Ezechiel Chapter 16
Under the figure of an unfaithful wife, God upbraids Jerusalem with her ingratitude and manifold disloyalties: but promiseth mercy by a new covenant.
16:1. And the
word of the
Lord came to me, saying:
16:2.
Son of man, make known to
Jerusalem
her abominations.
Make known to Jerusalem...
That is, by
letters, for the
prophet was
then in Babylon.
16:3. And thou shalt say: Thus saith the
Lord God to
Jerusalem:
Thy root, and thy nativity is of the land of
Chanaan,
thy father was an
Amorrhite,
and thy mother a Cethite.
16:4. And when thou wast born, in the day of thy nativity
thy navel was not cut, neither wast thou washed with water for thy
health, nor salted with
salt, nor
swaddled with clouts.
16:5. No eye had pity on thee to do any of these
things for thee, out of compassion to thee: but thou wast cast out
upon the face of the earth in the abjection of thy
soul, in
the day that thou wast born.
16:6. And passing by thee, I saw that thou wast trodden
under foot in thy own blood: and I said to thee when thou wast in
thy blood: Live: I have said to thee: Live in thy blood.
16:7. I caused thee to multiply as the
bud of the field: and thou didst increase and grow great, and
advancedst, and camest to
woman's
ornament: thy breasts were fashioned, and thy hair grew: and thou
was naked, and full of confusion.
16:8. And I passed by thee, and saw thee: and behold thy
time was the time of lovers: and I spread my garment over thee, and
covered thy ignominy and I
swore to
thee, and I entered into a covenant with thee, saith the
Lord God:
and thou becamest mine.
16:9. And I washed thee with water, and cleansed away thy
blood from thee: and I anointed thee with oil.
16:10. And I clothed thee with embroidery, and shod thee with violet coloured shoes: and I girded thee about with fine linen, and clothed thee with fine garments.
16:11. I decked thee also with
ornaments, and put bracelets on thy hands, and a chain about thy
neck.
I decked thee also with
ornaments, etc... That is, with spiritual benefits, giving you a law
with sacrifices,
sacraments, and other
holy rites.
16:12. And I put a jewel upon thy forehead and earrings in thy ears, and a beautiful crown upon thy head.
16:13. And thou wast adorned with gold, and
silver, and wast clothed with fine linen, and
embroidered
work, and many colours: thou didst eat fine flour, and honey,
and oil, and wast made exceeding beautiful: and wast advanced to be
a queen.
16:14. And thy renown went forth among the nations
for thy beauty: for thou wast perfect through my beauty, which I had
put upon thee, saith the
Lord God.
16:15. But trusting in thy beauty, thou playedst the harlot
because of thy renown, and thou hast prostituted thyself to every
passenger, to be his.
16:16. And taking of thy garments thou hast made thee high places sewed together on each side: and hast played the harlot upon them, as hath not been done before, nor shall be hereafter.
16:17. And thou tookest thy beautiful vessels, of my gold, and my silver, which I gave thee, and thou madest thee images of men, and hast committed fornication with them.
16:18. And thou tookest thy garments of divers colours, and coveredst them: and settest my oil and my sweet incense before them.
16:19. And my bread which I gave thee, the
fine flour, and oil, and honey, wherewith I fed thee, thou hast set
before them for a sweet odour; and it was done, saith the
Lord God.
16:20. And thou hast taken thy sons, and thy daughters, whom
thou hast borne to me: and hast
sacrificed
the same to them to be devoured. Is thy fornication small?
16:21. Thou hast
sacrificed
and given my children to them, consecrating them by fire.
IThou
hast sacrificed, etc... As there is nothing more base and abominable
than the crimes mentioned throughout this chapter; so the
infidelities of the
Israelites
in forsaking
God, and sacrificing even their children to idols, are strongly
figured by these allegories.
16:22. And after all thy abominations, and fornications, thou hast not remembered the days of thy youth, when thou wast naked, and full of confusion, trodden under foot in thy own blood.
16:23. And it came to pass after all thy wickedness (woe, woe to thee, saith the Lord God)
16:24. That thou didst also build thee a common stew, and madest thee a brothel house in every street.
16:25. At every head of the way thou hast set up a sign of thy prostitution: and hast made thy beauty to be abominable: and hast prostituted thyself to every one that passed by, and hast multiplied thy fornications.
16:26. And thou hast committed fornication with the Egyptians thy neighbours, men of large bodies, and hast multiplied thy fornications to provoke me.
16:27. Behold, I will stretch out my hand upon thee, and will take away thy justification: and I will deliver thee up to the will of the daughters of the Philistines that hate thee, that are ashamed of thy wicked way.
16:28. Thou hast also committed fornication with the Assyrians, because thou wast not yet satisfied: and after thou hadst played the harlot with them, even so thou wast not contented.
16:29. Thou hast also multiplied thy fornications in the land of Chanaan with the Chaldeans: and neither so wast thou satisfied.
16:30. Wherein shall I cleanse thy heart, saith Lord God: seeing thou dost all these the works of a shameless prostitute?
16:31. Because thou hast built thy brothel house at the head of every way, and thou hast made thy high place in every street: and wast not as a harlot that by disdain enhanceth her price,
16:32. But is an adulteress, that bringeth in strangers over her husband.
16:33. Gifts are given to all harlots: but thou hast given hire to all thy lovers, and thou hast given them gifts to come to thee from every side, to commit fornication with thee.
16:34. And it hath happened in thee contrary to the custom of women in thy fornications, and after thee there shall be no such fornication, for in that thou gavest rewards, and didst not take rewards, the contrary hath been done in thee.
16:35. Therefore, O harlot, hear the word of the Lord.
16:36. Thus saith the Lord God: Because thy money hath been poured out, and thy shame discovered through thy fornications with thy lovers, and with the idols of thy abominations, by the blood of thy children whom thou gavest them:
16:37. Behold, I will gather together all thy lovers with whom thou hast taken pleasure, and all whom thou hast loved, with all whom thou hast hated: and I will gather them together against thee on every side, and will discover thy shame in their sight, and they shall see all thy nakedness.
16:38. And I will judge thee as adulteresses, and they that shed blood are judged: and I will give thee blood in fury and jealousy.
16:39. And I will deliver thee into their hands, and they shall destroy thy brothel house, and throw down thy stews: and they shall strip thee of thy garments, and shall take away the vessels of thy beauty: and leave thee naked, and full of disgrace.
16:40. And they shall bring upon thee a multitude, and they shall stone thee with stones, and shall slay thee with their swords.
16:41. And they shall burn thy houses with fire, and shall execute judgments upon thee in the sight of many women: and thou shalt cease from fornication, and shalt give no hire any more.
16:42. And my indignation shall rest in thee: and my jealousy shall depart from thee, and I will cease and be angry no more.
16:43. Because thou hast not remembered
the days of thy youth, but hast provoked me in all these things:
wherefore I also have turned all thy ways upon thy head, saith the
Lord God,
and I have not done according to thy
wicked
deeds in all thy abominations.
16:44. Behold every one that useth a common proverb, shall
use this against thee, saying: As the mother was, so also is her
daughter.
16:45. Thou art thy mother's daughter, that cast off her husband, and her children: and thou art the sister of thy sisters, who cast off their husbands, and their children: your mother was a Cethite, and your father an Amorrhite.
16:46. And thy elder sister is Samaria, she and her daughters that dwell at thy left hand: and thy younger sister that dwelleth at thy right hand is Sodom, and her daughters.
16:47. But neither hast thou walked in their
ways, nor hast thou done a little less than they according to their
wickednesses:
thou hast done almost more
wicked
things than they in all thy ways.
16:48. As I live, saith the
Lord God,
thy sister
Sodom herself, and her daughters, have not done as thou hast
done, and thy daughters.
16:49. Behold this was the
iniquity of
Sodom thy
sister, pride,
fulness of bread, and abundance, and the idleness of her, and of her
daughters: and they did not put forth their hand to the
needy, and
the poor.
This was the iniquity of
Sodom, etc... That is, these were the steps by which the
Sodomites
came to fall into those abominations for which they were destroyed.
For pride,
gluttony, and idleness are the highroad to all kinds of
lust;
especially when they are accompanied with a neglect of the works of
mercy.
16:50. And they were lifted up, and committed abominations before me: and I took them away as thou hast seen.
16:51. And Samaria committed not half thy sins: but thou hast surpassed them with thy crimes, and hast justified thy sisters by all thy abominations which thou hast done.
16:52. Therefore do thou also bear thy confusion, thou that hast surpassed thy sisters with thy sins, doing more wickedly than they: for they are justified above thee, therefore be thou also confounded, and bear thy shame, thou that hast justified thy sisters.
16:53. And I will bring back and restore them
by bringing back
Sodom, with
her daughters, and by bringing back
Samaria,
and her daughters: and I will bring those that return of thee in the
midst of them.
I will bring back, etc... This
relates to the conversion of the
Gentiles
out of all nations, and of many of the
Jews, to
the church of
Christ.
16:54. That thou mayest bear thy shame, and mayest be confounded in all that thou hast done, comforting them.
16:55. And thy sister
Sodom and
her daughters shall return to their ancient state: and
Samaria and
her daughters shall return to their ancient state: and thou and thy
daughters shall return to your ancient state.
fAncient state... That
is, to their former state of liberty, and their ancient
possessions.
In the spiritual sense, to the
true
liberty, and the
happy
inheritance of the children of
God,
through faith
in Christ.
16:56. And Sodom thy sister was not heard of in thy mouth, in the day of thy pride,
16:57. Before thy malice was laid open: as it is at this time, making thee a reproach of the daughters of Syria, and of all the daughters of Palestine round about thee, that encompass thee on all sides.
16:58. Thou hast borne thy wickedness, and thy disgrace, saith the Lord God.
16:59. For thus saith the Lord God: I will deal with thee, as thou hast despised the oath, in breaking the covenant:
16:60. And I will remember my covenant with thee in the days of thy youth: and I will establish with thee an everlasting covenant.
16:61. And thou shalt remember thy ways, and be ashamed: when thou shalt receive thy sisters, thy elder and thy younger: and I will give them to thee for daughters, but not by thy covenant.
16:62. And I will establish my covenant with thee: and thou shalt know that I am the Lord,
16:63. That thou mayest remember, and
be confounded, and mayest no more open thy mouth because of thy
confusion, when I shall be pacified toward thee for all that thou
hast done, saith the
Lord God.
FROM: http://www.gotothebible.com/Geneva/Hosea/1.html
Hosea 1:1
1:1 The word of the LORD that came unto Hosea, the son of Beeri, in the days {a} of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz,
[and] Hezekiah, {b} kings of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel.
The Argument - After the ten tribes had fallen away from God by the wicked and subtle counsel of Jeroboam,
the son of Neba, and instead of his true service commanded by his word, worshipped him according to their
own imaginings and traditions of men, giving themselves to most vile idolatry and superstition, the Lord
from time to time sent them Prophets to call them to repentance. But they grew even worse and worse, and
still abused God's benefits. Therefore now when their prosperity was at the highest under Jeroboam, the
son of Joash, God sent Hosea and Amos to the Israelites (as he did at the same time send Isaiah and Micah
to those of Judah) to condemn them for their ingratitude.
And whereas they thought themselves to be greatly in the favor of God, and to be his people, the Prophet
calls them bastards and children born in adultery: and therefore shows them that God would take away their
kingdom, and give them to the Assyrians to be led away captives. Thus Hosea faithfully executed his
office for the space of seventy years, though they remained still in their vices and wickedness and
and derided the Prophets, and condemned God's judgments. And because they would neither be discouraged
with threatening only, nor should they flatter themselves by the sweetness of God's promises, he sets
before them the two principal parts of the Law, which are the promise of salvation, and the doctrine of
life. For the first part he directs the faithful to the Messiah, by whom alone they would have true
deliverance: and for the second, he uses threatenings and menaces to bring them from their wicked manners
and vices: and this is the chief scope of all the Prophets, either by God's promises to allure them to be
godly, or else by threatenings of his judgments to scare them from vice. And even though the whole Law
contains these two points, yet the Prophets moreover note distinctly both the time of God's judgments
and the manner.
(a) Also called Azariah, who being a leper was disposed from his kingdom.
(b) So that it may be gathered by the reign of these four kings that he preached about eighty years.
Hosea 1:2
1:2 The beginning of the word of the LORD by Hosea. And the LORD said to Hosea, Go, take unto thee a wife
{c} of whoredoms and children of whoredoms: for the land hath committed great whoredom,(departing)
from the LORD.
(c) That is, one that has been a harlot for a long time: not that the Prophet did this thing in
effect, but he saw this in a vision, or else was commanded by God to set forth under this parable
parable or figure the idolatry of the Synagogue, and of the people her children.
Hosea 1:3
1:3 So he went and took {d} Gomer the daughter of Diblaim; which conceived, and bare him a son.
(d) Gomer signifies a consumption or corruption, and rotten clusters of figs, declaring that they
were all corrupt like rotten figs.
Hosea 1:4
1:4 And the LORD said unto him, Call his name {e} Jezreel; for yet a little [while], and I will avenge
the blood of Jezreel upon the house of {f} Jehu, and will cause to cease the kingdom of the house of
Israel.
(e) Meaning that they would no longer be called Israelites, which name they boasted because Israel
did prevail with God: but that they were as bastards, and therefore should be called Jezreelites,
that is, scattered people, alluding to Jezreel, which was the chief city of the ten tribes under
Ahab, where Jehu shed so much blood; 1 Kings 18:45.
(f) I will be avenged upon Jehu for the blood that he shed in Jezreel: for even though God stirred
him up to execute his judgments, yet he did them for his own ambition, and not for the glory of
God as the intended goal: for he built up that idolatry which he had destroyed.
Hosea 1:5
1:5 And it shall come to pass at that {g} day, that I will break the bow of Israel in the valley of
Jezreel.
(g) When the measure of their iniquity is full, and I will take vengeance and destroy all their
administration and strength.
Hosea 1:6
1:6 And she conceived again, and bare a daughter. And [God] said unto him, Call her name {h} Loruhamah:
for I will no more have mercy upon the house of Israel; but I will utterly {i} take them away.
(h) That is, not obtaining mercy: by which he signifies that God's favour had departed from them.
(i) For the Israelites never returned after they were taken captives by the Assyrians.
Hosea 1:7
1:7 But I will have mercy upon the house of Judah, and will {k} save them by the LORD their God, and
will not save them by bow, nor by sword, nor by battle, by horses, nor by horsemen.
(k) For after their captivity he restored them miraculously by the means of Cyrus; Ezra 1:1.
Hosea 1:9
1:9 Then said [God], Call his name {l} Loammi: for ye [are] not my people, and I will not be your [God].
(l) That is, not my people.
Hosea 1:10
1:10 Yet the number of the {m} children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, which cannot be
measured nor numbered; and it shall come to pass, [that] in the place where it was said unto them, Ye
[are] not my people, [there] it shall be said unto them, [Ye are] the sons of the living God.
(m) Because they thought that God could not have been true in his promise unless he had preserved
them, he declares that though they were destroyed, yet the true Israelites who are the sons of the
promise, would be without number, who consist both of the Jews and the Gentiles; Romans 9:26.
Hosea 1:11
1:11 Then shall the children of Judah and the children of Israel be {n} gathered together, and appoint
themselves one head, and they shall come up out of the land: for great [shall be] the day of Jezreel.
(n) That is, after the captivity of Babylon, when the Jews were restored: but chiefly this refers
to the time of Christ, who would be the head both of the Jews and Gentiles.
(o) The calamity and destruction of Israel will be so great, that to restore them will be a miracle.
Hosea Chapter 2
Hosea 2:1
2:1 Say ye unto your {a} brethren, Ammi; and to your sisters, Ruhamah.
(a) Seeing that I have promised you deliverance, it remains that you encourage one another to embrace
this promise, considering that you are my people on whom I will have mercy.
Hosea 2:2
2:2 Plead with your {b} mother, plead: for she [is] not my wife, neither [am] I her husband: let her
therefore put away her whoredoms out of her sight, and her adulteries {c} from between her breasts;
(b) God shows that the fault was not in him, that he forsook them, but in their Synagogue, and their
idolatries; Isaiah 50:1.
(c) Meaning that their idolatry was so great, that they were not ashamed, but boasted of it;
Ezekiel 16:25.
Hosea 2:3
2:3 Lest I strip her naked, and {d} set her as in the day that she was {e} born, and make her as a
wilderness, and set her like a dry land, and slay her with thirst.
(d) For even though his people were as a harlot for their idolatries, yet he had left them with
their dress and dowry and certain signs of his favour, but if they continued still, he would
utterly destroy them.
(e) When I brought her out of Egypt. \\See Geneva "Eze 16:4"\\
Hosea 2:4
2:4 And I will not have mercy upon her children; for they [be] the {f} children of whoredoms.
(f) That is bastards, and begotten in adultery.
Hosea 2:5
2:5 For their mother hath played the harlot: she that conceived them hath done shamefully: for she said,
I will go after my {g} lovers, that give [me] my bread and my water, my wool and my flax, mine oil and
my drink.
(g) Meaning the idol which they served, and by whom they thought they had wealth and abundance.
Hosea 2:6
2:6 Therefore, behold, I will hedge up {h} thy way with thorns, and make a wall, that she shall not find
her paths.
(h) I will punish you so that you may then test whether your idols can help you, and bring you into
such straightness that you will have no lust to play the harlot.
Hosea 2:7
2:7 And she shall follow after her lovers, but she shall not overtake them; and she shall seek them,
but hall not find [them]: then shall she say, {i} I will go and return to my first husband; for then
[was it] better with me than now.
(i) This he speaks of the faithful, who are truly converted, and also shows the use and profit of
God's punishments.
Hosea 2:8
2:8 For she did not know that I {k} gave her corn, and wine, and oil, and multiplied her silver and
gold, [which] they prepared for Baal.
(k) This declares that idolaters defraud God of his honour, when they attribute his benefits to
their idols.
Hosea 2:9
2:9 Therefore will I return, and take away {l} my corn in the time thereof, and my wine in the season
thereof, and will recover my wool and my flax [given] to cover her nakedness.
(l) Signifying that God will take away his benefits, when man by his ingratitude abuses them.
Hosea 2:10
2:10 And now will I discover her {m} lewdness in the sight of her lovers, and none shall deliver her
out of mine hand.
(m) That is, all her service, ceremonies, and inventions by which she worshipped her idols.
Hosea 2:13
2:13 And I will visit upon her the days of {n} Baalim, wherein she burned incense to them, and she
decked herself with her to} earrings and her jewels, and she went after her lovers, and forgat me,
saith the LORD.
(n) I will punish her for her idolatry.
(o) By showing how harlots trim themselves to please others, he declares how superstitious
idolaters set a great part of their religion in adorning themselves on their holy days.
Hosea 2:14
2:14 Therefore, behold, I will {p} allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak
comfortably unto her.
(p) By my benefits in offering her grace and mercy, even in that place where she will think
herself destitute of all help and comfort.
Hosea 2:15
2:15 And I will give her her vineyards from thence, and the valley {q} of Achor for a door of hope:
and she shall {r} sing there, as in the days of her youth, and as in the day when she came up out of
the land of Egypt.
(q) Which was a plentiful valley, and in which they had great comfort when they came out of the
wilderness, as in Joshua 7:26, and is called the door of hope, because it was a departing from
death and an entry into life.
(r) She will then praise God as she did when she was delivered out of Egypt.
Hosea 2:16
2:16 And it shall be at that day, saith the LORD, [that] thou shalt call me {s} Ishi; and shalt call
me no more {t} Baali.
(s) That is, my husband, knowing that I am united to you by a covenant which could not be
violated.
(t) That is, my master: which name was applied to their idols.
Hosea 2:17
2:17 For I will take away the names of Baalim out of her mouth, and they shall no more be remembered
by their {u} name.
(u) No idolatry will come into their mouth at all, but they will fear me purely according to my
word.
Hosea 2:18
2:18 And in that day will I make a covenant for them with the {x} beasts of the field, and with the
fowls of heaven, and [with] the creeping things of the ground: and I will break the bow and the sword
and the battle out of the earth, and will make them to lie down safely.
(x) Meaning that he will so bless them that all creatures will favor them.
Hosea 2:20
2:20 I will even betroth thee unto me in {y} faithfulness: and thou shalt know the LORD.
(y) With a covenant that will never be broken.
Hosea 2:21
2:21 And it shall come to pass in that day, I will hear, saith the LORD, I will hear {z} the heavens,
and they shall hear the earth;
(z) Then will the heaven desire rain for the earth, which will bring forth things for the use
of man.
Hosea Chapter 3
Hosea 3:1
3:1 Then said the LORD unto me, {a} Go yet, love a woman beloved of [her] friend, yet an adulteress,
according to the love of the LORD toward the children of Israel, who look to other gods, and {b} love
flagons of wine.
(a) In this the Prophet represents the person of God, who loved his Church before he called her,
and did not withdraw his love when she gave herself to idols.
(b) That is, gave themselves wholly to pleasure, and could not stop, as those that are given to
drunkenness.
Hosea 3:2
3:2 So {c} I bought her to me for fifteen [pieces] of silver, and [for] an homer of barley, and an
half homer of barley:
(c) Yet I loved her and paid a small portion for her, lest she would have perceived the greatness
of my love, and abused me, and not been under duty: for fifteen pieces of silver was but half
the price the price of a slave; Exodus 21:32.
Hosea 3:3
3:3 And I said unto her, Thou shalt abide for {d} me many days; thou shalt not play the harlot,
and thou shalt not be for (another] man: so [will] I also [be] for thee.
(d) I will try you a long time as in your widowhood, whether you will be mine or not.
Hosea 3:4
3:4 For the children of Israel shall {e} abide many days without a king, and without a {f} prince,
and without a sacrifice, and without an image, and without an ephod, and [without] teraphim:
(e) Meaning not only all the time of their captivity, but also until Christ.
(f) That is, they would neither have administration nor religion, and their idols also in which
they put their confidence, would be destroyed.
Hosea 3:5
3:5 Afterward shall the children of Israel return, and seek the LORD their God, and {g} David their
king; and shall fear the LORD and his goodness in the latter days.
(g) This is meant of Christ's kingdom, which was promised to David to be eternal; Psalm 72:17.
Hosea Chapter 4
Hosea 4:1
4:1 Hear the word of the LORD, ye children of Israel: for the LORD {a} hath a controversy with the
inhabitants of the land, because [there is] no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land.
(a) Because the people would not obey the admonitions of the Prophets, he accuses them before the
judgment seat of God, against whom they chiefly offended; Isaiah 7:13
Zechariah 12:10 Micah 6:1,2.
Hosea 4:2
4:2 By swearing, and lying, and killing, and stealing, and committing adultery, they break out, and
{b} blood toucheth blood.
(b) In every place appears a liberality to most wicked vices, so that one follows right after
another.
Hosea 4:4
4:4 Yet {c} let no man strive, nor reprove another: for thy people [are] as they that strive with
the priest.
(c) As though he would say that it was in vain to rebuke hem, for no man can endure it: indeed,
they will speak against the prophets and priests whose office it is chiefly to rebuke them.
Hosea 4:5
4:5 Therefore shalt thou fall in the {d} day, and the prophet also shall fall with thee in the night,
and I will destroy thy {e} mother.
(d) You will both perish together as one, because the former would not obey, and the other,
because he would not admonish.
(e) That is, the synagogue in which you boast.
Hosea 4:6
4:6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because {f} thou hast rejected knowledge, I will
also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing {g} thou hast forgotten the law of thy
God, I will also forget thy children.
(f) That is, the priests will be cast off, because for lack of knowledge they are not able to
execute their charge, and instruct others; Deuteronomy 33:3, Malachi 2:7.
(g) Meaning the whole body of the people, who were weary with hearing the word of God.
Hosea 4:7
4:7 As they were {h} increased, so they sinned against me: [therefore] will I change their glory
into shame.
(h) The more I was beneficial to them.
Hosea 4:8
4:8 {i} They eat up the sin of my people, and they set their heart on their iniquity.
(i) That is, the priests seek to eat the people's offerings, and flatter them in their sins.
Hosea 4:9
4:9 And there shall be, like people, like {k} priest: and I will punish them for their ways, and
reward them their doings.
(k) Signifying that as they have sinned together, so will they be punished together.
Hosea 4:10
4:10 For they shall eat, and not have enough: they shall {l} commit whoredom, and shall not increase:
because they have left off to take heed to the LORD.
(l) Showing that their wickedness will be punished in all ways: for even though they think by
the multitude of wives to have many children, yet they will be deceived of their hope.
Hosea 4:11
4:11 {m} Whoredom and wine and new wine take away the heart.
(m) In giving themselves to pleasures, they become like brute beasts.
Hosea 4:12
4:12 My {n} people ask counsel at their stocks, and their staff declareth unto them: for the {o}
spirit of whoredoms hath caused [them] to err, and they have gone a whoring from under their God.
(n) Thus he speaks by derision in calling them his people, who now because of their sins they
were not his people: for they sought help from stocks or wooden images and sticks or idols.
(o) They are carried away with madness.
Hosea 4:13
4:13 They sacrifice upon the tops of the mountains, and burn incense upon the hills, under oaks
and poplars and elms, because the shadow thereof [is] good: therefore your daughters shall {p} commit
whoredom, and your spouses shall commit adultery.
(p) Because they take away God's honour, and give it to idols: therefore he will give them up to
their lusts, so that they will dishonour their own bodies; Romans 1:28.
Hosea 4:14
4:14 I will not {q} punish your daughters when they commit whoredom, nor your spouses when they
commit adultery: for themselves are separated with whores, and they sacrifice with harlots: therefore
the people [that] doth not understand shall fall.
(q) I will not correct your shame to bring you to proper living, but will let you run headlong
to your own damnation.
Hosea 4:15
4:15 Though thou, Israel, play the harlot, [yet] {r} let not Judah offend; and come not ye unto {s}
Gilgal, neither go ye up to {t} Bethaven, nor swear, The LORD liveth.
(r) God complains that Judah is infected, and wants them to learn to return in time.
(s) For even though the Lord had honoured this place by his presence, yet because it was
abused by their idolatry, he did not want his people to resort there.
(t) He calls Bethel, that is, the house of God, Bethaven, that is, the house of iniquity,
because of their abominations set up there, signifying that no place is holy, where God is
not purely worshipped.
Hosea 4:16
4:16 For Israel slideth back as a backsliding heifer: now the LORD will feed them as a {u} lamb
in a large place.
(u) God will so disperse them, that they will not remain in any certain place.
Hosea 4:18
4:18 Their drink is sour: they have committed whoredom continually: her rulers [with] shame do
love, {x} Give ye.
(x) They are so shameless in receiving bribes, that they command men to bring them to them.
Hosea 4:19
4:19 The wind hath {y} bound her up in her wings, and they shall be ashamed because of their
sacrifices.
(y) To carry them suddenly away.
HOSEA 5
Hosea 5:1
5:1 Hear ye this, O priests; and hearken, ye house of Israel; and give ye ear, O house of the
king; for judgment [is] toward you, because ye have been a {a} snare on Mizpah, and a net spread
upon Tabor.
(a) The priests and princes caught the poor people in their snares, as the fowlers did the
birds, in these two high mountains.
Hosea 5:2
5:2 And the revolters are profound to make {b} slaughter, though I [have been] a {c} rebuker of
them all.
(b) Even though they seemed to be given altogether to holiness, and to sacrifices which here
he calls slaughter in contempt.
(c) Though I had admonished them continually by my Prophets.
Hosea 5:3
5:3 I know {d} Ephraim, and Israel is not hid from me: for now, O Ephraim, thou committest
whoredom, [and] Israel is defiled.
(d) They boasted themselves not only to be Israelites, but also Ephraimites, because their
King Jeroboam came from that tribe.
Hosea 5:5
5:5 And the {e} pride of Israel doth testify to his face: therefore shall Israel and Ephraim
fall in their iniquity; Judah also shall fall with them.
(e) Meaning their condemning of all admonitions.
Hosea 5:7
5:7 They have dealt treacherously against the LORD: for they have begotten {f} strange children:
now shall {g} a month devour them with their portions.
(f) That is, their children are degenerate, so that there is no hope in them.
(g) Their destruction is not far off.
Hosea 5:8
5:8 Blow ye the cornet in Gibeah, [and] the trumpet in Ramah: cry aloud [at] Bethaven, after
thee, O {h} Benjamin.
(h) That is, all of Israel that was included under this tribe, signifying that the Lord's
plagues would pursue them from place to place until they were destroyed.
Hosea 5:9
5:9 Ephraim shall be desolate in the day of rebuke: among the tribes of Israel have I made {i}
known that which shall surely be.
(i) By the success they will know that I have surely determined this.
Hosea 5:10
5:10 The princes of Judah were like them that {k} remove the bound: [therefore] I will pour out
my wrath upon them like water.
(k) They have turned upside down all political order and all manner of religion.
Hosea 5:11
5:11 Ephraim [is] oppressed [and] broken in judgment, because he willingly walked after the {l}
commandment.
(l) That is, after King Jeroboam's commandment, and did not rather follow God.
Hosea 5:13
5:13 When Ephraim saw his sickness, and Judah [saw] his wound, then went Ephraim to {m} the
Assyrian, and sent to king {n} Jareb: yet could he not heal you, nor cure you of your wound.
(m) Instead of seeking for remedy from God's hand.
(n) Who was king of the Assyrians.
Hosea Chapter 6
Hosea 6:1
6:1 Come, and let {a} us return unto the LORD: for he hath torn, and he will heal us; he hath
smitten, and he will bind us up.
(a) He shows the people that they ought to turn to the Lord, so that he might stop his
plagues.
Hosea 6:2
6:2 After two days will {b} he revive us: in the third day he will raise us up, and we shall
live in his sight.
(b) Though he correct us from time to time, yet his help will not be far off, if we return
to him.
Hosea 6:4
6:4 O Ephraim, what shall I do unto thee? O Judah, what shall I do unto thee? for {c} your
goodness [is] as a morning cloud, and as the early dew it goeth away.
(c) You seem to have a certain holiness and repentance, but it is very sudden, and as a
morning cloud.
Hosea 6:5
6:5 Therefore have I {d} hewed [them] by the prophets; I have slain them by the words of my
mouth: and thy {e} judgments (are as] the light [that] goeth forth.
(d) I have still labored by my prophets, and as it were prepared you to bring you to
correction, but all was in vain: for my word was not food to feed them, but a sword to
slay them.
(e) My doctrine which I taught you, was most evident.
Hosea 6:6
6:6 For I desired {f} mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt
offerings.
(f) He shows to what his doctrine was aimed at, that they should unite the obedience of
God, and the love of their neighbour, with outward sacrifices.
Hosea 6:7
6:7 But they {g} like men have transgressed the covenant: there have they dealt treacherously
against me.
(g) That is, like small and weak persons.
Hosea 6:8
6:8 {h} Gilead [is] a city of them that work iniquity, [and is] polluted with blood.
(h) Which was the place where the priests dwelt, and which should have been best instructed
in my word.
Hosea 6:11
6:11 Also, O Judah, he hath set an {i} harvest for thee, when I returned the captivity of my
people.
(i) That is, imitates your idolatry, and has taken grafts of your trees.
Hosea Chapter 7
Hosea 7:1
7:1 When I would have healed Israel, then the iniquity of Ephraim was discovered, and the
wickedness of Samaria: for they commit falsehood; and {a} the thief cometh in, [and] the troop
of robbers spoileth without.
(a) Meaning that there was no one type of vice among them, but that they were subject to
all wickedness, both secret and open.
Hosea 7:3
7:3 They make the {b} king glad with their wickedness, and the princes with their lies.
(b) They esteem their wicked king Jeroboam above God, and seek how to flatter and please him.
Hosea 7:4
7:4 They [are] all adulterers, as an {c} oven heated by the baker, [who] ceaseth from raising
after he hath kneaded the dough, until it be leavened.
(c) He compares the rage of the people to a burning oven which the baker heats, until his
dough is leavened and raised.
Hosea 7:5
7:5 In the {d} day of our king the princes have made [him] sick with bottles of wine; he stretched
out his hand with scorners.
(d) They used all indulgence and excess in their feasts and solemnities, by which their king
was overcome with being fed too much, and brought into diseases, and who delighted in
flatteries.
Hosea 7:7
7:7 They are all hot as an oven, and have {e} devoured their judges; all their kings are fallen:
[there is] none among them that calleth unto me.
(e) By their doing God has deprived them of all good rulers.
Hosea 7:8
7:8 Ephraim, he hath {f} mixed himself among the people; Ephraim is a cake not turned.
(f) That is, he counterfeited the religion of the Gentiles, yet is but as a cake baked on
the one side, and raw on the other, that is, neither thoroughly hot, nor thoroughly cold,
but partly a Jew, and partly a Gentile.
Hosea 7:9
7:9 Strangers have devoured his strength, and he knoweth [it] not: yea, {g} gray hairs are
here and there upon him, yet he knoweth not.
(g) Which are a token of his manifold afflictions.
Hosea 7:11
7:11 Ephraim also is like a silly dove without {h} heart: they call to Egypt, they go to Assyria.
(h) That is, without all judgment, as those that cannot tell whether it is better to cleave
only to God, or to seek the help of man.
Hosea 7:12
7:12 When they shall go, I will spread my net upon them; I will bring them down as the fowls of
the heaven; I will chastise them, as their {i} congregation hath heard.
(i) According to my curses made to the whole congregation of Israel.
Hosea 7:13
7:13 Woe unto them! for they have fled from me: destruction unto them! because they have
transgressed against me: though I have {k} redeemed them, yet they have spoken lies against
me.
(k) That is, at different times redeemed them, and delivered them from death.
Hosea 7:14
7:14 And they have not cried unto me with their heart, {l} when they howled upon their beds:
{m} they assemble themselves for corn and wine, [and] they rebel against me.
(l) When they were in affliction, and cried out in pain, they did not seek me for help.
(m) They only seek their own benefit and wealth, and care not for me their God.
Hosea 7:16
7:16 They return, [but] not to the most High: they are like a deceitful bow: their princes
shall fall by the sword for the rage {n} of their tongue: this [shall be] their derision in
the land of Egypt.
(n) Because they boast of their own strength, and do not care what they speak against me
and my servants; Psalm 73:9.
HOSEA 8
Hosea 8:1
8:1 [Set] the trumpet to thy {a} mouth. [He shall come] as an eagle against the house of the
LORD, because they have transgressed my covenant, and trespassed against my law.
(a) God encourages the Prophet to signify the speedy coming of the enemy against Israel,
which was once the people of God.
Hosea 8:2
8:2 Israel shall {b} cry unto me, My God, we know thee.
(b) They will cry like hypocrites, but not from the heart, as their deeds declare.
Hosea 8:4
8:4 They have set up {c} 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.
(c) That is, Jeroboam, by whom they sought their own liberty, and to obey my will.
Hosea 8:5
8:5 Thy calf, O Samaria, hath cast [thee] off; mine anger is kindled against them: how long
[will it be] ere they attain to {d} innocency?
(d) That is, upright judgment and a godly life.
Hosea 8:6
8:6 {e} 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.
(e) Meaning the calf was invented by themselves, and by their fathers in the wilderness.
Hosea 8:7
8:7 For they have {f} 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.
(f) Showing that their religion has but a show, and in itself is but vanity.
Hosea 8:9
8:9 For they are gone up to Assyria, a {g} wild ass alone by himself: Ephraim hath hired
lovers.
(g) They never cease, but run to and fro to seek help.
Hosea 8:10
8:10 Yea, though they have hired among the nations, now will I gather them, and they shall
sorrow a little for the {h} burden of the king of princes.
(h) That is, for the king and the princes will lay upon them: and by this means the
Lord brings them to repentance.
Hosea 8:12
8:12 I have written to him the great things of my law, [but] they were counted as a {i}
strange thing.
(i) In this way the idolaters consider the word of God as strange with regard to their
own invention.
Hosea 8:13
8:13 They sacrifice flesh [for] the sacrifices of mine offerings, and eat [it; but] the
{k} LORD accepteth them not; now will he remember their iniquity, and visit their sins:
they shall return to Egypt.
(k) Saying that they offer it to the Lord, but he accepts no service which he himself
has not appointed.
Hosea 9:1
9:1 Rejoice not, O Israel, for joy, {a} as [other] people: for thou hast gone a whoring from
thy God, thou hast loved {b} a reward upon every cornfloor.
(a) For even though all other people should escape, yet you will be punished.
(b) You have committed idolatry in hope of reward, and to have your barns filled
(Jeremiah 44:17), as a harlot that had rather live by playing the whore, than to be
provided for by her own husband.
Hosea 9:2
9:2 {c} The floor and the winepress shall not feed them, and the new wine shall fail in her.
(c) These outward things that you seek will be taken from you.
Hosea 9:4
9:4 They shall not offer {d} wine [offerings] to the LORD, neither shall they be pleasing
unto him: their sacrifices [shall be] unto them as the bread of mourners; all that eat
thereof shall be polluted: for their bread {e} for their soul shall not come into the house
of the LORD.
(d) All their doings both with regard to administration and religion, will be rejected
as polluted things.
(e) The meat offering which they offered for themselves.
Hosea 9:5
9:5 What will ye do {f} in the solemn day, and in the day of the feast of the LORD?
(f) When the Lord will take away all the occasions of serving him, which will be the
most grievous part of your captivity, when you will see yourselves cut off from God.
Hosea 9:6
9:6 For, lo, they are gone because of {g} destruction: Egypt Shall gather them up, Memphis
shall bury them: the pleasant [places] for their silver, nettles shall possess them:
thorns [shall be] in their tabernacles.
(g) Even though they think to escape by fleeing the destruction that is at hand, yet
they will be destroyed in the place where they flee for help.
Hosea 9:7
9:7 The days of visitation are come, the days of recompence are come; Israel shall know [it]:
{h} the prophet [is] a fool, The spiritual man [is] mad, for the multitude of thine
iniquity, and the great hatred.
(h) Then they will know that they were deluded by those who claimed themselves to be their
prophets and spiritual men.
Hosea 9:8
9:8 The watchman of Ephraim {i} [was] with my God: [but] the prophet [is] a snare of a fowler
in all his ways, [and] hatred in the house of his God.
(i) The Prophet's duty is to bring men to God, and not to be a snare to pull them from God.
Hosea 9:9
9:9 They {k} have deeply corrupted [themselves], as in the days of Gibeah: [therefore] he will
remember their iniquity, he will visit their sins.
(k) This people is so rooted in their wickedness, that Gibeah, which was similar to Sodom,
was never more corrupt; Jude 19:22.
Hosea 9:10
9:10 I found Israel like {l} grapes in the wilderness; I saw your fathers as the firstripe in
the fig tree at her first time: [but] they went to Baalpeor, and separated themselves unto
[that] shame; and [their] abominations were according {m} as they loved.
(l) Meaning, that he esteemed them and delighted in them in this way.
(m) They were as abominable to me, as their lovers the idols.
Hosea 9:11
9:11 [As for] Ephraim, their glory shall fly away like a bird, from the birth, {n} and from
the womb, and from the conception.
(n) Signifying that God would destroy their children by these different means, and so
consume them by little and little.
Hosea 9:13
9:13 Ephraim, as I saw {o} Tyrus, [is] planted in a pleasant place: but Ephraim shall bring
forth his children to the murderer.
(o) As they kept tender plants in their houses in Tyrus to preserve them from the cold
air of the sea, so was Ephraim at the first to me: but now I will give him to
the slaughter.
Hosea 9:14
9:14 Give them, O LORD: what wilt thou give? give them a {p} miscarrying womb and dry breasts.
(p) The Prophet seeing the great plagues of God toward Ephraim, prays to God to make them
barren, rather than that this great slaughter should come upon their children.
Hosea 9:15
9:15 All their wickedness [is] in {q} Gilgal: for there I hated them: for the wickedness of their
doings I will drive them out of mine house, I will love them no more: all their princes [are]
revolters.
(q) The chief cause of their destruction is that they commit idolatry, and corrupt my
religion in Gilgal.
Hosea Chapter 10
Hosea 10:1
10:1 Israel [is] an {a} empty vine, he bringeth forth fruit unto himself: according to the
multitude of his fruit he hath increased the altars; according to the {b} goodness of his
land they have made goodly images.
(a) Of which though the grapes were gathered, yet always as it gathered new strength it
increased in new wickedness, so that the correction which should have brought them to
obedience, only proclaimed their stubbornness.
(b) As they were rich and had abundance.
Hosea 10:2
10:2 Their heart is {c} divided; now shall they be found faulty: he shall break down their
altars, he shall spoil their images.
(c) That is, from God, by serving their false gods.
Hosea 10:3
10:3 For now they shall say, We have no {d} king, because we feared not the LORD; what then
should a king do to us?
(d) The day will come that God will take away their king, and then they will feel the
fruit of their sins, and how they trusted in him in vain; 2 Kings 17:6-7.
Hosea 10:4
10:4 They have spoken words, swearing falsely in making {e} a covenant: thus {f} judgment
springeth up as hemlock in the furrows of the field.
(e) In promising to be faithful toward God.
(f) In this way their integrity and fidelity which they pretended, was nothing but
bitterness and grief.
Hosea 10:5
10:5 The inhabitants of Samaria shall {g} fear because of the calves of Bethaven: for the people
thereof shall mourn over it, and the {h} priests thereof [that] rejoiced on it, for the glory
thereof, because it is departed from it.
(g) When the calf will be carried away.
(h) These were certain idolatrous priests, who wore black apparel during their sacrifices,
and cried with a loud voice: which superstition Elijah derided, 1 Kings 18:27.
\\See Geneva "2Ki 23:5"\\
Hosea 10:8
10:8 The high places also of {i} Aven, the sin of Israel, shall be destroyed: the thorn and the
thistle shall come up on their altars; and they shall say to the mountains, Cover us; and to the
hills, Fall on us.
(i) This he speaks in contempt of Bethel. \\Read Geneva (t)
"Hosea 4:15"\\
Hosea 10:9
10:9 O Israel, thou hast {k} sinned from the days of Gibeah: there they {l} stood: the battle in
Gibeah against the children of iniquity did not {m} overtake them.
(k) In those days you were as wicked as the Gibeonites, as God there partly declared: for
your zeal could not be good in executing God's judgments, seeing your own deeds were as
wicked as theirs.
(l) That is, to fight, or, the Israelites remained in that stubbornness from that time.
(m) The Israelites were not moved by the example of the Gibeonites to cease from their sins.
Hosea 10:10
10:10 [It is] in my desire {n} that I should chastise them; and the people shall be gathered
against them, when they shall bind themselves in their two {o} furrows.
(n) Because they are so desperate, I will delight to destroy them.
(o) That is, when they have gathered all their strength together.
Hosea 10:11
10:11 And Ephraim [is as] an heifer [that is] taught, [and] loveth to {p} tread out [the corn];
but I passed over upon her {q} fair neck: I will make Ephraim to ride; Judah shall plow, [and]
Jacob shall break his clods.
(p) In which is pleasure, whereas in plowing there is labor and pain.
(q) I will lay my yoke upon her fat neck.
Hosea 10:12
10:12 Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; {r} break up your fallow ground: for
[it is] time to seek the LORD, till he come and rain righteousness upon you.
(r) \\Read Geneva "Jer 4:3"\\
See Jeremiah 4:4
Hosea 10:14
10:14 Therefore shall a tumult arise among thy people, and all thy fortresses shall be spoiled,
as {s} Shalman spoiled Betharbel in the day of battle: the mother was dashed in pieces upon
[her] children.
(s) That is, Shalmaneser in the destruction of that city spared neither type nor age.
Hosea Chapter 11
Hosea 11:1
11:1 When Israel {a} [was] a child, then I loved him, and called my son out of Egypt.
(a) While the Israelites were in Egypt, and did not provoke my wrath by their malice
and ingratitude.
Hosea 11:2
11:2 [As] they called them, so they {b} went from them: they sacrificed unto Baalim, and burned
incense to graven images.
(b) They rebelled and went a contrary way when the Prophets called them to repentance.
Hosea 11:4
11:4 I drew them with cords {c} of a man, with bands of love:and I was to them as they that take off
the yoke on their jaws, and I laid meat unto them.
(c) That is, friendly, and not as beasts or slaves.
Hosea 11:5
11:5 He shall not return into the land of Egypt, but the Assyrian shall be his {d} king, because
they refused to return.
(d) Seeing that they condemn all this kindness, they will be led captive into Assyria.
Hosea 11:7
11:7 And my people are bent to backsliding from me: though {e} they called them to the most High,
none at all would exalt [him].
(e) That is, the Prophets.
Hosea 11:8
11:8 {f} How shall I give thee up, Ephraim? [how] shall I deliver thee, Israel? how shall I make
thee as {g} Admah? [how] shall I set thee as Zeboim? mine heart is turned within me, {h} my repentings
are kindled together.
(f) God considers with himself, and that with a certain grief, how to punish them.
(g) Which were two of the cities that were destroyed with Sodom; Deuteronomy 29:23.
(h) Meaning that his love with which he first loved them positioned him between doubt and
assurance in terms of what to do: and in this appears his Fatherly affection, that his mercy
toward his own will overcome his judgments, as he declares in the next verse.
Hosea 11:9
11:9 I will not execute the fierceness of mine anger, I will not return to destroy Ephraim: for I [am]
God, and not man; the Holy One in the midst of thee: and I will not {i} enter into the city.
(i) To consume you, but will cause you to yield, and so have mercy on you: and this is meant
of the final number who will walk after the Lord.
Hosea 11:11
11:11 {k} They shall tremble as a bird out of Egypt, and as a dove out of the land of Assyria: and I
will place them in their houses, saith the LORD.
(k) The Egyptians and the Assyrians will be afraid when the Lord maintains his people.
Hosea 11:12
11:12 Ephraim compasseth me about with lies, and the house of Israel with deceit: but Judah yet ruleth
with {l} God, and is faithful with the saints.
(l) Governs their state according to God's word, and does not degenerate.
Hosea Chapter 12
Hosea 12:1
12:1 Ephraim feedeth {a} on wind, and followeth after the east wind: he daily increaseth lies and
desolation; and they do make a covenant with the Assyrians, and {b} oil is carried into Egypt.
(a) That is, flatters himself with vain confidence.
(b) Meaning presents to get friendship.
Hosea 12:2
12:2 The LORD hath also a controversy with {c} Judah, and will punish Jacob according to his ways;
according to his doings will he recompense him.
(c) Which in those points was similar to Ephraim, but not in idolatry.
Hosea 12:3
12:3 He took his brother by the heel in the womb, and by his strength he had {d} power with God:
(d) Seeing that God in this way preferred Jacob their father, Judah's ingratitude was the
more to be abhorred.
Hosea 12:4
12:4 Yea, he had {e} power over the angel, and prevailed: he wept, and made supplication unto him:
{f} he found him [in] Bethel, and there he spake with us;
(e) Read Genesis 32:24-32.
(f) God found Jacob as he lay sleeping in Bethel Genesis 28:12, and spoke with him there in such
a way that the fruit of that speech appertained to the whole body of the people, of which we are.
Hosea 12:7
12:7 [He is] {g} a merchant, the balances of deceit [are] in his hand: he loveth to oppress.
(g) As for Ephraim, he is more like the wicked Canaanites than godly Abraham or Jacob.
Hosea 12:8
12:8 And Ephraim said, Yet I am become rich, I have found me out substance: [in] all my labours they
shall find none iniquity in me {h} that [were] sin.
(h) Thus way the wicked measure God's favour by outward prosperity, and like hypocrites cannot
endure that any should reprove their doings.
Hosea 12:9
12:9 And I [that am] the LORD thy God from the land of Egypt will yet make thee to dwell in tabernacles,
as in {i} the days of the solemn feast.
(i) Seeing you will not acknowledge my benefits, I will bring you again to dwell in tents, as in
the feast of the Tabernacles, which you now condemn.
Hosea 12:11
12:11 [Is there] {k} iniquity [in] Gilead? surely they are vanity: they sacrifice bullocks in Gilgal;
yea, their altars [are] as heaps in the furrows of the fields.
(k) The people thought that no man dare have spoken against Gilead, that holy place, and yet
the Prophet says that all their religion was but vanity.
Hosea 12:12
12:12 {l} And Jacob fled into the country of Syria, and Israel served for a wife, and for a wife he
kept [sheep].
(l) If you boast of your riches and nobility, you seem to reproach your father, who was a poor
fugitive and servant.
Hosea 12:13
12:13 And by a {m} prophet the LORD brought Israel out of Egypt, and by a prophet was he preserved.
(m) Meaning Moses, by which appears that whatever they have, it comes from God's free goodness.
HOSEA 13
Hosea 13:1
13:1 When Ephraim spake {a} trembling, he {b} exalted himself in Israel; but when he offended in Baal,
{c} he died.
(a) He shows the excellency and authority that this tribe had above all the rest.
(b) He made a king of his tribe.
(c) The Ephraimites are not far from destruction, and have lost their authority.
Hosea 13:2
13:2 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, {d} Let the men that
sacrifice kiss the calves.
(d) "Let the men that sacrifice" or "while they sacrifice men". The false prophets persuaded the
idolaters to offer their children after the example of Abraham, and he shows how they would exhort
one another to the same, and to kiss and worship these calves which were their idols.
Hosea 13:4
13:4 Yet I [am] the LORD thy God {e} from the land of Egypt, and thou shalt know no god but me: for [there is]
no saviour beside me.
(e) He calls them to repentance, and reproves their ingratitude.
Hosea 13:9
13:9 O Israel, thou {f} hast destroyed thyself; but in me [is] thine help.
(f) Your destruction is certain, and my benefits toward you declare that it comes not from me: therefore
your own malice, idolatry, and vain confidence in men must necessarily be the cause of it.
Hosea 13:10
13:10 {g} 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?
(g) I am all one; James 1:17.
Hosea 13:12
13:12 The iniquity of Ephraim [is] {h} bound up; his sin [is] hid.
(h) It is surely laid up to be punished, as in Jeremiah 17:1.
Hosea 13:13
13:13 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 {i} breaking forth of children.
(i) But would come out of the womb, that is out of these dangers in which he is, and not wait to be
suppressed.
Hosea 13:14
13:14 I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death: O {k} death, I will
be thy plagues; O grave, I will be thy destruction: {l} repentance shall be hid from mine eyes.
(k) Meaning that no power will resist God when he will deliver his own, but even in death he will
give them life.
(l) Because they will not turn to me, I will change my purpose.
Hosea Chapter 14
Hosea 14:1
14:1 O Israel, {a} return unto the LORD thy God; for thou hast fallen by thine iniquity.
(a) He exhorts them to repentance to avoid all these plagues, exhorting them to declare by words
their obedience and repentance.
Hosea 14:2
14:2 Take with you words, and turn to the LORD: say unto him, {b} Take away all iniquity, and receive [us]
graciously: so will we render the calves of our {c} lips.
(b) He shows them that they ought to confess their sins.
(c) Declaring that this is the true sacrifice that the faithful can offer, even thanks and praise;
Hebrews 13:15.
Hosea 14:3
14:3 Asshur shall {d} not save us; we will not ride upon horses: neither will we say any more to the work of our
hands, [Ye are] our gods: for in thee the fatherless findeth mercy.
(d) We will forsake all vain confidence and pride.
Hosea 14:4
14:4 {e} I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely: for mine anger is turned away from him.
(e) He declares how ready God is to receive those that do repent.
Hosea 14:7
14:7 They that dwell under his {f} shadow shall return; they shall revive [as] the corn, and grow as the vine:
the scent thereof [shall be] as the wine of Lebanon.
(f) Whoever unites themselves to this people will be blessed.
Hosea 14:8
14:8 Ephraim [shall say], What have I to do any more with idols? I {g} have heard [him], and observed him: I
[am] like a green fir tree. From me is thy fruit found.
(g) God shows how prompt he is to hear his own when they repent, and to offer himself as a protection and
safeguard for them, as a most sufficient fruit and benefit.
Hosea 14:9
14:9 Who [is] {h} wise, and he shall understand these [things]? prudent, and he shall know them? for the ways
of the LORD (are] right, and the just shall walk in them: but the transgressors shall fall therein.
(h) Signifying that the true wisdom and knowledge consists in this, even to rest upon God.
end of Hosea
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Nahum Chapter 3
The miserable destruction of Ninive.
3:1. Woe to thee, 0 city of blood, all full of lies and violence: rapine shall not depart from thee.
3:2. The noise of the whip, and the noise of the rattling of the wheels, and of the neighing horse; and of the running chariot, and of the horsemen coming up,
3:3. And of the shining sword, and of the glittering spear, and of a multitude slain, and of a grievous destruction: and there is no end of carcasses, and they shall fall down on their dead bodies.
3:4. Because of the multitude of the fornications of the harlot that was beautiful and agreeable, and that made use of witchcraft, that sold nations through her fornications, and families through her witchcrafts.
3:5. Behold I come against thee, saith the Lord of hosts: and I will discover thy shame to thy face, and will show thy nakedness to the nations, and thy shame to kingdoms.
3:6. And I will cast abominations upon thee, and will disgrace thee, and will make an example of thee.
3:7. And it shall come to pass that every one that shall see thee, shall flee from thee, and shall say: Ninive is laid waste: who shall bemoan thee? whence shall I seek a comforter for thee?
3:8. Art thou better than the populous
Alexandria, that dwelleth among the rivers? waters are round about
it: the sea is its riches: the waters are its walls.
Populous Alexandria... No-Ammon.
A populous city of
Egypt
destroyed by the Chaldeans, and afterwards rebuilt by Alexander,
and called
Alexandria. Others suppose No-Ammon to be the same as
Diospolis.
3:9. Ethiopia and Egypt were the strength thereof, and there is no end: Africa and the Libyans were thy helpers.
3:10. Yet she also was removed and carried into captivity: her young children were dashed in pieces at the top of every street, and they cast lots upon her nobles, and all her great men were bound in fetters.
3:11. Therefore thou also shalt be made drunk, and shalt be despised: and thou shalt seek help from the enemies.
3:12. All thy strong holds shall be like fig trees with their green figs: if they be shaken, they shall fall into the mouth of the eater.
3:13. Behold thy people in the midst of thee are women: the gates of thy land shall be set wide open to thy enemies, the fire shall devour thy bars.
3:14. Draw thee water for the siege, build up thy bulwarks: go into the clay, and tread, work it and make brick.
3:15. There shall the fire devour thee: thou shalt perish by the sword, it shall devour thee like the bruchus: assemble together like the bruchus, make thyself many like the locust.
3:16. Thou hast multiplied thy merchandises above the stars of heaven: the bruchus hath spread himself and flown away.
3:17. Thy guards are like the locusts: and
thy little ones like the locusts of locusts which swarm on the
hedges in the day of cold: the sun arose, and they flew away, and
their place was not known where they were.
Locusts of locusts... The
young locusts.
3:18. Thy shepherds have slumbered, O king of Assyria, thy princes shall be buried: thy people are hid in the mountains, and there is none to gather them.
3:19. Thy destruction is not hidden, thy wound is grievous: all that have heard the fame of thee, have clapped their hands over thee: for upon whom hath not thy wickedness passed continually?
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James 2:14-26
James 2:14 What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he
hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him? |
