1 `When I give healing to Israel, Then revealed is the iniquity of Ephraim, And the wickedness of Samaria, For they have wrought falsehood, And a thief doth come in, Stript off hath a troop in the street,
What do I do to thee, O Ephraim? What do I do to thee, O Judah? Your goodness `is' as a cloud of the morning, And as dew rising early -- going.
Swearing, and lying, and murdering, And stealing, and committing adultery -- have increased, And blood against blood hath touched.
saying -- `If thou didst know, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things for thy peace; but now they were hid from thine eyes.
`Jerusalem, Jerusalem, that is killing the prophets, and stoning those sent unto her, how often did I will to gather together thy children, as a hen her brood under the wings, and ye did not will.
On the evil `are' both hands to do `it' well, The prince is asking -- also the judge -- for recompence, And the great -- he is speaking the mischief of his soul, And they wrap it up. Their best one `is' as a brier, The upright one -- than a thorn-hedge, The day of thy watchmen -- Thy visitation -- hath come. Now is their perplexity. Believe not in a friend, trust not in a leader, From her who is lying in thy bosom keep the openings of thy mouth. For a son is dishonouring a father, A daughter hath stood against her mother, A daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law, The enemies of each `are' the men of his house. And I -- in Jehovah I do watch, I do wait for the God of my salvation, Hear me doth my God.
And kept habitually are the statutes of Omri, And all the work of the house of Ahab, And ye do walk in their counsels, For My giving thee for a desolation, And its inhabitants for a hissing, And the reproach of My people ye do bear!
For the calves of Beth-Aven fear do inhabitants of Samaria, Surely mourned on account of it hath its people, And its priests on account of it leap about, Because of its honour, for it hath removed from it,
Wo `to' the proud crown of the drunkards of Ephraim. And the fading flower of the beauty of his glory, That `is' on the head of the fat valley of the broken down of wine.
Wo to them, for they wandered from Me, Destruction to them, for they transgressed against Me, And I -- I ransom them, and they have spoken lies against Me,
Gilead `is' a city of workers of iniquity, Slippery from blood. And as bands do wait for a man, A company of priests do murder -- the way to Shechem, For wickedness they have done. In the house of Israel I have seen a horrible thing, There `is' the whoredom of Ephraim -- defiled is Israel.
And their names `are' Aholah the elder, And Aholibah her sister, And they are Mine, and bear sons and daughters. As to their names -- Samaria `is' Aholah, And Jerusalem `is' Aholibah.
We healed Babylon, and she was not healed, Forsake her, and we go, each to his land, For come unto the heavens hath its judgment, And it hath been lifted up unto the clouds.
Who doth give me in a wilderness A lodging-place of travellers? And I leave my people, and go from them, For all of them `are' adulterers, An assembly of treacherous ones. And they bend their tongue, their bow `is' a lie, And not for stedfastness have they been mighty in the land, For from evil unto evil they have gone forth, And Me they have not known, An affirmation of Jehovah! Each of his friend -- beware ye, And on any brother, do not trust, For every brother doth utterly supplant, For every friend slanderously doth walk, And each at his friend they mock, And truth they do not speak, They taught their tongue to speak falsehood, To commit iniquity they have laboured. thy dwelling `is' in the midst of deceit, Through deceit they refused to know Me, An affirmation of Jehovah.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Hosea 7
Commentary on Hosea 7 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 7
In this chapter we have,
Hsa 7:1-7
Some take away the last words of the foregoing chapter, and make them the beginning of this: "When I returned, or would have returned, the captivity of my people, when I was about to come towards them in ways of mercy, even when I would have healed Israel, then the iniquity of Ephraim (the country and common people) was discovered, and the wickedness of Samaria, the court and the chief city.' Now, in these verses, we may observe,
Hsa 7:8-16
Having seen how vicious and corrupt the court was, we now come to enquire how it is with the country, and we find that to be no better; and no marvel if the distemper that has so seized the head affect the whole body, so that there is no soundness in it; the iniquity of Ephraim is discovered, as well as the sin of Samaria, of the people as well as the princes, of which here are divers instances.