they shall be carried into a new Egypt. Compare Hosea 9:3; 11:5, 11. Or, they shall return to Egypt, to negotiate with the Egyptian, forsaking the king of Assyria, who, growing troubled thereat, would destroy them. See 2 Kings 17:3, 4, 5. (Thus by their iniquity should be understood, their perfidiousness and disloyalty committed against the Assyrian. Compare Ezek. 21:23; 29:16.) Then some of them would go down into Egypt to evade the destruction of the Assyrian. See Hosea 9:6.

14For Israel hath forgotten his 52Maker, and buildeth 53temples; and Judah hath multiplied 54fenced cities: but I will send a 55fire upon his cities, and it shall devour the palaces 56thereof.

52 Namely, God, Who not only created them, but also made them His people, formed and raised them thus. See Job 4 on verse 17; Psalm 100:3; Isa. 51:13; 54:5.

53 Idolatrous temples, (made) for the worship of the calves at Dan and Bethel and elsewhere; and thereby for the establishing of their state, to withdraw and keep back the people from God’s temple at Jerusalem, and to allure them to the friendship and communion with the idolatrous heathens. Compare Ezek. 20:32. Other, palaces. See Isa. 9:9.

54 Thereby to secure themselves against the enemies’ approach, whereof the prophets spoke so much. See Isa. 22:8, 9, etc.

55 That is, hostile warfare, with the consequences thereof, all manner of plagues and miseries. See Job 15 on verse 34; Amos 1:4, etc.

56 In each one of the cities of the land of Judah. In Hebrew we have her palaces (her, being in the singular and in the feminine case) having respect to the land, or each city.