8 The high places H1116 also of Aven, H206 the sin H2403 of Israel, H3478 shall be destroyed: H8045 the thorn H6975 and the thistle H1863 shall come up H5927 on their altars; H4196 and they shall say H559 to the mountains, H2022 Cover H3680 us; and to the hills, H1389 Fall H5307 on us.
And G2532 said G3004 to the mountains G3735 and G2532 rocks, G4073 Fall G4098 on G1909 us, G2248 and G2532 hide G2928 us G2248 from G575 the face G4383 of him that sitteth G2521 on G1909 the throne, G2362 and G2532 from G575 the wrath G3709 of the Lamb: G721
Then G5119 shall they begin G756 to say G3004 to the mountains, G3735 Fall G4098 on G1909 us; G2248 and G2532 to the hills, G1015 Cover G2572 us. G2248
Upon the land H127 of my people H5971 shall come up H5927 thorns H6975 and briers; H8068 yea, upon all the houses H1004 of joy H4885 in the joyous H5947 city: H7151
And they shall go H935 into the holes H4631 of the rocks, H6697 and into the caves H4247 of the earth, H6083 for H6440 fear H6343 of the LORD, H3068 and for the glory H1926 of his majesty, H1347 when he ariseth H6965 to shake terribly H6206 the earth. H776
Whereupon the king H4428 took counsel, H3289 and made H6213 two H8147 calves H5695 of gold, H2091 and said H559 unto them, It is too much H7227 for you to go up H5927 to Jerusalem: H3389 behold thy gods, H430 O Israel, H3478 which brought thee up H5927 out of the land H776 of Egypt. H4714 And he set H7760 the one H259 in Bethel, H1008 and the other H259 put H5414 he in Dan. H1835 And this thing H1697 became a sin: H2403 for the people H5971 went H3212 to worship before H6440 the one, H259 even unto Dan. H1835
They that swear H7650 by the sin H819 of Samaria, H8111 and say, H559 Thy god, H430 O Dan, H1835 liveth; H2416 and, The manner H1870 of Beersheba H884 liveth; H2416 even they shall fall, H5307 and never rise up H6965 again.
The inhabitants H7934 of Samaria H8111 shall fear H1481 because of the calves H5697 of Bethaven: H1007 for the people H5971 thereof shall mourn H56 over it, and the priests H3649 thereof that rejoiced H1523 on it, for the glory H3519 thereof, because it is departed H1540 from it.
Moreover the altar H4196 that was at Bethel, H1008 and the high place H1116 which Jeroboam H3379 the son H1121 of Nebat, H5028 who made Israel H3478 to sin, H2398 had made, H6213 both that altar H4196 and the high place H1116 he brake down, H5422 and burned H8313 the high place, H1116 and stamped H1854 it small to powder, H6083 and burned H8313 the grove. H842
And this thing H1697 became sin H2403 unto the house H1004 of Jeroboam, H3379 even to cut it off, H3582 and to destroy H8045 it from off the face H6440 of the earth. H127
And I took H3947 your sin, H2403 the calf H5695 which ye had made, H6213 and burnt H8313 it with fire, H784 and stamped H3807 it, and ground H2912 it very small, H3190 even until it was as small H1854 as dust: H6083 and I cast H7993 the dust H6083 thereof into the brook H5158 that descended out H3381 of the mount. H2022
Blow H8628 ye the cornet H7782 in Gibeah, H1390 and the trumpet H2689 in Ramah: H7414 cry aloud H7321 at Bethaven, H1007 after H310 thee, O Benjamin. H1144
Though thou, Israel, H3478 play the harlot, H2181 yet let not Judah H3063 offend; H816 and come H935 not ye unto Gilgal, H1537 neither go ye up H5927 to Bethaven, H1007 nor swear, H7650 The LORD H3068 liveth. H2416
They sacrifice H2076 upon the tops H7218 of the mountains, H2022 and burn incense H6999 upon the hills, H1389 under oaks H437 and poplars H3839 and elms, H424 because the shadow H6738 thereof is good: H2896 therefore your daughters H1323 shall commit whoredom, H2181 and your spouses H3618 shall commit adultery. H5003
And thorns H5518 shall come up H5927 in her palaces, H759 nettles H7057 and brambles H2336 in the fortresses H4013 thereof: and it shall be an habitation H5116 of dragons, H8577 and a court H2681 for owls. H1323 H3284
And he burnt H8313 the bones H6106 of the priests H3548 upon their altars, H4196 and cleansed H2891 Judah H3063 and Jerusalem. H3389 And so did he in the cities H5892 of Manasseh, H4519 and Ephraim, H669 and Simeon, H8095 even unto Naphtali, H5321 with their mattocks H2719 round about. H5439 And when he had broken down H5422 the altars H4196 and the groves, H842 and had beaten H3807 the graven images H6456 into powder, H1854 and cut down H1438 all the idols H2553 throughout all the land H776 of Israel, H3478 he returned H7725 to Jerusalem. H3389
Now when all this was finished, H3615 all Israel H3478 that were present H4672 went out H3318 to the cities H5892 of Judah, H3063 and brake H7665 the images H4676 in pieces, H7665 and cut down H1438 the groves, H842 and threw down H5422 the high places H1116 and the altars H4196 out of all Judah H3063 and Benjamin, H1144 in Ephraim H669 also and Manasseh, H4519 until they had utterly destroyed H3615 them all. Then all the children H1121 of Israel H3478 returned, H7725 every man H376 to his possession, H272 into their own cities. H5892
And he shall give H5414 Israel H3478 up H5414 because H1558 of the sins H2403 of Jeroboam, H3379 who did sin, H2398 and who made Israel H3478 to sin. H2398
And he cried H7121 against the altar H4196 in the word H1697 of the LORD, H3068 and said, H559 O altar, H4196 altar, H4196 thus saith H559 the LORD; H3068 Behold, a child H1121 shall be born H3205 unto the house H1004 of David, H1732 Josiah H2977 by name; H8034 and upon thee shall he offer H2076 the priests H3548 of the high places H1116 that burn incense H6999 upon thee, and men's H120 bones H6106 shall be burnt H8313 upon thee.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Hosea 10
Commentary on Hosea 10 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 10
Ho 10:1-15. Israel's Idolatry, the Source of Perjuries and Unlawful Leagues, Soon Destined to Be the Ruin of the State, Their King and Their Images Being About to Be Carried Off; a Just Chastisement, the Reaping Corresponding to the Sowing.
The prophecy was uttered between Shalmaneser's first and second invasions of Israel. Compare Ho 10:14; also Ho 10:6, referring to Hoshea's calling So of Egypt to his aid; also Ho 10:4, 13.
1. empty—stripped of its fruits [Calvin], (Na 2:2); compelled to pay tribute to Pul (2Ki 15:20). Maurer translates, "A widespreading vine"; so the Septuagint. Compare Ge 49:22; Ps 80:9-11; Eze 17:6.
bringeth forth fruit unto himself—not unto Me.
according to … multitude of … fruit … increased … altars—In proportion to the abundance of their prosperity, which called for fruit unto God (compare Ro 6:22), was the abundance of their idolatry (Ho 8:4, 11).
2. heart … divided—(1Ki 18:21; Mt 6:24; Jas 4:8).
now—that is, soon.
he—Jehovah.
break down—"cut off," namely the heads of the victims. Those altars, which were the scene of cutting off the victims' heads, shall be themselves cut off.
3. now, &c.—Soon they, deprived of their king, shall be reduced to say, We have no king (Ho 10:7, 15), for Jehovah deprived us of him, because of our not fearing God. What then (seeing God is against us) should a king be able to do for us, if we had one? As they rejected the heavenly King, they were deprived of their earthly king.
4. words—mere empty words.
swearing falsely in making a covenant—breaking their engagement to Shalmaneser (2Ki 17:4), and making a covenant with So, though covenants with foreigners were forbidden.
judgment … as hemlock—that is, divine judgment shall spring up as rank, and as deadly, as hemlock in the furrows (De 29:18; Am 5:7; 6:12). Gesenius translates, "poppy." Grotius, "darnel."
5. fear because of the calves—that is, shall fear for them.
Beth-aven—substituted for Beth-el in contempt (Ho 4:15).
it—singular, the one in Beth-el; after the pattern of which the other "calves" (plural) were made. "Calves" in the Hebrew is feminine, to express contempt.
priests—The Hebrew is only used of idolatrous priests (2Ki 23:5; Zep 1:4), from a root meaning either "the black garment" in which they were attired; or, "to resound," referring to their howling cries in their sacred rites [Calvin].
that rejoiced on it—because it was a source of gain to them. Maurer translates, "Shall leap in trepidation on account of it"; as Baal's priests did (1Ki 18:26).
the glory thereof—the magnificence of its ornaments and its worship.
6. It … also—The calf, so far from saving its worshippers from deportation, itself shall be carried off; hence "Israel shall be ashamed" of it.
Jareb—(See on Ho 5:13). "A present to the king (whom they looked to as) their defender," or else avenger, whose wrath they wished to appease, namely, Shalmaneser. The minor states applied this title to the Great King, as the avenging Protector.
his own counsel—the calves, which Jeroboam set up as a stroke of policy to detach Israel from Judah. Their severance from Judah and Jehovah proved now to be not politic, but fatal to them.
7. (Ho 10:3, 15).
foam—denoting short-lived existence and speedy dissolution. As the foam, though seeming to be eminent raised on the top of the water, yet has no solidity, such is the throne of Samaria. Maurer translates, "a chip" or broken branch that cannot resist the current.
8. Aven—that is, Beth-aven.
the sin—that is, the occasion of sin (De 9:21; 1Ki 12:30).
they shall say to … mountains, Cover us—So terrible shall be the calamity, that men shall prefer death to life (Lu 23:30; Re 6:16; 9:6). Those very hills on which were their idolatrous altars (one source of their confidence, as their "king," Ho 10:7, was the other), so far from helping them, shall be called on by them to overwhelm them.
9. Gibeah—(Ho 9:9; Jud 19:1-20:48). They are singled out as a specimen of the whole nation.
there they stood—The Israelites have, as there and then, so ever since, persisted in their sin [Calvin]. Or, better, "they stood their ground," that is, did not perish then [Maurer].
the battle … did not overtake them—Though God spared you then, He will not do so now; nay, the battle whereby God punished the Gibeonite "children of iniquity," shall the more heavily visit you for your continued impenitence. Though "they stood" then, it shall not be so now. The change from "thou" to "they" marks God's alienation from them; they are, by the use of the third person, put to a greater distance from God.
10. my desire … chastise—expressing God's strong inclination to vindicate His justice against sin, as being the infinitely holy God (De 28:63).
the people—Foreign invaders "shall be gathered against them."
when they shall bind themselves in their two furrows—image from two oxen ploughing together side by side, in two contiguous furrows: so the Israelites shall join themselves, to unite their powers against all dangers, but it will not save them from My destroying them [Calvin]. Their "two furrows" may refer to their two places of setting up the calves, their ground of confidence, Dan and Beth-el; or, the two divisions of the nation, Israel and Judah, "in their two furrows," that is, in their respective two places of habitation; Ho 10:11, which specifies the two, favors this view. Henderson prefers the Keri (Hebrew Margin) "for their two iniquities"; and translates, "when they are bound" in captivity. English Version is best, as the image is carried out in Ho 10:11; only it is perhaps better to translate, "the people (the invaders) binding them," that is, making them captives; and so Ho 10:11 alludes to the yoke being put on the neck of Ephraim and Judah.
11. taught—that is, accustomed.
loveth to tread out … corn—a far easier and more self-indulgent work than ploughing. In treading corn, cattle were not bound together under a yoke, but either trod it singly with their feet, or drew a threshing sledge over it (Isa 28:27, 28): they were free to eat some of the corn from time to time, as the law required they should be unmuzzled (De 25:4), so that they grew fat in this work. An image of Israel's freedom, prosperity, and self-indulgence heretofore. But now God will put the Assyrian yoke upon her, instead of freedom, putting her to servile work.
I passed over upon—I put the yoke upon.
make … to ride—as in Job 30:22; that is, hurry Ephraim away to a distant region [Calvin]. Lyra translates, "I will make (the Assyrian) to ride upon Ephraim." Maurer, "I will make Ephraim to carry," namely, a charioteer.
his clods—"the clods before him."
12. Continuation of the image in Ho 10:11 (Pr 11:18). Act righteously and ye shall reap the reward; a reward not of debt, but of grace.
in mercy—according to the measure of the divine "mercy," which over and above repays the goodness or "mercy" which we show to our fellow man (Lu 6:38).
break … fallow ground—Remove your superstitions and vices, and be renewed.
seek … Lord, fill he come—Though not answered immediately, persevere unceasingly "till He come."
rain—send down as a copious shower.
righteousness—the reward of righteousness, that is, salvation, temporal and spiritual (1Sa 26:23; compare Joe 2:23 ).
13. reaped iniquity—that is, the fruit of iniquity; as "righteousness" (Ho 10:12) is "the fruit of righteousness" (Job 4:8; Pr 22:8; Ga 6:7, 8).
lies—false and spurious worship.
trust in thy way—thy perverse way (Isa 57:10; Jer 2:23), thy worship of false gods. This was their internal safeguard, as their external was "the multitude of their mighty men."
14. tumult—a tumultuous war.
among thy people—literally, "peoples": the war shall extend to the whole people of Israel, through all the tribes, and the peoples allied to her.
Shalman spoiled Beth-arbel—that is, Shalmaneser, a compound name, in which the part common to it and the names of three other Assyrian kings, is omitted; Tiglath-pileser, Esar-haddon, Shar-ezer. So Jeconiah is abbreviated to Coniah. Arbel was situated in Naphtali in Galilee, on the border nearest Assyria. Against it Shalmaneser, at his first invasion of Israel (2Ki 17:3), vented his chief rage. God threatens Israel's fortresses with the same fate as Arbel suffered "in the day (on the occasion) of the battle" then well-known, though not mentioned elsewhere (compare 2Ki 18:34). This event, close on the reign of Hezekiah, shows the inscription of Hosea (Ho 1:1) to be correct.
15. So shall Beth-el do unto you—that is, Your idolatrous calf at Beth-el shall be the cause of a like calamity befalling you.
your great wickedness—literally, "the wickedness of your wickedness."
in a morning—that is, speedily, as quickly as the dawn is put to flight by the rising sun (Ho 6:4; 13:3; Ps 30:5).
king—Hoshea.