King James Version
Hosea 8
14 verses with commentary
Israel Reaps the Whirlwind
Set the trumpet to thy mouth. He shall come as an eagle against the house of the LORD, because they have transgressed my covenant, and trespassed against my law. thy: Heb. the roof of thy
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KJV Study Commentary
Alarm sounded: 'Set the trumpet to thy mouth. He shall come as an eagle against the house of the LORD, because they have transgressed my covenant, and trespassed against my law.' The command: שׁוֹפָר אֶל־חִכְּךָ (shofar el-chikkekha, trumpet to your mouth/palate)—urgent alarm. Enemy comes like נֶשֶׁר (nesher, eagle/vulture) against YHWH's house (בֵּית יְהוָה, beit YHWH—temple/land/people). Why? Co...
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(1) **Eagle.—**The image of swiftness (Jeremiah 4:13; Jeremiah 48:40). So Assyria shall come swooping down on Samaria, to which Hosea, though with some irony, gives the name “House of Jehovah,” recognising that the calf was meant to be symbolic in some sense of Israel’s God. (See, however, Note on Hosea 9:15.)
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
18-19. Not content with appropriating to their own use the goods of others, they from mere wantonness spoiled what they did not use, so as to be of no use to the owners.
**deep waters--**that is, "limpid," as deep waters are generally clear. Grotius explains the image as referring to the usuries with which the rich ground the poor (Eze 22:12; Is 24:2).
Israel shall cry unto me, My God, we know thee.
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False profession: 'Israel shall cry unto me, My God, we know thee.' Despite crying אֱלֹהַי (Elohai, My God), claiming יָדַעֲנוּךָ (yeda'anukha, we know You), actions contradict profession. This describes false assurance—religious language without transformed life. Jesus warns: 'Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord' (Matthew 7:21). Profession must match practice; faith without works is dead...
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(2) Should be rendered, *To me they cry, My God, we know Thee, we Israel.*
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
18-19. Not content with appropriating to their own use the goods of others, they from mere wantonness spoiled what they did not use, so as to be of no use to the owners.
**deep waters--**that is, "limpid," as deep waters are generally clear. Grotius explains the image as referring to the usuries with which the rich ground the poor (Eze 22:12; Is 24:2).
Israel hath cast off the thing that is good: the enemy shall pursue him.
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Casting off good: 'Israel hath cast off the thing that is good: the enemy shall pursue him.' The verb זָנַח (zanach, cast off/reject) applies to טוֹב (tov, good/the good)—God Himself, His law, covenant relationship. Having rejected good, enemy pursues (רָדַף, radaf—chase, hunt). This demonstrates moral cause and effect: rejecting God's goodness invites judgment. Romans 1:28 similarly describes God...
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(3) **Cast off.**—Jehovah’s reply to Israel’s hollow repentance. The word “cast off” means a scornful loathing of what is putrescent or obscene. “The thing that is good” is the name of God, which is the salvation of Israel (Aben Ezra).
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**20. fat ... lean--**the rich oppressors ... the humble poor.
They have set up kings, but not by me: they have made princes, and I knew it not: of their silver and their gold have they made them idols, that they may be cut off.
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Unauthorized kingship and idols: 'They have set up kings, but not by me: they have made princes, and I knew it not: of their silver and their gold have they made them idols, that they may be cut off.' Two indictments: (1) political—kings established לֹא מִמֶּנִּי (lo mimmenni, not from Me), princes without divine approval (לֹא יָדָעְתִּי, lo yada'ti, I knew not); (2) religious—using wealth for ido...
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(4) **Set up kings.**—It is possible that the prophet alludes to the history of the northern kingdom as a whole. Though the revolt of the Ten Tribes received Divine sanction (1Kings 11:9-11), it was obviously contrary to the Divine and prophetic idea which associated the growth of true religion with the line of David (Hosea 3:5). But it is best to regard the passage as referring to the short reign...
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**21. scattered them abroad--**down to the time of the carrying away to Babylon [Grotius].
Thy calf, O Samaria, hath cast thee off; mine anger is kindled against them: how long will it be ere they attain to innocency?
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Thy calf, O Samaria, hath cast thee off; mine anger is kindled against them: how long will it be ere they attain to innocency?' Ironic reversal: Israel thought they possessed the calf-idol, but the calf 'cast them off' - rejected/abandoned them. Powerless idols can't help, only harm. 'Mine anger kindled' announces divine wrath. 'How long ere they attain innocency?' expresses longing for their repe...
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(5) **Thy calf . . . hath cast thee off.—**Rather, *is loathsome,* Nothing can exceed the scorn of this outburst. The last clause should be rendered, *How long are ye unable to attain purity?* The attribution of consuming fire to God is not peculiar to the prophet. (Comp. Hebrews 12:29.)
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
22. After the restoration from Babylon, the Jews were delivered in some degree from the oppression, not only of foreigners, but also of their own great people (Ne 5:1-19). The full and final fulfilment of this prophecy is future.
For from Israel was it also: the workman made it; therefore it is not God: but the calf of Samaria shall be broken in pieces.
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The devastating indictment of idolatry: 'For from Israel was it also: the workman made it; therefore it is not God: but the calf of Samaria shall be broken in pieces.' The logic is irrefutable: Israel's golden calf (likely at Bethel, representing Samaria/Northern Kingdom) was crafted by human hands, therefore cannot be deity. The Hebrew emphasizes the absurdity: a 'workman' (harash) made it, so it...
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(6) It is best to abandon the Masoretic punctuation, and translate, *For it* (*i.e.,* the calf) *is from Israel* (not of Divine origin); *as for it, an artificer made it, and it is no god. Yea, the calf of Samaria shall be shattered to fragments* (literally, *become splinters* or *fine dust*)*.*
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**23. set up--**that is, raise up by divine appointment; alluding to the declaration of God to David, "I will set up thy seed after thee" (2Sa 7:12); and, "Yet have I set My king on My holy hill of Zion" (Psa 2:6; compare Ac 2:30; 13:23).
**one shepherd--**literally, "a Shepherd, one": singularly and pre-eminently one: the only one of His kind, to whom none is comparable (So 5:10). The Lord Jesu...
Read full commentary →For they have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind: it hath no stalk: the bud shall yield no meal: if so be it yield, the strangers shall swallow it up. stalk: or, standing corn
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For they have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind: it hath no stalk: the bud shall yield no meal: if so be it yield, the strangers shall swallow it up.' Proverbial wisdom: sowing wind (worthless effort) reaps whirlwind (devastating consequences). Agricultural imagery continues: no stalk, no meal - complete crop failure. Even if some yield exists, 'strangers swallow it' - foreign natio...
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(7) **Wind . . . whirlwind**.—The great law of Divine retribution, the punishment for sin being often a greater facility in sinning—indifference to God becoming enmity, forgetfulness of duty or truth becoming violent recoil from both. “Wind” expresses what is empty and fruitless, and the pronoun “it” refers, in accordance with the metaphor, to such unproductive seed.
It hath no stalk.—Not even inc...
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**24. my servant--**implying fitness for ruling in the name of God, not pursuing a self-chosen course, as other kings, but acting as the faithful administrator of the will of God; Messiah realized fully this character (Psa 40:7, 8; Is 42:1; 49:3, 6; 53:11; Php 2:7), which David typically and partially represented (Ac 13:36); so He is the fittest person to wield the world scepter, abused by all the...
Read full commentary →Israel is swallowed up: now shall they be among the Gentiles as a vessel wherein is no pleasure.
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Swallowed among nations: 'Israel is swallowed up: now shall they be among the Gentiles as a vessel wherein is no pleasure.' The imagery: בָּלַע (bala', swallowed/devoured)—consumed, assimilated, disappeared. Israel becomes among גּוֹיִם (goyim, nations/Gentiles) as כְּלִי אֵין חֵפֶץ בּוֹ (keli ein chefets bo, vessel no pleasure in it)—worthless pot, unwanted container. This prophesies exile and as...
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(8) **Vessel wherein is no pleasure**—*i.e.*, worthless (comp. Jeremiah 48:38; Psalm 31:13; 2Timothy 2:20); a vessel devoted to vilest uses, or smashed up as worthless.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**25. covenant of peace ... evil beasts ... to cease ... dwell safely--**The original promise of the law (Le 26:6) shall be realized for the first time fully under Messiah (Is 11:6-9; 35:9; Ho 2:18).
For they are gone up to Assyria, a wild ass alone by himself: Ephraim hath hired lovers. lovers: Heb. loves
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>For they are gone up to Assyria, a wild ass alone by himself: Ephraim hath hired lovers.</strong> Hosea uses vivid imagery to condemn Israel's (Ephraim's) foolish foreign policy and spiritual adultery. "Gone up to Assyria" (<em>alah</em>, עָלָה) indicates Israel's political maneuvering, seeking alliance with the very empire that would destroy them (2 Kings 15:19-20; 17:3-6). This policy be...
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(9) **Gone up to Assyria**.—The word thus translated is elsewhere used for “going up” to the sanctuary of the Lord. (See Note on Hosea 7:11.) *Wild ass* is the image of untamed waywardness (Job 39:5, *sea.*) it is described by Wetzstein as inhabiting the steppes, a creature of dirty yellow colour, with long ears and no horns, and a head resembling a gazelle’s. Its pace is so swift that no huntsman...
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**26. them and the places round about my hill--**The Jews, and Zion, God's hill (Psa 2:6), are to be sources of blessing, not merely to themselves, but to the surrounding heathen (Is 19:24; 56:6, 7; 60:3; Mi 5:7; Zec 8:13). The literal fulfilment is, however, the primary one, though the spiritual also is designed. In correspondence with the settled reign of righteousness internally, all is to be p...
Read full commentary →Yea, though they have hired among the nations, now will I gather them, and they shall sorrow a little for the burden of the king of princes. sorrow: or, begin a: or, in a little while
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Scattered and burdened: 'Yea, though they have hired among the nations, now will I gather them, and they shall sorrow a little for the burden of the king of princes.' Israel 'hired' (תָּנוּ, tanu—gave gifts/tribute) among nations (buying alliances), yet God will 'gather' (קַבֵּץ, qabbets) them—but for judgment not blessing. They'll 'sorrow a little' (יָחֵלּוּ מְעָט, yachelu me'at) for burden (מַשָ...
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(10) There is much difference of opinion as to the interpretation of this verse. Much depends on the reference of the word “them.” We prefer to regard it as referring to Ephraim rather than to the nations (*i.e.,* Assyria and Egypt). Render, *I will gather them* (*Israel*)* together, so that in a short time they may delay* (this translation approved by Ewald, Wünsche, and Simson) *to render the tr...
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**27. served themselves of them--**availed themselves of their services, as if the Jews were their slaves (Jr 22:13; 25:14; compare Ge 15:13; Ex 1:14).
Because Ephraim hath made many altars to sin, altars shall be unto him to sin.
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Multiplying altars for sin: 'Because Ephraim hath made many altars to sin, altars shall be unto him to sin.' The irony: multiplying מִזְבְּחוֹת (mizbechot, altars) לַחֲטֹא (lachato, to sin/for sin), they become לְחֵטְא (lechet, for sinning). Intended for atonement, they multiply transgression. More religion produces more guilt when heart is wrong. Jesus similarly condemned Pharisaic multiplication...
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(11) **Many altars.**—Multiplication of altars was condemned in the law (Deuteronomy 12:5 *seq.*)*.* The narrative in Joshua 22 shows that unity of altar and sanctuary was essential to the unity of the nation. The last clause should be rendered, *he had altars for sinning.* The worship of God was degraded into the sensuous approaching Baal-worship. In the first clause sin equals transgression, in ...
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**28. dwell safely--**(Jr 23:6).
I have written to him the great things of my law, but they were counted as a strange thing.
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Written law spurned: 'I have written to him the great things of my law, but they were counted as a strange thing.' God declares: כָּתַבְתִּי לוֹ רֻבֵּו תּוֹרָתִי (katavti lo rubo torati, I wrote to him great things/multitudes of My Torah), yet נֶחְשָׁבוּ כְּמוֹ־זָר (nechshevu kemo-zar, they're counted as strange/foreign). Divine revelation treated as alien, Torah regarded as foreign law. This demo...
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(12, 13) The rendering should be, *though I write for him a multitude of my precepts.* The tense “I write” is imperfect, and represents the continuous process—the prophetic teaching as well as the ancient Mosaic law. In the wild lust for a foreign religion the pure and spiritual Mosaic worship and the religious influence of prophecy had been forgotten. It seemed something “strange;” as Christ’s cr...
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**29. plant of renown--**Messiah, the "Rod" and "Branch" (Is 11:1), the "righteous Branch" (Jr 23:5), who shall obtain for them "renown." Fairbairn less probably translates, "A plantation for a name," that is, a flourishing condition, represented as a garden (alluding to Eden, Ge 2:8-11, with its various trees, good for food and pleasant to the sight), the planting of the Lord (Is 60:21; 61:3), an...
Read full commentary →They sacrifice flesh for the sacrifices of mine offerings, and eat it; but the LORD accepteth them not; now will he remember their iniquity, and visit their sins: they shall return to Egypt. They sacrifice: or, In the sacrifices of mine offerings they, etc
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Sacrifices of hypocrisy: 'They sacrifice flesh for the sacrifices of mine offerings, and eat it; but the LORD accepteth them not; now will he remember their iniquity, and visit their sins: they shall return to Egypt.' They perform זִבְחֵי הַבְהָבַי (zivchei havhavai, sacrifices of My offerings), eating flesh—outward ritual maintained. Yet God neither accepts (לֹא רָצָם, lo ratsam) nor forgets iniq...
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(13) **They sacrifice flesh . . .**—Should be, “They sacrifice the sacrifices of my gifts—flesh, and eat it.” Clear reference to the Mosaic institute. Ye shall go back to Egypt, says the prophet, and there learn again the bitter lessons of the past—either the positive return to Egypt or the disastrous hankering after Egyptian alliances.
For Israel hath forgotten his Maker, and buildeth temples; and Judah hath multiplied fenced cities: but I will send a fire upon his cities, and it shall devour the palaces thereof.
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Fortified cities vs. Maker: 'For Israel hath forgotten his Maker, and buildeth temples; and Judah hath multiplied fenced cities: but I will send a fire upon his cities, and it shall devour the palaces thereof.' The indictment: forgetting (שָׁכַח, shakhach) יֹשֵׂהוּ (yosehu, his Maker) while building הֵיכָלוֹת (heikhalot, temples/palaces). Judah similarly multiplies fortified cities (בָּצוּרוֹת, be...
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(14) **Temples**.—The word here used for temple is used sixty times for Jehovah’s temple. The building of these temple-palaces was a distinct sin against the unity of the Godhead.
**Judah hath multiplied fenced cities.**—Referred to by Sennacherib, in the inscription relating to the campaign of 701 B.C. “Forty-six of his (Hezekiah’s) strong cities, fortresses . . . I besieged, I captured.” These w...
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**31. ye my flock ... are men--**not merely an explanation of the image, as Jerome represents. But as God had promised many things which mere "men" could not expect to realize, He shows that it is not from man's might their realization is to be looked for, but from God, who would perform them for His covenant-people, "His flock" [Rosenmuller]. When we realize most our weakness and God's power and ...
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