The distress and captivity of Israel for their sins, especially their idolatry.
1REJOICE not, O Israel, for 1joy, as other 2people: for thou hast gone a 3whoring from thy God, thou hast loved a reward upon every cornfloor.
1 Or, unto cheerfulness, or jollity. See of the same phrase Job 3:22. The Hebrew word has respect to the outward gestures, and testimonies of rejoicing.
2 Who, upon a good harvest, were wont to frolic with great joy, and show much cheerfulness in honor of their idols, whom they held to be the authors thereof. Compare Psalm 4:7, and here in the sequel. Likewise Joel 1 on verse 12.
3 That is, ye rejoice in your harvest as a reward which ye suppose your lovers, the idols, have given you for your spiritual whoredom, that is idolatry; and in all places where you thresh and store up your corn, and where ye press and cellar wine , ye give thanks unto your idols, for the things which I gave you. Compare Hosea 2:4, 7, 8, 11.
2The floor and the winepress shall 4not feed them, and the new wine shall 5fail 6in her.
4 However they are persuaded otherwise.
5 That is, their hope, of which they have, shall fail and deceive them; they shall not enjoy it; it shall be laid up for the enemy, and they themselves must leave the country, as follows. Compare Hosea 8:7, and the manner of speech with Job 41:9; Isa. 58:11; Hab. 3:17, and see the annotations there.
6 Or, against her, under her, namely, this whore or adulteress, or Ephraim, Israel.
3They shall not dwell in the LORD’S 7land; but Ephraim shall return to 8Egypt, 9and they shall eat 10unclean things in 11Assyria.
7 Namely, Canaan, which is often called God’s land and inheritance. See Psalm 68 on verse 9; Joel 1:6; 3:2, etc.
8 See Hosea 8 on verse 13.
9 Or, but; if the word going before be understood of seeking help in Egypt against the Assyrian. As if God would say: They may run to Egypt as much as they want, they must eventually go to Assyria.
10 Which God had forbidden in His law to eat, and whereby, eating thereof, they became ceremonially unclean. Compare Ezek. 4:12, 13; Dan. 1:8, and here in the following verse.
11 Whither they would be carried away captive.
4They 12shall not offer 13wine offerings to the 14LORD, neither shall they be 15pleasing unto him: their sacrifices shall be unto them as the 16bread of mourners; all that eat thereof shall be polluted: for their bread for their 17soul shall 18not come into the house of the LORD.
12 When they shall have been carried away captive into Assyria, and eat what is unclean, of which sad condition of the Israelites is spoken in the previous and the following verse.
13 Hebr. shedding, pouring forth or spreading abroad of wine, that is, drink offerings of wine. See Psalm 16 on verse 4.
14 As being outside His land and the place, etc., which God had appointed for sacrifices, and having consequently no opportunity or means to offer any clean thing to the Lord, as appears by what goes before and follows.
15 That is, acceptable or sweet, As Jer. 6:20; Mal. 3:4.
16 Hebr. bread of the sad or mourning ones, that is, such food which is eaten in the houses of the deceased; all which was unclean by the ceremonial law. See Lev. 21:1, etc.; 22:4, etc.; Num. 19:14; Deut. 26:14, etc. They were also enjoined to offer with joy, Deut. 12:6, 7, whereby some by the bread or meat do understand the sacrifices. See Lev. 3:11; 21:6; Num. 28:2; Ezek. 44:7.
17 That is, their sustenance, meat, drink and meals shall then, during their exile, be over their dead, whom they have lost, or as over the dead, (compare Ezek. 24:17), while they shall mourn continually, and therefore be unclean still. Thus the word soul is taken for a dead body, or dead person, Lev. 19:28; Psalm 16:10. See the annotations there. Other, for their own persons, or, for themselves (as the Hebrew word is likewise taken). That is, they eat and drink for themselves and not to honor God thereby (as Hosea 8:13); because some do understand that this verse does not speak of the condition of their exile, but what the Israelites were doing now, and would do, until the time of the exile. Compare Zech. 7:5, 6.
18 That is, the same being unclean, may not be brought into the house of God, nor ought to be offered at all.
5What will ye do in the 19solemn day, and in the day of the feast of the LORD?
19 When ye, according to My precept, would offer before Me with cheerfulness, as ye shall sit mourning and be without offer outside of your land. See Num. 10:10; Deut. 12:12, etc., and compare Hosea 3:4, and the annotations on the previous verse.
6For, lo, they are 20gone because of 21destruction: 22Egypt shall gather them up, 23Memphis shall 24bury them: 25the pleasant places for their silver, 26nettles shall possess them: 27thorns shall be in their 28tabernacles.
20 That is, they shall surely need to go out of their land. Or, they pass away, that is, they perish or vanish away.
21 To be made by the Assyrians.
22 From these words it may be conjectured that some of the Israelites, fleeing from the Assyrian, would betake themselves to Egypt for shelter, thinking that they would find there good reception and assistance, forasmuch a they had forsaken the Assyrian and had negotiated with the king of Egypt. See Hosea 8 on verse 13. But how they shall cope there, is foretold them here. Some are of the opinion that they first went to those of Judah and thereafter with them to Egypt.
23 A city in Egypt; otherwise (as some think) also called Noph, Isa. 19:13. See the annotation there.
24 And consequently they shall not return into their own land, but die and perish in exile.
25 Their money shall be greedily sought for, and preyed upon. Or, the pleasant places, or desired treasures of their silver, the nettle shall possess hereditarily; desire for desirable things made of silver, or adorned with silver dressing.
26 Hebr. nettle, that is, their land and habitation shall lie waste for a long time, and remain without inhabitants. Compare Isa. 32:13; 34:13; Hosea 10:8. By people, (them), understand their land or places where they dwelt. See Judges 11:23; Jer. 49:1, with the annotations.
27 Hebr. thorn or thistle. Compare Job 31:40; Isa. 5:6; 7:24.
28 At the place where their stately dwellings had been.
7The days of visitation are come, the days of recompence are come; Israel shall 29know it: the 30prophet is a fool, the 31spiritual man is mad, for the multitude of thine iniquity, and the great 32hatred.
29 Or, perceive, acknowledge, that is, remember and find out that the truth was told them, and that they were deceived by their false prophets; whereof in the sequel.
30 The false prophets, prophesying nothing but peace and prosperity.
31 The prophet who falsely boasts to be inspired by the Holy Spirit, or to have spiritual visions and revelations from God. Compare Ezek. 13:3. Here God Himself avers that of the false prophets, that the seducers and worldly men use to say abusively of God’s true prophets. See 2 Kings 9:11; Jer. 29:26, etc. Other, the man of the wind, that is, he who practices vanity and lies. Compare Micah 2:11.
32 This may be understood of Ephraim’s great hatred or obstinacy, irritability, rebelliousness against God and His holy Word; or of God’s hatred, which is great against Ephraim, of which He would show forth in the foresaid days of visitation and recompense, and whence it also came that God punished them with false prophets.
833The watchman of Ephraim was with my God: but the 34prophet is a 35snare of a fowlera in all 36his ways, and 37hatred in the house 38of his God.
33 The true prophets, whom God raised among the ten tribes, cleave steadfastly and firmly to my God and His pure worship, as Elijah, Elisha and others have done, and I also do. See of this title of the prophets, Ezek. 3 on verse 17, and compare further Jer. 12:3; Hosea 12:1. Likewise the phrase to walk with God, Gen. 5:22. See the annotation there. Other, Is there a watchman of Ephraim with my God, the prophet is a snare of a fowler in all his ways. Other, Ephraim’s watchmen ought to be with my God, but, etc. Other, He (the false prophet, mentioned in the previous verse) keeps watch against Ephraim, that is with my God, that is, he watches to mischief those Israelites, who still keep close to God and His pure worship. See 1 Kings 19:18, wherewith the sequel also pretty well agrees. Compare Hosea 5:1, 2, and the annotations there.
34 Understand the false prophets, of which is mentioned before.
35 This may be applied to the spiritual taking and ensnaring of souls, and the bodily watching for entrapping, imprisoning and murdering of the godly, as mentioned in the previous annotation.
a bird-hunter
36 Upon all the streets and ways in Israel; or, in all his doings and dealings is the false prophet no better than a snare, etc.
37 Who is justly hated of God and all good men, provoking and causing also nothing but God’s hatred against Israel, (Hosea 8:1 called, the house of the LORD) by all his deceptions and wicked practices.
38Of Ephraim, or of the faithful watchmen, spoken of in the beginning of this verse.
9They have 39deeply corrupted themselves, as in the days of 40Gibeah: therefore he will 41remember their iniquity, he will visit their sins.
39 Hebr. they have deepened, they have corrupted. See of the joining of two such verbs Psalm 45 on verse 4, and of the Hebrew word Hosea 5 on verse 2.
40 As those of Benjamin at Gibeah were fallen away to abominable idolatry, and everyone did then in Israel, what he pleased. See the history Judges 19, and compare Hosea 10:9.
41 As Hosea 8:13. See there.
10I found Israel like 42grapes in the wilderness; I saw your fathers as the firstripe in the fig tree at her first time: but they went to 43Baal-peor,b and 44separated themselves unto that 45shame; and their 46abominations were according as they loved.
42 That is, when I first took Israel for My people, they were as acceptable to Me, as grapes are to the wayfaring man, finding them in the wilderness and so sweet and pleasing as the first ripe figs on a fig tree. Compare Micah 7 on verse 1.
43 The idol of the Moabites, to commit spiritual adultery or whoredom with him, whereupon followed their carnal pollution. See Num. 25:1, 2, 3, etc., and the imitation of this example of their forefathers 1 Kings 16:31, 32, etc.
b Num. 25:3; Psalm 106:28.
44 With an extraordinary idolatrous preparation for the religious worship of this idol. The Hebrew word is the same from which the nazarites, that is, the separated ones, had their name. See Num. 6:2, etc.
45 That vile and base idol Baal. See Jer. 3:24, 25.
46 Or, altogether abominable. Hebr. abominations. Other, there were abominations after their desires. All manner of abominations had their full sway and swing there, according to their own will and desire, even as their vile hearts could wish it. Some take it, as if God did set in opposition here, that now they were grown as odious and abominable to Him, as formerly they had been pleasing and acceptable.
11As for Ephraim, their 47glory shall 48fly away like a bird, 49from the birth, and from the 50womb, and from the conception.
47 That is, their kingdom, blessed state, and especially the multitude of their children, wherewith they were adorned and glorious, as follows. See Psalm 127:5; Prov. 17:6.
48 That is, they shall suddenly be bereft of them and shall be able to obtain so few again as a bird that is flown away.
49 That is, as soon as they shall be born, or, whiles they are in the womb yet, or, as soon as their mother shall have conceived them.
50 Or, from the mother’s womb. See Judges 13 on verse 5; Job 3 on verse 10.
12Though they bring up their children, yet will I bereave them, 51that there shall not be a man left: yea, woe also to them when I depart from them!
51 Or, that they shall be no men, or, that no man shall be left them. Compare Prov. 30:14.
13Ephraim, as I saw 52Tyrus, is 53planted in a pleasant place: but Ephraim 54shall bring forth his children to the 55murderer.
52 Hebr. Tsor. See of this city Joshua 19 on verse 29; 1 Kings 5 on verse 1; Isaiah 23; Ezekiel 27.
53 This seems to have regard to the strength, pleasantness and prosperity of both these compared places.
54 Hebr. as if one would say: (is, or is disposed, settled, ready) to bring forth (compare Isa. 38:20, with the annotation), that is, shall be forced to bring them forth, out of their pleasant habitation, etc.
55 The Assyrians, their enemies. Compare Deut. 28:41; Job 27:14.
1456Give them, O LORD: what wilt thou give? give them a 57miscarryingc womb and dry breasts.
56 The prophet, being much troubled and grieved over these dreadful approaching miseries of the people, knows not what to crave first of the LORD on their behalf, but that they may rather have no children at all, than to suffer them, being grown up, to be thus murdered by the enemy. Compare Luke 23:29. Other, Give them what thou shalt give them, that is, give them what their sins deserve, and Thy justice requireth.
57 Hebr. child bereaving.
c Luke 23:29.
1558All their wickedness is in Gilgal:d59for there I hated them: for the wickedness of their doings I will drive them out of mine 60house, I will 61love them no more: all their princeseare 62revolters.
58 That is, the most important idolatry is committed here, or, whatever idolatry there is in the land, there they bring it together; whereas the remembrance of the mercies which God once showed them in this place, ought rather to deter them from idolatry. See Hosea 4 on verse 15; 12:11.
d Hosea 4:15; 12:12.
59 Or, certainly.
60 That is, out of My land or out of My family, that they shall be My children or servants no more.
61 Hebr. not add or continue to love, that is, I will do them no more good.
e Isa. 1:23.
62 Or, rebellious, refractory.
16Ephraim is 63smitten, their root is dried up, they shall 64bear no fruit: yea, though they bring forth, yet will I slay even the 65beloved fruit of their womb.
63 As a green herb smitten by the heat of the sun or otherwise hurt, that it can never grow or blossom (compare Psalm 102:4), so is Ephraim is smitten from above (by God), that his root is spoiled underneath. Compare Job 18:16; Amos 2:9; Jonah 4:7, and see the contrary Job 29:19.
64 Hebr. make, as Hosea 8:7. See there.
65 Hebr. the desires of their womb, that is, the desired fruits of their body.
1766My God will cast them away, because they did not hearken unto him: and they shall be 67wanderers among the nations.
66 Whom I serve and to Whom I adhere to, as verse 8.
67 Compare Gen. 4:12, 14; 1 Kings 14:15; Prov. 27:8; Hosea 7:13.