8 Israel hath been swallowed up, Now they have been among nations, As a vessel in which is no delight.
A grief -- a despised broken thing -- is this man Coniah? A vessel in which there is no pleasure? Wherefore have they been cast up and down, He and his seed, Yea, they were cast on to a land that they knew not?
Devoured us, crushed us, hath Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, He hath set us `as' an empty vessel, He hath swallowed us as a dragon, He hath filled his belly with my dainties, He hath driven us away.
`Jehovah giveth thee smitten before thine enemies; in one way thou goest out unto them, and in seven ways dost flee before them, and thou hast been for a trembling to all kingdoms of the earth;
and Jehovah hath scattered thee among all the peoples, from the end of the earth even unto the end of the earth; and thou hast served there other gods which thou hast not known, thou and thy fathers -- wood and stone.
In the twelfth year of Ahaz king of Judah reigned hath Hoshea son of Elah in Samaria, over Israel -- nine years, and he doth the evil thing in the eyes of Jehovah, only, not as the kings of Israel who were before him; against him came up Shalmaneser king of Asshur, and Hoshea is to him a servant, and doth render to him a present. And the king of Asshur findeth in Hoshea a conspiracy, in that he hath sent messengers unto So king of Egypt, and hath not caused a present to go up to the king of Asshur, as year by year, and the king of Asshur restraineth him, and bindeth him in a house of restraint. And the king of Asshur goeth up into all the land, and he goeth up to Samaria, and layeth siege against it three years; in the ninth year of Hoshea hath the king of Asshur captured Samaria, and removeth Israel to Asshur, and causeth them to dwell in Halah, and in Habor, `by' the river Gozan, and `in' the cities of the Medes.
and the king of Asshur removeth Israel to Asshur, and placed them in Halah, and in Habor `by' the river Gozan, and `in' cities of the Medes,
And He hath broken it As the breaking of the potters' bottle, Beaten down -- He doth not spare, Nor is there found, in its beating down, A potsherd to take fire from the burning, And to draw out waters from a ditch.
A scattered sheep is Israel, lions have driven away, At first, devour him did the king of Asshur, And now, at last, broken his bone Hath Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon.
Swallowed up hath the Lord, He hath not pitied any of the pleasant places of Jacob, He hath broken down in His wrath The fortresses of the daughter of Judah, He hath caused to come to the earth, He polluted the kingdom and its princes.
Opened against thee their mouth have all thine enemies, They have hissed, yea, they gnash the teeth, They have said: `We have swallowed `her' up, Surely this `is' the day that we looked for, We have found -- we have seen.'
therefore, prophesy, and thou hast said: Thus said the Lord Jehovah: Because, even because, of desolating, And of swallowing you up from round about, For your being a possession to the remnant of the nations, And ye are taken up on the tip of the tongue, And `are' an evil report of the people.
And in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth, and some to honour, and some to dishonour: if, then, any one may cleanse himself from these, he shall be a vessel to honour, sanctified and profitable to the master -- to every good work having been prepared,
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Hosea 8
Commentary on Hosea 8 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 8
This chapter, as that before, divides itself into the sins and punishments of Israel; every verse almost declares both, and all to bring them to repentance. When they saw the malignant nature of their sin, in the descriptions of that, they could not but be convinced now much it was their duty to repent of what was so bad in itself; and when they saw the mischievous consequences of their sin, in the predictions of them, they could not but see how much it was their interest to repent for the preventing of them.
Hsa 8:1-7
The reproofs and threatenings here are introduced with an order to the prophet to set the trumpet to his mouth (v. 1), thus to call a solemn assembly, that all might take notice of what he had to deliver and take warning by it. He must sound an alarm, must, in God's name, proclaim war with this rebellious nation. An enemy is coming with speed and fury to seize their land, and he must awaken them to expect it. Thus the prophet must do the part of a watchman, that was by sound of trumpet to call the besieged to stand to their arms, when he saw the besiegers making their attack, Eze. 33:3. The prophet must lift up his voice like a trumpet (Isa. 58:1), and the people must hearken to the sound of the trumpet, Jer. 6:17. Now,
Hsa 8:8-14
It was the honour and happiness of Israel that they had but one God to trust to and he all-sufficient in every strait, and but one God to serve, and he well worthy of all their devotions. But it was their sin, and folly, and shame, that they knew not when they were well off, that they forsook their own mercies for lying vanities; for,