King James Version
Hosea 13
16 verses with commentary
The Lord's Anger Against Israel
When Ephraim spake trembling, he exalted himself in Israel; but when he offended in Baal, he died.
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The tragic reversal: 'When Ephraim spoke, there was trembling; he was exalted in Israel; but when he offended in Baal, he died' (ke-daber Ephrayim retet nasa hu be-Yisra'el wa-ye'esham ba-Ba'al wa-yamot). Ephraim (Joseph's son, representing the Northern Kingdom) once commanded respect—his words caused trembling, he was lifted up. But Baal worship brought spiritual death. The Hebrew 'asham (offend/...
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XIII.
(1) There is a difference of opinion as to the construction and rendering of this verse. We adopt the interpretation, *When Ephraim uttered terror, he rebelled in Israel; then he committed sin through Baal, and died.* This points to the revolt of the Ten Tribes, and the consequent abandonment of the pure traditions of Jehovah worship for those of Baal. This idea and that of the previous vers...
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**3. can these bones live? ... thou knowest--**implying that, humanly speaking, they could not; but faith leaves the question of possibility to rest with God, with whom nothing is impossible (De 32:39). An image of Christian faith which believes in the coming general resurrection of the dead, in spite of all appearances against it, because God has said it (Joh 5:21; Ro 4:17; 2Co 1:9).
And now they sin more and more, and have made them molten images of their silver, and idols according to their own understanding, all of it the work of the craftsmen: they say of them, Let the men that sacrifice kiss the calves. they sin: Heb. they add to sin the men: or, the sacrificers of men
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Sin multiplied, idols kissing calves: 'And now they sin more and more, and have made them molten images of their silver, and idols according to their own understanding, all of it the work of the craftsmen: they say of them, Let the men that sacrifice kiss the calves.' Sin intensifies: יוֹסִפוּ לַחֲטֹא (yosifu lachato, they add to sin). They make מַסֵּכָה (massekah, molten images) from silver, עֲצַ...
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(2) Ewald, following the hint of the LXX. (who had a slightly different text), renders “according to their pattern of idols.” (Comp. the language of satire in Psalms 115; Isaiah 44:10-17.)
**Men that sacrifice**.—More accurately, *sacrificers from among men.* Others would render “sacrificers of men.” But the former is quite consistent with Hebrew usage, while the latter compels us to adopt the unw...
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**4. Prophesy--**Proclaim God's quickening word to them. On account of this innate power of the divine word to effect its end, prophets are said to do that which they prophesy as about to be done (Jr 1:10).
Therefore they shall be as the morning cloud, and as the early dew that passeth away, as the chaff that is driven with the whirlwind out of the floor, and as the smoke out of the chimney.
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Transience like vapor: 'Therefore they shall be as the morning cloud, and as the early dew that passeth away, as the chaff that is driven with the whirlwind out of the floor, and as the smoke out of the chimney.' Four similes describe transience: כַּעֲנַן־בֹּקֶר (ka'anan-boqer, morning cloud), כַּטַּל מַשְׁכִּים (katal mashkim, early dew), כְּמֹץ (kemots, chaff) driven from threshing floor, כֶּעָש...
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(3) **Early dew** . . .—Better, dew *that early passeth away, like chaff that flies in a whirlwind from the threshing-floor, and like smoke from the window* (*i.e.,* the lattice beneath the roof through which it vanished).
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**5. I ... cause breath to enter into you--**So Is 26:19, containing the same vision, refers primarily to Israel's restoration. Compare as to God's renovation of the earth and all its creatures hereafter by His breath, Psa 104:30.
**ye shall live--**come to life again.
Yet I am the LORD thy God from the land of Egypt, and thou shalt know no god but me: for there is no saviour beside me.
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Yet I am the LORD thy God from the land of Egypt, and thou shalt know no god but me: for there is no saviour beside me. God's self-identification: LORD who redeemed from Egypt. Command: know no other god. Reason: no other savior exists. This establishes exclusive salvation - YHWH alone saves, all alternatives fail. Acts 4:12 declares: No other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be s...
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(4) The LXX. have an addition which was not found by Jerome in any Hebrew copy of his day, and was pronounced by him to be spurious: “I am the Lord thy God, that establisheth the heavens and createth the earth, whose hands have fashioned all the host of heaven; but I did not show them to thee that thou shouldest go after them, and I brought thee up out of the land of Egypt, and thou shalt know,” &...
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**6. ye shall know that I am the Lord--**by the actual proof of My divinity which I will give in reviving Israel.
I did know thee in the wilderness, in the land of great drought. great: Heb. droughts
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I did know thee in the wilderness, in the land of great drought. God knew (yada - intimate covenant knowledge) Israel in wilderness - provided for them in barren place. This recalls manna, water from rock, protection during 40 years. Great drought emphasizes total dependence - no natural resources, only divine provision sustained them. Yet they forgot this (v. 6), becoming proud in prosperity. Thi...
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**7. noise--**of the bones when coming in mutual collision. Perhaps referring to the decree of Cyrus, or the noise of the Jews' exultation at their deliverance and return.
**bones came together--**literally, "ye bones came together"; as in Jr 49:11 (Hebrew), "ye widows of thine shall trust in Me." The second person puts the scene vividly before one's eyes, for the whole resurrection scene is a p...
Read full commentary →According to their pasture, so were they filled; they were filled, and their heart was exalted; therefore have they forgotten me.
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According to their pasture, so were they filled; they were filled, and their heart was exalted; therefore have they forgotten me. Tragic progression: good pasture produces fullness, fullness produces pride, pride produces forgetfulness of God. Prosperity paradoxically distances from God instead of producing gratitude. Deuteronomy 8:12-14 warned: lest when you have eaten and are full... your heart ...
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(6) **According to their pasture**.—Rather, *As they pastured*. (Comp. the language of Deuteronomy 8:7-18; Deuteronomy 31:20; Deuteronomy 32:15.) The gifts of Divine love concealing the giver.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
8. So far, they were only cohering in order as unsightly skeletons. The next step, that of covering them successively with sinews, skin, and flesh, gives them beauty; but still "no breath" of life in them. This may imply that Israel hereafter, as at the restoration from Babylon was the case in part, shall return to Judea unconverted at first (Zec 13:8, 9). Spiritually: a man may assume all the sem...
Read full commentary →Therefore I will be unto them as a lion: as a leopard by the way will I observe them:
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God's terrifying metaphor: 'Therefore I will be unto them as a lion: as a leopard by the way will I observe them.' The covenant LORD who delivered, provided, and protected now becomes Israel's predator. The Hebrew intensifies the threat: 'I will be to them like a lion' (ka-shahal), 'like a leopard I will lurk' (ka-namer ashuwr). The verb 'observe' (shur) means to watch/lurk—patient predator waitin...
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(7) **I will be** . . .—More correctly, *have become* . . . *as a panther in the way do I lie in wait.* The idea of this and the following verses is that of a Divine judgment suspended over Israel, destined soon to fall with overwhelming ruin (721 B.C.). The English version follows the interpretation of the Targum. But the LXX., Vulg., and Syriac versions are based on a slightly different reading ...
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**9. wind--**rather, the spirit of life or life-breath (Margin). For it is distinct from "the four winds" from which it is summoned.
**from the four winds--**implying that Israel is to be gathered from the four quarters of the earth (Is 43:5, 6; Jr 31:8), even as they were "scattered into all the winds" (Eze 5:10; 12:14; 17:21; compare Re 7:1, 4).
I will meet them as a bear that is bereaved of her whelps, and will rend the caul of their heart, and there will I devour them like a lion: the wild beast shall tear them. wild: Heb. beast of the field
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I will meet them as a bear that is bereaved of her whelps, and will rend the caul of their heart, and there will I devour them like a lion: the wild beast shall tear them. Continuing animal metaphors (13:7), God compares Himself to most dangerous beast - bear robbed of cubs (1 Samuel 17:8, 2 Samuel 17:8, Proverbs 17:12). Will rend caul (covering) of heart - exposing/destroying innermost being. The...
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(8) The same imagery is continued to describe the destructive wrath of the Lord. “The caul of the heart” means here the covering of the heart, not the pericardium, but the breast in which the claws of the beast are fastened.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
10. Such honor God gives to the divine word, even in the mouth of a man. How much more when in the mouth of the Son of God! (Joh 5:25-29). Though this chapter does not directly prove the resurrection of the dead, it does so indirectly; for it takes for granted the future fact as one recognized by believing Jews, and so made the image of their national restoration (so Is 25:8; 26:19; Da 12:2; Ho 6:...
Read full commentary →O Israel, thou hast destroyed thyself; but in me is thine help. is: Heb. in thy help
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Self-destruction: 'O Israel, thou hast destroyed thyself; but in me is thine help.' The indictment: שִׁחֶתְךָ יִשְׂרָאֵל (shichetcha Yisrael, you destroyed yourself, O Israel). Yet the hope: כִּי־בִי בְעֶזְרֶךָ (ki-vi ve'ezrekha, for in Me is your help). This demonstrates that sin is self-destructive—we bring ruin on ourselves. Yet divine help remains available—God willing to save if we turn. The ...
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(9) **In me** . . . **Help.**—The close of this verse is rhetorically abrupt, which is altogether missed in the English version. Render, *but against Me thy help.* We must supply “Thou hast rebelled,” the construction being the same as in Hosea 13:16. “Thy captivity, O Israel, is from thee; thy redemption is from Me; thy perishing is from thee: thy salvation is from Me” (Pusey).
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**11. Our bones are dried--**(Psa 141:7), explained by "our hope is lost" (Is 49:14); our national state is as hopeless of resuscitation, as marrowless bones are of reanimation.
**cut off for our parts--**that is, so far as we are concerned. There is nothing in us to give hope, like a withered branch "cut off" from a tree, or a limb from the body.
I will be thy king: where is any other that may save thee in all thy cities? and thy judges of whom thou saidst, Give me a king and princes? I will: rather, Where is thy king?
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I will be thy king: where is any other that may save thee in all thy cities? and thy judges of whom thou saidst, Give me a king and princes? God sarcastically offers to be their king, then questions: where are other saviors (kings, judges, princes) you requested? This recalls 1 Samuel 8:5-7 when Israel demanded human king, rejecting God as King. Their chosen leaders proved powerless. Divine rhetor...
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(10) The rendering should be,* Where, pray, is thy king, that he may save thee?* &c. The original demand for a king who should be a visible token to Israel of protection against their surrounding foes was adverse to the true spirit of the kingdom of God upon earth, and, though granted, proved to the united kingdom, and afterwards to the kingdom of Israel, an age-long curse. Probably the special re...
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**12. my people--**in antithesis to "for our parts" (Eze 37:11). The hope that is utterly gone, if looking at themselves, is sure for them in God, because He regards them as His people. Their covenant relation to God ensures His not letting death permanently reign over them. Christ makes the same principle the ground on which the literal resurrection rests. God had said, "I am the God of Abraham,"...
Read full commentary →I gave thee a king in mine anger, and took him away in my wrath.
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I gave thee a king in mine anger, and took him away in my wrath. God gave Israel kings as judgment (granting sinful request, 1 Samuel 8:7) and removed them in wrath (exile, assassination). Both giving and taking stem from divine displeasure. Romans 1:24, 26, 28 similarly describes God giving people up to sin's consequences as judgment. Sometimes getting what we demand is itself punishment. Only Go...
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(11) **Gave . . . Took.**—The past tenses should be present: “I give . . .” “take away.” The whole succession of Israelite kings, who generation after generation had been taken away, some by violent death, would close with Hoshea, who was to disappear as “a fragment on a stormy sea” (Hosea 10:7).
The iniquity of Ephraim is bound up; his sin is hid.
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The iniquity of Ephraim is bound up; his sin is hid. Iniquity bound up and sin hidden doesn't mean forgotten but stored for future accounting. The imagery suggests sealed records awaiting judgment day. Deuteronomy 32:34 similarly describes: Is not this laid up in store with me, sealed up among my treasures? No sin escapes accounting; all awaits judgment. Ecclesiastes 12:14 declares: God will bring...
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(12) **Bound up** . . . **Hid.—**The binding up and hiding away of Ephraim’s sin as in a secret place, for ultimate disclosure, prepares us for the terrible words that follow.
The sorrows of a travailing woman shall come upon him: he is an unwise son; for he should not stay long in the place of the breaking forth of children. long: Heb. a time
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Unwise son at birth: 'The sorrows of a travailing woman shall come upon him: he is an unwise son; for he should not stay long in the place of the breaking forth of children.' The metaphor: birth pangs (חֶבְלֵי יוֹלֵדָה, chevlei yoledah) coming upon him. But Ephraim is unwise son (בֵן לֹא־חָכָם, ben lo-chakham): shouldn't linger (עֲמֹד, amod—stand, delay) in מִשְׁבַּר בָּנִים (mishbar banim, breaki...
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(13) **Travailing woman.**—Ephraim is first addressed as a travailing woman; but the imagery passes to the condition of the unborn child, which tarries just where it should issue into the light of the world. Lack of seasonable repentance increases the danger at this critical stage of Israel’s destiny. The latter part of the verse is missed in the rendering of the English version. Read, *For at the...
Read full commentary →I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death: O death, I will be thy plagues; O grave, I will be thy destruction: repentance shall be hid from mine eyes. power: Heb. hand
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<strong>I will ransom them from the power of the grave</strong> (מִיַּד שְׁאוֹל אֶפְדֵּם מִמָּוֶת אֶגְאָלֵם)—Two verbs: פָּדָה (padah, ransom by payment) and גָּאַל (ga'al, redeem by kinsman-right). <strong>O death, I will be thy plagues; O grave, I will be thy destruction</strong>—Paul quotes this in 1 Corinthians 15:55, applying it to Christ's resurrection victory. The Hebrew is ambiguous: 'Wher...
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(14) **O death . . . O grave**.—The rendering should be, *Where is thy plague, O death? Where is thy sting, O Sheol?* as the LXX. have it, and as it is quoted in 1Corinthians 15:55. The rendering of the English version is, however, supported by the Targum, Symmachus, Jerome, and many modern expositors. But the former interpretation is to be preferred. Many Christian interpreters (Henderson, Pusey,...
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**16. stick--**alluding to Nu 17:2, the tribal rod. The union of the two rods was a prophecy in action of the brotherly union which is to reunite the ten tribes and Judah. As their severance under Jeroboam was fraught with the greatest evil to the covenant-people, so the first result of both being joined by the spirit of life to God is that they become joined to one another under the one covenant ...
Read full commentary →Though he be fruitful among his brethren, an east wind shall come, the wind of the LORD shall come up from the wilderness, and his spring shall become dry, and his fountain shall be dried up: he shall spoil the treasure of all pleasant vessels. pleasant: Heb. vessels of desire
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Though he be fruitful among his brethren, an east wind shall come, the wind of the LORD shall come up from the wilderness, and his spring shall become dry, and his fountain shall be dried up: he shall spoil the treasure of all pleasant vessels. Despite fruitfulness (prosperity, population), destructive east wind comes - hot desert wind representing Assyrian invasion. Spring and fountain drying mea...
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(15, 16) **Fruitful.**—Observe the play on Ephraim’s name.
**Wind of the Lord** stands in apposition to *east wind.* Render *a wind of the Lord rising from the wilderness.* The armies of Assyria are referred to.
**Become desolate.**—Or rather, *suffer punishment.* Thus rolls the thunder of Divine judgment in one last tremendous crash of doom, beyond which scarce anything worse can be thought or sa...
Read full commentary →Samaria shall become desolate; for she hath rebelled against her God: they shall fall by the sword: their infants shall be dashed in pieces, and their women with child shall be ripped up.
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<strong>Samaria shall become desolate; for she hath rebelled against her God: they shall fall by the sword: their infants shall be dashed in pieces, and their women with child shall be ripped up.</strong> This verse pronounces one of Scripture's most severe judgments against Samaria, the capital of the northern kingdom of Israel. The Hebrew verb for "become desolate" (<em>asham</em>, אָשַׁם) carri...
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18. God does not explain the symbolical prophecy until the Jews have been stimulated by the type to consult the prophet.