Hosea 4 Commentary discusses God bringing charges against Israel. The Lord has a dispute with the inhabitants of Israel because there is no faithfulness, love, or acknowledgment of God in the land. The commentary provides context and analysis of key terms and phrases used by the prophet to convey God's indictment of widespread sin and lack of virtue among the people of Israel.

1. HOSEA 4 COMME TARY
EDITED BY GLE PEASE
The Charge Against Israel
1 Hear the word of the Lord, you Israelites,
because the Lord has a charge to bring
against you who live in the land:
“There is no faithfulness, no love,
no acknowledgment of God in the land.
BAR ES, "
Hear the word of the Lord, ye children of Israel - The prophet begins here, in a
series of pictures as it were, to exhibit the people of Israel to themselves, that they might
know that God did not do without cause all this which He denounced against them.
Here, at the outset, He summons, the whole people, their prophets and priests, before
the judgment seat of God, where God would condescend, Himself to implead them, and
hear, if they had ought in their defense. The title “children of Israel” is, in itself, an
appeal to their gratitude and their conscience, as the title “Christian” among us is an
appeal to us, by Him whose name we bear. Our Lord says, “If ye were Abraham’s
children, ye would do the work’s of Abraham” Joh_8:39; and Paul, “let every one that
nameth the name of Christ, depart from iniquity” 2Ti_2:19.
For the Lord hath a controversy - God wills, in all His dealings with us His
creatures, to prove even to our own consciences, the righteousness of His judgments, so
as to leave us without excuse. Now, through His servants, He shows people their
unrighteousness and His justice; hereafter our Lord, the righteous Judge, will show it
through the book of people’s own consciences.
With the inhabitants of the land - God had given the land to the children of
Israel, on account of the wickedness of these whom He drave out before them. He gave it
to them “that they might observe His statutes and keep His laws” (Ps. 105 ult.). He had
promised that His “Eyes should always be upon it from the beginning of the year unto
the end of the year” Deu_11:12. This land, the scene of those former judgments, given to
them on those conditions (see Deu_4:1, Deu_4:40; Deu_6:21-25, etc.), the land which
God had given to them as their God, they had filled with iniquity.
Because there is no truth, nor mercy - “Truth and mercy” are often spoken of, as
to Almighty God. Truth takes in all which is right, and to which God has bound Himself;
mercy, all beyond, which God does out of His boundless love. When God says of Israel,

2. “there is no truth nor mercy,” He says that there is absolutely none of those two great
qualities, under which He comprises all His own Goodness. “There is no truth,” none
whatever, “no regard for known truth; no conscience, no sincerity, no uprightness; no
truth of words; no truth of promises; no truth in witnessing; no making good in deeds
what they said in words.”
Nor mercy - The word has a wide meaning; it includes all love of one to another, a
love issuing in acts. It includes loving-kindness, piety to parents, natural affection,
forgiveness, tenderness, beneficence, mercy, goodness. The prophet, in declaring the
absence of this grace, declares the absence of all included under it. Whatever could be
comprised under love, whatever feelings are influenced by love, of that there was
nothing.
Nor knowledge of God - The union of right knowledge and wrong practice is
hideous in itself; and it must be especially offensive to Almighty God, that His creatures
should know whom they offend, how they offend Him, and yet, amid and against their
knowledge, choose that which displeases Him. And, on that ground, perhaps, He has so
created us, that when our acts are wrong, our knowledge becomes darkened Rom_1:21.
The “knowledge of God” is not merely to know some things of God, as that He is the
Creator and Preserver of the world and of ourselves. To know things of God is not to
know God Himself. We cannot know God in any respect, unless we are so far made like
unto Him. “Hereby do we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. He
that saith, I know Him, and keepeth not His commandments, is a liar and the truth is
not in him. Every one that loveth is born of’ God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not,
knoweth not God, for God is love” 1Jo_2:3-4; 1Jo_4:7-8.
Knowledge of God being the gift of the Holy Spirit, he who hath not grace, cannot have
that knowledge. A certain degree of speculative knowledge of God, a bad man may have,
as Balaam had by inspiration, and the Pagan who, “when they knew God, glorified Him
not as God.” But even this knowledge is not retained without love. Those who “held the
truth in unrighteousness” ended (Paul says Rom_1:21, Rom_1:18, Rom_1:28) by
corrupting it. “They did not like to retain God in their knowledge, and so God gave them
over to a reprobate,” or undistinguishing mind, that they could not. Certainly, the
speculative and practical knowledge are bound up together, through the oneness of the
relation of the soul to God, whether in its thoughts of Him, or its acts toward Him.
Wrong practice corrupts belief, as misbelief corrupts practice. The prophet then
probably denies that there was any true knowledge of God, of any sort, whether of life or
faith or understanding or love. Ignorance of God, then, is a great evil, a source of all
other evils.
CLARKE, "The Lord hath a controversy - ‫ריב‬ rib, what we should call a lawsuit,
in which God is plaintiff, and the Israelites defendants. It is Jehovah versus Israel and
Judah.
But when has God a controversy with any land? - Answer. When there is no truth, nor
mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land. These refer to the minds of the people. But
wherever these righteous principles are wanting, there will soon be a vicious practice;
hence it is added,
GILL, "Hear the word of the Lord, ye children of Israel,.... The people of the ten

3. tribes, as distinct from Judah, Hos_4:15, the prophet having finished his parables he
was ordered to take up and deliver, and his explanations of them, and concluded with a
gracious promise of the conversion of the Jews in the latter day, enters upon a new
discourse, which begins with reproof for various sins; since what had been delivered in
parables and types had had no effect upon them, they are called upon to hear what the
Lord would say to them by the prophet, in more clear and express terms; silence is
ordered, and attention required to what follows:
for the Lord hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land; the land of
Israel; against him they had sinned, before him they stood guilty; he had something, yea,
many things, against them; a charge is brought into open court, the indictment is read,
an answer must be made: God is the antagonist, that moves and brings on the
controversy in a judicial way, and who can answer him for one of a thousand? or stand
before him, or in court with him, when he marks iniquity? the charge is as follows,
because there is no truth; none that do or speak truth; that are true and faithful
men, true to their word, and faithful to their trust; no truth of grace in them, nor truth of
doctrine held and received by them; truth failed from among them, and none were
valiant for it; no truth or civil faith with respect to men, nor any truth of word or worship
with respect to God:
nor mercy: to poor and indigent creatures; no compassion shown them; no offices of
humanity or acts of beneficence exercised towards them; though these are more
desirable by the Lord than, and are preferred by him to, all ceremonial sacrifices, Hos_
6:6, or no piety, religion, godliness, powerful godliness, which has the promise of this
life, and that to come:
nor knowledge of God in the land; in the land of Israel, where God was used to be
known; where he had been worshipped; were his word had been dispensed, and his
prophets had been sent, and his saints that knew him, and his mind and will, formerly
had dwelt; but now a company of atheists, at least that lived as such, and had no true
spiritual saving knowledge of God, and communion with him; they had not true love to
him, nor a godly reverence of him, which this implies; and that was the source of all the
wickedness committed by them, afterwards expressed. The Targum is,
"there are none that do truth, nor dispense mercy, nor walk in the fear of the Lord, in the
land.''
HE RY, "Here is, I. The court set, and both attendance and attention demanded:
“Hear the word of the Lord, you children of Israel, for to you is the word of this
conviction sent, whether you will hear or whether you will forbear.” Whom may God
expect to give him a fair hearing, and take from him a fair warning, but the children of
Israel, his own professing people? Yea, they will be ready enough to hear when God
speaks comfortably to them; but are they willing to hear when he has a controversy with
them? Yes, they must hear him when he pleads against them, when he has something to
lay to their charge: The Lord has a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, of this
land, of this holy land. Note, Sin is the great mischief-maker; it sows discord between
God and Israel. God sees sin in his own people, and a good action he has against them
for it. Some more particular actions lie against his own people, which do not lie against
other sinners. He has a controversy with them for breaking covenant with him, for
bringing a reproach upon him, and for an ungrateful return to him for his favours. God's

4. controversy will be pleaded, pleaded by the judgments of his mouth before they are
pleaded by the judgments of his hand, that he may be justified in all he does and may
make it appear that he desires not the death of sinners; and God's pleadings ought to be
attended to, for, sooner or later, they shall have a hearing.
II. The indictment read, by which the whole nation stands charged with crimes of a
heinous nature, by which God is highly provoked. 1. They are charged with national
omissions of the most important duties: There is no truth nor mercy, neither justice nor
charity, these most weighty matters of the law, as our Saviour accounts them (Mat_
23:23), judgment, mercy, and faith. The generality of the people seemed to have no
sense at all of the thing called honesty; they made no conscience of what they said and
did, though ever so contrary to the truth and injurious to their neighbour. Much less had
they any sense of mercy, or any obligation they were under to pity and help the poor.
And it is not strange that there is no truth and mercy when there is no knowledge of God
in the land. What good can be expected where there is no knowledge of God? It was the
privilege of that land that in Israel God was made known, and his name was great,
which was an aggravation of their sin, that they did not know him, Psa_76:1.
JAMISO , "Hos_4:1-19. Henceforth the prophet speaks plainly and without
symbol, in terse, sententious propositions.
In this chapter he reproves the people and priests for their sins in the interregnum
which followed Jeroboam’s death; hence there is no mention of the king or his family;
and in Hos_4:2 bloodshed and other evils usual in a civil war are specified.
Israel — the ten tribes.
controversy — judicial ground of complaint (Isa_1:18; Jer_25:31; Mic_6:2).
no ... knowledge of God — exhibited in practice (Jer_22:16).
ELLICOTT, "Here commences a new part in the collection of Hosea’s prophecies.
The entire chapter is one terrible series of accusations, supporting the severe
character of the imagery already employed. It is difficult to assign it to any
particular period. It may have been composed during the years that immediately
succeeded the reign of Jeroboam II. Ewald divides it into four strophes: Hosea 4:1-
5; Hosea 4:6-10; Hosea 4:11-14; Hosea 4:15-19. The first two expand the former
part of the reproach conveyed in Hosea 4:1-2; Hosea 4:11-14 point to the
licentiousness of Israel; while in Hosea 4:15-19 judgment is pronounced.
Verse 1
(1) Controversy.—A judicial suit, in which Jehovah is plaintiff as well as judge
(Isaiah 1:23; Isaiah 41:21). By the “children of Israel” we are to understand the
northern kingdom of the ten tribes, as distinguished from Judah.
Mercy.—Better rendered love. The Hebrew word chésed expresses (1) the love of
God for Israel under covenant relationship; (2) the corresponding quality in man
exhibited to God or towards his fellow-men. (See Hupfeld on Psalms 4:4; and Duhm,
Theologie der Propheten, p. 100.)
CALVI , "Verse 1
This is a new discourse by the Prophet, separate from his former discourses. We

5. must bear in mind that the Prophets did not literally write what they delivered to
the people, nor did they treat only once of those things which are now extant with
us; but we have in their books collected summaries and heads of those matters
which they were wont to address to the people. Hosea, no doubt, very often
descanted on the exile and the restoration of the people, forasmuch as he dwelt
much on all the things which we have hitherto noticed. Indeed, the slowness and
dullness of the people were such, that the same things were repeated daily. But it
was enough for the Prophets to make and to write down a brief summary of what
they taught in their discourses.
Hosea now relates how vehemently he reproved the people, because every kind of
corruption so commonly prevailed, that there was no sound part in the whole
community. We hence see what the Prophet treats of now; and this ought to be
observed, for hypocrites wish ever to be flattered; and when the mercy of God is
offered to them, they seek to be freed from every fear. It is therefore a bitter thing to
them, when threatening are mingled, when God sharply chides them. “What! we
heard yesterday a discourse on God’s mercy, and now he fulminates against us. He
is then changeable; if he were consistent, would not his manner of teaching be alike
and the same today?” But men must be often awakened, for forgetfulness of God
often creeps over them; they indulge themselves, and nothing is more difficult than
to lead them to God; nay, when they have made some advances, they soon turn aside
to some other course.
We hence see that men cannot be taught, except God reproves their sins by his
word; and then, lest they despond, gives them a hope of mercy; and except he again
returns to reproofs and threatening. This is the mode of address which we find in all
the Prophets.
I now come to the Prophet’s words: Hear, he says, the word of Jehovah, ye children
of Israel, the Lord has a dispute, etc. The Prophet, by saying that the Lord had a
dispute with the inhabitants of the land, intimates that men in vain flatter
themselves, when they have God against them, and that they shall soon find him to
be their Judge, except they in time anticipate his vengeance. But he also reminds the
Israelites that God had a dispute with them, that they might not have to feel the
severity of justice, but reconcile themselves to God, while a seasonable opportunity
was given them. Then the Prophet’s introduction had this object in view — to make
the Israelites to know that God would be adverse to them, except they sought,
without delay, to regain his favor. The Lord then, since he declared that he would
contend with them, shows that he was not willing to do so. for had God determined
to punish the people, what need was there of this warning? Could he not instantly
execute judgment on them? Since, then, the Prophet was sent to the children of
Israel to warn them of a great and fatal danger, God had still a regard for their
safety: and doubtless this warning prevailed with many; for those who were
alarmed by this denunciation humbled themselves before God, and hardened not
themselves in wickedness: and the reprobate, though not amended, were yet
rendered twice less excusable.

6. The same is the case among us, whenever God threatens us with judgment: they who
are not altogether intractable or unhealable, confess their guilt, and deprecate God’s
wrath; and others, though they harden their hearts in wickedness, cannot yet
quench the power of truth; for the Lord takes from them every pretext for
ignorance, and conscience wounds them more deeply, after they have been thus
warned
We now then understand what the Prophet meant by saying, that God had a dispute
with the inhabitants of the land. But that the Prophet’s intention may be more clear
to us, we must bear in mind, that he and other faithful teachers were wearied with
crying, and that in the meantime no fruit appeared. He saw that his warnings were
heedlessly despised, and that hence his last resort was to summon men to God’s
tribunal. We also are constrained, when we prevail nothing, to follow the same
course: “God will judge you; for no one will bear to be judged by his word:
whatever we announce to you in his name, is counted a matter of sport: he himself
at length will show that he has to do with you.” In a similar strain does Zechariah
speak,
‘They shall look on him whom they have pierced,’
(Zechariah 12:10 :)
and to the same purpose does Isaiah say, that the Spirit of the Lord was made sad.
‘Is it not enough,’ he says, ‘that ye should be vexatious to men, except ye be so also
to my God?’ (Isaiah 7:13.)
The Prophet joined himself with God; for the ungodly king Ahab, by tempting God,
did at the same time trifle with his Prophets.
There is then here an implied contrast between the dispute which God announces
respecting the Israelites, and the daily strifes he had with them by his Prophets. For
this reason also the Lord said,
‘My Spirit shall no more strive with man, for he is flesh,’
(Genesis 6:3.)
God indeed says there, that he had waited in vain for men to return to the right
way; for they were refractory beyond any hope of repentance: he therefore
declared, that he would presently punish them. So also in this place, ‘“The Lord has
a trial at law”; he will now himself plead his own cause: he has hitherto long
exercised his Prophets in contending with you; yea, he has wearied them with much
and continual labour; ye remain ever like yourselves; he will therefore begin now to
plead effectually his own cause with you: he will no more speak to you by the
mouth, but by his power, show himself a judge.’ The Prophet, however, designedly
laid down the word, dispute, that the Israelites might know that God would severely
treat them, not without cause, nor unjustly, as though he said, “God will so punish
you as to show at the same time that he will do so for the best reason: ye elude all

7. threatenings; ye think that you can make yourselves safe by your shifts: there are no
evasions by which you can possibly hope to attain any thing; for God will at length
uncover all your wickedness.” In short, the Prophet here joins punishment with
God’s justice, or he points out by one word, a real (so to speak) or an effectual
contention, by which the Lord not only reproves men in words, but also visits with
judgment their sins.
It follows, Because there is no truth, no kindness, no knowledge of God. The dispute,
he said, was to be with the inhabitants of the land: by the inhabitants of the land, he
means the whole body of the people; as though he said, “ ot a few men have become
corrupt, but all kinds of wickedness prevail everywhere.” And for the same reason
he adds, that there was no truth”, etc. in the land; as though he said, “They who sin
hide not themselves now in lurking-places; they seek no recesses, like those who are
ashamed; but so much licentiousness is everywhere dominant, that the whole land is
filled with the contempt of God and with crimes.” This was a severe reproof to
proud men. How much the Israelites flattered themselves, we know; it was therefore
necessary for the Prophet to speak thus sharply to a refractory people; for a gentle
and kind warning proves effectual only to the meek and teachable. When the world
grows hardened against God, such a rigorous treatment as the words of the Prophet
disclose must be used. Let those then, to whom is intrusted the charge of teaching,
see that they do not gently warn men, when hardened in their vices; but let them
follow this vehemence of the Prophet.
We said at the beginning, that the Prophet had a good reason for being so warm in
his indignation: he was not at the moment foolishly carried away by the heat of zeal;
but he knew that he had to do with men so perverse, that they could not be handled
in any other way. The Prophet now reproves not only one kind of evil, but brings
together every sort of crimes; as though he said, that the Israelites were in every way
corrupt and perverted. He says first, that there was among them no faithfulness,
and no kindness. He speaks here of their contempt of the second table of the law; for
by this the impiety of men is sooner found out, that is, when an examination is made
of their life: for hypocrites vauntingly profess the name of God, and confidently
(plenis buccis — with full cheeks) arrogate faith to themselves; and then they cover
their vices with the external show of divine worship, and frigid acts of devotion: nay,
the very thing mentioned by Jeremiah is too commonly the case, that
‘the house of God is made a den of thieves,’
(Jeremiah 7:11.)
Hence the Prophets, that they might drag the ungodly to the light, examine their
conduct according to the duties of love: “Ye are right worshipers of God, ye are
most holy; but in the meantime, where is truth, where is mutual faithfulness, where
is kindness? If ye are not men, how can ye be angels? Ye are given to avarice, ye are
perfidious, ye are cruel: what more can be said of you, except that each of you
condemns all the rest before God, and that your life is also condemned by all?’
By saying that truth or faithfulness was extinct, he makes them to be like foxes, who

8. are ever deceitful: by saying that there was no kindness, he accuses them of cruelty,
as though he said, that they were like lions and wild beasts. But the fountain of all
these vices he points out in the third clause, when he says, that they had no
knowledge of God: and the knowledge of God he takes for the fear of God which
proceeds from the knowledge of him; as though he said, “In a word, men go on as
licentiously, as if they did not think that there is a God in heaven, as if all religion
was effaced from their hearts.” For as long as any knowledge of God remains in us,
it is like a bridle to restrain us: but when men become wanton, and allow themselves
every liberty, it is certain that they have forgotten God, and that there is in them
now no knowledge of God. Hence the complaints in the Psalms,
‘The ungodly have said in their heart, There is no God,’
(Psalms 14:1 :)
‘Impiety speaks in my heart, There is no God.’ Men cannot run headlong into brutal
stupidity, while a spark of the true knowledge of God shines or twinkles in their
minds. We now then perceive the real meaning of the Prophet.
BE SO , "Verse 1
Hosea 4:1. Hear the word of the Lord, ye children of Israel — “The prophet here
begins a third discourse, which is manifestly distinct from the preceding, both as to
matter and manner. He was before predicting what should happen in future times,
by way of prophetic vision; here he reproves those of the present time for such sins
as then reigned among them; such as provoked God to send on them and their
posterity the judgments foretold in the former chapter.” He seems to be addressing
chiefly the Israelites of the ten tribes, though not exclusively, his reproofs and
exhortations being so formed and expressed as to suit the case of the Jews also. For
the Lord hath a controversy, &c. — Hebrew, ‫,ריב‬ a cause, contention, or matter of
debate. The LXX. render the word, κρισις, judgment, or dispute; and so the
Vulgate. The expression is taken from the actions, or pleas, which one man brings
against another, for injuries or damages received: so here God is represented as
entering into judgment, or bringing a plea, or complaint, against the people of the
ten tribes, for their injustice and other sins, as being so many injuries to his honour,
for which he demands satisfaction. The other prophets bring the same charges
against this people, as we find from their writings. Because there is no truth, &c. —
o faithfulness in their minds, words, or works; they cover falsehood with fair
words, till they can conveniently execute their designed frauds. It appears they had
no sense of moral honesty; made no conscience of what they said or did, though
never so contrary to uprightness, and injurious to their neighbours. Much less had
they any sense of mercy, or of the obligation they were under to help the indigent
and necessitous. There was neither compassion nor beneficence among them; they
neither pitied nor relieved any. or knowledge of God in the land — Here we have
the cause of their want of integrity and benevolence: they had not the true and
saving knowledge of God, they were neither acquainted with him, nor with his will,
and their own duty: hence they were destitute of true piety, and therefore also of
true virtue.

9. COFFMA , "Verse 1
This chapter opens the last section of the prophecy in which the same themes recur
again and again. The guilt of the nation is stressed (Hosea 4:1-3), with particular
attention to the guilt of the priests (Hosea 4:4-8), the prophecy of punishment for all
(Hosea 4:9-10), and an elaboration of the immoral practices in their religion (Hosea
4:11-19). The terminology of the chapter, especially in the first three verses, is
technical and legal.
"The source of the forms is legal procedure as practiced in Israel's court, and their
use has the effect of putting the entire nation on trial."[1]
In this accusation and arraignment of Israel, it is God Himself who makes the
charges and pronounces the judgment. The crime of Israel which forms the burden
of God's formal charge against the nation is a specific one: "It is a breach of
contract!"[2] The sacred covenant that God had made with the chosen people had
been wantonly violated and repudiated; and the specifics of it are spelled out by
Hosea's delivery of God's message to the rebellious nation. "One could literally
translate part of Hosea 4:1 as, `The Lord has a lawsuit with the inhabitants of the
land.'"[3] The whole thrust of this chapter and of the whole prophecy of Hosea
presupposes prior relationship between God and Israel; and, without this basic
prior condition assumed by Hosea, his prophecy would have little meaning. As
Harper said:
"A relationship has existed between Yahweh and Israel, the terms of which Israel
has not observed ... There is every reason to suppose that the Decalogue in its
original form was at this time in existence."[4]
Hosea 4:1
"Hear the word of Jehovah, ye children of Israel; for Jehovah hath a controversy
with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth, nor goodness, nor
knowledge of God in the land."
Hosea moved at once to make clear what had been signified already in his own
tragic marriage, which had been providentially designed to portray that which was
happening upon a far greater scale in the life of the entire nation. The terrible
message had already been spelled out by what had happened in the case of Gomer.
Her infidelity resulted in her leaving her husband; and when she had been reduced
to a state of slavery as a result of her sins, Hosea bought her back, not for the
purpose of remarrying her, but with the purpose of reducing her to the status of a
servant retained without conjugal rights of any kind, and in certain areas required
to do his will without regard to her own inclinations. God inspired Hosea to recount
the sordid details of his marriage as a warning to Israel, and as a symbol of what
would happen to the nation; but in this chapter and to the end of Hosea, God
dropped any further use of allegory and spelled it out dramatically in the plainest
and most literal language possible.
This verse announces a change of status for Israel, once the chosen bride of Yahweh,

10. but now no longer a bride but an adversary.
"Jehovah hath a controversy with the inhabitants ..." God appears here not as the
beloved husband of the chosen nation but as their opponent.
"Because there is no truth ..." God had not changed, but Israel had changed.
Having once known the true God, they knew him no more, having forsaken him to
worship the old pagan gods of the land of Canaan. Perhaps, "There were some
righteous people left; but they were few, and they hid themselves from the face of
the multitude who were wicked."[5] The "truth" which was missing from Israel was
the knowledge of God and of his revealed will, which is the only dependable,
objective standard of "truth" the world has ever known. Truth, God's truth, is the
only basis of morality, order, and trust that has ever proved effective. Morality
cannot be subjectively determined. Morality cannot be either determined or
perpetuated upon humanistic considerations. Morality can not be predicated upon
merely intellectual and philosophical premises. Either God's truth is received and
honored, or immorality, shame and debauchery are the inevitable alternative. Israel
had chosen that awful alternative; and, as Butler stated it:
"When the divine standard of truth, God's revealed word, is rejected, moral and
political suicide is the result. This is exactly what happened to Israel in Hosea's time,
and to Judah in Jeremiah's time, complete moral and political anarchy. The same
will happen to any nation that rejects God's Word, the Bible!"[6]
"The ultimate cause of the decline and final collapse of every nation or civilization
has been moral and spiritual rather than material."[7] The word here rendered
"truth" is translated as "faithfulness" in some versions; and the term certainly
includes the sense of "truth obeyed"; but "faithfulness" has the weakness of leaving
open the question of "faithfulness to what?" "Truth" is to be preferred here.
" or knowledge of God in the land ..." All of the vain efforts of some expositors to
defend the notion that the true God of Israel was actually being worshipped any
longer in the orthern Kingdom are defeated in this simple statement. The
knowledge of God had disappeared in Israel, despite the fact of some pagan
worshippers using his sacred name alongside that of their pagan idols. Knowing
God in the Biblical sense means an active and obedient knowledge that consciously
conforms to the teaching of God's Word. People who "obey not the gospel of our
Lord Jesus Christ" are one in every sense with the people "who know not God" (2
Thessalonians 1:7-9).
COKE, "Verse 1
Hosea 4:1. Hear the word of the Lord, &c.— The prophet here begins a third
discourse, according to the rabbies; which is manifestly distinct from the preceding,
both as to the matter and manner. He was before predicting what should happen in
future times, by way of prophetic vision; here he reproves those of the present time
for such sins as then reigned among them; such as provoked God to send on them
and their posterity the judgments foretold in the former chapter. The word
controversy is forensic, and alludes to the actions of suits which one person has

11. against another for injuries or damages received. So the Almighty is here
represented as entering into judgment with the inhabitants of the ten tribes for their
impieties, as being so many injuries to his honour, for which he demands
satisfaction. The reader will find the same evils objected against this people by other
prophets.
TRAPP, "Verse 1
Hosea 4:1 Hear the word of the LORD, ye children of Israel: for the LORD hath a
controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because [there is] no truth, nor mercy,
nor knowledge of God in the land.
Ver. 1. Hear the word of the Lord] This is the beginning of a new sermon, or
judicial act of God against the ten tribes, which are here convented, convinced,
sentenced. It begins with an Oyez, like that of St Paul, Acts 13:16, "Men of Israel,
and ye that fear God" (if any such be in so general a defection), "give audience." Ye
have heard God’s mind before parabolically delivered and in types; now hear it in
plain terms, that you may "see and understand and be converted, and I may heal
you." Hear, and your souls shall live. Hear him that speaketh from heaven, even
that excellent speaker as he is called, Daniel 10:4-9, that arch-prophet, whom ye are
bound to hear, Deuteronomy 18:18, Matthew 17:5, upon pain of death, Hebrews
12:25, the Lord Christ I mean, who speaketh with authority, and is mighty in word
and deed, Acts 10:36. He it was whom Isaiah saw upon his throne, and heard
speaking, John 12:41. And it is a rule in divinity, that where the Old Testament
bringeth in God appearing and speaking to the patriarchs, prophets, and people, it
is to be understood of the Second Person. "Hear, therefore, and give ear; be not
proud: for the Lord hath spoken it," Jeremiah 13:15. "The lion hath roared, who
will not fear?" Amos 3:8. The Lord God hath spoken, who can but hear and fear,
humble and tremble?
Ye children of Israel] But oh, how altogether unlike your father! Even as unlike as
Jehoiakim (that degenerate plant) was to his father, Josiah, that "plant of renown,"
Ezekiel 34:29. His heart melted when he heard the law, 2 Chronicles 34:18-19, but
Jehoiakim cut it with a penknife and cast it into the fire, Jeremiah 36:23. These
were Israel’s children, and named "the house of Jacob," as those in Micah 2:7; but
an empty title yields but an empty comfort at last. Is the spirit of the Lord
straitened? (saith the prophet there;) were these Jacob’s doings? Do not my words
do good to him that walketh uprightly? Were you Israelites indeed, I should not
thus lose my sweet words upon you; but you would incline your ears and come unto
me, Isaiah 55:3, hear as for life itself: especially since I am sent unto you (as once
Ahijah was to Jeroboam’s wife, 1 Kings 14:6) with heavy tidings, with such a
citation or process from heaven as may well be unto you as Samuel’s message was to
Eli, that made both his ears to tingle; or as the handwriting was to Balthasar, that
made his knees knock together.
For the Lord hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land] The former title

12. (children of Israel) was too good for them: they had disgraced their father’s family,
and were therefore (Reuben-like) fallen from their dignity. They shall henceforth be
called the inhabitants of the land, as the wicked are called, Revelation 12:12, in
opposition to "the heavens and those that dwell therein," the burgesses of the new
Jerusalem. Abraham had seed of two sorts, some were as the dust of the earth,
Genesis 13:16, others as the stars of heaven, Genesis 15:5. And all are not Israel that
are of Israel, Romans 9:6. Multi sacerdotes et pauci sacerdotes, saith Chrysostom.
There are many ministers, and yet but few; many in name, but few in deed,
workmen that need not be ashamed; omen inane, crimea immane. It was cold
comfort to Dives in flames, that Abraham called him son; or to Judas, that Christ
called him friend; or to these rebellious Jews, that God sometimes called them his
people, and had rooted out the cursed Canaanites to make room for them, when as
they lived in God’s good land, but not by God’s good laws. For which cause the
Lord hath here a controversy with them, a suit at law; and being himself both
plaintiff and judge, he is sure to cast them; yea, to cast them out of that good land as
evil tenants ( Malae fidei possessores), that should hold no longer: for, Hosea 4:3, he
threateneth to plead against them, non verbis sed verberibus, with pestilence and
with blood, as Ezekiel 38:22, to make them say, as Isaiah 45:9, "Woe to him that
striveth with his Maker," that hath him for his adversary at law; such a one is sure
to be undone unless he agree with him quickly, Matthew 5:25, while he is yet in the
way with him, and before he be brought to the tribunal. "For even our God is a
consuming fire," Hebrews 12:29; his tribunal also is of fire, Ezekiel 1:27, his
pleading with sinners "in flames of fire," 2 Thessalonians 1:7, the trial of men’s
works shall be by fire, 1 Corinthians 3:13, the place of punishment a lake of fire fed
with a river of brimstone, Isaiah 30:33. O pray, therefore, and prevent, that God
enter not into judgment with us: for if so, no man living shall be justified in his
sight. God’s people may have and shall be sure to have the devil an adversary at law
against them, as St Peter’s word, αντιδικος, signifies, 1 Peter 5:8. The accuser of the
brethren he is called, which accuseth them before God day and night, Revelation
12:12. But him they may resist stedfast in the faith, and recover cost and charges of
him, as I may so say; for they have Christ to appear for them in heaven, Hebrews
9:24, as a lawyer for his client, 1 John 2:2, to thwart all the devil’s accusations. The
Spirit also (as a paracletus or advocate) maketh request for them to God in their
hearts, and helpeth them to make apologies for themselves, 2 Corinthians 7:11.
Again, "If a man sin against another, the judge shall judge him," saith old Eli to his
wicked sons; that is, the umpire may come and take up the controversy and put an
end to the quarrel. "But if a man have sinned against the Lord, who shall entreat
for him?" 1 Samuel 2:29. Who dare be his daysman? no mediation of man can make
his peace; no reconciliation can be here hoped for, but by running from God as a
Judge, to God as a Father in Christ. Let men, therefore, be wrought upon by the
reprehensions of God’s faithful ministers, by whom he appealeth and impeacheth
them. If they stand out as the old world did against that preacher of righteousness,
by whom he went and preached to those spirits now in prison (because they would
not take up the matter in time, but futured and fooled away their own salvation), he
will break off his patience, and say, as Genesis 6:3, "My Spirit shall not always
strive with these men, for that they also are flesh," &c., and are therefore the worse,
because they ought to be better ( Ideo deteriores quia meliores esse debebant);

13. therefore they shall fare the worse, because they would be no better. I have hewed
them by my prophets, Hosea 6:5, but can make no good work of them. Like ill
timber, they fall to splinters; and like ill stones, they crumble all to gravel; they are
therefore fitter for the highway and chimney corner then for my building. My Spirit
shall therefore strive no more with these perverse persons, either by preaching,
disputing, convincing, &c., in the mouth of my ministers; or in their own minds and
consciences, by inward checks and motions, which they reject, refusing to be
reformed, hating to be healed. I will take away my Spirit, and silence my prophets
(as he doth Hosea 4:4), and resolve upon their utter ruin; since there is no good to be
done upon them. See Hosea 4:17. {See Trapp on "Hosea 4:17"} Currat ergo
poenitentia, ne praecurrat sententia, &c.
Because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land] Lo, here
the charge: and "knowing the judgment of God," you must needs say that "those
that commit such things are worthy of death," Romans 1:32. For "if the word
spoken by angels" (the law given by angels in the hand of Moses a mediator) "were
stedfast, and every transgression and disobedience" (that is, every commission and
omission) "received a just recompense of reward," Hebrews 2:2, how should these
miscreants escape, that had left off to do good? and for evil, they did it with both
hands earnestly; for the second table of the law, it is articled against them (for
matter of omission or defect) that there was "neither truth nor mercy in the land";
and for the first table, that there was no sound "knowledge of God" there; and,
consequently, no care of God, either inward or outward worship: for there can be
neither faith, nor repentance, nor due obedience yielded to an unknown God. A
Samaritan service there may be ("ye worship ye know not what," John 4:22), but
not a rational service, Romans 12:1, such as whereof a man can render a reason.
ow God will not have a blind sacrifice, Malachi 1:8, 1 Chronicles 28:9; it is
worthless that men are virtuous, unless they join to their virtue knowledge, 2 Peter
1:5; nor that they offer sacrifice, if they bring the "sacrifice of fools," Ecclesiastes
5:1. Those must needs be "abominable and disobedient" that are to "every good
work reprobate," injudicious, as the word signifies, Titus 1:11; and what marvel
though men be "alienated from the life of God" (or a godly life), "through the
ignorance that is in them?" Ephesians 4:18. But let us take the words in order.
"There is no truth." Here God declareth against them (as lawyers do against
offenders in court), and not for trifles, but first for want of truth or trustiness in
word and deed; without which human society is but funiculus ex arena, a rope of
sand, or arena sine calce, sand without lime, it cannot hold together. It was an old
complaint of the prophets, that "Truth was fallen in the streets, and faithfulness
failed from among the children of men," Isaiah 59:14, Psalms 12:1. When Varus
was slain Augustus grieved excessively; and that because non esset a quo verum
audiret, he had none about him that would tell him the truth of things, and deal
plainly with him. Multis annis iam transactis, nulla fides est in pactis, &c. Jeremiah
bewails it in his treacherous countrymen, that they "bent their tongues like their
bows for lies; but they were not valiant for the truth on the earth," Jeremiah 9:3;
they were mendaciorum loquaeissimi (as Tertullian phraseth it), loud and lewd
liars, and (as Hegesippus saith of Pilate) they were viri nequam et pravi facientes

14. mendacium, naughty men, and such as made nothing of a lie. But God’s people are
said to be "children that will not lie," Isaiah 63:8, they are φιλαληθεις, lovers of
truth, which was the title of honour given to Arrian, the Greek historian; whereas of
all other historians Vopiscus testifieth, that there is none qui non aliquid est
mentitus, that taketh not the liberty to lie more or less. And for slipperiness in
contracts and covenants nothing is more common among men; it is counted a
peccadillo. But the God of truth, the faithful and true witness, as Christ is called,
counteth it not so. See Ezekiel 17:15-21, 1 Timothy 4:2, 2 Timothy 3:3. There are
those who take truth here for justice, according to Zechariah 8:16, and so it suits
well with that which followeth.
or mercy] These two are set together, Micah 6:8 (to do justly, and to love mercy),
as the sum of the second table. Mouth mercy there was enough, such as was that in
St James’ days, James 2:15-16. "But there is not any one that taketh Zion by the
hand," Isaiah 51:18, that "draweth out his soul to the hungry, and dealeth his bread
to such," Isaiah 58:7; Isaiah 58:10. Sodom hath fulness of bread, but would part
with none to strengthen the hands of the poor and needy, Ezekiel 16:49. Therefore
she had "judgment without mercy," that had showed no mercy, James 2:13.
Whereas Tyre, when once she left heaping and hoarding, and brought forth her
merchandise for them that dwell before the Lord to "eat sufficiently," and for
"durable clothing," Isaiah 23:18, is renowned and reckoned among those that came
to Christ with their desirable things, as some read that text, Haggai 2:7. Colligent
omnes suos thesauros (so Calvin readeth it), they shall come with strong affections,
with large contributions, as those primitive saints did, Acts 4:34. The same Hebrew
word, chasid, signifieth both saint and merciful; and it comes of chesed, the word
here rendered mercy, or bounty. The tender mercies of the Almighty shed forth
abundantly upon such, leave a compassionate frame upon their hearts, as in the
jailer, Acts 16:33. Their thoughts, steeped in the mercies they have received, are
dyed of the same colour as cloth is in the dye fat, Colossians 3:12. This text, after no
mercy, fitly adds,
or knowledge of God in the land] Heb. "And no knowledge of God": or, "because
there is no knowledge of God in the land." Did men but know God savingly, had
they but tasted and seen how good the Lord is, they would not be so hide bound, and
strait handed to their poor brethren; but "ready to distribute, willing to
communicate," 1 Timothy 6:18. They are the "dark places of the earth" that are
"full of the habitations of cruelty," Psalms 74:20. But in the kingdom of Christ they
"shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain," saith the Lord: and why?
"For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the
sea," Isaiah 11:9. St Paul thanks his ignorance for his persecutions and blasphemy,
1 Timothy 1:13, and resolves the sin of those killers of Christ into their "not
knowing of him," 1 Corinthians 2:8. Surely as toads and serpents grow in dark and
dirty cellars, so doth all sin and wickedness in an ignorant and blind soul. Hence, in
this text, after "no knowledge of God in the land," followeth that black bead roll of
abominations in the next verse: "By swearing, and lying, and killing, and stealing,"

15. &c. As blind alehouses are sinks and sources of all villany, so are blind hearts.
In the land] Though it were a land of light, a very Goshen in comparison to the rest
of the world; though in Judah was God known, and his name great in Israel, Psalms
76:1; men may remain grossly ignorant amidst a multitude of means, and "in a land
of righteousness deal unjustly": and why? they will not behold the majesty of the
Lord, Isaiah 26:10. They will not see. They are "willingly ignorant," saith St Peter:
Ut liberius peccent libenter ignorant, saith Bernard. They "hate the light," saith our
Saviour, John 3:20, 2 Peter 2:1-22; it "is unto them as the shadow of death," saith
Job, Job 24:17. Hence they shut the windows, lest it should shine upon them; or if it
do, they rebel against it, rush against it, as bats do against torches in the night. That
light they have by nature, or otherwise (as a prophet from God), they detain and
imprison in unrighteousness, Romans 1:18. Their knowledge of God, if any, is only
apprehensive, and not affective, cognoscitiva, non vitae directiva, enlightening, not
transforming into the same image, so as to make them children of light: it is notional
knowledge, not experimental and practical. Hence such outrages in their lives, such
errors and enormities:
PETT, "Verse 1
‘Hear the word of YHWH, you children of Israel, for YHWH has a controversy
(legal grounds of dispute) with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth,
nor covenant love, nor knowledge of God in the land.’
Hosea, addressing the ‘children of Israel’ (Israel is to be their mother in Hosea 4:5),
commences the passage by pointing out that he has received ‘the word of YHWH’,
and that it is a word that indicates that YHWH has a charge to lay against all who
live in the land. Israel here indicates the northern kingdom. And the basis of the
charge is rooted in the fact that there is no truth/truthfulness in the land and no
compassion towards the poor and needy (chesed is love in accordance with the
covenant). And underlying this is the lack of the knowledge of God in the land.
Because they do not know God in all that He is, they are without truth and honesty,
and without compassion. For God is the God of truth and compassion.
‘In the land.’ Such was their lack of gratitude and appreciation of what He had
done that they had no knowledge of God in the very land that God had given them
as an inheritance. Thus the land would mourn (Hosea 4:3), and they themselves
would finally be removed from the land because they no longer deserved it.
Verses 1-3
ISRAEL’S LOVE AFFAIR WITH IDOLS A D WITH ASSYRIA IS OW
DEPICTED A D WAR I GS GIVE OF WHAT WILL BE THE
CO SEQUE CE FOR THEM, A D THIS TOGETHER WITH A REMI DER
THAT IF THEY RETUR TO HIM HE CA PROVIDE ALL THAT BAAL
PROVIDES A D MORE (Hosea 4:1 to Hosea 6:3).
Having illustrated Israel’s position in terms of an adulterous and unfaithful wife,
Hosea now charges Israel more directly with their sins, and warns them of what the

16. consequences will be if they do not repent and turn back to YHWH. These words
were probably mainly spoken during the earlier phases of his ministry in the times
of Jeroboam II and Menahem.
Verses 1-5
YHWH’s Indictment Of Israel And Warning Of The Consequences (Hosea 4:1-5).
YHWH now charges ‘the people (children) of Israel’ with being bereft of all truth
and compassion because of their lack of the knowledge of YHWH. In consequence
they are breaching all the commandments, and engaging in widespread bloodshed,
and the final result is that the whole land is suffering through severe drought. But
they are in no position to lay charges against YHWH with respect to this, for they
are disqualified as being like ‘strivers with the priests’, that is, as being like
anarchists, those who reject and despise the verdicts of their own supreme court. In
other words they are lawless. That is why they and the prophets to whom they listen
will stumble by day and night, and Israel itself (their mother) will be destroyed.
For ‘hear the word of YHWH’ (Hosea 4:1) compare ‘hear this, O you priests, and
listen you house of Israel, and give ear O house of the king --’ (Hosea 5:1). This
would seem to confirm that chapter 4 is a separate oracle by itself.
Analysis of Hosea 4:1-5.
a Hear the word of YHWH, you children of Israel, for YHWH has a controversy
with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth, nor covenant love, nor
knowledge of God in the land (Hosea 4:1).
b There is nought but swearing and breaking faith, and killing, and stealing, and
committing adultery (Hosea 4:2 a).
c They break out, and blood touches blood (Hosea 4:2 b).
b Therefore will the land mourn, and every one who dwells in it will languish, with
the beasts of the field and the birds of the heavens, yes, the fishes of the sea also will
be taken away (Hosea 4:3).
a Yet let no man strive, nor let any man reprove, for your people are as those who
strive with the priest. And you will stumble in the day, and the prophet also will
stumble with you in the night, and I will destroy your mother (Hosea 4:4-5).
ote that in ‘a’ YHWH has a controversy with His people, and the land has no
truth, goodness or knowledge of God, and in the parallel the people are not to strive
with YHWH and they and the prophets stumble whether it be light or dark. In ‘b’
the land is full of breaches of the covenant, and in the parallel the consequence is
that the land and all that is in it mourns and languishes. Centrally in ‘c’ bloodshed
is widespread.
K&D, "Introduction
II. The Ungodliness of Israel. Its Punishment, and Final Deliverance - Hosea 4-14
The spiritual adultery of Israel, with its consequences, which the prophet has
exposed in the first part, and chiefly in a symbolical mode, is more elaborately

17. detailed here, not only with regard to its true nature, viz., the religious apostasy and
moral depravity which prevailed throughout the ten tribes, but also in its inevitable
consequences, viz., the destruction of the kingdom and rejection of the people; and
this is done with a repeated side-glance at Judah. To this there is appended a solemn
appeal to return to the Lord, and a promise that the Lord will have compassion
upon the penitent, and renew His covenant of grace with them.
The Depravity of Israel, and Its Exposure to Punishment - Hosea 4-6:3
The first section, in which the prophet demonstrates the necessity for judgment, by
exposing the sins and follies of Israel, is divided into two parts by the similar
openings, “Hear the word of the Lord” in Hosea 4:1, and “Hear ye this” in Hosea
5:1. The distinction between the two halves is, that in ch. 4 the reproof of their sins
passes from Israel as a whole, to the sins of the priests in particular; whilst in Hosea
5:1-15 it passes from the ruin of the priesthood to the depravity of the whole nation,
and announces the judgment of devastation upon Ephraim, and then closes in Hosea
6:1-3 with a command to return to the Lord. The contents of the two chapters,
however, are so arranged, that it is difficult to divide them into strophes.
The Sins of Israel and the Visitation of God - Hosea 4
Verse 1
Hosea 4:1-5 form the first strophe, and contain, so to speak, the theme and the sum
and substance of the whole of the following threatening of punishment and
judgment. Hosea 4:1. “Hear the word of Jehovah, ye sons of Israel! for Jehovah has
a controversy with the inhabitants of the land; for there is no truth, and no love, and
no knowledge of God in the land.” Israel of the ten tribes is here addressed, as
Hosea 4:15 clearly shows. The Lord has a controversy with it, has to accuse and
judge it (cf. Micah 6:2), because truth, love, and the knowledge of God have
vanished from the land. ('Emeth) and chesed are frequently associated, not merely
as divine attributes, but also as human virtues. They are used here in the latter
sense, as in Proverbs 3:3. “There is no ('ĕmeth), i.e., no truthfulness, either in speech
or action, no one trusting another any more” (cf. Jeremiah 9:3-4). (Chesed) is not
human love generally, but love to inferiors, and to those who need help or
compassionate love. Truth and love are mutually conditions, the one of the other.
“Truth cannot be sustained without mercy; and mercy without truth makes men
negligent; so that the one ought to be mingled with the other” (Jerome). They both
have their roots in the knowledge of God, of which they are the fruit (Jeremiah
22:16; Isaiah 11:9); for the knowledge of God is not merely “an acquaintance with
His nature and will” (Hitzig), but knowledge of the love, faithfulness, and
compassion of God, resting upon the experience of the heart. Such knowledge not
only produces fear of God, but also love and truthfulness towards brethren (cf.
Ephesians 4:32; Colossians 3:12.). Where this is wanting, injustice gains the upper
hand.
EXPOSITOR'S BIBLE COMME TARY, "I. THE LORD’S QUARREL WITH
ISRAEL

18. Hosea 4:1-19
"Hear the word of Jehovah, sons of Israel! Jehovah hath a quarrel with the
inhabitants of the land, for there is no truth nor real love nor knowledge of God in
the land. Perjury and murder and theft and adultery! They break out, and blood
strikes upon blood."
That stable and well-furnished life, across which, while it was still noon, Amos
hurled his alarms-how quickly it has broken up! If there be still "ease in Zion,"
there is no more "security in Samaria." [Amos 6:1] The great Jeroboam is dead, and
society, which in the East depends so much on the individual, is loose and falling to
pieces. The sins which are exposed by Amos were those that lurked beneath a still
strong government, but Hosea adds outbreaks which set all order at defiance. Later
we shall find him describing housebreaking, highway robbery, and assassination.
"Therefore doth the land wither, and every one of her denizens languisheth, even to
the beast of the field and the fowl of the heaven; yea, even the fish of the sea are
swept up" in the universal sickness of man and nature: for Hosea feels, like Amos,
the liability of nature to the curse upon sin.
Yet the guilt is not that of the whole people, but of their religious guides. "Let none
find fault and none upbraid, for My people are but as their priestlings. O Priest,
thou hast stumbled today: and stumble tonight shall the prophet with thee." One
order of the nation’s ministers goes staggering after the other!"‘ And I will destroy
thy Mother," presumably the nation herself. "Perished are My people for lack of
knowledge." But how? By the sin of their teachers. "Because thou," O Priest, "hast
rejected knowledge, I reject thee from being priest to Me; and as thou hast forgotten
the Torah of thy God, I forget thy children- I on My side. As many as they be, so
many have sinned against Me." Every jack-priest of them is culpable. "They have
turned their glory into shame. They feed on the sin of My people, and to the guilt of
these lift up their appetite!" The more the people sin, the more merrily thrive the
priests by fines and sin-offerings. They live upon the vice of the day, and have a
vested interest in its crimes. English Langland said the same thing of the friars of his
time. The contention is obvious. The priests have given themselves wholly to the
ritual; they have forgotten that their office is an intellectual and moral one. We shall
return to this when treating of Hosea’s doctrine of knowledge and its
responsibilities. Priesthood, let us only remember, priesthood is an intellectual trust.
"Thus it comes to be-like people like priest: "they also have fallen under the ritual,
doing from lust what the priests do from greed. "But I will visit upon them their
ways, and their deeds will I requite to them. For they" (those) "shall eat and not be
satisfied," (these) "shall play the harlot and have no increase, because they have left
off heeding Jehovah." This absorption in ritual at the expense of the moral and
intellectual elements of religion has insensibly led them over into idolatry, with all
its unchaste and drunken services. "Harlotry, wine, and new wine take away the
brains!" The result is seen in the stupidity with which they consult their stocks for
guidance. "My people! of its bit of wood it asketh counsel, and its staff telleth to it"

19. the oracle! "For a spirit of harlotry hath led them astray, and they have played the
harlot from their God. Upon the headlands of the hills they sacrifice, and on the
heights offer incense, under oak or poplar or terebinth, for the shade of them is
pleasant." On "headlands," not summits, for here no trees grow; and the altar was
generally built under a tree and near water on some promontory, from which the
flight of birds or of clouds might be watched. "Wherefore"-because of this your
frequenting of the heathen shrines-"your daughters play the harlot and your
daughters-in-law commit adultery. I will not come with punishment upon your
daughters because they play the harlot, nor upon your daughters-in-law because
they commit adultery." Why? For "they themselves," the fathers of Israel-or does
he still mean the priests?-"go aside with the harlots and sacrifice with the common
women of the shrines! "It is vain for the men of a nation to practice impurity and
fancy that nevertheless they can keep their womankind chaste. "So the stupid
people fall to ruin!"
("Though thou play the harlot, Israel, let not Judah bring guilt on herself. And
come not to Gilgal, and go not up to Beth-Aven, and take not your oath at the Well-
of-the-Oath, BeerSheba, "By the life of Jehovah!" This obvious parenthesis may be
either by Hosea or a later writer; the latter is more probable.")
"Yea, like a wild heifer Israel has gone wild. How now can Jehovah feed them like a
lamb in a broad meadow?" To treat this clause interrogatively is the only way to get
sense out of it. "Wedded to idols is Ephraim: leave him alone." The participle means
"mated" or "leagued." The corresponding noun is used of a wife as the "mate" of
her husband [Malachi 2:4] and of an idolater as the "mate" of his idols. [Isaiah
44:11] The expression is doubly appropriate here, since Hosea used marriage as the
figure of the relation of a deity to his worshippers. "Leave him alone"-he must go
from bad to worse. "Their drunkenness over, they take to harlotry: her rulers have
fallen in love with shame," or "they love shame more than their pride." But in spite
of all their servile worship the Assyrian tempest shall sweep them away in its trail.
"A wind hath wrapt them up in her skirts; and they shall be put to shame by their
sacrifices."
This brings the passage to such a climax as Amos loved to crown his periods. And
the opening of the next chapter offers a new exordium.
ISBET, "A TERRIBLE I DICTME T
‘The Lord hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land.’
Hosea 4:1
I. Abandoning the parabolic style, the prophet now turns to very straight and
incisive dealing with the sins of Israel.—This chapter contains a terrible indictment
against the chosen people. There was no truth, mercy, nor knowledge of God among
them; swearing, breaking faith, theft, murder, and adultery were rife on every side,
so that the very land groaned and travailed in pain. othing could avert the
judgment of God that must follow on such crimes.
The priests were chiefly guilty, and it is against them that the Divine judgments

20. would be specially directed (Hosea 4:6, etc.). How terrible it is when those who
should be the leaders in righteousness, both by word and deed, pervert the people!
Dante places false priests in the nethermost circle of the lake of fire. And let it
always be remembered that one of Satan’s most subtle temptations is the suggestion
that we must be right, because all men think so, and that we have dealt with our
own sins because we are so strict in reproving them.
II. What a picture of our own heart is given in these verses!—We are reminded of
Bunyan’s words in Grace Abounding. He says: ‘My original and inward pollution
was my plague and my affliction. It was always putting itself forth within me, and I
had the guilt of it to amazement, by reason of which I was more loathsome in my
own eyes than a toad, and I thought I was in God’s eyes also. Sin and corruption
would bubble up out of my heart as naturally as water bubbles up out of a fountain.
I thought now that every one had a better heart than I had. I could have changed
heart with anybody; and thought none but the devil himself could equalise me for
inward wickedness and pollution of mind.’
Illustration
‘It is not so great an offence for men to sin as for them not to be willing to suffer the
reproval of sin. For when they live in such a way as that their hearts have a horror
of the cure of their malady, punishment can no longer delay. This sin is the most
common of our time. Just look at Christian churches, and you will see everywhere
that the teachers are hated for rebuking sin so freely. But this only excites God’s
wrath more fiercely against us. For not man but God rebukes and challenges the
sinner.’
PULPIT, "
A new and distinct division of the book commences with this fourth chapter and
continues till the close. What had previously been presented in figure and symbol is
now plainly and literally stated. The children of Israel are summoned in the first
verse of this chapter to hear the charge preferred against them and the sentence
pronounced. Having convened, as it were, a public assembly and cited the persons
concerned, the prophet proceeds to show cause why they are bound to give an
attentive hearing. In God's controversy with the people of the land the prophet acts
as his ambassador, accusing the people of great and grievous sins, and vindicating
the justice of God's judgments in their punishment. The ki with which the last
clause of the verse commences may be either causal or recitative, and may thus
specify either the ground or subject of controversy. It is commonly understood here
in the former sense. Israel is charged with want of truth, mercy, and the knowledge
of God. Kimchi comments on this controversy as follows: "With the inhabitants of
the land of Israel I have a controversy, for I gave them the land on the condition
that they should exercise righteousness and judgment, and on this condition I
pledged myself to them that my eyes would be upon them from the beginning of the
year to the end of the year. But since they practice the opposite—cursing, lying,
etc.—I also will act with them in a way contrary to what I assured them, and will
hide my face from them." He adds, "There were some righteous among them, but

21. they were few, and they hid themselves from the face of the multitude who were
wicked." Truth and mercy are at once Divine attributes and human virtues; it is in
the latter sense, of course, that they are here employed. Truth includes works as well
as words, doing as well as saying; it implies uprightness in speech and behavior—
thorough integrity of character and conduct, Mercy goes beyond and supplements
this. We sometimes say of such a one that he is an honest but a hard man. Mercy
combined with truth, on the contrary, makes a man kind as well as honest,
benevolent as well as upright. In a somewhat similar sense the apostle conjoins
goodness and righteousness when he says, "Scarcely for a righteous man will one
die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die." The knowledge
of God is the real root of these two virtues of truth and mercy. If we know God as he
is in himself and as he stands in his relations to us, we shall conform our conduct to
his character and our actions to his will. If we know God to be a God of truth, who
delighteth in truth in the inward parts, we shall cultivate truth in our hearts,
express it with our lips, and practice it in our lives. If we know God as a God of
mercy, who has shown such boundless mercy to us in pardoning our multiplied and
aggravated offences, we shall imitate that mercy in our relations to our fellow-man;
nor shall we enact the part of the merciless man in the parable, who owed his lord
ten thousand talents, and who, having nothing to pay, was freely forgiven the debt;
but finding his fellow-servant, who owed him only an hundred pence, laid hands on
him and took him by the throat, saying, "Pay me that thou owest," and, deaf to that
fellow-servant's supplications, east him into prison till he should pay the debt. The
intimate connection of the knowledge of God with the virtues in question is
confirmed by the Prophet Jeremiah, "Did not thy father eat and drink, and do
judgment and justice, and then it was well with him? he judged the cause of the
poor and needy; then it was well with him: was not this to know me, saith the
Lord?"
K&D, "Hos_4:1-5 form the first strophe, and contain, so to speak, the theme and the
sum and substance of the whole of the following threatening of punishment and
judgment. Hos_4:1. “Hear the word of Jehovah, ye sons of Israel! for Jehovah has a
controversy with the inhabitants of the land; for there is no truth, and no love, and no
knowledge of God in the land.” Israel of the ten tribes is here addressed, as Hos_4:15
clearly shows. The Lord has a controversy with it, has to accuse and judge it (cf. Mic_
6:2), because truth, love, and the knowledge of God have vanished from the land. 'Emeth
and chesed are frequently associated, not merely as divine attributes, but also as human
virtues. They are used here in the latter sense, as in Pro_3:3. “There is no 'ĕmeth, i.e., no
truthfulness, either in speech or action, no one trusting another any more” (cf. Jer_9:3-
4). Chesed is not human love generally, but love to inferiors, and to those who need help
or compassionate love. Truth and love are mutually conditions, the one of the other.
“Truth cannot be sustained without mercy; and mercy without truth makes men
negligent; so that the one ought to be mingled with the other” (Jerome). They both have
their roots in the knowledge of God, of which they are the fruit (Jer_22:16; Isa_11:9); for
the knowledge of God is not merely “an acquaintance with His nature and will” (Hitzig),
but knowledge of the love, faithfulness, and compassion of God, resting upon the
experience of the heart. Such knowledge not only produces fear of God, but also love and
truthfulness towards brethren (cf. Eph_4:32; Col_3:12.). Where this is wanting,

22. injustice gains the upper hand.
BI, "Hear the Word of the Lord, ye children of Israel: for the Lord hath a controversy
with the inhabitants of the land.
A corrupt people and an expostulating God
In the previous chapters the prophet’s language had been highly and somewhat
perplexingly symbolical. In this chapter he begins to speak more plainly and in
sententious utterances.
I. A corrupt people. The depravity of Israel is represented—
1. Negatively. “There is no truth,” etc. These are the great fontal virtues in the
universe; and where they are not, there is a moral abjectness of the most terrible
description. A people without reality, their very life a lie. No acts of beneficence
performed, and the very spirit of kindliness extinct. The greatest, the holiest Being in
the universe utterly ignored.
2. Positively. The absence of these great virtues gives rise to tremendous crimes.
(1) Profanity. Reverence is gone.
(2) Falsehood.
(3) Killing.
(4) Dishonesty.
(5) Incontinence.
(6) Murder.
II. An expostulating God. “The Lord hath controversy.” Of all controversies this is the
most awful.
1. It is a just controversy. Has not the great Ruler of the universe a right to contend
against such evils?
2. It is a continuous controversy.
3. It is an unequal controversy. What are all human intellects to His? Sparks to the
sun. The sinner has no argument to put before Him. He cannot deny his sins. He
cannot plead accidents. He cannot plead compulsion. He cannot plead some merit as
a set-off, for he has none. This controversy is still going on. It is held in the court of
conscience, and you must know of its existence and character. (Homilist.)
Jehovah’s controversy with Israel
In this chapter Israel is cited to appear at God’s tribunal. There the Lord makes the
following accusations—
1. Gross violation of both Tables of the Law, both by omission and by commission.
God threatens, because of this, to send extreme desolation.
2. Desperate incorrigibleness. He threatens to destroy such, and the false prophets,
and the body of the people and Church.
3. God accuseth the priests in Israel, that, through their fault, the people were kept

23. in ignorance. He threatens to cast them and their posterity off. He further accuses
the priests of ingratitude towards Elm, for which He threatens to turn their glory
into ignominy. And tie even accuses them of sensuality and covetousness, rendering
them unfaithful to their calling.
4. He accuses the whole people of gross idolatry, and threatens not to restrain their
sin by corrections.
5. He accuses them of the idolatry of the calves, from which He dissuades Judah, as
being an evidence of Israel’s wantonness, and the cause of their ensuing exile.
6. He accuses Ephraim, the kingly tribe, of their incorrigibleness in idolatry, their
intemperance, filthiness, and corruption of justice through covetousness. For this He
threatens sudden and violent destruction and captivity, where they should be
ashamed of their corrupt worship. (George Hutcheson.)
The Divine suit with Israel
I. The suit commenced.
1. The knowledge that any truth is the Word of the Lord is a special means to prepare
the heart to receive it with reverence and all due respect, even though it be hard and
grievous to flesh and blood.
2. The nearness of a people to God does not exempt them from God’s contending
with them for sin.
3. The nearer the relationship the more grievous the controversy.
II. The pleading of God. A suit first is entered against a man; when the court day comes,
there is calling for a declaration.
1. God contends not with a people without a cause.
2. God contends not against a people for little things. These are not little things “No
truth, no mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land.”
3. It is in vain for any man to talk of his religion, if he make no conscience of the
second table as well as the first.
III. Judgment pronounced (Hos_4:3, etc.). “Therefore shall the land mourn.”
1. All the glory and pomp of the men of the world is but as a flower.
2. Times of affliction take down the jollity and bravery of men’s spirits, and make
them fade, wither, and pine away.
3. The good or evil of the creature depends on man.
4. God, when in a way of wrath, can cause His wrath to reach to those things that
seem to be most remote.
5. No creature can help man in the time of God’s wrath, for every creature suffers as
well as man.
IV. Exhortation to Judah to beware that she come not into the same condition (Hos_
4:15). The prophet Hosea was sent especially to Israel, to the Ten Tribes, but here we see
he turns his speech to Judah.

24. 1. Ministers should especially look to those whom they are bound unto by office, but
yet so as to labour to benefit others when occasion offers.
2. When we see our labour lost on those we most desire to benefit, we should try
what we can do with others. There were many arguments why Judah should not do
as Israel did.
V. Execution, God in his wrath giving up Ephraim to himself (verse 17).
1. Ephraim engaging himself in false worship is now so inwrapped in that sin and
guilt that he cannot tell how to extricate himself.
2. The Lord has given him up to his idols.
(1) It is a heavy judgment upon a people when the saints withdraw from them.
(2) The Lord here virtually says to Hosea, “You can do no good to them, it is in
vain for you to meddle with Ephraim.” God has a time to give men over to
themselves, to say that His Spirit shall no longer strive with them. It is the most
woeful judgment of God upon any people, or person, when He saith in His wrath,
“Let him alone.” It is a testimony of very great disregard in God for His creatures.
Those thus let alone are going apace to misery. God intends by this to make way
for some fearful wrath that is to come upon them. It is a dreadful sign of
reprobation. (Jeremiah Burroughs.)
The Lord’s controversy
The court is set, and both attendance and attention are demanded. Whom may God
expect to give Him a fair hearing, and take from Him a fair warning, but the children of
Israel, His own professing people? Sin is the great mischief-maker; it sows discord
between God and Israel. God sees sin in His own people, and a good action He has
against them for it. He has a controversy with them for breaking covenant with Him, for
bringing a reproach upon Him, and for an ungrateful return to Him for His favours.
God’s controversies will be pleaded, pleaded by the judgments of His mouth before they
are pleaded by the judgments of His hand, that He may be justified in all He does, and
may make it appear that He desires not the death of sinners; and God’s pleadings ought
to be attended to, for, sooner or later, they shall have a hearing. (Matthew Henry.)
There is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land.
Things that go with the knowledge of God
Truth and mercy are often spoken of as to Almighty God. Truth takes in all which is
right, and to which God has bound Himself; mercy all beyond which God does out of His
boundless love. When God says of Israel there is no truth nor mercy, He says that there
is absolutely none of those two great qualities under which He comprises all His own
goodness. “There is no truth,” none whatever, “no regard for known truth; no
conscience, no sincerity, no uprightness; no truth of words; no truth of promises; no
truth in witnessing; no making good in deeds what they said in words.” “Nor mercy.”
This word has a wide meaning; it includes all love to one another, a love issuing in acts.
It includes lovingkindness, piety to parents, natural affection, forgiveness, tenderness,
beneficence, mercy, goodness. The prophet, in declaring the absence of this grace,
declares the absence of all included under it. Whatever could be comprised under love,

25. whatever feelings are influenced by love, of that there was nothing. “Nor knowledge of
God.” The union of right knowledge and wrong practice is hideous in itself; and it must
be especially offensive to Almighty God that His creatures should know whom they
offend, how they offend Him, and yet, amid and against their knowledge, choose that
which displeases Him. And on that ground, perhaps, He has so created us, that when our
acts are wrong, our knowledge becomes darkened. The knowledge of God is not merely
to know some things of God, as that He is the Creator and Preserver of the world and of
ourselves. To know things of God is not to know God Himself. We cannot know God in
any respect unless we are so far made like unto Him. Knowledge of God being tim gift of
the Holy Ghost, he who hath not grace, cannot have that knowledge. A certain degree of
speculative knowledge of God a bad man may have. But even this knowledge is not
retained without love. Those who “held the truth in unrighteousness” ended (St. Paul
says) by corrupting it. Certainly, the speculative and practical, knowledge are bound up
together through the oneness of the relation of the soul to God, whether in its thoughts
of Him, or its acts towards Him. Wrong practice corrupts belief, as misbelief corrupts
practice. The prophet then probably denies that there was any true knowledge of God, of
any sort, whether of life or faith, or understanding or love. Ignorance of God, then, is a
great evil, a source of all other sins. (E. B. Pusey, D. D.)
A national duty
No one can fail to acknowledge in this terrible picture a representation of every people
which habitually breaks the laws of God; and who, having set themselves free from the
restraints of religion, or, through ignorance, being unconscious of their obligation, are
delivered up to the working of their own heart’s lusts, and to follow their own
imaginations. This consummation of depravity is even found in the chosen people of
God. There was no truth where the great Source of all truth had announced the laws of
moral perfection: there was no mercy where the prodigies of Divine compassion had
been manifested from one generation to another: there was no knowledge of God where
alone God could be known, and in the only place in which the principles of His
government, and the attributes of His person, had been revealed to man. What rendered
the case of Israel desperate, and remedy impossible, was this, that those who had been
set apart as the depositaries of Divine knowledge, and who, by their life and doctrine,
had been intended by the Almighty to act constantly, as a conservative power, against
the corruptions of the mass, had yielded themselves to the popular torrent, and turned
rank and station, the dignity of a holy vocation, and the talents of knowledge and
intellect to the promotion of those vices which God had given them a solemn
commission to withstand. They were weary of resisting the tendencies of the age and the
godless spirit which found too complete an echo in their own hearts. So the princes and
priests of Israel deserted their post, sealed up the records of God’s Word, and by ceasing
to inculcate the awful sanctions of His law, and concealing from the people those oracles
in which alone knowledge and wisdom are to be found, filled up to the brim the measure
of their iniquity. That measure was filled up because they who had knowledge and had
the guardianship of God’s heritage had turned traitors and withheld the Bread of Life
from the famishing people. To whatever privileges a people may have been elected, no
outward marks of distinction, apart from a corresponding holiness, will avail in the sight
of Him who is no respecter of persons, and who trieth the very reins and hearts. The
history of Israel is nothing but the annals of those judgments with which tie has visited
their abuse of mercies, and their never-ending neglect or perversion of that most awful
of all deposits, spiritual knowledge. If men in all times have been made accountable to

26. God for the fate of their fellowcreatures, and most assuredly they have, it behoves us to
look well to our own case, and beware how we involve ourselves in the participation of
such guilt. Let us not deceive ourselves by supposing that the sins and the sanctions, the
moral actions and the moral dealings of the eider covenant are inapplicable to ourselves.
Considerable differences there may be, but they are all against us, and an increase of our
responsibility. It is known to few of us how vast are the masses of ignorance and vice
which undermine the surface of this favoured land. (J. Garbett.)
2 There is only cursing,[a] lying and murder,
stealing and adultery;
they break all bounds,
and bloodshed follows bloodshed.
BAR ES, "By swearing, and lying ... - Literally, “swearing or cursing” , “and
lying, and killing, and stealing, and committing adultery!” The words in Hebrew are
nouns of action. The Hebrew form is very vivid and solemn. It is far more forcible than if
he had said, “They swear, lie, kill, and steal.” It expresses that these sins were continual,
that nothing else (so to speak) was going on; that it was all one scene of such sins, one
course of them, and of nothing besides; as we say more familiarly, “It was all, swearing,
lying, killing, stealing, committing adultery.” It is as if the prophet, seeing with a sight
above nature, a vision from God, saw, as in a picture, what was going on, all around,
within and without, and summed up in this brief picture, all which he saw. This it was
and nothing but this, which met his eyes, wherever he looked, whatever he heard,
“swearing, lying, killing, stealing, committing adultery.” The prophet had before said,
that the ten tribes were utterly lacking in all truth, all love, all knowledge of God. But
where there are none of these, “there,” in all activity, will be the contrary vices. When the
land or the soul is empty of the good, it will be full of the evil. “They break out,” i. e.,
burst through all bounds, set to restrain them, as a river bursts its banks and
overspreads all things or sweeps all before it. “And blood toucheth blood,” literally,
“bloods touch bloods” . The blood was poured so continuously and in such torrents, that
it flowed on, until stream met stream and formed one wide inundation of blood.
CLARKE, "By swearing, and lying - Where there is no truth there will be lies and
perjury; for false swearing is brought in to confirm lying statements. And when there is
no mercy, killing, slaying, and murders, will be frequent. And where there is no

27. knowledge of God, no conviction of his omnipresence and omniscience, private offenses,
such as stealing, adulteries, etc., will prevail. These, sooner or later, break out, become a
flood, and carry all before them. Private stealing will assume the form of a public
robbery, and adulteries become fashionable, especially among the higher orders; and
suits of crim. con. render them more public, scandalous, and corrupting. By the
examination of witnesses, and reading of infamous letters in a court of justice, people are
taught the wiles and stratagems to be used to accomplish these ends, and prevent
detection; and also how to avoid those circumstances which have led to the detection of
others. Every report of such matters is an experimental lecture on successful
debauchery.
Blood toucheth blood - Murders are not only frequent, but assassinations are
mutual. Men go out to kill each other; as in our duels, the frenzy of cowards; and as there
is no law regarded, and no justice in the land, the nearest akin slays the murderer. Even
in our land, where duels are so frequent, if a man kill his antagonist, it is murder; and so
generally brought in by an honest coroner and his jury. It is then brought into court; but
who is hanged for it? The very murder is considered as an affair of honor, though it
began in a dispute about a prostitute; and it is directed to be brought in manslaughter;
and the murderer is slightly fined for having hurried his neighbor, perhaps once his
friend, into the eternal world, with all his imperfections on his head! No wonder that a
land mourns where these prevail; and that God should have a controversy with it. Such
crimes as these are sufficient to bring God’s curse upon any land. And how does God
show his displeasure? See the following verse.
GILL, "By swearing, and lying,.... Which some join together, and make but one sin
of it, false swearing, so Jarchi and Kimchi; but that swearing itself signifies, as the
Targum interprets it; for it not only takes in all cursing and imprecations, profane oaths,
and taking the name of God in vain, and swearing by the creatures, but may chiefly
design perjury; which, though one kind of "lying", may be distinguished from it here; the
latter intending "lying" in common, which the devil is the father of, mankind are incident
unto, and which is abominable to God, whether in civil or in religious things: "and
killing, and stealing and committing adultery"; murders, thefts, and adulteries, were very
common with them; sins against the sixth, eighth, and seventh commandments:
they break out; through all the restraints of the laws of God and man, like an unruly
horse that breaks his bridle and runs away; or like wild beasts, that break down the
fences and enclosures about them, and break out, and get away; or like a torrent of
water, that breaks down its dams and banks, and overflows the meadows and plains;
such a flood and deluge of sin abounded in the nation. Some render it, "they thieve" (o);
or act the part of thieves and robbers: and the Targum,
"they beget sons of their neighbours' wives;''
and so Abarbinel interprets it of breaking through the hedge of another man's wife; but
these sins are observed before:
and blood toucheth blood; which some understand of sins in general, so called,
because filthy and abominable; and of the addition and multiplication of them, there
being as it were heaps of them, or rather a chain of them linked together. So the Targum,
"and they add sins to sins.''

28. Others interpret it of impure mixtures, of incestuous lusts, or marriages contrary to the
ties of blood, and laws of consanguinity, Lev_18:6, or rather it is to be understood of the
great effusion of blood, and frequency of murders; so that there was scarce any interval
between them, but a continued series of them. Some think respect is had to the frequent
slaughter of their kings; Zachariah the son of Jeroboam was slain by Shallum, when he
had reigned but six months; and Shallum was slain by Menahem when he had reigned
but one month; and this Menahem was a murderer of many, smote many places, and
ripped up the women with child; Pekahiah his son was killed by Pekah the son of
Remaliah, and he again by Hoshea, 2Ki_15:8.
HE RY, " 2. Hence follows national commissions of the most enormous sins against
both the first and second table, for they had no regard at all to either. Swearing, and
lying, and killing, and stealing, and committing adultery, against the third, ninth, sixth,
eighth, and seventh commandments, were to be found in all corners of the land, and
among all orders and degrees of men among them, Hos_4:2. The corruption was
universal; what good people there were among them were either lost or hid, or they hid
themselves. By these they break out, that is, they transgress all bounds of reason and
conscience, and the divine law; they have exceeded (Job_36:9); they have been
overmuch wicked (Ecc_7:17); they suffer their corruptions to break out; they themselves
break over, and break through, all that stands in their way and would stop them in their
sinful career, as water overflows the banks. Note, Sin is a violent thing and its power
exorbitant; when men's hearts are fully set in them to do evil (Ecc_8:11) what will be
restrained from them? Gen_11:6. When they break out thus blood touches blood, that is,
abundance of murders are committed in all parts of the country, and, as it were, in a
constant series and succession. Caedes aliae aliis sunt contiguae - Murders touch
murders; a stream of blood runs down among them, even royal blood. It was about this
time that there was so much blood shed in grasping at the crown; Shallum slew
Zechariah, and Menahem slew Shallum, Pekah slew Pekahiah, and Hoshea slew Pekah;
and the like bloody work, it is likely, there was among other contenders, so that the land
was polluted with blood (Psa_106:38); it was filled with blood from one end to the
other, 2Ki_21:16.
JAMISO , "they break out — bursting through every restraint.
blood toucheth blood — literally, “bloods.” One act of bloodshed follows another
without any interval between (see 2Ki_15:8-16, 2Ki_15:25; Mic_7:2).
CALVI , "Verse 2
But after having said that they were full of perfidiousness and cruelty, he adds, By
cursing, and lying, and killing, etc. , ‫,אלה‬ ale, means to swear: some explain it in this
place as signifying to forswear; and others read the two together, ‫וכחש‬ ‫,אלה‬ ale
ucachesh, to swear and lie, that is to deceive by swearing. But as ‫אלה‬ “alah” means
often to curse, the Prophet here, I doubt not, condemns the practice of cursing,
which was become frequent and common among the people.
But he enumerates particulars in order more effectually to check the fierceness of
the people; for the wicked, we know, do not easily bend their neck: they first
murmur, then they clamour against wholesome instruction, and at last they rage

29. with open fury, and break out into violence, when they cannot otherwise stop the
progress of sound doctrine. How ever this may be, we see that they are not easily led
to own their sins. This is the reason why the Prophet shows here, by stating
particulars, in how many ways they provoked God’s wrath: ‘Lo,’ he says ‘cursings,
lyings, murder, thefts, adulteries, abound among you.’ And the Prophet seems here
to allude to the precepts of the law; as though he said, “If any one compares your
life with the law of God, he will find that you avowedly and designedly lead such a
life, as proves that you fight against God, that you violate every part of his law.”
But it must be here observed, that he speaks not of such thieves or murderers as are
led in our day to the gallows, or are otherwise punished. On the contrary, he calls
them thieves and murderers and adulterers, who were in high esteem, and eminent
in honor and wealth, and who, in short, were alone illustrious among the people of
Israel: such did the Prophet brand with these disgraceful names, calling them
murderers and thieves. So also does Isaiah speak of them, ‘Thy princes are robbers
and companions of thieves,’ (Isaiah 1:23.) And we already reminded you, that the
Prophet addresses not his discourses to few men, but to the whole people; for all,
from the least to the greatest, had fallen away.
He afterwards says, They have broken out. The expression no doubt is to be taken
metaphorically, as though he said, “There are now no bonds, no barriers.” For the
people so raged against God, that no modesty, no shame on account of the law, no
religion, no fear, prevailed among them, or checked their intractable spirit. Hence
they broke out. By the word, breaking out, the Prophet sets forth the furious
wantonness seen in the reprobate; when freed from the fear of God, they abandon
themselves to what is sinful, without any moderation, without any restraint.
And to the same purpose he subjoins, Bloods are contiguous to bloods. By bloods he
means all the worst crimes: and he says that bloods were close to bloods, because
they joined crimes together, and as Isaiah says, that iniquity was as it were a train;
so our Prophet says here, that such was the common liberty they took to sin, that
wherever he turned his eyes, he could see no part free from wickedness. Then bloods
are contiguous to bloods, that is, everywhere is seen the horrible spectacle of crimes.
This is the meaning. It now follows —
BE SO , "Verse 2
Hosea 4:2. By swearing — False swearing seems to be here chiefly intended, which is
here, as it is also elsewhere, joined with lying and stealing; because, in the Jewish
courts of justice, men that were suspected of theft were obliged to purge themselves
by an oath; and they often ventured to forswear themselves, rather than discover
the truth. The Hebrew word, ‫,אלה‬ here used, is rendered αρα by the LXX., that is,
execration, imprecation, or cursing, as Bishop Horsley renders it. Profane swearing,
however, or taking the name of God in vain, is doubtless included. The next word,
‫,כחשׁ‬ rendered lying, means falsehood in general: and especially, as some think, the
denying of deposites which had been left in their hands, and which, when the
owners came to claim them, they absolutely denied having received. And killing,

30. committing murders, either privately or with open violence. They break out —
Hebrew, ‫,פרצו‬ they burst out, or overflow, a metaphor taken from rivers breaking
their banks, and bearing down every obstacle by the impetuosity of their waters.
The meaning is, There is an inundation of all manner of wickedness, and all law and
equity is broken through and violated. And blood toucheth blood — One murder
follows upon another, and many are committed in all parts of the country, and as it
were, in a constant series and succession. This was probably spoken with an especial
reference to the murder of their kings by those who aspired to succeed them; as
Zechariah by Shallum, Shallum by Menahem, Pekah by Pekahiah and Hoshea. In
such civil broils a great many of their friends and dependants are commonly slain
with the kings themselves.
COFFMA , "Verse 2
"There is naught but swearing and breaking faith, and killing, and stealing, and
committing adultery; they break out, and blood toucheth blood."
The fact that the Third, Sixth, Seventh, Eighth, and inth commandments of the
Decalogue are here indicated by the fact of Israel's violation of them removes all
doubt of the Decalogue's prior existence as an essential element in the covenant of
God with Israel. Without that element of covenant-breaking in Israel's conduct,
God could not have had a "lawsuit" with them. We are amazed at the timid
recognition of this truth which rather cautiously states that this verse "seems to give
some support"[8] to the view that the Decalogue was prior to this prophecy! Indeed,
.indeed, two plus two might possibly equal four! As W.R. Harper more adequately
stated the obvious fact, "There is every reason to believe that the Decalogne in its
original form was at this time in existence."[9]
"Swearing and breaking faith ..." Such conduct violated the Third commandment
with its prohibition against taking the name of God in vain, and also the inth with
its prohibition against false witness.
"Killing ... stealing ... committing adultery ..." Commandments Six, Seven, and
Eight were broken in these actions; and, in fact, the utter repudiation of the whole
Law of God was evident in the rampant immorality, violence, and deceit which
characterized the conduct of Israel in the days of Hosea.
"Blood toucheth blood ..." This is evidently some kind of idiomatic expression
referring to massive and continual violence. The ew English Bible translates this
phrase, "nothing but one deed of blood after another."
TRAPP, "Verse 2
Hosea 4:2 By swearing, and lying, and killing, and stealing, and committing
adultery, they break out, and blood toucheth blood.
Ver. 2. By swearing, and lying, and killing, and stealing] Heb. to swear, and lie, and
kill, and steal, and commit adultery. To do all this is held, licitum et solenne, lawful,
or at least pardonable. It is grown to a common practice; and custom of sinning

31. hath taken away sense of sin.
By swearing] Heb. by cursing, or swearing with an execration and cursing, which
was commonly added to an oath, to confirm it the more, Deuteronomy 29:12;
Deuteronomy 29:21, ehemiah 10:29. And, indeed, in every lawful oath God is
called to witness, to bless us if we swear right, and to curse ns if otherwise. Such an
oath is a special part of God’s worship, and is oft put for the whole, as here false and
frivolous oaths are put for the violation of the whole first table, and set in opposition
to the knowledge of God in the land; like as lying is opposed to truth, and killing,
stealing, whoring, to mercy or kindness. Before, God had complained of their
defects, or omissions; here, of their commissions and flagitious practices. Swearers
(but especially false swearers) are traitors to the state, as appeareth here and
Jeremiah 23:10; they bring a curse, nay, a large roll of curses (ten yards long, and
five yards broad, Zechariah 5:2), upon their hearts, and shall one day howl in hell.
The same word that is here rendered swearing signifieth also to howl or lament, Joel
1:8. Go to now, therefore, ye swearers, weep and howl for your miseries that shall
come upon you, James 5:1; James 5:12. Weep here, where there be wiping
handkerchiefs in the hand of Christ: better do so, than yell with devils who have
borrowed your mouths, to utter horrid blasphemies. Swearing is "of the devil,"
saith our Saviour, Matthew 5:37, and it brings men to the devil, saith St James,
James 5:12. They object that they swear nothing but the truth. But that is not
always so. Swearing and lying are here set together, as seldom sundered. The
marvel, if he that sweareth commonly do not forswear frequently; for he sweareth
away all his faith and truth. But, say they swear truth, yet that excuseth not. Truth
is but one circumstance of an oath, Jeremiah 4:2. Men, as they must swear in truth,
so in righteousness (not rashly, furiously), and in judgment, not in jest. Swear not in
jest, lest ye go to hell in earnest. It is the property and duty of a godly man to fear an
oath, Ecclesiastes 9:2, and not to forbear it only. As on the other side, no surer sign
of a profane person than common and customary swearing. It were well if such were
served as Louis IX of France served a citizen of Paris; he seared his lips for
swearing with a hot iron. And when some said it was too cruel an act, I would to
God, said he, that with searing my own lips with a hot iron I could banish out of the
realm all abuse of oaths. Those that plead they have gotten a custom to swear, and
therefore they must be borne with, shall have the like answer from God that the
thief had from the judge. He desired the judge to spare him, for stealing had been
his custom from his youth, and now he could not leave it. The judge replied, it was
also his custom to give judgment against such malefactors; and therefore he must be
condemned.
And lying] Fitly linked with swearing. Some gravel or mud ever passeth away with
much water; so do some lies with much swearing. How oft do men forget their oaths,
and swear again that they have not sworn at all! Should men’s excrements come
from them as oft, and they not feel it, they would be full sorry, and ashamed thereof.
ow swearing and lying defile men much worse than any jakes can do, Mark 7:22,
and render them odious to God and good men. Lying is a blushful evil; therefore

32. doth the liar deny his lie, as ashamed to be taken with it, and our ruffians revenge it
with a stab. God ranks and reckons it with the most monstrous sins, and shuts it out
of heaven, Revelation 21:8. Aristotle saith, It is in itself evil and wicked, contrary to
the order of nature (which hath given words to express mens’ minds and meanings),
destructive to human society. Pythagoras was wont to say, that in two things we
become like unto God: 1. In telling truth; 2. In bestowing benefits. ow, Mentiri, is
contra mentem ire; to lie is to go against reason, to lie is to utter a known untruth
with an intention to deceive or hurt. The Cretans of old were infamous for this,
Titus 1:12, Kρητες αει ψευσται, the friars of late. ‘Twas grown to a proverb among
our forefathers, a friar, a liar; ‘tis now among us, every liar is, or would be, a thief.
Hence, lying and stealing go coupled together here; but between them both stands
killing, as ushered in by the former, and oft occasioned by the latter, Proverbs 1:19.
And killing] This follows fitly upon the former; for truth hath always a scratched
face. The devil was first a liar, and then a murderer, John 8:44. He cannot so well
murder without slandering first. The credit of the Church must first be taken away,
and then she is wounded, Song of Solomon 5:6. The people here in England once
complained that Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, that noble patriot, was twice
murdered: first by detraction, aud then by deadly practice. The French have a
proverb: Those that have a mind to kill their neighbour’s dog make the world
believe he was mad first. This is their proverb, and accordingly was their practice in
the massacre of Paris. A little before which they gave out, that the Protestants met
by night, to plot against the state, and to commit all manner of uncleanness among
themselves. This is an old trick of the devil and his instruments, first to slander the
Church, and to represent her to the world in the ugliest hue, and then to persecute
her, like as of old they used to put the poor Christians in bears’ or lions’ skins, and
then bait them with dogs. Paulus Fagius reports a story of an Egyptian, who said
that the Christians were a colluvies of moist, filthy, lecherous people. And for their
keeping of the Sabbath; he saith, they had a disease upon them, and were therefore
fain to rest every seventh day. The Papists accused the Waldenses (those ancient
Protestants) for Manichees; and that they affirmed there were two beginnings of
things, God and the devil, &c.; and all because they constantly affirmed that the
emperor had no dependence upon the pope. They gave them out also for Arians
(and published their croisados against them as enemies to Christ), and all because
they denied that a crust was transubstantiated into Christ. To make way for the
ruin of England by the gunpowder plot, they broadcast it abroad that the people
here looked as black as devils, were grown barbarous, and did eat young children.
That we held opinion to worship no God, to serve the times, to prefer profit before
right, to pretend the public cause to our private lusts, to cover hatred with flattery,
to confirm tyranny by shedding innocent blood, to keep faith no longer than will
serve our own turns, &c. (Eudaem. Johannes.) And if the plot had taken effect, they
had fathered it upon the Puritans (having proclamations ready framed for the
purpose), that under that name they might have sucked the blood and revelled in
the ruins of all such here as had but the love or any show of sound religion. The
word here used for killing signifies to kill with a murdering weapon, such as David
felt in his bones, Psalms 42:10, such as Colignius and other the poor Protestants felt

33. in the French massacre: where the queen of avarre was poisoned, the most part of
the peerless nobility in France murdered, together with their wives and children;
and of the common people a hundred thousand in one year, in various parts of the
realm. What should I speak of the innocent blood of Ireland, for which God hath
already and yet still will make diligent inquisition. If the blood of Abel had so many
tongues as drops, Genesis 4:10, what then of so many righteous Abels? "Surely I
have seen yesterday" (saith God) "the blood of aboth," 2 Kings 9:26. Murder ever
bleeds fresh in his eye: to him many years, yea, that eternity that is past, is but
yesterday. either is he wanting to punish it even in this present world. He avengeth
the innocent blood that Manasseh shed a long while after his death: he would not
pardon it, no, though Manasseh repented of it, 2 Kings 24:4. The mountains of
Gilboa were accursed, for the blood of Saul and Jonathan spilt upon them, 2 Samuel
1:21; and what a deal of do we find in the law made when a man was murdered!
Deuteronomy 21:1-4, the valley which the expiatory sacrifice was slain in that case
was from thenceforth to be neither eared nor sown: in all to show what a precious
esteem God hath of man’s life, and what controversy with a land for shedding of
blood.
And stealing] Those publici latrones especially, public thieves that sit in purple
robes, and by wrong judgment oppress and rob the poor innocents, are here
intended, as Calvin thinks; see Isaiah 23:17-18; Isaiah 33:1. So are all others that
either by force or fraud get into their hands their neighhours’ goods; whether, I say,
it be by violence or cunning contrivance, the Lord is the avenger of all such, 1
Thessalonians 4:6. So that though haply they lie out of the walk of human justice,
and come not under man’s cognizance, yet God will find them out, and send his
flying roll of curses after them, Zechariah 5:2-3 : "he shall vomit up his sweet
morsels" here, Job 20:15, or else digest in hell what he hath devoured on earth; as
his "belly hath prepared deceit," Job 15:35, so God will take it out of his guts again;
either he shall make restitution of his ill-gotten goods, or for not doing it he shall one
day cough in hell, as Father Latimer phraseth it (Serm. before King Edw. VI).
And committing adultery] "This is also a heinous crime" (saith holy Job), "yea, it is
an iniquity to be punished by the judges," Job 31:11. Heathens have punished it
very severely. Of one people we read that they used to put the adulterer’s or
adulteress’s head into the paunch of a beast where the filth of it lay, and so stifled
him. God punished those stinking Edomites with stinking brimstone for their
loathsome brutishness; and adjudged adultery to death: because society and purity
of posterity could not otherwise continue among men. We read not, in any general
commandment of the law, that any should be burnt with fire, but the high priest’s
daughter for adultery, Leviticus 21:9; yet it seems it was in use before the law, or
else Judah was much to blame for sentencing his daughter-in-law Tamar to the fire,
Genesis 38:2-3. Let us, beware of that sin, for which so peculiar a plague was
appointed, and by very heathens executed see Jeremiah 29:22-23. If men be slack to
take vengeance on such, yet God will hold on his controversy against them and
avenge the quarrel of his covenant (for so wedlock is called, Proverbs 2:17), either

34. by his own bare hand, or else by the hands of the adulterers themselves. See an
instance of both these even in our times. In the year 1583, in London, two citizens
committing adultery together on the Lord’s day were struck dead with fire from
heaven in the very act of uncleanness: their bodies being left dead in the place, half
burnt up, sending out a most loathsome savour, for a spectacle of God’s controversy
against adultery and sabbath breaking. This judgment was so famous and
remarkable that Laurentius Bayenlink, a foreign historian, hath thought good to
register it to posterity (Opus Chronologiae Orbis Universi, Antwerp, 1611, p. 110).
Mr Cleaver reports of one that he knew that had committed the act of uncleanness,
and in the horror of conscience he hanged himself, but before, when he was about to
kill himself, he wrote in a paper, and left it in a place, to this effect: Indeed, saith he,
I acknowledge it to be utterly unlawful for a man to kill himself, but I am bound to
act the magistrate’s part, because the punishment of this sin is death. This act of his
was not to be justified, viz. to be his own executioner; but it shows what a
controversy God hath with adulterers, and what a deep gash that sin makes in the
conscience.
They break out] Like wild horses over hedges, or proud waters over the banks. The
Septuagint renders it εκκεχυται, they are poured out. And St Jude hath a like
expression, speaking of the libertines of his time, Hosea 4:11, they run greedily, Gr.
εξεχυθησαν: they were poured out, or poured away as water out of a vessel: they ran
headlong, or gave themselves over to work all uncleanness with greediness, to satisfy
their lusts, and to oppose with crest and breast whatsoever stands in their way;
bearing down all before them. So Sodom and Gomorrah are (in 1:7) said by
unbridled licentiousness to "give themselves over to fornication," in scortationem
effusae (Beza). And when Lot sought to advise them better, they set up the bristles
at him, with
Base busy stranger, comest thou hither thus,
Controller-like, to prate and preach to us?
Thus these effractories (as the Psalmist somewhere calleth them), these breach
makers, break Christ’s bands in sunder (as Samson did the seven green withes,
16:9), and cast away his cords from them, Psalms 2:3. These unruly Belialists get the
bit between their teeth, like headstrong horses; and casting their rider, rise up
against him. They, like men (or rather like wild beasts), "transgress the covenant,"
Hosea 5:7, resolving to live as they list, to take their swing in sin: "for who" (say
they) "is Lord over us?" Psalms 12:4. Tremellius reads that text, tanquam hominis,
just as man, they transgress it as if it were the covenant of a man: they make no
more of breaking the law than as if they had to do with dust and ashes like
themselves, and not with the great God that can tame them with the turn of his
hand, and with the blast of his mouth blow them into hell. Hath he not threatened to
"walk contrary to those that walk contrary to him," to be as cross as they for the
hearts of them, and to bring upon them seven times more plagues than before, and
seven times and seven to that, till he have got the better of them? for is it fit that he

35. should cast down the bucklers first? I think not. He will be obeyed by these
exorbitant, yokeless, lawless persons, either actively or passively. The law was added
because of transgression: and is given, saith the apostle, 1 Timothy 1:9, "not to the
righteous," for they are αυτονοµοι, a law to themselves (as the Thracians boasted),
but to the lawless and disobedient, who count licentiousness the only liberty, and the
service of God the greatest slavery; who think no venison sweet but that which is
stolen, nor any mirth but that which a Solomon would say to, Thou mad fool, what
doest thou? Ecclesiastes 2:2. Lo, for such rebels and refractories, for such masterless
monsters as send messages after the Lord Christ, saying, "We will not have this man
to reign over us," for these, I say, was the law made, to hamper them and shackle
them, as fierce and furious creatures; to tame them and tear them with its four iron
teeth, 1. Of irritation, Romans 7:7 2. Of induration, Isaiah 6:10
3. Of obligation to condign punishment, Genesis 4:4 4. Of execration, or
malediction, Deuteronomy 28:16-17, &c. Let men take heed, therefore, how they
break out against God: let them meddle with their matches, and not contend with
him that is mightier than they: it is the wise man’s counsel, Ecclesiastes 6:10.
And blood toucheth blood] i.e. there is a continuation, and, as it were, a
concatenation of murders, and other horrible villanies, as was at Jerusalem in the
murder of Zacharias, the son of Barachias; the blood of the sacrificer was mingled
with the blood of the sacrifice, and, as Luke 13:1, the like occured. So at Athens,
when Sulla took the town, there was ανελεης σφαγη, a merciless slaughter; the
gutters running with blood. And so at Samaria (which the prophet may here
probably intend), when there was such killing of kings (and they fall not alone);
Hosea killed his predecessor Pekah, as he had done Pekahiah; Menahem killed
Shallum, as Shallum had done Zacharias: so true is that of the poet (Juvenal),
“ Ad generum Cereris sine crude et sanguine pauci,
Descendunt Reges, et sicca morte tyranni. ”
What got most of the first Caesars by their adoption, or designation to the empire,
isi ut citius interficerentur, but to be killed so much the sooner? All, or most of
them, till Constantius, died unnatural deaths, as afterwards, Phocas the traitor
killed the good Emperor Mauritius, stewing him in his own broth. Heraclius slew
Phocas, putting him to a shameful and tormentful death. Conradinus, King of
Germany and Duke of Sweden, was beheaded by Charles, King of aples and
Sicily; and the headsman presently beheaded by another, ne extaret qui iacraret tam
generosum sanguinem a se effusum (saith mine author), that there might not be any
left to boast that he had spilt so noble blood. Our Richard III, that bloody and
deceitful man, is said to have used the instruments of his cruel plots (his cut-throats,
I mean) as men do their candles; burn the first out to a suuff, and then, having
lighted another, tread that underfoot. Fawkes (that fatal actor of the intended
gunpowder tragedy) should have been thus rewarded by his brethren in evil had the

36. plot taken effect. It is that famous and never-to-be-forgotten 5th of ovember, 1651,
wherein I write these lines, and therefore, in way of thankfulness to our ever
gracious deliverer, I here think good to set down the relation as Mr John Vicars (in
his Quintessence of Cruelty, or Poem of the Popish Gunpowder Plot) hath declared
it to the world, as he had it from Mr Clement Cotton, the composer of the English
Concordance, who also received it from Mr Pickering, of Titsmarsh Grove, in
orthamptonshire, and it is thus: This Mr Pickering, being in great esteem with
King James, had a horse of special note, on which he used to hunt with the king: this
horse was borrowed from him (a little before the blow was to be given) by his
brother-in-law, Keyes (one of the conspirators), and conveyed to London, for a
bloody purpose, which thus was plotted. Fawkes on the day of the fatal blow was
appointed to retire himself to St George’s Fields, where this said horse was to attend
him to make his escape as soon as the Parliament House was blown up. It was
likewise contrived, that the said Mr Pickering (noted for a Puritan) should be that
very morning murdered in his bed, and secretly conveyed away: as also that Fawkes
himself should have been murdered in St George’s Fields, and there so mangled and
cut in pieces that it might not be discovered who it was. Whereupon it was to be
rumoured abroad that the Puritans had blown up the Parliament House: and the
better to make the world believe so, there was Mr Pickering with his horse ready to
make an escape, but that God stirred up some, who seeing the heinousness of the
fact, and he ready to escape by flight, in detestation of so horrible a deed fell upon
him, and killed him, and so had hacked him in pieces. And yet to make it to be more
apparent to be so indeed, there was his horse found also, which was of special speed
and swiftness, to carry him away: and upon this rumour, a massacre should have
gone through the whole kingdom upon the Puritans. But when this plot, thus
contrived, was confessed by some of the conspirators, and Fawkes in the Tower was
made acquainted with it (who had been borne in hand to be bountifully rewarded
for his service in the Catholic cause), when he saw how his ruin was contrived, he
also thereupon confessed freely all that he knew touching that horrid and hideous
conspiracy, which (before) all the torture of the rack could not force him to. The
truth of all this is attested by Mr William Perkins, an eminent Christian and citizen
of London, who had it from the mouth of Mr Clement Cotton: which I could not but
here insert, as coming to my mind and pen, on the very day whereon (46 years since)
it should have been acted, when myself was but four years of age, and it being the
utmost that I can remember; but if ever I forget, let my right hand forget her
cunning. Remember, O Lord, these children of Edom, &c., these Romish Edomites,
Esauites, Jesuits, who said, "Rase it, rase it, even to the foundation, O daughter of
Babylon," &c., Psalms 137:5; Psalms 137:7-8. The Rabbis call the Romists Edomites
(they interpret the mount of Esau, Obad. Obadiah 1:21, to be meant of Rome), and
well they may, for their blood guiltiness, for which they are hated of God, Psalms
5:6. Who cannot but remember that their sins (as a cart rope) have reached up to
heaven, Revelation 18:5, there having been a concatenation, or a continued series of
them, as the Greek there imports, ηκολουθησαν, and (as some here interpret)
"blood touching blood," according to Isaiah 1:15, "Your hands are full of blood";
and Hosea 4:4, "The filth of the daughter of Zion, and the blood of Jerusalem." This
sense, the Chaldee paraphrase maketh. The Septuagint (with their µισγυουσι,
"mingle blood with blood") seem to understand it of incestuous matches and

37. mixtures forbidden, Leviticus 18:6, and yet avowed by David George and his
disciples, and practised in the court of Spain, by papal dispensation.
PETT, "Verse 2
‘They break out, and blood collides with blood.’
Most heinously they are guilty of much bloodshed. ‘They break out’. That is they at
times remove all restraint. We might say, ‘they break all bounds.’ The suggestion
appears to be that every now and again groups of men are roused to violence by
some slight, imagined or real, and engage in shedding the blood of their fellow-
Israelites. Thus the whole land is constantly on the edge of violence. As we know
they were turbulent times, with each king arising as a consequence of assassinating
another (something always exacerbating dissension); with the threat of Assyria
constantly on the horizon and every now and then appearing; with fierce
disagreement between different political parties as to how to meet the problem
posed; and with a Judah which was unwilling to enter into an alliance with them
and Aram (Syria), and thus having to be put in its place. All this encouraged
violence and thoughts of violence, and violence begets violence.
K&D, "Verse 2
“Swearing, and lying, and murdering, and stealing, and committing adultery; they
break in, and blood reaches to blood.” The enumeration of the prevailing sins and
crimes commences with infin. absoll., to set forth the acts referred to as such with
the greater emphasis. ('Alâh), to swear, in combination with (kichēsh), signifies false
swearing (= ‫שׁוא‬ ‫אלוה‬ in Hosea 10:4; compare the similar passage in Jeremiah 7:9);
but we must not on that account take (kichēsh) as subordinate to ('âlâh), or connect
them together, so as to form one idea. Swearing refers to the breach of the second
commandment, stealing to that of the eighth; and the infinitives which follow
enumerate the sins against the fifth, the seventh, and the sixth commandments. With
(pârâtsū) the address passes into the finite tense (Luther follows the lxx and Vulg.,
and connects it with what precedes; but this is a mistake). The perfects, (pârâtsū)
and (nâgâ‛ū), are not preterites, but express a completed act, reaching from the past
into the present. (Pârats) to tear, to break, signifies in this instance a violent
breaking in upon others, for the purpose of robbery and murder, “(grassari) as
‫,פריצים‬ i.e., as murderers and robbers” (Hitzig), whereby one bloody deed
immediately followed another (Ezekiel 18:10). (Dâmı̄m): blood shed with violence, a
bloody deed, a capital crime.
3 Because of this the land dries up,
and all who live in it waste away;

38. the beasts of the field, the birds in the sky
and the fish in the sea are swept away.
BAR ES, "Therefore shall the land mourn - Dumb inanimate nature seems to
rejoice and to be in unison with our sense of joy, when bedewed and fresh through rain
and radiant with light; and, again, to mourn, when smitten with drought or blight or
disease, or devoured by the creatures which God employs to lay it waste for man’s sins.
Dumb nature is, as it were, in sympathy with man, cursed in Adam, smitten amid man’s
offences, its outward show responding to man’s inward heart, wasted, parched, desolate,
when man himself was marred and wasted by his sins.
With the beasts of the field - Literally, “in the beasts,” etc. God included “the fowl
and the cattle and every beast of the field” in His covenant with man. So here, in this
sentence of woe, He includes them in the inhabitants of the land, and orders that, since
man would not serve God, the creatures made to serve him, should be withdrawn from
him. “General iniquity is punished by general desolation.”
Yea, the fishes of the sea also - Inland seas or lakes are called by this same name,
as the Sea of Tiberias and the Dead Sea. Yet here the prophet probably alludes to the
history of man’s creation, when God gave him dominion “over the fish of the sea, and
over the fowl of the heaven, and over every living thing (chaiah)” Gen_1:28, in just the
inverse order, in which he here declares that they shall be taken away. There God gives
dominion over all, from lowest to highest; here God denounces that He will take away
all, down to those which are least affected by any changes. Yet from time to time God
has, in chastisement, directed that the shoals of fishes should not come to their usual
haunts. This is well known in the history of seacoasts; and conscience has acknowledged
the hand of God and seen the ground of His visitation. Of the fulfillment Jerome writes:
“Whose believeth not that this befell the people of Israel, let him survey Illyricum, let
him survey the Thraces, Macedonia, the Pannonias, and the whole land which stretches
from the Propontis and Bosphorus to the Julian Alps, and he will experience that,
together with man, all the creatures also fail, which afore were nourished by the Creator
for the service of man.”
CLARKE, "Therefore shall the land mourn - Fruitful seasons shall be denied.
That dwelleth therein shall languish - Endemic and epidemic disorders shall
prevail, and multitudes shall die; so that mourning shall be found in all quarters.
The beasts of the field, and with the fowls - There is a death of cattle and
domestic animals, in consequence of the badness of the season.
The fishes of the sea also shall be taken away - Those immense shoals which at
certain seasons frequent the coasts, which are caught in millions, and become a very
useful home supply, and a branch of most profitable traffic, they shall be directed by the
unseen influence of God to avoid our coasts, as has frequently been the case with

39. herrings, mackerel, pilchards, etc.; and so this source of supply and wealth has been shut
up, because of the iniquities of the land.
GILL, "Therefore shall the land mourn,.... Because of the calamities on it, the
devastations made in it; nothing growing upon it, through a violent drought; or the grass
and corn being trodden down, or eaten up, by a foreign army:
and everyone that dwelleth therein shall languish; that is, every man, an
inhabitant thereof, shall become weak, languish away, and die through wounds received
by the enemy; or for want of food, or being infected with the wasting and destroying
pestilence:
with the beasts of the field, and with the fowls of heaven; the one shall die in
the field for want of grass to eat, and the other shall drop to the earth through the
infection of the air:
yea, the fishes of the sea also shall be taken away; or "gathered" (p); to some
other place, so as to disappear; or they shall be consumed and die, as Kimchi interprets
it; and as all these creatures are for the good of men, for sustenance, comfort, and
delight, when they are taken away, it is by way of punishment for their sins. So the
Targum,
"the fishes of the sea shall be lessened for their sins.''
JAMISO , "land ... languish — (Isa_19:8; Isa_24:4; Joe_1:10, Joe_1:12).
sea — including all bodies of water, as pools and even rivers (see on Isa_19:5). A
general drought, the greatest calamity in the East, is threatened.
CALVI , "Verse 3
The Prophet now expresses more clearly the dispute which he mentions in the first
verse; and it now evidently appears, that it was not a judgment expressed in words,
for God had in vain tried to bring the people to the right way by threats and
reproofs: he had contended enough with then; they remained refractory; hence he
adds, “ ow mourn shall the whole land”; that is, God has now resolved to execute
his judgment: there is therefore no use for you any more to contrive any evasion, as
you have been hitherto wont to do; for God stretches forth his hand for your
ultimate destruction. Mourn, therefore, shall the land, and cut off shall be every one
that dwells in it, as I prefer to render it; unless the Prophet, it may be, means, that
though God should for a time suspend the last judgment, yet the Israelites would
gain nothing, seeing that they would, by continual languor, pine away. But as he
mentions mourning in the first place, the former meaning, that God would destroy
all the inhabitants, seems more appropriate. He adds, gathered shall they be all, or
destroyed, (for either may suit the place,) from the beast of the field, and the bird of
heaven, to the fishes of the sea. The Prophet here enlarges on the greatness of God’s
wrath; for he includes even the innocent beasts and the birds of heaven, yea, the
fishes of the sea. When Godly vengeance extends to brute animals, what will become

40. of men?
But some one may here object and say, that it is unworthy of God to be angry with
miserable creatures, which deserve no such treatment: for why should God be angry
with fishes and beasts? But an answer may be easily given: As beasts, and birds, and
fishes, and, in a word, all other things, have been created for the use of men, it is no
wonder that God should extend the tokens of his curse to all creatures, above and
below, when his purpose is to punish men. We seek, indeed, for the most part, some
vain comforts to delight us, or to moderate our sorrows when God shows himself
angry with us: but when God curses innocent animals for our sake, we then dread
the more, except, indeed, we be under the influence of extreme stupor.
We now then understand why God here denounces destruction on brute animals as
well as on birds and fishes of the sea; it is, that men may know themselves to be
deprived of all his gifts; as when a person, in order to expose a wicked man to
shame, pulls down his house and burns his whole furniture: so also does God do,
who has adorned the world with so much and such varied wealth for our sake, when
he reduces all things to a waste: He thereby shows how grievously offended he is
with us, and thus constrains us to become humble. This then is the Prophet’s
meaning.
BE SO , "Verse 3
Hosea 4:3. Therefore shall the land mourn — “Desolation, drought, and dearth shall
come upon the whole land; shall consume both men, and beasts, and fowls, and shall
even extend itself to the inhabitants of the waters.” A land is said, in Scripture
language, to mourn, when it is deprived of its inhabitants, or lies desolate. A great
part of the land of Israel was made thus desolate by Tiglath-pileser, and the rest by
Shalmaneser. There may also be a reference to the drought foretold by Amos 1:2, or
to the locusts, mentioned chap. Hosea 5:7. Every one that dwelleth therein shall
languish — If any one remain therein, he shall languish for want of the proper
necessaries of life. With the beasts of the field, and with the fowls of heaven — Even
the beasts and birds shall pine away with want; not only the fruits of the earth, but
the herbs and grass also, being eaten up or spoiled by the enemies’ armies. Yea, the
fishes of the sea also shall be taken away — The fishes of the rivers and great
waters, called seas in the Hebrew language, shall be killed through drought, or so
diminished that they shall not supply the wants of this rebellious people: see
Zephaniah 1:3.
COFFMA , "Verse 3
"Therefore shall the land mourn, and everyone that dwelleth therein shall languish,
with the beasts of the fields and the birds of the heavens; yea, the fishes of the sea
also shall be taken away."
God is both the prosecuting attorney and the judge in this arraignment and
prosecution of Israel. The reasons for judgment have already been cited, and the
judgment is impending. The various elements mentioned here may be summed up in
a word, disaster!

41. "The land shall mourn ..." By metonymy, the whole people of Israel are those who
shall mourn. The inclusion of the lower creation in this mourning (the animals,
birds, and fishes) merely emphasizes the extent and universality of the suffering; but
there may also be a reference to the primeval curse of the ground "for Adam's
sake" (Genesis 3:17-21), with a strong intimation that it will be continued and
perhaps intensified by the kind of behavior that marks the response of Israel to the
love of God. God's curse upon the earth because of human sin would also inevitably
involve the lower creation. Given thought that the inclusion of the lower order of
creation here was for the purpose of "representing the severity of the judgment in
its totality."[10]
TRAPP, "Verse 3
Hosea 4:3 Therefore shall the land mourn, and every one that dwelleth therein shall
languish, with the beasts of the field, and with the fowls of heaven; yea, the fishes of
the sea also shall be taken away.
Ver. 3. Therefore shall the land mourn] Here the Lord proceeds to give sentence;
and it is dreadful indeed. Lugebit terra, languebit incola, &c. You will not mourn,
therefore your land shall; the ugly face of your sin shall appear in the miserable
desolation of your country. "There is no truth, mercy, or knowledge of God in your
land"; which even groans under your burden, its axle spokes being ready to break;
therefore it shall be eased of you, by my sore, and great, and strong sword, which
shall soon make work among you, and lay all waste. And as God’s red horse of war
is followed by the black horse of famine, and that black one by the pale horse of
pestilence, Revelation 6:4-5; Revelation 6:8, so shall it be here. As by swearing and
lying, &c., you have broke out, so shall my whole wrath break out upon you as a
mighty torrent. As blood hath touched blood, so punishment shall follow hard upon
sin; for these two are knit together with chains of adamant, saith the poet. "If thou
do evil, sin lies at the door," saith God, Genesis 4:7, that is, supplicium imminer,
idque proximum et praesentissimum, saith Junius there. Evil shall hunt the wicked
man to destroy him: his sin shall find him out as a blood hound, and haunt him as a
hell hag. Where iniquity breaks fast calamity will be sure to dine; to sup where it
dines, and to lodge where it sups. o sooner had man sinned but the earth was
cursed for his sake, Genesis 3:17-18. It was never beautiful nor cheerful since. At
this day it lies bedridden, and looks to be burnt up shortly with her works, 2 Peter
3:10. Here it is brought in as a mother in mourning, bewailing the loss of all her
children, and refusing to be comforted. And surely though the land be eased of a
very heavy burden, as I have said, when purged by God’s just judgments of her
ungrateful and wicked inhabitants; yet because she lies under the dint of Divine
displeasure at such a time, therefore is she rightly said to mourn in this case, and to
be in a sad, disconsolate condition, {see Jeremiah 12:4} she becomes a very Ahil
(that is the word here used, see 11:33), a Bochim, a Hadadrimmon, an Irisland; and
being desolate, she mourneth unto thee: for she seeth that her convulsions are like to
end in a deadly consumption.

42. And every one that dwelleth therein shall languish] Heb. shall wither as a flower,
ahum 1:4. Or, shall be weakened. Those that now stand upon their tip toes, and
face the very heavens, stouting it out with God, shall then be weak as water,
withered as a flower, strengthless as a moth eaten cloth, Psalms 39:11, low spirited
and crest fallen, as the king of Sodom (erst man good enough to look four kings in
the face, but a non-suppliant to Abraham, a forlorn foreigner, Genesis 14:21).
Manasseh, that sturdy rebel, in trouble basely hides his head among the bushes, 2
Chronicles 33:11. Caligula in time of thunder ran under beds and benches.
Affliction will tame, and take down the proudest spirits: they break in adversity that
bore their heads on high in prosperity: they speak out of the ground, and whisper
out of the dust, Isaiah 29:4, that look to be brought into the dust of death, Psalms
22:15. It is the pestilence that here seemeth to be threatened (as before sword and
famine), and a universal pestilence too; reaching not only to men, but to other
creatures made for man’s uses, which shows the greatness of the wrath: like as when
a king not only executeth the traitor, but also pulleth down his house, confiscateth
his goods, and disinheriteth his children, &c. But what have those sheep done? the
beasts, birds, and fishes, that they must suffer also? It is but reason they should,
since, first, they are part of men’s enjoyments: secondly, they are many times
(though harmless in themselves, yet) instruments of men’s sin (Pareus); and
therefore well doth the Chaldee here paraphrase Diminutionem patientur propter
hominum peccata, they shall suffer for man’s sin: who may therefore well say to
them, as Judah did to Tamar, "Thou art more righteous than I"
With the beasts of the field] Which shall die by the murrain.
And the fowls of the air] Which shall catch the contagion, and fall down dead; as
those birds do that attempt to fly over the Dead Sea.
And the fishes of the sea also shall be taken away] Colligentur, conficientur, they
shall be gathered together, as seeking help one of another in a common danger: and
yet they shall be destroyed, the very waters being pestilential, as they were here in
King Edward III’s days; so that the very fowls and fishes had botches upon them.
This was a heavier judgment than that which befell the old world; for then the
fishes perished not, though the Jewish doctors would persuade us that these also
died in the flood; for that the waters thereof were boiling hot.
PETT, "Verse 3
‘Therefore will the land mourn, and every one who dwells in it will languish, with
the beasts of the field and the birds of the heavens, yes, the fishes of the sea also will
be taken away.’
The consequence of all this will be that the land itself will suffer, and everyone in it
will languish, to such an extent that it will have a major effect on the wild animals,

43. the birds, and the fish. The affecting of the fish would appear to be an indication of
heavy drought. Invasions usually pass fish by (unless, of course, the invaders are
partial to fish). So the problems coming on Israel will be environmental as well as
man-caused.
There may well be the intention here of pointing out that the people of Israel have
failed in their responsibility for watching over creation (compare Psalms 8:7-8;
Genesis 1:30). Even the creatures whom they are responsible for will suffer. It is as
though creation itself is being reversed because of their behaviour.
K&D, "Verse 3
These crimes bring the land to ruin. Hosea 4:3. “Therefore the land mourns, and
every dweller therein, of beasts of the field and birds of the heaven, wastes away;
and even the fishes of the sea perish.” These words affirm not only that the
inanimate creation suffers in consequence of the sins and crimes of men, but that the
moral depravity of men causes the physical destruction of all other creatures. As
God has given to man the dominion over all beasts, and over all the earth, that he
may use it for the glory of God; so does He punish the wickedness of men by
pestilences, or by the devastation of the earth. The mourning of the earth and the
wasting away of the animals are the natural result of the want of rain and the great
drought that ensues, such as was the case in the time of Ahab throughout the
kingdom of the ten tribes (1 Kings 17:18), and judging from Amos 1:2; Amos 8:8,
may have occurred repeatedly with the continued idolatry of the people. The verbs
are not futures, in which case the punishment would be only threatened, but aorists,
expressing what has already happened, and will continue still. ‫בּהּ‬ ‫כּל־יושׁב‬ (every
dweller therein): these are not the men, but the animals, as the further definition
‫וגו‬ ‫בּחיּה‬ shows. ‫ב‬ is used in the enumeration of the individuals, as in Genesis 7:21;
Genesis 9:10. The fishes are mentioned last, and introduced with the emphasizing
‫,וגם‬ to show that the drought would prevail to such an extent, that even lakes and
other waters would be dried up. ‫,האסף‬ to be collected, to be taken away, to disappear
or perish, as in Isaiah 16:10; Isaiah 60:20; Jeremiah 48:33.
PULPIT, "Hosea 4:3-5
These verses relate, with much particularity, the sufferings consequent on sins,
especially such as are specified in the preceding verses. The montaging of the land
mentioned in Hosea 4:3 may be understood either figuratively or literally. If in the
former way, there are many Scripture parallels which represent nature in full
accord with human feelings, sympathizing with man, now in joy, again in sorrow;
for example: "The little hills rejoice on every side;" the valleys "shout for joy, they
also sing;" on the other hand, "The earth mourneth and fadeth away, the world
languisheth and fadeth away, the haughty people of the earth do languish." But if
the expression be taken literally, it conveys a solemn fact, and one in perfect
harmony with the entire tone and character of the old economy, according to which
moral evil transmutes itself into physical evil, and impresses itself in dismal
characters on the face of inanimate nature. The Hebrew commentators seem to

44. understand the statement literally; thus Rashi: "The land shall be laid waste, and
there shall be great mourning;" likewise Kimchi: "The land of Israel shall be laid
waste and desolated." The latter has this further comment: "After the land of Israel
shall have been laid waste, man and beast shall be cut off out of it. But under the
beasts of the field the prophet does not mean the wild beasts, but the large domestic
animals which dwell with the sons of men, likewise called ‫חיה‬ . It is also possible that
even the beasts that roam at largo are included, for the wild beast does not come to
inhabited places that are laid waste, unless they are partially inhabited." He also
adds, in reference to the fowls of heaven, "When he speaks of the fowls of heaven, it
is because most of the fowls do not dwell in the wilderness, but in inhabited places,
where they find seeds and fruits and blossoms of trees. Or the fowls of heaven are
mentioned by way of hyperbole to represent the matter in its totality; and,
according to this sense, it is used in the Prophet Jeremiah; and it explains itself in
like manner in one of these two ways." With the mourning of the land the dwellers
therein languish. or is this languishing condition confined to rational beings; it
comprises the irrational as well, and that without exception. The dominion assigned
man at the beginning over the whole creation of God is here reversed in the case of
Israel; while the denunciation of wrath has that reversal for its dark background.
The terms of the dominion to man by the Creator are, "Have dominion over the fish
of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon
the earth;" but in this denunciation these terms are reversed and read backwards,
being," with the beasts of the field, and with the fowls of heaven; yea, the fishes of
the sea also." Thus all nature, inanimate and animate, and all creation, rational and
irrational, are involved in the consequences of Israel's sin. The particles "yea,
even," preceding "the fishes of the sea" (such as the Sea of Galilee or other inland
seas and rivers), show the entirely unexpected as well as unusual nature of the event.
The Chaldee paraphrases the clause as follows: "And even the fishes of the sea shall
be diminished in number, on account of their (Israel's) sins." Earth refuses
sustenance to man and beast, no longer yielding grass for the cattle or herb for the
service of man; the waters of the sea, being lessened by drought or becoming putrid
by stagnation, no longer supply their accustomed quota of fishes for human food.
An illustration of the literal sense has been quoted by Rosenmüller and Pusey from
Jerome. It is the following: "Whoso believeth not that this befell the people of Israel,
let him survey Illyricum, let him survey the Thraces, Macedonia, the Pannonias, and
the whole land which stretches from the Propoutis and Dosphorus to the Julian
Alps, and he will experience that, together with man, all the creatures also fail,
which afore were nourished by the Creator for the service of man." The le before ‫הי‬
is explained by Abarbanel in the sense of through, as though the inhabitants would
be slain by wild beasts: by Hitzig as extending to; by Keil as of in enumeration. It is
simply with. Verse 4 looks like an interjected clause, coming in the middle of the
enumeration of Divine judgments; and the purpose is not so much to justify the
severity of those judgments as to intimate their inefficacy, owing to the incorrigible
character of the people. There is
(a) that reasoning with them would be useless, and reproof thrown away, in
consequence of the desperate obstinacy of these offenders; or

45. (b) that they were so self-willed that they would not allow any one to reprove them
for their conduct.
The rendering
BI, "Therefore shall the land mourn, and every one that dwelleth therein shall
languish.
The social causes of human misery
It is a principle illustrated by the holy records, that when immorality has thoroughly
infected a state, in defiance of all warning and ordinary discipline, it is given up to
destruction, as was Sodom, and also many of the most renowned empires of ancient
times. Nothing is more certain and calculable in action and result than are social evils
and social virtues. To inquire into their nature and operation is the way to discover a
remedy for a most serious evil, and to furnish the most powerful motives for its rigorous
and incessant application. There is much misery in the world. A primary cause of it is to
be found in man himself. We are not to blame society, or social relations in any of their
forms, for all the evils that exist in, and seem to be developed by them. Man, by his very
constitution, is a social creature. The depravity of man, both as the judicial result of his
sin, and as aggravated by his habits both of thought and sensual indulgence, insinuates
itself into all that he does, and corrupts every relation into which he enters. Each
relation, therefore, however fitted to produce and increase his happiness, is found to
contribute something to his misery, and presents to the observer some new form and
modification of human suffering. Consider the common relations of human society.
I. The political. If justice were enthroned in every heart there would be no necessity for
any political economy. The authority of God in every man’s conscience would render all
human government totally unnecessary. Government as a human institution can be
traced no higher than to the necessities that spring from the fall. So long as government
is the administration of justice- the agency by which wrong and outrage are repressed
and punished—it must contribute in a most effectual manner to the good of a
community. It is not because of this relation between the governor and governed that
political evils exist. When the governor ceases to be the administrator of justice at all,
and when the abettors of wrong obtain power and influence, then righteousness is
hurled from her throne, and law trampled in the mire under the feet of a lawless and
licentious mob. The ruin of a state has generally commenced with the corruption of its
government. The amount of calamity and woe inflicted on our species by corrupt and
despotic governments forms too serious an item to be passed over in silence.
II. The causes of human misery operating through the medium of the relations of
commerce. These we take in their most extensive sense, including the intercourse and
the arrangements, agreed upon generally, for conducting the manufacturing and
mercantile depart ments of trade. The morals of trade, it is to be feared, are but
indefinite at the best. Gain is the object pursued; but the means of acquiring it are as
various as the dispositions and amount of principle felt by the candidates will admit.
There are certainly parts of the economy of trade that require attention and no slight
measure of reform. There is much of suffering and unhappiness observable in the
commercial relations of life; and these may be clearly traced either to causes originating
in something defective in the moral principles on which the economy of trade is based,
or in the dispositions of those who take a part in conducting its several departments.
Illustrate from the relation of master and servant, of the employer and the employed.
Late hours; time for payment of wages; speculation; getting out of temporary difficulties

46. by giving accommodation bills, etc.
III. The causes of human misery in the relations of friendship and private society.
1. Society has its temptations, and these, if not carefully watched, may lead us into
much evil. One of the first consequences of a fondness for society is the diminished
fervour of the domestic affections. Another temptation is a love of display. A certain
indolence too is generally induced by the kind of social intercourse to which we are
now referring.
2. Society has its actual vices. What so pernicious as envy? Consider the
conventional estimate formed of the character of vices, such as gambling. There
never was a day in which the debauching indulgence of the appetites was so
inexcusable as the present. The cure of all the evil and misery is the adoption of the
principle and rule,—“Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.” (J. Robinson.)
A terrible deprivation
A deprivation that comes upon the people in consequence of their heinous iniquities.
I. A deprivation of both material and spiritual good.
1. Of material good.
(1) Health. Sin is inimical to the bodily health and vigour of men and nations; it
insidiously saps the constitution.
(2) Means of subsistence. Reference is to one of those droughts that occasionally
occur in the East, and is ever one of the greatest calamities. How soon the Eternal
can destroy our means of subsistence l
2. Of spiritual good. Their presumptuous guilt was as great as that of one who
refused to obey the priest when giving judgment in the name of Jehovah (Deu_
17:12). One of the greatest spiritual blessings of mankind is the strife and reproof of
godly men. What a derivation for these to be taken away!
II. A deprivation leading to a terrible doom.
1. The destruction of both priests and people. The meaning is that no time, night or
day, shall be free from the slaughter both of the priests and of the people. This was
literally true of the Ten Tribes at this time.
2. The destruction of the social state. “And I will destroy thy mother.” Who was the
mother? The Israelitish state. And it was destroyed. (Homilist.)
With the beasts of the field, and with the fowls of heaven.
The sharers in Divine judgment
The Lord’s sentence or threatening for these sins is that extreme desolation shall come,
not only on the people, but on the land, and on all the creatures for their sakes, even on
the fishes which were in lakes and ponds in the land. Doctrine—
1. The judgments of God upon the visible Church will be very sad and grievous, when
they are inflicted, and as universal as sin hath been.

47. 2. Albeit the Lord’s judgments on sinful and impenitent people do at first utterly
consume them, yet that will be only that they may live awhile to feel their own
miseries, and then be consumed by them, if they repent not.
3. Sinful man is a great enemy to all the creatures, as well as to himself; he makes
both himself and them to mourn and pine away, because he will not mourn indeed.
4. As the glory of all the creatures is but a flower, which God will soon make to
wither and languish when He pursueth for sin, so the creatures will not help man
when God is angry at him; but as these draw him from God, so God is provoked to
cut him short in them, as here they are consumed with him. (George Hutcheson.)
All creatures share the calamities of sin
As beasts, birds, and fishes, and in a word, all other things, have been created for the use
of men, it is no wonder that God should extend the tokens of His curse to all creatures,
above and below, when His purpose is to punish men. When God curses innocent
animals for our sake, we then dread the more, except, indeed, we be under the influence
of extreme stupor. (John Calvin.)
4 “But let no one bring a charge,
let no one accuse another,
for your people are like those
who bring charges against a priest.
BAR ES, "Yet let no man strive, nor reprove another - Literally, “Only man
let him, not strive, and let not man reprove.” God had taken the controversy with His
people into His own hands; the Lord, He said , “hath a controversy (rib) with the
inhabitants of the land” Hos_4:1. Here He forbids man to intermeddle; man let him not
strive. He again uses the same word . The people were obstinate and would not hear;
warning and reproof, being neglected, only aggravated their guilt: so God bids man to
cease to speak in His Name. He Himself alone will implead them, whose pleading none
could evade or contradict. Subordinately, God, teaches us, amid His judgments, not to
strive or throw the blame on each other, but each to look to his own sins, not to the sins

48. of others.
For thy people are as they that strive with the priest - God had made it a part
of the office of the priest, to “keep knowledge” Mal_2:7. He had bidden, that all hard
causes should be taken “to Deu_17:8-12 the priest who stood to minister there before the
Lord their God;” and whose refused the priest’s sentence was to be put to death. The
priest was then to judge in God’s Name. As speaking in His Name, in His stead, with His
authority, taught by Himself, they were called by that Name, in Which they spoke, ‫אלהים‬
'elohıym Exo_21:6; Exo_22:8-9, “God,” not in regard to themselves but as representing
Him. To “strive” then “with the priest” was the highest contumacy; and such was their
whole life and conduct. It was the character of the whole kingdom of “Israel.” For they
had thrown off the authority of the family of Aaron, which God had appointed. Their
political existence was based upon the rejection of that authority. The national character
influences the individual. When the whole polity is formed on disobedience and revolt,
individuals will not tolerate interference. As they had rejected the priest, so would and
did they reject the prophets. He says not, they were “priest-strivers,” (for they had no
lawful priests, against whom to strive,) but they were like priest-strivers, persons whose
habit it was to strive with those who spoke in God’s Name. He says in fact, let not man
strive with those who strive with God. The uselessness of such reproof is often repeated.
He “that reproveth a scorner getteth to himself shame, and he that rebuketh a wicked
man getteth himself a blot” Pro_9:7-8. “Reprove not a scorner, lest he hate thee” Pro_
23:9. Speak not in the ears of a fool, for he will despise the wisdom of thy words.”
Stephen gives it as a characteristic of the Jews, “Ye stiff-necked and uncircumcised in
heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do ye” Act_
7:51.
CLARKE, "Yet let no man strive - Or, no man contendeth. All these evils stalk
abroad unreproved, for all are guilty. None can say, “Let me pluck the mote out of thy
eye,” because he knows that “there is a beam in his own.”
For thy people are - The people and the priest are alike rebels against the Lord; the
priests having become idolaters, as well as the people. Bp. Newcome renders this clause,
“And as is the provocation of the priest, so is that of my people.” The whole clause in the
original is ‫כהן‬ ‫כמריבי‬ ‫ועמך‬ veammecha kimeribey cohen, “and thy people as the rebellions of
the priest.” But one of my oldest MSS. omits ‫כהן‬ cohen, “priest;” and then the text may
be read, And thy people are as rebels. In this MS. ‫כהן‬ cohen is added in the margin by a
much later hand.
GILL, "Yet, let no man strive, nor reprove another,.... Or rather, "let no man
strive, nor any man reprove us" (q); and are either the words of the people, forbidding
the prophet, or any other man, to contend with them, or reprove them for their sins,
though guilty of so many, and their land in so much danger on that account: so the
Targum,
"but yet they say, let not the scribe teach, nor the prophet reprove:''
or else they are the words of God to the prophet, restraining him from striving with and

49. reproving such a people, that were incorrigible, and despised all reproof; see Eze_3:26
or of the prophet to other good men, to forbear anything of this kind, since it was all to
no purpose; it was but casting pearls before swine; it was all labour lost, and in vain:
for thy people are as they that strive with the priest; they are so far from
receiving correction and reproof kindly from any good men that they will rise up against,
and strive with the priests, to whom not to hearken was a capital crime, Deu_17:12.
Abarbinel interprets it, and some in Abendana, like the company of Korah, that
contended with Aaron; suggesting that this people were as impudent and wicked as they,
and there was no dealing with them. So the Targum,
"but thy people contend with their teachers;''
and will submit to no correction, and therefore it is in vain to give it them. Though some
think the sense is, that all sorts of men were so corrupt, that there were none fit to be
reprovers; the people were like the priests, and the priests like the people, Hos_4:9, so
that when the priests reproved them, they contended with them, and said, physician,
heal thyself; take the beam out of your own eye; look to yourselves, and your own sins,
and do not reprove us.
HE RY, ". An order of court that no pains should be taken with the condemned
criminal to bring him to repentance, with the reason for that order. Observe, 1. The
order itself (Hos_4:4): Yet let no man strive nor reprove another; let no means be used
to reduce and reclaim them; let their physicians give them up as desperate and past cure.
It intimates that as long as there is any hope we ought to reprove sinners for their sins; it
is a duty we owe to one another to give and to take reproofs; it was one of the laws of
Moses (Lev_19:17), Thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbour; it is an instance of
brotherly love. Sometimes there is need to rebuke sharply, not only to reprove, but to
strive, so loth are men to part with their sins. But it is a sign that persons and people are
abandoned to ruin when God says, Let them not be reproved. Yet this is to be
understood as God's commands sometimes to the prophets not to pray for them,
notwithstanding which they did pray for them; but the meaning is, They are so hardened
in sin, and so ripened for ruin, that it will be to little purpose either to deal with them or
to deal with God for them. Note, It bodes ill to a people when reprovers are silenced, and
when those who should witness against the sins of the times, retire into a corner, and
give up the cause. See 2Ch_25:16. 2. The reasons of this order. Let them not reprove one
another; for, (1.) They are determined to go on in sin, and no reproofs will cure them of
that: Thy people are as those that strive with the priests; they have grown so very
impudent in sin, so very insolent, and impatient of reproof, that they will fly in the face
even of a priest himself if he should but give them the least check, without any regard to
his character and office; and how then can it be thought that they should take a reproof
from a private person? Note, Those sinners have their hearts wickedly hardened who
quarrel with their ministers for dealing faithfully with them; and those who rebel against
ministerial reproof, which is an ordinance of God for their reformation, have forfeited
the benefit of brotherly reproof too. Perhaps this may refer to the late wickedness of
Joash king of Judah, and his people, who stoned Zechariah, the son of Jehoiada, for
delivering them a message from God, 2Ch_24:21. He was a priest; with him they strove
when he was officiating between the temple and the altar; and Dr. Lightfoot thinks the
prophet had an eye to his case when he spoke (Hos_4:2) of blood touching blood; the
blood of the sacrificer was mingled with the blood of the sacrifice, That, says he, was the
apex of their wickedness - thence their ruin was to be dated (Mat_23:35), as this is of

50. their incorrigibleness, that they are as those who strive with the priest, therefore let no
man reprove them;
JAMISO , "let no man ... reprove — Great as is the sin of Israel, it is hopeless to
reprove them; for their presumptuous guilt is as great as that of one who refuses to obey
the priest when giving judgment in the name of Jehovah, and who therefore is to be put
to death (Deu_17:12). They rush on to their own destruction as willfully as such a one.
thy people — the ten tribes of Israel; distinct from Judah (Hos_4:1).
BI, "Yet let no man strive, nor reprove another.
Restraint of converting agencies
Here is given an order of court that no pains should be taken with the condemned
criminal to bring him to repentance, and the reason for that order.
I. The order itself. “Let no man strive, nor reprove another.” Let.no means be used to
reduce or reclaim them; let their physicians give them up as desperate and past cure. It
intimates that as long as there is any hope we ought to reprove sinners for their sins. It is
a duty we owe to one another to give and take reproof. Sometimes there is need to
rebuke sharply, not only to reprove but to strive, so loth are men to part with their sins.
But it is a sign that persons and people are abandoned to ruin when God says, “Let them
not be reproved.” They are so hardened in sin, and so ripened for ruin, that it will be to
little purpose either to deal with them, or to deal with God for them. It bodes ill to a
people when reprovers are silenced.
II. The reasons of this order.
1. They are determined to go on in sin, and no reproofs will cure them of that. “Thy
people are as those that strive with the priests”; they have grown so very impudent in
sin that they will fly in the face even of a priest himself if he should but give them the
least check. Those sinners have their hearts wickedly hardened who quarrel with
their ministers for dealing faithfully with them.
2. God also is determined to proceed in their ruin. “Therefore shalt thou fall.” The
ruin of those who have helped to ruin ethers will, in a special manner, be intolerable.
When all are involved in guilt nothing less can be expected than that all should be
involved in ruin. (Matthew Henry.)
CALVI , "Verse 4
The Prophet here deplores the extreme wickedness of the people, that they would
bear no admonitions, like those who, being past hope, reject every advice, admit no
physicians, and dislike all remedies: and it is a proof of irreclaimable wickedness,
when men close their ears and harden their hearts against all salutary counsels.
Hence the Prophet intimates, that, together with their great and many corruptions,
there was such waywardness, that no one dared to reprove the public vices.
He adds this reason, For the people are as chiders of the priest, or, they really
contend with the priest: for some take ‫,כ‬ caph, in this place, not as expressive of
likeness, but as explaining and affirming what is said, ‘They altogether strive with

51. the priest.’ But I prefer the former sense, which is, that the Prophet calls all the
people the censors of their pastors: and we see that froward men become thus
insolent when they are reproved; for instantly such an objection as this is made by
them, “Am I to be treated like a child? Have I not attained sufficient knowledge to
understand how I ought to live?” We daily meet with many such men, who proudly
boast of their knowledge, as though they were superior to all Prophets and teachers.
And no doubt the ungodly make a show of wit and acuteness in opposing sound
doctrine: and then it appears that they have learnt more than what one would have
thought, — for what end? only that they may contend with God.
Let us now return to the Prophet’s words. But, he says: ‫,אך‬ ak is not to be taken
here as in many places for “verily:” but it denotes exception, “In the meantime”.
But, or, in the meantime, let no one chide and reprove another. In a word, the
Prophet complains, that while all kinds of wickedness abounded among the people,
there was no liberty to teach and to admonish, but that all were so refractory, that
they would not bear to hear the word; and that as soon as any one touched their
vices, there were great doctors, as they say, ready to reply.
And he enlarges on the subject by saying, that they were as chiders of the priest; for
he declares, that they who, with impunity, conducted themselves so wantonly
against God, were not yet content in being so wayward as to repel all reproofs, but
also willfully rose up against their own teachers: and, as I have already said,
common observation sufficiently proves, that all profane despisers of God are
inflated with such confidence, that they dare to attack others. Some conjecture, in
this instance, that the priest was so base, as to become liable to universal
reprobation; but this conjecture is of no weight, and frigid: for the Prophet here did
not draw his pen against a single individual, but, on the contrary, sharply reproved,
as we have said, the perverseness of the people, that no one would hearken to a
reprover. Let us then know that their diseases were then incurable, when the people
became hardened against salutary counsels, and could not bear to be any more
reproved. It follows —
BE SO , "Verse 4-5
Hosea 4:4-5. Yet let no man strive, nor reprove another — Bishop Horsley translates
this clause, By no means let any one expostulate, nor let any one reprove; adding, by
way of paraphrase, “For all expostulation and reproof will be lost upon this people,
such are their stubbornness anal obstinacy. For my people are as they that strive
(Are exactly like those who will contend, Horsley) with the priest — “To contend
with the priest, the authorized interpreter of the law, and the typical intercessor
between God and the people, was the highest species of contumacy and
disobedience, and by the law was a capital offence, Deuteronomy 17:12. God tells
the prophet that contumacy and perverseness, even in this degree, were become the
general character of the people; that the national obstinacy, and contempt of the
remonstrances and reproofs of the prophets, were such as might be compared with
the stubbornness of an individual who, at the peril of his life, would arraign and
disobey the judicial decisions of God’s priests.” In other words, that there was no

52. modesty, nor fear of God or man, left among them, but they would contend with
their teachers, reprovers, and counsellors. The LXX. translate this clause, ο δε λαος
µου ως αντιλεγοµενος ιερευς, My people are as a gainsaying priest, that is, as
Houbigant interprets it, they follow the rebellion of the priest: or, are as wicked as
those priests who infamously desert the service of God for that of idols. Pocock on
the place quotes a MS. Arabic version, which considers the words as declarative,
and translates them accordingly; a sense which is approved by Archbishop
ewcome, who renders the verse, Yet no man contendeth, and no man reproveth;
and as is the provocation of the priest, so is that of my people. While every kind of
wickedness abounded, and crimes of all sorts were openly committed from one end
of the land to the other, there was no person, either prophet, priest, or magistrate,
who protested against such vices, or steadily opposed them. Therefore shalt thou fall
— The last sentence was addressed to the prophet, “Thy people, O prophet;” this to
the people themselves, “Thou, O stubborn people.” This sudden conversion of the
speech of the principal speaker, from one to another of the different persons of the
scene, is frequent in the prophets. In the day — ot for want of light to see thy way;
but in the full daylight of divine instruction thou shalt fall. Even at the rising of that
light which is for the lighting of every man that cometh into the world. In this
daytime, when our Lord himself visited them, the Jews made their last false step,
and fell. Thou shalt fall when it is least probable; when thou thinkest thy state most
secure and prosperous. And the prophet also, &c., in the night — “In the night of
ignorance, which shall close thy day, the prophet shall fall with thee; that is, the
order of prophets among you shall cease.” Thus Bishop Horsley, who understands
the words as spoken of true prophets. But it seems more probable that they are
intended of false prophets, and that the meaning is, that their revelations, to which
they pretended in the night, or in the darkness of ignorance and error, should be
delusive and dangerous ones. Or, the people were to fall by day, the prophets by
night, because the ruin of the latter would be the consequence of the ruin of the
former: the prophets would then fall after the people, when the people, being
destroyed, it should appear that the prophets had spoken falsely by predicting
prosperity. And I will destroy thy mother — That is, the mother city, the metropolis.
So Capellus, Houbigant, and Archbishop ewcome. If the prophet be considered as
addressing the ten tribes only, Samaria is meant; but if he addressed the children of
Israel in general, then Jerusalem must be intended: which city, and not Samaria,
was the metropolis of the whole nation.
COFFMA , "Verse 4
"Yet let no man strive, neither let any reprove; for thy people are as they that strive
with the priest."
Mauchline paraphrased this verse: "It is God who has the controversy with his
people; therefore, let no man enter into it."[11] The forbidding of any man to
reprove, however, might also be referred to any who might have sought to reprove
the prophet Hosea for pronouncing such stern judgments against Israel. In any case,
the judgment is of God, and is not merely that of Hosea. Due to certain
imperfections in the text, some scholars have understood the meaning of this rather

53. ambiguous verse thus: "Let not anyone contend or make complaint, because the
people are not really to blame";[12] but we cannot believe that even the reprobate
priesthood who led the people in their sins could absolve them of guilt or blame.
"Thy people are as they that strive with the priest ..." This is a plain reference to
Deuteronomy 17:8-13, condemning all of those who rejected the judgment of the
priests acting in conformity with God's will. The sentence against persons thus
rebelling against authority was death. Thus, the last clause of this verse is an
emphatic declaration that Israel deserved the judgment of death that God
pronounced upon them. It may be viewed as a mitigating circumstance for the
people generally that their priesthood was illegitimate from its inception. Beginning
with Hosea 4:5, below, Hosea directed God's judgment against the priesthood.
COKE, "Verse 4
Hosea 4:4. Yet let no man strive, &c.— Let no one expostulate or reprove; for all
expostulation and reproof will be lost upon this people, such is their stubbornness
and obstinacy.
For thy people are as they that strive, &c.— "It is in vain for you to reproach one
another. You are given up as to an incurable malady; for you are as a man who
strives with the priests; guilty of the highest degree of rebellion, and incapable of
correction, by opposing the authorized interpreter of the law, and the typical
intercessor between God and the people. This passage therefore refers to the Mosaic
institutions." The law condemned those to death who resisted the authority of the
priest, Deuteronomy 17:12. Houbigant renders it, after the LXX, For thy people
follow the rebellion of the priest; that is to say, are as wicked as those priests who
infamously deserted the service of God for that of idols.
ELLICOTT, "Verse 4
(4) Yet let no man strive, nor reprove another.—Better, evertheless, let no one
contend, let no one reprove, for the voices of wise counsel, the warnings of the
prophet, will be silenced. Ephraim will in his obstinate wrong-doing be left alone.
The last clause of the verse is rendered by nearly all versions and commentators,
Though thy people are as those who contend with a priest—i.e., are as guilty as
those who transgress the teaching of the Torah by defying the injunctions of the
priest (Deuteronomy 17:12-13; umbers 15:33). But the Speaker’s Commentary
gives a different rendering, which is better adapted to the denunciations of the
priest in the following verses (comp. Hosea 6:9). By a slight change in the
punctuation of the Hebrew we obtain the interpretation, “And thy people, O priest,
are as my adversaries.” The position of the vocative in Hebrew, and the absence of
the article, are, no doubt, objections to such a construction, but they are not
insuperable, and the compensating advantage to exegesis is manifest.
TRAPP, "Verse 4
Hosea 4:4 Yet let no man strive, nor reprove another: for thy people [are] as they
that strive with the priest.

54. Ver. 4. Yet let no man strive nor reprove another] Let him not lose so much good
labour, and spill so many sweet words upon this people; for they are grown
uncounsellable, incurable, incorrigible. They have rejected the counsel of God
within, or against, themselves, Luke 7:30, corripiuntur sed non corriguntur; it is
because the Lord intendeth to destroy them, 1 Samuel 2:25, yea, he hath determined
it, 2 Chronicles 25:16. Hence as dying men lose their hearing and other senses by
degrees, so those that are destined to destruction grow stupid and stubborn, and will
neither hear good counsel, nor see the things that concern their peace, but spurn at
admonition and scorn at reproof.
“ Tunc etiam docta plus valet arte malum. ”
And therefore God forbids to reprove such, as deplored and desperate; to cast
pearls of good counsel before such dogs, who prefer loathsome carrion before sweet
odours; yea, rage at them as tigers do, and fly in the faces of such as present them;
or, at best, grunt and go their ways, as swine; leave good counsel where they find it,
not putting it in practice. ow, as dogs and swine were counted unclean creatures,
and unfit for sacrifice, so are such for admonition. Let a man be never so able and
apt to teach, let him be vir praestans, eximius, insignis, a gallant man (as the word
‫אושׁ‬ here used sometimes signifieth), and one that can do his work never so well, yet
the wisdom of his words shall be despised, Proverbs 23:9. Let him strive till his
heart aches, et disputatos arguere, as St Jude speaketh ( ελεγχετε διακρινοµενοι,
1:22), he shall but strive against the stream, and by reproving a scorner get him a
blot, Proverbs 9:7. The Pharisees denied our Saviour, and blew their noses at him (
εξεµυκτηριζον), Luke 16:14. Let them alone, therefore, saith our Saviour to his
disciples, they be blind leaders of the blind, Matthew 15:14; there is no good to be
done of them: therefore "let him that is filthy be filthy still," Revelation 22:11, and
he that is ignorant let him be ignorant, since he will needs be so, 1 Corinthians
14:38. Let him "pine away in his iniquity," Leviticus 26:38. Let him pine and perish,
go on, despair, die, and be damned. My spirit shall no longer strive with him, unless
it be by furious rebukes, Ezekiel 5:15, and by fire, Amos 7:4. Oecolampadius upon
this text doubts not to say that the sin of such as reject admonition is the sin against
the Holy Ghost: certainly it is worse than all the forementioned, swearing, lying, &c.
Blind nature could see and say as much. Hesiod saith that there are three sorts of
men: the first and best are those that live so well as not to need reproof ( ουτος µεν
παναριστος. Hesiod. Oper. et Dier. V 29). The second (and those not bad) are such
as do not so well, but can be content to hear of it. The third and worst are they that
will neither do as they ought, nor be advised to do better. Plutarch saith those that
are troubled with tooth ache will go to the physician; those that have a fever will
send for him; but he that is frantic or stark mad will do neither, but reject the
remedy and strike at the physician. So doth the scorner. See my commonplace of
admonition.
For this people are as they that strive with the priest] Though God’s officer, and in
his stead, 2 Corinthians 5:20, though the people’s oracle to preserve and present
knowledge to them, Malachi 2:7, and though to strive with such be to invert God’s

55. order, who hath appointed the people to hear and obey their teacher, and not to
prescribe to them; to follow their guides, and not to run before them, Hebrews 13:7;
Hebrews 13:17, 1 Timothy 1:20, 2 Timothy 1:15, umbers 16:1-3. From which texts
and 1 Corinthians 11:2-3, a grave divine argueth thus. It is a vile sin to vex our
ministers by our obstinace, yea, though they were not able to make so full
demonstration; yet when they reprove such and such things out of a spiritual
jealousy and fear they corrupt their hearts, they are to he heard; how much more
when they come "in the demonstration of the Spirit and of power?" 1 Corinthians
2:4. And yet how full is the Church and ever hath been of such Vitilitigatores as
contend with the best ministers, quarrel at God’s word, and take up arms against it!
snuffing at it, Malachi 1:13, chatting at it, Romans 9:19-20, casting reproaches upon
it, Jeremiah 20:8-9, enviously swelling at it, Acts 13:45. The more you touch these
toads the more they swell; the more you meddle with these serpents the more they
gather poison to spit at you. Go about to cool them with fair words, you shall but
add to their heat; as the smith’s forge fries when cold water is cast upon it; and as
hot water, if stirred, casteth up the more fume. Vultures unguento irritantur et
scaraboni rosa: vultures cannot endure sweet odours (Plin. Elian.). Tigers, if they
hear the sound of a drum, will rage and tear themselves. Ahab cannot abide
Micaiah; nor Herod, John Baptist. The people contested with Jeremiah and cursed
him, Jeremiah 15:10, though he were concionator admirabilis, as Keckerman hath
it, an admirable preacher; yet they sought his life, saying, "Prophesy not in the
name of the Lord, that thou die not by our hands," Jeremiah 11:21 (Rhet. Eclesiast.
cap. ult.), yea, they told him, flat and plain, "The word which thou hast spoken unto
us in the name of the Lord we will not hear," Jeremiah 44:16. O lewd losels (as that
martyr in like case exclaimed), O faithless hard hearts, O Jezebel’s guests, rocked
and laid asleep in her bed! O sorrowless sinners and shameless harlots! (Bradford).
Ministers are lights, offensive to sore eyes; the salt of the earth, which is bitter to
wounds. Among the Athenians, if the comedians (which were their teachers, such as
they had) pleased not the people, they were overwhelmed with stones. "Once was I
stoned," saith Paul, 2 Corinthians 11:25. And Jeremiah is said to have met with the
like death from his flagitious countrymen in Egypt, among whom he was ever a man
of strife, and his service was (in that behalf) like that of Manlius Torquatus among
the Romans, who gave it over, saying, either can I bear their manners, nor they my
government.
PETT, "Verse 4
‘Yet let no man strive, nor let any man reprove, for your people are as those who
strive with the priest.’
But none of the people of Israel will have any cause to grumble, or disagree with
YHWH’s actions, or reprove Him for what He has done, because they themselves
are lawless. They are like ‘priest-challengers’. In Israel the priests were the final
supreme court, and to openly challenge their final decision was seen as worthy of
death (see Deuteronomy 17:12-13). It was to engage in anarchism. And those who
are lawless and anarchists are in no position to lay charges against anyone else at
all, and especially not against God.
(Rendering ’al (not) as God (’El) instead of as the negative, although possible

56. linguistically, does not seem likely in view of the fact that Hosea uses El elsewhere
only in order to distinctively stress His power e.g. Hosea 1:10; Hosea 11:9; Hosea
11:12).
K&D, "Verse 4
otwithstanding the outburst of the divine judgments, the people prove themselves
to be incorrigible in their sins. Hosea 4:4. “Only let no man reason, and let no man
punish; yet thy people are like priest-strivers.” ‫אך‬ is to be explained from the tacit
antithesis, that with much depravity there would be much to punish; but this would
be useless. The first clause contains a desperatae nequitiae argumentum. The notion
that the second ('ı̄sh) is to be taken as an object, is decidedly to be rejected, since it
cannot be defended either from the expression ‫בּאישׁ‬ ‫אישׁ‬ in Isaiah 3:5, or by
referring to Amos 2:15, and does not yield any meaning at all in harmony with the
second half of the verse. For there is no need to prove that it does not mean, “Every
one who has a priest blames the priest instead of himself when any misfortune
happens to him,” as Hitzig supposes, since ‫עם‬ signifies the nation, and not an
individual. ‫ועמּך‬ is attached adversatively, giving the reason for the previous thought
in the sense of “since thy people,” or simply “thy people are surely like those who
dispute with the priest.” The unusual expression, priest-disputers, equivalent to
quarrellers with the priest, an analogous expression to boundary-movers in Hosea
5:10, may be explained, as Luther, and Grotius, and others suppose, from the law
laid down in Deuteronomy 17:12-13, according to which every law-suit was to be
ultimately decided by the priest and judge as the supreme tribunal, and in which,
whoever presumes to resist the verdict of this tribunal, is threatened with the
punishment of death. The meaning is, that the nation resembled those who are
described in the law as rebels against the priest (Hengstenberg, Dissertations on
Pentateuch, vol. 1. p. 112, translation). The suffix “thy nation” does not refer to the
prophet, but to the sons of Israel, the sum total of whom constituted their nation,
which is directly addressed in the following verse.
PULPIT, "Hosea 4:5
The parallelism of this verse is marked by the peculiarity of dividing between the
two members what belongs to the sentence as one whole. Instead of saying that the
people would fall (literally, stumble) in the day, and the prophet with them in the
night, the meaning of the sentence, divested of its peculiar form of parallelism, is
that people and prophet alike would fall together, at all times, both by day and by
night, that is to say, there would be no time free from the coming calamities; and
there would be no possibility of escape, either for the sinful people or their
unfaithful priests; the darkness of the night would not hide them, the light of the
day would not aid them; destruction was the doom of priests and people, inevitable
and at all times. And I will destroy thy mother. Their mother was the whole nation
as such—the kingdom of Israel. The expression is somewhat contemptuous, as
though he said of the individual members that they were truly their mother's
children—resembling her erewhile in sin and soon in sorrow.

57. 5 You stumble day and night,
and the prophets stumble with you.
So I will destroy your mother—
BAR ES, "Therefore shalt thou fall - The two parts of the verse fill up each
other. “By day and by night shall they fall, people and prophets together.” Their
calamities should come upon them successively, day and night. They should stumble by
day, when there is least fear of stumbling Joh_11:9-10; and night should not by its
darkness protect them. Evil should come “at noon-day” Jer_15:8 upon them, seeing it,
but unable to repel it; as Isaiah speaks of it as an aggravation of trouble, “thy land
strangers devour it in thy presence” Isa_1:7; and the false prophets, who saw their
visions in the night, should themselves be overwhelmed in the darkness, blinded by
moral, perishing in actual, darkness.
And I will destroy thy mother - Individuals are spoken of as the children; the
whole nation, as the mother. He denounces then the destruction of all, collectively and
individually. They were to be cut off, root and branch. They were to lose their collective
existence as a nation; and, lest private persons should flatter themselves with hope of
escape, it is said to them, as if one by one, “thou shalt fall.”
CLARKE, "Therefore shalt thou fall in the day - In the most open and public
manner, without snare or ambush.
And the prophet also shall fall - in the night - The false prophet, when
employed in taking prognostications from stars, meteors, etc.
And I will destroy thy mother - The metropolis or mother city. Jerusalem or
Samaria is meant.
GILL, "Therefore shall thou fall in the day,.... Either, O ye people, everyone of
you, being so refractory and incorrigible; or, O thou priest, being as bad as the people;
for both, on account of their sins, should fall from their present prosperity and
happiness into great evils and calamities; particularly into the hands of their enemies,
and be carried captive into another land: and this should be "in the day", or "today" (r);
immediately, quickly, in a very short time; or in the daytime, openly, publicly, in the

58. sight of all, of all the nations round about, who shall rejoice at it; or in the day of
prosperity, while things go well, amidst great plenty of all good things, and when such a
fall was least expected:
and the prophet also shall fall with thee in the night: or the false prophets that
are with you, as the Targum, and so Jarchi; either with you, O people, that dwell with
you, teach you, and cause you to err; or with thee, O priest, being of the same family, as
the prophets, many of them, were priests; now these should fall likewise into the same
calamities, as it was but just they should, being the occasion of them: and this should be
in the night; in the night of adversity and affliction, in the common calamity; or in the
night of darkness, when they could not see at what they stumbled and fell, and so the
more uncomfortable to them; or as the one falls in the day, the other falls in the night; as
certainly as the one falls, so shall the other, and that very quickly, immediately, as the
night follows the day:
and I will destroy thy mother; either Samaria, the metropolis of the nation; or the
whole body of the people, the congregation, as the Targum, and Kimchi, and Ben
Melech, being as a mother with respect to individuals; and are threatened with
destruction because the corruption was general among prophets, priests, and people,
and therefore none could hope to escape.
HE RY, " God also is determined to proceed in their ruin (Hos_4:5): “Therefore,
because thou wilt take no reproof, no advice, thou shalt fall, and it is in vain for any to
think of preventing it, for the decree has gone forth. Thou shalt stumble and fall in the
day, and the prophet, the false prophet that flattered and seduced thee, shall fall with
thee in the night; both thou and thy prophet shall fall night and day, shall be continually
falling into one calamity or other; the darkness of the night shall not help to cover thee
from trouble nor the light of the day help thee to flee from it.” The prophets are blind
leaders and the people blind followers; and to the blind day and night are alike, so that
whether it be day or night both shall fall together into the ditch. “Thou shalt fall in the
day, when thy fall is least feared by thyself and thou art very secure; and in the day,
when it will be seen and observed by others, and turn most to thy shame; and the
prophet shall fall in the night, when to himself it will be most terrible.” Note, The ruin of
those who have helped to ruin others will, in a special manner, be intolerable. And did
the children think that when they were in danger of falling their mother would help
them? It shall be in vain to expect it, for I will destroy thy mother, Samaria, the mother-
city, the whole state, or kingdom, which is as a mother to every part. It shall all be made
silent. Note, When all are involved in guilt nothing less can be expected than that all
should be involved in ruin.
JAMISO , "fall in the day — in broad daylight, a time when an attack would not
be expected (see on Jer_6:4, Jer_6:5; see on Jer_15:8).
in ... night — No time, night or day, shall be free from the slaughter of individuals of
the people, as well as of the false prophets.
thy mother — the Israelitish state, of which the citizens are the children (Hos_2:2).
CALVI , "Verse 5

59. The copulative is to be taken here for an illative, Fall, therefore, shalt thou. Here
God denounces vengeance on refractory men; as though he said, “As ye pay no
regard to my authority, when by words I reprove you, I will not now deal with you
in this way; but I will visit you for this contempt of my word.” And thus God is wont
to do: he first tries men, or he makes the trial, whether they can be brought to
repentance; he severely reproves them, and expostulates with them: but having tried
all means by words, he then comes to the last remedy, by exercising his power; for,
as it has been said, he deigns no longer to contend with men. Hence the Lord, when
he saw that his Prophets were despised, and that their whole teaching was a matter
of sport, determined, as it appears from this passage, that the people should shortly
be destroyed.
Some render ‫,היום‬ eium, to-day, and think that a short time is denoted: but as the
Prophet immediately subjoins, And fall together shall the Prophet with thee”, ‫לילה‬ ,
lile, in the night, I explain it thus, — that the people would be destroyed together,
and then that the Prophets, even those who, in a great measure, brought such
vengeance on the people, would be drawn also into the same ruin. Fall shalt thou
then in the day, and fall in the night shall the Prophet, that is, “The same
destruction shall at the same time include all: but if ruin should not immediately
take away the Prophets, they shall not yet escape my hand; they shall follow in their
turn.” Hence the Prophet joins day and night together in a continued order; as
though he said, “I will destroy them all from the first to the last, and no one shall
rescue himself from punishment; and if they think that those shall be unpunished
who shall be later led to vengeance, they are mistaken; for as the night follows the
day, so also some will draw others after them into the same ruin.” Yet at the same
time the Prophet, I doubt not, means by this metaphor, the day, that tranquil and
joyous time during which the people indulged their pride. He then means that the
punishment he predicted would be sudden: for except the ungodly see the hand of
God near, they ever, as it has been observed before, laugh to scorn all threatening.
God then says that he would punish the people in the day, even at mid-day, while
the sun was shining; and that when the dusk should come, the Prophets would also
follow in their turn.
It is evident enough that Hosea speaks not here of God’s true and faithful ministers,
but of impostors, who deceived the people by their blandishments, as it is usually the
case: for as soon as any Prophet sincerely wished to discharge his office for God,
there came forth flatterers before the public, — “This man is too rigid, and makes a
wrong use of God’s name, by denouncing so grievous a punishment; we are God’s
people.” Such, then, were the Prophets, we must remember, who are here referred
to; for few were those who then faithfully discharged their office; and there was a
great number of those who were indulgent to the people and to their vices.
It is afterwards added, I will also consume thy mother. The term, mother, is to be
taken here for the Church, on account of which the Israelites, we know, were wont
to exult against God; as the Papists do at this day, who boast of their mother church,
which, as they say, is their shield of Ajax. When any one points out their
corruptions, they instantly flee to this protection, — “What! Are we not the Church

60. of God?” Hence when the Prophet saw that the Israelites made a wrong use of this
falsely-assumed title, he said, ‘I will also destroy your mother,’ that is, “This your
boasting, and the dignity of Abraham’s race, and the sacred name of Church, will
not prevent God from taking dreadful vengeance on you all; for he will tear from
the roots and abolish the very name of your mother; he will disperse that smoke of
which you boast, inasmuch as you hide your crimes under the title of Church.” It
follows —
COFFMA ,"Verse 5
"And thou shalt stumble in the day, and the prophet shall also stumble with thee in
the night; and I will destroy thy mother."
The alternative reference to day and night in this verse is not restrictive but
inclusive. It means prophet and priest shall fall by the sword day and night; there
shall be no safety anywhere at any time. The prophet in this passage is not a
reference to any of God's legitimate prophets, but to the type of retainer who was a
part of the paid staff of the pagan establishments. Their mutual identity with
paganism is inherent in the grouping of the two together and in their common fate.
A discernment sadly lacking in many writings on Hosea was achieved by
McKeating, who stated that, "Hosea's rejection of the northern priesthood seems to
be all of a piece with his questioning of the legitimacy of their monarchy and his
assertions that it does not enjoy divine favor."[13] Of course, this is correct. either
the monarchy nor the priesthood of Israel had any standing whatever in the eyes of
God. How could the priesthood have been legitimate, when it was instituted by
Jeroboam I, for the specific purpose of supporting his throne, and made up of Jews
who were "the lowest of the people" and "not of the sons of Levi," contrary to the
Word of God (2 Kings 12:31)? It is nothing short of amazing that so many
commentators on this part of the Bible seem to be utterly blind to the true nature of
Israel's apostasy. Even Mays speaks of Israel's priests as having their "vocation
given to them by Yahweh," but this cannot be true at all. They were in no sense
priests of God, but priests of Jeroboam, presiding over a bastard religion made up
of a few elements of Judaism, grossly perverted, and overlaid with a rich veneer of
pure paganism. Adultery, debauchery, drunkenness and many other sinful rites
marked the very "services" of Baal, whom they worshipped instead of God. The
central idols in this paganism were the golden calves set up at Dan and at Bethel by
Jeroboam I.
Therefore, Hosea quite properly rejected both the monarchy and the worship
installed by that monarchy.
"And I will destroy thy mother ..." This refers to "the whole nation, as such, - the
kingdom of Israel."[14] Hosea also referred to Israel as "your mother" earlier
(Hosea 2:2). Some have questioned this, but there is no satisfactory alternative.
Mauchline thought that "Aaron" might be referred to; but these priests were not
Levites! One alternative would be to make Baal the mother of those priests, or the
paganism of Israel. Hindley thought "the mother" here to be, "the tribe of Levi, into

61. which all priests were born";[15] but there was no way in which this could be
correct. As noted above, the priests of Israel were recruited from the lowest class of
people and without regard to Levitical descent. Besides this, the wife of Ahab, the
notorious Jezebel had murdered practically all of the true priests and had imported
a vast horde of pagan priests from Sidon. As time went on, it must have been a rare
thing indeed for any descendant of Levi to have enjoyed the office of the priesthood
in Israel.
COKE, "Verse 5
Hosea 4:5. In the day— " ot for want of light to see thy way; but in the full day-
light of divine instruction thou shalt fall: even at the rising of that light, which is for
the lighting of every man that cometh into the world." In this day-time, when our
Lord himself visited them, the Jews made their last grand false step, and fell.
In the night— In the night of ignorance, which shall close thy day, the prophet shall
fall with thee; that is, the order of prophets among thee shall cease.
Thy mother— That is to say, the mother-city, the metropolis. So Capellus,
Houbigant, and Archbishop ewcome. But Jerusalem is intended, not Samaria; for
Samaria was the metropolis of the kingdom of the ten tribes, not of the whole
nation, the children of Israel in general.
TRAPP, "Verse 5
Hosea 4:5 Therefore shalt thou fall in the day, and the prophet also shall fall with
thee in the night, and I will destroy thy mother.
Ver. 5. Therefore shalt thou fall] How could they do otherwise that were a nation so
incorrigibly flagitious, so unthankful for mercies, so impatient of remedies, so
incapable of repentance, so obliged, so warned, so shamelessly, so lawlessly wicked?
Therefore shalt thou fall in the day] Vivens vidensque peribis, thou shalt stumble at
noon day, because there is no knowledge of God in the land; but thou hast loved
darkness rather than light, therefore shalt thou have enough of it; thy feet shall
stumble upon the dark mountains, Jeremiah 13:16, yea, thou shalt stumble and fall
and never rise again, which is threatened expressly to these swearers, Amos 8:14,
and implied in the Hebrew word here used. Such was Eli’s fall off his stool, and
Haman’s fall before Mordecai the Jew, Esther 6:13. Impenitent persons are brats of
fathomless perdition, they are ripe for ruin, shall fall into remediless misery, and
(though never so insolent and angry against those that deal plainly and faithfully
with them, as in the former verse, yet) they shall never want a Hosea to tell them so
to their teeth; that those that will not bend may break, that if they will needs fall
they may fall with open eyes, and not have cause to say that they were not
forewarned. And this shall be done today, αυθηµαρ, that is, very shortly, in this
present age (so some interpret it), aut certe clarissima luce, saith Mercer, or else in
the open light, and in the view of all men, not in huggermugger. Tremellius thinks it
is as much as rebus adhuc integris subito opprimentur, Thou shalt be suddenly

62. surprised when thou art in thy flourish, and fearest no changes. What can be more
fair and flourishing than the field a day before harvest? than the vineyard a day
before the vintage? certissime citissimeque corrues. Most ertainly, most certainly,
fall down. Every wicked man may apply it; wherefore also it is delivered in the
second person singular, Thou, even thou: to thee be it spoken.
And the prophet also shall fall with thee in the night] The Chaldee hath it, "as in the
night, if a man walk in the night, he stumbleth, because there is no light in him,"
John 11:10. The false prophet cannot lay his hand upon his breast and say, as dying
Oecolampadius did, Hic sat lucis, Here is store of light. Such are woefully benighted,
yet more may look to be, for "their right eye shall be utterly darkened," Zechariah
11:17 (being blind leaders of the blind), yea, the night shall be upon them, and it
shall be dark unto them; the sun shall go down over their heads, Micah 3:6, and
when they fall together with those seduced souls into the ditch of destruction,
themselves shall fall undermost, Matthew 15:14, and receive the deeper damnation,
Matthew 23:14. If others shall be damned, they must look to be double damned, as
Dives feared to be, if ever his brethren (by his example) came to that place of
torment. Mercer’s note here is very good, octe casuros dicit, &c. He saith they
shall fall in the night, as signifying, by an allegory, that when calamity shall lay hold
upon these false prophets, they shall also be pricked in their consciences, which shall
tell them that ventris causa, for their bellies’ sake, and other base respects, they
have brought upon the seduced people so great mischiefs. This shall be as a dagger
at their hearts, and shall fill their consciences with horror and distress.
And I will destroy thy mother] i.e. the whole synagogue, yea, the whole Church and
state, the university of the Israelites; so that their nation and name should perish
together. Is it not so with the ten tribes? who can tell at this day where to find them
or whence to expect them? whether from China, as some think and allege, Isaiah
49:12, or from Tartary, as others, who say that Tartar (alias Tatari, or Totari)
comes from ‫תותר‬ Tothar, a residue or remnant. This is no other than a vain and
capricious fancy, saith learned Breerwood. Is it not altogether unlikely that the
Lord in this threat might allude to that law, Deuteronomy 22:6, "Thou shalt not
take the dam" (Heb. the mother) "with the young"; but I that am above law, saith
God, will cut off dam and young together in the nest, I will utterly cut off the whole
nation. This was fulfilled 2 Kings 17:5-7, and our prophet lived to see it, to his great
heart-break. O that we could be warned, &c. Let holy mother Church of Rome (as
they call her) look to it, with her doctrine of infallibility. These Israelites gloried as
much of their mother, and thought (as Dionysius did of his kingdom) that the
Church had been tied to their nation with chains of adamant (’ Aδαµαντι δεδεµενην
ωετο την αρχην κεκτησθαι), but their mother is here threatened to be cut off: and of
the see of Rome it is long since foretold, "Babylon is fallen, is fallen," Revelation
18:2. It is a question among divines whether the Church can fail? It is answered,
that the Catholic invisible Church cannot; but any particular and visible Church
may, as this of Israel, and that of Rome, which hath long since cast off Christ, and
the public exercise of true religion; and is become ex aurea argentea, ex argentea

63. ferrea, ex ferrea terrea: superest iam ut in stercus abeat, said one of her own sons,
an Augustine friar, in 1414, and many others of their own writers say the same,
necessario potius quam libenter, as wrested from them by the truth, rather than of
any itching humour to disgrace their mother by uncovering her nakedness.
PETT, "Verse 5
‘And you will stumble in the day, and the prophet also will stumble with you in the
night, and I will destroy your mother.’
The final result of their behaviour will be that God will cause them to stumble, as
He metes out His punishment on them, and it will be to such an extent that it will be
by both day and night. Furthermore the prophets, whom they approach after work
is done (therefore by night), will stumble with them and lead them astray with false
prophecies. Thus both people and false prophets will be caught up in the furore.
And in the end mother Israel will itself be destroyed. There will be no more Israel.
There may be a hint with regard to the prophets stumbling in the night of their
being in ‘spiritual darkness’. But the main emphasis is undoubtedly of the
continuing nature and inescapability of the punishment.
The use of the term ‘mother’ to represent Israel as the mother of ‘the children of
Israel’ (Hosea 4:1) is of course a repetition of the idea in chapters 1-2 where Israel is
represented as the mother of the three children who represent the children of Israel.
K&D, "Verse 5
“And so wilt thou stumble by day, and the prophet with thee will also stumble by
night, and I will destroy thy mother.” Kâshal is not used here with reference to the
sin, as Simson supposes, but for the punishment, and signifies to fall, in the sense of
to perish, as in Hosea 14:2; Isaiah 31:3, etc. ‫היּום‬ is not to-day, or in the day when the
punishment shall fall, but “by day,” interdiu, on account of the antithesis ‫,לילה‬ as in
ehemiah 4:16. ‫,נביא‬ used without an article in the most indefinite generality, refers
to false prophets - not of Baal, however, but of Jehovah as worshipped under the
image of a calf - who practised prophesying as a trade, and judging from 1 Kings
22:6, were very numerous in the kingdom of Israel. The declaration that the people
should fall by day and the prophets by night, does not warrant our interpreting the
day and night allegorically, the former as the time when the way of right is visible,
and the latter as the time when the way is hidden or obscured; but according to the
parallelism of the clauses, it is to be understood as signifying that the people and the
prophets would fall at all times, by night and by day. “There would be no time free
from the slaughter, either of individuals in the nation at large, or of false prophets”
(Rosenmüller). In the second half of the verse, the destruction of the whole nation
and kingdom is announced (('ēm) is the whole nation, as in Hosea 2:2; Hebrews 4:1).
6 my people are destroyed from lack of

64. knowledge.
“Because you have rejected knowledge,
I also reject you as my priests;
because you have ignored the law of your God,
I also will ignore your children.
BAR ES, "
My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge - “My people are,” not, “is.”
This accurately represents the Hebrew . The word “people” speaks of them as a whole;
are, relates to the individuals of whom that whole is composed. Together, the words
express the utter destruction of the whole, one and all. They are destroyed “for lack of
knowledge,” literally, “of the knowledge,” i. e., the only knowledge, which in the creature
is real knowledge, that knowledge, of the want of which he had before complained, the
knowledge of the Creator. So Isaiah mourns in the same words , “therefore my people
are gone into captivity, because they have no knowledge” Isa_6:13. They are destroyed
for lack of it, for the true knowledge of God is the life of the soul, true life, eternal life, as
our Saviour saith, “This is life eternal, that they should know Thee, the only true God,
and Jesus Christ whom Thou has sent.” The source of this lack of knowledge, so fatal to
the people, was the willful rejection of that knowledge by the priest;
Because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou
shalt be no priest to Me - God marks the relation between the sin and the
punishment, by retorting on them, as it were, their own acts; and that with great
emphasis, “I will utterly reject thee . Those, thus addressed, must have been true priests,
scattered up and down in Israel, who, in an irregular way, offered sacrifices for them,
and connived at their sins. For God’s sentence on them is, “thou shalt be no priest to
me.” But the priests whom Jeroboam consecrated out of other tribes than Levi, were
priests not to God, but to the calves. Those then, originally true priests to God, had
probably a precarious livelihood, when the true worship of God was deformed by the
mixture of the calf-worship, and the people “halted between two opinions;” and so were
tempted by poverty also, to withhold from the people unpalatable truth. They shared,
then, in the rejection of God’s truth which they dissembled, and made themselves
partakers in its suppression. And now, they “despised, were disgusted” with the
knowledge of God, as all do in fact despise and dislike it, who prefer ought besides to it.
So God repaid their contempt to them, and took away the office, which, by their sinful
connivances, they had hoped to retain.
Seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God - This seems to have been the sin
of the people. For the same persons could not, at least in the same stage of sin, despise
and forget. They who despise or “reject,” must have before their mind that which they
“reject.” To reject is willful, conscious, deliberate sin, with a high hand; to “forget,” an
act of negligence. The rejection of God’s law was the act of the understanding and will,

65. forgetfulness of it comes from the neglect to look into it; and this, from the distaste of
the natural mind for spiritual things, from being absorbed in things of this world, from
inattention to the duties prescribed by it, or shrinking from seeing “that” condemned,
which is agreeable to the flesh. The priests knew God’s law and “despised” it; the people
“forgat” it. In an advanced stage of sin, however, man may come to forget what he once
despised; and this is the condition of the hardened sinner.
I will also forget thy children - Literally, “I will forget thy children, I too.” God
would mark the more, that His act followed on their’s; they, first; then, He saith, “I too.”
He would requite them, and do what it belonged not to His Goodness to do first. Parents
who are careless as to themselves, as to their own lives, even as to their own shame, still
long that their children should not be as themselves. God tries to touch their hearts,
where they are least steeled against Him. He says not, “I will forget thee,” but I will
forget those nearest thy heart, “thy children.” God is said to forget, when He acts, as if
His creatures were no longer in His mind, no more. the objects of His providence and
love.
CLARKE, "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge - They have not
the knowledge of God, nor of sacred things, nor of their own interest, nor of the danger
to which they are exposed. They walk on blindly, and perish.
Because thou hast rejected knowledge - So they might have become wise, had
they not rejected the means of improvement.
Thou shalt be no priest to me - If this be the true reading, there must be reference
to some particular priest, well known, to whom these words are personally addressed;
unless by priest the whole priesthood is meant, and then it may apply to the priests of
Jeroboam’s calves.
GILL, "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge,.... This is not to be
understood of those who are the Lord's people by special grace; for they cannot he
destroyed, at least with everlasting destruction; God's love to them, his choice of them,
covenant with them, the redemption of them by Christ, and the grace of God in them,
secure them from such destruction: nor can they perish through want of knowledge; for
though they are by nature as ignorant as others, yet it is the determinate will of God to
bring them to the knowledge of the truth, in order to salvation; and that same decree
which fixes salvation as the end, secures the belief of the truth as the means; and the
covenant of grace provides for their knowledge of spiritual things, as well as other
spiritual blessings; in consequence of which their minds are enlightened by the Spirit of
wisdom and understanding, and they have the knowledge of God and Christ given them,
which is life eternal. But this is to he understood of the people of the ten tribes of Israel,
who were nationally and nominally the people of God, were so by profession; they called
themselves the people of God; and though they were idolaters, yet they professed to
worship God in their idols; and as yet God's "loammi" had not taken place upon them;
he still sent his prophets among them, to reprove and reform them, and they were not as
yet finally rejected by him, and cast out of their land. These may be said to be
"destroyed", because they were threatened with destruction, and it was near at hand,
they were just upon the brink of it; and because of the certainty of it, and this "through
the lack of knowledge": either in the people, who were ignorant of God, his mind, and
will, and worship, and without fear and reverence of him, which was the cause of all the

66. abominations they ran into, for which they were threatened with ruin; or in the priests,
whose business it was to teach and instruct the people; but instead of teaching them true
doctrine, and the true, manner of worship, taught them false doctrine, and led them into
superstition and idolatry; and so they perished through the default of the priests in
performing their office; which sense is confirmed by what follows:
because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shall
be no priest to me; the priests that Jeroboam made were of the lowest of the people,
ignorant and illiterate men, 1Ki_12:31 and they chose to continue such; they rejected
with contempt and abhorrence, as the word signifies, the knowledge of God, and of all
divine things; of the law of God, concerning what was to be done, or not to be done, by
the people; and of all statutes and ordinances relating to divine worship, and the
performance of the priestly office: and though there might be some of Aaron's line that
continued in the land of Israel, and in their office; yet these affected the same ignorance,
and therefore the Lord threatens them with a rejection from the priesthood; or,
however, that they should be no priests to him, or in his account, but should be had in
the utmost abhorrence and contempt, The word here used has a letter in it more than
usual (s), which may signify the utter rejection of them, and the great contempt they
were had in by the Lord; this was to take place, and did, at the captivity by Shalmaneser.
Seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God: which he had given them, who was
their God by profession; and which they had forgot as if they never had read or learnt it;
and so as not to observe and keep it themselves, nor teach and instruct others in it:
I will also forget thy children; have no regard to them, take no notice and care of
them, as if they were never known by him; meaning either the people in general, their
disciples and spiritual children; or else their natural children, who should be cut off, and
not succeed them in the priesthood. The words are very emphatic, "I will forget them,
even I" (t); which expresses the certainty of it more fully, as well as more clearly points at
the justness of the retaliation.
HE RY, "God is here proceeding in his controversy both with the priests and with
the people. The people were as those that strove with the priests (Hos_4:4) when they
had priests that did their duty; but the generality of them lived in the neglect of their
duty, and here is a word for those priests, and for the people that love to have it so, Jer_
5:31. And it is observable here how the punishment answers to the sin, and how, for the
justifying of his own proceedings, God sets the one over-against the other.
I. The people strove with the priests that should have taught them the knowledge of
God; justly therefore were they destroyed for lack of knowledge, Hos_4:6. Note, Those
that rebel against the light can expect no other than to perish in the dark. Or it is a
charge upon the priests, who should have been still teaching the people knowledge
(Ecc_12:9), but they did not, or did it in such a manner that it was as if they had not
done it at all, so there was no knowledge of God in the land; and because there was no
vision, or none to any purpose, the people perished, Pro_29:18. Note, Ignorance is so far
from being the mother of devotion that it is the mother of destruction; lack of knowledge
is ruining to any person or people. They are my people that are thus destroyed; their
relation to God as his people aggravates both their sin in not taking pains to get the
knowledge of that God whose command they were under and with whom they were
taken into covenant, and likewise the sin of those who should have taught them; God set
his children to school to them, and they never minded them nor took any pains with

67. them.
II. Both priests and people rejected knowledge; and justly therefore will God reject
them. The reason why the people did not learn, and the priests did not teach, was not
because they had not the light, but because they hated it - not because they had not ways
of coming to the knowledge of God and of communicating it, but because they had no
heart to it; they rejected it. They desired not the knowledge of God's ways, but put it
from them, and shut their eyes against the light; and therefore “I will also reject thee; I
will refuse to take cognizance of thee and to own thee; you will not know me, but bid me
depart; I will therefore say, Depart from me, I know you not. Thou shalt be no priest to
me.” 1. The priests shall be no longer admitted to the privileges, or employed in the
services, of the priesthood, nor shall they ever be received again, as we find, Eze_44:13.
Note, Ministers that reject knowledge, that are grossly ignorant and scandalous, ought
not to be owned as ministers; but that which they seem to have should be taken away,
Luk_8:18. 2. The people shall be no longer as they have been, a kingdom of priests, a
royal priesthood, Exo_19:6. God's people, by rejecting knowledge, forfeit their honour
and profane their own crown.
JAMISO , "lack of knowledge — “of God” (Hos_4:1), that is, lack of piety. Their
ignorance was willful, as the epithet, “My people,” implies; they ought to have known,
having the opportunity, as the people of God.
thou — O priest, so-called. Not regularly constituted, but still bearing the name, while
confounding the worship of Jehovah and of the calves in Beth-el (1Ki_12:29, 1Ki_12:31).
I will ... forget thy children — Not only those who then were alive should be
deprived of the priesthood, but their children who, in the ordinary course would have
succeeded them, should be set aside.
CALVI , "Verse 6
Here the Prophet distinctly touches on the idleness of the priests, whom the Lord, as
it is well known, had set over the people. For though it could not have availed to
excuse the people, or to extenuate their fault, that the priests were idle; yet the
Prophet justly inveighs against them for not having performed the duty allotted to
them by God. But what is said applies not to the priests only; for God, at the same
time, indirectly blames the voluntary blindness of the people. For how came it, that
pure instruction prevailed not among the Israelites, except that the people especially
wished that it should not? Their ignorance, then, as they say, was gross; as is the
case with many ungodly men at this day, who not only love darkness, but also draw
it around them on every side, that they may have some excuse for their ignorance.
God then does here, in the first place, attack the priests, but he includes also the
whole people; for teaching prevailed not, as it ought to have done, among them. The
Lord also reproaches the Israelites for their ingratitude; for he had kindled among
them the light of celestial wisdom; inasmuch as the law, as it is well known, must
have been sufficient to direct men in the right way. It was then as though God
himself did shine forth from heaven, when he gave them his law. How, then, did the
Israelites perish through ignorance? Even because they closed their eyes against the
celestial light, because they deigned not to become teachable, so as to learn the

68. wisdom of the eternal Father. We hence see that the guilt of the people, as it has
been said, is not here extenuated, but that God, on the contrary, complains, that
they had malignantly suppressed the teaching of the law: for the law was fit to guide
them. The people perished without knowledge, because they would perish.
But the Prophet denounces vengeance on the priests, as well as on the whole people,
Because knowledge hast thou rejected, he says, I also will thee reject, so that the
priesthood thou shalt not discharge for me. This is specifically addressed to the
priests: the Lord accuses them of having rejected knowledge. But knowledge, as
Malachi says, was to be sought from their lips, (Malachi 2:7) and Moses also touches
on the same point in Deuteronomy 33:10. It was then an extreme wickedness in the
priests, as though they wished to subvert God’s sacred order, when they sought the
honor and the dignity of the office without the office itself: and such is the case with
the Papists of the present day; they are satisfied with its dignity and its wealth.
Mitred bishops are prelates, are chief priests; they vauntingly boast that they are
the heads of the Church, and would be deemed equal with the Apostles: at the same
time, who of them attends to his office? nay, they think that it would be in a manner
a disgrace to give attention to their office and to God’s call.
We now then see what the Prophet meant by saying, Because thou hast knowledge
rejected, I also will thee reject, so that thou shalt not discharge for me the
priesthood. In a word, he shows that the divorce, which the priests attempted to
make, was absurd, and contrary to the nature of things, that it was monstrous, and
in short impossible. Why? Because they wished to retain the title and its wealth,
they wished to be deemed prelates of the Church, without knowledge: God allows
not things joined together by a sacred knot to be thus torn asunder. “Dost thou
then,” he says, “take to thyself the office without knowledge? ay, as thou hast
rejected knowledge, I will also take to myself the honor of the priesthood, which I
previously conferred on thee.”
This is a remarkable passage, and by it we can check the furious boasting of the
Papists, when they haughtily force upon us their hierarchy and the order, as they
call it, of their clergy, that is, of their corrupt dregs: for God declares by his word,
that it is impossible that there should be any priest without knowledge. And further,
he would not have priests to be endued with knowledge only, and to be as it were
mute; for he would have the treasure deposited with them to be communicated to
the whole Church. God then, in speaking of sacerdotal knowledge, includes also
preaching. Though one indeed be a literate, as there have been some in our age
among the bishops and cardinals, — though then there be such he is not yet to be
classed among the learned; for, as it has been said, sacerdotal learning is the
treasure of the whole Church. When therefore a boast is made of the priesthood,
with no regard to the ministration of the word, it is a mere mockery; for teacher and
priest are, as they say, almost convertible terms. We now perceive the meaning of
the first clause.
It then follows, Because thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy
children. Some confine this latter clause to the priests, and think that it forms a part

69. of the same context: but when any one weighs more fully the Prophet’s words, he
will find that this refers to the body of the people.
This Prophet is in his sentences often concise, and so his transitions are various and
obscure: now he speaks in his own person, then he assumes the person of God; now
he turns his discourse to the people, then he speaks in the third person; now he
reproves the priests, then immediately he addresses the whole people. There seemed
to be first a common denunciation, ‘Thou shalt fall in the day, the Prophet in the
night shall follow, and your mother shall perish.’ The Prophet now, I doubt not,
confirms the same judgment in other words: and, in the first place, he advances this
proposition, that the priests were idle, and that the people quenched the light of
celestial instruction; afterwards he denounces on the priests the judgment they
deserved, ‘I will cast thee away,’ he says, ‘from the priesthood;’ now he comes to all
the Israelites, and says, Thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy
children. ow this fault was doubtless what belonged to the whole people; there was
no one exempt from this sin; and this forgetfulness was fitly ascribed to the whole
people. For how it happened, that the priests had carelessly shaken off from their
shoulders the burden of teaching the people? Even because the people were
unwilling to have their ears annoyed: for the ungodly complain that God’s servants
are troublesome, when they daily cry against their vices. Hence the people gladly
entered into a truce with their teachers, that they might not perform their office:
thus the oblivion of God’s law crept in.
As then the Prophet had denounced on the priests their punishment, so he now
assures the whole people that God would bring a dreadful judgment on them all,
that he would even blot out the whole race of Abraham, I will forget, he says, thy
children. Why was this? The Lord had made a covenant with Abraham, which was
to continue, and to be confirmed to his posterity: they departed from the true faith,
they became spurious children; then God rightly testifies here, that he had a just
cause why he should no longer count this degenerate people among the children of
Abraham. How so? “For ye have forgotten my law,” he says: “had you remembered
the law, I would also have kept my covenant with you: but I will no more remember
my covenant, for you have violated it. Your children, therefore, deserve not to be
under finch a covenant, inasmuch as ye are such a people.” It follows —
BE SO , "Verse 6
Hosea 4:6. My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge — The ignorance of the
nature, necessity, and excellence of true religion, which prevailed among the Jews
and Israelites, was one principal cause of those sins which drew down such heavy
judgments upon them. Because thou hast rejected knowledge — That is, wouldest
not use the means of knowledge which thou hadst. “But this lack of knowledge in
the people was, in a great measure, owing to the want of that constant instruction
which they ought to have received from the priests. The mention of it, therefore,
occasions a sudden transition from general threatenings to particular denunciations
against the priesthood.” I will also reject thee — The high-priest for the time being,
as the representative of the whole order, seems to be here addressed; that thou shalt
be no priest to me — “Since the person threatened was to be rejected from being a

70. priest, he was priest at the time when he was threatened; otherwise he had not been
a subject of rejection. The person threatened therefore must have been the head, for
the time being, of the true Levitical priesthood, not of the intruded priesthood of
Jeroboam. This is a proof, that the metropolis, threatened with excision is
Jerusalem, not Samaria, and that the ten tribes exclusively are not the subject of this
part of the prophecy.” — Bishop Horsley. Seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy
God — Hast neither desired nor endeavoured to understand, or retain it in thy
mind, nor to transmit the knowledge and remembrance of it to posterity. I will also
forget thy children — Thy offspring, or the people whose priest thou art, and of
whom thou oughtest to have taken a fatherly care; I will not look upon them any
longer as the seed of Abraham, and children of my covenant.
COFFMA , "Verse 6
"My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected
knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast
forgotten the law of thy God, I also will forget thy children."
Harper was of the opinion that "I will reject thee" in this passage indicates that
"Hosea had at one time recognized the orthern priesthood as legitimate,"[16] but
this is by no means a necessary deduction. The rejection of knowledge on the part of
the priests (a past event when Hosea spoke) had already resulted in God's rejection
of them, but the rejection here will be total and final. They had been tolerated, even
in their state of illegitimacy, for a long while; but now their rejection will be
terminal, final, and complete. They shall be exterminated, along with the apostate
nation which they have led into ruin.
"Thou shalt be no priest to me ..." It is a mistake to understand this as reference
merely to the priesthood which was pagan. It is the nation which is addressed here:
"My people ... thou ... thou shalt be no priest to me." The spirit and intention of
Exodus 19:6 dominate this verse. It is the nation of Israel as a nation of priests unto
God.
"Seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God ..." is necessarily a reference to the
nation, and absolutely not to the pagan priesthood which had never had any
knowledge of the law of God, except in the corrupted elements of it which they had
mingled with their paganism.
"My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge ..." Educators and public leaders
like to quote this verse, but all too frequently they are unaware of what is meant by
knowledge in this passage. It is not scientific, secular, or technical knowledge that is
meant, but religious knowledge, the knowledge of God through his revealed will, the
Bible; and even more than this is meant; it means conformity to the will of God. H.
G. Wells said that, "Civilization is a race between education and catastrophe,"[17]
but only a fool today believes that secular education alone can stave off catastrophe.
Will Durant found the great hope of humanity (as he viewed it) envisioned in a
society where, "Every child would be schooled until his twentieth year, and should
find free access to the universities, libraries, and museums that harbor and offer the

71. intellectual and artistic treasures of the race!"[18] It is the knowledge and worship
of God alone that can lead either men or nations into the good life, In the light of all
that we have learned in this present century, "How inadequate now seems the proud
motto of Francis Bacon, `Knowledge is power'"?[19] "Catastrophe overtakes a
civilization not because it lacks intelligence, but because it lacks integrity."[20]
Why does integrity, or morality, depend upon the knowledge and worship of God in
the fullest sense of those words? Simply because the naive notion that if men know
right they will do it is a fool's nightmare. Only the true religion of God can endow
moral and ethical behavior with cosmic significance. "There are no significant
examples, before our time, of a society successfully maintaining moral life without
the aid of religion."[21] Will Durant held to the opinion that our own liberal society
in the United States would be able to achieve what no other ever did, that is,
maintain morality and integrity without regard to true religion; hence his inclusion
of the phrase "before our time" in the passage quoted. The events of the first decade
following his statement, however, have already demonstrated the fantastic
dimensions of his error. Without a widespread reawakening of the national
conscience and a wholesale return to the teachings of the Word of God, our own
beloved America is already launched upon a collision course with disaster. These
remarkable chapters in Hosea have an urgent relevance to our entire generation.
It should not be thought that Israel's "forgetting" God's law was merely an innocent
slip of the memory. o! They had consciously rejected, ignored, and eventually
forgotten that which they had neither desire nor intention to remember.
"Law of thy God" is a clear and positive reference to the Decalogue and related
commandments which formed a basic part of the holy Covenant between God and
Israel. The word here is "Torah," and, despite the efforts of Mauchline and others
to read this as teachings delivered to people by their priests, the technical and
specific meaning of the term is apparent. In a word, it is a reference to the
Pentateuch. A book like Hosea could not possibly have been written except in the
shadow of the first five books of the Old Testament.
"I also will forget thy children ..." This is generally misinterpreted to refer to the
children of the pagan priesthood; but that renegade and reprobate institution
hardly appears here at all, except in the catalogue of their sins about to be
enumerated. It is the nation of Israel, particularly the northern kingdom, that is
here prophesied to suffer the penalty of God's forgetting their children. As Keil
wisely observed:
"It is not the priests who are addressed here, but the whole nation of the ten tribes
which adhered to the image-worship set up by Jeroboam, with its illegal priesthood
(1 Kings 12:26-33), in spite of all threats and judgments...and who would not desist
from this sin of Jeroboam. The Lord would therefore reject it (the nation) from
being priest, would deprive it of the privilege of being a priestly nation (Exodus
19:6), would strip it of its priestly rank, and make it like the heathen.[22]

72. COKE, "Verse 6
Hosea 4:6. Destroyed for lack of knowledge— "The ignorance of the true principles
of religion which prevails among the people of the ten tribes is the cause of those
sins which draw down such heavy judgments upon them." Houbigant, instead of,
Thou shalt be no priest to me, reads, That thou shalt not have any command with
me: for it is plain, that he addresses the people, and not the priests. But in the next
verse he introduces the word priests, which he reads thus, As the priests were
increased, so have they greatly offended me; and in the 8th verse, instead of, The sin
of my people, he reads, The sin-offerings or sacrifices of my people; and confirm
their hearts by their own iniquity: that is, they confirm the people in the worship of
the calves, by partaking themselves in that worship.
ELLICOTT, "Verse 6
(6) For lack of knowledge, which you, O priest, should have kept alive in their
hearts. The knowledge of God is life eternal. (Comp. John 17:3.) The Lord’s
“controversy” repudiates the entire priesthood, as they had rejected the true
knowledge of God. They had inclined to calf-worship, had been vacillating
respecting Baal, and had connived at moral offences. If, on the other hand, with
most commentators, we consider the people themselves as thus addressed, the
passage refers to the cessation of the position of priesthood, which every member of
the true theocracy ought to have maintained. (Comp. Exodus 19:6.) The people
should no longer be priests to Jehovah.
TRAPP, "Verse 6
Hosea 4:6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast
rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing
thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.
Ver. 6. My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge] "My people" (there is the
wonder of it), of whom it was wont to be said by the heathen, "Surely this great
nation is a wise and understanding people": and well it might: for what nation ever
had God so nigh unto them, &c., and statutes and judgments so righteous, &c.?
Deuteronomy 4:6-8; what nation ever had prophets and priests as they had, to teach
Jacob his statutes and Israel his law? Deuteronomy 33:10. All means of knowledge
they had that might be; so that God might say to them, as once Abijam did to
Jeroboam and all Israel, "Ought you not to have known this?" 2 Chronicles 13:5;
should ye not all "know the Lord from the least to the greatest?" should not your
land be filled with the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea?
Habakkuk 2:14. Doth not wisdom cry in your streets? and knowledge (in the
abundance of means) bow down to you as trees do that are laden with fruit, so that a
child may gather them? How is it then that you (my people) are yet so hard and
blockish, as rude and ignorant of me and my will, of yourselves and your duties, as
the blind Ethnics? For some of you have not the knowledge of God: I speak this to
your shame. Yea, "who is blind, but my servant? or deaf, as my messenger that I
sent? who is blind as he that is perfect, and blind as the Lord’s servant?" Isaiah
42:19. I speak it with grief and stomach, and therefore I so oft speak it. Surely to
whomsoever much is given much is required; and to whom men have committed

73. much, of him they will ask the more, Luke 12:48. It is a grievous thing to receive the
grace of God in vain, 2 Corinthians 6:1; and when for the time men might have been
teachers, to have need to be taught the very first principles of the oracles of God,
Hebrews 5:12. For if God will pour out his wrath upon the heathen that know him
not, Jeremiah 10:25, who yet were left in the dark, to grope after him as they could,
Acts 17:27; and if the poor philosophers (who had but the rush candle of nature’s
dim light to work by) were yet delivered up to a reprobate sense, because they
glorified God no better, Romans 1:28; oh the bloody weals that he will make upon
the backs of his non-proficients, sots and dullards in his school! Ingentia beneficia,
flagitia supplicia.
Are destroyed] Or, silenced, as Matthew 22:12. The Chaldee rendereth it
obrutuerunt, they are besotted, and so fitted for destruction; for Deus quem destruit
dementat. Ignorance is the mother, not of devotion (as Papists say), but of
destruction; and ignorant persons shall be silent in darkness, as holy Hannah hath
it; they shall lie down in sorrow, as the prophet Isaiah. And although they always
wander and err in heart, as not knowing God’s ways, Psalms 95:10-11, yet they
cannot go so far wide as to miss hell, where they are sure to suffer both pain of loss
and pain of sense; for they shall be "punished with everlasting destruction, in a
flame of fire" (there is pain of sense), "from the presence of the Lord, and from the
glory of his power" (there is pain of loss), 2 Thessalonians 2:8-9. Lo, here the
portion of all ignorant persons, and withal take notice of a usual and equal
proceeding of God’s impartial justice in punishing such. He delights to punish sin in
kind, to pay wicked persons in their own coin, to overshoot them in their own bow,
to answer them in their own language, as he once did those bold Babel builders,
Genesis 11:4. Go to, say they; Go to, saith he: Let us build up to heaven, say they;
Let us go down, and see that building, saith he: Let us make us a name, say they;
Let us confound their language, that they may not so much as know their own
names, saith he: Lest we be scattered, say they; Let us scatter them abroad in the
world, saith he. Thus God worded it with them, and confuted their folly from point
to point. And the like he will do with ignorant people at that great day. Depart from
us, say they now to God, Job 21:14; Depart from me, ye cursed, will he then say to
them. We desire not the knowledge of thy ways, say they, ibid.; Therefore I have
sworn in my wrath, that you shall never enter into my rest, saith he. Ye have loved
darkness better than light, ye shall therefore have your belly full of it in the bottom
of hell. God loves to retaliate, as we may see here, and go no farther. "Because thou
hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee; seeing thou hast forgot the law of thy
God, I will also" (to cry quittance with thee) "forget thy children." Thus, by giving
ignorant persons their own, he will so silence them, and even button up their
mouths, that they shall stand speechless, as being self-condemned.
For lack of knowledge] Propter non scientiam, for mere nescience, for such an
ignorance as is privative only, and of pure negation, which doth somewhat excuse a
tanto, though not a toto; as in that servant that knew not his master’s will, yet did
commit things worthy of stripes, and had a few, Luke 12:48. But Israel’s ignorance

74. was more than all this, and a great deal worse. "For did not Israel know?" Romans
10:19, and "have they not heard?" yes, verily. [Hosea 4:18] o people under heaven
like them for that, Psalms 147:19. But they rejected knowledge, and affected
ignorance; they hated the light, and loved darkness better. This was the
condemnation, the mischief of it, saith our Saviour, who (besides this wilful
ignorance, that mother of mischief, and main support of Satan’s kingdom) laid
down his life for the nesciences, the not-knowings of his people, δια των
αγνοηµατων, Hebrews 9:7, and prayed for his persecutors at his death: "Father,
forgive them, they know not what they do."
Because thou hast rejected knowledge] And that out of an utter hatred of it (as the
Greek word made of the Hebrew signifieth, ‫מאם‬ thence µισεω), out of deep disdain,
as of a thing below thee, and vile in thine eyes, not worthy of thy pains, or pursuit.
Wisdom is the principal thing (saith Solomon, and he meaneth that wisdom that
hath the fear of God for its foundation), therefore get wisdom, Proverbs 4:5. It is
here called hadagnath, that knowledge, by an excellence, and with an accent, in
opposition to that science, falsely so called, 1 Timothy 6:20; that knowledge that
puffeth up, 1 Corinthians 8:1, as it did Joseph Scaliger (that gulf of learning), for
whom it had been happy, that he had been ignorant but of this one thing, that he
knew so much. It is the "acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness" (as the
apostle describeth it, Titus 1:1), that perfects the best part of a man, that
confirmeth, settleth, guideth, discerneth, differenceth him from others, who are no
better than brutes (though wise in their own generation, as are the fox, serpent,
&c.), and maketh his face to shine, Ecclesiastes 8:1, as St Stephen’s did, who was
taught of God, and mighty in the Scriptures. This holy knowledge was highly prized
by Agur, Proverbs 30:2, but slighted by those two slubbering priests, the sons of Eli,
sons of Belial, they knew not the Lord, 1 Samuel 2:12; they knew him
apprehensively, but not effectively; they professed that they knew God, but in their
works they denied him, being abominable, and disobedient, and to every good work
reprobate, Titus 1:16. "He that saith, I know him" (saith St John, 1 John 2:4), "and
keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him." Many of these
Jeroboam’s priests were ignorant asses; like that bishop of Durkelden, in Scotland,
who boasted, yea, thanked God, that he never knew what the Old and ew
Testament was, and that he would care to know nothing but his Portuise and his
Pontifical; or that idol pastor in Germany, who being asked by the visitors, whether
he taught his people the Decalogue? answered, that he had not the book so called
(Joh. Manl. loc. com.). Others of them, that knew more of God’s mind, yet neither
cared to practise it, nor to teach transgressors God’s ways, that sinners might be
converted unto him, Psalms 51:13.
I will also reject thee] And that with a witness, with an unwonted and extraordinary
rejection, as the Hebrew word, Veemaseka (not found elsewhere in the same form),
seemeth to import (Tremel. in locum); God will kick such ignoramuses out of the
priesthood, cast them out of the hearts of his people, throw them to the dunghill, as
unsavoury salt; yea, so reject them, as never to be received again, Ezekiel 44:13. God

75. will shake them out from his house, and from his labour, ehemiah 5:13 (as the
Tirshatha did those apostate priests, Ezra 2:63), and lay them by, as broken vessels
of which there is no further use; taking from them even that which they seemed to
have, Luke 8:18, and blasting their gifts. See Zechariah 11:17, {See Trapp on
"Zechariah 11:17"}
Seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God] i.e. All that holy learning which thou,
being a priest, oughtest to have and to hold in firm and fresh remembrance, for the
good of the poor people, which, by thy default, is cut off for lack of knowledge, even
the knowledge of the salvation by the remission of their sins, which thou shouldest
have given them, Luke 1:77, not by infusion, but by instruction, which is the priest’s
proper office. But thou (alas) hast forgotten that little of my law thou once hadst
attained unto; and art grown as very a dolt and dotard as Theodorus Gaza (once a
great scholar, but), in his dotage so ignorant, that he knew not his letters; he could
not read. ay, thou art not only a silly ass, but a slow belly; all thy care is for fat
sacrifices and benefices, thy wits are in thy belly, and thy guts in thy brain; hence
thy forgetfulness of my law, and of my people’s welfare. The Arabic translation hath
it thus, "Inasmuch as thou hast loved this, and the consolation, therefore I will
reject and forget thee," &c. Demas forsook Paul, and embraced this present world;
yea, he became afterwards a priest in an idol temple at Thessalonica, as Dorotheus
testifieth. The Vulgate Latin translation rendereth this text in the feminine gender,
quia oblita est, against all grammar and good reason; for the Lord here speaketh to
the priest, and chiefly to the chief priest, qui certe femina non erat, who certainly
was not a woman, saith Polanus, who sure was no woman; unless the old interpreter
(like another Balaam’s ass) would have this to have been spoken against the see of
Rome, wherein Pope Joan sometime sat, A.D. 854. Sure it is, that the arch-priests of
Rome are so delighted in the feminine gender, that they had rather attribute the
breaking of the serpent’s head to a woman, the Virgin Mary, than to the "man
Christ Jesus"; for in their last edition of the Latin Bible, they print, Genesis 3:15,
Ipsa conteret tibi caput, She shall bruise thine head, &c. Thus Polanus.
I also will forget thy children] Thy spiritual children, say some, even that whole
people who saluted their priests (as the Papists do their padres) by the name of
father, and observed their institutes. But they do better that understand the text of
their natural children, whom God here threateneth to forget, that is, to put them by
the priest’s office, as he threatened Eli, 1 Samuel 2:30, and thrust out Abiathar, 1
Kings 2:27, fourscore years after. It is a dreadful thing to be forgotten of God. We
take it ill to be forgotten of a friend, and to be as a dead man, out of mind, Psalms
31:12. O take heed that God forget not us and our children: that he cast not off the
care and keeping of us. He is so liberal a Lord, and doth so little forget our labour of
love and patience of hope, as that he provideth for the posterity of his people:
Psalms 69:36, "The seed also of the servants shall inherit it: and they that love his
name shall dwell therein." Who then would not hire himself to such a master; who
would not remember God’s law and teach it others, if but for his poor children’s
sake, who else will rue for it?

76. PETT, "Verse 6-7
‘My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.
‘Because you have rejected knowledge,
I will also reject you, that you shall be no priest to me.
Seeing you have forgotten the law of your God,
I also will forget your children.’
It is possible to see this as addressed to Israel, seen as priests to the nations (compare
Isaiah 61:6), or alternately it may be seen as addressed directly to the priesthood.
But even in the latter case we must remember that from YHWH’s viewpoint Israel
had no distinctive priesthood, for their priests were not descended from Aaron.
They were charlatans originally appointed by Jeroboam I (1 Kings 13:33). Thus as
far as He was concerned the distinction between priest and people was blurred. The
priests were merely ‘of the people’.
His accusation is that His people are ‘destroyed for lack of knowledge’, i.e. because
they do not know YHWH as He really is (Hosea 4:1) and are ignorant of the
covenant. It may be that this was being laid directly at the priests’ doors, for it was
their responsibility to teach the Law, but the failure was undoubtedly partly due to
the fact that the priests had been appointed by the people (through their king)
rather than by God, so that the people had to share the blame. Whoever is being
addressed (whether priest or people-priests) the charge is that they have culpably
rejected knowledge, and especially knowledge as found in His Law, and therefore
will themselves be rejected so that they can no longer serve YHWH in a priestly
function, or indeed in any other way. It is always dangerous to ignore genuine truth.
And because they have forgotten the Law of God, He will no longer watch over and
care for ‘their children’ (either their own children or the people seen as their
children). He will in return ‘forget’ them.
PETT, "Verses 6-10
YHWH Attacks Both Priests And People Because They Are So Taken Up With Sin
That They o Longer Heed Him (Hosea 4:6-10).
Here we may see YHWH as attacking the priests for failing to teach the people, with
the result that the people too will be punished for their doings. Alternately the whole
people might be being seen as ‘priests to the nations’ in accordance with Isaiah 61:6.
Either way we have to recognise that the priesthood in the northern kingdom was
not a legitimate one. They were not ‘sons of Aaron’ in accordance with the Law, but
appointees of the king. Thus the distinction between them and the people was
blurred.
Analysis of Hosea 4:6-10.
a My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge (Hosea 4:6 a).
b Because you have rejected knowledge, I will also reject you, that you shall be no
priest to me (Hosea 4:6 b).
c Seeing you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children

77. (Hosea 4:6 c).
d As they were multiplied, so they sinned against me (Hosea 4:7 a).
c I will change their glory into shame. They feed on the sin of my people, and
set their heart on their iniquity (Hosea 4:7-8).
b And it will be, like people, like priest, and I will punish them for their ways, and
will requite them their doings (Hosea 4:9).
a And they will eat, and not have enough, they will play the harlot, and will not
increase, because they have left off taking heed to YHWH (Hosea 4:10).
ote that in ‘a’ the people are destroyed for lack of knowledge, and in the parallel
they will not receive what they have hoped for because they have ceased listening to
YHWH. In ‘b’ the priests will be rejected for lack of knowledge, and in the parallel
the people, similarly to the priests, will be punished for their ways and doings. In ‘c’
they have forgotten the Law of God, and in the parallel they set their heart on
iniquity. Centrally in ‘d the larger the population grew, the more they sinned
against Him.
K&D, "Verse 6
This thought is carried out still further in the second strophe, Hosea 4:6-10. Hosea
4:6. “My nation is destroyed for lack of knowledge; for thou, the knowledge hast
thou rejected, and so do I reject thee from being a priest to me. Thou didst forget
the law of thy God; thy sons will I also forget.” The speaker is Jehovah: my nation,
that is to say, the nation of Jehovah. This nation perishes for lack of the knowledge
of God and His salvation. (Hadda‛ath) (the knowledge) with the definite article
points back to (da‛ath Elōhı̄m) (knowledge of God) in Hosea 4:1. This knowledge
Israel might have drawn from the law, in which God had revealed His counsel and
will (Deuteronomy 30:15), but it would not. It rejected the knowledge and forgot the
law of its God, and would be rejected and forgotten by God in consequence. In
('attâh) (thou) it is not the priests who are addressed - the custodians of the law and
promoters of divine knowledge in the nation - but the whole nation of the ten tribes
which adhered to the image-worship set up by Jeroboam, with its illegal priesthood
(1 Kings 12:26-33), in spite of all the divine threats and judgments, through which
one dynasty after another was destroyed, and would not desist from this sin of
Jeroboam. The Lord would therefore reject it from being priest, i.e., would deprive
it of the privilege of being a priestly nation (Exodus 19:6), would strip it of the
privilege of being a priestly nation (Exodus 19:6), would strip it of its priestly rank,
and make it like the heathen. According to Olshausen (Heb. Gram. p. 179), the
anomalous form ‫אמאסאך‬ is only a copyist's error for ‫;אמאסך‬ but Ewald (§247, e)
regards it as an Aramaean pausal form. “Thy sons,” the children of the national
community, regarded as a mother, are the individual members of the nation.
ISBET, "HI DRA CES TO K OWLEDGE
‘My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.’
Hosea 4:6
What is it which keeps a generation apparently possessed of advantages so largely
increased for gaining knowledge, from the acquisition of true knowledge, whether in
things earthly or heavenly?

78. I. The multiplication of outward helps and facilities for learning has a direct
tendency to counteract true knowledge.
II. A second impediment to knowledge is, a misuse of stimulus in its pursuit.
III. A third is, the attractiveness of a sort of reading which does not tend to
knowledge at all.
IV. The knowledge, the lack of which destroys, is the knowledge not of things but of
persons: the acquaintance of soul with soul, of spirit with spirit. The contact of the
inmost unseen self of man with the inmost unseen essence of Him in Whom man
loves, and Whom to know truly is eternal life.
—Dean Vaughan.
SIMEO , "IG ORA CE DESTRUCTIVE
Hosea 4:6. My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.
IG ORA CE, as it respects the things of this world, is attended with many evils. It
disqualifies a man for those situations in life that require the exercise of wisdom and
discretion; it degrades him in society below the rank of those who would otherwise
be deemed his equals or inferiors: and it not unfrequently leads to idleness,
dissipation, and vice. But ignorance of religion is of infinitely worse consequence;
because it ensures the everlasting destruction of the soul. To this effect God speaks
in the words before us; from which we shall be led to shew,
I. The ignorance of the Christian world—
The Jews, as well those of the ten tribes as those who worshipped at Jerusalem, were
called “the people of God,” because they had received the seal of his covenant in
their infancy, and professed to acknowledge him as their God. In like manner we,
having in our infancy been baptized into the faith of Christ, may, in a lax and
general sense, be called his followers, and his people. But among nominal Christians
there is an awful lack of knowledge; an ignorance,
1. Of themselves—
[How little do they know of their blindness! They suppose themselves as competent
to judge of spiritual as they are of carnal things; though God tells them, that they
cannot comprehend the things of the Spirit for want of a spiritual discernment
[ ote: 1 Corinthians 2:11; 1 Corinthians 2:14.].
How little do they know of their guilt! Do they really feel themselves deserving of
God’s eternal wrath and indignation? They cannot cordially acquiesce in that idea,
notwithstanding they are expressly said to be under the curse and condemnation of

79. the law [ ote: Galatians 3:10.].
How little do they know of their depravity! They will acknowledge, that they have
this or that particular infirmity: but they have no just conception of the total
depravity of their hearts; or of the truth of God’s testimony respecting them, that
“every imagination of the thoughts of their hearts is evil, only evil, continually
[ ote: Psalms 14:2-3. Genesis 6:5.].”
How little do they know of their utter helplessness! They imagine that they can
exercise repentance and faith just when they please, though they are declared by
God himself to be incapable of themselves to do any thing [ ote: John 15:5.], even
so much as to think a good thought [ ote: 2 Corinthians 3:5.].]
2. Of God—
[They may have some general notions of his power and goodness: but what know
they of his holiness? Do they suppose that sin is so hateful in his eyes as he
represents it to be [ ote: Habakkuk 1:13.]?
What know they of his justice? Are they persuaded that, as the Moral Governor of
the universe, he must enforce the sanctions of his own law; and that, however
merciful he may be, he neither will nor can clear the guilty [ ote: Exodus 34:7.]?
What know they of his truth? They read many threatenings in his word; but they do
not believe that he will execute them [ ote: Luke 16:17.].]
3. Of Christ—
[They confess perhaps his Godhead, and acknowledge him as a Saviour. But what
know they of him as he is in himself? Do they discern his beauty, his excellency, his
glory? Is He in their eyes “chiefest among ten thousand, and altogether lovely [ ote:
Song of Solomon 5:10; Song of Solomon 5:16.]?”
What know they of him as he is to us? Do they comprehend any thing of the breadth
and length, the depth and height of his unsearchable love [ ote: Ephesians 3:18-
19.]? Have they any adequate idea of his tender sympathy and compassion [ ote:
Hebrews 2:18; Hebrews 4:15.]? Have they been filled with an admiration of his
fulness, his suitableness, his sufficiency [ ote: 1 Corinthians 1:30.]?
If more were necessary to confirm this melancholy truth, we would appeal to God’s
own assertion respecting us, that our stupidity and ignorance are more than brutish
[ ote: Isaiah 1:2-3.].]
Lest such ignorance should be thought venial, we proceed to notice,
II. The fatal consequences of it—

80. Doubtless the degrees of criminality attached to ignorance must vary according to
the opportunities which men have enjoyed of obtaining knowledge. But in all men
who have the light of the Gospel set before them, a lack of spiritual knowledge,
1. Tends to their destruction—
[Every sin is destructive, but more especially impenitence and unbelief. And what is
the occasion of these? Must they not be traced to ignorance as their true and proper
source? If men knew what ignorant, guilty, depraved, and helpless creatures they
are, could they refrain from sorrow and contrition? — — — If they knew what a
holy, just, and immutable God they have to do with, could they do otherwise than
tremble before him? — — — If they knew what a merciful, loving, and adorable
Saviour there is, whose bowels are yearning over them, who is ever following them
with invitations and entreaties, and who longs for nothing so much as to save their
souls, could they turn their backs upon him? Could they help crying to him for
mercy, and desiring an interest in his salvation? — — — If a man, feeling himself in
imminent danger of perishing in the sea, cannot but avail himself of the assistance
offered him for the preservation of his life, so neither can a man who feels his
danger of everlasting destruction neglect and despise the salvation offered him in
the Gospel.]
2. Will issue in their destruction—
[God himself best knows what he has ordained and decreed: and as the fates of men
will be determined by him at last, to him, and to his word, we make our appeal.
We want to ascertain the states of those who are ignorant of the Gospel: God tells us
plainly, “They are lost [ ote: 2 Corinthians 4:3.].”
We want to be informed whether their ignorance will not be considered as a
sufficient plea for their rejection of the Gospel? God assures us, that instead of
operating in that view, and to that extent, it shall itself be the ground of their
condemnation [ ote: Isaiah 27:11.].
We would fain hope that the Lord Jesus Christ would interpose for them at the last
day, to avert or mitigate their sentence. But we are told, on the contrary, that he
himself will come to judgment, for the express purpose of taking vengeance on them
[ ote: 2 Thessalonians 1:7-8.].
Here we leave the matter. If ye will not believe such plain and positive declarations
of God, we shall in vain hope to make any impression on your minds by any feeble
arguments of our own.]
Infer—
1. How carefully should we improve the means of grace!

81. [The ordinances are appointed of God for our instruction in spiritual knowledge.
Should we then absent ourselves from them on slight occasions? or should we be
content with a formal attendance on them, while yet we derive no solid benefit to
our souls? O let us remember that our all is at stake: and whether we hear, or read,
or pray, let us do it as for eternity.]
2. How earnestly should we pray for the teachings of God’s Spirit!
[Whether we be learned or unlearned, we can know nothing but as we are taught of
God. In respect of spiritual knowledge, the rich have no advantage above the poor:
yea, the poor have rather the advantage of the rich, inasmuch as they have more
docility of mind; and God has promised to reveal to babes the things which are hid
from the wise and prudent [ ote: James 2:5. Matthew 11:25.]. Let us then beg that
our eyes may be opened, and that through the influences of the Spirit we may know
the things which are freely given to us of God [ ote: 1 Corinthians 2:11. Ephesians
1:18.].]
3. How thankful should we be for any measure of divine knowledge!
[To be wise unto salvation is to be wise indeed. All other knowledge is as nothing in
comparison of this. Blessed then are they who can say, “This I know, that, whereas I
was blind, I now see [ ote: John 9:25. Matthew 13:16.].” Yes, Believers, “blessed
are your eyes, which now see:” for if ignorance is destructive to the soul, knowledge,
on the other hand, provided it be spiritual and practical, will surely save it [ ote:
Isaiah 53:11. John 17:3. with 1 John 2:3-4.].]
BI, "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.
The perils of ignorance
If there is a knowledge on which not only the improvements and the refinements but the
very being of society depends, the state of this must be in its nature most deeply awful
and interesting. It was the language of pagan philosophy that such a knowledge did exist.
The heathen wisdom was enabled to discern that all science, as exercised in its inferior
provinces, required some principle of a sublimer nature, which might afford cement,
consistence, and basis to every subordinate effort and exertion of the human intellect. In
exploring this principle they however failed—and instead of substantial truth, were lost
in the delusive twilight of a magnificent though ineffectual and perpetually baffled
metaphysical speculation. Those on whom the daystar of revelation arose, found in the
distinct discovery of a moral Governor of the universe, and the full and unequivocal
display of His attributes, that knowledge which marks the origin, the limits, and the
destination of every faculty, talent, and acquisition. When God tells us there is a
knowledge “for the lack of which a people is destroyed,” we must infer that it is the
“knowledge of Himself, His nature, His providence, and His power. If it be true that
“knowledge and wisdom are the stability of prosperous times,” the converse will equally
claim our attention. Inquire into the moral causes of both these propositions. It is not
my intention to institute a regular comparison between the various acquisitions and
exertions of ourselves and our predecessors. I mark those intellectual habits which
interfere with the cultivation of that knowledge which directs, superintends, and
sanctifies every portion of wisdom we can acquire. Whatever was the region of science

82. which our predecessors explored, they steadily kept in view the great Source of every
good and perfect gift. And this not only in theology proper, but also in history, moral
science, and natural philosophy. Every work was in some measure a school of Divine
knowledge. Now it is rarely indeed that, except in works directly treating of theology, any
pious reference, even when the subject most points to it, is made to the dispensation and
moral government of Almighty God. To a variety of causes this may be traced; to none
more than to pride, or to its abortion, vanity. This engenders a fondness for paradox,
than which nothing can be a greater obstruction to all knowledge, and particularly to the
knowledge of God and His dispensations. All paradox, even in its most ingenious forms,
is mere debility, and in no instance a mark of energy or strength of mind. It is observable
that, in proportion to the love for this, the intellectual appetite is palled and vitiated for
the perception and investigation of genuine truth. Hence those mischievous
abstractions, which when introduced into religion, morals, and politics have, from
causes comparatively mean, produced the most extended and tremendous effects. In a
short time there will (we have reason to fear) remain but two kinds of persons among us,
either those who think not at all, or those whose imaginations are active indeed, but
continually evil. Of these latter it may be said, “Their foolish heart was darkened.” Of the
principles, I do not say of the detail, of political science, a sound theology is the only sure
and steady basis. Now we trace the operations by which a destruction so extended in its
consequences has been effected. The master-spring of every principle which can
permanently secure the stability of a people is the fear and knowledge of Almighty God.
The first operation of a principle of atheism, and perhaps one of the most formidable in
its consequences, is that which leads political men to conceive of Christianity as a mere
auxiliary to the State. Religion was not instituted (in the Divine council I mean) for the
purpose of society and government, but society and government for the purposes of
religion. As atheism presumptuously attempts to discard a moral government, in order
to open a fearless unrestrained indulgence for the impetuosity of passion, so superstition
administers, upon a principle of commutation, to those same indulgences. It is utterly
subversive of the two grand pillars of the Divine administration, His justice and His
mercy. Thus both atheism and superstition are instruments of the general adversary of
mankind. Their origin is in the wilful ignorance of God, and their operation in the
merciless destruction of His creatures. The present disastrous state of human affairs can
only be ascribed to one source, a corruption of morals, produced by a previous
depravation of the opinions of mankind. If the events we deplore and deprecate arise
from ignorance, error, and false opinion; and this ignorance is specifically the ignorance
of Almighty God and His dispensations, to revive and disseminate with activity the
principles of a sound, Christian, and orthodox theology will be our best interest, as it is
our bounden duty. (T. Rennell, D. D.)
The sin of public teachers
Here made responsible for the ignorance of the people.
1. As ignorance is a very rife and destroying sin in the visible Church, so the guilt
thereof doth ofttimes lie in great part at preachers’ doors.
2. Such as would be able to teach others, ought to take much pains that they may be
instructed themselves from God in His Word.
3. The more familiar occasion of converse men have with holy things, wanting
holiness, their contempt and dislike of them will be the greater, and their opposition

83. to light have the more perversity and the less infirmity in it.
4. Such as do for a time reject and resist means of knowledge, may at last come to
lose the light they had.
5. The more relation any pretend to God, by virtue of their general or particular
calling, the Lord will make use thereof to aggravate their sin and unanswerable
walking.
6. Unfaithfulness in offices will cast men out of the Church, as unsavoury salt is cast
out, which is a sad judgment.
7. It is a righteous judgment on unfaithful ministers that God suffers their posterity
to be neglected. (George Hutcheson.)
Lack of knowledge
As if he had said, If they had the knowledge of God, they might have prevented all this,
but they were ignorant and sottish people, and this was the forerunner of misery and
destruction. The heathens were wont to say that if their god Jupiter would destroy one,
he would first besot him; so these people were first besotted and then destroyed.
Ignorance is not the mother of devotion, but rather the father and mother too of
destruction. In the beginning of this chapter we have the sin of ignorance set forth, here
we have its danger. There we had the charge, that they had “no knowledge in the land”;
here we have the judgment, that they “are destroyed for want of knowledge.” Ignorance
is not only the deformity of the soul as blindness is the deformity of the face; though a
man or woman have never such a comely face otherwise, yet if they be blind, or have but
one eye, it mars their beauty; so ignorance takes away the beauty of the soul; and not
only so, but is dangerous and destructive, and that in these respects—
1. The rational creature is very active of itself, and will always be in motion, always
working. Then, wanting knowledge, and surrounded by pits and snares, how
dangerous is his situation!
2. Man’s way is for eternity, and there is but one way that leads to an eternity of
happiness, and that lies in the midst of a hundred crossways and bypaths. If he have
not light, if he want knowledge, what is to become of him?
3. Man is not only going onward through dangers and byways, but he must go on
with his own light. The soul that is ignorant no angel in heaven can help, except as an
instrument of God to bring sight into his eyes.
4. The work we are to do about our souls and eternal estates is the most curious and
most difficult piece of work, and we must do it by our own light.
5. Blindness in this world makes men objects of pity and compassion, but this
ignorance and blindness make men to be the objects of the hatred and curse of God.
God gave us light at first, we have brought ignorance upon ourselves. (Jeremiah
Burroughs.)
Lack of knowledge the destruction of a people
The tide of human affairs is ever throwing up upon the surface of society some one
particular subject of special and engrossing interest. One of the prominent subjects of

84. our time is education. It has been forced on the minds of thoughtful men by the
lamentable results of allowing an exuberant population to outgrow the means of their
moral and religious training, bequeathed by the wisdom and piety of their forefathers.
Hosea the prophet was commissioned to denounce God’s just displeasure, and His
determination to inflict punishment upon a people that refused to be reformed. God had
a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because there was no truth, nor mercy,
nor knowledge of God in the land. It is a serious question how far such language may
befit ourselves. It is certain that there is a fearful lack of “knowledge of God” in our
times.
I. What is the knowledge, the lack of which destroys a people? The question is analogous
to another, What is education? Are we agreed among ourselves as to what is to be
understood by this expression? There is a class of men whose ideas of knowledge and
education are almost confined to the acquisition and communication of the facts and
principles of physical and general science. Education, in their estimation, is training up
the young to be in mature life well-informed and philosophical men: men who can keep
pace with and help on the forward movements of an inquiring and intellectual age. But
this is not knowledge, in the true and full sense of the term, neither is this education. We
are still short of the truth if we define knowledge to be acquaintance with duties as well
as facts, with the world within a man, as well as the world without him; and education to
be a process of training for the moral as well as the intellectual part of man, the
discipline of the will as well as that of the mind. This is well as far as it goes; but it is not
the whole truth. It is indeed based upon a false principle, that the inculcation of moral
truths, and cultivation of moral habits will suffice to regulate and control the heart and
will of man. It dreams of a moral regeneration without an adequate regenerating
principle, of moral obedience without a sufficiently constraining motive. It assumes that
a man may be lifted up above the influence of evil by presenting to his mind the cold
abstraction of goodness. The advocates of these moral systems are ignorant of the
materials upon which they would work. They do not know the nature of man. They
forget that he is corrupt and depraved. The moral sense of man is so beclouded by sin
that to behold the beauty of virtue is neither to love nor to embrace it. Education, in its
primary idea, is the knowledge of God in His relation to man: the communication of this
knowledge to the heart, through the medium of the understanding. Education is training
as well as teaching. It teaches moral duties based upon the knowledge of God as a
reconciled Father in Christ Jesus. Education is worthless when severed from religion.
Lay the foundation deeply in the principles of true religion, and you may then proceed to
build up a goodly superstructure of all that is worthy of the name of useful knowledge.
II. The anxious conditions of society are explained by the lack of this knowledge.
Reflecting minds have serious thoughts upon the present aspect of our domestic
national affairs. We have been appalled by the frightful statistics of ignorance and vice,
of the mass of corruption fermenting amidst our overgrown population. While the
prodigious multiplication of human beings has been advancing, there has been no
corresponding multiplication cf appliances for the moral and religious training of their
souls, either as children or adults. Can it be wondered at that irreligion and infidelity,
and principles of anarchy and insubordination, and vice in some of its most revolting
forms have overspread these densely peopled districts? We cannot shut our eyes to what
is going on around us. A population has grown up unlearned in true knowledge. The
demoralising process is going on. It is a self-propagating evil. One uneducated
generation begets another, and probably a worse. Our fathers did much for national
education, according to the exigencies of their own times. We must follow along their
line in this, that religion entered, as a component element, into all their foundations. (W.

85. Nicholson, M. A.)
The danger of a lack of knowledge
I. The persons. “My people.” A frequent designation of the Israelitish people. Jehovah
was emphatically to them a God, and they were emphatically to Him a people. But is
God’s greatest goodness to Israel to be compared with the civil and religious privileges
with which He has distinguished this favoured country? There is a tendency in nations
as well as in individuals to be rendered careless and secure by the long possession of
privileges and advantages. And the history of Israel is intended to teach a lesson of
national warning.
II. Their condition. “My people are destroyed.” Notwithstanding all God’s favour
towards them, yet He abandoned them to desolation, He gave them over to destruction.
And what ground of security has Britain any more than Israel, except in the favour and
protection of God? It is impossible for any reflecting person to consider the internal state
of our country without feeling that we have within ourselves the elements of destruction,
the materials for a wide-wasting desolation.
III. The cause of that condition. “For lack of knowledge.” Lack of the knowledge of God
and religion. This was God’s ground of complaint, and for this He entered into judgment
with them. This lack of knowledge was accompanied and followed by a general
corruption of morals, as the next words to our text show. When the corruption became
general, and the fruit, of this religious ignorance were ripe, God thrust in the sharp sickle
of His judgments, and reaped the harvest in His wrath. Observe then the bearing which
the state of the collective body of the people as to religious knowledge must have upon
the question of national safety and national ruin. If there be a lack of the knowledge of
God and His truth in the bulk of the people, the destruction of the nation will be
inevitable. And if ruin come upon any land, who are the sufferers? If the body be crushed
by a fall, which of the members will escape the anguish? Hence the state of the people is
the concern of all. God has bound all classes in one common bond of interest: all must
rejoice, or all must suffer together. What then is the state of our population with respect
to religious knowledge? And what must be the end of these things? (Thomas Best, M. A.)
Neglect of teaching
God here attacks the priests, but includes the whole people. For teaching prevailed not
among them, as it ought to have done. The Lord reproaches the Israelites for their
ingratitude, seeing He had kindled among them the light of celestial wisdom. How did
the Israelites perish through ignorance? They closed their eyes against the celestial light,
because they deigned not to become teachable, so as to learn the wisdom of the eternal
Father. We see the guilt of the people in that they had malignantly suppressed the
teaching of the law. The people perished without knowledge, because they would perish.
(John Calvin.)
The lack of knowledge
I. The statement of the text is no exaggeration. Look at the Jewish nation. The whole
nation was a school, and the law was their schoolmaster to bring them to Christ. But it

86. failed—utterly failed—to accomplish this. The enmity of the human heart came out
amongst the Jewish people.
II. Some of the endeavours men make to rectify existing evils. Emphatically this is an
age of progress; of progress in many things that have rendered man wiser, and the world
happier. Philosophy takes a higher range of thought. Literature is nobler and healthier in
its tone. Art is purer than Grecian art. Science is not atheistic. Many run to and fro, and
knowledge is multiplied. We recognise this progress thankfully; it is all good, though not
the highest good. It is all capable of being turned to spiritual advantage. But by it society
is not regenerated: there arc social questions of the deepest importance that are not yet
settled. There are forms of ignorance most appalling, developments of ignorance most
deplorable, and a general spirit of scepticism widely spread. Man has done, and is doing,
his very utmost to set the world right, and yet the world continues wrong.
III. The Gospel announces itself as sufficient to meet and to remove all the miseries of
humanity.
1. It is this which distinguishes the Gospel from all other schemes. Many things are
palliatives, but you can find nothing that pretends to do all the work that man
requires to have done for him but the Gospel. Then indifference to the Gospel is the
most fearful proof that could be presented to the mind of my voluntary ignorance
and sin.
2. We may with confidence say that the Gospel not only professes to do this but has
done all this. It has proved itself the great salvation. (W. G. Barrett.)
Religious ignorance
I. It is destructive. It is not the mother of devotion, it is the mother of destruction.
1. What does it destroy? The growth of the soul in power, beauty, and fruitfulness.
2. How does it destroy? How can the lack of a thing destroy? The lack of heat and
moisture will kill the vegetable kingdom; the lack of air will cause the extinction of all
animal life. The soul without knowledge of God is like a plant without heat or
moisture, an animal without the salubrious breeze.
II. It is wilful. No culpability in a man being ignorant of some things. The knowledge of
God comes to him whether he will or not. In nature, in reason, in intuitions of his moral
being. Ignorance of God is a criminal ignorance.
III. It is God-offending. He deals out retribution—
1. To themselves.
2. To their children.
It is a Divine law springing from the constitution of society, that the iniquities of the
fathers shall be visited on their children. (Homilist.)
Ignorance destructive
Ignorance disqualifies a man for those situations in life that require the exercise of
wisdom and discretion: it degrades him in society below the rank of those who would
otherwise be deemed his equals or inferiors; and it not unfrequently leads to idleness,

87. dissipation, and vice. But ignorance of religion is of infinitely worse consequence,
because it ensures the everlasting destruction of the soul.
I. The ignorance of the Christian world. Among nominal Christians there is a great lack
of knowledge: an ignorance—
1. Of themselves. Of their blindness, guilt, depravity, helplessness.
2. Of God. Of His holiness, justice, truth.
3. Of Christ. They may confess His Godhead, and acknowledge Him as a Saviour. But
what do they know of Him as He is in Himself, or as He is to us?
II. The fatal consequences of this ignorance. Lack of spiritual knowledge—
1. Tends to men’s destruction.
2. Will issue in their destruction.
Infer—
1. How carefully should we improve the means of grace,
2. How earnestly should we pray for the teachings of God’s Spirit.
3. How thankful we should be for any measure of Divine knowledge. (Skeletons of
Sermons.)
True knowledge for the people
Neither wealth nor political forms of government give knowledge to a people. They may
give them, or obtain for them, technical information in most things, but they do not give
that know ledge which is the height of wisdom—that knowledge which will guide a man
aright in his intercourse with the world. On the contrary, a continuously changing
government and an accumulation of wealth have a great tendency to demoralise a
nation, and to retard, rather than to foster, the knowledge of that which is righteous and
true. As it was in the early ages, so it has continued through the various nations which
have existed upon the earth down to the present time; and the Jewish nation fell under
the ordinary laws of social progress when they departed from the directions which were
given, and the advice which was offered by God Himself. Even the chosen people of the
Almighty fell under the power of the tyrant custom; and notwithstanding their advance
in civilisation and wealth, they erred and were “destroyed for lack of knowledge.” Why
was this? Because the technical information which they obtained from their teachers was
not that which would support the actions of their daily life, was not that which would
assist in guiding them through the devious windings of the world in which they lived, but
had relation merely to the subject which was then in hand, and was of no further avail
when once that subject was laid on one side. As a natural consequence of this narrow
and superficial training, the minds of the people generally became contracted until they
could not see any political or religious question in its proper bearings, or to its whole
extent. They saw what related to the question of the hour, and being content with this,
they ultimately sank under a despotism of body and mind; for the mind sank and was
debased long before the body felt any evil effects from the narrowing of views which had
been going on for some time amongst the people. In the time of Hosea the people were
wandering to and fro from lack of knowledge, and the prejudices of the age were being
stirred up for the services of party, instead of being laid aside in the desire to teach the
people only that which was true. Prejudice is one of the most difficult things which men

88. have to encounter in their desire to obtain a know ledge of the truth. When once the
mind has taken up any opinion it lays hold of it as its own, and follows it out regardless
of what may be said by others to the contrary. It considers that which it holds to he the
truth; and, as a natural consequence, looks upon the sayings of those who oppose it as
absolutely false, and without any legitimate foundation upon which to stand. Nor is it in
the ordinary course of events worth while to try and disabuse people of their prejudices.
And not only do our prejudices impel us to hold with tenacity that which we have taken
up as the truth, but they impel us to dislike and to hate those who may differ from us. A
man is truly orthodox when he thinks as we think; but let him differ from us only in one
jot or tittle, and then his opinions are at once pronounced to be heterodox, and he
himself adjudged as an enemy. There are some conclusions which must be admitted by
every reflecting mind as soon as they are presented to it, and they must also be
acknowledged as truths the moment they are offered for consideration. When we reflect
upon the matter for a moment, it is evident that each one ought” to live soberly,
righteously, and godly in the world,” because it is clearly an offence against the well-
being of society that men should live otherwise. Then let us not be the servants of men,
for there is One greater than they. Let us not be the followers of a party, for there is One
wiser than it. But let us seek honestly after the truth wherever it may be found; and
whilst we hold Augustine as a friend, and Luther and Calvin as friends,—whilst we
respect men of every party—let us ever bear in mind that we have a duty to perform far
higher than that of clansmen: we have to teach the truth as it is in Jesus, to proclaim His
name above that of every other name, and to endeavour above all things to strive
manfully to learn and to do that which is right. (F. T. Swinbourne.)
The importance of religious knowledge
Both philosophers and divines agree that the first step to true know ledge is a discovery
of our own ignorance; all wise men will confess that the more they know the more a
modest sense of the narrow limits of their understanding increases. The recovery of true
knowledge, with a constant improvement therein ourselves, and the using our utmost
endeavours to propagate it among mankind, are some of the most noble and rational
ends of our existence. Not withstanding His severe reproachings and threatenings of
Ephraim, how tenderly the Lord expostulates with them! A wilful neglect of true
knowledge is represented as the spring of all their provocations and their danger.
Ignorance is represented as the occasion of their ruin.
I. The title given to the people who are exposed to this destruction. Still, spite of their
sin, they are called “My people.” This title may be applied to mankind in general, and in
a strict manner to those who are known as the “elect.” Here it is applied to the kingdom
of the Ten Tribes, under the name Ephraim. Though they had revolted from Him, God
still condescends to own His relation to them. And this relation materially aggravates
their crimes.
II. What is this knowledge which is of such importance? Men may be great strangers to
philosophy, to human arts, and carnal wisdom, and yet not be involved in that
destruction which is certainly connected with the ignorance mentioned in the text. As
true religion is the only effectual security of private persons from this ruin, so it is with
respect to society. Religious knowledge must be intended in this text.
1. Men might learn much by seriously observing what is presented to their view all
round about them; and much more if they would examine their own frame, and

89. reflect on the various warnings of that monitor which is in every breast.
2. It is the knowledge which God has been pleased to reveal, which is chiefly
intended here. This was, in Hosea’s time, to be found in the books of Moses and the
prophets. This is, for us, the knowledge that is conveyed by the Gospel.
III. The sad occasions of the want of this knowledge, especially in what is called a land of
light.
1. A thoughtless neglect of those sober reflections to which we are led even by that
measure of natural light, which, in the midst of all our depravity, is mercifully
continued to us. Observation teaches us what effect negligence will have on our
temporal affairs. When men come to divide precious time principally between the
cares about the enlargement of their worldly substance, and the various methods
their own corruptions will dictate, very little will be left for nobler improvements.
2. The want of the written revelation must Deeds be attended with the most
deplorable ignorance. As may be seen in the history of those nations which have
wanted this glorious advantage.
3. Ignorance of religion must needs prevail where there is the want of a skilful,
faithful, and laborious ministry.
4. A pious education of our youth is another method of cultivating religious
knowledge. This foundation must be chiefly laid in family instruction. We have lived
to see the day when the impression of religious sentiments on young minds is not
only by many laid aside, but such a neglect is defended. It is said to prevent any bar
being put to what is called “free thinking.” The great neglect of family religion, and
the pious example which superiors by the laws of reason are indispensably obliged to
set before those under their care, as it has long been complained of, if not soon
reformed must bring peril on our Churches and on our land.
5. The growth of ignorance among the poorer sort is a matter of peculiar
consequence.
6. Among good men there is too great a neglect of application to Heaven for a
blessing on such attempts as are made to promote useful knowledge, and of a
dependence on the Spirit of God, who is only able to make them successful.
IV. The destruction which is the natural and sad consequence of this ignorance.
Reference is first to those temporal calamities which befell these people for their sins; or
it relates to future temporal calamities which Hosea predicted. But ignorance persisted
in exposes public communities to almost every criminal anal dangerous disorder, and in
the end brings on national ruin; and it is big with every spiritual as well as temporal
mischief to private persons where it prevails. Ignorance of Divine things keeps the
conscience under a fatal stupidity, it exposes men to the devices of the old serpent, and
to the crafty attempts of every seducer; it exposes us to every kind of error in conduct,
and obstructs our usefulness both in public and in private life.
V. The remedies which should be applied to so dangerous a disease.
1. We should cheerfully and constantly attend on those advantages Heaven has
bestowed on us, that we read and hear, that we inquire and meditate, and watch and
pray, as those who are convinced that ignorance has been their ruin, and that
happiness in this life is absolutely connected with religious knowledge, and that the
lives of our souls depend upon it.

90. 2. We should do all we can to promote the influence of religious knowledge on the
minds of others, by the careful instruction of our families, and the support of a well-
qualified ministry.
VI. Some applications cf what has been said.
1. How deplorable is the state of multitudes among us, who lie under the grossest
ignorance.
2. We ought to rejoice in our civil constitution, and to encourage and defend our
religious advantages. (Joseph Stennett, D. D.)
Ignorance of God among professing Christians
The ungodliness of Israel in Hosea’s time was in a great measure to be traced to
ignorance of the true God; an ignorance for which they were responsible, because there
was the light of God’s truth in their land. It was peculiarly sinful, inasmuch as it was
ignorance in God’s professing people. And the ignorance involved their ruin.
I. The present and future misery of ignorance of God. No real earthly happiness can be
enjoyed where there is ignorance of God. The pleasures of sin are not happiness, though
they often pass for it. Nor is the pursuit of happiness, or the acquisition of wealth.
Happiness must be sought in a knowledge of, and obedience to, the will and ways of
God. Where there is the true knowledge of God, there is no real wretchedness, though
there may be much tribulation
II. That which aggravates the misery is our relation to God as his people.
1. It aggravates their sin, because it is the bounden duty of every man to seek the
knowledge of God as the “one thing needful.” We are not to wait to have this
knowledge forced upon us, we are bound to seek it. If the guilt of God’s people who
remain in ignorance of Him be aggravated by their relation to Him, so likewise is the
guilt of those aggravated who are bound to teach God’s people. Civil government
stands upon religious grounds, and has religious obligations. The Church is the
bulwark of every Christian State. (W. J. Brodrick, M. A.)
The necessity of a union between religion and education
I. The necessary connection between religion and education. The word “education”
suggests the idea of preparing the young for the great duties incumbent on them in the
various relations of life; and with a view to this object, includes the communication of
knowledge, the inculcation of right principles, and the formation of corresponding
habits in those who are thus to be the subjects of it. But what are we to understand by
the great duties incumbent upon us in the different relations of life? Some think that the
end and purpose of their existence have been met when they have fairly performed their
present duties, and honourably met their obligations. But these are practical atheists, for
they completely exclude God from any right to the homage of His rational creatures, and
reduce man to the degradation and wretchedness of a being who, whatever other heights
he may attain, is incapable of rising to the knowledge, the love, the service, and the
everlasting enjoyment of his Maker. In opposition to such views, we say, that even
reason and conscience, above all the Word of God, declare that man is endowed with a
nature that renders him capable of communion with the great, eternal, glorious God;

91. nay, that the advancement of the praise of this God is the very end of his existence; and
in pursuing this end he secures present and everlasting happiness. This duty may,
however, be acknowledged, and yet the proper principles and conduct attending it may
be repudiated. If the former view was practical atheism, this is practical infidelity.
Milton says. “The end of learning is to repair the ruins of our first parents, by regaining
to know God aright, and out of that knowledge to love Him, to imitate Him, to be like
Him as we may the nearest, by possessing our souls of true virtue, which, being united to
the heavenly grace of faith, makes up the highest perfection.” Can Christian training be
efficiently, and ought it to be exclusively discharged by parents?
II. The importance and advantages of a union between religion and education. Man was
originally framed so as to derive happiness from the knowledge, love, and service of God.
It is when the love of God is shed abroad on the heart of fallen man that the different
parts of his moral constitution will resume, as it were, their proper place and connection,
and that he himself will be enabled to act as he was designed for the glory of God, in all
the varied relations in which he stands. When religious knowledge is communicated and
made effectual for the conversion of the soul to God, man is under the influence of that
principle which will most certainly and with increasing strength constrain him to the
discharge of every obligation in regard to God, to himself, and to his fellow-creatures,
and thus fit him for the attainment of the great end of his being. Put forth this
knowledge in all its bearings, and you will do that which, with the Divine blessing, will
enable him to discharge with consistency and perseverance, with honour, comfort, and
usefulness, the great duties of life. But how sad, and morally helpless, is the condition of
those who are allowed to grow up, not only without a religious education, but without an
education of any kind! (Abercromby L. Gordon.)
Hindrances to knowledge
Very different and almost opposite things are said of knowledge in the Holy Scriptures.
Such may be found in the writings of St. Paul. Following the sound rather than the sense
of some of St. Paul’s expressions, it has been the fashion with some to decry altogether
the value of knowledge, whether on religious or common subjects. What is knowledge?
The old definition is, “Knowledge is the firm belief of something true, on sufficient
grounds.” Belief is necessary, but belief is not enough. Fully testing our knowledge, it
may be said that we know almost nothing. In later life we become aware of this, and very
painfully. But the charge of ignorance (in the true meaning of that word) may be brought
as justly against the so-called enlightenment of this age, as against the less showy
pretensions of that which is now gone by. Two or three causes for the lack of real
knowledge may be given.
1. The multiplication of outward helps and facilities for learning has a direct
tendency to counteract true knowledge. It seems to be a condition of knowledge that
it shall not come too easily. Knowledge must be fetched by exertions of our own.
2. A misuse of stimulus in the pursuit of knowledge is an impediment. One reason
why many of us do not know mere is that we have made knowledge a means instead
of an end—a means of getting distinction. The use of emulation as a stimulus to
knowledge is a perilous, though it may be a necessary expedient. Be on your guard,
too, against a misuse of a temporary stimulus acting upon parts of your nature which
are, by comparison, the lower rather than the higher. Emulation is higher than
appetite, but it is lower than that to which manly principle and Christian motive

92. appeal.
3. The effect of light reading upon the acquisition of knowledge truly so called. In the
days of our fathers, any one who could read at all would scarcely fail to read with a
view to knowledge. The supply of amusement by literature, the command of books as
a mere pastime, was then scarcely thought of. Now young people greedily devour
fictitious tales till indulgence produces a surfeit. Sometimes an absolute vacancy
follows upon excess of such reading. Fiction has two legitimate provinces. It is a
salutary relaxation for an overwrought brain. And it may be employed as a study of
life. But the knowledge, the lack of which destroys, is the knowledge not of things but
of per-sons. It is the acquaintance of soul with soul, and spirit with spirit; the contact
of the unseen inmost self of man with the unseen inmost essence of another, even of
Him in whom man lives, and whom truly to know is eternal life. What we need is to
know God. It is no metaphysical, scarcely even a theological, knowledge you need. It
is the knowledge as of a friend. (C. J. Vaughan, D. D.)
The evils of ignorance
I. Ignorance is destructive.
1. Destructive of the dignity of man. The faculties of knowledge, reason, judgment,
and voluntary determination distinguish us from the beasts that perish, and
constitute the true dignity of our nature. But faculties and powers are of little value
until they are brought into exercise and directed to their proper objects. Instruction
is to man What culture is to the plant. Without it, life is spent in a vacant stupidity,
or distracted by irregular imagination and heated passions.
2. Destructive of the usefulness of man. Knowledge constitutes the whole difference
betwixt savage and civilised society. To the improvement of the mind all nations have
owed the improvement of their condition. Ignorance is the negative of everything
good and useful. It not only renders the members of a community useless to each
other, it opposes, and frequently triumphs over, all the endeavours of humane and
enlightened individuals. The despotism of ignorance is of the most imperious nature.
Minds wholly uncultivated are averse to serious thought., and are only conversant
with sensible objects. From this springs their aversion to the Gospel; for whoever
receives it must become serious and thoughtful.
3. Destructive of virtue. Virtue can no more exist without knowledge, than an animal
can exist without life. In proportion as ignorance prevails in society, virtue is
destroyed. Ignorant men may possibly be made enthusiasts; they may be made
superstitious; but before they can be made rational, steady, and consistent
Christians, they must be enlightened. That ignorance is destructive of virtue is
proved by facts as well as arguments. Illustration may be taken from the records of
heathen nations, and from the history of the Christian Church.
4. Destructive of happiness. There is pleasure in knowledge of a kind more pure and
elevated than can possibly be found in any of the gratifications of sense, and for
which the latter are but unworthy substitutes. Of the pleasures which spring from
knowledge, and especially sacred knowledge, we cannot conceive too highly. To know
God, to contemplate the perfections of His nature and the wonders of His hand, to
observe His providential regard, to behold the mystery of redemption, the character
and undertaking of Jesus,—such subjects, when opened to the mind, not only give
pleasure as speculative discoveries and the solutions of distressing doubts, but by

93. awakening virtuous sentiments, kindling an ardent and elevated devotion, producing
the present possession of the peace of the Gospel, and the prospect of fulness of joy.
II. To counteract the destructive effects of ignorance is the work of humanity. None
oppose the communication of knowledge to the lower ranks of society save those who
are altogether unreasonable. Special importance attaches to Sunday school. The
dissemination of knowledge may be treated as—
1. A work of humanity;
2. Of patriotism;
3. Of virtue.
Christianity exhibits a Founder who went about doing good; and His disciples in every
age have devoted their time, their talents, their property, their influence to the
instruction and blessing of mankind. (R. Watson.)
Ignorance destructive
Ignorance disqualifies a man for those situations in life that require the exercise of
wisdom and discretion: it degrades him in society below the rank of those who would
otherwise be deemed his equals or inferiors; and it not infrequently leads to idleness,
dissipation, and vice. Ignorance of religion ensures the everlasting destruction of the
soul.
I. The ignorance of the Christian world.
1. An ignorance of themselves. They know little of their blindness, guilt, depravity,
helplessness.
2. Ignorance of God. His holiness, justice, truth.
3. Ignorance of Christ. As He is in Himself. As He is to us.
II. The fatal consequences of it. The degrees of criminality attached to ignorance vary
according to the opportunities men have enjoyed of obtaining knowledge. A lack of
spiritual knowledge—
1. Tends to destruction.
2. Will issue in destruction.
Then—
(1) How carefully should we improve the means of grace!
(2) How earnestly should we pray for the teachings of God’s Spirit!
(3) How thankful should we be for any measure of Divine knowledge! (C.
Simeon, M. A.)
Rejecting knowledge
The word used signifies to reject with despite and contempt. Knowledge is rejected in
two ways.

94. 1. When the means of knowledge are rejected, then knowledge is rejected.
2. When the directions of our knowledge are rejected, when we refuse to be guided
by it, upon this our knowledge decays, and eventually is contemned. (Jeremiah
Burroughs.)
Lack of knowledge
The lack of this knowledge causes people to perish. Knowing God as a Father, Saviour,
Sanctifier, gives the soul the consciousness of pardon, life, purity, power—the power of
love—that is almost irresistible. Knowledge is power to the inventor, civil engineer,
teacher and lawyer. But the knowledge of God is the greatest power. It enables all, even
the weakest, to do great things. “Oh, for a knowledge and baptism of power from God.
Then everywhere the people that do know God shall do exploits.” (H. W. Bailey.)
Ignorance impoverishes
Among the Scotch lairds, there is one whose father died in a poorhouse, like a beggar,
notwithstanding his possession of the very same riches his heir at present has at his
disposal; but he simply did not know how rich he was. Shortly after his decease, rich
metallic ore was discovered on the estate; the mines, which were worked at once, gave
such returns, that very soon all mortgages and debts could be paid off, and, moreover,
put the present owner in possession of a nobleman’s fortune. His father possessed no
less, but he knew it not. Alas, for how many the blessed Word of God is worth no more
than waste paper! Therein are contained the richest promises of fulness of grace, of
victory over every enemy, of exceeding glory; but because they do not explore these
mines, they live like beggars, who can hardly manage to obtain a morsel of bread. (A. J.
Gordon, D. D.)
I will also forget thy children.
Getting at parents through their children
The Lord must in some way find our life that He may either reward or chastise it. In this
case He will get at the parents through their children. He would not have done this if
there had been any other way into their rebellious and obdurate hearts. We must leave
Him to explain Himself in reference to the children; He will do that which is right and
merciful; we need not plague ourselves about that aspect of mystery; rather let us fasten
attention upon the fact that God means for our good to get at our souls somehow. He
will try all the gates, and even if He has to break down the child-gate He will come in.
That is the point upon which we are to fix our devout attention. We can of course be
tempted in another direction: why attack the children, why conduct Himself towards the
innocent as if they were guilty? Why punish the innocent., for those who have
transgressed? So we metaphysically fritter away God’s meaning; we endeavour to solve
the insoluble, when we might be accepting with grace and gratitude the inevitable, the
disciplinary, and the high administration of Divine righteousness. (Joseph Parker, D.
D.)

95. 7 The more priests there were,
the more they sinned against me;
they exchanged their glorious God[b] for
something disgraceful.
BAR ES, "As they were increased, so they sinned against Me - The
“increase” may be, either in actual number or in wealth, power or dignity. The text
includes both. In both kinds of increase, the bad abuse God’s gifts against Himself, and
take occasion of them to offend Him. The more they were increased in number, the more
there were to sin, the more they were who sinned. God promised to make Abraham’s
seed, “as the stars of heaven.” They were to shine in the world through the light of the
law, and the glory which God gave them while obeying Him. “Thy fathers went down
into Egypt with threescore and ten persons; and now the Lord thy God hath made thee
like the stars of heaven for multitude. Therefore thou shalt love the Lord thy God, and
keep His charge, and His statutes, and his judgments and His commandments alway”
Deu_10:22; Deu_10:1. God multiplied them, that there might be the more to adore Him.
But instead of multiplying subjects, He multiplied apostates. “As many men as Israel
had, so many altars did it build to daemons, in the sacrifices to whom it sinned against
Me.” “The more sons God gave to Israel, the more enemies He made to Himself, for
Israel brought them up in hatred to God, and in the love and worship of idols.” “As too
among the devout, one provokes another, by word and deed, to good works, so, in the
congregation of evil doers, one incites another to sins.” Again, worldlings make all God’s
gifts minister to pride, and so to all the sins, which are the daughters of pride.
“Jeshurun, God says, waxed fat and kicked; then he forsook God which made him, and
lightly esteemed the Rock of his salvation” Deu_32:15. In this way too, the increase of
wealth which God gives to those who forget Him, increases the occasions of ingratitude
and sins.
I will turn their glory into shame - Such is the course of sin and chastisement.
God bestows on man, gifts, which may be to him matter of praise and glory, if only
ordered aright to their highest and only true end, the glory of God; man perverts them to
vain-glory and thereby to sin; God turns the gifts, so abused, to shame. He not only gives
them shame instead of their glory; He makes the glory itself the means and occasion of
their shame. Beauty becomes the occasion of degradation; pride is proverbially near a
fall; “vaulting ambition overleaps itself, and falls on th’other side;” riches and abundance

96. of population tempt nations to wars, which become their destruction, or they invite
other and stronger nations to prey upon them. “Thou hast indeed smitten Edom,” was
the message of Jehoash to Amaziah, “and thine heart hath lifted thee up; glory of this,
and tarry at home, for why shouldest thou to thy hurt, that thou shouldest fall, even thou
and Judah with thee? But Amaziah would not hear” 2Ki_14:10-11. He lost his own
wealth, wasted the treasures in God’s house; and the walls of Jerusalem were broken
down.
CLARKE, "Will I change their glory into shame - As the idolaters at Dan and
Bethel have changed my glory into the similitude of an ox that eateth grass, (Rom_1:23),
so will I change their glory into shame or ignominy. In the day of my wrath, their calf-
gods shall not deliver them.
GILL, "As they were increased, so they sinned against me,.... As the children of
the priests increased and grew up, they sinned against the Lord, imitating their parents;
they were as many sinners as they were persons, not one to be excepted: this expresses
their universal depravity and corruption. Some understand it of their increase, as in
number, so in riches, wealth, honour, dignity, and authority, and yet they sinned more
and more; which shows their ingratitude. So the Targum,
"as I have multiplied fruits unto them, &c.''
Therefore will I change their glory into shame, take away their priesthood from
them, so that they shall be no more priests, and as if they never had been; and reduce
them to a state of poverty, meanness, and disgrace; and cause them to go into captivity
with the meanest of the people; and be in no more honour, but subject to as much scorn
and contempt as they.
HE RY, ". They forgot the law of God, neither desired nor endeavoured to retain it
in mind, nor to transmit the remembrance of it to their posterity, and therefore justly
will God forget them and their children, the people's children; they did not educate
them, as they ought to have done, in the knowledge of God and their duty to him, and
therefore God will disown them, as not in covenant with him. Note, If parents do not
teach their children, when they are young, to remember their Creator, they cannot
expect that their Creator should remember them. Or it may be meant of the priests'
children; they shall not succeed them in the priests' office, but shall be reduced to
poverty, as is threatened against Eli's house, 1Sa_2:20.
IV. They dishonoured God with that which was their honour, and justly therefore will
God strip them of it, Hos_4:7. It was their honour that they were increased in number,
wealth, power, and dignity. The beginning of their nation was small, but in process of
time it greatly increased, and grew very considerable; the family of the priests increased
wonderfully. But, as they were increased, so they sinned against God. The more
populous the nation grew, the more sin was committed and the more profane they were;
their wealth, honour, and power, did but make them the more daring in sin. Therefore,
says God, will I change their glory into shame. Are their numbers their glory? God will
diminish them and make them few. Is their wealth their glory? God will impoverish
them and bring them low; so that they shall themselves be ashamed of that which they

97. gloried in. Their priests shall be made contemptible and base, Mal_2:9. Note, That
which is our honour, if we dishonour God with it, will sooner or later be turned into
shame to us: for those that despise God shall be lightly esteemed, 1Sa_2:30.
JAMISO , "As they were increased — in numbers and power. Compare Hos_
4:6, “thy children,” to which their “increase” in numbers refers.
so they sinned — (Compare Hos_10:1 and Hos_13:6).
will I change their glory into shame — that is, I will strip them of all they now
glory in (their numbers and power), and give them shame instead. A just retribution: as
they changed their glory into shame, by idolatry (Psa_106:20; Jer_2:11; Rom_1:23;
Phi_3:19).
CALVI , "Verse 7
Here the Prophet amplifies the wickedness and impiety of the people, by adding this
circumstance, that they the more perversely wantoned against God, the more
bountiful he was to them, yea, when he poured upon them riches in full exuberance.
Such a complaint we have before noticed: but the Prophets, we know, did not speak
only once of the same thing; when they saw that they effected nothing, that the
contempt of God still prevailed, they found it necessary to repeat often what they
had previously said. Here then the Prophet accuses the Israelites of having
shamefully abused the indulgence of God, of having allowed themselves greater
liberty in sinning, when God so kindly and liberally dealt with them.
Some confine this to the priests, and think the meaning to be, that they sinned more
against God since he increased the Levitical tribe and added to their wealth: but the
Prophet, I doubt not, meant to include the whole people. He, indeed, in the last
verse, separated the crimes of the priests from those of the people, though in the
beginning he advanced a general propositions: he now returns to that statement,
which is, that all, from the highest to the lowest, acted impiously and wickedly
against God. ow we know that the Israelites had increased in number as well as in
wealth; for they were prosperous, as it has been stated, under the second Jeroboam;
and thought themselves then extremely happy, because they were filled with every
abundance. Hence God shows now that they had become worse and less excusable,
for they were grown thus wanton, like a horse well-fed, when he kicks against his
own master, — a comparison which even Moses uses in his song, (Deuteronomy
32:15.) We now see what the Prophet means. Hence, when he says ‫,כרובם‬ carubem,
according to their multiplying, I explain this not simply of men nor of wealth, but of
every kind of blessing: for the Lord here, in a word, accuses the people of
ingratitude, because the more kind and liberal he was to them, the more obstinately
bent they were on sinning.
He afterwards subjoins, Their glory will I turn to shame. He here denounces God’s
judgment on proud men, which they feared not: for men, we know, are blinded by
prosperity. And it is the worst kind of drunkenness, when we seem to ourselves to be
happy; for then we allow ourselves every thing that is contrary to God, and are deaf
to all instruction, and are, in short, wholly intractable. But the Prophet says, I will

98. commute this glory into shame, which means, “There is no reason for them to trust
in themselves, and foolishly to impose on themselves, by fixing their eyes on their
present splendor; for it is in my power,” the Lord says, “to change their glory.” We
then see that the Prophet meant here to shake off from the Israelites their vain
confidence; for they were wont to set up against God their riches, their glory, their
power, their horses and chariots. “This is your glorying; but in my hand and power
is adversity and prosperity; yea,” the Lord says, “on me alone depends the changing
of glory into shame.” But at the same time, the Prophet intimates, that it could not
be that God would thus prostitute his blessings to unworthy men as to swine: for it
is a kind of profanation, when men are thus proud against God, while he bears with
them, while he spares them. This combination then applies to all who abuse God’s
kindness; for the Lord intends not that his favor should be thus profaned. It follows
BE SO , "Verse 7
Hosea 4:7. As they were increased, so they sinned — Or, The more they were
increased, the more they sinned against me — The greater the favours were which I
heaped upon them, and the more I multiplied them, the more presumptuously they
sinned against me: see Hosea 13:6. Instead of, as they were increased, Bishop
Horsley reads, In proportion as they were magnified, (a translation the Hebrew
word, ‫,כרבם‬ will well bear,) “the priesthood,” he observes, “among the Jews was, by
God’s appointment, a situation of the highest rank and authority; and the complaint
is, that, in proportion as they were raised in dignity and power above the rest of the
people, they surpassed them in impiety.” Therefore will I change their glory into
shame — Therefore I will divest them of all those glories for which they pride
themselves, and lead them away in a poor and miserable condition into captivity.
COFFMA ,"Verse 7
"As they were multiplied, so they sinned against me: I will change their glory into
shame."
This verse, as the passage before it, has its primary reference, not to the pagan
priesthood, but to Israel the priest of God in the national sense (Exodus 19:6). The
evidence that this is the true interpretation is strengthened by the frantic efforts of
some scholars who have vainly tried to move Exodus 19:6 into post-exilic times."[23]
The more the nation increased and the greater became their prosperity, the more
and more they were estranged from their true God. The reason for this was that
they attributed their prosperity, not to God who was the genuine author of it, but to
their pagan idols. They therefore interpreted their increased strength and glory as
the blessings of their idols, being consequently further and further estranged from
God.
ELLICOTT, "Verse 7-8
(7, 8) The increase in numbers and prosperity probably refers to the priesthood,
who, as they grew in numbers, became more alienated from the true God. These eat
up, or fatten on, the very sins they ought to rebuke. The reference here may be
either to the portion of sacrificial offerings which fell to the share of the priests, or
(less probably) to the sin-money and trespass-money exacted in place of sin-

99. offerings of 2 Kings 12:16. (On the general condition of the priesthood at this time,
see W. R. Smith, Prophets of Israel pp. 99-101.)
TRAPP, "Verse 7
Hosea 4:7 As they were increased, so they sinned against me: [therefore] will I
change their glory into shame.
Ver. 7. As they were increased] sc. in number, wealth, and honour. Their prosperity
undid them, they flourished at this time in court and country, they waxed fat and
kicked. The priests are here accused of detestable ingratitude, and of insufferable
pride and insolence.
As they were multiplied or magnified, they have sinned against me] That is, they
have abused my gifts to my great dishonour. Like fed hawks, they have forgotten
their master. ay, like young mules, which, when they have sucked, turn up their
heels and kick their dam; so did these haughty and haunty priests. Their hearts
were fat as grease, they were enclosed in their own fat, but they delighted not in
God’s law, Psalms 17:10; Psalms 119:70. Cum ipsis opibus lascivire coepit Ecclesia,
saith Platina. The Church began to be rich and wanton at once, rich and riotous.
They had golden chalices, but wooden priests, repugnante ceutra teipsum felicitate
tua, as Salvian saith to the Church in his time: thy prosperity is thy bane. What
would he have said if he had seen the pope in his princely state, thundering from his
capitol, and heard their big swollen titles of Padre benedicto, Padre Angelo,
Archangelo, Cherubino, Seraphino? &c. Ammianus Marcellinus, a heathen
historian, inveighed against the bishops of Rome, even in those purer times, for their
pride and luxury. Odi fastum illius ecclesiae, saith Basil, I hate the haughtiness of
that Western Church. It caused the lamentable separation of the Greek Church
from the Latin; the other four patriarchs (not without the like pride and stomach)
dividing themselves from the bishop of Rome, and at their parting using these or the
like words: Thy greatness we know, thy covetousness we cannot satisfy, thine
encroaching we can no longer abide: live to thyself. And yet, if they could have held
them there, and shunned those evils which they blamed in others (walking humbly
with God, and committing themselves to him in well doing), they might have
flourished to this day. But wrangling away the truth, and contracting rust with long
ease and prosperity, God was forced to scour off their rust with bloody war by the
Turks. Of whom these Churches, being in fear and danger, fled to carnal
combinations: sent and subjected themselves to the bishop of Rome, that they might
have his help. But all in vain; for shortly after they were destroyed, and lost all. God
covered them with confusion, and turned their glory into shame. So he hath done
the Roman glory in part, and will do more every day (Parei Medull.).
Roma diu titubans variis erroribus acta,
Corruet: et mundi desinet iste caput.

100. God will cast dirt in the faces of proud prelates, he will stain the pride of all glory,
cast upon them with ignominy, Isaiah 23:9, reproach, Proverbs 18:3, crush their
crown with a woe, Isaiah 28:1, change their glory (their dignity and greatness
wherein they gloried) into shame, not without much bitterness in the change, as the
Hebrew word ‫אמיר‬ here used seemeth to import. Miserum enim est, fuisse felicem.
PETT, "Verse 7
‘As they were multiplied, so they sinned against me. I will change their glory into
shame.’
YHWH then draws attention to what He had done for them. He had caused them to
multiply (compare Hosea 1:10), and He had given them prosperity (‘glory’). This
was always seen as a sign of God’s approval. And what was the result? The more
they multiplied the more they sinned against Him. Thus they turned God’s goodness
into an excuse for more sin. In return therefore He would turn their glory into
shame. The glory of a nation was found in its wealth and prosperity (see Isaiah 17:3-
4), so that this was saying that He would destroy their wealth and render them
poverty-stricken with the result that they would be ashamed, a situation certainly
fulfilled in the various exiles.
Alternatively the idea may be that it was the priests who had multiplied in numbers,
which had simply resulted in their sinning more, but it seems more probable that
the reference is to the people as a whole. Either way their punishment would be
justified.
K&D, "Verse 7
“The more they increased, the more they sinned against me; their glory will I
change into shame.” ‫,כּרבּם‬ “according to their becoming great,” does not refer to the
increase of the population only (Hosea 9:11), but also to its growing into a powerful
nation, to the increase of its wealth and prosperity, in consequence of which the
population multiplied. The progressive increase of the greatness of the nation was
only attended by increasing sin. As the nation attributed to its own idols the
blessings upon which its prosperity was founded, and by which it was promoted (cf.
Hosea 2:7), and looked upon them as the fruit and reward of its worship, it was
strengthened in this delusion by increasing prosperity, and more and more
estranged from the living God. The Lord would therefore turn the glory of
Ephraim, i.e., its greatness or wealth, into shame. ‫כּבודם‬ is probably chosen on
account of its assonance with ‫.כּרבּם‬ For the fact itself, compare Hosea 2:3, Hosea 2:9-
11.
PULPIT, "Hosea 4:7, Hosea 4:8
As they were increased; rather, multiplied. Whether ‫ָם‬‫בּ‬ ֻ‫ְר‬‫כּ‬ be taken as infinitive with
suffix and prefix, or as a noun, it will amount to the same. The reference is rather to
the multitude of the population than to the greatness of their prosperity or the
abundance of their wealth. In the latter sense it is understood by the Chaldee
paraphrase, but in the former by the Syriac translator. So also Kimchi, where he
says, "As for Aaron the priest their father, the Law of truth was in his mouth; but

101. now that his sons have multiplied and spread abroad, they have sinned against me
and forgotten my law; according as I did them good they did evil." He also gives as
the explanation of others, "As I increased them in wealth and riches, they sinned
against me." Their glory will I change into shame. The "therefore" of the
Authorized Version is inserted unnecessarily. Both the Chaldee and Syriac render,
"And they changed their glory into shame;" as they took ‫יר‬ִ‫מ‬‫אָ‬ for the infinitive ‫יר‬ִ‫מ‬ָ‫ה‬,
and that in the sense of the preterit; or the infinitive in the gerundival sense:
"changing their glory into shame." Kimchi explains the meaning correctly:
"Therefore I made them beads over the people and expiators, yet if they do not
observe my Law I will change their glory into shame; and the people will contemn
and despise them." Their numbers multiplied with the multiplication of idols, and
the apostasy of the people kept pace with both; and now as a fit punishment they are
to be deprived of their priestly glory—their dignity and splendor. They eat up the
sin of my people. The word ‫אה‬ַ‫ַטּ‬‫ח‬ may be understood in either of two senses; and the
meaning of the verse will correspond thereto. It may either mean that these faithless
priests lived upon the sin of the people, deriving their livelihood and profit from the
people's idolatrous practices; or that they were delighted with their sin, approving
rather than reproving them for the same. The other explanation understands the
word of sin offering, and is thus expressed by Kimchi: "They are only priests for
eating up the sin and trespass offering which the people offer on account of sins, not
for teaching the Law or right way." To their iniquity they lift up (each one) his soul.
They set their heart upon and eagerly desire the continued practice of sin on the
part of the people that they may profit by the sacrifices. Thus Kimchi explains this
clause in accordance with his exposition of the former: "The priests lift up every one
his soul to the sin of the people, saying, When will they sin, and bring sin offering
and trespass offering that we may eat?"
BI, "As they were increased, so they sinned against me.
Secular prosperity
The “increase” is in the number of the population; but it may refer to increase of wealth.
I. Secular prosperity attained by the wicked.
1. That is a common fact. Wicked men in all ages have, as a rule, been more
prosperous than their contemporaries. Two things account for this fact—
(1) Their secular earnestness. Material good is the one thing With them.
(2) Their moral unscrupulousness. They have no high sense of honour, no
inviolable rules of right, no swaying sense of moral responsibilities. Hence they
will not reject the fraudulent and false if they will serve them in their course.
2. That is a trying fact. Men of incorruptible truth, honesty, and high devotion have
in all ages been baffled and distressed by this fact.
II. Secular prosperity abused. In the hands of the wicked wealth can—
1. Promote injustice. It fattens the despotic in human nature.
2. It promotes sensuality. It provides means to inflame the low passions of human
nature, and to pamper the brutal appetites.

102. 3. It promotes practical atheism. The man with wealth, and without God in his heart,
sinks into an utter forgetfulness of the Author of all good.
III. Secular prosperity is ruinous to the wicked. God will strip them of all they now glory
in, all their worldly prosperity, and give them shame instead. “Therefore will I change
their glory into shame.” I will quench all the lights which they have kindled. I will bring
them into wretchedness and contempt. (Homilist.)
Prosperity encouraging sin
The Lord accuses them of ingratitude, that the more they prospered, or increased in
number or glory, they were the more bold on sin; therefore He threatens them with
ignominy to come in place of that glory which made them miscarry so far. Learn—
1. Such as do provoke God highly, may yet, in His long-suffering patience, not only
continue as they are, but increase in prosperity, issue, and glory for a time.
2. As there is no outward mercy conferred on wicked or unrenewed men, but they do
make it a snare to draw them into sin, and harden them in it, so this abuse of God’s
goodness doth aggravate sin exceedingly, for it is a challenge that “as they were
increased, so they sinned against Me.”
3. Any glory or splendour which men abuse to harden themselves in sin, neglecting
that which is their true honour, will certainly end in ignominy; and especially when
ministers glory of worldly state or riches as their chief excellency, neglecting that
true honour of being faithful in their station. (George Hutcheson.)
Worldly prosperity an insidious danger
Once an English friend found Jenny Lind sitting on the steps of a bathing-machine, on
the sands, with a Lutheran Bible open on her knee, and looking out into the glory of a
sunset that was shining over the waters. They talked, and the talk drew near to the
inevitable question: “Oh, Madame Goldschmidt, how was it that you ever came to
abandon the stage, at the very height of your success?” “When, every day,” was the quiet
answer, “it made me think less of this” (laying a finger on the Bible) “and nothing at all
of that” (pointing to the sunset), “what else could I do?” (“Life of Jenny Lind,” by Canon
Scott Holland.)
Spiritual ruin through temporal prosperity
It is not an unmixed blessing to be born with a silver spoon in one’s mouth, for we all
need the benefit of the struggle. I knew a man who commenced business on a small
scale, and at that time he attended the chapel twice every Sunday. The business
increased rapidly, and he attended chapel once a Sunday, and then once a month, and
now he spends his Sundays in a house-boat on the river, and has lost all taste for sacred
things! He is the miserable slave of his gold—he worships it by day and dreams of it by
night- and one would not be surprised to hear of his seeking his euthanasia in suicide! A
man alone with his money is a sorry sight, for his heart is petrified, his spirit
materialised, and his life poisoned. The gold mines of Peru helped to wreck the fortunes
of Spain, for men abandoned honest work, and became avaricious adventurers.
Excessive luxury and avarice are the sure forerunners of national decadence, and we
Britons must be on our guard against it, or the fate of Spain will be ours. Life is

103. qualitative rather than quantitative, and our prosperity will spoil us unless we give to
soul-culture the first and highest place. As Seneca says: “One of the most serious
calamities which can befall any man is not to know something of adversity.” (J. Ossian
Davies.)
Therefore will I turn their glory into shame.
Perverted gifts
God bestows on man gifts, which may be to him matter of praise and glory, if only
ordered aright to their highest and only true end, the glory of God. Man perverts them to
vainglory, and therefore to sin; God turns the gifts, so abused, to shame. He not only
gives them shame instead of their glory; He makes the glory itself the means and
occasion of their shame. Beauty becomes the occasion of degradation; pride is
proverbially near a fall; “vaulting ambition overleaps itself and falls on the other side.”
(E. B. Pusey, D. D.)
Man’s glory changed into shame
The very blessings which God had bestowed on these priests for their glory, in order to
their good, were to be converted into their shame, and be made instrumental to their
injury.
I. The threatening in its relation to the Jews. There never was a nation upon which were
poured with such profusion things which should have been for their good and for their
glory. But in a very wonderful manner the Jews perverted all their privileges, and thus
turned their glory into shame. Their national mercies only strengthened the national
apostasy, and then the threatening took literal effect, though only through their own
misuse of their many advantages.
II. The threatening in its relation to ourselves. Constantly things which should have
turned to our glory have been instrumental to our shame. But this cannot occur without
fatal injury.
1. How may our temporal blessings be turned into shame? Nothing tries a man more
than prosperity. There are many tempers and dispositions which are comparatively
repressed by straitness of condition, but which walk abroad in full liberty when that
condition is enlarged. Nevertheless, riches are designed of God to be for man’s glory.
Alas! there too often occurs the reverse of this, and riches are turned into shame.
This is also true of intellectual riches. Genius has often been the ruin of its possessor;
the powers which ought to have been for their glory, needing nothing but righteous
employment in order to the rendering their possessors happy in themselves, and
benefactors to the world, have been given to the cause of vice and infidelity. But
illustrations had better be taken from commonplace than from rare instances.
2. How may our spiritual advantages be turned into shame? Every doctrine of
religion, every leading of providence may clearly be for our own glory if rightly
employed, and as clearly for our shame if misused and perverted. Illustrate by the
doctrine of human helplessness, or of the forbearance God manifests to sinners. In
dealing with the dispensations of providence, illustrate by affections. They are our
glory, but, unsanctified, they become our shame. The prophet Malachi has this
threatening in the name of God, “I will curse your blessings.” (Henry Melvill, B. D.)

104. Shame for glory
God loves to stain the pride and haughtiness of men.
I. He would bring shame instead of glory. So God is wont to do. Women that glory in
their beauty and splendour should mark well (Isa_3:16-24). If any will glory in parts, the
Lord justly brings shame on them, blasting their gifts. It is reported of Albertus Magnus,
that great scholar, that for five years before his death, he lost his faculties so completely
that he could not read. If any glory in riches, God can soon turn that into shame. If any
glory in honour, God can soon turn that into shame, as in the case of Herod. According
to the glory of men in external things, so is their shame when God takes them away.
Here is the difference between the saints and the wicked when they lose these outward
things.
II. God makes the very things they glory in turn to their shame. He makes their very
gifts to be their undoing. When men glory in this, that they had such success, and such a
victory at such a time, and thence infer, “Surely God is with us, and blesses and owns
us,” God will turn this glorying into shame when He blasts their success, and makes it
manifest to all that though they have all outward means, yet they avail nothing. When
the saints suffer any shame for God, they can glory. What the world accounts their
shame is their glory; and that which the world judges to be their glory is their shame.
The prophet is speaking here more especially of the priests. God casts shame upon
wicked priests. (Jeremiah Burroughs.)
8 They feed on the sins of my people
and relish their wickedness.
BAR ES, "They eat up the sin of My people - The priests made a gain of the sins
of the people, lived upon them and by them, conniving at or upholding the idolatries of
the people, partaking in their idol-sacrifices and idolatrous rites, which, as involving the
desertion of God, were “the sin of the people,” and the root of all their other sins. This
the priests did knowingly. True or false, apostate or irregularly appointed, they knew
that there was no truth in the golden calves; but they withheld the truth, they held it
down in unrighteousness, and preached Jeroboam’s false-hood, “these be thy gods, O
Israel.” The reputation, station, maintenance of the false priests depended upon it. Not

105. being of the line of Aaron, they could be no priests except to the calves, and so they
upheld the sin whereby they lived, and, that they might themselves be accounted priests
of God, taught them to worship the calves, as representatives of God.
The word, “sin,” may include indirectly the sin-offerings of the people, as if they loved
the sin or encouraged it, in order that they might partake of the outward expiations for
it.
And they set their heart on their iniquity - , as the source of temporal profit to
themselves. “Benefited by the people, they reproved them not in their sinful doings, but
charged themselves with their souls, saying, on us be the judgment, as those who said to
Pilate, His blood be upon us.” That which was, above all, “their iniquity,” the source of
all the rest, was their departure from God and from His ordained worship. On this they
“set their hearts;” in this they kept them secure by their lies; they feared any misgivings,
which might rend the people from them, and restore them to the true worship of God.
But what else is it, to extenuate or flatter sin now, to dissemble it, not to see it, not
openly to denounce it, lest we lose our popularity, or alienate those who commit it?
What else is it to speak smooth words to the great and wealthy, not to warn them, even
in general terms, of the danger of making Mammon their god; of the peril of riches, of
parade, of luxury, of immoral dressing, and, amid boundless extravagance, neglect of the
poor; encouraging the rich, not only in the neglect of Lazarus, but in pampering the
dogs, while they neglect him? hat is the praise of some petty dole to the poor, but
connivance at the withholding from God His due in them? “We see now,” says an old
writer , “how many prelates live on the oblations and revenues of the laity, and yet,
whereas they are bound, by words, by prayers, by exemplary life, to turn them away from
sin, and to lead them to amendment, they, in various ways, scandalize, corrupt, infect
them, by ungodly conversation, flattery, connivance, cooperation, and neglect of due
pastoral care. Whence Jeremiah says, “My people hath been lost sheep: their shepherds
have caused them to go astray.” O how horrible and exceeding great will be their
damnation, who shall be tormented for each of those under their care, who perish
through their negligence” Jer_50:6.
CLARKE, "They eat up the sin of my people - ‫חטאת‬ chattath, the sin-offering,
though it be offered contrary to the law; for their hearts are set on iniquity, they wish to
do whatever is contrary to God.
GILL, "They eat up the sin of my people,.... That is, the priests did so, as the
Targum, the priests of Jeroboam; they ate up the sacrifices which the people brought for
their sins: and their fault was, either that they ate that which belonged to the true priests
of the Lord, so Jarchi; or they did that, and had no concern to instruct the people in the
right way; all that they regarded were good eating and drinking, and living voluptuously;
and were altogether careless about instructing the people in the nature of sacrifices, and
in the way of their duty: or this may regard the Bacchanalian feasts, as some think,
which the people made in the temples of idols, and so sinned; and of which the priests
greatly partook, and encouraged them in, and so were partakers not only of their
banquets, but of their sins.
They set their heart on their iniquity: either their offerings for their iniquity, or
their iniquity itself: or, "lift up their soul" (u) to it; diligently looking after it, not caring

106. how much they committed; since the more sin offerings would be brought which would
be to their advantage. Though some think the sin of whoredom, frequently and
impudently committed at these idol feasts, is meant, which the priests were much
addicted to, and very greedy of; they committed cleanness with greediness, Eph_4:19.
HE RY, "The priests ate up the sin of God's people, and therefore they shall eat and
not have enough. 1. They abused the maintenance that was allowed to the priests, to the
priests of the house of Aaron, by the law of God, and to the mock-priests of the calves by
their constitution (Hos_4:8): They eat up the sin of my people, that is, their sin-
offerings. If it be meant of the priests of the calves, it intimates their seizing that which
they had no right to; they usurped the revenues of the priests, though they were no
priests. If it be meant of those who were legal priests, it intimates their greediness of the
profits and perquisites of their office, when they took no care at all to do the duty of it.
They feasted upon their part of the offerings of the Lord, but forgot the work for which
they were so well paid. They set their heart upon the people's iniquities; they lifted up
their soul to them, that is, they were glad then people did commit iniquity, that they
might be obliged to bring an offering to make atonement for it, which they should have
their share of; the more sins the more sacrifices, and therefore they cared not how much
sin people were guilty of. Instead of warning the people against sin, from the
consideration of the sacrifices, which showed them what an offence sin was to God, since
it needed such an expiation, they emboldened and encouraged the people to sin, since an
atonement might be made at so small an expense. Thus they glutted themselves upon the
sins of the people, and helped to keep up that which they should have beaten down.
Note, It is a very wicked thing to be well pleased with the sins of others because, in some
way or other, they may turn to our advantage. 2. God will therefore deny them his
blessing upon their maintenance (Hos_4:10): They shall eat and not have enough.
Though they have great plenty by the abundance of offerings that are brought in, yet
they shall have no satisfaction in it. Either their food shall yield no good nourishment or
their greedy appetites shall not be satisfied with it. Note, What is unlawfully gained
cannot be comfortably used; no, nor that which is inordinately coveted; it is just that the
desires which are insatiable should always be unsatisfied, and that those should never
have enough who never know when they have enough. See Mic_6:14; Hag_1:6.
JAMISO , "eat ... sin of my people — that is, the sin offerings (Lev_6:26; Lev_
10:17). The priests greedily devoured them.
set their heart on their iniquity — literally, “lift up the animal soul to lust after,”
or strongly desire. Compare Deu_24:15, Margin; Psa_24:4; Jer_22:27. The priests set
their own hearts on the iniquity of the people, instead of trying to suppress it. For the
more the people sinned, the more sacrificial victims in atonement for sin the priests
gained.
BI, "They eat up the sin of My people.
Feeding on sin
Dr. Henderson renders these words, “They devour the sin-offering of My people.” The
priests lived upon the sacrificial meat (Lev_6:26), and the more they had of this the
more they were pleased. But this increased with the increase of the sins of the people.
The more the people sinned, the more sin-offerings, and the more sin-offerings, the
more priestly banquets. So in truth, without a figure, they “feed upon the sin of the

107. people.” Such men can be found now—
I. In the ecclesiastical world.
II. In the commercial world.
1. Men who have vested interest in the sin of intemperance.
2. Men who have vested interest in the sin of war.
III. In the professional world. What could lawyers do without chicaneries, breach of
contracts, and all kinds of social immoralities and crimes? What would popular
journalists do were there no scandals, no tragedies, no crimes, no fraudulent
advertisements? What would become of the sensational novelist, if there were no sinful
love in the people for the horrible and the prurient? Herein is the great obstruction to
moral reformations. Destroy a popular sin, and you destroy the livelihood of hundreds,
and the pomp and splendour of many. (Homilist.)
CALVI , "Verse 8
This verse has given occasion to many interpreters to think that all the particulars
we have noticed ought to be restricted to the priests alone: but there is no sufficient
reason for this. We have already said, that the Prophet is wont frequently to pass
from the people to the priests: but as a heavier guilt belonged to the priests, he very
often inveighs against them, as he does in this place, They eat, he says, the sin of my
people, and lift up to their iniquity his soul, that is, ‘every one lifts up his own soul,’
or, ‘they lift up the soul of the sinner by iniquity;’ for the pronoun applies to the
priests as well as to the people. The number is changed: for he says, ‫,יאכלו‬ iacalu and
‫ישאו‬ ishau, (14) in the plural number, They will eat the sin, and will lift up, etc. , in
the third person; and then his soul it may be, their own; it is, however, a pronoun in
the singular number: hence a change of number is necessary. We are then at liberty
to choose (15), whether the Prophet says this of the people or of the priests: and as
we have said, it may apply to both, but in a different sense.
We may understand him as saying, that the priests lifted up their souls to the
iniquity of the people, because they anxiously wished the people to be given to many
vices, for they hoped thereby to gain much prey, as the case is, when any one expects
a reward from robbers: he is glad to hear that they become rich, for he considers
their riches to be for his gain. So it was with the priests, who gaped for lucre; they
thought that they were going on well, when the people brought many sacrifices. And
this is usually the case, when the doctrine of the law is adulterated, and when the
ungodly think that this alone remains for them, — to satisfy God with sacrifices,
and similar expiations. Then, if we apply the passage to the priests, the lifting up of
the soul is the lust for gain. But if we prefer to apply the words to sinners
themselves, the sense is, ‘Upon their iniquity they lift up their soul,’ that is, the
guilty raise up themselves by false comforts, and extenuate their vices; or, by their
own flatteries, bury and entirely smother every remnant of God’s fear. Then,
according to this second sense, to lift up the soul is to deceive, and to take away all
doubts by vain comforts, or to remove every sorrow, and to erase every guilt by a
false notion.

108. I come now to the meaning of the whole. Though the Prophet here accuses the
priests, yet he involves, no doubt, the whole people, and deservedly, in the same
guilt: for how was it that the priests expected gain from sacrifices? Even because the
doctrine of the law was subverted. God had instituted sacrifices for this end, that
whosoever sinned, being reminded of his guilt, might mourn for his sin, and further,
that by witnessing that sad spectacle, his conscience might be more wounded: when
he saw the innocent animal slain at the altar, he ought to have dreaded God’s
judgment. Besides, God also intended to exercise the faith of all, in order that they
might flee to the expiation which was to be made by the promised Mediator. And at
the same time, the penalty which God then laid on sinners, ought to have been as a
bridle to restrain them. In a word, the sacrifices had, in every way, this as their
object, — to keep the people from being so ready or so prone to sin. But what did
the ungodly do? They even mocked God, and thought that they had fully done their
duty, when they offered an ox or a lamb; and afterwards they freely indulged
themselves in their sins.
So gross a folly has been even laughed to scorn by heathen writers. Even Plato has
so spoken of such sacrifices, as to show that those who would by such trifles make a
bargain with God, are altogether ungodly: and certainly he so speaks in his second
book on the Commonwealth, as though he meant to describe the Papacy. For he
speaks of purgatory, he speaks of satisfactions; and every thing the Papists of this
day bring forward, Plato in that book distinctly sets forth as being altogether sottish
and absurd. But yet in all ages this assurance has prevailed, that men have thought
themselves delivered from God’s hand, when they offered some sacrifice: it is, as
they imagine, a compensation.
Hence the Prophet now complains of this perversion, They eat, he says, (for he
speaks of a continued act,) the sins of my people, and to iniquity they lift up the
heart of each; that is, When all sin, one after the other, each one is readily absolved,
because he brings a gift to the priests. It is the same thing as though the Prophet
said, “There is a collusion between them, between the priests and the people.” How
so? Because the priests were the associates of robbers, and gladly seized on what
was brought: and so they carried on no war, as they ought to have done, with vices,
but on the contrary urged only the necessity of sacrifices: and it was enough, if men
brought things plentifully to the temple. The people also themselves showed their
contempt of God; for they imagined, that provided they made satisfaction by their
ceremonial performances, they would be exempt from punishment. Thus then there
was an ungodly compact between the priests and the people: the Lord was mocked
in the midst of them. We now then understand the real meaning of the Prophet: and
thus I prefer the latter exposition as to ‘the lifting up of the soul,’ which is, that the
priests lifted up the soul of each, by relieving their consciences, by soothing words of
flattery, and by promising life, as Ezekiel says, to souls doomed to die, (Ezekiel
13:19.) It now follows —
‘The sin of my people they eat,
And to their (own) iniquity they raise up their heart.’

109. To render ‘sin,’ as ewcome and Horsley do, ‘sin-offerings,’ is to destroy the whole
force of the passage, that through the superstition of the people they gained their
living. And ‘iniquity’ means, no doubt, idolatry, to which the priests raised up the
people’s heart, or attached them. —Ed.
BE SO , "Verses 8-11
Hosea 4:8-11. They eat up the sin of my people — These priests, mentioned Hosea
4:6, live upon the sin-offerings of the people; and are so far from restraining them,
that they take delight in seeing them commit iniquity, because the more they sin, the
greater is the number of their sin-offerings, which are the priests’ portions. Bishop
Horsley translates the verse, “Every one of them, while they eat the sin-offerings of
my people, sets his own heart upon the crime;” that is, while they exercise the sacred
function of the priesthood, and claim its highest privileges, their own hearts are set
upon the prevailing idolatry. And there shall be, like people, like priest — “The
people’s sins deserve to be punished with such priests; and such priests have helped
to make the people thus wicked.” — Bishop Hall. Or, rather, the sense is, It shall be,
as with the people, so with the priest; that is, as they are alike in sinning, so shall
they be alike in punishment, which shall be correspondent to their crimes. For they
shall eat and not have enough — Or, not be satisfied, as the word, ‫,ישׂבעו‬ is
elsewhere translated. The expression may signify, either that their food should not
afford due nourishment, for want of God’s blessing, or that they should be afflicted
with a famine or scarcity, so that they should not have food enough to satisfy their
craving appetites. The contrary phrase, To eat and be full, or satisfied, denotes
plenty. They shall commit whoredoms, &c., and not increase — Though they think
to multiply by taking a plurality of wives, or concubines, yet in this they shall find
their expectations disappointed. Because they have left off to take heed to the Lord
— Here the reason is given why they should eat and not have enough, &c., namely,
because they had apostatized from the love and service of God; for how ready so
ever we may be to attribute every thing to the operation of natural causes, yet the
Scriptures always speak of God’s co-operation with them as necessary in order to
the producing of their desired effects. Whoredom and wine, &c., take away the
heart — Deprive men of their judgment, and darken their understandings. So a gift
is said to destroy the heart, Ecclesiastes 7:7, that is, to bereave men of the use of
their discerning faculties.
COFFMA , "Verse 8
"They feed on the sin of my people, and they set their heart on their iniquity."
"They feed on the sin of my people ..." Hosea had already mentioned the false
priests and prophets (Hosea 4:5); and here he returned to the subject of the evil
priesthood, as indicated by the contrast between "they" and "my people" in the
same clause. Harper gave the meaning of this accurately, thus:
"The priests encouraged the people to sin in order that they the priests might have
larger numbers of sin offerings, greater perquisites ... they live upon the vice of the
day."[24]
"And they set their heart on their iniquity ..." There is a change from the plural

110. "priests" in the first clause to the "they" in the second,[25] indicating that "my
people" is the antecedent and that the second clause here means that the northern
kingdom have set their heart, not upon God, but upon their sins which they love.
Before leaving this, it should be noted that "sin offerings" may not appear in this
verse at all, despite the possible understanding of the terms in this sense as cited
above in the quotations from Harper. Mauchline is undoubtedly correct in his
assertion that: "The words may have the less specific meaning that the priests have
an appetite for human guilt and gloat over iniquity."[26] As was noted in our
commentary on Amos 5:21 and related passages, there is no evidence that the pagan
worship in orthern Israel included any such thing as a sin-offering, none whatever
being mentioned in Amos. In view of that, the view of Mauchline should be
preferred in this passage.
TRAPP, "Verse 8
Hosea 4:8 They eat up the sin of my people, and they set their heart on their
iniquity.
Ver. 8. They eat up the sin of my people] That is, the sin offerings, as Exodus 29:14.
This they might lawfully do, Leviticus 6:16; Leviticus 6:18; Leviticus 6:23; Leviticus
6:26; Leviticus 6:29-30; Leviticus 10:17. But they were greedy dogs; and looked
every one to his gain from his quarter, Isaiah 5:6; Isaiah 5:11. They winked at the
people’s sins, and cared not what evils they fell into, so that they would bring in
store of fat and good expiatory sacrifices, which made for the priest’s advantage.
They ate that on earth which they were to digest in hell; they fed upon such diet as
bred the worm of conscience, that never dies. Just so the Papists do at this day: they
teach the people, though they sin, yet, by giving money for so many masses to be
mumbled over by a greasy priest, or by so many indulgences and dirges purchased
of the pope’s pardon mongers, they shall be delivered, etiamsi, per impossibile,
matrem Dei vitiassent. although impossible, they may damage the mother of God, I
tremble to translate it. Tecelius told them so in Germany; and got huge masses of
money for the pope’s coffers. The common sort of Papists (for want of better
teaching) will say, when we have sinned we must confess: and when we have
confessed we must sin again, that we may confess again; and make work for new
indulgences and jubilees. But have these "workers of iniquity no knowledge, that eat
up God’s people as they eat bread?" Psalms 14:4, that drink up the blood of souls,
much more worth than the lives that David’s men had jeopardized to procure him
the water of the well of Bethlehem, which therefore he dared not drink of? This
surely is that filthy lucre ( αισχροκερδεια) ministers should be free from, 1 Peter 5:2.
Let all non-residents look to it, that carry only forcipes et mulctrum, tongs and a
milking pail, those instruments of a foolish shepherd, Zechariah 11:15 {See Trapp
on "Zechariah 11:15"} feeding themselves, but starving the flock: a heavy account
will they one day make to the arch-shepherd, of their sacrilegious rapacity.
And they set their hearts on their iniquity] Heb. they lift up their souls: that is, they
not only prick up their ears, as Danaeus expounds it, to listen after sins and sin

111. offerings, but they greedily desire and earnestly look after Such emoluments, such
belly timber: being gulae mancipia, slaves to their guts, and wholly given up to
gormandise. See the same expression, and in this sense, Jeremiah 22:27,
Deuteronomy 24:15, Ezekiel 24:25, and compare the practice of Popish priests, who
make infinite gain of everything almost, as their ringing of saints’ bells, places of
burial, selling of licences for marriage and meats, selling of corpses and sepulchres.
All things are saleable and soluble at Rome; and the savour of gain sweet, though it
comes out of a stinking stews, or Jew’s counting house. The priests had a trick by
wires to make their images here wag their chaps apace, if some good gift were
presented; as, if otherwise, to hang the lip in token of discontent.
PETT, "Verse 8
‘They feed on the sin of my people, and set their heart on their iniquity.’
The ‘they’ here might suggest that the priests are in mind as a distinctive body,
becoming wealthy as a result of leading the people astray (feeding on the sin of His
people). And the second charge is that they themselves then also set their minds on
iniquity, being therefore without excuse either way.
There is a warning in this to any who minister in God’s name, lest they use their
position to obtain wealth for themselves. It is a reminder that it will then not be long
before set their minds on iniquity. Wealth is a dangerous thing to possess, especially
for a man of God, and many a ministry has been rendered powerless by the effects
of wealth.
Alternately the ‘they’ might simply refer to Israelites as taking advantage of fellow-
Israelites even though they were God’s people. Certainly all the people did at that
time take advantage of the general sins of the people in order to enrich themselves.
And all, apart from a few godly souls, set their hearts on iniquity. So the words
could equally be seen as applying to Israelites.
K&D, "Verse 8
“The sin of my people they eat, and after their transgression do they lift up their
soul.” The reproof advances from the sin of the whole nation to the sin of the
priesthood. For it is evident that this is intended, not only from the contents of the
present verse, but still more from the commencement of the next. (Chatta'th ‛ammı̄)
(the sin of my people) is the sin-offering of the people, the flesh of which the priests
were commanded to eat, to wipe away the sin of the people (see Leviticus 6:26, and
the remarks upon this law at Leviticus 10:17). The fulfilment of this command,
however, became a sin on the part of the priests, from the fact that they directed
their soul, i.e., their longing desire, to the transgression of the people; in other
words, that they wished the sins of the people to be increased, in order that they
might receive a good supply of sacrificial meat to eat. The prophet evidently uses the
word (chattâ'th), which signifies both sin and sin-offering, in a double sense, and
intends to designate the eating of the flesh of the sin-offering as eating or swallowing
the sin of the people. ‫אל‬ ‫נפשׁ‬ ‫,נשׂא‬ to lift up or direct the soul after anything, i.e., to
cherish a longing for it, as in Deuteronomy 24:15, etc. The singular suffix attached

112. to (naphshō) (his soul) is to be taken distributively: “(they) every one his soul.”
( ote: It is evident from this verse, that the sacrificial worship was maintained in
the kingdom of Israel according to the ritual of the Mosaic law, and that the
Israelitish priests were still in possession of the rights conferred by the Pentateuch
upon Levitical priests.)
9 And it will be: Like people, like priests.
I will punish both of them for their ways
and repay them for their deeds.
BAR ES, "And there shall be like people, like priest - Priest and people were
alike in sin. Yea they are wont, if bad, to foment each other’s sin. The bad priest copies
the sins which he should reprove, and excuses himself by the frailty of our common
nature. The people, acutely enough, detect the worldliness or self-indulgence of the
priest, and shelter themselves under his example. Their defense stands good before
people; but what before God? Alike in sin, priest and people should be alike in
punishment. “Neither secular greatness should exempt the laity, nor the dignity of his
order, the priest.” Both shall be swept away in one common heap, in one disgrace, into
one damnation. “They shall bind them in bundles to burn them.”
And I will punish them for their ways, and reward them their doings -
Literally, “I will visit upon him his ways, and his doings I will make to return to him.”
People and priests are spoken of as one man. None should escape. The judgment comes
down “upon” them, overwhelming them. Man’s deeds are called his “ways,” because the
soul holds on the tenor of its life along them, and those ways lead him on to his last end,
heaven or hell. The word rendered “doings ” signifies “great doings,” when used of God;
“bold doings,” on the part of man. Those bold presumptuous doings against the law and
will of God, God will bring back to the sinner’s bosom.
CLARKE, "Like people, like priest -
“The priest a wanderer from the narrow way; The silly sheep, no

113. wonder that they stray.”
I will punish them - Both priest and people; both equally bad.
GILL, "And there shall be, like people, like priest,.... No difference between
them in their festivals, the one being as greedy of committing intemperance and
uncleanness as the other, and in their common conversation of life; though the priests
ought both to have given good instructions, and to have set good examples; but instead
of that were equally guilty as the people, and so would be alike in their punishment, as it
follows:
and I will punish them for their ways; their evil ways, as the Targum; their wicked
manner of life and conversation, both of the people and the priests; especially the latter
are meant: or, "I will visit upon him his ways" (w); upon everyone of the priests, as well
as the people; which visit must be understood in a way of wrath and vengeance:
and reward them their doings; reward them according to their doings, as their sins
deserve, and as it is explained in the next verse: or, "I will return their doings to them"
(x); bring them back again, when they seemed to be past and gone, and set them before
them, and charge them with them, and punish for them.
(w) ‫דרכיו‬ ‫עליו‬ ‫ופקדתי‬ "et visitabo super eum vias ejus", V. L. Pagninus, Montanus,
HE RY, "The more they increased the more they sinned (Hos_4:7), and therefore
though they commit whoredom, though they take the most wicked methods to multiply
their people, yet they shall not increase. Though they have many wives and concubines,
as Solomon had, yet they shall not have their families built up thereby in a numerous
progeny, any more than he had. Note, Those that hope any way to increase by unlawful
means will be disappointed. And therefore God will thus blast all their projects because
they have left off to take heed to the Lord; time was when they had some regard to God,
and to his authority over them and interest in them, but they have left it off; they take no
heed to his word nor to his providences; they do not eye him in either. They forsake him,
so as not to take heed to him; they have apostatized to such a degree that they have no
manner of regard to God, but are perfectly without God in the world. Note, Those that
leave off to take heed to the Lord leave off all good, and can expect no other than that all
good should leave them.
VII. The people and the priests did harden one another in sin; and therefore justly
shall they be sharers in the punishment (Hos_4:9): There shall be, like people, like
priest. So they were in character; people and priest were both alike ignorant and
profane, regardless of God and their duty, and addicted to idolatry: and so they shall be
in condition; God will bring judgments upon them, that shall be the destruction both of
priest and people; the famine that deprives the people of their meat shall deprive the
priests of their meat-offerings, Joe_1:9. It is part of the description of a universal
desolation that it shall be as with the people, so with the priest, Isa_24:2. God's
judgments, when they come with commission, will make no difference. Note, Sharers in
sin must expect to be sharers in ruin. Thus God will punish them both for their ways,
and reward them for their doings. God will cause their doings to return upon them (so
the word is); when a sin is committed the sinner thinks it is gone and he shall hear no
more of it, but he shall find it called over again, and made to return, either to his

114. humiliation or to his condemnation.
JAMISO , "like people, like priest — They are one in guilt; therefore they shall
be one in punishment (Isa_24:2).
reward them their doings — in homely phrase, “pay them back in their own coin”
(Pro_1:31).
CALVI , "Verse 9
The Prophet here again denounces on both a common punishment, as neither was
free from guilt. As the people, he says, so shall be the priest; that is “I will spare
neither the one nor the other; for the priest has abused the honor conferred on him;
for though divinely appointed over the Church for this purpose, to preserve the
people in piety and holy life, he has yet broken through and violated every right
principle: and then the people themselves wished to have such teachers, that is, such
as were mute. I will therefore now” the Lord says, “inflict punishment on them all
alike. As the people then, so shall the priest be.”
Some go farther, and say, that it means that God would rob the priests of their
honor, that they might differ nothing from the people; which is indeed true: but
then they think that the Prophet threatens not others as well as the priests; which is
not true. For though God, when he punishes the priests and the people for the
contempt of his law, blots out the honor of the priesthood, and so abolishes it as to
produce an equality between the great and the despised; yet the Prophet declares
here, no doubt, that God would become the vindicator of his law against other
sinners as well as against the priests. This subject expands wider than what they
mean. The rest we must defer till to-morrow.
COFFMA , "Verse 9
"And it shall be, like people, like priest; and I will punish them for their ways, and
will requite them for their doings."
The mention of both "priest" and "people" here makes it quite evident that both
were being spoken of in the preceding verse. What is indicated is the thorough
paganizing of the whole nation. Even God's chosen people have at this juncture
come to be exact copies of the reprobate pagan priesthood and at last had reached a
state of total apostasy from God.
"And I will punish them ..." This is the explanation for the overwhelming
destruction of the entire northern kingdom which was impending as a judgment of
God upon his apostate people and soon to be fulfilled by the Assyrian armies in the
valley of Jezreel. The destruction occurred in 722 B.C. Of course, both the evil
priesthood and the people whom they had misled suffered the same fate.
TRAPP, "Verse 9
Hosea 4:9 And there shall be, like people, like priest: and I will punish them for

115. their ways, and reward them their doings.
Ver. 9. And there shall be like people like priest] i.e. they shall share alike in
punishment, as they have done in sin; neither shall their priesthood protect them,
any more than it did Eli’s two sons, whose white ephod covered foul sins. A wicked
priest is the worst creature upon earth. Who are devils but they that were once
angels of light? and who shall have their portion with the devil and his angels but
those dehonestamenta cleri malae monetae ministri, bad lived ministers. It was
grown to a proverb in times of Popery, that the pavement of hell was pitched with
soldiers’ helmets and shavelings’ crowns. Letters also were framed and published as
sent from hell; wherein the devil gave the Popish clergy no small thanks, for so
many millions of souls as by them were daily sent down to him. The priests might
haply hope to be privileged and provided for in a common calamity, for their office
sake; as Chrysostom saith that Aaron (though in the same fault with Miriam,
umbers 12:1, yet) was not smitten with leprosy as she, for the honour of the
priesthood ( δια το της ειροσυνης αξιωµα. Chrys.), lest such a foul disease on his
person should redound to the disgrace of his office. But I rather think he escaped by
his true and timely repentance; whereby he disarmed God’s indignation, and
redeemed his own sorrow and shame. For God is an impartial judge; neither is there
with him respect of persons: priest and people shall all be carried captive one with
another (the priests for the people, according to that of Isaiah 6:5, "I am a man of
polluted lips": for what reason? "I live among a people of polluted lips," and have
learned their language; and especially the people for the priests, Jeremiah 23:10;
Jeremiah 23:14-15; from the prophets there goes profaneness quite through the
land), so they shall fare the worse one for another; they shall all be involved in the
same punishment. Only it shall be more grievous to the priest, by how much higher
thoughts he had of himself; looking on the people as his underlings, as they did,
John 7:49.
And I will punish them for their ways] Heb. visit them. So Exodus 32:34, "In the
day when I visit I will visit their sin upon them." God hath his visitation days
wherein to visit those visitors, the priests; and his articles will be as strict and as
critical (saith one) as ever was the Inquisition of Spain or Lambeth. It was therefore
good counsel that a martyr gave his wife in a letter, Among all other prisoners visit
your own soul, and set all to rights there: for else, what will you do when God riseth
up? and when he visiteth, what will you answer him? Job 31:14. And that which
Tertullian gave Scapula, a pagan persecutor; Si nobis non parcis, tibi parce: si non
tibi, Carthagini: God will surely make inquisition for our blood: therefore if thou
wilt not spare us, yet spare thyself; if not thyself, yet spare thy country, which must
be responsible when God comes to visit.
And reward them for their deed] Heb. I will make to return your doings. Hence this
is well observed, by a good interpreter: Sin passeth away in the act of it with much
sweetness; but God will make it return back again in the guilt of it, with much
bitterness.

116. K&D, "Verse 9
“Therefore it will happen as to the people so to the priest; and I will visit his ways
upon him, and I repay to him his doing.” Since the priests had abused their office
for the purpose of filling their own bellies, they would perish along with the nation.
The suffixes in the last clauses refer to the priest, although the retribution
threatened would fall upon the people also, since it would happen to the priest as to
the people. This explains the fact that in Hosea 4:10 the first clause still applies to
the priest; whereas in the second clause the prophecy once more embraces the entire
nation.
PULPIT, "Hosea 4:9
Like people, like priest. As it had fared with the people who had sinned and had
been punished, as is stated in the third and fifth verses; so shall it be with the priest
or whole priestly order. He has involved himself in sin and punishment like the
people, and that as the consequence of his extreme unfaithfulness; whereas by
faithful dealing with the people and discharge of his duty he might have delivered
his own soul, as stated by Ezekiel 33:9, " evertheless, if thou warn the wicked of his
way to turn from it; if he do not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity; but
thou hast delivered thy soul." It is well explained by Kimchi as follows: "These two
caphs of likeness are by way of abbreviation, and the explanation is—the people are
like the priest and the priest is like the people. And the meaning is that, as the
people and the priest are equal with respect to sin, so shall they be equal in relation
to punishment." And I will visit upon his ways, and his doings I will bring back to
him. The retribution here threatened includes the whole priestly order, not people
and priest as one man, according to Pusey, who, however, makes the following
excellent comment on ‫מעלליו‬ : "The word rendered doings signifies great doings
when used of God, bold doings on the part of man. These bold presumptuous doings
against the Law and will of God, God will bring back to the sinner's bosom," or
rather, down overwhelmingly upon his head. The singular individualizes; so both
Aben Ezra and Kimchi: "Upon every one of them."
BI, "And there shall be, like people, like priest.
Hosea’s proverb
“Like princes, like people”; but also, alas! “like people, like priests,”—a proverb which
has acquired currency from its fatal truth, but which Hosea originated. The causes for
the widespread immorality were twofold, as Hosea, resident perhaps in Samaria, saw
more clearly, and pointed out more definitely than Amos. They were—
1. The detestable vileness and hypocrisy of the priests, with whom, as usual, the false
prophets were in league. From Hosea, the earliest of the northern prophets whose
works are extant, to Malachi the latest prophet of the returned exiles, the priests had
very little right to be proud of their title. Their pretensions were, for the most part, in
inverse proportion to their merits. The neutrality, or the direct wickedness, of the
religious teachers of a country, torpid in callous indifference and stereotyped in false
traditions, is always the worst sign of a nation’s decadence. Hosea was no exception
to the rule that the true teacher must be prepared to bear the beatitude of

117. malediction, and not least from those who ought to share his responsibilities. Amos
had found by experience that for any man who desired a reputation for worldly
prudence, the wisest rule was to hold his tongue; but for Hosea, for whom there was
no escape from his native land, nothing remained but to bear the reproach that” the
prophet is a fool, and the spiritual man is mad,” uttered by men full of iniquity and
hatred. A fowler’s snare was laid for him in all his ways, and he found nothing but
enmity in the house of his God. The priests suffered the people to perish for lack of
knowledge. They set their hearts on their iniquity, and contentedly connived at, if
they did not directly foster, the sinfulness of the people, which at any rate secured
them an abundance of sin-offerings. So far had they apostatised from their functions
as moral teachers. And there was worse behind. They were active fomenters of evil.
But the second cause of the national apostasy lay deeper still.
2. The corruption of worship and religion at its source. The “calf-worship” was now
beginning to produce its natural fruit. It would have indignantly disclaimed the
stigma of idolatry. It was represented as “image-worship,” the adoration of cherubic
symbols, which were in themselves regarded as being so little a violation of the
second commandment that they were consecrated even in the temple at Jerusalem.
The centralisation of worship, it must be borne in mind, was a new thing. Local
sanctuaries and local altars had been sanctioned by kings and used by prophets from
time immemorial. The worship at Dan and Bethel could have claimed to be, in the
fullest sense of the word, a worship of Jehovah, as national and as ancient as that at
Jerusalem. For the ox was the most distinctive emblem of the cherub, and even in
the wilderness, cherubs—possibly winged oxen—had bent over the mercy-seat and
been woven on the curtains, and in the temple of Solomon had been embossed upon
the walls, and formed the support of the great brazen laver. We read of no protest
against this symbolism either by Elijah, Elisha, or Jonah. Hosea could more truly
estimate its effects, and he judged it by its fruits. He saw the fatal facility with which
the title Baal, “Lord,” might be transferred from the Lord of lords to the heathen
Baalim. He saw how readily the emblem of Jehovah might be identified with the idol
of Phoenicia. Jehovah-worship was perverted into nature-worship, and the coarse
emblems of Asherah and Ashtoreth smoothed the way for a cultus of which the basis
was open sensuality. The festal dances of Israel, in honour of God, which were as old
as the days of the Judges, became polluted with all the abominations of Phoenician
worship. The “adultery” and “whoredom,” which are denounced so incessantly on
the page of Hosea, are not only the metaphors for idolatry, but the literal description
of the lives which that idolatry corrupted. (Dean Farrar, D. D.)
Priests become time-servers
No greater calamity can come upon a people, because—
1. Such priests cannot exert the influence which they should exert. They should be
men of God, supremely loyal to God, and witnessing for the supreme claim of
spiritual and eternal things.
2. Their example is positively mischievous. Men need no aid from their leaders in
living selfish, self-indulgent, covetous lives.
3. Time-serving utterly ruins personal character. Nobility, heroism, devotion can
only be nourished by living outside ourselves, for God and our fellows. Time-servers
are self-servers. (Robert Tuck, B. A.)

118. The degradation of holy office
The people may have what they like, and the priest will say, “You could not help it.” The
priest will reproduce what the people are doing, and the people will take encouragement
from the priest to go out and do double wickedness, and thus they shall keep the action
even. To this degree of corruption may holiest institutions be dragged. The priest—
meaning by that word teacher, preacher, minister, apostle—should always be strong
enough to condemn; he can condemn generally, but not particularly; he can damn the
distant, he must pet and flatter and gratify the near. He will outgrow this—when he
knows Christ better; when he is enabled to complete his faith by feeling that it is not
necessary for him to live, but it is necessary for him to speak the truth; when he comes to
the point of feeling, that it is not at all needful he should have a roof over his head, but it
is necessary that he should have an approving conscience; when he completes his
theology by this Divinest morality, he will be a rare man in the earth, with a great voice
thundering its judgments, and with a tender voice uttering its benedictions and solaces
where hearts are broken with real contrition. Priests should lead; priests should not
neglect denunciation, even where they are unable to follow their denunciations with
examples to the contrary. The Word should be spoken boldly, roundly, grandly, in all its
simplicity, purity, rigour, tenderness. (Joseph Parker, D. D.)
The reciprocal influence of priest-hood and people
I. There is sometimes a disgraceful reciprocal influence.
1. It is a disgrace to a true priest to become like the people. One who is not above the
average man is no priest, he is out of his place. A priest is a man to mould, not to be
moulded; to control, not to cringe; to lead, not to be led. His thoughts should sway
the thoughts of the people, and his character should command their reverence.
Sometimes you see priests become like the people, mean, sordid, grovelling.
2. It is a disgrace to a people to become like a bad priest. There are priests whose
natures are lean, whose capacities are feeble, whose religion is sensuous, whose
sympathies are exclusive, whose opinions are stereotyped, whose spirit is intolerant.
Shame on the people who allow them selves to become like such a priest!”
II. There is sometimes an honourable reciprocal influence.
1. It is honourable when people become like a true priest; when they feel one with
him in spiritual interests and Christly pursuits.
2. It is honourable to the true priest when he has succeeded in making the people
like him. He may well feel a devout exultation as he moves amongst them that their
moral hearts beat in unison with his, that their lives are set to the same keynote, that
they are of one mind and one heart in relation to the grand purpose of life.
(Homilist.)
Naughty ministers
1. Evil ministers are a great cause of sin and misery upon the people they have
charge of. It is an addition to the priests’ judgment that they drag so many with them

119. into it.
2. Albeit naughty ministers be great plagues and snares to people, yet that will not
excuse a people’s sin, nor exempt them from judgment, and therefore the people are
threatened also. The sending of evil ministers may be so much the fruit of people’s
former sins, and they may be so well satisfied with it as may justly ripen them for a
stroke.
3. As pastors and people are ordinarily like each other in sin, and mutual plagues to
each other, so will they be joined together in judgments, for “there shall be, like
people, like priest,” that is, both shall be involved in judgment (though possibly in
different measure, according to the degree Of their sin), and none of them able to
help or comfort another.
4. Albeit the Lord may spare for a time, and seem to let things lie in confusion, yet
He hath a day of visitation, wherein He will call men to an account, and recompense
them, not according to their pretences, but their real deeds and practices.
5. When men have made no conscience of sin, so they might compass these delights,
which they think will make them up, yet it is easy for God to prove that the blessing
of these delights is only in His hand.
6. As no means can prosper where God deserts and withdraws His blessing, so what
a man prosecutes unlawfully, He cannot look it should be blessed. (George
Hutcheson.)
A courageous ministerial reproof
The great northern apostle, Bernard Gilpin, who refused a bishopric, did not confine his
Christian labours to the church of Houghton, of which he was minister, but at his own
expense visited the then desolate churches of Northumberland once every year to preach
the Gospel. The Bishop of Durham commanded him to preach before the clergy. Gilpin
then went into the pulpit, and selected for his subject the important charge of a Christian
bishop. Having exposed the corruption of the clergy, he boldly addressed himself to his
lordship, who was present. “Let not your lordship,” said he, “say these crimes have been
committed without your knowledge; for whatever you yourself do in person, or suffer
through your connivance to be done by others, is wholly your own; therefore in the
presence of God, angels, and men, I pronounce your fatherhood to be the author of all
these evils; and I, and this whole congregation, will be a witness in the day of judgment
that these things have come to your ears.” The bishop thanked Mr. Gilpin for his faithful
words, and gave him permission to preach throughout his diocese.
10 “They will eat but not have enough;
they will engage in prostitution but not flourish,

120. because they have deserted the Lord
to give themselves
BAR ES, "For they shall eat, and not have enough - This is almost a
proverbial saying of Holy Scripture, and, as such, has manifold applications. In the way
of nature, it comes true in those, who, under God’s affictive Hand in famine or siege,
“eat” what they have, but have “not enough,” and perish with hunger. It comes true in
those, who, through bodily disease, are not nourished by their food. Yet not less true is it
of those who, through their own insatiate desires, are never satisfied, but crave the more
greedily, the more they have. Their sin of covetousness becomes their torment.
They shall commit whoredom and not increase - Literally, “they have
committed whoredom.” The time spoken of is perhaps changed, because God would not
speak of their future sin, as certain. There is naturally too a long interval between this sin
and its possible fruit, which may be marked by this change of time. The sin was past, the
effect was to be seen hereafter. They used all means, lawful and unlawful, to increase
their offspring, but they failed, even because they used forbidden means. God’s curse
rested upon those means. Single marriage, according to God’s law, “they twain shall be
one flesh,” yields in a nation larger increase than polygamy. God turns illicit sexual
intercourse to decay. His curse is upon it.
Because they have left off to take heed to the Lord - Literally, “to watch,
observe, the Lord.” The eye of the soul should be upon God, watching and waiting to
know all indications of His will, all guidings of His Eye. So the Psalmist says, “As the eyes
of servants look unto the hand of their masters, and as the eyes of a maiden unto the
hands of her mistress, even so our eyes wait upon the Lord our God, until He have mercy
upon us” Psa_123:2. The Angels of God, great and glorious as they are, “do alway behold
the Face of the Father” Mat_18:10, at once filled with His love, and wrapped in
contemplation, and reading therein His will, to do it. The lawless and hopeless ways of
Israel sprang from their neglecting to watch and observe God. For as soon as man ceases
to watch God, he falls, of himself, into sin. The eye which is not fixed on God, is soon
astray amid the vanities and pomps and lusts of the world. So it follows;
CLARKE, "They shall eat, and not have enough - Whatever means they may
use to satisfy or gratify themselves shall be ineffectual.
GILL, "For they shall eat, and not have enough,.... Namely, the priests; for of
them the words are continued, who ate of the sacrifices of the people, and of feasts made
in honour of idols; and yet, either what they ate did not satisfy or nourish them, or else
their appetites were still greedy after more of the same kind: or this may respect a
famine, either at the siege of Samaria, or in their captivity; when they who had lived so

121. voluptuously should have so little to eat, that it should not satisfy them: or though, as
others, they eat to the honour of their idols, expecting to be blessed with plenty by them,
they shall not have it:
they shall commit whoredom, and shall not increase; that is, their offspring;
they shall not beget children, so the Targum, Jarchi, and Kimchi; or the children they
beget shall quickly die; yea, though they commit whoredom in the idol's temple with that
view, where the women prostituted themselves for that purpose:
because they have left off to take heed to the Lord; to his word, and worship, and
ordinances, which they formerly had some regard unto, but now had relinquished: or,
"the Lord they have forsaken", or "left off to observe" (y); his ways, his word, and
worship. R. Saadiah connects this with the following words, they have forsaken the Lord
to observe fornication and wine; but wrongly.
JAMISO , "eat, and not have enough — just retribution on those who “eat up
(greedily) the sin of My people” (Hos_4:8; Mic_6:14; Hag_1:6).
whoredom, and ... not increase — literally, “break forth”; used of giving birth to
children (Gen_28:14, Margin; compare Gen_38:29). Not only their wives, but their
concubines, shall be barren. To be childless was considered a great calamity among the
Jews.
CALVI , "Verse 10
I now return to that passage of the Prophet, in which he says, They shall eat and
shall not be satisfied, and again, They shall play the wanton and shall not increase;
because Jehovah have they left off to attend to. The Prophet here again proclaims
the judgment which was nigh the Israelites. And first, he says, They shall eat and
shall not be satisfied; in which he alludes to the last verse. For the priests gaped for
gain, and their only care was to satisfy their appetites. Since then their cupidity was
insatiable, which was also the cause why they conceded sinful liberty to the people,
he now says, They shall eat and shall not be satisfied. The Prophet intimates further
by these words, that men are not sustained by plenty or abundance of provisions,
but rather by the blessing of God: for a person may devour much, yet the quantity,
however large, may not satisfy him; and this we find to be often the case as to a
voracious appetite; for in such an instance, the staff of bread is broken, that is, the
Lord takes away support from bread, so that much eating does not satisfy. And this
is the Prophet’s meaning, when he says, They shall eat and shall not be satisfied The
priests thought it a happy time with them, when they gathered great booty from
every quarter; God on the contrary declares, that it would be empty and useless to
them; for no satisfying effect would follow: however much they might greedily
swallow up, they would not yet be satisfied.
He afterwards adds, They shall play the wanton and shall not increase; that is,
“However much they might give the reins to promiscuous lusts, I will not yet suffer
them to propagate: so far shall they be from increasing or generating an offspring
by lawful marriages, that were they everywhere to indulge in illicit intercourse, they

122. would still continue barren.” The Prophet here, in a word, testifies that the ungodly
are deceived, when they think that they can obtain their wishes by wicked and
unlawful means; for the Lord will frustrate their desires. The avaricious think,
when they have much, that they are sufficiently defended against all want; and
when penury presses on all others, they think themselves beyond the reach of
danger. But the Lord derides this folly: “Gather, gather great heaps; but I will blow
on your riches, that they may vanish, or at least yield you no advantage. So also
strive to beget children; though one may marry ten wives, or everywhere play the
wanton, he shall still remain childless.” Thus we see that a just punishment is
inflicted on profane men, when they indulge their own lusts: they indeed promise to
themselves a happy issue; but God, on the other hand, pronounces upon them his
curse.
He then adds, They have left Jehovah to attend, that is that they may not attend or
serve him. Here the Prophet points out the source and the chief cause of all evils,
and that is, because the Israelites had forsaken the true God and his worship.
Though they indeed retained the name of God, and were wont, even boldly, to set up
this plea against the Prophets, that they were the children of Abraham, and the
chosen of the supreme God, he yet says that they were apostates. How so? Because
whosoever keeps faith with God, keeps himself also under the tuition of his word,
and wanders not after his own inventions; but the Israelites indulged themselves in
any thing they pleased. Since then it is certain that they had shaken off the yoke of
the law, it is no wonder that the Prophet says, that they had departed from the
Lord. But we ought to notice the confirmation of this truth, that no one can continue
to keep faith with God, except he observes his word and remains under its tuition.
Let us now proceed —
COFFMA , "Verse 10
"And they shall eat and not have enough; they shall play the harlot, and shall not
increase; because they have left off taking heed to Jehovah."
The purpose of harlotry is not to produce offspring;, therefore, the meaning here is
that Israel shall find their material prosperity quite inadequate and unsatisfactory;
and their harlotry in the matter of Baal-worship shall prove powerless to remedy
their want. As the punishment of God closes in upon the kingdom, the vanity,
futility, and ineffectiveness of their apostasy will be finally evident.
"They have left off taking heed to Jehovah ..." This is by no stretch of imagination a
reference to the fact that the pagan priesthood had ever heeded Jehovah. Can
anyone believe that the vast horde of pagan priests imported by Jezebel ever for a
single moment heeded the true God of Israel? Elijah had slaughtered a multitude of
them on Mount Carmel for the simple reason that all of them were avowed enemies
of God. This is again a reference to the people of the northern kingdom. "Harlotry
is Hosea's thematic word for the whole religion"[27] of Israel.
TRAPP, "Verse 10
Hosea 4:10 For they shall eat, and not have enough: they shall commit whoredom,

123. and shall not increase: because they have left off to take heed to the LORD.
Ver. 10. For they shall eat and not have enough] Only they shall be filled with their
own ways, Proverbs 14:14, but that is but to feed upon the wind with Ephraim,
Hosea 12:1, which breedeth nothing but troublesome belching, or a dog-like appetite
(as they call it), that cannot be satisfied ( Bουλιµια, appetitus caninus desire of a
dog). These greedy dogs, the priests, that did eat up the sins of God’s people, and
thought to have fullly gorged themselves therewith, they met with that sore plague
of unsatisfiableness for the present (a man may as soon fill a chest with wind as soul
with wealth ( on plus satiatur cor auro quam corpus aura, Aug.); see Ecclesiastes
5:10) {See Trapp on "Ecclesiastes 5:10"} and for the future they coveted an evil
covetousness to themselves, for they got God’s curse along with their illgotten goods
which will bring them to a morsel of bread they have not only sucked in the air, but
pestilential air, that not only not fills them, but kills them too. {See Trapp on
"Haggai 1:6"}
They shall commit whoredom, and shall not increase] The Chaldee renders it, They
shall take wives, but shall not beget sons. Sol et homo generant hominem, saith the
philosopher; but unless God, the first agent, concur, that cannot be neither. Lo,
"Children are an heritage of the Lord: and the fruit of the womb is his reward,"
saith David to his son Solomon, who found it true by experience, Psalms 127:3, for
by all his wives and concubines (no less than a thousand) he had but one son that we
read of and he was none of the wisest; nothing like Edward VI, whom alone Henry
VIII left (with his two sisters) to succeed him; though he had so many wives and
concubines. Wantonness is a sin commonly punished with warn of posterity:
especially when it is accompanied with obstinace in evil courses, as in Ahab who, to
cross God’s threat of rooting out him and his posterity, took many wives; and so
bestirred him, that he begat of them seventy sons, but with evil success; for they
were all cut off in one day, 2 Kings 10:7. Wicked men must not think to carry it
against God; and to have their wills al disputo di Dio, as that profane pope said; and
as that graceless Ahaziah, who sent a third captain, after that the former two had
been consumed by fire; as if he would despitefully spit in the face of heaven, and
wrestle a fall with the Almighty. Let no man expect to prosper in unlawful practices,
to increase by whoredom, as these profane priests sought to do, that they might be
full of children (anyhow): and leave the rest of their substance to their babes,
Psalms 17:14. But fertility is not from the means (right or wrong), but from the
author (many a poor man hath a house full of children by one wife; while Solomon
hath but one son by many houses full of wives), and Job could tell that whoredom is
a fire that consumeth to destruction, and would root out all his increase, Job 31:12.
Because they have left off to take heed to the Lord] God is not bound to render a
reason for his proceedings, yet doth it oft, as here, that he may be justified, and
every mouth stopped. Their apostasy is here shown to be the cause of their calamity.
There was a time when they took some heed to God and his ways: they kept close to
him, and observed his commandments to do them (as the word here importeth), but

124. now they had left off to be wise, and to do good, [Psalms 36:3] until their iniquity
was found to be hateful, and themselves altogether filthy, Psalms 53:3, wicked doers
against the covenant, Daniel 11:30; Daniel 11:32. Apostates cannot choose unto
themselves a worse condition, 2 Peter 2:20; 2 Peter 2:22, Matthew 12:43; Matthew
12:45, let them look to it. Hath ever any waxed fierce against God and prospered?
Job 9:4; even of late my people are risen up against me as an enemy, Micah 2:8, but
what will they do in the end thereof?
PETT, "Verse 10
‘And they will eat, and not have enough, they will play the harlot, and will not
increase, because they have left off taking heed to YHWH.’
And part of their punishment will lie in the fact that when they eat they will not
have enough, and when the women have relations with men they will produce no
children, both factors which can result from bad conditions, or from cruel exile,
whilst there are certain transferable sexual diseases which can result in infertility.
And this will happen to them because they have ceased listening to, and taking
notice of, YHWH. ‘Playing the harlot’ may refer either to acting as cult prostitutes,
or simply to behaving loosely as a result of becoming drunk at ritual feasts and
sacrifices. Alternately it may simply indicate participating in the false worship of
Baal instead of the true worship of YHWH. In the latter case the ‘increase’ may
then refer to their increase in wealth and fruitfulness.
Some would add the word ‘whoredom’ from Hosea 4:11 to this verse on the grounds
of rhythm (there are no verse divisions in the Hebrew text). Then we would read,
‘because they have left off taking heed to YHWH to indulge in whoredom’. But
‘whoredom’ fits well into the threefold description in Hosea 4:11, whilst ‘the spirit
of whoredom causing them to err’ in Hosea 4:12 parallels the idea in Hosea 4:11 in
terms of whoredom ‘taking away the understanding’. Thus we feel that it should be
left where it is.
K&D, "Verse 10
“They will eat, and not be satisfied; they commit whoredom, and do not increase:
for they have left off taking heed to Jehovah.” The first clause, which still refers to
the priests on account of the evident retrospect in ‫ואכלוּ‬ to ‫יאכלוּ‬ in Hosea 4:8, is taken
from the threat in Leviticus 26:16. The following word (hiznū), to practise
whoredom (with the meaning of the (kal) intensified as in Leviticus 26:18, not to
seduce to whoredom), refers to the whole nation, and is to be taken in its literal
sense, as the antithesis ‫יפרצוּ‬ ‫לא‬ requires. (Pârats), to spread out, to increase in
number, as in Exodus 1:12 and Genesis 28:14. In the last clause ‫שׁמר‬ belongs to
Jehovah: they have given up keeping Jehovah, i.e., giving heed to Him (cf.
Zechariah 11:11). This applies to the priests as well as to the people. Therefore God
withdraws His blessing from both, so that those who eat are not satisfied, and those
who commit whoredom do not increase.
PULPIT, "Hosea 4:10
For they shall eat, and not have enough: they shall commit whoredom, and shall not

125. increase. This part of the verso states the punishment to be inflicted and the reward
to be received; it is thus an expansion of the closing clause of the preceding verse,
with an obvious allusion to the sin specified in the eighth verse. To eat and not be
satisfied may occur in time of famine, or be the effect of disease or the consequence
of insatiable craving. "Since," says Kimchi, "they eat in an unlawful manner, their
food shall not be to them a blessing." This was one of the punishments threatened
for violation of the Law, as we read in Le 26:26, "When I have broken the staff of
your bread, ten women shall bake your bread in one oven, and they shall deliver you
your bread again by weight: and ye shall eat, and not be satisfied." Further, the
multiplication of wives or concubines would not increase their posterity; Solomon
long previously had been a notable exemplification of this. "So in their cohabitation
with their women, since it is in a whorish manner, they shall not increase, for they
shall not have children by them; or, if they have, they shall die from the birth." The
Hiph. hiznu has rather the intensive sense of Qal than that of causing or
encouraging whoredom. Because they have left off to take heed to the Lord. The
verbal lishmor either
11 to prostitution;
old wine and new wine
take away their understanding.
BAR ES, "Whoredom and wine and new wine take away the heart -
(Literally, “takes away”). Wine and fleshly sin are pictured as blended in one, to deprive
man of his affections and reason and understanding, and to leave him brutish and
irrational. In all the relations of life toward God and man, reason and will are guided by
the affections. And so, in God’s language, the “heart” stands for the “understanding” as
well as the “affections,” because it directs the understanding, and the understanding,
bereft of true affections, and under the rule of passion, becomes senseless. Besides the
perversion of the understanding, each of these sins blunts and dulls the fineness of the
intellect; much more, both combined. The stupid sottishness of the confirmed
voluptuary is a whole, of which each act of sensual sin worked its part. The Pagan saw
this clearly, although, without the grace of God, they did not act on what they saw to be
true and right. This, the sottishness of Israel, destroying their understanding, was the
ground of their next folly, that they ascribed to “their stock” the office of God.
“Corruption of manners and superstition” (it has often been observed) “go hand in
hand.”

126. CLARKE, "Whoredom and wine - These debaucheries go generally together.
Take away the heart - Darken the understanding, deprave the judgment, pervert
the will, debase all the passions, etc.
GILL, "Whoredom and wine, and new wine, take away the heart. Uncleanness
and intemperance besot men, deprive them of reason and judgment, and even of
common sense, make them downright fools, and so stupid as to do the following things;
or they take away the heart from following the Lord, and taking heed to him, and lead to
idolatry; or they "occupy" (z) the heart, and fill it up, and cause it to prefer sensual lusts
and pleasures to the fear and love of God: their stupidity brought on hereby is exposed in
the next verse; though it seems chiefly to respect the priests, who erred in vision through
wine and strong drink, and stumbled in judgment, Isa_28:7.
HE RY, " They indulged themselves in the delights of sense, to hold up their hearts;
but they shall find that they take away their hearts (Hos_4:11): Whoredom, and wine,
and new wine take away the heart. Some join this with the foregoing words. They have
forsaken the Lord, to take heed to whoredom, and wine, and new wine. Or, Because
these have taken away their heart. Their sensual pleasures have taken them off from
their devotions and drowned all that is good in them. Or we may take it as a distinct
sentence, containing a great truth which we see confirmed by every day's experience,
that drunkenness and uncleanness are sins which besot and infatuate men, weaken and
enfeeble them. They take away both the understanding and the courage.
JAMISO , "A moral truth applicable to all times. The special reference here is to the
licentious orgies connected with the Syrian worship, which lured Israel away from the
pure worship of God (Isa_28:1, Isa_28:7; Amo_4:1).
take away the heart — that is, the understanding; make men blind to their own true
good (Ecc_7:7).
CALVI , "Verse 11
The verb ‫לקח‬ lakech, means to take away; and this sense is also admissible that wine
and wantonness take possession of the heart; but I take its simpler meaning, to take
away. But it is not a general truth as most imagine, who regard it a proverbial
saying, that wantonness and wine deprive men of their right mind and
understanding: on the contrary, it is to be restricted, I doubt not, to the Israelites; as
though the Prophet had said, that they were without a right mind, and like brute
animals, because drunkenness and fornication had infatuated or fascinated them.
But we may take both in a metaphorical sense; as fornication may be superstition,
and so also drunkenness: yet it seems more suitable to the context to consider, that
the Prophet here reproaches the Israelites for having petulantly cast aside every
instruction through being too much given to their pleasures and too much cloyed.
Since then the Israelites had been enriched with great plenty, God had given way to
abominable indulgences, the Prophet says, that they were without sense: and this is

127. commonly the case with such men. I will not therefore treat here more at large of
drunkenness and fornication.
It is indeed true, that when any one becomes addicted to wantonness, he loses both
modesty and a right mind, and also that wine is as it were poisonous, for it is, as one
has said, a mixed poison: and the earth, when it sees its own blood drank up
intemperately, takes its revenge on men. These things are true; but let us see what
the Prophet meant.
ow, as I have said, he simply directs his discourse to the Israelites, and says, that
they were sottish and senseless, because the Lord had dealt too liberally with them.
For, as I have said, the kingdom of Israel was then very opulent, and full of all kinds
of luxury. The Prophet then touches now distinctly on this very thing: “How comes
it that ye are now so senseless, that there is not a particle of right understanding
among you? Even because ye are given to excesses, because there is among you too
large an abundance of all good things: hence it is, that all indulge their own lusts;
and these take away your heart.” In short, God means here that the Israelites
abused his blessings, and that excesses blinded them. This is the meaning. Let us
now go on
COFFMA , "Verse 11
"Whoredom and wine and new wine take away the understanding."
As Mays said:
"This is a general observation about how things work in life. Once a man turns to
prostitutes and intoxicating drink for pleasure, he loses his judgment. Harlots and
wine take away a man's mind (The Hebrew word is heart, the seat of the will and
understanding in Hebrew psychology)."[28]
Of course, all sin openly practiced and indulged results in the same destruction of
the sinner; but Hosea probably focused upon this because, "It describes the excesses
which were committed by the people on the festival days at the Baal shrines."[29]
TRAPP, "Verse 11
Hosea 4:11 Whoredom and wine and new wine take away the heart.
Ver. 11. Whoredom and wine and new wine have taken away the heart] i.e. Have
robbed my people of themselves, and laid a beast in their room. Any lust allowed
and wallowed in will eat out the heart of grace; and, at length, all grace out of the
heart. Hence temporizers grow in time so sapless, heatless, and heartless to any
good; some unmortifled lust or other there is, that, as a worm, lieth grubbing at the
root, and makes all to wither; that, like a drone in a hive, proves a great waster;
that, as a moth in fine cloth, consumes all; or, as the light of the sun, puts out the
light of the fire: so here. But, above all others, sensual sins and fleshly lusts (such as
are here instanced, whoredom and drunkenness) do war against the soul, 1 Peter
2:11, do take away the heart; they besot and infatuate a man, they rob him of his

128. reason, and carry away his affections, &c. Grace is seated in the power of nature.
ow these carnal sins disable nature; and so set it in a greater distance from grace.
They make men, that formerly seemed to give light as a candle, to become as a snuff
in a socket, drowned in the tallow; or as a quagmire, which swallows up the seed
sown upon it, and yields no increase. Who are void of the Spirit but such as are
sensual? 1:18-19. And who are they that say unto God, Depart from us, but those
that dance to the timbrel and harp, &c., Job 21:11. "They saw God, and did eat and
drink," Exodus 24:11; that is, say some, though they had seen God, yet they turned
again to sensual pleasures: as if it had reference to that eating, and drinking, and
rising up to play, upon the dedication of their calf, which was presently after.
Aristotle writeth of a parcel of ground in Sicily that sendeth forth such a strong
smell of fragrant flowers to all the fields and grounds thereabouts, that no hound
can hunt there; the scent is so confounded with the sweet smell of the flowers. Let us
see to it that the pleasures of sin take not away all scent (and sense too) of heavenly
delights; that the flesh, as a siren, befool not Wisdom’s guests, and get them away
from her, Proverbs 9:16; as Aelian tells of a whore that boasted that she could easily
get all Socrates’ scholars from him, but he could not recover one again from her.
Indeed, none that go unto her return again, saith Solomon, Proverbs 2:19, for she
gets their hearts from them: as David found, and Solomon complained. David was
never his own worthy again, after he had fouled himself with that beastly sin. And
Solomon, when he gave himself to wine and women (though his mother had
sufficiently warned him, Proverbs 31:3-4), he quickly took hold of folly, Ecclesiastes
2:3, his sensualities drew out his spirits and dissolved him, and brought him to so
low an ebb in grace, that many question his salvation. Bellarmine reckons him
among reprobates: but I like not his judgment. Let ministers of all men (this is
spoken of the priests chiefly, as some think) see to it that they flee fleshly lusts: that
they exhort the younger women with chastity, as St Paul did Timothy: and drink (if
any, yet but) a little wine for their health’s sake: remembering that the sins of
teachers are teachers of sins; and that their evil practices flee far upon those two
dangerous wings of example and scandal. Ministers should be no winebibbers or ale
stakes, 1 Timothy 3:3, ne magis solliciti de mero quam de vero, magis ament mundi
delicias quam Christi divitias, lest being "lovers of pleasure more than lovers of
God," that should befall them that Solomon foretelleth, Proverbs 23:33, thine eyes
shall behold strange women, and thine heart shall utter perverse things. Venter
aestuans mere spumat in libidinem, a belly filled with wine foameth out filthiness,
saith Jerome. Wine is the milk of Venus, saith Aristotle. Vina parant animos Veneri,
saith Ovid. Whoredom is usually ushered in by drunkenness: hence they stand so
close together in this text.
PETT, "Verse 11
‘Whoredom and wine and new wine take away the understanding.’
Israel are here described as being lacking in understanding both because of their
whoredom and licentiousness, and because they indulge themselves in abundance of
wine, each of which is a consequence of their religious activities. Illicit sex and drink
are thus dulling their minds and preventing them from thinking straightly.
Some would bring ‘my people’ from being the first words in Hosea 4:12 to being the

129. last words in Hosea 4:11. The Hebrew text can be read either way (it has no
punctuation). We would then read ‘whoredom and wine and new wine take away
the understanding of My people’. Hosea 4:12 would then read ‘They ask counsel at
their tree --’. It makes no difference to the overall sense.
Verses 11-19
Strong Wine and Illicit Sex Have Turned The People’s Minds So That They Look
To Bits Of Wood Concerning Their Future And Play The Harlot On The Tops Of
Mountains And Under Sacred Trees Rather Than Looking To YHWH (Hosea 4:11-
19).
The strong wine and illicit sex which are a part of their religious activities have
taken away their understanding, so that their minds are befuddled and they seek to
pieces of wood for their divination, and to the tops of mountains and under sacred
trees for their worship. YHWH therefore intends to punish Israel for their ways and
forbids them any longer to use His ame, a consequence of which will be that they
will be put to shame for the behaviour.
Analysis of Hosea 4:11-19.
a Whoredom and wine and new wine take away the understanding (Hosea 4:11).
b My people ask counsel at their tree, and their staff makes declaration to them, for
the spirit of whoredom has caused them to err, and they have played the harlot,
departing from under their God (Hosea 4:12).
c They sacrifice on the tops of the mountains, and burn incense on the hills, under
oaks and poplars and terebinths, because its shadow is good. Therefore your
daughters play the harlot, and your brides commit adultery (Hosea 4:13).
d I will not punish your daughters when they play the harlot, nor your brides
when they commit adultery, for the men themselves go apart with harlots, and they
sacrifice with the prostitutes, and the people who do not understand will be
overthrown (Hosea 4:14).
c Though you, Israel, play the harlot, yet let Judah not offend, and do not come to
Gilgal, nor go you up to Beth-aven, nor swear, “As YHWH lives” (Hosea 4:15).
b For Israel has behaved himself stubbornly, like a stubborn heifer. Will YHWH
now feed them as a lamb in a large place? Ephraim is joined to idols, let him alone
(Hosea 4:16-17).
a Their drink has become sour, they play the harlot continually, her shields dearly
love shame, the wind has wrapped her up in its wings, and they will be put to shame
because of their sacrifices (Hosea 4:18-19).
ote that in ‘a’ lasciviousness and wine have taken away their understanding, and
in the parallel their drink has become soured, and their behaviour will cause them
to be ashamed. In ‘b’ seek to wooden things and spiritual harlotry, and in the
parallel they have behaved stubbornly and are joined to idols. In ‘c’ they sacrifice in
high places and commit spiritual harlotry, and in the parallel they are seen as
playing the harlot and Judah are therefore not to go to Gilgal or Bethaven to
sacrifice with them. Centrally in ‘d’ the overthrow of the people is determined
because of their illicit sexual and religious behaviour.

130. K&D, "Verse 11-12
The allusion to whoredom leads to the description of the idolatrous conduct of the
people in the third strophe, Hosea 4:11-14, which is introduced with a general
sentence. Hosea 4:11. “Whoring and wine and new wine take away the heart (the
understanding”). (Zenūth) is licentiousness in the literal sense of the word, which is
always connected with debauchery. What is true of this, namely, that it weakens the
mental power, shows itself in the folly of idolatry into which the nation has fallen.
Hosea 4:12. “My nation asks its wood, and its stick prophesies to it: for a spirit of
whoredom has seduced, and they go away whoring from under their God.” ‫בּעצו‬ ‫שׁאל‬
is formed after ‫,בּיהוה‬ to ask for a divine revelation of the idols made of wood
(Jeremiah 10:3; Habakkuk 2:19), namely, the teraphim (cf. Hosea 3:4, and Ezekiel
21:26). This reproof is strengthened by the antithesis my nation, i.e., the nation of
Jehovah, the living God, and its wood, the wood made into idols by the people. The
next clause, “and its stick is showing it,” sc. future events ((higgı̄d) as in Isaiah
41:22-23, etc.), is supposed by Cyril of Alexandria to refer to the practice of
rhabdomancy, which he calls an invention of the Chaldaeans, and describes as
consisting in this, that two rods were held upright, and then allowed to fall while
forms of incantation were being uttered; and the oracle was inferred from the way
in which they fell, whether forwards or backwards, to the right or to the left. The
course pursued was probably similar to that connected with the use of the wishing
rods.
( ote: According to Herod. iv. 67, this kind of soothsaying was very common among
the Scythians (see at Ezekiel 21:26). Another description of rhabdomancy is
described by Abarbanel, according to Maimonides and Moses Mikkoz: cf. Marck
and Rosenmüller on this passage.)
The people do this because a spirit of whoredom has besotted them.
By (rūăch zenūnı̄m) the whoredom is represented as a demoniacal power, which has
seized upon the nation. (Zenūnı̄m) probably includes both carnal and spiritual
whoredom, since idolatry, especially the Asherah-worship, was connected with gross
licentiousness. The missing object to ‫התעה‬ may easily be supplied from the context.
‫אל‬ ‫מתּחת‬ ‫,זנה‬ which differs from ‫מאחרי‬ ‫זנה‬ (Hosea 1:2), signifies “to whore away from
under God,” i.e., so as to withdraw from subjection to God.
EBC, "Verses 11-14
4. "THE CORRUPTIO THAT IS THROUGH LUST"
Hosea 9:10-17 CF. Hosea 4:11-14
Those who at the present time are enforcing among us the revival of a paganism-
without the pagan conscience-and exalting licentiousness to the level of an art, forget
how frequently the human race has attempted their experiment, with far more
sincerity than they themselves can put into it, and how invariably the result has

131. been recorded by history to be weariness, decay, and death. On this occasion we
have the story told to us by one who to the experience of the statesman adds the
vision of the poet. The generation to which Hosea belonged practiced a periodical
unchastity under the alleged sanctions of nature and religion. And, although their
prophet told them that-like our own apostates from Christianity-they could never
do so with the abandon of the pagans, for they carried within them the conscience
and the memory of a higher faith, it appears that even the fathers of Israel resorted
openly and without shame to the licentious rites of the sanctuaries. In an earlier
passage of his book Hosea insists that all this must impair the people’s intellect.
"Harlotry takes away the brains." [Hosea 4:12] He has shown also how it confuses
the family, and has exposed the old delusion that men may be impure and keep their
womankind chaste. [Hosea 4:13-14] But now he diagnoses another of the inevitable
results of this sin. After tracing the sin and the theory of life which permitted it, to
their historical beginnings at the entry of the people into Canaan, he describes how
the long practice of it, no matter how pretentious its sanctions, inevitably leads not
only to exterminating strifes, but to the decay of the vigor of the nation, to
barrenness and a diminishing population. "Like grapes in the wilderness I found
Israel, like the first fruit on a fig-tree in her first season I saw your fathers." So had
the lusty nation appeared to God in its youth; in that dry wilderness all the sap and
promise of spring were in its eyes, because it was still pure. But "they-they came to
Ba’al-Peor"-the first of the shrines of Canaan which they touched-"and dedicated
themselves to the shame, and became as abominable as the object of their love.
"Ephraim"-the "Fruitful" name is emphasized-"their glory is flown away like a
bird. o more birth, no more motherhood, no more conception! Blasted is Ephraim,
withered the root of them, fruit they produce not: yea, even when they beget
children I slay the darlings of their womb. Yea, though they bring up their sons I
bereave them," till they are "poor in men. Yea, woe upon themselves" also, when I
look away from them! Ephraim"-again the "Fruitful" name is dragged to the
front-"for prey, as I have seen, are his sons destined. Ephraim" - he "must lead his
sons to the slaughter."
And the prophet interrupts with his chorus: "Give them, O Lord-what wilt Thou
give them? Give them a miscarrying womb and breasts that are dry!"
"All their mischief is in Gilgal"-again the Divine voice strikes the connection
between the national worship and the national sin-"yea, there do I hate them: for
the evil of their doings from My house I will drive them. I will love them no more:
all their nobles are rebels."
And again the prophet responds: "My God will cast them away, for they have not
hearkened to Him, and they shall be vagabonds among the nations."
Some of the warnings which Hosea enforces with regard to this sin have been
instinctively felt by mankind since the beginnings of civilization, and are found
expressed among the proverbs of nearly all the languages. But I am unaware of any
earlier moralist in any literature who traced the effects of national licentiousness in
a diminishing population, or who exposed the persistent delusion of libertine men

132. that they themselves may resort to vice, yet keep their womankind chaste. Hosea, so
far as we know, was the first to do this. History in many periods has confirmed the
justice of his observations, and by one strong voice after another enforced his
terrible warnings. The experience of ancient Persia and Egypt; the languor of the
Greek cities; the "deep weariness and sated lust" which in Imperial Rome "made
human life a hell"; the decay which overtook Italy after the renascence of Paganism
without the Pagan virtues; the strife and anarchy that have rent every court where,
as in the case of Henri Quatre, the king set the example of libertinage; the
incompetence, the poltroonery, the treachery, that have corrupted every camp
where, as in French Metz in 1870, soldiers and officers gave way so openly to vice;
the checks suffered by modern civilization in face of barbarism because its pioneers
mingled in vice with the savage races they were subduing; the number of great
statesmen falling by their passions, and in their fall frustrating the hopes of nations;
the great families worn out by indulgence; the homes broken up by infidelities; the
tainting of the blood of a new generation by the poisonous practices of the old, -have
not all these things been in every age, and do they not still happen near enough to
ourselves to give us a great fear of the sin which causes them all? Alas! how stow
men are to listen and to lay to heart! Is it possible that we can gild by the names of
frivolity and piquancy habits the wages of which are death? Is it possible that we
can enjoy comedies which make such things their jest? We have among us many
who find their business in the theatre, or in some of the periodical literature of our
time, in writing and speaking and exhibiting as closely as they dare to limits of
public decency. When will they learn that it is not upon the easy edge of mere
conventions that they are capering, but upon the brink of those eternal laws whose
further side is death and hell-that it is not the tolerance of their fellow men they are
testing, but the patience of God Himself? As for those loud few who claim license in
the name of art and literature, let us not shrink from them as if they were strong or
their high words true. They are not strong, they are only reckless; their claims are
lies. All history, the poets and the prophets, whether Christian or Pagan, are against
them. They are traitors alike to art, to love, and to every other high interest of
mankind.
It may be said that a large part of the art of the day, which takes great license in
dealing with these subjects, is exercised only by the ambition to expose that ruin and
decay which Hosea himself affirms. This is true. Some of the ablest and most
popular writers of our time have pictured the facts, which Hosea describes, with so
vivid a realism that we cannot but judge them to be inspired to confirm his ancient
warnings, and to excite a disgust of vice in a generation which otherwise treats vice
so lightly. But if so, their ministry is exceeding narrow, and it is by their side that we
best estimate the greatness of the ancient prophet. Their transcript of human life
may be true to the facts it selects, but we find in it no trace of facts which are greater
and more essential to humanity. They have nothing to tell us of forgiveness and
repentance, and yet these are as real as the things they describe. Their pessimism is
unrelieved. They see the "corruption that is in the world through lust"; they forget
that there is an escape from it. [2 Peter 1:1-21] It is Hosea’s greatness that, while he
felt the vices of his day with all needed thoroughness and realism, he yet never
allowed them to be inevitable or ultimate, but preached repentance and pardon,

133. with the possibility of holiness even for his depraved generation. It is the littleness of
the art of our day that these great facts are forgotten by her, though once she was
their interpreter to men. When she remembers them the greatness of her past will
return.
PULPIT, "Hosea 4:11
It makes no great difference whether we regard this verse as concluding the
foregoing or commencing a new paragraph, though we prefer the latter mode of
connecting it. It states the debasing influence which debauchery and drunkenness
are known to exercise over both head and heart: they dull the faculties of the former
and deaden the affections of the latter. The heart is not only the seat of the
affections, as with us; it comprises also the, intellect and hill; while the word ‫ַת‬‫קּ‬ִ‫י‬ is
not so much to take away as to captivate the heart, Rashi gives the former sense:
"The whoredom and drunkenness to which they are devoted take away their heart
from me." Kimchi's explanation is judicious: "The whoredom to which they
surrender themselves and the constant drunkenness which they practice take their
heart, so that they have no understanding to perceive what is the way of goodness
along which they should go." He further distinguishes the tirosh from the yayin,
remarking that the former is the new wine which takes the heart and suddenly
intoxicates. The prophet, having had occasion to mention the sin of whoredom in
Hosea 4:10, makes a general statement about the consequences of that sin combined
with drunkenness in Hosea 4:10, as not only debasing, but depriving men of the
right use of their reason and the proper exercise of their natural affections. The
following verses afford abundant evidence of all this in the insensate conduct of
Israel at the time referred to.
12 My people consult a wooden idol,
and a diviner’s rod speaks to them.
A spirit of prostitution leads them astray;
they are unfaithful to their God.

134. BAR ES, "My people ask counsel at - (literally, “on”) their stocks They ask
habitually ; and that, in dependence “on their stocks.” The word “wood” is used of the
idol made of it, to bring before them the senselessness of their doings, in that they asked
counsel of the senseless wood. Thus Jeremiah reproaches them for “saying to a stock, my
father” Jer_2:27; and Habakkuk, “Woe unto him that saith to the wood, awake” Hab_
2:19.
And their staff declareth unto them - Many sorts of this superstition existed
among the Arabs and Chaldees. They were different ways of drawing lots, without any
dependence upon the true God to direct it. This was a part of their senselessness, of
which the prophet had just said, that their sins took away their hearts. The tenderness of
the word, “My people,” aggravates both the stupidity and the ingratitude of Israel. They
whom the Living God owned as His own people, they who might have asked of Him,
asked of a stock or a staff.
For the spirit of whoredoms - It has been thought of old, that the evil spirits
assault mankind in a sort of order and method, different spirits bending all their
energies to tempt him to different sins . And this has been founded on the words of Holy
Scripture, “a lying spirit,” “an unclean spirit,” “a spirit of jealousy,” and our Lord said of
the evil spirit whom the disciples could not cast out; “This kind goeth not out but by
prayer and fasting” Mat_17:21. Hence, it has been thought that “some spirits take delight
in uncleanness and defilement of sins; others urge on to blasphemies; others, to anger
and fury; others take delight in gloom; others are soothed with vainglory and pride; and
that each instills into man’s heart that vice in which he takes pleasure himself; yet that
all do not urge their own perversenesses at once, but in turn, as opportunity of time or
place, or man’s own susceptibility, invites them” . Or the word, “spirit of whoredoms,”
may mean the vehemence with which people were whirled along by their evil passions,
whether by their passionate love of idolatry, or by the fleshly sin which was so often
bound up with their idolatry.
They have gone a whoring from under their God - The words “from under”
continue the image of the adulteress wife, by which God had pictured the faithlessness of
His people. The wife was spoken of as “under her husband Num_5:19, Num_5:29; Eze_
23:5, i. e., under his authority; she withdrew herself “from under” him, when she
withdrew herself from his authority, and gave herself to another. So Israel, being
wedded to God, estranged herself from Him, withdrew herself from His obedience, cast
off all reverence to Him, and prostituted herself to her idols.
CLARKE, "At their stocks - They consult their wooden gods.
And their staff declareth - They use divination by rods; see the note on Ezekiel 21
(note), where this sort of divination (rabdomancy) is explained.
GILL, "My people ask counsel at their stocks,.... Or "at his wood" (a), or stick; his
wooden image, as the Targum; their wooden gods, their idols made of wood, mere stocks
and blocks, without life or sense, and much less reason and understanding, and still less
divinity. Reference is here had either to the matter of which an idol was made, being the
trunk of a tree, or a block of wood; as the poet (b) introduces Priapus saying, "olim
truncus eram ficulnus, inutile lignum": or to sticks of wood themselves, without being

135. put into any form or shape; for so it is reported (c), that the ancient idolaters used to
receive for gods, with great veneration, trees or pieces of wood, having the bark taken
off; particularly the Carians worshipped for Diana a piece of wood, not hewed, squared,
or planed (d): though the first seems rather to be the sense here; and either was
extremely foolish. And yet such was the stupidity of this people, whom God had formerly
chose for his people and had distinguished them by his favours from others, and they
had professed themselves to be his people, and as yet were not utterly cast off, as to
forsake him and his divine oracles, and all methods of knowing his will; as to ask counsel
of such wooden deities in matters of moment and difficulty, what should be done by
them, or concerning things to come.
And their staff declareth unto them; what methods are to be taken by them in the
present case, or what shall come to pass, as they fancy; that is, either their idol, made of
a staff or stick of wood, or a little image carried on a staff; such as probably were the
teraphim they consulted, instead of the Urim and Thummim; and imagined they
declared to them what they should do, or what would befall them. Kimchi's father
interprets it of the false prophets on whom they depended, and whose declarations they
received as oracles. Perhaps some respect is had to a sort of divination used among the
Heathens by rods and staves, called "rhabdomancy", which the Jews had learnt of them;
like that by arrows used by Nebuchadnezzar, Eze_21:21. This was performed by setting
up a stick or staff, and as that fell, so they judged and determined what was to be done.
The manner, according to Theophylact on the place, was this,
"they set up two rods, and muttered some verses and enchantments; and then the rods
falling through the influence of demons, they considered how they fell, whether forward
or backward, to the right or the left; and so gave answers to the foolish people, using the
fall of the rods for signs.''
The Jews take this to be forbid by that negative precept, Deu_18:10, "there shall not be
found among you any that useth divination". So Jarchi and Baal Hatturim on that text
explain a diviner by one that holds his staff; and the former adds and says, shall I go, or
shall I not go? as it is said, "my people ask counsel at their stocks", &c.; the manner of
which they thus describe (e),
"when they are about to go on a journey, they inquire before they set out, i.e. whether it
will be prosperous or not; and the diviner takes a branch of a tree, and takes off the bark
on one side, and leaves it on the other, and then throws it out of his hand; if, when it
falls, the bark is uppermost, he says, this is a man; then he casts it again, and if the white
is uppermost, this is a woman; to a man, and after that a woman, this is a good sign, and
he goes his journey, or does what be desires to do: but if the white appears first, and
after that the bark, then he says, to a woman, and after that a man, and he forbears (that
is, to go on his journey, or do what he desired): but if the bark is uppermost in both
(throws), or the white uppermost in both, to a man after a man, and a woman after a
woman, then his journey (as to the success of it) is between both; and so they say they do
in the land of Slavonia.''
And from the Slavonians, Grotius says, the Germans took this way of divination, of
which Tacitus (f) gives an account; and it seems by him that the Chaldeans also had it,
from whom the Jews might have it. This way of divination by the staff is a little
differently given in Hascuni: (g) the diviner measures his staff with his finger, or with his
hand; one time he says, I will go; another time, I will not go; but if it happens, at the end

136. of the staff, I will not go, he goes not.
For the spirit of whoredom hath caused them to err; a violent inclination and
bias of mind to idolatry, which is spiritual adultery, and a strong affection for it, stirred
up by an evil spirit, the devil; which so wrought upon them, and influenced them, as to
cause them to wander from the true God, and his worship, as follows:
and they have gone a whoring from under their God; or
"erred from the worship of their God,''
as the Targum; from the true God, who stood in the relation of a husband to them; but,
led by a spirit of error, they departed from him, and committed spiritual adultery, that
is, idolatry; which is explained and enlarged upon in the next verse.
HE RY 12-16, "In these verses we have, as before,
I. The sins charged upon the people of Israel, for which God had a controversy with
them, and they are,
1. Spiritual whoredom, or idolatry. They have in them a spirit of whoredoms, a strong
inclination to that sin; the bent and bias of their hearts are that way; it is their own
iniquity; they are carried out towards it with an unaccountable violence, and this causes
them to err. Note, The errors and mistakes of the judgment are commonly owing to the
corrupt affections; men therefore have a good opinion of sin, because they have a
disposition towards it. And having such erroneous notions of idols, and such passionate
motions towards them, no marvel that with such a head and such a heart they have gone
a whoring from under their God, Hos_4:12. They ought to have been in subjection to
him as their head and husband, to have been under his guidance and command, but they
revolted from their allegiance, and put themselves under the guidance and protection of
false gods. So (Hos_4:15) Israel has played the harlot; their conduct in the worship of
their idols was like that of a harlot, wanton and impudent. And (Hos_4:16), Israel
slideth back as a backsliding heifer, as an untamed heifer (so some), or as a perverse or
refractory one (so others), as a heifer that is turned loose runs madly about the pasture,
or, if put under the yoke (which seems rather to be alluded to here), will draw back
instead of going forward, will struggle to get her neck out of the yoke and her feet out of
the furrow. Thus unruly, ungovernable, untractable, were the people of Israel. They had
begun to draw in the yoke of God's ordinances, but they drew back, as children of Belial,
that will not endure the yoke; and when the prophets were sent with the goads of
reproof, to put them forward, they kicked against the pricks, and ran backwards. The
sum of all is (Hos_4:17), Ephraim is joined to idols, is perfectly wedded to them; his
affections are glued to them, and his heart is upon them. There are two instances given
of their spiritual whoredom, in both which they gave that honour to their idols which is
due to God only: - (1.) They consulted them as oracles, and used those arts of divination
which they had learned from their idolatrous priests (Hos_4:12): My people ask counsel
at their stocks, their wooden gods; they apply to them for advice and direction in what
they should do and for information concerning the event. They say to a stock, Thou art
my father (Jer_2:27); and, if it were indeed a father, it were worthy of this honour; but it
was a great affront to God, who was indeed their Father, and whose lively oracles they
had among them, with which they had liberty to consult at any time, thus to ask counsel
at their stocks. And they expect that their staff should declare to them what course they
should take and what the event should be. It is probable that this refers to some wicked

137. methods of divination used among the Gentiles, and which the Jews learned from them,
by a piece of wood, or by a staff, like Nebuchadnezzar's divining by his arrows, Eze_
21:21. Note, Those who forsake the oracles of God, to take their measures from the world
and the flesh, do in effect but consult with their stocks and their staves. (2.) They offered
sacrifice to them as gods, whose favour they wanted and whose wrath they dreaded and
deprecated (Hos_4:13): They sacrifice to them, to atone and pacify them, and burn
incense to them, to please and gratify them, and hope by both to recommend themselves
to them. God had pitched upon the place where he would record his name; but they,
having forsaken that, chose places for their irreligious rites which pleased their own
fancies; they chose, [1.] High places, upon the tops of the mountains and upon the hills,
foolishly imagining that the height of the ground gave them some advantage in their
approaches towards heaven. [2.] Shady places, under oaks, and poplars, and elms,
because the shadow thereof is pleasant to them, especially in those hot countries, and
therefore they thought it was pleasing to their gods; or they fancied that a thick shade
befriends contemplation, possesses the mind with something of awe, and therefore is
proper for devotion.
JAMISO , "Instances of their understanding (“heart”) being “taken away.”
stocks — wooden idols (Jer_2:27; Hab_2:19).
staff — alluding to divination by rods (see on Eze_21:21, Eze_21:22). The diviner,
says Rosenmuller, threw a rod from him, which was stripped of its bark on one side, not
on the other: if the bare side turned uppermost, it was a good omen; if the side with the
bark, it was a bad omen. The Arabs used two rods, the one marked God bids, the other,
God forbids; whichever came out first, in drawing them out of a case, gave the omen for,
or against, an undertaking.
declareth — that is, is consulted to inform them of future events.
spirit of whoredoms — a general disposition on the part of all towards idolatry
(Hos_5:4).
err — go astray from the true God.
from under their God — They have gone away from God under whom they were, as
a wife is under the dominion of her husband.
BI, "Their staff declareth unto them.
Rhabdomania, or divining by the stick or staff
There was a kind of idolatry which the Jews had, a way to ask counsel by the staff, and
with this the prophet here charges them. The Romans practised the same, calling it
divination by rods, sticks, arrows, or staves. There were four ways in which they divined
with these things. The first was to put arrows or staves into a closed case, having the
names written on them of what they divined about; and then, drawing out one or two,
they determined their business according to what they found written; thus their staff
declared unto them either good or bad. A second was by casting up staves or arrows into
the air, and according as they fell, on the right hand or on the left, before or behind, so
they divined their good or ill luck, as they called it. A third way was this, they used to
peel off the bark of some part of a stick, and then cast it up, and divined according to
which part of the pith, either black or white, appeared first. A fourth was, as we find in
the Roman antiquities, that their augurs or soothsayers used to sit upon the top of a
tower or castle, in clear and fair weather, with a crooked staff in their hand, which the
Latins call Lituus, and having quartered out the regions of heaven, so far as to answer

138. their purpose, and offered sacrifices and prayers, they stretched it forth upon the head of
the person or thing they would divine for, and so foreboded good or ill luck, according to
what at that time they observed in the heavens, the birds flying, etc. (Jeremiah
Burroughs.)
CALVI , "Verse 12
The Prophet calls here the Israelites the people of God, not to honor them, but
rather to increase their sin; for the more heinous was the perfidy of the people, that
having been chosen, they had afterwards forsaken their heavenly Father. Hence My
people: there is here an implied comparison between all other nations and the seed
of Abraham, whom God had adopted; “This is, forsooth! the people whom I
designed to be sacred to myself, whom of all nations in the world I have taken to
myself: they are my heritage. ow this people, who ought to be mine, consult their
own wood, and their staff answers them!” We hence see that it was a grievous and
severe reprobation when the Lord reminded them of the invaluable kindness with
which he had favored the children of Abraham.
So at this day our guilt will be more grievous, if we continue not in the pure worship
of God, since God has called us to himself and designed us to be his peculiar flock.
The same thing that the Prophet brought against the Israelites may be also brought
against the Papists; for as soon as infants are born among them, the Lord signs them
with the sacred symbol of baptism; they are therefore in some sense (aliqua ex parte
) the people of God. We see, at the same time, how gross and abominable are the
superstitions which prevail among them: there are none more stupid than they are.
Even the Turks and the Saracenes are wise when compared with them. How great,
then, and how shameful is this baseness, that the Papists, who boast themselves to be
the people of God, should go astray after their own mad follies!
But the Prophet says the Israelites “consulted” their own wood, or inquired of wood.
He no doubt accuses them here of having transferred the glory of the only true God
to their own idols, or fictitious gods. They consult, he says, their own wood, and the
staff answers them. He seems, in the second clauses to allude to the blind: as when a
blind man asks his staff, so he says the Israelites asked counsel of their wood and
staff. Some think that superstitions then practiced are here pointed out. The augurs
we know used a staff; and it is probable that diviners in the East employed also a
staff, or some such thing, in performing their incantations. (16) Others explain these
words allegorically, as though wood was false religion, and staff the ungodly
prophets. But I am inclined to hold to simplicity. It then seems to me more probable,
that the Israelites, as I have already stated, are here condemned for consulting wood
or dead idols, instead of the only true God; and that it was the same thing as if a
blind man was to ask counsel of his staff, though the staff be without any reason or
sense. A staff is indeed useful, but for a different purpose. And thus the Prophet not
only contemptuously, but also ironically, exposes to scorn the folly of those who
consult their gods of wood and stone; for to do so will no more avail them than if
one had a staff for his counselor.

139. He then subjoins, for the spirit of fornication has deceived them Here again the
Prophet aggravates their guilt, inasmuch as no common blame was to be ascribed to
the Israelites; for they were, he says, wholly given to fornication The spirit, then, of
fornication deceived them: it was the same as if one inflamed with lust ran headlong
into evil; as we see to be the case with brutal men when carried away by a blind and
shameful passion; for then every distinction between right and wrong disappears
from their eyes — no choice is made, no shame is felt. As then such heat of lust is
wont sometimes to seize men, that they distinguish nothing, so the Prophet says with
the view of shaming the people the more, that they were like those given to
fornication, who no longer exercise any judgment, who are restrained by no shame.
The spirit, then, of fornication has deceived them: but as this similitude often meets
us, I shall not dwell upon it.
They have played the wanton, he says, that they may not obey the Lord. He does not
say simply, ‘from their God,’ but ‘from under’ ‫,מתחת‬ metachet, They have then
played the wanton, that they might no more obey God, or continue under his
government. We may hence learn what is our spiritual chastity, even when God
rules us by his word, when we go not here and there and rashly follow our own
superstitions. When we abide then under the government of our God, and with fixed
eyes look on him, then we chastely preserve our faithfulness to him. But when we
follow idols, we then play the wanton and depart from God. Let us now proceed —
BE SO , "Verse 12
Hosea 4:12. My people ask counsel at their stocks — Hebrew, ‫,בעצו‬ at their wood,
that is, the images of their idols made of wood; these they consulted as oracles, that
they might foretel to them what was to come, or give them advice, what measures to
take. And their staff declares unto them — They seek to know things by means of
rods, by which they think they can divine. This refers to a kind of divination by rods
or staves, which was anciently practised in the East, of which different accounts are
given by ancient writers. Some say, the person consulting measured his staff by
spans, or by the length of his finger, saying as he measured it, “I will go, or I will not
go; I will do such a thing, or I will not do it;” and as the last span fell out so he
determined. Others, however, as Cyril and Theophylact, give a different account of
the matter, and say, it was performed by erecting two sticks, after which they
muttered forth a certain charm, and then according as the sticks fell backward or
forward, to the right or left, they gave advice in any affair. The same kind of
divination seems to be intended with that used by the Chaldeans, concerning which
see the note on Ezekiel 21:21 . For the spirit of whoredoms hath caused them to err
— For their fondness for idolatry hath caused them to fall into all these absurd
errors, through the example of the idolatrous nations whom they loved to imitate.
They have gone a whoring from their God — They have left their God, the true
God, and his laws, to follow the worship, customs, and rites of heathen idolaters.
COFFMA , "Verse 12
"My people ask counsel at their stock, and their staff declareth unto them; for the
spirit of whoredom hath caused them to err, and they have played the harlot,

140. departing from their God."
"This verse exhibits the private life of the people as depraved by sin and folly";[30]
and Hosea 4:13, following, displays their public lives as corrupted by lewdness,
gluttony, and debauchery as shamelessly practiced in the vulgar worship of the old
Canaanite gods of fertility.
"Ask counsel at their stock, and their staff declareth ..." This foolish method of
procuring advice or making decisions is called "rhabdomancy," a class name for
several procedures, one of which was described by Keil thus:
"Two rods were held upright, and then allowed to fall while incantations were
uttered; and the oracle was inferred from the way in which they fell, whether
backwards or forward, to the right or to the left."[31]
How blind to the loving providence of God are those who could seriously resort to
such pagan devices as those mentioned here. The immoralities of their idolatrous
worship had closed the windows of their minds, and they groped in darkness.
Significantly, it was "the spirit of whoredom" that had caused them to err. This
"spirit" pictures "the wildest possible indulgence of passions ... they are actuated by
an impulse that leads to harlotry."[32] It is not the mere physical result of this
behavior, however, which is stressed here. The root cause of all their wickedness lay
in the fact of their "departing from their God."
ELLICOTT, "Verse 12
(12) Their stocks.—Blocks of wood fashioned into idols (Heb., his wood, the
collective singular being maintained).
Their staff.—Cyril regarded this as referring to divinations by means of rods (
ῥαβδοµαντεία), which were placed upright, and after the repetition of incantations,
allowed to fall, the forecast of the future being interpreted from the manner in
which they fell. But perhaps the “staff” may refer, like the “stocks,” to the idol itself.
The Canaanite goddess Asherah was worshipped under this form.
TRAPP, "Verse 12
Hosea 4:12 My people ask counsel at their stocks, and their staff declareth unto
them: for the spirit of whoredoms hath caused [them] to err, and they have gone a
whoring from under their God.
Ver. 12. My people ask counsel at their stocks] That is, at their images, which are
here called stocks in contempt, as Hezekiah called the brazen serpent (when it was
idolized by the people) ehushtan, or, a piece of brass; and as Julius Palmer,
martyr, called the rood in Paul’s a jackanapes; and as the poet, in contempt of his
own god Priapus, brings him in saying
“ Olim truncus eram ficulnus, inutile lignum. ”
So the prophet cries shame upon the house of Israel for saying to a stock, Thou art

141. my father, and to a stone, Thou hast brought me forth, Jeremiah 2:27, Isaiah 44:11.
But to such senseless practices men fall many times when they grow sensual; see 2
Thessalonians 2:10, Revelation 17:5. Spiritual whoredom and bodily go usually
together. Rivet tells us here of a nobleman that went out of the church from hearing
mass into the very next house, where he kept a whore; and said to the bystanders, a
lupanari ad missam unum tantum esse passum, that there is but one step from the
mass to a whore house.
And their staff] That is, saith Kimchi, their false prophets, upon whom they lean,
and by whom they are led, as a blind man by his staff. But I rather think it is meant
of rhabdomancy, (a) a kind of odd way of divining by rods and staves, as
ebuchadnezzar is brought in doing, Ezekiel 21:22, and was common in those
eastern parts. Or else hereby are meant the soothsayers’ and magicians’ rods, as
Exodus 7:12, Hebrews 11:21. It is said that Jacob worshipped leaning upon the top
of his staff, and thereby lifting up his body to do reverence to God, where the
Vulgate text, omitting the preposition, hath committed a manifest error, in saying
that Jacob worshipped the top of his rod or staff; as if there had been some picture
there engraven. The Hebrew is, towards the bed’s heads. And it is certain that Jacob
worshipped none but God; and bowed himself either towards the bed’s head, or
leaning upon his staff, to testify his humility, faith, and hope, which adoration how
far it was from the worshipping of images (which the Papists urge from this place),
who seeth not?
For the spirit of whoredoms hath caused them to err] That unclean spirit, Zechariah
13:2, the devil (who is ειδωλοχαρης, as Synesius saith, a delighter in idols), drives
them satanico impetu, to commit whoredom, both spiritual and corporal, with
strength of affection. ow, if that spirit of error, 1 John 4:6, and of giddiness, Isaiah
19:14, cause men to err, and carry them with a vehement impetus to idol worship
(which indeed is devil worship), what wonder? Men that are that way bent know not
of what spirit they are; little think that they are acted and agitated by the devil. O
pray with David, Psalms 143:10, that that good Spirit of God may lead us into all
truth and holiness.
And they are gone a whoring from under their God] i.e. from under the yoke of his
obedience; they are gone out of his precincts, and therefore also out of his
protection; as a whore that forsaketh her husband, and is therefore worthily cast
off.
PETT, "Verse 12
‘My people ask counsel at their piece of wood (tree, timber), and their staff makes
declaration to them, for the spirit of whoredom has caused them to err, and they
have played the harlot, departing from under their God.’
The result of their behaviour is that they foolishly seek counsel from pieces of wood
carved into idols, or alternatively from sacred trees (Hosea 4:13), and look to their

142. staffs to divine for them. This latter probably involved holding a rod vertically and
spinning it, or holding two or more rods vertically, and then letting go of them,
reading the future from the way in which they fell (called rhabdomancy). The idea is
that they prefer this to hearing YHWH’s word through His prophets, while using it
as a substitute for the Urim and Thummim in the Temple, which was the God-
ordained mean of consultation. And they do this because the spirit of licentiousness
within them has caused them to err, turning their minds to folly. The idea may well
be that evil spirits have therefore taken possession of them (compare Deuteronomy
32:17; 1 Kings 22:22), or it could merely be indicating the driving force of their
sexual urges which can make men think foolishly and do foolish things. And the
consequence is that they have committed spiritual adultery, and probably literal
adultery with sacred prostitutes or willing drunken worshippers of the opposite sex,
thereby departing from being under YHWH’s control through the covenant. They
are flouting all YHWH’s requirements.
PULPIT, "Hosea 4:12-14
The first of these verses exhibits the private life of the people as depraved by sin and
folly; the second their public life as degraded by idolatry and lewdness; while the
third points to the corresponding chastisement and its cause. My people ask counsel
at their stocks (literally, wood), and their staff declareth unto them. Rashi explains
"stocks," or literally, "wood," to mean "a graven image made out of wood;" while
Aben Ezra prefaces his exposition of this by an observation which serves well as a
link of connection between the eleventh and twelfth verses. It is as follows: "The
sign that they are in reality without heart, is that my people turn to ask counsel of its
stocks and wood." Kimchi not inaptly remarks, "They are like the blind man to
whom his staff points out the way in which he should go." The stupidity of idolatry
and the sin of divination are hero combined. By the "wood" is meant an idol carved
out of wood; while the staff may likewise have an image carved at the top for
idolatrous purposes, or it may denote mode of divination by a staff which by the
way it fell determined their course. Theophylaet explains this method of divination
as follows: "They set up two rods, and muttered some verses and enchantments; and
then the rods falling through the influence of demons, they considered how they fell,
whether forward or backward, to the right or the left, and so gave answers to the
foolish people, using the fall of the rods for signs." Cyril, who attributes the
invention of rabdomancy to the Chaldeans, gives the same account of this method of
divination. Herodotus mentions a mode of divination prevalent among the Scythians
by means of willow rods; and Tacitus informs us that the Germans divined by a rod
cut from a fruit-bearing tree. "They (the Germans) cut a twig from a fruit tree, and
divide it into small pieces, which, distinguished by certain marks, are thrown
promiscuously on a white garment. Then the priest or 'the canton, it' the occasion be
public—if private, the master of the family—after an invocation of the gods, with
his eyes lifted up to heaven, thrice takes out each piece, and as they come up,
interprets their signification according to the marks fixed upon them." The sin and
folly of any people consulting an idol of wood about the success or otherwise of an
undertaking, or deciding whether by a species of teraphim or staff divination, is
sufficiently obvious. But the great aggravation of Israel's sin arose from the

143. circumstance not obscurely hinted by the possessive "my" attached to "people."
That a people like Israel, whom God had chosen from among the nations of the
earth and distinguished by special tokens of Divine favor, and to whom he had given
the ephod with the truly oracular Urim and Thummim, should forsake him and the
means he had given them of knowing his will, and turn aside to gods of wood,
evinced at once stupidity unaccountable and sin inexcusable. "The prophet," says
Calvin, "calls here the Israelites the people of God, not to honor them, but rather to
increase their sin; for the more heinous was the perfidy of the people, that, having
been chosen, they had afterwards forsaken their heavenly Father… ow this people,
that ought to be mine, consult their own wood, and their staff answers them!" For
the spirit of whoredoms hath caused them to err, and they have gone a-whoring
from under their God. In this part of the verse the prophet attempts to account for
the extreme folly and heinous sin of Israel, as described in the first clause. It was an
evil spirit, some demoniac power, that had inspired them with an insuperable
fondness for idolatry, which in prophetic language is spiritual adultery. The
consequence was a sad departure from the true God and a sinful wandering away
from his worship, notwithstanding his amazing condescension and love by which he
placed himself in the relation of a husband towards them.
13 They sacrifice on the mountaintops
and burn offerings on the hills,
under oak, poplar and terebinth,
where the shade is pleasant.
Therefore your daughters turn to prostitution
and your daughters-in-law to adultery.
BAR ES, "They sacrifice upon the tops of the mountains - The tops of hills or
mountains seemed nearer heaven, the air was purer, the place more removed from the
world. To worship the Unseen God upon them, was then the suggestion of natural
feeling and of simple devotion. God Himself directed the typical sacrifice of Isaac to take
place on a mountain; on that same mountain He commanded that the temple should be

144. built; on a mountain, God gave the law; on a mountain was our Saviour transfigured; on
a mountain was He crucified; from a mountain He ascended into heaven. Mountains and
hills have accordingly often been chosen for Christian churches and monasteries. But the
same natural feeling, misdirected, made them the places of pagan idolatry and pagan
sins. The Pagan probably also chose for their star and planet-worship, mountains or
large plains, as being the places from where the heavenly bodies might be seen most
widely.
Being thus connected with idolatry and sin, God strictly forbade the worship on the
high places, and (as is the case with so many of God’s commandments) man practiced it
as diligently as if He had commanded it. God had said, “Ye shall utterly destroy all the
places, wherein the nations, which ye shall possess, served their gods upon the high
mountains, and upon the hills and under every green tree” Deu_12:2. But “they set them
up images and groves (rather images of Ashtaroth) in every high hill and under every
green tree, and there they burnt incense in all the high place, as did the pagan whom the
Lord carried away before them” 2Ki_17:10-11. The words express, that this which God
forbade they did diligently; “they sacrificed much and diligently; they burned incense
much and diligently” ; and that, not here and there, but generally, “on the tops of the
mountains,” and, as it were, in the open face of heaven. So also Ezekiel complains, “They
saw every high hill and all the thick trees, and they offered there their sacrifices, and
there they presented the provocation of their offering; there also they made their sweet
savor, and poured out there their drink-offerings” Eze_20:28.
Under oaks - (white) poplars and elms (probably the terebinth or turpentine tree)
because the shadow thereof is good The darkness of the shadow suited alike the cruel
and the profligate deeds which were done in honor of their false gods. In the open face of
day, and in secret they carried on their sin.
Therefore their daughters shall commit whoredoms, and their spouses -
(or more probably, daughters-in-law) shall commit adultery Or (in the present) commit
adultery. The fathers and husbands gave themselves to the abominable rites of Baal-peor
and Ashtaroth, and so the daughters and daughters-in-law followed their example. This
was by the permission of God, who, since they “glorified not” God as they ought, “gave
them up,” abandoned them, “to vile affections.” So, through their own disgrace and
bitter griefs, in the persons of those whose honor they most cherished, they should learn
how ill they themselves had done, in departing from Him who is the Father and
Husband of every soul. The sins of the fathers descend very often to the children, both in
the way of nature, that the children inherit strong temptations to their parents’ sin, and
by way of example, that they greedily imitate, often exaggerate, them. Wouldest thou not
have children, which thou wouldest wish unborn, reform thyself. The saying may include
too sufferings at the hands of the enemy. “What thou dost willingly, that shall your
daughters and your daughters-in-law suffer against thine and their will.”
CLARKE, "Under oaks - ‫אלון‬ allon, from ‫אלל‬ alal, he was strong. Hence, the oak, in
Latin, is called robur; which word means also, strength, the oak being the strongest of all
the trees of the forest.
The shadow thereof is good - Their “daughters committed whoredom, and their
spouses committed adultery.”
1. Their deities were worshipped by prostitution.
2. They drank much in their idol worship, Hos_4:11, and thus their passions became

145. inflamed.
3. The thick groves were favorable to the whoredoms and adulteries mentioned here.
In imitation of these, some nations have their public gardens.
GILL, "They sacrifice upon the tops of the mountains,.... The highest part of
them, nearest to the heavens, where they built their altars to idols, and offered sacrifice
unto them, as we often read in Scripture they did:
and burn incense upon the hills; to their idols, which was one kind of sacrifice put
for all others:
under oaks, and poplars, and elms; and indeed under every green tree that grew
upon them, where there were groves of them raised up for this purpose; see Jer_2:20,
because the shadow, thereof is good; the shadow of these trees, of each of them,
was large, and preserved them from the sultry heat of the sun, as well as hid them from
the sight of men; they could perform their idolatrous rites, as well as gratify their impure
lusts, with more privacy and secrecy; and perhaps they thought the gods delighted in
such shady places, and that these were frequented by spirits, and the departed souls of
men; in such places the Heathens, whom the Jews imitated, built their temples, and
offered their sacrifices (g). The "oak" is a very spreading tree; its branches are large, and
its shadow very great: hence the religious Heathens in ancient times used to live under
them, and worship them as gods, and dedicate temples to them, because they furnished
them with acorns for food, and a shelter from the rain, and other inclemencies of the
heavens (h); particularly the oak was consecrated to Jupiter, as appears from what Virgil
says (i). The oak at Dodona is famous for its antiquity, where were a fountain and groves,
and a temple dedicated to the same Heathen deity; and from whence oracles were given
forth (k). The Druids here in Britain chose to have their groves of oaks; nor did they
perform any of their sacred rites without the leaves of them: hence Pliny (l) says they
had their name. The "poplar" mentioned is the white poplar, as the word used signifies,
and which affords a very hospitable shadow, as the poet (m) calls it; and this was a tree
also with the Heathens sacred to their gods, particularly to Hercules (n); because it is
said he brought it first into Greece from the river Acheron, where it grew; and the wood
of no other tree would the Eleans use, in preparing the sacrifices for Jupiter Olympius
(o). The "elm" is also a very shady tree; hence Virgil (p) calls it "ulmus opaca, ingens":
and under this tree sacrifices used to be offered to idols, as is evident from Eze_6:13,
where the same word is used as here, though it is there rendered an "oak"; but that it is
different from the oak appears from these two words being read together, so that they
cannot be names of one and the same tree, Isa_6:13, where it is rendered the "teil tree",
as distinct from the oak. Now these trees being very shady ones, and under which the
Gentiles used to perform their religious rites, the Jews imitated them therein, which is
here complained of.
Therefore your daughters shall commit whoredoms, and your spouses shall
commit adultery; or their "sons' wives" (q); either spiritually, that is, commit idolatry
by the example of their parents and husbands; or corporeally, being left at home while
their parents and husbands were worshipping their idols upon the mountains, as Aben
Ezra and Kimchi: and so this is to be considered as a punishment of the idolatry of their
parents and husbands; that as they commit spiritual adultery against God, or idolatry,
their daughters and wives shall be given up to such vile affections, or by force shall be

146. made to commit corporeal adultery against them; or rather the sense is, led by the
example of their parents and husbands, whom they see not only sacrifice to idols in the
above places, but commit uncleanness with harlots there, they will throw off all shame,
and commit whoredom with men: for so the words may be rendered, "hence your
daughters", &c.; so Abarbinel.
JAMISO , "upon ... mountains — High places were selected by idolaters on which
to sacrifice, because of their greater nearness to the heavenly hosts which they
worshipped (Deu_12:2).
elms — rather, “terebinths” [Maurer].
shadow ... good — screening the lascivious worshippers from the heat of the sun.
daughters ... commit whoredom ... spouses ... adultery — in the polluted
worship of Astarte, the Phoenician goddess of love.
BI, "They sacrifice upon the tops of the mountains, and burn incense upon the hills.
Blustering sinners
That is the bold aspect, that is the public phase; instead of doing all these things, as
Ezekiel would say, in a chamber of imagery far down, at which you get through a hole in
the wall, they go up to high places, and invite the sun to look upon them; they kiss the
calf in public. Some credit should be due to audacity, but there is another sin which
cannot be done on the tops of the mountains, so the charge continues,—“under oaks and
poplars and elms, because the shadow thereof is good.” Here is the secret aspect of
rebellion. Do not believe that the blusterer lives only in public as fool and criminal; do
not say, There is a fine frankness about this man anyhow; when he sins, he sins in high
places; he goes upon the mountains, and stamps his foot upon the high hills, and the
great hill throbs and vibrates under his sturdy step. That is not the whole man; he will
seek the oak, the poplar, and the elm, because the shadow thereof is good. It is a broad
shadow; it makes night in daytime; it casts such a shadow upon the earth which it covers
that it amounts to practical darkness. So the blustering sinner is upon the mountain,
trying to perpetrate some trick that shall deserve the commendation of being frank, and
when he has achieved that commendation he will seek the shadow that is good, the
shadow at daytime, the darkness underneath the noontide sun. How the Lord searches
us, and tries our life, and puts His fingers through and through us, that nothing may be
hidden from Him! He touches us at every point, and looks through us, and understands
us altogether. (Joseph Parker, D. D.)
CALVI , "Verse 13
The Prophet shows here more clearly what was the fornication for which he had
before condemned the people, — that they worshipped God under trees and on high
places. This then is explanatory, for the Prophet defines what he before understood
by the word, fornication; and this explanation was especially useful, nay, necessary.
For men, we know, will not easily give way, particularly when they can adduce some
color for their sins, as is the case with the superstitious: when the Lord condemns
their perverted and vicious modes of worship, they instantly cry out, and boldly
contend and say, “What! is this to be counted fornication, when we worship God?”
For whatever they do from inconsiderate zeal is, they think, free from every blame.

147. So the Papists of this day fix it as a matter beyond dispute that all their modes of
worship are approved by God: for though nothing is grounded on his word, yet
good intention (as they say) is to them more than a sufficient excuse. Hence they
dare proudly to clamour against God, whenever he condemns their corruptions and
abuses. Such presumption has doubtless prevailed from the beginning.
The Prophet, therefore, deemed it needful openly and distinctly to show to the
Israelites, that though they thought themselves to be worshipping God with pious
zeal and good intention, they were yet committing fornication. “It is fornication,” he
says, “when ye sacrifice under trees.” “What! has it not ever been a commendable
service to offer sacrifices and to burn incense to God?” Such being the design of the
Israelites, what was the reason that God was so angry with them? We may suppose
them to have fallen into a mistake; yet why did not God bear with this foolish
intention, when it was covered, as it has been stated, with honest and specious zeal?
But God here sharply reproves the Israelites, however much they pretended a great
zeal, and however much they covered their superstitions with the false title of God’s
worship: “It is nothing else,” he says, “but fornication.”
On tops of mountains, he says, they sacrifice, and on hills they burn incense, under
the oak and the poplar and the teil-tree, etc. It seemed apparently a laudable thing
in the Israelites to build altars in many places; for frequent attendance at the
temples might have stirred them up the more in God’s worship. Such is the plea of
the Papists for filling their temples with pictures; they say, “We are everywhere
reminded of God wherever we turn our eyes; and this is very profitable.” So also it
might have seemed to the Israelites a pious work, to set up God’s worship on hills
and on tops of mountains and under every tall tree. But God repudiated the whole;
he would not be in this manner worshipped: nay, we see that he was grievously
displeased. He says, that the faith pledged to him was thus violated; he says, that the
people basely committed fornication. Though the Prophet’s doctrine is at this day
by no means plausible in the world, so that hardly one in ten embraces it; we shall
yet contend in vain with the Spirit of God: nothing then is better than to hear our
judge; and he pronounces all fictitious modes of worship, however much adorned by
a specious guise, to be adulteries and whoredoms.
And we hence learn that good intention, with which the Papists so much please
themselves, is the mother of all wantonness and of all filthiness. How so? Because it
is a high offense against heaven to depart from the word of the Lord: for God had
commanded sacrifices and incense to be nowhere offered to him but at Jerusalem.
The Israelites transgressed this command. But obedience to God, as it is said in 1
Samuel 15:0, (17) is of more value with him than all sacrifices.
The Prophet also distinctly excludes a device in which the ungodly and hypocrites
take great delight: good, he says, was its shade; that is, they pleased themselves with
such devices. So Paul says that there is a show of wisdom in the inventions and
ordinances of men, (Colossians 2:23.) Hence, when men undertake voluntary acts of
worship, — which the Greeks call εθελοθρησκείας superstitions, being nothing else
than will-worship, — when men undertake this or that to do honor to God, there

148. appears to them a show of wisdom, but before God it is abomination only. At this
practice the Prophet evidently glances, when he says that the shade of the poplar, or
of the oak, or of teil-tree, was good; for the ungodly and the hypocrites imagined
their worship to be approved of God, and that they surpassed the Jews, who
worshipped God only in one place: “Our land is full of altars, and memorials of God
present themselves everywhere.” But when they thought that they had gained the
highest glory by their many altars, the Prophet says, that the shade indeed was
good, but that it only pleased wantons, who would not acknowledge their baseness.
He afterwards adds, Therefore your daughters shall play the wanton, and your
daughters-in-law shall become adulteresses: I will not visit your daughters and
daughters-in-law Some explain this passage as though the Prophet said, “While the
parents were absent, their daughters and daughters-in-law played the wanton.” The
case is the same at this day; for there is no greater liberty in licentiousness than
what prevails during vowed pilgrimages: for when any one wishes to indulge freely
in wantonness, she makes a vow to undertake a pilgrimage: an adulterer is ready at
hand who offers himself a companion. And again, when the husband is so foolish as
to run here and there, he at the same time gives to his wife the opportunity of being
licentious. And we know further, that when many women meet at unusual hours in
churches, and have their private masses, there are there hidden corners, where they
perpetrate all kinds of licentiousness. We know, indeed, that this is very common.
But the Prophet’s meaning is another: for God here denounces the punishment of
which Paul speaks in the Romans (18) when he says, ‘As men have transferred the
glory of God to dead things, so God also gave them up to a reprobate mind,’ that
they might discern nothing, and abandon themselves to every thing shameful, and
even prostitute their own bodies.
Let us then know, that when just and due honor is not rendered to God, this
vengeance deservedly follows, that men become covered with infamy. Why so?
Because nothing is more equitable than that God should vindicate his own glory,
when men corrupt and adulterate it: for why should then any honor remain to
them? And why, on the contrary, should not God sink them at once in some extreme
baseness? Let us then know, that this is a just punishment, when adulteries prevail,
and when vagrant lusts promiscuously follow.
BE SO , "Verse 13
Hosea 4:13. They sacrifice upon the tops of the mountains — The sacrificing upon
the mountains and in shady groves was an ancient piece of idolatry, often mentioned
and reproved by the prophets. They seem to have made choice of the tops of hills
and mountains for their sacrifices and religious rites, as places nearer heaven; but
what could be more absurd than to think that God, who is omnipresent, was nearer
to them on the hills or mountains than in the valleys? Israel, says St. Jerome, loves
high places, for they have forsaken the high God, and having left the substance are
attached to the shadow. And burn incense under oaks, poplars, and elms — Under
high and spreading trees. Because the shadow thereof is good — Extremely grateful
in those hot countries. Hence the Israelites were inclined to worship there. Therefore
your daughters shall commit whoredom — Therefore your punishment shall be

149. agreeable to your sin. As ye have committed spiritual whoredom, and have gone
after idols, and have not regarded the commands of God; so your daughters shall go
after their lusts, and commit whoredom, without any heed to your commands and
exhortations. Great depravity and corruption of manners are generally the
consequence of a disregard of God and religion.
COFFMA , "Verse 13
"They sacrifice upon the tops of the mountains, and burn incense upon the hills,
under oaks and poplars and terebinths, because the shadow thereof is good:
therefore your daughters play the harlot, and your brides commit adultery."
This verse enlarges upon the public conduct of the people who had turned away
from God to worship pagan idols. The places mentioned, the mountain tops and
hills, were chosen after the prejudice and blindness of paganism, because they were
alleged to be closer to the residence of the so-called gods they adored. The good
shades of large oaks, poplars and terebinths were also utilized as places of their
depraved worship, because of, "their affording relief from the scorching sun,
secrecy for licentious rites, and a sort of solemn awe felt in such shadows."[33]
Apparently, the mention of the terebinth tree was for the purpose of showing that
smaller and less ample shade trees were pressed into the service of pagan
worshippers, due to the proliferation of their godless rites. "The terebinth ("pistacia
terebinthus") was a small tree resembling the ash, but smaller, and the original
source of turpentine."[34]
God had specifically commanded that upon their entry into Canaan, the Israelites
should "utterly destroy" all of the places of pagan worship on the mountaintops and
high hills and under every green tree (Deuteronomy 12:2); but instead of obeying
God, they set up their own pagan idol worship in exactly the same places (2 Kings
17:10,11).
"Therefore your daughters play the harlot, and your brides commit adultery ..."
Smith noted that, "This is one of the few passages in the Old Testament which
deliberately places women upon the same level of responsibility as men."[35] Under
their pagan system, there was respect neither for womanhood nor the sacred ties of
marriage. Men who frequented high places and shrines and submitted to the
enticements of their immoral pleasures should not have been surprised that their
own wives and daughters also engaged in immorality. This passage "assumes that
God will judge men upon the same basis as women; there is no double sexual
ethic."[36]
TRAPP, "Verse 13
Hosea 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 commit whoredom, and your spouses shall commit
adultery.
Ver. 13 They sacrifice upon the tops of the mountains, and burn incense upon the

150. hills, &c.] As nearer to heaven; and in an apish imitation of the patriarchs, who,
before the tabernacle was set up, sacrificed in high places (as Abraham on Mount
Moriah, &c.), that their bodies being mounted, aloof, they might the better lift up
their hearts and eyes to heaven, saying, as it were, to all worldly cares and
cogitations, as Abraham did to his servants whom he left at the foot of the hill,
"Abide you here with the ass," Genesis 22:5. Jerome upon this place hath his note:
Israel, saith he, loveth high places, for they have forsaken the high God; and they
love the shadow, having left the substance. But what could be more absurd than to
think, as they did, that God, who is omnipresent, was nearer to them on hills and
high places, and farther off them in valleys. See Isaiah 57:7, Ezekiel 6:13. This they
had partly also learned of the heathens; from whom nevertheless God had shut
them up, as it were, in an island (so their land is called, Isaiah 20:6), that having
little commerce with them, they might not learn their manners. But our nature is
very catching this way; and doth as easily draw and suck idolatry to it as the lode
stone doth iron, or turpentine fire.
Under oaks, and poplars, and elms, because the shadow thereof is good] So they
proceed from one evil to another; for sin is infinite, and when a man is fallen down
one round of hell’s ladder he knows not where he shall stop, or how he shall step
back. These idolaters, as they had their high places in imitation of the patriarchs, so
their groves of shady trees consecrated to their idols; to strike reverence into their
hearts, as they conceited, and for the greater solemnity. Sin comes commonly
clothed with a show of reason, Exodus 1:10. Come, let us deal wisely, say they: yet
every oppressor is a fool, Proverbs 28:16. It will so blear the understanding that a
man shall think he hath reason to be mad, and that there is some sense in sinning.
But especially will worship hath a show of wisdom, Colossians 2:23, or the reason of
wisdom, as the word there signifieth, the very quintessence of it. Hence the Papists
write rationals, whole volumes of reason for their rites and ceremonies in divine
service, - the shadow is good, say these, therefore we get under trees. (See Dr
Sheldon’s Mark of the Beast, serm.) And John Hunt, a blasphemous Papist, in his
humble appendix to King James, chap. vi, was not afraid to say, That the God of the
Protestants is the most uncivil and evil mannered God of all those who have borne
the name of gods upon the earth; yea, worse than Pan, god of the clowns, which can
endure no ceremonies nor good manners at all. O tongue worthy to be pulled out,
cut in gobbets, and driven down the throat of this hideous blasphemer; for he could
not but know the God of the Protestants (as he scornfully termeth him) to be the
Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. Did not Rabshakeh rail after this rate upon
good Hezekiah, for taking down the high places and altars of God (as he called
them), which yet God well approved of? 2 Kings 18:22. Mr Burroughes maketh
mention of a lady in Paris, who, when she saw the bravery of a procession to a saint,
she cried out, Oh, how fine is our religion beyond that of the Huguenots? They have
a mean and beggarly religion, but ours is full of solemnity and bravery, &c. The
Catholics, in their supplication to King James for a toleration, plead that their
religion is ( inter cratera) so pleasing to nature, and so suitable to sense and reason,
that it must therefore needs be the right. A proper argument surely; and not all out
so convincing as that of Cenalis, Bishop of Auranches, who, writing against the

151. Christian congregation at Paris, and basely slandering their meetings, as if they
were to maintain whoredom, will, in conclusion, needfully prove (if he could) the
Catholics to be the true Church, because they had bells to call them together; but
the Huguenots had claps of harquebuses, or pistolets, for that purpose.
Therefore your daughters shall commit whoredom] Impune, they shall do it, and for
a punishment of your idolatry; and inasmuch as you have prostituted your souls
(that is, my spouse) to the devil, your houses shall be whore houses, to your utter
disgrace and heart break. Certain it is, that where there is most idolatry there is
most adultery; as at Rome, which is nothing else but a great brothel house, and hath
fully made good that of the poet;
“ Roma quod inverso delectaretur amore,
omen ab inverso nomine fecit Amor. ”
Thus God punished the idolatrous Ethnics, by delivering them up to passions of
dishonour, or vile affections; to Sodomitical practices, which did abase them below
those fourfooted beasts which they adored, Romans 1:23-24. Some put off all
manhood, became dogs, worse than dogs, scalded in their own grease, εξεκαυθησαν,
Romans 1:27, and this is there called a meet recompense, αντιµισθιαν, such as God
here threateneth. Mr Levely (a very learned interpreter) thinketh that when God
saith here, Your daughters shall commit wboredom, and your daughters-in-law (for
so he renders it) shall commit adultery, he meaneth it not of voluntary whoredom,
but of that which is forced, according to that of Amos to Amaziah Amos 7:17,
"Therefore thus saith the Lord thy wife shall be a harlot in the city, and thy sons
and daughters shall fall by the sword"; that is, thy wife shall be ravished by the
enemy. Theodoret also is of the same judgment.
PETT, "Verse 13
‘They sacrifice on the tops of the mountains, and burn incense on the hills, under
oaks and poplars and terebinths, because its shadow is good. Therefore your
daughters play the harlot, and your brides commit adultery.’
High places, (raised sites, especially in the hills), were ever a feature of Canaanite
religion and Baal worship, and Israel had been under instructions to destroy them
( umbers 33:52). Furthermore Israel had been warned against such high places lest
they come under God’s anger (Leviticus 26:30). The tops of mountains were seen by
idolaters as being nearest to the gods, which made them a favourite place for
erecting high places. There they sacrificed and burned incense to their gods.
Another favourite site for such high places was under green trees whose branches
offered shade from the burning heat, those being selected which had widespread
branches and thick foliage, of which examples are here given. They provided the
‘feel-good factor’, and were also seen as containing ‘life’ as demonstrated by their
greenness. The specific identity of the trees is not certain.

152. The consequence of this worship was that the young Israelite women were
introduced to illicit sex as a part of the religious ritual, with their young unmarried
women acting like prostitutes, and their newly wed brides committing adultery. As a
result the purity of the young women of Israel had become a thing of the past.
‘Because its shadow is good,’ possibly a satirical indication that that is all the good
that they can expect from it. It would not be what was in the mind of the
worshippers. They probably thought in terms of its protectiveness (compare Psalms
91:1).
K&D, "Verse 13
This whoredom is still further explained in the next verse. Hosea 4:13. “They
sacrifice upon the tops of the mountains, and upon the hills they burn incense,
under oak and poplar and terebinth, for their shadow is good; therefore your
daughters commit whoredom, and your daughters-in-law commit adultery.”
Mountain-tops and hills were favourite places for idolatrous worship; because men
thought, that there they were nearer to heaven and to the deity (see at Deuteronomy
12:2). From a comparison of these and other passages, e.g., Jeremiah 2:20 and
Jeremiah 3:6, it is evident that the following words, “under oak,” etc., are not to be
understood as signifying that trees standing by themselves upon mountains and hills
were selected as places for idolatrous worship; but that, in addition to mountains
and hills, green shady trees in the plains and valleys were also chosen for this
purpose. By the enumeration of the oak, the poplar ((lı̄bhneh), the white poplar
according to the Sept. in loc. and the Vulg. at Genesis 37:30, or the storax-tree, as
the lxx render it at Genesis 37:30), and the terebinth, the frequent expression
“under every green tree” (Deuteronomy 12:2; 1 Kings 14:23; Jeremiah 2:20;
Jeremiah 3:6) is individualized. Such trees were selected because they gave a good
shade, and in the burning lands of the East a shady place fills the mind with sacred
awe. ‫,על־כּן‬ therefore, on that account, i.e., not because the shadow of the trees
invites to it, but because the places for idolatrous worship erected on every hand
presented an opportunity for it; therefore the daughters and daughters-in-law
carried on prostitution there. The worship of the Canaanitish and Babylonian
goddess of nature was associated with prostitution, and with the giving up of young
girls and women (compare Movers, Phönizier, i. pp. 583, 595ff.).
PULPIT, "Hosea 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. The prophet
here enlarges on the sin of idolatry mentioned in the preceding verse, and explains
fully how it showed itself in the public life of the people. Two places are specified as
scenes of idolatrous worship: one was the tops of mountains and hills; the other
under every green tree, here specified as oaks, poplars, and terebinths, whether
growing alone or in groves, in vale or upland. The hills and mountain-tops were
selected on account of their elevation, as though the worshippers were thus brought
nearer to the objects of their adoration; the green trees as affording shade from the

153. scorching heat of an Eastern sun, secrecy for their licentious rites, and a sort of
solemn awe associated with such shadow. In such scenes they not only slew victims,
but burnt odors in honor of their idols. The resemblance to, if not imitation of, the
rites of heathenism in all this is obvious. Among the Greeks the oak was sacred to
Jupiter at Dodona, and among the old Britons the Druidical priests practiced their
superstitions in the shadow of the yaks. The poplar again was sacred to Hercules,
affording a most grateful shade; while in Ezekiel 6:13 we read that "under every
thick terebinth" was one of the places where "they did offer sweet savor to their
idols." The inveterate custom of these idolaters is implied in the Piel or iterative
form of the verb; the singular of the nouns, under oak and poplar and terebinth,
intimates that scene after scene of Israel's sin passes under the prophet's review,
each exciting his deep indignation; the mention of the goodly shadow seems
designed to heighten that feeling of just indignation, as though it came into
competition or comparison with "the shadow of the Almighty," the abiding-place of
him that "dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High." Therefore your daughters
shall commit whoredom, and your spouses (properly, daughters-in-law) shall
commit adultery. ‫ָה‬‫לּ‬ַ‫כּ‬ primarily signifies "bride," but for the parents of the
bridegroom, "daughter-in-law," its secondary sense. The bad example of the
parents acts upon their children and reacts upon themselves; on their children in
causing bad conduct, on themselves by way of chastisements. The parents had been
guilty of spiritual whoredom by their idolatry; their daughters and daughters-in-
law would commit whoredom in the literal and carnal sense. This would wound the
parents' feelings to the quick and pain them in the tenderest part. Their personal
honor would be compromised by such scandalous conduct on the part of their
daughters; their family honor would be wounded and the fair fame of posterity
tarnished by such gross misconduct on the part of the daughters-in-law. The
following observations are made on the last member of this thirteenth verse by the
Hebrew commentators: "Because the men of the house go out of the city to the high
mountains and under every green tree there to serve idols, therefore their daughters
and daughters-in-law have opportunity to commit whoredom and adultery"
(Kimchi). To like purpose Aben Ezra writes: "The sense is—On the bare mountains
and so on the hills they sacrifice; they say to the priests of Baal that they shall
sacrifice; and therefore, because the men go out of the cities in order to burn
incense, the daughters and daughters-in-law remain in the houses behind, therefore
they commit whoredom." Somewhat different is the explanation of Rashi: "Because
ye associate for idolatry after the manner of the heathen, and the heathen associate
with you, and ye form affinities with them, your daughters also who are born to you
by the daughters of the heathen conduct themselves after the manner of their
mothers, and commit whoredom."
14 “I will not punish your daughters

154. when they turn to prostitution,
nor your daughters-in-law
when they commit adultery,
because the men themselves consort with harlots
and sacrifice with shrine prostitutes—
a people without understanding will come to
ruin!
BAR ES, "I will not punish your daughters - God threatens, as the severest
woe, that He will not punish their sins with the correction of a Father in this present life,
but will leave the sinners, unheeded, to follow all iniquity. It is the last punishment of
persevering stoners, that God leaves them to prosper in their sins and in those things
which help them to sin. Hence, we are taught to pray, “O Lord, correct me, but in
judgment, not in Thine anger” Jer_10:24. For since God chastiseth those whom He
loveth, it follows, “if we be without chasetisement, whereof all are partakers, then are we
bastards, and not sons” Heb_12:8. To be chastened severely for lesser sins, is a token of
great love of God toward us; to sin on without punishment is a token of God’s extremest
displeasure, and a sign of reprobation. : “Great is the offence, if, when thou hast sinned,
thou art undeserving of the wrath of God.”
For themselves are separated with whores - God turns from them as unworthy
to be spoken to anymore, and speaks of them, They “separate themselves,” from whom?
and with whom? They separate themselves “from” God, and with the degraded ones and
“with” devils. Yet so do all those who choose willful sin.
And they sacrifice - (continually, as before) with (the) harlots The unhappy women
here spoken of were such as were “consecrated” (as their name imports) to their vile
gods and goddesses, and to prostitution. This dreadful consecration, yea desecration,
whereby they were taught to seek honor in their disgrace, was spread in different forms
over Phoenicia, Syria, Phrygia, Assyria, Babylonia. Ashtaroth, (the Greek Astarte) was its
chief object. This horrible worship prevailed in Midian, when Israel was entering the
promised land, and it suggested the devilish device of Balaam Num. 25; Num_31:8,
Num_31:16 to entangle Israel in sin whereby they might forfeit the favor of God. The like
is said to subsist to this day in pagan India. The sin was both the cause and effect of the
superstition. Man’s corrupt heart gave rise to the worship: and the worship in turn
fostered the corruption. He first sanctioned the sin by aid of a degrading worship of
nature, and then committed it under plea of that worship. He made his sin a law to him.
Women, who never relapsed into the sin, sinned in obedience to the dreadful law .
Blinded as they were, individual pagan had the excuse of their hereditary blindness; the
Jews had imperfect grace. The sins of Christians are self sought, against light and grace.

155. Therefore the people that doth not understand shall fall - The word
comprises both, “that doth not understand,” and, “that will not understand.” They might
have understood, if they would. God had revealed Himself to them, and had given to
them His law, and was still sending to them His prophets, so that they could not have
known and understood God’s will, had they willed. Ignorance, which we might avoid or
cure, if we would, is itself a sin. It cannot excuse sin. They shall, he says, fall, “or be cast
headlong.” Those who blind their eyes, so as not to see or understand God’s will, bring
themselves to sudden ruin, which hide from themselves, until they fall headlong in it.
CLARKE, "I will not punish - Why should you be stricken any more; ye will revolt
more and more. When God, in judgment, removes his judgments, the case of that people
is desperate. While there is hope, there is correction.
Themselves are separated - There is a reference here to certain debaucheries
which should not be described. The state of the people at this time must have been
abominable beyond all precedent; animal, sensual, bestial, diabolical: women
consecrating themselves to serve their idols by public prostitution; boys dismembered
like the Galli or priests of Cybele, men and women acting unnaturally; and all conjoining
to act diabolically.
GILL, "I will not punish your daughters when they commit whoredoms, nor
your spouses when they commit adultery,.... Either not punish them at all, so that
they shall go on in sin, and to a greater degree, to the disgrace and reproach of their
parents and husbands; or not as yet, or not so severely in them, because it was by their
example they were led into it. Jarchi's note is very impertinent, that God threatens them
with the disuse of the bitter waters of jealousy. The words are by some rendered
interrogatively, "shall I not punish your daughters?" &c. (r); verily I will; and not them
only, but their parents and husbands too, who deserve more severe corrections:
for themselves are separated with whores, and sacrifice with harlots; they
separated themselves to Baalpeor, that shameful idol, Hos_9:10, the Priapus of the
Gentiles, in whose idolatrous worship many obscene rites were used; these men
separated themselves from their wives, as well as from God and his worship, and from
the company and conversation of men, and in private committed uncleanness with the
women that attended, and with the female priests that officiated at the worship of idols;
those "sanctified" ones, as the word may be rendered; and after that ate of things offered
to idols with them. So the Targum,
"they associated themselves with whores, and ate and drank with harlots.''
Some versions understand the latter of catamites, or sodomitical persons, and of the
wickedness practised by them in such places.
Therefore the people that doth not understand; the law, as the Targum; what is
to be done, and what to be avoided; the difference between the true and false religion;
have no knowledge of divine and spiritual things, at least are very wavering and
unsettled in their minds about religion, having thought little, and know less, of the
matter:

156. shall fall: into idolatry and adultery, led by such examples. So the Septuagint version,
"is implicated with a whore"; or "embraces a whore", as the Syriac and Arabic versions;
see Pro_7:22 or shall fall into calamities, ruin, and destruction; shall be dashed, as the
Targum; so the Arabic interpreter of Mar_9:26, uses the word: though Aben Ezra and
Kimchi say, that in the Arabic language it signifies to be perplexed and disturbed, so as
not to know what to do (s). The first sense seems to be best, of being scandalized,
offended, and stumbling and falling into sin; and which Abarbinel suggests, and it agrees
with what follows concerning Judah.
HE RY, "The tokens of God's wrath against them for their sins. 1. Their wives and
daughters should not be punished for the injury and disgrace they did to their families
(Hos_4:14): I will not punish your daughters; and, not being punished for their sin,
they would go on in it. Note, The impunity of one sinner is sometimes made the
punishment of another. Or, “I will not punish them as I will punish you; for you must
own, as Judah did concerning his daughter-in-law, that they are more righteous than
you,” Gen_38:26. 2. They themselves should prosper for a while, but their prosperity
should help to destroy them. It comes in as a token of God's wrath (Hos_4:16): The Lord
will feed them as a lamb in a large place; they shall have a fat pasture, and a large one,
in which they shall be fed to the full, and fed of the best, but it shall be only to prepare
them for the slaughter, as a lamb is that is so fed. If they wax fat and kick, they do but
wax fat for the butcher. But others make them feed as a lamb on the common, a large
place indeed, but where it has short grass and lies exposed. The Shepherd of Israel will
turn them both out of his pastures and out of his protection. 3. No means should be used
to bring them to repentance (Hos_4:17): “Ephraim is joined to idols, is in love with them
and addicted to them, and therefore let him alone, as Hos_4:4, Let no man reprove him.
Let him be given up to his own heart's lusts, and walk in his own counsel; we would
have healed him, and he would not be healed, therefore forsake him,” See what their
end will be, Deu_32:20. Note, It is a sad and sore judgment for any man to be let alone
in sin, for God to say concerning a sinner, “He is joined to his idols, the world and the
flesh; he is incurably proud, covetous, or profane, an incurable drunkard or adulterer; let
him alone; conscience, let him alone; minister, let him alone; providences, let him alone.
Let nothing awaken him till the flames of hell do it.” The father corrects not the
rebellious son any more when he determines to disinherit him. “Those that are not
disturbed in their sin will be destroyed for their sin.” 4. They should be hurried away
with a swift and shameful destruction (Hos_4:19): The wind has bound her up in her
wings, to carry her away into captivity, suddenly, violently, and irresistibly; he shall take
them away as with a whirlwind, Psa_58:9. And then they shall be ashamed because of
their sacrifices, ashamed of their sin in offering sacrifice to idols, ashamed of their folly
in putting themselves to such an expense upon gods that have no power to help them,
and thereby making that God their enemy who has almighty power to destroy them.
Note, There are sacrifices that men will one day be ashamed of. Those that have
sacrificed their time, strength, honour, and all their comforts, to the world and the flesh,
will shortly be ashamed of it. Yea, and those that bring to God blind, and lame, and
heartless sacrifices, will be ashamed of them too.
JAMISO , "I will not punish ... daughters — I will visit with the heaviest
punishments “not” the unchaste “daughters and spouses,” but the fathers and husbands;
for it is these who “themselves” have set the bad example, so that as compared with the

157. punishment of the latter, that of the former shall seem as nothing [Munster].
separated with whores — withdrawn from the assembly of worshippers to some
receptacle of impurity for carnal connection with whores.
sacrifice with harlots — They commit lewdness with women who devote their
persons to be violated in honor of Astarte. (So the Hebrew for “harlots” means, as
distinguished from “whores”). Compare Num_25:1-3; and the prohibition, Deu_23:18.
not understand — (Isa_44:18; Isa_45:20).
shall fall — shall be cast down.
CALVI , "Verse 14
He then who worships not God, shall have at home an adulterous wife, and filthy
strumpets as his daughters, boldly playing the wanton, and he shall have also
adulterous daughters-in-law: not that the Prophet speaks only of what would take
place; but he shows that such would be the vengeance that God would take: ‘Your
daughters therefore shall play the wanton, and your daughters-in-law shall be
adulteresses;’ and I will not punish your daughters and your daughters-in-law; that
is, “I will not correct them for their scandalous conduct; for I wish them to be
exposed to infamy.” For this truth must ever stand firm,
‘Him who honors me, I will honor: and him who despises my name, I will make
contemptible and ignominious,’
(1 Samuel 2:30.)
God then declares that he will not visit these crimes, because he designed in this way
to punish the ungodly, by whom his own worship had been corrupted.
He says, Because they with strumpets separate themselves. Some explain this verb
‫,פדר‬ pered, as meaning, “They divide husbands from their wives:” but the Prophet,
no doubt, means, that they separated themselves from God, in the same manner as a
wife does, when she leaves her husband and gives herself up to an adulterer. The
Prophet then uses the word allegorically, or at least metaphorically: and a reason is
given, which they do not understand who take this passage as referring literally to
adulteries; and their mistake is sufficiently proved to be so by the next clause, ‘and
with strumpets they sacrifice.’ The separation then of which he speaks is this, that
they sacrificed with strumpets; which they could not do without violating their faith
pledged to God. We now apprehend the Prophet’s real meaning: ‘I will not punish, ’
he says, ‘wantonness and adulteries in your families.’ Why? “Because I would have
you to be made infamous, for ye have first played the wanton.”
But there is a change of person; and this ought to be observed: for he ought to have
carried on his discourse throughout in the second person, and to have said,
“Because ye have separated with strumpets, and accompany harlots;” this is the
way in which he ought to have spoken: but through excess, as it were, of
indignation, he makes a change in his address, ‘They,’ he says, ‘have played the
wanton,’ as though he deemed them unworthy of being spoken to. They have then

158. played the wanton with strumpets. By “strumpets”, he doubtless understands the
corruptions by which God’s worship had been perverted, even through wantonness:
“they sacrifice”, he says, “with strumpets”, that is, they forsake the true God, and
resort to whatever pollutions they please; and this is to play the wanton, as when a
husband, leaving his wife, or when a wife, leaving her husband, abandon themselves
to filthy lust. But it is nothing strange or unwonted for sins to be punished by other
sins. What Paul teaches ought especially to be borne in mind, that God, as the
avenger of his own glory, gives men up to a reprobate mind, and suffers them to be
covered with many most disgraceful things; for he cannot bear with them, when
they turn his glory to shame and his truth to a lie.
He afterwards adds, And the people, not understanding, shall stumble. They who
take the verb ‫,לבט‬ labeth, as meaning, “to be perverted,” understand it here in the
sense of being “perplexed:” nor is this sense inappropriate. The people then shall
not understand and be perplexed; that is, They shall not know the right way. But
the word means also “to stumble,” and still oftener “to fall;” and since this is the
more received sense, I am disposed to embrace it: The people then, not
understanding, shall stumble
The Prophet here teaches, that the pretence of ignorance is of no weight before God,
though hypocrites are wont to flee to this at last. When they find themselves without
any excuse they run to this asylum, — “But I thought that I was doing right; I am
deceived: but be it so, it is a pardonable mistake.” The Prophet here declares these
excuses to be vain and fallacious; for the people, who understand not, shall stumble
and that deservedly: for how came this ignorance to be in the people of Israel, but
that they, as it has been before said, willfully closed their eyes against the light?
When, therefore, men thus willfully determine to be blind, it is no wonder that the
Lord delivers them up to final destruction. But if they now flatter themselves by
pretending, as I have already said, a mistake, the Lord will shake off this false
confidence, and does now shake it off by his word. What then ought we to do? To
learn knowledge from his word; for this is our wisdom and our understanding, as
Moses says, in the fourth chapter of Deuteronomy. (19)
BE SO , "Verse 14
Hosea 4:14. I will not punish your daughters, &c. — I will suffer your daughters to
go on in their iniquity, and to fall from one degree of wickedness to another. For
themselves — That is, for yourselves; are separated with whores — That is, you go
aside and retire with the women who prostitute themselves in the groves, or in the
precincts of the idolatrous temples. And sacrifice with harlots — Hebrew, ‫הקדשׁות‬ ‫עם‬
, with women set apart, or consecrated to prostitution. The meaning is, that the
people partook in those rites of idolatrous worship in which prostitution made a
stated part of the religious festivity. Such lewd practices were frequent in the
heathen temples dedicated to Venus and other impure deities. The expressions seem
to allude to the practice mentioned Baruch 6:43, and minutely described by
Herodotus, lib. 1. cap. 199. Therefore the people that doth not understand shall fall
— Hebrew, ‫,ילבשׂ‬ shall be thrown down, prostrated, dashed to the ground, or

159. beaten, as the Vulgate renders it.
COFFMA , "Verse 14
"I will not punish your daughters when they play the harlot, nor your brides when
they commit adultery; for the men themselves go apart with harlots, and they
sacrifice with the prostitutes; and the people that doth not understand shall be
overthrown."
"I will not punish your daughters ... nor your brides ..." This does not mean that
God would allow such conduct, justifying it upon the basis of their husbands and
fathers also being sinners; but it has the effect of saying, "I will not punish them
apart from you, but I will overthrow all of you in total destruction." This clause
should therefore be read in conjunction with the last, "The people that doth not
understand shall be overthrown."
"With harlots ... with prostitutes ..." The two classes here are to distinguish between
ordinary women who were immoral and the "cult prostitutes" who were the
devotees and attendants of the pagan shrines, such female panderers to human lust
being designated "holy ones" in the perverted pagan culture. Both male and female
prostitutes were employed at the pagan shrines and high places; and these were
called "[~qadesh]," usually translated "sodomites," and "[~qedeshah]," translated
"prostitutes" in this passage.[37] These words actually mean "holy ones," after the
ancient meaning of the term holy, dedicated to a god. In the same sense, Christians
are called "holy"; "But of course, moral and ethical values enter when one is
dedicated to the true God."[38]
TRAPP, "Verse 14
Hosea 4:14 I will not 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.
Ver. 14. I will not punish your daughters when they commit whoredom] q.d. I will
not once foul my fingers with them, or be at pains to correct them but they shall
take their swing in sin for me &c. Origen in a certain homily, quoting this Scripture,
saith, Vis indignantis Dei terribilem vocem audire, &c. (Hom. 8 in Exodus 20:1-26):
Will you hear the terrible voice of a provoked God; hear it here, I will not punish,
&c. You shall be without chastisement, for an argument that you are bastards, and
not sons. ever was Jerusalem’s condition so desperate as the time when God said
unto her, "My fury shall depart from thee, I will be quiet and no more angry,"
Ezekiel 16:42. Feri, Domine, feri, cried Luther, Strike, Lord, strike, and spare not.
“ Ferre minora volo, ne graviora feram. ”
There is not a greater plague can befall a man than to prosper in sinful practices.
Bernard calleth it misericordiam omni indignatione crudeliorem, a killing courtesy.

160. Ezekiel 3:20, I will lay a stumbling block before him: that is, saith Vatablus, I will
prosper him in all things, and not by affliction restrain him from sin. Job surely
counts it for a great favour to sorry man, that God accounts him worth melting,
though it be every morning; and trying, though it be every moment, Job 7:17-18.
And Jeremiah calleth for correction as a thing that he could not well be without:
"Correct me, O Lord," &c.
For themselves are separated with whores] God seemeth to speak this to others by
change of person: Ac si puderet ipsum cum putidis hircis verba facere, as if he were
ashamed to speak any longer to such stinking goats (Rivet). Separates they were, but
of the worst sort. They separated themselves with harlots, they got into byways, far
from company (especially of those that know them), that they might more freely act
filthiness (Auson.). But what could the heathen say, Turpe quid acturus, Te sine
teste time. Shameful what he will do, fear you without witness. Conscience is a
thousand witnesses: and men must not think long to lie hidden; for God will be a
"swift witness against the adulterers," Malachi 3:5, {See Trapp on "Malachi 3:5"}
and, it may be, "bring them into all evil, in the midst of the congregation and
assembly," Proverbs 5:14. {See Trapp on "Proverbs 5:14"} Some render it, they
beget bastards, such as the mule is (which also hath his name pered, from this root,
yithparedu). Or they shall be unfruitful as the mule. Wantonness is commonly
punished with want of children. {See Trapp on "Hosea 4:10"} Those children that
they had took after them, it appeareth here, they were naught by kind, as being an
adulterous generation, a seed of evildoers, a race of rebels; and therefore it was no
matter how little they multiplied. Let those that have children, and others under
their charge, keep home as much as may be; and not be separate from their families
(with whores especially), lest their daughters meanwhile commit whoredom
(counted but a trick of youth, a sin that that slippery age may easily slip into, and
not easily be descried, Proverbs 30:19), and their spouses commit adultery, by
occasion of their lewd absence, and to cry quittance with them at home. Let them
also make ebuchadnezzar’s law, that none under their roof say or do aught
"against the God of heaven," Daniel 3:29; and themselves be first in the practice of
it, as so many living laws, walking statutes; so may they hope to keep their houses
chaste and honest, and provide for the credit and comfort both of themselves and of
theirs.
And they sacrifice with harlots] Heb. Holy harlots, sacrificing harlots, such as
Solomon speaketh of, Proverbs 7:14, and as those wicked women that lay with Eli’s
sons at the door of the tabernacle, 1 Samuel 2:22. Or as King Edward IV’s holy
whore, as he used to call her, that came to him out of a nunnery, when he wished to
send for her (Speed). His kinsman, Louis XI of France (knowing his disposition),
invited him to the court, promising him his choice of beauties there, and
adhibebimus tibi Cardinalem Burbonium, then shall Cardinal Bourbon impose
penance on you, and absolve you of all your misdoings (Comin.) It is well enough
known what foul work the heathens made at their sacra Eleusinia, Bacchanalia,
Lupercalia, Priapdia (the same with the sacrificing to Baal Peor, as Jerome holds).

161. And to these this text may seem to refer; and this people too have separated
themselves to that shame.
Therefore the people that doth not understand shall fall] Heb. shall be beaten, as
some render it, shall be perplexed, and troubled, so as they know not what to do, or
how to help themselves, as Aben Ezra from the Arabic. The Chaldee interprets it
collidetur, shall be dashed in pieces. Ignorance is much instanced and threatened in
this chapter, three or four different times at least. ot because men sin only by
ignorance, as the Platonists think, Omnis peccans est ignorans; but, 1. To aggravate
the hatefulness of this: sin, which men use so to excuse and extenuate; 2. To taunt
and abase the rebellious nature of man, who now is set in gross ignorance, and
ready to pitch headlong into hell, as the just reward of his aspiring and reaching
after forbidden knowledge; 3. Because ignorance (affected especially) is the source
of many sins, and a main support of Satan’s kingdom. {See Trapp on "Hosea 4:1"}
{See Trapp on "Hosea 4:6"} &c.
PETT, "Verse 14
‘I will not punish your daughters when they play the harlot, nor your brides when
they commit adultery, for the men themselves go apart with harlots, and they
sacrifice with the prostitutes, and the people who do not understand will be
overthrown.’
YHWH then pointed out that He would not punish the young women for their
behaviour because they were only following the example of their elders. For their
men-folk also went apart with cult prostitutes or drunken female worshippers, and
offered sacrifices with prostitutes instead of with and on behalf of their wives. This
would have brought up short those in Israel who blamed the young women of Israel
for their licentiousness, and yet excused their men-folk who were equally guilty.
And at the bottom of this all this perverse sexual behaviour lay a lack of
understanding of the will of YHWH. They had persuaded themselves that they were
encouraging nature to become fertile as a result of ‘sympathetic magic’ by which
nature would follow heir example, and failed to recognise how much they were
debasing themselves and dishonouring child-bearing. Thus this people who ‘do not
understand’ (compare Hosea 4:11), partly because they are licentious and drunk,
will be ‘overthrown’. They will receive what is due to them from YHWH at the
hands of their enemies.
K&D, "Verse 14
“I will not visit it upon your daughters that they commit whoredom, nor upon your
daughters-in-law that they commit adultery; for they themselves go aside with
harlots, and with holy maidens do they sacrifice: and the nation that does not see is
ruined.” God would not punish the daughters and daughters-in-law for their
whoredom, because the elder ones did still worse. “So great was the number of
fornications, that all punishment ceased, in despair of any amendment” (Jerome).
With ‫הם‬ ‫כּי‬ God turns away from the reckless nation, as unworthy of being further
addressed or exhorted, in righteous indignation at such presumptuous sinning, and
proceed to speak about it in the third person: for “they (the fathers and husbands,

162. not 'the priest,' as Simson supposes, since there is no allusion to them here) go,” etc.
‫,פּרד‬ (piel) in an intransitive sense, to separate one's self, to go aside for the purpose
of being alone with the harlots. Sacrificing with the (qedēshōth), i.e., with
prostitutes, or Hetairai (see at Genesis 38:14), may have taken its rise in the
prevailing custom, viz., that fathers of families came with their wives to offer yearly
sacrifices, and the wives shared in the sacrificial meals (1 Samuel 1:3.). Coming to
the altar with Hetairai instead of their own wives, was the climax of shameless
licentiousness. A nation that had sunk so low and had lost all perception must
perish. ‫לבט‬ = Arab. (lbṭ): to throw to the earth; or in the niphal, to cast headlong
into destruction (Proverbs 10:8, Proverbs 10:10).
PULPIT, "Hosea 4:14
I will not punish your daughters when they commit whoredom, nor your spouses
when they commit adultery. The spiritual adultery of parents and husbands would
be punished by the carnal adultery of daughters and wives; sin would thus be
punished by sin. Their own dishonor and disgrace, through the unfaithfulness of
persons so near to them, would impress them with a sense of the dishonor done to
God, the spiritual Husband of his people; their feeling of pain and shame in
consequence would convey to them a clearer notion of the abhorrence which their
offences had occasioned to God. But their punishment would become more severe,
and their pain intensified by the Divine refusal to avenge them by punishing the
lewdness that caused such dishonor. While punishment would prevent the sin and
consequent reproach, impunity, or the postponement of punishment, would leave
the offenders to go on in their course of sin and shame. Aben Ezra comments on this
fourteenth verse as follows: "The sense is—It is not to be wondered at if the
daughters commit whoredom; for they themselves, when they go up to the tops of
the mountains to burn in-cerise, eat and drink with harlots and commit
whoredom—all of them. And, behold, the sense is, not that he shall not punish them
at all, but he speaks in regard to, i.e. in comparison with, the fathers; for they teach
them to commit whoredom doing according to their works. Perhaps the daughters
are still little, therefore I shall not punish." Rashi thinks that this threatening refers
to the disuse of the bitter waters of jealousy, so that suspected guilt could not be
detected. But there is nothing to intimate such a reference; nor would it be in
keeping with the scope of the passage. Again, some, as in the margin of the
Authorized Version, read the words, not indicatively, but interrogatively—"Shall I
not punish," etc.? This would require such a meaning to be read into the passage as
the following: "Assuredly I shall punish them; and not the daughters and
daughters-in-law only, but the parents and husbands still more severely, because of
their greater criminality." Equally unsatisfactory is the explanation of Theodoret,
who, taking ‫ַד‬‫ק‬ָ‫פ‬ in a good sense, which it has with the accusative, understands it of
God's refusing any protection or preservation of their daughters and spouses from
outrage at the hands of a hostile soldiery, so that such sins as they themselves had
been guilty in private, would be committed with the females of their family in
public. For they themselves are separated with whores, and they sacrifice with
harlots. The change of person appears to imply that God turns away with
inexpressible disgust from such vileness, and, turning aside to a third party,

163. explains the grounds of his procedure. The Qedesheth were females who devoted
themselves to licentiousness in the service of Ashtaroth, the Sidonian Venus. Persons
of this description were attached to idol temples and idolatrous worship in heathen
lands in ancient times, as in India at the present time. The 'Speaker's Commentary'
calls them "devotee-harlots," and cites an allusion to the custom from the Moabite
Stone, as follows: "I did not kill the women and maidens, for I devoted them to
Ashtar-kemosh." After stating the humiliating fact that fathers and husbands in
Israel, instead of uniting with their wives in the worship of Jehovah, separated
themselves, going aside with these female idolaters for the purpose of lewdness, and
shared in their sacrificial feasts, the prophet, or rather God by the prophet,
impatient of the recital of such shameless licentiousness, and indignant at such
presumptuous sinning, closes abruptly with the declaration of the recklessness, and
denunciation of the ruin of all such offenders, in the words—the people that doth
not understand shall fall; margin, be punished; rather, dashed to the ground, or
plunge into ruin (nilbat). Both Aben Ezra and Kimchi give from the Arabic, as an
alternative sense of silbat, to fall into error.
15 “Though you, Israel, commit adultery,
do not let Judah become guilty.
“Do not go to Gilgal;
do not go up to Beth Aven.[c]
And do not swear, ‘As surely as the Lord lives!’
BAR ES, "Let not Judah offend - The sentence of Israel had been pronounced;
she had been declared incorrigible. The prophet turns from her now to Judah. Israel had
abandoned God’s worship, rejected or corrupted His priests, given herself to the worship
of the calves; no marvel what further excess of riot she run into! But Judah, who had the
law and the temple and the service of God, let not her, (he would say,) involve herself in
Israel’s sin. If Israel, in willful blindness, had plunged herself in ruin, let not Judah
involve herself in her sin and her ruin. He turns (as elsewhere) incidentally to Judah.
Come ye not unto Gilgal - Gilgal lay between Jericho and the Jordan. There, ten
furlongs from the Jordan, first in all the promised land, the people encamped; there

164. Joshua placed the monument of the miraculous passage of the Jordan; there he renewed
the circumcision of the people which had been intermitted in the wilderness, and the
feast of the passover; there the people returned, after all the victories by which God gave
them possession of the land of promise Jos_4:19-20; Jos_5:9-10; Jos_9:6; Jos_10:6-9,
Jos_10:43; Jos_14:6. There Samuel habitually sacrificed, and there, “before the Lord,” i.
e., in His special covenanted presence, he publicly made Saul king 1Sa_10:8; 1Sa_11:14-
15; 1Sa_13:4-9; 1Sa_15:21, 1Sa_15:33. It was part of the policy of Jeroboam to take hold
of all these associations, as a sort of set-off against Jerusalem and the temple, from
which he had separated his people. In opposition to this idolatry, Elisha for a time,
established there one of the schools of the prophets 2Ki_4:38.
Neither go ye up to Bethaven - “Bethaven,” literally, “house of vanity,” was a city
East of “Bethel” Jos_7:2, “the house of God.” But since Jeroboam had set up the worship
of the calves at Bethel, Bethel had ceased to be “the house of God,” and had become “a
house or temple of vanity;” and so the prophet gave it no more its own name which was
associated with the history of the faith of the patriarchs, but called it what it had
become. In Bethel God had twice appeared to Jacob, when he left the land of promise
Gen_28:10, Gen_28:19 a to go to Laban, and when he returned Gen_35:1, Gen_35:9.
There also the ark of God was for a time in the days of the judges removed from Shiloh
Jdg_20:26-27, near to which on the south Jdg_21:19 Bethel lay. It too Jeroboam
profaned by setting up the calf there. To these places then, as being now places of the
idolatry of Israel, Judah is forbidden to go, and then to “swear, the Lord liveth.” For to
swear by the Lord in a place of idolatry would be to associate the living God with idols
Zep_1:5, which God expressly forbade.
CLARKE, "Let not Judah offend - Israel was totally dissolute; Judah was not so.
Here she is exhorted to maintain her integrity. If the former will go to what was once
Beth-el, the house of God, now Beth-aven, the house of iniquity, because Jeroboam has
set up his calves there, let not Judah imitate them. Gilgal was the place where the
covenant of circumcision was renewed when the people passed over Jordan; but was
rendered infamous by the worship of idols, after Jeroboam had set up his idolatry.
GILL, "Though thou, Israel, play the harlot, yet let not Judah offend,.... That
is, though the Israelites, the people of the ten tribes, committed adultery, both corporeal
and spiritual, in their idolatrous worship, as before observed, to which they had been
used ever since the times of Jeroboam the first, and were hardened therein, and from
which there were little hopes of reforming them; yet let not the men of Judah be guilty of
the same crimes, who have as yet retained the pure worship of God among them; where
the house of God is, and the priests of the Lord officiate, and sacrifices are offered up to
him according to his will, and all other parts of religious service are performed: or the
whole seems to be directed to Israel, as an exhortation to them, that though they had
given into such abominations, yet should be careful not to offend Judah, or cause them
to stumble and fall, and become guilty of the same sins, and so be exposed to the same
punishment; and which would be an aggravation of Israel's sin, to draw others into it
with them:
and come not ye unto Gilgal, neither go ye up to Bethaven; to worship idols in
those places; otherwise it might be lawful to go to them on any civil accounts: Gilgal was

165. upon the borders of the ten tribes, between them and Judah, where Joshua circumcised
the Israelites; kept the first passover in the land; and where the ark and tabernacle were
for a time; and perhaps for these reasons was chosen for a place of idolatrous worship:
Bethaven is the same with Bethel, the name Jacob gave it, signifying the house of God;
but when Jeroboam set up one of his calves here, the prophets, by way of contempt,
called it Bethaven, the house of iniquity, or the house of an idol; though there was a
place called Bethaven near Bethel, and Ai, as Kimchi observes, and as appears from Jos_
7:2, yet Bethel was sometimes so called, as it seems to be here, because of the idolatry in
it; and so the Talmudists (u) say, the place called Bethel is now called Bethaven. Now the
question is, whether Judah or Israel are here addressed; many interpreters carry it in the
former sense, as if the men of Judah were dissuaded from going to these places for
worship, when the temple, the proper place of worship, was in their own tribe; but the
speech seems rather to be directed to the Israelites, to stop going to these places for
worship; for being so near to Judah, they might be the means of ensnaring and drawing
them into the same idolatrous practices:
nor swear, the Lord liveth; or swear by the living God, so long as they worshipped
idols; for it was not well pleasing to God to have his name used by idolaters, or joined
with their idols: especially as they meant their idol when they swore by the Lord.
HE RY, " The warning given to Judah not to sin after the similitude of Israel's
transgression. It is said in the close of Hos_4:14, Those that do not understand shall
fall; those must needs fall that do not understand how to avoid, or get over, the
stumbling-blocks they meet with (and therefore let him that thinks he stands take heed
lest he fall), particularly the two tribes (Hos_4:15): Though thou, Israel, play the harlot,
yet let not Judah offend. Though Israel be given to idolatry, yet let not Judah take the
infection. Now, 1. This was a very needful caution. The men of Israel were brethren, and
near neighbours, to the men of Judah; Israel was more numerous, and at this time in a
prosperous condition, and therefore there was danger lest the men of Judah should
learn their way and get a snare to their souls. Note, The nearer we are to the infection of
sin the more need we have to stand upon our guard. 2. It was a very rational caution:
“Let Israel play the harlot, yet let not Judah do so; for Judah has greater means of
knowledge than Israel, has the temple and priesthood, and a king of the house of David;
from Judah Shiloh is to come; and for Judah God has reserved great blessings in store;
therefore let not Judah offend, for more is expected from them than from Israel, they
will have more to answer for if they do offend, and from them God will take it more
unkindly. If Israel play the harlot, let not Judah do so too, for then God will have no
professing people in the world.” God bespeaks Judah here, as Christ does the twelve,
when many turned their backs upon him, Will you also go away? Joh_6:67. Note, Those
that have hitherto kept their integrity should, for that reason, still hold it fast, even in
times of general apostasy. Now, to preserve Judah from offending as Israel had done,
two rules are here given: - (1.) That they might not be guilty of idolatry they must keep at
a distance from the places of idolatry: Come not you unto Gilgal, where all their
wickedness was (Hos_9:15; Hos_12:11); there they multiplied transgression (Amo_
4:4); and perhaps they contracted a veneration for that place because there it was said to
Joshua, The place where thou standest is holy ground (Jos_5:15); therefore they are
forbidden to enter into Gilgal, Amo_5:5. And for the same reason they must not go up to
Bethel, here called the house of vanity, for so Bethaven signifies, not the house of God,
as Bethel signifies. Note, Those that would be kept from sin, and not fall into the devil's
hands, must studiously avoid the occasions of sin and not come upon the devil's ground.
(2.) That they might not be guilty of idolatry they must take heed of profaneness, and not

166. swear, The Lord liveth. They are commanded to swear, The Lord liveth in truth and
righteousness (Jer_4:2); and therefore that which is here forbidden is swearing so in
untruth and unrighteousness, swearing rashly and lightly, or falsely and with deceit, or
swearing by the Lord and the idol, Zep_1:5. Note, Those that would be steady in their
adherence to God must possess themselves with an awe and reverence of God, and
always speak of him with solemnity and seriousness; for those that can make a jest of the
true God will make a god of any thing.
JAMISO , "Though Israel’s ten tribes indulge in spiritual harlotry, at least thou,
Judah, who hast the legal priesthood, and the temple rites, and Jerusalem, do not follow
her bad example.
Gilgal — situated between Jordan and Jericho on the confines of Samaria; once a holy
place to Jehovah (Jos_5:10-15; 1Sa_10:8; 1Sa_15:21); afterwards desecrated by idol-
worship (Hos_9:15; Hos_12:11; Amo_4:4; Amo_5:5; compare Jdg_3:19, Margin).
Beth-aven — that is, “house of vanity” or idols: a name substituted in contempt for
Beth-el, “the house of God”; once sacred to Jehovah (Gen_28:17, Gen_28:19; Gen_
35:7), but made by Jeroboam the seat of the worship of the calves (1Ki_12:28-33; 1Ki_
13:1; Jer_48:13; Amo_3:14; Amo_7:13). “Go up” refers to the fact that Beth-el was on a
hill (Jos_16:1).
nor swear, The Lord liveth — This formula of oath was appointed by God Himself
(Deu_6:13; Deu_10:20; Jer_4:2). It is therefore here forbidden not absolutely, but in
conjunction with idolatry and falsehood (Isa_48:1; Eze_20:39; Zep_1:5).
CALVI , "Verse 15
The Prophet here complains that Judah also was infected with superstitions, though
the Lord had hitherto wonderfully kept them from pollutions of this kind. He
compares Israel with Judah, as though he said, “It is no wonder that Israel plays the
wanton; they had for a long time shaken off the yoke; their defection is well known:
but it is not to be endured, that Judah also should begin to fall away into the same
abominations.” We now then perceive the object of the comparison. From the time
that Jeroboam led after him the ten tribes, the worship of God, we know, was
corrupted; for the Israelites were forbidden to ascend to Jerusalem, and to offer
sacrifices there to God according to the law. Altars were at the same time built,
which were nothing but perversions of divine worship. This state of things had now
continued for many years. The Prophet therefore says, that Israel was like a filthy
strumpet, void of all shame; nor was this to be wondered at, for they had cast away
the fear of God: but that Judah also should forsake God’s pure worship as well as
Israel, — this the Prophet deplores, If then thou Israel playest the wanton, let not
Judah at least offend
We here see first, how difficult it is for those to continue untouched without any
stain, who come in contact with pollutions and defilements. This is the case with any
one that is living among Papists; he can hardly keep himself entire for the Lord; for
vicinity, as we find, brings contagion. The Israelites were separated from the Jews,
and yet we see that the Jews were corrupted by their diseases and vices. There is,
indeed, nothing we are so disposed to do as to forsake true religion; inasmuch as

167. there is naturally in us a perverse lust for mixing with it some false and ungodly
forms of worship; and every one in this respect is a teacher to himself: what then is
likely to take place, when Satan on the other hand stimulates us? Let all then who
are neighbors to idolaters beware, lest they contract any of their pollutions.
We further see, that the guilt of those who have been rightly taught is not to be
extenuated when they associate with the blind and the unbelieving. Though the
Israelites boasted of the name of God, they were yet then alienated from pure
doctrine, and had been long sunk in the darkness of errors. There was no religion
among them; nay, they had hardly a single pure spark of divine light. The Prophet
now brings this charge against the Jews, that they differed not from the Israelites,
and yet God had to that time carried before them the torch of light; for he suffered
not sound doctrine to be extinguished at Jerusalem, nor throughout the whole of
Judea. The Jews, by not profiting through this singular kindness of God, were
doubly guilty. This is the reason why the Prophet now says, Though Israel is become
wanton, yet let not Judah offend
Come ye not to Gilgal, he says, and ascend not into Beth- aven. Here again he points
out the superstitions by which the Israelites had vitiated the pure worship of God;
they had built altars for themselves in Bethel and Gilgal, where they pretended to
worship God.
Gilgal, we know, was a celebrated place; for after passing through Jordan, they
built there a pillar as a memorial of that miracle; and the people no doubt ever
remembered so remarkable an instance of divine favor: and the place itself retained
among the people its fame and honorable distinction. This in itself deserved no
blame: but as men commonly pervert by abuse every good thing, so Jeroboam, or
one of his successors, built a temple in Gilgal; for the minds almost of all were
already possessed with some reverence for the place. Had there been no distinction
belonging to the place, he could not have so easily inveigled the minds of the people;
but as a notion already prevailed among them that the place was holy on account of
the miraculous passing over of the people, Jeroboam found it easier to introduce
there his perverted worship: for when one imagines that the place itself pleases God,
he is already captivated by his own deceptions. The same also must be said of
Bethel: its name was given it, we know, by the holy father Jacob, because God
appeared there to him.
‘Terrible,’ he said, ‘is this place; it is the gate of heaven,’
(Genesis 28:17.)
He hence called it Bethel, which means the house of God. Since Jacob sacrificed
there to God, posterity thought this still allowable: for hypocrites weigh not what
God enjoins, but catch only at the Fathers’ examples, and follow as their rule
whatever they hear to have been done by the Fathers.
As then foolish men are content with bare examples, and attend not to what God
requires, so the Prophet distinctly inveighs here against both places, even Bethel and

168. Gilgal. “Come not”, he says, to Gilgal, and ascend not into Beth-aven But we must
observe the change of name made by the Prophet; for he calls not the place by its
honorable name, Bethel, but calls it the house of iniquity. It is indeed true that God
revealed himself there to his servant Jacob; but he intended not the place to be
permanently fixed for himself, he intended not that there should be a perpetual altar
there: the vision was only for a time. Had the people been confirmed in their faith,
whenever the name of the place was heard, it would have been a commendable
thing; but they departed from the true faith, for they despised the sure command of
God, and preferred what had been done by an individual, and were indeed
influenced by a foolish zeal. It is no wonder then that the Prophet turns praise into
blame, and allows not the place to be, as formerly, the House of God, but the house
of iniquity. We now see the Prophet’s real meaning.
I return to the reproof he gives to the Jews: he condemns them for leaving the
legitimate altar and running to profane places, and coveting those strange modes of
worship which had been invented by the will or fancy of men. “What have you to
do,” he says, “with Gilgal or Bethel? Has not God appointed a sanctuary for you at
Jerusalem? Why do ye not worship there, where he himself invites you?” We hence
see that a comparison is to be understood here between Gilgal and Bethel on the one
hand, and the temple, built by God’s command on mount Zion, in Jerusalem, on the
other. Moreover, this reproof applies to many in our day. So to those who
sagaciously consider the state of things in our age, the Papists appear to be like the
Israelites; for their apostasy is notorious enough: there is nothing sound among
them; the whole of their religion is rotten; every thing is depraved. But as the Lord
has chosen us peculiarly to himself, we must beware, lest they should draw us to
themselves, and entangle us: for, as we have said, we must ever fear contagion;
inasmuch as nothing is more easy than to become infected with their vices, since our
nature is to vices ever inclined.
We are further reminded how foolish and frivolous is the excuse of those who, being
satisfied with the examples of the Fathers, pass by the word of God, and think
themselves released from every command, when they follow the holy Fathers. Jacob
was indeed, among others, worthy of imitation; and yet we learn from this place,
that the pretence that his posterity made for worshipping God in Bethel was of no
avail. Let us then know that we cannot be certain of being right, except when we
obey the Lord’s command, and attempt nothing according to men’s fancy, but
follow only what he bids. It must also be observed, that a fault is not extenuated
when things, now perverted, have proceeded-from a good and approved origin. As
for instance the Papists, when their superstitions are condemned, ever set up this
shield, “O! this has arisen from a good source.” But what sort of thing is it? If
indeed we judge of it by what it is now, we clearly see it to be an impious
abomination, which they excuse by the plea that it had a good and holy beginning.
Thus in baptism we see how various and how many deprivations they have mixed
together. Baptism has indeed its origin in the institution of Christ: but no
permission has been given to men to deface it by so many additions. The origin then
of baptism affords the Papists no excuse, but on the contrary renders double their

169. sin; for they have, by a profane audacity, contaminated what the Son of God has
appointed. But there is in their mass a much greater abomination: for the mass, as
we know, is in no respect the same with the holy supper of our Lord. There are at
least some things remaining in baptism; but the mass is in nothing like Christ’s holy
supper: and yet the Papists boast that the mass is the supper. Be it so, that it had
crept in, and that through the craft of Satan, and also through the wickedness or
depravity of men: but whatever may have been its beginning, it does not wipe away
the extreme infamy that belongs to the mass: for, as it is well known, they abolish by
it the only true sacrifice of Christ; they ascribe to their own devices the expiation
which was made by the death of the Son of God. And here we have not only to
contend with the Papists, but also with those wicked triflers, who proudly call
themselves icodemians. For these indeed deny that they come to the mass, because
they have any regard for the Papistic figment; but because they say that there is set
forth a commemoration of Christ’s supper and of his death. Since Bethel was
formerly turned into Beth-aven, what else at this day is the mass? Let us then ever
take heed, that whatever the Lord has instituted may remain in its own purity, and
not degenerate; otherwise we shall be guilty, as it has been said, of the impious
audacity of those who have changed the truth into a lie. We now understand the
design of what the Prophet teaches, and to what purposes it may be applied.
He at last subjoins, And swear not, Jehovah liveth The Prophet seems here to
condemn what in itself was right: for to swear is to profess religion, and to testify
our profession of it; particularly when men swear honestly. But as this formula,
which the Prophet mentions, was faultless, why did God forbid to swear by his
name, and even in a holy manner? Because he would reign alone, and could not bear
to be connected with idols; for
“what concord,’ says Paul, ‘has Christ with Belial? How can light agree with
darkness?’ (2 Corinthians 6:15 :)
so God would allow of no concord with idols. This is expressed more fully by
another Prophet, Zephaniah, when he says,
‘I will destroy those who swear by the living God,
and swear by their king,’ (Zephaniah 1:5.)
God indeed expressly commands the faithful to swear by his name alone in
Deuteronomy 6:0 (20) and in other places: and further, when the true profession of
religion is referred to, this formula is laid down,
‘They shall swear, The Lord liveth,’ (Jeremiah 4:2.)
But when men associated the name of God with their own perverted devices, it was
by no means to be endured. The Prophet then now condemns this perfidy, Swear
not, Jehovah liveth; as though he said, “How dare these men take God’s name, when
they abandon themselves to idols? for God allows his name only to his own people.”
The faithful indeed take God’s name in oaths as it were by his leave. Except the

170. Lord had granted this right, it would have certainly been a sacrilege. But we borrow
God’s name by his permission: and it is right to do so, when we keep faith with him,
when we continue in his service; but when we worship false gods, then we have
nothing to do with him, and he takes away the privilege which he has given us. Then
he says, ‘Ye shall not henceforth blend the name of the only true God with idols.’
For this he cannot endure, as he declares also in Ezekial,
Go ye, serve your idols; I reject all your worship.’
[Ezekiel 20:39 ]
The Lord was thus grievously offended, even when sacrifices were offered to him.
Why so? Because it was a kind of pollution, when the Jews professed to worship
him, and then went after their ungodly superstitions. We now then perceive the
meaning of this verse. It follows —
BE SO , "Verse 15
Hosea 4:15. Though, &c. — “Here,” says Bishop Horsley, “a transition is made,
with great elegance and animation, from the general subject of the whole people, in
both its branches, to the kingdom of the ten tribes in particular.” Though thou,
Israel, play the harlot — Though thou followest after idols; yet let not Judah offend
— Let not Judah do so too: at least let her keep herself pure. Let her not join in the
idolatrous worship at Gilgal or Beth-aven, or mix idolatry with the profession of the
true religion. The kingdom of Judah still retained, in a great degree, the worship of
the true God, and the ordinances of the temple service. Therefore the prophet
exhorts that people not to be led away by the bad example of their brethren of the
ten tribes. Gilgal, it must be observed, was remarkable for being the place where the
Israelites renewed their rite of circumcision, when they first passed over Jordan;
but after Jeroboam set up idolatry, it became famous for the worship of false gods.
And it appears, from this prophet and Amos, that it was particularly so in this
period of the Jewish history. Beth- aven was the same with Beth-el, and was the
place where one of Jeroboam’s calves was worshipped. The word Beth-el signifies
the house of God, and was the name given to that place by Jacob, because of God’s
appearing to him there, Genesis 28:17. But when it became a place noted for
idolatrous worship, the worshippers of the true God called it, in detestation, Beth-
aven, that is, the house of vanity. or swear, The Lord liveth — Do not mingle the
worship of the true God with idolatrous rites, nor dare to swear by his name while
worshipping idols, or before the calves, as if they represented him; for he abhors
every such coalition.
COFFMA , "Verse 15
"Though thou, Israel, play the harlot, yet let not Judah offend; and come not ye
unto Gilgal, neither go ye up to Bethaven, nor swear, As Jehovah liveth."
The injection of the name of Judah into this passage was at one time made the basis
of allegations that the verse is an interpolation; but as Unger declared, "More recent
criticisms tend to deny this ... Actually, there is no compelling reason for denying to

171. Hosea any of the prophecy."[39] The holy writers of the ew Testament affirmed
the utmost confidence in all that Hosea wrote. See Matthew 2:15; 9:13; 12:7; Luke
23:20; Romans 9:25; 1 Corinthians 15:55; and 1 Peter 2:10, all of which have
references to Hosea as the Word of God.
Gilgal and Bethaven were locations of the more prominent pagan shrines; and it
was understandable that Hosea forbade Judah to have anything to do with them,
but it is a little surprising, at first glance, that the prohibition against swearing by
Jehovah should have been included; but this is actually the prophet's warning that
swearing, As Jehovah liveth, could not justify the shameless "worship" that was
indulged at such places. This swearing by Jehovah was a device for lulling the
conscience to sleep, and Hosea uttered the Word of God against it. As Keil put it,
"Going to Gilgal to worship idols and swearing by Jehovah cannot go together. The
confession of Jehovah in the mouth of an idolater is hypocrisy, pretended piety,
which is more dangerous than open ungodliness, because it lulls the conscience to
sleep."[40]
The "Bethaven" of this place is actually a derogatory name for Bethel, both Hosea
and Amos using it (Amos 5:5), substituting Beth-aven (place of vanity) for Beth-el
(place of God). We reject the pedantic objection of Mauchline that, "this reference
to Judah is quite undeveloped."[41] It has all of the development that it needs,
having the full meaning that Judah should not walk in the rebellious ways of Israel.
"Gilgal ..." As for the location of this place, it is somewhat uncertain due to the fact
of their having been two places with that name, the one on the border between
Manasseh and Ephraim, between Shechem and Joppa, and the other near the
Jordan river where Israel had camped when they crossed the Jordan to enter
Canaan. Hailey is very likely correct in identifying it as the latter.[42] But it is not
the exact location of Gilgal which is important; it was the shameless idolatrous
worship which was practiced there; and the prohibition was against Judah (or any
of God's people) having anything to do with it.
COKE, "Verse 15
Hosea 4:15. Though thou, Israel, &c.— Here a transition is made, with great
elegance and animation, from the general subject of the whole people, in both its
branches, to the kingdom of the ten tribes in particular. "Whatever the obstinacy of
the house of Israel may be in her corruptions, at least let Judah keep herself pure.
Let her not join in the idolatrous worship at Gilgal or Beth-aven, or mix idolatry
with the profession of the true religion. As for Israel, I give her up to a reprobate
mind." Then the discourse passes naturally into the detail and amplification of
Israel's guilt.
Come not ye unto Gilgal— Gilgal was remarkable for the renewal of the rite of
circumcision, when the Israelites first passed over Jordan; and after Jeroboam set
up idolatry, it was famous for the worship of false gods. It is joined with Beth-el,
called here Beth-aven, where Jereboam's calves were worshipped. Beth-el signifies

172. the house of God, and was so called by Jacob upon God's appearing, to him there.
But when it became the seat of idolatry, it was called Beth-aven, or the house of
vanity. See Lowth, and Calmet.
ELLICOTT, "Verse 15
(15) Israel . . . Judah.—The prophet warns Judah of Israel’s peril, and perhaps
hints at the apostacy of some of her kings, as Ahaziah, Joram, and Ahaz. He returns
to the symbolic use of the word “whoredom”; and Judah is exhorted not to
participate in the idolatries of Gilgal or the calves of Bethel. There are three
different places named Gilgal mentioned in Joshua (Joshua 4:19; Joshua 12:3;
Joshua 15:7), and a fourth seems to be mentioned in Deut. 9:30; 2 Kings 2:1. The
Gilgal here referred to is the first of these, which Joshua for a considerable time had
made his head-quarters. In the days of Samuel it acquired some importance as a
place for sacrificial worship and the dispensation of justice. Bethel had a grand
history. But Hosea and Amos call it by the altered name Beth-aven (house of vanity,
or idols), instead of Bethel (house of God). The LXX. in Alex. MS. read On instead
of Aven in the Hebrew, On being the name for Heliopolis, the seat of sun-cultus,
whence Jeroboam may have derived his calf-worship. (See Smith’s Dict. of the
Bible, Art. “On.”) But the Vat. MS. has ἀδικίας, in accordance with the Masoretic
tradition (similarly Aquila and Symmachus).
TRAPP, "Verse 15
Hosea 4:15 Though thou, Israel, play the harlot, [yet] let not Judah offend; and
come not ye unto Gilgal, neither go ye up to Bethaven, nor swear, The LORD liveth.
Ver. 15. Though thou, Israel, play the harlot, yet let not Judah offend] Lest if God
lose his glory among them too, he lose it altogether. Judah was grown almost as bad
as Israel (in the days of that stigmatic Ahaz especially, 2 Chronicles 28:22);
Aholibamah, as Aholibah, Ezekiel 23:36. But let it not be so, saith the prophet, since
not to be warned by the harms of another is a just both presage and desert of ruin.
Alterius igitur perditio tua sit cautio. Therefore by their destruction, let you be
warned. Seest thou another shipwreck? look well to thine own tackling. God will
take that from Israel which he will not from Judah; because these had many means
and privileges that the other had not; as the temple, priests, ordinances, &c. ow
good turns aggravate unkindness; and men’s offences are increased by their
obligations. Judah was and would be therefore the worse, because they ought to
have been better. And God can better bear with aliens than with his own people,
when they offend. The Philistines may cart the ark, but if David do it woe be to
Uzzah. You only have I known of all the families of the earth, therefore (whosoever
escape) I will punish you for all iniquities, Amos 3:2. The unkindness of your sins is
more than all the rest: it grieves God’s Spirit, and goes near his heart.
Come not ye unto Gilgal, neither go ye up to Bethaven] Alias Bethel, the house of
God, so called by Jacob, who there had visions of God, and said, "How fearful is
this place! It is even the house of God and gate of heaven." But now it was become
the hate of heaven, and gate to destruction, as being abused to idolatry. Corruptio

173. optimi fit pessima. Corruption of the best become the worst. Bethel is become
Bethaven, the house of iniquity and misery, of sin and of sorrow: for "their sorrows
shall be multiplied that hasten after another god," Psalms 16:4. The word
gnatsabim, there rendered sorrows, signifieth also idols, Psalms 115:4; Psalms
106:36, because they that worship them are sure of sorrows.
Come not therefore to Gilgal, &c.] Gilgal was the key of Canaan, situated between
Jordan and Jericho, famous for various services there performed to God, as were
easy to instance; but now basely abused to idol worship. Hence this charge (and the
like in Amos 5:5) not to come near it; and the rather because it was a border town,
and so more dangerous. "Keep thee far from an evil matter," saith Moses, Exodus
23:7; "Come not nigh the doors of the harlot’s house," saith Solomon, Proverbs 5:8.
From such stand off, or keep aloof, saith Paul, 1 Timothy 6:5. Shun them as the
seaman doth sands and shoals, as the same apostle’s word, στελλεσθαι, imports, 1
Thessalonians 3:6. A man cannot touch such pitch but he shall be defiled; nor live
any while in Mauritania but he shall be discoloured. Cum fueris Romae, &c. Let
them look to it that so much affect to see Italy, Rome, the pope, the mass &c. But,
"What dost thou here, Elijah?" may God well say, as 1 Kings 19:9. What protection
hast thou here, either from infection of sin or infliction of punishment? Saith not the
heavenly oracle, "Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins,
and that ye receive not of her plagues," Revelation 18:4. Mr Ascham (school master
to Queen Elizabeth) was wont to thank God, that he was but nine days in Italy:
wherein he saw in that one city of Venice more liberty to sin than in London he ever
heard of in nine years. And is it safe pressing into such pest houses? tampering with
such temptations? Tertullian tells of a Christian woman, who being at a play, was
possessed of a devil. And when he was asked by those that came to cast him out, how
he dared possess one that was a Christian, he answered, I found her in mine own
place. Take heed, therefore, ye come not where the devil hath to do. He that doth so,
and yet prays, "Lead us not into temptation," may as well thrust his finger into the
fire, and then pray that it may not be burnt.
or swear, The Lord liveth] i.e. Swear not by God and Malcham, Zephaniah 1:5,
make not a mixture of religions; halt not between two opinions, think not to serve
two masters, Matthew 6:23. What agreement hath Christ with Belial, or the temple
of God with idols? 2 Corinthians 6:15. Cast away (saith one to a neuter passive,
icodemus) either thy wings or thy teeth; and loathing this bat-like nature, be what
thou art, either a bird or a beast (Dr Hall, Epist. to W. Laud). There were (belike) in
Judah, that thought they could both frequent places of idol worship, and serve
Jehovah, swearing by his name. God will have none of that; if he be served by men
at all he must be served truly, that there be no halting, and totally, that there be no
halving, To swear vere, rite, iuste, truly, solomnly and justly, as Jeremiah 4:1, is a
piece of God’s service, and we may well reckon it among our good works. But to
swear by idols, or before idols, made to represent the true God (as those bugs at Dan
and Bethel, &c.), or by the creature, Matthew 5:24, is utterly unlawful. It is a great
dishonour to God, and a great dishonour to ourselves also; for we always swear by

174. the greater, Hebrews 6:16.
PETT, "Verse 15
‘Though you, Israel, play the harlot, yet let Judah not offend, and do not come to
Gilgal, nor go you up to Beth-aven, nor swear, “As YHWH lives”.’
Within the prophet’s heart was always a fear that Judah would go in the same way
as Israel, whilst his hope was that if Judah remained solidly behind YHWH it would
be a constant encouragement to him in the face of Israel’s coming demise. As a
result he always had one eye on Judah. For while Judah survived, the demise of
Israel would not seem quite so bad, for it would mean that the worship of YHWH
still continued. That is why, in an aside, he prays in his heart that Judah may not
follow in the same way as Israel.
Some see the call not to come up to Gilgal and Bethaven as addressed to the people
of Israel, on the grounds that Judah would not be seen by Hosea as yet being in a
state where they could not use the name of YHWH in oaths. But it may well be that
‘as YHWH lives’ had become a feature of the worship at Gilgal and Bethel so that
Judah were simply being called on not to do it at Gilgal and Bethaven in idolatrous
company. For certainly what follows appears to be addressed to Judah, warning
them not to play the harlot like Israel was doing. The idea here then is that they
were not to play the harlot like Israel by joint participation with them in these ways.
This would suggest that many worshippers from Judah had taken to coming to
enjoy the feasts at Gilgal and Bethel, which were not too distant from their border, a
fact which would have grieved Hosea’s faithful heart and would explain his constant
‘off the cuff’ references to Judah. Gilgal and Bethaven were centres of syncretistic
worship, and were thus to be seen as to be avoided because of their idolatry, whilst
swearing ‘as YHWH lives’ was to be avoided in such company. This was why the
call came to any who would hear to avoid all three, the two sanctuaries and
swearing by YHWH. Gilgal was in the mountains of Ephraim, unless we see it as the
sanctuary first set up by Joshua in the Jordan valley, and Bethaven (‘house of
trouble’) was probably a satirical name for Bethel (‘house of God’), which was also
in the mountains. They were easily accessible to northern Judah.
K&D, "Verse 15
A different turn is now given to the prophecy, viz., that if Israel would not desist
from idolatry, Judah ought to beware of participating in the guilt of Israel; and with
this the fourth strophe (Hosea 4:15-19) is introduced, containing the announcement
of the inevitable destruction of the kingdom of the ten tribes. Hosea 4:15. “If thou
commit whoredom, O Israel, let not Judah offend! Come ye not to Gilgal, go not up
to Bethaven, and swear ye not by the life of Jehovah.” ‫,אשׁם‬ to render one's self
guilty by participating in the whoredom, i.e., the idolatry, of Israel. This was done
by making pilgrimages to the places of idolatrous worship in that kingdom, viz., to
Gilgal, i.e., not the Gilgal in the valley of the Jordan, but the northern Gilgal upon
the mountains, which has been preserved in the village of Jiljilia to the south-west of
Silo (Seilun; see at Deuteronomy 11:30 and Joshua 8:35). In the time of Elijah and
Elisha it was the seat of a school of the prophets (2 Kings 2:1; 2 Kings 4:38); but it
was afterwards chosen as the seat of one form of idolatrous worship, the origin and

175. nature of which are unknown (compare Hosea 9:15; Hosea 12:12; Amos 4:4; Amos
5:5). Bethaven is not the place of that name mentioned in Joshua 7:2, which was
situated to the south-east of Bethel; but, as Amos 4:4 and Amos 5:5 clearly show, a
name which Hosea adopted from Amos 5:5 for Bethel (the present Beitin), to show
that Bethel, the house of God, had become Bethaven, a house of idols, through the
setting up of the golden calf there (1 Kings 12:29). Swearing by the name of Jehovah
was commanded in the law (Deuteronomy 6:13; Deuteronomy 10:20; compare
Jeremiah 4:2); but this oath was to have its roots in the fear of Jehovah, to be simply
an emanation of His worship. The worshippers of idols, therefore, were not to take it
into their mouths. The command not to swear by the life of Jehovah is connected
with the previous warnings. Going to Gilgal to worship idols, and swearing by
Jehovah, cannot go together. The confession of Jehovah in the mouth of an idolater
is hypocrisy, pretended piety, which is more dangerous than open ungodliness,
because it lulls the conscience to sleep.
PULPIT, "Hosea 4:15-17
In this section the prophet, as if despairing of any improvement or amendment on
the part of Israel, still resolutely bent on spiritual whoredom, addresses an earnest
warning to Judah. From proximity to those idolatries and debaucheries so prevalent
in this northern kingdom, and from the corruption at least of the court in the
southern kingdom during the reigns of Joram, Ahaziah, and Ahaz, Judah was in
danger; and hence the prophet turned aside, with words of earnest warning, to the
sister kingdom not to involve herself in the same or similar guilt. Rashi's brief
comment here is, "Let not the children of Judah learn their ways."
Hosea 4:15
And come not ye unto Gilgal, neither go ye up to Beth-avert, nor swear, The Lord
liveth. From a solemn warning in general terms, he proceeds to a specific
prohibition. The prohibition forbids pilgrimages to places of idol-worship, such as
Gilgal and Bethaven; it also forbids a profession of Jehovah-worship to be made by
persons inclined to idolatrous practices. Gilgal, now the village of Jiljilia, which had
been a school of the prophets in the days of Elijah and Elisha, had, as we may
rightly infer from passages in Hoses and Amos, become a seat of idolatrous worship.
The Hebrew interpreters confound the Gilgal here referred to with the still more
renowned Gilgal between Jericho and the Jordan, where Joshua circumcised the
people a second time, and celebrated the Passover, and where, manna failing, the
people ate of the old corn of the land. "And why," asks Kimchi, "to Gilgal? Because
at Gilgal the sanctuary was at the first when they entered the land; therefore when
they went to worship idols they built high places there for the idols. But with respect
to the tribe of Judah, what need has it to go to Gilgal and to leave the house of the
sanctuary which is in their own cities?" And Beth-el, now Beitin, had become Beth-
avon—the house of God a house of idols, after Jeroboam had set up the calf there.
Judah was to eschew those places so perilous to purity of worship; also a practice
hypocritical in its nature and highly dangerous in its tendency, namely, confessing
Jehovah with the lips, and by a solemn act of attestation indicative of adherence to

176. his worship, but belying that confession by complicity in idolatrous practices, like
the peoples who "worshipped Jehovah, but served their own gods." Kimchi
observes as follows: "For ye engage in strange worship, and yet swear by the ame
of Jehovah; this is the way of incensing and despising him."
16 The Israelites are stubborn,
like a stubborn heifer.
How then can the Lord pasture them
like lambs in a meadow?
BAR ES, "For Israel slideth back, as a backsliding heifer - The calves which
Israel worshiped were pictures of itself. They represented natural, untamed, strength,
which, when put to service, started back and shrank from the yoke. “Untractable,
petulant, unruly, wanton, it withdrew from the yoke, when it could; if it could not, it
drew aside or backward, instead of forward.” So is it rare, exceeding rare, for man to
walk straight on in God’s ways; he jerks, writhes, twists, darts aside here and there,
hating nothing so much as one straight, even, narrow tenor of his ways.
Now the Lord will feed them as a lamb in a large place - The punishment of
Israel was close at hand, “now.” It would not have the straitness of God’s
commandments; it should have the wideness of a desert. God would withdraw His
protecting providence from them: He would rule them, although unfelt in His mercy. At
“large,” they wished to be; at large they should be; but it should be the largeness of a
“wilderness where is no way.” There, like a lamb, they should go astray, wandering up
and down, unprotected, a prey to wild beasts. Woe is it to that man, whom, when he
withdraws from Christ’s easy yoke, God permits to take unhindered the broad road
which leadeth to destruction. To Israel, this “wide place” was the wide realms of the
Medes, where they were withdrawn from God’s worship and deprived of His protection.
CLARKE, "Israel slideth back - They are untractable, like an unbroken heifer or
steer, that pulls back, rather than draw in the yoke.
Will feed them as a lamb in a large place - A species of irony. Ye shall go to
Assyria, and be scattered among the nations; ye may sport yourselves in the extensive
empire, wither ye shall be carried captives.

177. GILL, "For Israel slideth back as a backsliding heifer,.... A heifer or young cow
Israel is compared unto; the rather, because of the object of their idolatrous worship, the
calves at Dan and Bethel: the Septuagint calls them "heifers": which they are hereby put
in mind of, and upbraided with; as also to express their brutish stupidity in worshipping
such idols, in which they obstinately persisted: and so were like a "refractory" and
"untamed" heifer, as some (w) render it, which will not be kept within bounds, either
within doors or without, but breaks through, and passes over, all fences and enclosures;
as they did, who transgressed the laws of God, and would not be restrained by them: or
like a heifer unaccustomed to the yoke, which will not submit to it, but wriggles its neck
from under it: so the Israelites would not be subject to the yoke of the law of God, were
sons of Belial, children without a yoke; or like one, though yoked, yet would not draw the
plough, but slid back in the furrows, even though goaded; so they, though stimulated by
the prophets, whose words were as goads and pricks to push them on, yet would not
hearken to them, but pulled away the shoulder, and slid back from the ways and worship
of God; hence called backsliding Israel, Jer_3:6, and this is either a reason why Judah
should not follow their example, because backsliders, or why they should be punished,
as follows:
now, or "therefore" (x),
the Lord will feed them as a lamb in a large place: not that they were like lambs
for the good properties of them, innocence, harmlessness, meekness, and patience; nor
fed as the Lord feeds his lambs, and gathers them in his arms; but either as a heifer in
sheep pasture, in short commons, for that creature cannot live where sheep and lambs
can; or rather as a lamb that is alone, separate from the flock, not under the care of any
shepherd; but exposed to every beast of prey upon a large common, on a wild desert and
uncultivated place; afraid of every thing it hears and sees; bleating after its dam, of
whose sustenance and nourishment it is destitute; and so is expressive of the state and
condition of Israel in captivity, in the large Assyrian empire; and dispersed among the
nations, where they were weak and helpless, destitute of all good things, and exposed to
all dangers, and to every enemy. Aben Ezra and Kimchi understand the words in a good
sense, that the Lord would have fed them as lambs in a large place, in an affluent
manner, but that they rebelled and backslided: and to this sense the Targum seems to
incline, which paraphrases the whole verse thus,
"for as an ox which is fattened and kicks, so Israel rebels because of the multitude of
good things; now the Lord will lead them as a choice lamb in a valley,''
or plain: and so Noldius, "though Israel is refractory", &c.
notwithstanding the Lord will feed them, &c.; and indeed the phrase is used in a
good sense in Isa_30:23, but there herds and flocks are spoken of, and not a single lamb,
as here; though Kimchi thinks the singular is put for the plural, lamb for lambs.
JAMISO , "backsliding — Translate, “Israel is refractory, as a refractory heifer,”
namely, one that throws the yoke off her neck. Israel had represented God under the
form of “calves” (1Ki_12:28); but it is she herself who is one.

178. lamb in a large place — not in a good sense, as in Isa_30:23. Here there is irony:
lambs like a large pasture; but it is not so safe for them as a small one, duly fenced from
wild beasts. God will “feed” them, but it shall be with the “rod” (Mic_7:14). It shall be no
longer in the narrow territory of Israel, but “in a large place,” namely, they shall be
scattered in exile over the wide realm of Assyria, a prey to their foes; as lambs, which are
timid, gregarious, and not solitary, are a prey when scattered asunder to wild beasts.
CALVI , "Verse 16
The Prophet compares Israel here to an untamable heifer. Some render it, “A
straying heifer”, and we may render it, “A wanton heifer.” But to others a defection
seems to have been more especially intended, because they had receded or departed
from God: but this comparison is not so apposite. They render it, “As a
backsliding,” or “receding heifer:” but I prefer to view the word as meaning, one
that is petulant or lascivious: and the punishment which is subjoined, The Lord will
now feed them as a tender lamb in a spacious place, best agrees with this view, as we
shall immediately see.
It must, in the first place, be understood, that Israel is compared to a heifer, and
indeed to one that is wanton, which cannot remain quiet in the stall nor be
accustomed to the yoke: it is hence subjoined, The Lord will now feed them as a
lamb in a spacious place The meaning of this clause may be twofold; the first is, that
the Lord would leave them in their luxuries to gorge themselves according to their
lust, and to indulge themselves in their gormandizing; and it is a dreadful
punishment, when the Lord allays not the intemperateness of men, but suffers them
to wanton without any limits or moderation. Hence some give this meaning to the
passage, God will now feed them as a lamb, that is, like a sheep void of
understanding, and in a large place, even in a most fruitful field, capable of
supplying food to satiety. But it seems to me that the Prophet meant another thing,
even this, that the Lord would so scatter Israel, that they might be as a lamb in a
spacious place. It is what is peculiar to sheep, we know, that they continue under the
shepherd’s care: and a sheep, when driven into solitude, shows itself, by its bleating,
to be timid, and to be as it were seeking its shepherd and its flock. In short, a sheep
is not a solitary animal; and it is almost a part of their food to sheep and lambs to
feed together, and also under the eye of him under whose care they are. ow there
seems to be here a most striking change of figure: They are, says the Prophet, like
unnamable heifers, for they are so wanton that no field can satisfy their wantonness,
as when a heifer would occupy the whole land. “Such then,” he says, “and so
outrageous is the disobedience of this people, that they can no longer endure, except
a spacious place be given to each of them. I will therefore give them a spacious
place: but for this end, that each of them may be like a lamb, who looks around and
sees no flock to which it may join itself.”
This happened when the land was stripped of its inhabitants; for then a small
number only dwelt in it. Four tribes, as stated before, were first drawn away; and
then they began to be like lambs in a spacious place; for God terrified them with the
dread of enemies. The remaining part of the people was afterwards either dispersed
or led into exile. They were, when in exile, like lambs, and those in a wide place. For

179. though they lived in cottages, and their condition was in every way confined, yet
they were in a place like the desert; for one hardly dared look on another, and waste
and solitude met their eyes wherever they turned them. We see then what the
Prophet meant by saying, They are like an untamable or a wanton heifer: “I will
tame them, and make them like lambs; and when scattered, they will fear as in a
wilderness, for there will be no flock to which they can come.” Let us proceed —
BE SO , "Verse 16
Hosea 4:16. For Israel slideth back, &c. — As if the Lord had said, As for Israel, I
give him up to a reprobate mind. And now the discourse passes naturally into the
detail and amplification of Israel’s guilt. Bishop Horsley renders this clause, Truly
Israel is rebellious like an unruly heifer; observing, “I restore the rendering of the
Bishops’ Bible, and the English Geneva.” Certainly the word ‫,סררה‬ here used,
properly means headstrong, untractable, or refractory, and describes a heifer,
“indocili jugum collo ferens,” untamed to the yoke, which she will neither bear, nor
be confined in her allowed pasture. ow the Lord will feed them as a lamb — Or
sheep, solitary, timid, defenceless, and exposed to various beasts of prey; in a large
place — That is, “In an unenclosed place, a wide common. They shall no longer be
fed with care in the rich enclosures of God’s cultivated farm, but be turned to
browse the scanty herbage of the waste. That is, they shall be driven into exile
among the heathen, freed from what they thought the restraints, and of consequence
deprived of all the blessings and benefits of religion. This dreadful menace is
delivered in the form of severe derision; a figure much used by the prophets,
especially by Hosea. Sheep love to feed at large. The sheep of Ephraim shall
presently have room enough. They shall be scattered over the whole surface of the
vast Assyrian empire, where they will be at liberty to turn very heathen. It is
remarkable, however, that it is said that even in this state, Jehovah will feed them.
They are still, in their utmost humiliation, an object of his care.” — Horsley.
COFFMA , "Verse 16
"For Israel hath behaved himself stubbornly, like a stubborn heifer: now will
Jehovah feed them as a lamb in a large place."
Instead of behaving as a lamb and following patiently in God's flock, Israel was like
a stubborn heifer that refused to submit to the yoke. As a result of such rebellious
conduct, God will feed Israel, not any more as a patient lamb in the flock, but as a
stray lamb in the vast wildness of the wilderness, such being the most likely meaning
of the "large place" mentioned here. Of course, such a lamb would almost
immediately fall prey to wild beasts and destructions of every kind. othing is any
more helpless and doomed to death than a lamb in such a "large place," It does not
have the gift of swiftness in flight from danger. It cannot find its way back to where
it belongs. A pigeon could do that, or even a dog, but a sheep, never. Its very cries
are the signal for its enemies to close in for the kill. This verse is God's promise to
abandon the orthern Kingdom to its enemies.
The Revised Standard Version makes the last clause of this verse interrogative, with

180. the meaning implied that the "large place" is desirable, having the sense, "Can the
Lord now feed them in a large place, since they have rebelled?" Of course the
negative is implied anyway; and, for this reason, it is better to accept the ASV, as in
the text we are using.
COKE, "Verse 16
Hosea 4:16. For Israel slideth, &c.— Houbigant renders it, As an untamed heifer,
when the Lord would have fed them, &c. Dr. Chandler observes, that the word ‫סררה‬
sorerah, rendered backsliding, properly signifies an untamed, refractory,
mischievous heifer, wantonly running and frisking about, or stung by the gad-bee,
and vexed by it almost to madness. The LXX render the words emphatically, As a
stung heifer madly leaps about, so hath Israel grown mad, refractory, and obstinate.
See Chandler's Life of David, vol. 2: p. 59.
In a large place— That is to say, in an uninclosed place, a wide common. They shall
no longer be fed with care in the rich inclosures of God's cultivated farm; but be
turned out to browse the scanty herbage of the waste. That is, they shall be driven
into exile among the heathen, freed from what they thought the restraints, and of
consequence deprived of all the blessings and benefits, of religion. This dreadful
menace is delivered in the form of severe derision: a figure much used by the
prophets, especially by Hosea. Sheep love to feed at large. The sheep of Ephraim
shall presently have room enough. They shall be scattered over the whole surface of
the vast Assyrian empire, where they will be at liberty to turn very heathen.
TRAPP, "Verse 16
Hosea 4:16 For Israel slideth back as a backsliding heifer: now the LORD will feed
them as a lamb in a large place.
Ver. 16. For Israel slideth back, as a back sliding heifer] Iuvenea petulca, as an
unruly heifer, which kicketh against the milk pail, and wriggleth against the yoke.
As a mad cow, δαµαλις παροιστρωσα, so the Septuagint. Mr Dearing told Queen
Elizabeth in a sermon, that whereas once she wrote in Woodstock windows,
tanquam ovis, as a sheep to the slaughter; now she was tanquam indomita iuvenca,
as an untamed heifer; and might well fear lest God would feed her as a lamb in a
large place as here, and feed her with his rod, as Micah 7:14. The Chaldee
rendereth, sicut bos qui saginatur et recalcitrat, as an ox that waxeth fat and
kicketh. But the Hebrew word is feminine; and in all creatures, the female is
observed to be more headlong and headstrong. (Virg. Georg. III):
“ Scilicet ante omnes furor est insignis equarum. ”
Heifers also are more wild, wanton, and untractable: noting the children of
disobedience, those refractory rebels: that, as false jades, will not stand and pull (as
countrymen call it), set their shoulders to the yoke, and their sides to the work, but
give in and kick against the prick.

181. ow the Lord will feed them as a lamb in a large place] i.e. He will keep them short,
as a heifer kept in a sheep pasture, where there is nothing for her to bite on, it is so
bare. A lamb can live where a heifer cannot; a lamb can pick up the grass of the
wilderness, and pick a living out of it. God threateneth these heifers, they shall have
henceforth short commons. Thus Gaulther carries it. Mercer will have it thus: I will
feed them as a lamb, i.e. daintily and plentifully, that being the sooner fatted, they
may be fitted for the shambles. Other thus, and I think better, he shall feed them,
that is, punish them, {as Micah 5:4; Micah 5:6; Micah 7:14} as a lamb, one single
helpless lamb, that goes bleating up and down in the wide waste wilderness, having
none to tend it, or take care of it: it shall be all alone in a large place. How much
better and safer were it to be in God’s fold, where (though penned, or pent up in a
narrower room, yet) God’s lambs are sure to be fed daily and daintily. Whereas
those that affect freedom from God’s service, and hold themselves at best ease when
they have elbow room enough to satisfy their lusts without restraint or control, they
shall be fed with God’s rod, Micah 7:14, yea, they shall find that he hath two rods,
beauty and bands, Zechariah 11:7, the latter for those that fight the former. Or if he
feed them as a lamb in a large place, alone, and at random, they will quickly become
a prey to the wolf, and soon have enough of that wild liberty that they so much
affected.
PETT, "Verse 16
‘For Israel has behaved himself stubbornly, like a stubborn heifer. Will YHWH
then feed them as a lamb in a large place?’
In vivid terms Hosea then points out that Israel was like a stubborn heifer which
digs its feet in and refuses to follow its owners, even when dragged with ropes. In the
same way Israel has, as it were, dug in its feet firmly against YHWH and the
requirements of His covenant. It refuses to respond to His call. And Hosea points
out that this being so, they cannot expect YHWH to feed them like a lamb in an
expansive pasture. This latter picture may well have been one popularly taught at
the sanctuaries mentioned with the idea that YHWH would do precisely that. So
Judah is being warned not to be deceived by the claims made by the sanctuaries.
Alternately we may translate as ‘YHWH will feed them as a lamb in a large place’,
the idea being that YHWH will break their stubbornness by sending them like
unresisting lambs to Sheol (the underworld), for who can resist death? Compare in
this regard Psalms 49:14, ‘like sheep they are laid in Sheol, death will pasture them
--.’
K&D, "Verse 16
The reason for this warning is given in Hosea 4:16., viz., the punishment which will
fall upon Israel. Hosea 4:16. “For Israel has become refractory like a refractory
cow; now will Jehovah feed them like a lamb in a wide field.” ‫,סורר‬ unmanageable,
refractory (Deuteronomy 21:18, cf. Zechariah 7:11). As Israel would not submit to
the yoke of the divine law, it should have what it desired. God would feed it like a
lamb, which being in a wide field becomes the prey of wolves and wild beasts, i.e.,
He would give it up to the freedom of banishment and dispersion among the nations.

182. SIMEO , "THE EVIL A D DA GER OF BACKSLIDI G
Hosea 4:16. Israel slideth back as a backsliding heifer.
SUCH is the influence of bad example, that it is extremely difficult to withstand its
attractions, even at the time that we behold its fatal effects. Israel, or the ten tribes,
from their first apostasy under Jeroboam, were irreclaimably addicted to idolatry.
The prophet, finding his efforts vain with respect to them, turns to Judah, and
entreats that they would not tread in the steps of Israel [ ote: ver. 15. At Gilgal and
at Bethel, where God had formerly been worshipped, idols were now set up. The
prophet, exhorting Judah not to go to those places, calls Beth-el (the house of God)
Beth aven (the house of vanity).], who, like an untamed and refractory bullock, had
entirely cast off the yoke, and refused all subjection to Jehovah.
Humiliating as this account of Israel is, it is but too just a representation of the
Christian world, whose conduct is utterly unworthy of the name they bear, and
from whose ways we cannot stand at too great a distance.
To impress this awful truth upon your minds, we propose to shew,
I. When we may be said to resemble a backsliding heifer—
We owe submission to our heavenly Master; but give too much reason for the
comparison in the text. This resemblance may be seen in us,
1. When we will not draw in God’s yoke at all—
[Unconverted men in every age and place are rebels against God [ ote: Exodus 5:2.
Psalms 12:4. Jeremiah 2:31; Jeremiah 7:24.]: and, though all are not equally
profligate in their manners, all are equally averse to spiritual employments: the law
of God is considered as imposing on them an intolerable yoke, to which they will
not, they cannot submit [ ote: Romans 8:7.]. They are indeed subjected to it against
their will; but neither chastisements nor encouragements can prevail upon them to
draw in it: on the contrary, like a ferocious bullock, they are insensible of favours,
and they fret at rebukes [ ote: Jeremiah 31:18.].]
2. When we draw in it only by fits and starts—
[Many appear willing to obey God in a time of sickness [ ote: Isaiah 26:16.], or
after some signal deliverance [ ote: Psalms 106:12-13.], or under an impressive
sermon [ ote: Exodus 24:3; Exodus 24:7. Jam. 24.], or during a season of peace and
tranquillity [ ote: Matthew 13:21.]: but, as soon as ever the particular occasion that
called forth their pious resolutions has ceased, or they find that they must suffer for
Christ’s sake, they forget the vows that are upon them, and return to their former
state of carelessness and indifference [ ote: Psalms 78:34-37.]. They renew their
resolutions perhaps at certain seasons; but “their goodness is as the morning dew, or
as the early cloud that passeth away.” Thus, like a heifer that will draw for one

183. moment and will not the next, they are, in the strongest sense of the words,
unprofitable servants.]
3. When we grow weary of the yoke—
[It is not uncommon for persons to go on well for a season, and yet draw back at
last. They grow weary of performing their duties, of exercising their graces, of
mortifying their lusts. If they maintain an observance of public duties, they become
remiss in those of the family and the closet: their delight in the Scriptures
languishes; their meditations are cold; their devotions formal. Their faith, their
hope, their love operate with less vital energy: and their besetting sins, whatever
they were, regain their strength, and resume their ascendancy. These are like a
horse or bullock, which, after having yielded to the yoke for a season, becomes
restive and ungovernable, and disappoints thereby the expectations of its owner.]
Lest the frequency of these characters should tempt us to think favourably of them,
we proceed to shew,
II. The evil and danger of such a state—
We shall notice,
1. The evil of it—
[A backslidden state, in whomsoever it is found, is exceeding sinful: but in those who
have made some profession of religion, it is attended with peculiar aggravations.
It is a contemning of God; of his Majesty, which demands our subjection, and of his
mercy, which would accept and reward our poor services. And it is in this light that
God himself frequently complains of it [ ote: umbers 11:20. 1 Samuel 2:30 and 2
Samuel 12:10. Psalms 10:13.].
It is a justifying of the wicked; for it says to them, in fact, “I was once as you are,
and thought I should become happier by serving God: but I find by experience that
there is no profit in serving him; and therefore I am returning to your state, which
is, on the whole, the happier and more desirable.”
It is a discouraging of the weak. Little do false professors think how much evil they
do in this way [ ote: Malachi 2:8.]. Many are induced to follow their example in
some things, under the idea that they are innocent; and are thus drawn from one sin
to another, till they make shipwreck of a good conscience, and utterly turn away
from the faith.
And need we multiply words any further to shew the evil of backsliding from God?
Well does God himself call it “a wonderful and horrible thing [ ote: Jeremiah
5:30.].”]

184. 2. The danger of it—
[This is an iniquity which God marks with peculiar indignation [ ote: Jeremiah
2:19; Jeremiah 2:21-22,]; and never fails to visit it, sooner or later, with some awful
token of his displeasure.
The first symptoms of declension lead, if not speedily mourned over and resisted, to
utter apostasy [ ote: Proverbs 14:14.]. The disposition to backslide will soon
increase, till it become inveterate, and, unless by a marvellous interposition of God
himself, incurable.
The misery that will be incurred by means of it will far exceed all that would have
been endured, if no profession of religion had ever been made. “If any man draw
back,” says God, “my soul shall have no pleasure in him:” he “draws back to certain
anil everlasting perdition [ ote: Hebrews 10:38-39.]:” and “it would have been
better for him never to have known the way of righteousness, than, after having
known it, to turn back from it [ ote: Matthew 12:45. 2 Peter 2:21.].”
Let these consequences be duly weighed, and nothing need be added to shew us the
importance of “holding fast our profession without wavering.”]
To improve this subject, we shall,
1. Assist you in ascertaining your state before God—
[Since all are “bent to backslide” more or less, it is of great importance to inquire of
what kind our backslidings are, and to see whether they are merely the infirmities of
an upright soul, or the revolt of an apostate. It is indeed difficult to determine this
with precision; yet something may be said to aid you in this inquiry.
Examine diligently the cause, the duration, and the effects of your backslidings.
Those of the sincere arise from the weakness of their flesh, while yet their spirit is as
willing as ever: but those of the hypocrite proceed from a radical disaffection to the
ways of God. Those of the sincere continue but a little time, and are an occasion of
greater diligence: those of the hypocrite remain, and become the habit of his soul.
Those of the sincere humble him in the dust: those of the hypocrite produce a
blindness of mind, a scaredness of conscience, and a hardness of heart.
But though we thus discriminate for the information of your judgment, we
recommend all to stand fast in the Lord, and to guard against the first risings of
spiritual decay [ ote: Galatians 6:9.].]
2. Give a word of counsel to those in different states—
[Are you altogether backslidden from God? O return to him, and take upon you his
“light and easy yoke!” He invites you with all the tenderness of a father [ ote:
Jeremiah 3:12; Jeremiah 3:14; Jeremiah 3:22.]; he declares himself exceedingly

185. averse to punish you according to your desert [ ote: Hosea 11:7-8.]; and he
promises to “heal your backslidings, and love you freely [ ote: Hosea 14:4.].”
Are you drawing in his yoke? Bless and adore your God, who has inclined and
enabled you to do so. It is his power, and his power alone, that has kept you hitherto
[ ote: 1 Peter 1:5.]; and therefore he must have all the praise. And in order to your
continued steadfastness, reflect often on the evil and danger of backsliding; I may
add too, on the comfort and benefit of serving God. Surely He is a good Master. Let
but your hearts be right with him, and “none of his commandments will appear
grievous to you [ ote: 1 John 5:3.]:” on the contrary, you will find that “in keeping
his commandments there is great reward [ ote: Psalms 19:11.],” and that your
labour shall not be in vain with respect to the eternal world. “Be ye faithful unto
death, and he will give you a crown of life [ ote: Revelation 2:10.].”]
PULPIT, "Hosea 4:16
For Israel slideth back as a back, sliding heifer: now the Lord will feed them s, a
lamb in a large place. This verse conveys the reason of the warning contained in the
preceding; and that reason is the punishment which is to overtake Israel as the
consequence of their refractoriness. If this view of the connection be correct, it will
help to the right understanding of a difficult passage. The "backsliding," according
to the Authorized Version, is rather "stubbornness," "intractableness," or
"unmanageableness." Keil renders it "refractory." This refractoriness was Israel's
sin; the people would have their own way, and became refractory, like an
unmanageable heifer, which rebels upon being trained. Aben Ezra explains ‫ה‬ ָ‫ר‬ ֵ‫ֹר‬ ‫ס‬
(which, by the way, has tsere before the tone syllable) as follows: " ‫סי‬ is he who
turns aside from the way that is appointed him, so that he does not walk in it. And,
behold, he compares Israel to a stubborn cow, with which a man cannot plough." So
also Kimchi: "Like a heifer which goes on a crooked way, and curves itself from
under the yoke, that a man cannot plough with it; so Israel are crooked under their
God, as they have taken upon them the yoke of the Law and of the command-meats
which he commanded them, and curve themselves under the yoke, and break from
off them the yoke of the commandments." Israel rebelled against instruction, waxed
stubborn and intractable. They would have their own way, and worshipped
according to their own will, in indulging all the while with a high hand in vilest
lusts. ow the season of punishment is arrived; and as they refused instruction and
rebelled against Divine guidance, God, in just judgment and deserved punishment,
leaves them to themselves. Carried into captivity, they may worship what they will,
and live as they list. In these circumstances they will resemble a lamb taken away
into a wilderness, and left there to range the wild and live at large, but without
provision and without protection. Untended by the shepherd's watchful care,
unguarded from ravening wolves or other beasts of prey, that lamb is in a lost and
perishing condition. So shall it be with Israel. Aben Ezra gives as an alternative
sense: " ow (Jehovah will feed them like a lamb) alone in a wide place, and it
wanders to and fro." Kimchi cites as the opinion of others: "Some say, ow will
Jehovah let them feed alone in a wide place, like a lamb which bleats and goes to
and fro, and neither rests nor feeds." Another meaning has been attached to the

186. verse, to the effect that Israel, subdued by chastise-meat, will renounce their
stubbornness, and, rendered tractable and tame, become like a lamb, which,
brought to feel its helplessness amid a wilderness, requires and receives the
shepherd's care. We much prefer the former.
BI, "Israel slideth back as a backsliding heifer.
The evil and danger of backsliding
I. When we may be said to resemble a backsliding heifer.
1. When we will not draw in God’s yoke at all.
2. When we draw in it only by fits and starts.
3. When we grow weary of the yoke. Weary of performing our duties, exercising our
graces, mortifying our lusts.
II. The evil and danger of such a state.
1. The evil of it. It is a contemning of God. It is a justifying of the wicked. It is a
discouraging of the weak.
2. The danger of it. This is an iniquity which God marks with peculiar indignation.
The first symptoms of declension lead, if not speedily mourned over and resisted, to
utter apostasy. The misery that will be incurred by means of it will far exceed all that
had been endured if no profession of religion had been ever made. Let these
consequences be duly weighed, and nothing need be added to show the importance
of “holding fast our profession without wavering.”
Improve the subject.
1. Assist you in ascertaining your state before God. Examine diligently the cause, the
duration, and the effects of your backslidings.
2. Give a word of counsel to those in different states. Are you altogether backslidden
from God? He invites you to return. Are you drawing in His yoke? Bless and adore
your God, who has inclined and enabled you to do so. (O. Simeon, M. A.)
A backslider
It is a striking fact to which careful observers of the feathered tribe will bear witness,
that no birds are able to fly backward. A bird may allow itself to fall backward by slowing
its wings, until its weight overcomes their sustaining power, as a swallow will do from
the eaves of a house. But the bird can do no other than fly forward, and but few with the
rarest skill can stand still in the air. Now if mankind would only “consider the birds of
the air “ in the way in which Christ enjoined, there would be considerably less
backsliding than there is. Like the wings of the soaring eagle, the wings of faith were
never intended for flying backward. A minister’s little girl and her playmate were talking
about serious things. “Do you know what a backslider is?” she questioned. “Yes; it’s a
person that used to be a Christian and isn’t,” said the playmate promptly. “But what do
you s’pose makes them call them backsliders? Oh, that’s easy. You see, when people are
good they go to church and sit up in front. When they get a little tired of being good they
slide back a seat, and keep on sliding till they get clear back to the door. After awhile they
slide clear out and never come to church at all.”

187. The stubborn heifer
What is a backsliding heifer? We do not know; there is no such creature. But read:
“Israel acts stubbornly, like a heifer,” and the meaning is clear. The heifer will not go as
its owner wants it to go. The heifer stands back when it ought to go forward; turns aside
when it ought to move straight on; wriggles and twists, and, as it were, protests; and
only by greater strength, or by the infliction of suffering, can the heifer be made to go to
its destined place. The prophet, looking upon that heifer, now on the right, now on the
left, now stooping, now throwing up its head in defiance, says, Such is Israel, such is
Ephraim. The metaphor is full of suggestion, and full of high philosophy. Israel
complained of limitation; Israel was chafed by the yoke; Israel resented the puncture of
the goad. Israel said, “I want liberty, I do not want this moral bondage any longer; I do
not want to be surrounded by commandments, I do not want to live in a cage of ten bars
called the ten commandments of God; I want liberty; let me follow my reason, my
instincts; let me obey myself.” The Lord said, “So be it. Thou shalt have liberty enough,
but it shall be the liberty of a wilderness.” You can have liberty, but you will find no
garden in it; if you want the garden, you must have the law. Let us take care how we trifle
with law, obligation, responsibility, limitation. (Joseph Parker, D. D.)
17 Ephraim is joined to idols;
leave him alone!
BAR ES, "Ephraim is joined to idols - that is, banded, bound up with them,
“associated,” as the word means, with them so as to cleave to them, willing neither to
part with nor to be parted from, them. The idols are called by a name, denoting toils;
with toil they were fashioned, and, when fashioned, they were a toil and grief.
Let him alone - Literally, give him rest, i. e., from all further expostulations, which
he will not hear. It is an abandonment of Israel for the time, as in the prophet Ezekiel,
“As for you, O house of Israel, thus saith the Lord God, go ye, serve ye every one his
idols” Eze_20:39. Sinners often long not to be tormented by conscience or by God’s
warnings. To be left so, is to be abandoned by God, as one whose case is desperate. God
will not, while there is hope, leave a man to sleep in sin; for so the numbness of the soul
increases, until, like those who fall asleep amid extreme cold of the body, it never
awakes.

188. CLARKE, "Ephraim - The ten tribes.
Is joined to idols - Is become incorporated with false gods.
Let him alone - They are irreclaimable, leave them to the consequences of their
vicious conduct.
GILL, "Ephraim is joined to idols,.... That is, the ten tribes of Israel, frequently so
called after their separation from the rest, because that Jeroboam, by whom the revolt
was made, was of that tribe; and because that tribe was the principal of them, and
Samaria, the metropolis of their kingdom, was in it: and so the Targum here renders it,
"the house of Israel are joined to idols;''
to the calves at Dan and Bethel; to Baal, and other idols, they worshipped: the phrase
expresses their strong affection for them, their constant worship of them, and their
obstinate persisting therein, and the difficulty there was of bringing them off of it; they
cleaved to their idols, were glued, and as it were wedded unto them, and there was no
separating of them; as men are, who are addicted to the lusts of the flesh, to the
mammon of unrighteousness, or to their own self-righteousness, or to any idol they set
up in their hearts as such: hence it follows,
let them alone: which are either the words of the Lord to the prophet, enjoining him to
prophesy no more to them; to reprove them no more for their sins, since it was all to no
purpose, there was no reclaiming them, so Jarchi and Kimchi; and therefore let them
alone, let them go on in their sins, and in their errors, and in their superstition and
idolatry; see Eze_3:26. God was determined to let them alone himself, and therefore
bids his prophet to do so likewise: and sad is the case with men when he lets them alone,
and will not disturb their consciences any more by jogs and convictions, but gives them
up to a seared conscience, to hardness of heart, and to their own lusts; when he will not
hedge up their way with thorns, or distress them with afflictive providences, and hinder
them from going on in a course of sin and wickedness; nor give them restraining grace,
but suffer them to go on in the broad road, till they drop into hell; and says of them,
let him that is filthy be filthy still, Rev_22:11 or else they are the words of the
prophet to the men of Judah, to have nothing to do with Israel, since they were such
backsliders and idolaters; to have no communion and conversation with them, but let
them be alone, and worship alone for them; since what fellowship has righteousness
with unrighteousness, light with darkness, Christ with Belial, a believer with an infidel,
or the temple of the living God with idols and idolaters? 2Co_6:14, some take them to be
the words of the prophet to God concerning Israel, approving of his righteous
judgments, in threatening to feed them as a lamb in a large place; dismiss him thither,
suffer and leave him to feed there. The Targum interprets it of their sin, and not their
punishment,
"they have left their worship;''
the service of God.
JAMISO , "Ephraim — the ten tribes. Judah was at this time not so given to

189. idolatry as afterwards.
joined to — closely and voluntarily; identifying themselves with them as a
whoremonger becomes one flesh with the harlot (Num_25:3; 1Co_6:16, 1Co_6:17).
idols — The Hebrew means also “sorrows,” “pains,” implying the pain which idolatry
brings on its votaries.
let him alone — Leave him to himself. Let him reap the fruits of his own perverse
choice; his case is desperate; say nothing to him (compare Jer_7:16). Here Hos_4:15
shows the address is to Judah, to avoid the contagion of Israel’s bad example. He is bent
on his own ruin; leave him to his fate, lest, instead of saving him, thou fall thyself (Isa_
48:20; Jer_50:8; Jer_51:6, Jer_51:45; 2Co_6:17).
SBC, "Spiritual abandonment.
I. We are apt to be surprised at the proneness of the Israelites to the sin of idolatry. And
yet it may be doubted whether we have not a great deal in common with idolaters. Let us
see what the idolatry of the Israelites was. There was given unto them a religion; it came
direct from God. Of their religious system it was the singular characteristic that the chief
acts of devotion could only be performed at one place. To Mount Sion the tribes went up
for all their solemn observances, three times a year. At other seasons they were scattered
over the country, cut off from the possibility of united worship. This, doubtless, was the
cause of their manifold idolatry. God had taught them a religious system—that system
contained some practical difficulties; it seemed, indeed, to check devotion. The Jews
sought to remedy this by self-invented plans; the issue was apostasy. In the history of the
Church of Christ we find much that is analogous. It was a zeal for religion which
prostrated Israel at the feet of idols; it is zeal without knowledge which makes men
forsake the catholic faith for crude theories of their own.
II. And now as to the punishment. "Ephraim is joined to idols; let him alone." To forsake
God is to forsake our own mercies. The judgment threatened in the text is one which
would reduce us to the position of Satan himself. For what will follow from God letting a
man alone? He will experience no further promptings and warnings, but be left
unrestrained by any secret reluctance to work all manner of evil. Memory and conscience
have each a home in that lost spirit; but the whispers of the Holy One are never heard
therein; and conscience has no voice to move to good, but wields only the fiery scourge
for evil done or doing.
Bishop Woodford, Occasional Sermons, vol. i., p. 32.
CALVI , "Verse 17
As if wearied, God here bids his Prophet to rest; as though he said, “Since I prevail
nothing with this people, they must be given up; cease from thy work.” God had set
Hosea over the Israelites for this end, to lead them to repentance, if they could by
any means be reformed: the duty of the Prophet, enjoined by God, was, to bring
back miserable and straying men from their error, and to restore them again to the
obedience of pure faith. He now saw that the Prophet’s labour was in vain, without
any success. Hence he was, as I have said, wearied, and bids the Prophet to desist:
Leave them, he says; that is, “There is no use for thee to weary thyself any more; I
dismiss thee from thy labour, and will not have thee to take any more trouble; for
they are wholly incurable.” For by saying that they had joined themselves to idols,
he means, that they could not be drawn from that perverseness in which they had

190. grown hardened; as though he said, “This is an alliance that cannot be broken.”
And he alludes to the marriage which he had before mentioned: for the Israelites,
we know, had been joined to God, for he had adopted them to be a holy people to
himself; they afterwards adopted impious forms of worship. But yet there was a
hope of recovery, until they became wholly attached to their idols, and clave so fast
to them, that they could not be drawn away. This alliance the Prophet points out
when he says, They are joined to idols
But he mentions the tribe of Ephraim, for the kings, (I mean, of Israel,) we know,
sprang from that tribe; and at the same time he reproaches that tribe for having
abused God’s blessing. We know that Ephraim was blessed by holy Jacob in
preference to his elder brother; and yet there was no reason why Jacob put aside the
first-born and preferred the younger, except that God in this case manifested his
own good pleasure. The ingratitude of Ephraim was therefore less excusable, when
he not only fell away from the pure worship of God, but polluted also the whole
land; for it was Jeroboam who introduced ungodly superstitions; he therefore was
the source of all the evil. This is the reason why the Prophet now expressly mentions
Ephraim: though it is a form of speaking, commonly used by all the Prophets, to
designate Israel, by taking a part for the whole, by the name of Ephraim.
But this passage is worthy of being noticed, that we may attend to God’s reproofs,
and not remain torpid when he rouses us; for we ought ever to fear, lest he should
suddenly reject us, when he is wearied with our perverseness, or when he conceives
such a displeasure as not to deign to speak to us any more. It follows —
BE SO , "Verse 17-18
Hosea 4:17-18. Ephraim, &c. — The Ephraimites were numerous and potent, and
are here put for the whole ten tribes. Is joined to idols — The word ‫,עצבים‬ here
rendered idols, properly means, sorrows and pains, idols being the cause of much
misery to their worshippers. Bishop Horsley reads the verse, A companion of idols is
Ephraim; leave him to himself. Leave him undisturbed in his idolatrous course. He
is irreclaimable. Their drink is sour — Hebrew, is gone, turned, or vapid. “The
allusion is to libations made with wine grown dead, or turning sour. The image
represents the want of all spirit of piety in their acts of worship, and the
unacceptableness of such worship in the sight of God; which is alleged as a reason
for the determination, expressed in the preceding clause, to give Ephraim up to his
own ways. ‘Leave him to himself,’ says God to the prophet, ‘his pretended devotions
are all false and hypocritical. I desire none of them.’” — Horsley. They have
committed whoredom continually. — They have gone on in a course of idolatry: or
carnal whoredom may be intended. Her rulers with shame do love, Give ye — Their
rulers, to their shame be it spoken, are continually asking or expecting bribes, or are
greedy of gifts. The Hebrew word translated rulers, properly signifies shields: it is
taken for rulers in Psalms 47:9, as well as here.
COFFMA , "Verse 17
"For Ephraim is joined to idols; let him alone."

191. Ephraim, of course, was a part of the orthern Kingdom, his name in fact standing
as an alternate designation of it. Thus the address here is still to Judah, mentioned
in Hosea 4:15. Jamieson's comment on this is:
"Leave him to himself. Let him reap the fruits of his own perverse choice. He is bent
on his own ruin; leave him to his fate, lest instead of saving him thou shalt fall
thyself."[43]
"Ephraim ..." This is the first of 37 usages of this expression for Israel in the Book
of Hosea.[44] Polkinghorne discerned the significance of this as a "denial to Israel of
that title, so long as they refused to accept the authority of David's dynasty."[45] Of
course, Israel was indeed a sacred name, and this view could be correct.
TRAPP, "Verse 17
Hosea 4:17 Ephraim [is] joined to idols: let him alone.
Ver. 17. Ephraim is joined to idols, let him alone] Ephraim, that is, the ten revolted
tribes, who are called Ephraim in opposition to Judah: 1. Because that tribe was the
greatest of the ten; 2. Jeroboam, the ringleader of that revolt, was of that tribe; 3.
They rebelled at Shechem, which was in that tribe, and from thenceforth was joined
or glued to idols, as the fornicator is to his harlot, with whom he becometh one flesh,
and from whom there is no dissuading him. Some fetch the metaphor from
enchanters; who by their conjuring art have society and fellowship with the devils;
so had Ephraim with idols; and like an enchanted person, he could not stir from
them, but stood fastened to them as to a stock or stake. The Tyrians, when besieged
by Alexander, fearing the departure of their god Apollo from them, laid chains upon
his statue, and fastened him to his temple. Ephraim was so fastened to his idols (
terriculis so Junius renders this text) that there is no likelihood of his being
sundered from them: he had taken fast hold of deceit, Jeremiah 8:5, and would not
loose his hold. Let him alone, therefore, saith either God to the prophet (lay out no
more words, lose no more labour upon him) or the prophet to Judah; let them even
go, have nothing to do with them, though they be your brethren, meddle not with
them; let Christ alone, to deal with them at his coming: Maranatha, the Lord
cometh. Meanwhile, they lie under a dreadful spiritual judgment, worse than all the
plagues of Egypt; even a dead and dedolent disposition, whereunto they are
delivered. This is worse than to be delivered to Satan: for so a man may be, and
recover out of his snare by repentance, as the incestuous Corinthian did: but when
God shall say, Let such a man alone, let him take his course, I have done with him,
and let my ministers trouble themselves no more about him, there is thenceforth but
an inch between him and hell, which even gapes for him, where he shall rue it
among reprobates. Well he may flourish a while, and feel no hurt; as Saul did not of
many years after his rejection; and as the Pharisees, after Christ had said of them,
"Let them alone, they are blind leaders of the blind," Matthew 15:14; but they shall
pine and swelter away in their iniquities, Leviticus 26:39, which is the last of those
dismal plagues there, threatened; they shall not be purged till God s wrath hath
rested upon them, Ezekiel 24:13, so that now they may go and serve every one his

192. idols, since they have such a mind to it, Ezekiel 20:39, and since they have made a
match with mischief, they may take their belly full of it. Oh let us fear, lest this
should be any of our cases; that God should say, Let him alone, be is resolved of his
way, and I of mine; he will have his swing in sin, and I am bent to have my full blow
at him. "I am fully persuaded" (saith a reverend man, now with God) "that in these
days of grace the Lord is much more quick and peremptory in rejecting men than
heretofore: the time is shorter, neither will he wait so long as he used to do." See for
ground of this, Hebrews 2:8, God is often quick in the offer of his mercy: Go and
preach the gospel, saith Christ (go, and be quick: tell men what to trust to, that, as
fools, they may not be semper victuri, always conquerers, ever about to be better,
but never begin to set seriously to work), "He that believeth shall be saved, he that
believeth not shall be damned": I shall not longer dally with him. "Destruction
cometh, and they shall seek peace, and there shall be none. Mischief shall come upon
mischief, and rumour upon rumour; then shall they seek a vision of the prophet; but
the law shall perish from the priest, and counsel from the ancients," Ezekiel 7:25-
26; when men are even dropping into hell, and have a hell beforehand in their
consciences, then they will send hastily for the minister, as they did in the sweating
sickness here, so long as the ferventness of the plague lasted. Then the ministers
were sought for in every corner, you must come to my lord, you must come to my
lady, &c. But what if God had said of such a one, Let him alone, as he reproved
Samuel for mourning for Saul, and as he forbade Jeremiah to pray for the Jews,
and his apostles to take care for the Pharisees? Oh how dreadful is that man’s
condition! and what can a minister say more than what the king of Israel said to the
woman that complained to him of the scarcity of Samaria, "If the Lord help thee
not, whence shall I help thee? out of the barnfloor, or out of the winepress?" 2
Kings 6:27. If any dram of comfort be applied to a wicked man, the truth of God is
falsified, and that minister will be reckoned among the devil’s dirt daubers and
upholsterers, that daub with untempered mortar and sew pillows under men’s
elbows, Ezekiel 13:18. Let such alone, therefore, and let God alone to deal with
them.
PETT, "Verse 17
‘Ephraim is joined to idols, let him alone.’
Indeed all are to recognise that Ephraim (Israel) is conjoined with idols (like
mistresses to their lovers, or men bound by a covenant) and is therefore to be
avoided. It is to be left alone. Alternately the word ‘conjoined’ can have a magical
significance and may signify ‘bound by enchantment’. The command to ‘let him
alone’ comes as something of a shock. The prophets would be expected to call for the
uniting of Israel and Judah. But now Israel are seen as having gone so far along the
downward path, that they are to be avoided at all costs.
This is his first use of the term ‘Ephraim’ which will from now on become a regular
feature of the prophecy. It is not always easy to distinguish between Hosea’s use of
‘Israel’ (always used up to this point) and his use of ‘Ephraim’ (the largest and most
influential tribe in northern Israel). There are a number of places where the names
appear simply to signify the same thing (e.g. Hosea 5:3; Hosea 5:9 and often), but at
other times the impression given is that Ephraim represents a distinction in Israel

193. (e.g. Hosea 5:5), possibly what is most sinful in Israel. It may further be that we are
to see that once the Assyrians had decimated Israel (2 Kings 15:29), the mountains
of Ephraim were almost all that was left to Israel, clustered around Samaria, with
the result that what remained of Israel became known as Ephraim (the largest of the
tribes of ancient Israel along with Judah) and sank into ever worse behaviour
(Hosea 5:11-14; Hosea 6:4; Hosea 6:10; Hosea 7:1; Hosea 7:8; Hosea 7:11; etc).
Compare Isaiah 7:2; etc. But the usage is regularly wider than that. Thus the
significance of the term must always be decided in context, and in many cases either
interpretation will be possible.
K&D, "Verse 17
“Ephraim is joined to idols, let it alone.” ‫עצבּים‬ ‫,חבוּר‬ bound up with idols, so that it
cannot give them up. Ephraim, the most powerful of the ten tribes, is frequently
used in the loftier style of the prophets for Israel of the ten tribes. ‫,הנּח־לו‬ as in 2
Samuel 16:11; 2 Kings 23:18, let him do as he likes, or remain as he is. Every
attempt to bring the nation away from its idolatry is vain. The expression (hannach-
(lō) does not necessitate the assumption, however, that these words of Jehovah are
addressed to the prophets. They are taken from the language of ordinary life, and
simply mean: it may continue in its idolatry, the punishment will not long be
delayed.
EXPOSITOR'S DICTIO ARY, "Ephraim and His Idols
Hosea 4:17
These words are not intended as a threatening of the cessation of the Divine
pleadings. There are no people about whom God says that they are so wedded to
any sin that it is no use trying to do anything for them.
I. Ephraim is the name of the orthern Kingdom of Israel, one of the two into which
the nation was divided. It is the people in the other, the neighbouring nation, that
are spoken to; and what is meant by the "letting alone" is plainly enough expressed
for us in the previous verse: "Though thou, Israel, be faithful, yet let not Judah
offend....
Ephraim (Israel) is joined to idols; (Judah) let him alone". That is to say, do you not
go and walk in his ways, and meet a snare to your soul.
II. Between God"s Church and the contiguous world let there be a gulf. Ephraim
and the idols are confused and melted together, and the world and its idols are
confused and moulded together in the same fashion. So then, if you are joined to
them you are joined to their idols; and if you do not let Ephraim alone, you have
community with the idolatry which belongs to him.
III. It is a very bad sign of a Christian man when his chosen companions are people
that have no sympathy with him in his religion. There may be a great many things

194. about religious people that may repel religious people as religious people of other
characters, yet between you, if you are a Christian Prayer of Manasseh , and the
most unlike you of your brethren, there is a far deeper sympathy than there is
between you and the irreligious man that is most like you in all these things.
—A. Maclaren, Contemporary Pulpit, vol. vi. p56.
MACLARE , "‘LET HIM ALO E’
Hosea 4:17.
The tribe of Ephraim was the most important member of the kingdom of Israel;
consequently its name was not unnaturally sometimes used in a wider application
for the whole of the kingdom, of which it was the principal part. Being the
‘predominant partner,’ its name was used alone for that of the whole firm, just as in
our own empire, we often say ‘England,’ meaning thereby the three kingdoms:
England, Scotland, and Ireland. So ‘Ephraim’ here does not mean the single tribe,
but the whole kingdom of Israel.
ow Hosea himself was a ortherner, a subject of that kingdom; and its iniquities
and idolatries weighed heavily on his heart, and were ripped up and brought to light
with burning eloquence in his prophecies. The words of my text have often, and
terribly, been misunderstood. And I wish now to try to bring out their true meaning
and bearing. They have a message for us quite as much as they had for the people
who originally received them.
I. I must begin by explaining what, in my judgment, this text does not mean.
First, it is not what it is often taken to be, a threatening of God’s abandoning of the
idolatrous nation. I dare say we have all heard grim sermons from this text, which
have taken that view of it, and have tried to frighten men into believing now, by
telling them that, perhaps, if they do not, God will never move on their hearts, or
deal with them any more, but withdraw His grace, and leave them to insensibility.
There is not a word of that sort in the text. Plainly enough it is not so, for this
vehement utterance of the Prophet is not a declaration as to God, and what He is
going to do, but it is a commandment to some men, telling them what they are to do.
‘Let him alone’ does not mean the same thing as ‘I will let him alone’; and if people
had only read with a little more care, they would have been delivered from
perpetrating a libel on the divine loving-kindness and forbearance.
It is clear enough, too, that such a meaning as that which has been forced upon the
words of my text, and is the common use of it, I believe, in many evangelical circles,
cannot be its real meaning, because the very fact that Hosea was prophesying to call
Ephraim from his sin showed that God had not let Ephraim alone, but was wooing
him by His prophet, and seeking to win him back by the words of his mouth. God
was doing all that He could do, rising early and sending His messenger and calling
to Ephraim: ‘Turn ye! Turn ye! why will ye die?’ For Hosea, in the very act of
pleading with Israel on God’s behalf, to have declared that God had abandoned it,
and ceased to plead, would have been a palpable absurdity and contradiction.
But beyond considerations of the context, other reasons conclusively negative such
an interpretation of this text. I, for my part, do not believe that there are any
bounds or end to God’s forbearing pleading with men in this life. I take, as true, the

195. great words of the old Psalm, in their simplest sense-’His mercy endureth for ever’;
and I fall back upon the other words which a penitent had learned to be true by
reflecting on the greatness of his own sin: ‘With Him are multitudes of
redemptions’; and I turn from psalmists and prophets to the Master who showed us
God’s heart, and knew what He spake when He laid it down as the law and the
measure of human forgiveness which was moulded upon the pattern of the divine,
that it should be ‘seventy times seven’-the multiplication of both the perfect
numbers into themselves-than which there can be no grander expression for
absolute innumerableness and unfailing continuance.
o, no! men may say to God, ‘Speak no more to us’; or they may get so far away
from Him, as that they only hear God’s pleading voice, dim and faint, like a voice in
a dream. But surely the history of His progressive revelation shows us that, rather
than such abandonment of the worst, the law of the divine dealing is that the deafer
the man, the more piercing the voice beseeching and warning. The attraction of
gravitation decreases as distance increases, but the further away we are from Him,
the stronger is the attraction which issues from Him, and would draw us to Himself.
Clear away, then, altogether out of your minds any notion that there is here
declared what, in my judgment, is not declared anywhere in the Bible, and never
occurs in the divine dealings with men. Be sure that He never ceases to seek to draw
the most obstinate, idolatrous, and rebellious heart to Himself. That divine charity
‘suffereth long, and is kind’ . . . ‘hopeth all things, and beareth all things.’
Again, let me point out that the words of my text do not enjoin the cessation of the
efforts of Christian people for the recovery of the most deeply sunken in sin. ‘Let
him alone’ is a commandment, and it is a commandment to God’s Church, but it is
not a commandment to despair of any that they may be brought into the fold, or to
give up efforts to that end. If our Father in heaven never ceases to bear in His heart
His prodigal children, it does not become those prodigals, who have come back, to
think that any of their brethren are too far away to be drawn by their loving
proclamation of the Father’s heart of love.
There is the glory of our Gospel, that, taking far sadder, graver views of what sin
and alienation from God are, than the world’s philosophers and philanthropists do,
it surpasses them just as much as in the superb confidence with which it sets itself to
the cure of the disease as in the unflinching clearness with which it diagnoses the
disease as fatal, if it be not dealt with by the all-healing Gospel. All other methods
for the restoration and elevation of mankind are compelled to recognise that there is
an obstinate residuum that will not and cannot be reached by their efforts. It used to
be said that some old cannon-balls, that had been brought from some of the
battlefields of the Peninsula, resisted all attempts to melt them down; so there are
‘cannon-balls,’ as it were, amongst the obstinate evil-doers, and the degraded and
‘dangerous’ classes, which mark the despair of our modern reformers and civilisers
and elevators, for no fire in their furnaces can melt down their hardness. o; but
there is the furnace of the Lord in Jerusalem, and the fire of God in Zion, which can
melt them down, and has done so a hundred and a thousand times, and is as able to
do it again to-day as it ever was. Despair of no human soul. That boundless
confidence in the power of the Gospel is the duty of the Christian Church. ‘The
damsel is not dead, but sleepeth!’ They laughed Him to scorn, knowing that she was
dead. But He put out His hand, and said unto her ‘Talitha cumi, I say unto thee,

196. Arise!’ When we stand on one side of the bed with your social reformers on the
other, and say ‘The damsel is not dead, but sleepeth,’ they laugh us to scorn, and bid
us try our Gospel upon these people in our slums, or on those heathens in the ew
Hebrides. We have the right to answer, ‘We have tried it, and man after man, and
woman after woman have risen from the sick-bed, like Peter’s wife’s mother; and
the fever has left them, and they have ministered unto Him. There are no people in
the world about whom Christians need despair, none that Christ’s Gospel cannot
redeem. Whatever my text means, it does not mean cowardly and unbelieving doubt
as to the power of the Gospel on the most degraded and sinful.
II. So, the text enjoins on the Christian Church separation from an idolatrous
world.
‘Ephraim is joined to idols.’ Do you ‘let him alone.’ ow, there has been much harm
done by misreading the force of the injunction of separation from the world. There
is a great deal of union and association with the most godless people in our circle,
which is inevitable. Family bonds, business connections, civic obligations-all these
require that the Church shall not withdraw from the world. There is the wide
common ground of Politics and Art and Literature, and a hundred other interests,
on which it does Christian men no good, and the world much harm, if the former
withdraw to themselves, and on the plea of superior sanctity, leave these great
departments of interest and influence to be occupied only by non-Christians.
Then, besides these thoughts of necessary union and association upon common
ground, there is the other consideration that absolute separation would defeat the
very purpose for which Christian people are here. ‘Ye are the salt of the earth,’ said
Christ. Yes, and if you keep the meat on one plate and the salt on another, what
good will the salt be? It has to be rubbed in particle by particle, and brought into
contact over all the surface, and down into the depths of the meat that it is to
preserve from putrefaction. And no Christian churches or individuals do their duty,
and fulfil their function on earth, unless they are thus closely associated and
intermingled with the world that they should be trying to leaven and save. A
cloistered solitude, or a proud standing apart from the ordinary movements of the
community, or a neglect, on the plea of our higher duties, of the duties of the citizen
of a free country-these are not the ways to fulfil the exhortation of my text. ‘Let the
dead bury their dead,’ said Christ; but He did not mean that His Church was to
stand apart from the world, and let it go its own way. It is a bad thing for both when
little Christian c?ies gather themselves together, and talk about their own goodness
and religion, and leave the world to perish. Clotted blood is death; circulated, it is
life.
But, whilst all this is perfectly true-and there are associations that we must not
break if we are to do our work as Christian people-it is also true that it is possible,
in the closest unions with men who do not share our faith, to do the same thing that
they are doing, with a difference which separates us from them, even whilst we are
united with them. They tell us that, however dense any material substance may seem
to be, there is always a film of air between contiguous particles. And there should be
a film between us and our Christless friends and companions and partners, not
perceptible perhaps to a superficial observer, but most real. If we do our common
work as a religious duty, and in the exercise of all our daily occupations ‘set the
Lord always before’ us, however closely we may be associated with people who do

197. not so live, they will know the difference; never fear! And you will know the
difference, and will not be identified with them, but separate in a wholesome fashion
from them.
And, dear brethren, if I may go a step further, I would venture to say that it seems
to me that our Christian communities want few things more in this day than the
reiteration of the old saying, ‘Have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of
darkness, but rather reprove them.’ There is so much in this time to break down the
separation between him that believeth in Christ and him that doth not; narrowness
has come to be thought such an enormous wickedness, and liberality is so lauded by
all sorts of superficial people, that Christian men need to be summoned back to
their standard. ‘Being let go, they went to their own company’-there is a natural
affinity which should, and will, if our faith is vital, draw us to those who, on the
gravest and solemnest things, have the same thoughts, the same hopes, the same
faith. I do not urge you, God knows, to be bigoted and narrow, and shut yourselves
up in your faith, and leave the world to go to the devil; but I do not wish, either, that
Christian people should fling themselves into the arms and nestle in the hearts of
persons who do not share with them ‘like precious faith.’
I am sure that there are many Christian people, old and young, who are suffering in
their religious life because they are neglecting this commandment of my text. ‘Let
him alone.’ There can be no deep affection, and, most of all-if I may venture on such
ground-no wedded love worth the name, where there is not unanimity in regard to
the deepest matters. It does not say much for the religion of a professing Christian
who finds his heart’s friends and his chosen companions in people that have no
sympathy with the religion which he professes. It does not say much for you if it is
so with you, for the Christian, whom you like least, is nearer you in the depths of
your true self than is the non-Christian whom you love most.
Be sure, too, that if we mix ourselves up with Ephraim, we shall find ourselves
grovelling beside him before his idols ere long. Godlessness is infectious. Many a
young woman, a professing Christian, has married a godless man in the fond hope
that she might win him. It is a great deal more frequently the case that he perverts
her than that she converts him. Do not let us knit ourselves in these close bonds with
the worshippers of idols, lest we ‘learn their ways, and get a snare into our souls.’
‘Be not unequally yoked with unbelievers. What fellowship hath light with
darkness? Wherefore, come out from among them and be ye separate, saith the
Lord. Touch not the unclean thing, and I will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be
My sons and My daughters.’
SIMEO , "THE DA GER OF SPIRITUAL IDOLATRY
Hosea 4:17. Ephraim is joined to idols, let him alone.
THERE is a day of grace, wherein God strives with men by his Spirit: this past, he
abandons them to impenitence and obduracy [ ote: Luke 19:42.]. The precise
period of its termination is, in mercy, concealed from us; but we are all concerned to
deprecate the judgment denounced against Ephraim in the text:
I. The sin of Ephraim—

198. Ephraim, to which Jeroboam belonged, comprehends all the ten tribes. These were
devoted to the worship of the idols that were in Dan and Bethel. or could they be
drawn from it by any of the means which God used—
Though we do not imitate them in this, we are not free from spiritual idolatry—
[Idolatry is described to be a loving and serving of the creature more than the
Creator [ ote: Romans 1:25.]. Hence covetousness and sensuality are spoken of
under that term [ ote: Colossians 3:5. Philippians 3:19.]. ow who has not yielded
that love, fear, and confidence to the creature, which are due to God alone? “Who
can say, I am pure from this sin?” — — —]
We have, in truth, been “joined” to idols—
[Many are the means which God has used to bring us to himself. Yet we have not
been wrought upon effectually by any of them. either mercies vouchsafed, nor
judgments threatened, have been able to prevail. We rather have “held fast deceit,
and refused to return to the Lord our God [ ote: Jeremiah 8:5; Jeremiah 44:16-
17.]” — — —]
But this sin must of necessity provoke God to anger.
II. Their punishment—
The text may be understood as an advice to Judah, not to hold intercourse with the
idolatrous Israelites. Our Lord gives a similar direction to his followers [ ote:
Matthew 15:14.]—
But it rather imports a judicial sentence of final dereliction—
[This is a just punishment for turning away from God. or can there be a more
awful punishment inflicted even by God himself. It is worse than the severest
afflictions which can come upon us in this life. For they may lead to the salvation of
the soul [ ote: 1 Corinthians 11:32; 1 Corinthians 5:5.]; whereas this must
terminate in our condemnation. It is worse than even immediate death and
immediate damnation. For the greater our load of sin, the greater will be our
treasure of wrath [ ote: Romans 2:5.].]
And there is reason to fear that God may inflict this punishment upon us—
[In this way he punished the Gentiles who sinned against their light [ ote: Thrice
mentioned, Romans 1:24; Romans 1:26; Romans 1:28.]. In this way he visited also
his once-favoured people the Jews [ ote: Psalms 81:12. Matthew 23:32-35.]. Why
then should we hope for an exemption, if we imitate their conduct? God has
repeatedly warned us that impenitent sinners shall have this doom [ ote: Proverbs
1:30-31; Proverbs 5:22. 2 Thessalonians 2:10-12.].]

199. Infer—
1. What reason have we to admire the patience and forbearance of God!
[He has seen us cleaving to idols from the earliest period of our lives [ ote: Ezekiel
14:3.]; and though we have changed them, we have never turned unto him. In the
mean time we have been deaf to all his expostulations and entreaties. What a mercy
is it that he has never yet said, “Let him alone!” Yea, he has even restrained us from
perpetrating all that was in our hearts [ ote: Genesis 20:6; Genesis 31:29. 1 Samuel
25:34.]. How gracious is he in yet striving with us by his Spirit! Let then his
goodness, patience and forbearance, lead us to repentance [ ote: Romans 2:4.]; and
let us say, like Ephraim, in his repenting state [ ote: Hosea 14:8.]—]
2. How evidently is salvation entirely of grace!
[If left to ourselves we never should renounce our idols [ ote: Jeremiah 13:23.]. We
should act rather like that obstinate and rebellious people [ ote: Zechariah 7:11-
12.]. The case of Judas may shew us what we may do, when once abandoned by
God. God must give us a will, as well as an ability, to turn to him [ ote: Philippians
2:13.]. Let us then entreat him never to leave us to ourselves. Let us be thankful if,
in any way, he rend our idols from us. If we have never yet resembled the
Thessalonian converts [ ote: 1 Thessalonians 1:9.], let us now cry unto him [ ote:
Jeremiah 31:18. Hosea 14:2-3.]. If we have, let us bear in mind that affectionate
exhortation [ ote: 1 John 5:21.]—.]
PULPIT, "Hosea 4:17
Ephraim is joined to idols: let him alone. Ephraim being the dominant tribe, gave its
name to the northern kingdom. The idols were Ephraim's folly, and to that they
were wedded; and in consequence they are left to their folly, and at the same time
surrendered to their fate. They may persist in their folly; they cannot be prevented.
"Give him rest," as the words literally mean, from exhortations and expostulations,
from remonstrances and reproofs; he will persist in his folly, prepare for his fate,
and perish by his sin. This abandonment of Ephraim proves the desperate nature of
his case. Left to his own recklessness, he is rushing towards ruin. Judah is warned to
stand aloof from the contagion, lest by interference he might get implicated in the
sin and involved in the punishment of Ephraim. The Hebrew commentators express
the word rendered "joined to" in the Authorized Version (Hosea 4:17) by words
importing "yoked to," "allied with," and "cleaving to." Again, ‫ַה‬‫נ‬ַ‫ה‬, imperative of
ַ‫ח‬ִ‫נ‬ֵ‫ה‬, is explained by them as follows:—Rashi: "Leave off, O prophet, and prophesy
not to reprove him, for it is of no use." Aben Ezra: "Let him alone till God shall
chastise him; perhaps his eyes shall then open." Kimchi: "Jehovah says to the
prophet, Cease to reprove him, for it is of no use ... As a man who is angry with his
fellow, because he will not hearken to him when he reproves him, and says, Since
thou hearkenest not to me, I will cease for ever to reprove thee."

200. BI, "Ephraim is joined to idols: let him alone.
Beware of unholy companionships
These words do not mean that nothing was to be done for Ephraim. The prophets again
and again pleaded with that people. “O Israel, thou hast destroyed thyself; but in Me is
thy help.” Our text is addressed to Judah. “Let Ephraim alone.” The best thing to do is
not to associate with that people, keep clear of them, let them alone.
I. This applies to companionship. If you want to keep your own life pure, be careful with
whom you associate. Ephraim was more prosperous and wealthy, and consequently
Judah might be allured and led to offend (Hos_4:15). We are influenced by those with
whom we keep company. You may think you are strong enough to stand against the
insidious influence of the world, but it touches you before you are aware. If Judah
associates with Ephraim, the contact must prove baneful, and Judah will become
corrupt. “Come out from among them, and be ye separate.”
II. It applies also to places we visit and frequent. “Come not ye unto Gilgal, neither go ye
up to Beth-aven.” There sacrifices were offered to Baal, and the golden calf adored. Are
there not Beth-avens (house of vanity) which we had better avoid? (J. Hampden Lee.)
Influence of companions
When visiting a gentleman in England, Mr. Moody observed a fine canary. Admiring his
beauty, the gentleman replied, “Yes, he is beautiful, but he has lost his voice. He used to
be a fine singer, but I was in the habit of hanging his cage out of the window; the
sparrows came round him with their incessant chirping; gradually he ceased to sing and
learned their twitter.” Oh, how truly does this represent many Christians! They used to
delight in the songs of Zion, but they came into close association with those whose notes
never rise so high, until at last, like the canary, they can do nothing but twitter, twitter.
Dangers of carnal security
Jeroboam made Israel to sin. From one sin they passed into another, and each
succeeding year plunged them deeper in the mire of sensuality, idolatry, and corruption.
At last Divine judgment came. It is expressed in the text. Because Ephraim repaid all the
offers of God to receive him back to Himself with anger, therefore henceforth he was to
be left to his own devices—alone, without God, to ward off or to alleviate the coming
destruction. From the fate of Ephraim we draw a lesson for ourselves. God’s dealings
with nations and with individuals are the same in principle, though differing necessarily
in form and extent; and therefore there are the same fearful signs of God’s wrath to be
traced when we are let alone in a course of known sin, without troubles, without
warnings to stay us, as when a nation is suffered to run its course of accustomed riot
unrestrained. In both cases this state of unnatural quiet is but the calm before the
thunderstorm—the cessation of pain in some mortal disease, which marks that nature is
exhausted and death at hand. He who is accepted in Jesus, the child of God, is never let
alone, but, forgetting those things that are behind, he is constantly pressing forward to
those things which are before. We can never be forced into sin. Our danger is that we be
deceived into supposing that we have no enemies, that there is peace when there is no
peace; lest we imagine that all is well with us when, it may be, God is in fact letting us
alone in bitter indignation and overhanging vengeance. Anything is better than that God
should leave us—let us alone in our sin. The grave is a remedy for all earthly woe, but
there is no remedy for this either in time or in eternity. Consider then, all you who are

201. living in any known sin—who are quenching the Spirit of life by not acting or striving to
act up to what you know well is required from Christians—the horrible danger of settling
upon your lees; of thinking no evil shall come nigh you, that your sin shall not find you
out, that God will always strive with you. But the words of the text whisper strong
consolation to the man of a broken spirit and contrite heart. Grant that he be afflicted
and mourn, that he is in heaviness through manifold temptations, that he go mourning
all the day long by reason of his sin, that he is heart-broken; yet, God be thanked, these
very feelings show that he is not let alone. He is not considered as joined unto idols; and
therefore, if he persevere, and be not weary in well-doing, he may rightly expect his God
will turn, and leave a blessing behind Him. (H.I. Swale, M. A.)
The sin of Ephraim
As in the days before the flood, God’s Spirit does “not always strive with man”: even
long-suffering itself has been exhausted, and the despisers and mockers have been either
suddenly destroyed, or given over to impenitence and insensibility. The precise period,
or closing of what has been called “the day of grace,” being mercifully concealed from
man, its existence can form no rule or guide for his procedure.
I. The sin of Ephraim. “Joined to idols.” Idolatry is represented in Scripture as being
twofold; it is both outward and inward, public and retired. It does not consist chiefly in
acts of religious homage. There are idols in the heart, the family, the Church. Loving and
serving the creature more than the Creator is idolatry. It is a present and existing evil,
and a prevailing, constitutional, besetting, and most abhorrent sin. It falls in easily with
our inbred and corrupt propensities.
II. The judgment upon Ephraim. The punishment of his crime. The text is an
admonition to Judah not to hold any familiar intercourse with idolatrous and
backsliding Israel. We, however, regard it as a sentence of dereliction. “Let him alone.”
The phrase is elliptical. It is addressed to some one, but we do not know to whom. May
be angels, providences, ministers of the sanctuary, conscience, ordinances. We may
therefore wisely pray, “Say anything of or to Thy servant, rather than let him alone.” (W.
B. Williams, M. A.)
God abandons the incorrigible
While anything detains the heart from God, the man is in a state of perdition. “He is
joined to his idols.” There is something very dreadful in this declaration—
I. If you distinguish this desertion from another, which may befall even the subjects of
Divine grace. God sometimes leaves His people when they are becoming high-minded, to
convince them of their dependence upon Him. He leaves them to their own strength to
show them their weakness, and to their own wisdom to make them sensible of their
ignorance. But this differs exceedingly from the abandoning of the incorrigible.
II. This leaving of the sinner is a withdrawing from him everything that has a tendency
to do him good. Ministers, saints, conscience, providence—“let him alone,” Ye afflictions,
say nothing to him of the vanity of the world. Let all his schemes be completely
successful. Let his grounds bring forth plentifully. Let him have more than heart can
wish.
III. Consider the importance of the being who thus abandons. It would be much better if

202. all your friends and neighbours, if all your fellow-creatures on whom you depend for
assistance in a thousand ways, were to league together and resolve to have nothing to do
with you, than for God to leave you. While God is with us we can spare other things. But
what is everything, else without God?
IV. What will be the consequences of this determination? It will be a freedom to sin; it
will be the removal of every hindrance in the way to perdition. When God dismisses a
man, and resolves he shall have no more assistance from Him—he is sure of being
ensnared by error, enslaved by lust, and “led captive by the devil at his will.” It is as if we
had taken poison, and all that is necessary to its killing us is not to counteract its
malignity. Such is the judgment here denounced. Notice—
1. The justice of this doom. All the punishments God inflicts are deserved, and He
never inflicts without reluctance. Your condemnation turns upon a principle that will
at once justify Him and silence you. “Ye will not come unto Me that ye might have
life.”
2. Let me call on you to fear this judgment. And surely some of you have reason to be
alarmed. With some of you the Spirit of God has long been striving, and you have
“done despite unto the Spirit of grace.” Now you know what He has said, and you
know what He has done. If you say you have no forebodings, the symptoms are so
much the worse. Spiritual judgments are the most awful, because they are insensibly
executed.
3. Perhaps some of you say, “I am afraid this is my doom already. My convictions
seem to have been stifled.” Perhaps this is true. Perhaps it is a groundless
apprehension. Remember, it is a blessed proof that God does not let you alone, if you
cannot let Him alone. (William Jay.)
Ephraim abandoned to idols
one of the consequences and proofs of our depravity is that we are prone to turn every
blessing into a curse. We are too apt to despise the forbearance of God, and to draw
encouragement from it to continue in sin. Because God is slow to punish, we conclude
that He never will punish. The consequence is, we become more fearless and hardened.
No conduct can be more base than this, none more dangerous, and yet there is none
more common. There is a propensity to it in our very nature. But God’s time of patience
will have an end.
I. Ephraim’s sin. The tendency of the Israelites in the early ages of their history to idol-
worship almost surpasses belief. It is seen in their making a calf at Horeb, and in
Solomon’s licence to surrounding idolaters. The evil became ruinous in the kingdom of
the Ten Tribes. So it is said of Ephraim, “they were joined to idols.” They sinned against
light and knowledge, they transgressed the plainest and most unequivocal declaration of
the Divine will; and this they did in the face of the most peremptory threatenings, the
most solemn warnings, and the most affectionate entreaties. It is painful and
humiliating to reflect that human beings possessed of reason and understanding should
have been capable of acting in a manner so unworthy of their high origin and their
exalted privileges. We are not liable to the charge of gross outward idolatry, but are there
no idols set up within the temple of our hearts? Are we free from the guilt of spiritual
idolatry? What is idolatry? The rendering to any creature whatever that worship,
honour, and love which belong to God alone.

203. 1. Covetousness is declared in Scripture to be idolatry. The intemperate and lovers of
pleasure are idolaters. Pride is only another form of idolatry. Those are idolaters who
are inordinately attached to any earthly comforts. On what things then are our
affections placed? Few of us are there who have not yielded that love, fear, and
confidence to the creature, which are due to God alone.
II. Ephraim’s punishment. “Let him alone.” Some regard this as the language of caution
addressed to others, rather than as a threatening against Ephraim. We regard it in the
latter sense. It is expressive of the severest judgment that could be inflicted on any
nation or individual. It imports God’s final abandonment of them, and delivering them
up to final impenitence, never more to be visited with salutary compunction or regret.
The awful state in which Ephraim was thus left resembles that of incorrigible sinners in
every age, especially those who appear to be given up to final impenitence and unbelief.
Instances in which this threatening is carried into effect may be given.
1. When the usual means of instruction and reproof are no longer employed or
afforded.
2. When the conscience becomes seared, and the Spirit of God ceases to strive with
the sinner.
3. When afflictions are withheld, and providence no longer frowns upon the sinner,
but suffers him to take his course unreproved. Whom the Lord loves He rebukes and
chastens; but He manifests His displeasure against the impenitent by letting them
alone. (R. Davies, M. A.)
A call to separation
These words are not intended as a threatening of the cessation of the Divine pleadings
with an obstinate transgressor—there are no people about whom God says that they are
so wedded to their sin that it is useless to try to do anything with them, and they are not
a commandment to God’s servants to fling up in despair or in impatience the effort to
benefit obstinate and stiff-necked evil-doers. This Book of Hosea is one long pleading
with this very Ephraim, just because he is” “joined to idols.” Hosea was a prophet of the
northern nation, but it is the southern nation, Judah, that is here addressed. What is
meant by letting alone is plainly enough expressed in a previous verse,—“Though thou,
Israel, play the harlot, let not Judah offend.” The calf-worship of Israel is held up as a
warning to Judah, which is commanded to keep clear of all complicity with it, and to
avoid all entangling alliances with backsliding Israel. The prophet with his “Let him
alone” is saying the very same thing as the apostle with his “Come out from among them,
and be ye separate.” Ephraim is wedded to his idols, as parasite to elm-tree, and so if you
are joined to it you will be joined to its idols. Translate this into plain simple English,
and it means this—It is a very bad sign of a Christian man when his chosen companions
are people that have no sympathy with him in his religion. A great many of us will have
to plead guilty to this indictment. There are many things—such as differences of
position, culture, and temperament which cannot but modify the association of
Christian people with one another, and may sometimes make them feel more near to un-
Christian associates who are like themselves in these respects than to Christians who are
not. What deadens so much of our Christianity to-day, and makes it fail as an aggressive
power, is that Christian people get mixed up in utterly irreligious association with
irreligious men and women, and sink their own Christianity, or at all events hide it. The
sad thing is that their religion is so defective that it takes no trouble to hide it. The other

204. sad thing is that so many Christians, so called, have so little Christianity that they never
feel they are out of their element in such associations. We cannot be too intimately
associated with irreligious people, if only we take our religion with us. A lesson may be
learned from the separate existence of the Jews since their dispersion. They mix in the
occupations of common life, and yet are as absolutely distinct as oil from the water on
which it floats. So should the Church be in the world; mixing in all outward affairs, and
exercising a Christianising influence on all with whom its members come in contact; and
yet, by manifest diversity of sympathies and desires and affections, keeping itself
absolutely distinct from the world with which it is to blend. The primitive and
fundamental meaning of “holy” is “set apart.” You Christian people are set apart for the
Master’s use. Let it be every man to his own company. (A. Maclaren, D. D.)
The disturbing effects of Divine discipline
Sin essentially consists in a determination to have our own way—a determination
planted behind the movements of thought and action, and directing them steadily to its
own ends. To live, no matter what special turn our course may take, without having the
main current of our life controlled by anything superior to itself, to push it all on before
the energy of our own will—this is the very essence of sin. Accordingly, the action of the
Divine Spirit upon the human heart is almost always, in the first instance, one of
disturbance. You can detect His presence by the discomfort it creates. He awakens new
thoughts, begets the suspicion that all is not within as it ought to be, and that our own
way, if followed to the end, will terminate in bitterness. Because our own way is wrong,
and will, if persisted in, lead to loss, God’s first endeavour is to make us uneasy in it, and,
if possible, turn us out of it. With this view all His dealings are planned, and planned so
wisely as to suit each successive stage of our growth and progress. In childhood we are
surrounded by God’s gentle ministries. It would not be strange if God should use
rougher means when His gentle ministry fails. He has recourse to the more potent voice
of conscience which He seeks to rouse and to make articulate. As life advances He
throws into the heart the light of His revelation. He alarms us, too, with the guilt of past
sin till our heart is troubled and its peace is gone. Or He stirs up a longing for a nobler
life. Unutterably sad it is when all this notwithstanding, a man moves on unchanged, still
following his own way, still disobedient to the heavenly vision. It seems as if one other
means, of discipline, and only one, were left. An avenue to conscience must be opened by
some resistless stroke. So in middle age God oftentimes in mercy sends judgments. He
breaks suddenly into the midst of life and snatches away the idol of your heart. He visits
you with reverses in trade, and disappointment after disappointment, till your
bewilderment grows into agony. Strange it is there should be those who have been thus
emptied from vessel to vessel, still ignorant of what it means, still cleaving with a dull or
desperate blindness to their own way. There is a point at which His discipline ends, just
because it is useless to continue it farther. He never squanders the means of grace. He
always looks for a return. It is a terrible thing that we should possess such a power of
resistance as to be able to withstand God; that after He has done His best He should be
obliged to leave us alone. But so it is.
I. The point at which the withdrawal of Divine discipline takes place. It is a point which
is gradually reached, and not by the casual commission of a single sin, even of unusual
gravity or guilt. “Being joined to idols” is a state of sin in which some wickedness is
deliberately adhered to. It describes not an isolated act, but a habit which has grown
easy, natural, fixed. Now a habit is not formed at once. It is the result of the repetition of
an act which has become so ingrafted into a man it has grown to be part of himself.

205. Being “joined to idols” describes a state or habit of sin that constitutes pre-eminent
danger. One may be hurried into some trespass; but no one was ever hurried into a
habit. Whatever excuse a man may have for a solitary evil act, he can have next to none
for an evil habit. It is of such sins as those of the Pharisees we have most need to beware.
They moved and breathed in an atmosphere of insincerity and self-righteousness. And
this being joined to idols also describes a condition which we refuse to renounce. A man
may have contracted a habit which he would willingly surrender if he could. But its grasp
may have become too strong to be shaken off, his will too weak to rouse itself to the
effort. But the desire for deliverance is the only door of escape. Let that depart, and there
is no avenue open to your heart.
II. The manner in which the withdrawal of Divine discipline is here described. It is
represented as a “letting alone.” This is marked by the cessation of all those disturbing
effects which had hitherto appeared. Restraints are removed. The remonstrances of
friends are given up. Truth relaxes its hold. Conscience is silent. Hence outward
prosperity and ease are not by any means always a sign of God’s favour. Sometimes they
may be quite the reverse. When outward prosperity co-exists with an utter indifference
to Divine things, and a resolute pursuit of selfish ends, there can be no state more
hazardous. But the terrible thing about this letting alone is that it may go on so silently.
Even religious duties may be scrupulously maintained, though the heart will long since
have ceased to enter into them. So God may even let a man alone when to all seeming He
has as fast a hold of him as ever, or faster. There is only one preventive against our
reaching this terrible condition, but it always proves effectual. Be loyal to the light within
you, and obey the truth. Shun every compromise with evil. Make no tarrying on
debatable ground. Our supreme aim as Christians is not comfort, but holiness; not to
make things easy all round for ourselves, but to grow in clearness of spiritual vision, and
readiness to hear the voice Divine. And to be let alone, even though it may not be to be
joined to an idol, is to become drowsy and heavy-hearted, and when the Bridegroom
comes, to be found slumbering and asleep. (C. Moinet, M. A.)
Warning to Judah
The Lord has given Ephraim up to his idols. The curse of God rests on him, and says, “
Let him alone.” O Judah, take heed then what you do. These words are introduced as an
argument to persuade Judah not to do as Israel had done. (Jeremiah Burroughs.)
Can man sin himself out of all saving possibilities
The words of the text are a dire spectre to some.
1. The view of it taken by the alarmed sinner. Ephraim is understood by him to
represent the sinner at a supposed point in his career, at which he has exhausted all
the resources of Gospel grace, and sinned himself out of hope into doom. He is still a
living man, and enveloped in the showers of spiritual influence; but only seemingly,
so far as he is concerned. The Spirit has abandoned him for ever. All saving agencies
and influences are commanded to do the same. This view still lamentably prevails. It
is often preached, in austerest terms, from the pulpit, and found grimly enshrined in
our popular commentaries. There are indeed some awful truths which God forbid
that we should blink. A sinner may harden himself into insensibility till he is twine
dead, last feeling, defiant of God, and even regardless of man. And his is a very

206. hopeless case. More over, if we misuse privileges and opportunities, God may
withdraw some of them in His judicial wisdom,—as, in the contrary case, He may
enlarge them. But the vicious view so often taken of the prophet’s words is quite
another thing. That view is rooted in certain dogmas of absolute predestination and
partial grace, which agree as ill with the Gospel as fire does with water.
2. Look at the common view critically. Scripture contradicts it. The Gospel
contradicts it. Hosea himself, throughout this book, emphatically contradicts it.
(1) Scripture contradicts it. Where is it taught? Give and criticise the passages
relied on (Gen_6:3; 1Pe_3:18-20; 1Sa_28:15; Luk_19:42).
(2) The Gospel contradicts it. The Bible is one thing, the Gospel is another. The
Bible is the collection of inspired records: the Gospel is the good news therein
contained of salvation through Christ crucified for every creature under heaven.
But good news to every man this Gospel cannot be, if some living men are already
sealed up for perdition. A limited atonement is absolutely irreconcilable with a
universal Gospel, and no less so is a limited provision of the Spirit. The section
we are examining is one way of limiting the Spirit, and it is one which takes the
great living heart out of the Gospel. But as God is true, the Gospel is good news,
and brings salvation to every living man.
(3) Hosea himself contradicts it. Ephraim means, not an individual, but a nation.
Desolation is to befall Israel, but the “valley of Achor” is to be to her “a door of
hope” (Hos_2:14-23; Hos_5:15; Hos_6:1-3; Hos_10:12; Hos_11:1-9; Hos_12:1-
14).
3. What is the true view to be taken of the text? The key to it is to be found in the
context. While Ephraim had become hopelessly wedded to idolatry, Judah, the
adjoining kingdom of the two tribes, had not yet plunged into that foul and ruinous
abyss (Hos_11:12). Judah was, however, in imminent danger of drifting after
Ephraim into that terrible vortex. Hence the twofold warning in the passage now
before us—the formal warning to Judah, and the yet more awful undertone of
warning to Ephraim. “Ephraim is joined to idols.” “Let not Judah offend”; that is,
“Judah, hold aloof; let Ephraim alone.” Ephraim is the consociate of idolatries;
Judah, be not Ephraim’s associate. Partake not Ephraim’s sins, lest ye partake
Ephraim’s plagues. The very expression, “Let him alone,” is used by our Lord in this
same sense, when warning His disciples against the Pharisees—“They be blind
leaders of the blind; let them alone.” The meaning is—beware of their
companionship. Have nothing to do with them. Gilgal and Bethel, which Judah was
warned not to visit, were on the very border between the rival kingdoms. This
conterminous position, and the sacred associations of the places made them specially
perilous. The moral is obvious.
1. Beware of freedom, falsely so called. There is a liberty which means libertinism,
and which always “genders to bondage.”
2. Beware of evil company. It has been the ruin of myriads (1Jn_2:15-17; 2Co_6:14-
18). Faithful Judah, however strong in purpose, ran a terrible risk if he associated
with treacherous Ephraim.
3. Let us beware of doubting the fulness and freeness of God’s pardoning mercy, as
revealed in the Gospel, to all men everywhere. Nothing but a desperate bent in this
direction can account for the perversion of such simple texts as the one we have been
investigating. (T. Guthrie, D. D.)

207. Ephraim let alone
These words give us this important instruction, that God may be so provoked, and
become finally so full of wrath, as to leave the guilty creature to himself, and remonstrate
with him no more.
I. Ephraim’s conditions. “Joined to idols.” That is, as having withdrawn and transferred
his allegiance; as having resisted the means used with him for his recovery; and as
having come into close affinity with that which was antagonistic to God. It was the curse
of Israel that it loved strange gods, and was ever ready to leave the Lord and join itself to
them. And what is Ephraim but a counterpart of many a one in the present day? The sin
which seemed so terrible in him is common enough if men’s eyes were only opened wide
enough to see. Worldly men will repudiate the idea of being under the same
circumstances as Ephraim. Because the outward symbols arc not the same, men argue
that the main principles are distinct; but in the eyes of God covetousness is idolatry, and
a man can be an idolater without worshipping a god of wood or stone. A wife or child
may be the finely sculptured idol; or gain anticipated or acquired may be the great
image, like Nebuchadnezzar’s, all overlaid with gold. Remember that a practical
withdrawal from Christ is abundantly enough to prove the ruin of a soul. The transfer of
allegiance may be a silent reality. The position of an idolater may be assumed without
one’s attracting even the attention of his fellows. But Ephraim had added sin to sin, by
resisting all the means which were used to bring him back. God did not lightly part with
Israel. The hand of justice long lingered on the hilt before it drew the sword. The hand of
mercy long trembled before it let go its grasp. A dull, inactive, heavy resistance to the
means of grace is a fearful proof of the state of practical idolatry in which some men are.
The work of a soul’s ruin is carried on quietly. Many a gracious influence has been
resisted. Many a teaching providence has been thrown away. The heart has become, by
the very order of nature, harder and harder; the conscience has become less impressible;
the soul has become more habituated to being away from God. Then the sentence may
go forth, “Let him alone.”
II. Ephraim’s curse. The words are as fearful as any which ever passed from the lips of
God. To secure their ruin, and to bring down full vengeance upon them, all that was
required was that they should be left to themselves. It involved—
1. A withdrawal of enlightening influence. This may occur gradually or suddenly. It is
possible for this curse to be in operation, and yet for no outward change of any kind
to be detected in the man upon whom it is laid.
2. Disturbing influences are also purposely withheld. The cutting dispensations
under which some of us now smart so much, are perhaps the only means to keep us
away from that fatal ease whose end is death. When God’s work is done in us, all trial
will be taken away, but woe betide the man who gains freedom from trial by being let
alone. Beware, then, how you trifle with the present, how you continue unmoved
beneath the gracious influences which are now being brought to bear on your soul.
(P. B. Power, M. A.)
Let him alone
“In a sense, all men are idolaters.” Since man by nature is, in spirit although not in fact,

208. as much an idolater as the pagans of any heathen land, it may be justly said of all who
have been converted by the grace of God, that He has “taken them from among the
heathen.” Whatever comes between the soul and God, whatever supplants His love in
the heart is an “idol.” It may be the love of what is unlawful to be loved, or it may be the
unlawful love of what in itself is allowed.
I. The sinful alliance. “Joined to idols.” There are several particulars characterising this
union.
1. It is illegal. All the inhibitions of God are but the voice of perfect love and wisdom
enforcing the perfect laws of parental government. In a properly regulated family
there are laws, and these have a threefold purpose—
(1) The good of each individual member.
(2) The preservation of one member from the injuries of another.
(3) The good, or honour, of the parental head.
The Divine laws are illustrated by the human. To be “joined to idols “ is to be allied with
claims which are foreign to the nature and opposed to the claims of God, and such an
alliance is illegal.
2. It is unnatural. Redeemed and justified man is among the sublime confederacy of
loyal subjects of the Creator. But the sinner has allied himself with the dark forces of
hell—he is an alienated being.
3. It is degrading. For a member of a large and noble family to become united with
guilt and ignominy would be to entail upon himself utter disgrace, to cast a shade
over the honour of his family name, and to forfeit all claims to the love of kindred or
respect of friends. And every sinner, in the eye of purity, is a walking plague, a moral
Cain.
4. It is irrational. Sin is a disease producing madness.
II. The ruinous alliance.
1. The soul may be said to be “let alone” when it seeks satisfaction apart from God.
2. When the blood of the atonement is set at nought,
3. When the truth of God loses its wonted power to “convince of sin, righteousness,”
etc. The Bible speaks, ministers speak, providence speaks, as usual, but conscience
hears not.
4. The sentence, “let him alone,” will have a future application to the sinner’s state.
“Let him alone” is the burning inscription on the walls of hell’s prison-house. (G.
Hunt Jackson.)
Spiritual abandonment
I. The sin of Ephraim—idolatry. We are apt to be surprised at the proneness of the
Israelites to the sin of idolatry. Yet it may be doubted whether we have not a great deal in
common with idolaters. The same vice is apt to show itself in different forms—forms
produced by circumstances of age and country. There is the same heart in the man and
the boy; but the result of the same passions is different at the two different periods of
life. And so we may not worship idols, and yet we may be partakers of the iniquity of

209. those who did. Tim fountain-head and origin of Israel’s sin was their own wilfulness,
Wilfulness and impatience of old took the shape of idolatry; they now wear the form of
heresy, and separation, and divisions. It was a zeal for religion which prostrated Israel at
the footstool of idols; it is zeal without knowledge which makes men forsake the Catholic
faith for crude theories of their own.
II. The punishment of Ephraim—let alone. God did not, in so speaking, design to let
idolatry go unpunished. “Let him alone” proclaims that idolatry would prove its own
punishment; so sure, so inevitable, so miserable would be the consequences of forsaking
the true God, that it would need no further outbreak of wrath to vindicate the honour of
the Almighty. To forsake God is to forsake our own mercies. You cannot drop a single
doctrine of the Catholic faith, without that doctrine, sooner or later, avenging itself.
Truth neglected will make itself felt. God lets matters take their course, saying of those
who follow their own devices, “He is joined to idols: let him alone.”
III. What is it for an individual to be let alone of the Almighty? God has implanted in the
heart of every man something which chides him whenever he rejects the right and
chooses what is wrong. Very wonderful is our mental organisation. More sublime seems
conscience on her judgment seat, weighing and balancing every idea which memory or
invention suggests; and if her judgment be not adopted, if we will not act by her verdict,
chastising with a whip of scorpions. If, although remonstrated with as we are by our
natural consciences and by the Eternal Spirit, we still fall into presumptuous sin,—what
should we become? The judgment threatened in the text is one which would reduce us to
the position of Satan himself. For what will follow God letting a man alone? That man
will experience no further promptings and warnings, but be left unrestrained by any
secret reluctance to work all manner of iniquity. Assure me that a man is troubled when
he has done wrong, that he feels disquieted and restless, that after indulging his
passions, he is sensible of disgust and loathing, and I have hope that the day will come
when he will throw off the bondage of his lusts. But assure me that he is happy in his
iniquity, that he can rob and cheat, and lie and be drunken without being miserable
afterwards, and I shudder lest indeed he has come to such a point as to be left alone of
God. (J. R. Woodford, M. A.)
A sin and its punishment
This passage exhibits against this people a charge and a threatening.
I. A charge. “He is joined to idols.”
1. All true believers are said to be “joined to the Lord.” Faith not only forms an
union, but, as it were, an identity with the Saviour, so that they are no longer twain,
but one, one mystical person, one spirit.
2. The prodigal son is said to have “joined himself to a citizen in a far country.” He
fastened himself to him.
3. Of Israel it is said, he has “joined himself unto Baal-peor,” an impure idol of the
Ammonites. Christianity has abolished idolatry from the nations of Europe: yet the
world is still full of mental idolatry, not less sinful or less dangerous, though not
equally degrading in the eye of reason. To trust in an arm of flesh, to love the
creature more than the Creator, is to be joined to idols. The sin of idolatry appears in
such variety of forms that perhaps no one in the present life is entirely free from it. It
exists in every inordinate affection, in every undue attachment to created good.

210. II. A threatening. This may be the language of caution—Do not enter into any friendship
with such an idolatrous people. It may, however, be regarded as a warning and
threatening against Ephraim. The sinner is delivered up to final impenitence, never
more to be visited with compunction or regret. God suffers the sinner unchecked to
pursue his own way, and take the consequences. The instances in which this awful
threatening may be inflicted are the following—
1. When the usual means of instruction and reproof are no longer employed or
afforded.
2. When conscience becomes seared, and the Spirit of God ceases to strive with the
sinner, then also may he be said to be given up.
3. This fearful state may be apprehended when afflictions are withheld, and
providence no longer frowns upon the sinner s way, but suffers him to take his
course unreproved. When a physician ceases to administer his bitter potions, or a
surgeon to search the wound, it is a sign that they look upon the case as desperate.
(1) If God let us alone, we shall be sure to let Him alone, and become prayerless,
unfeeling, and incorrigible. We then cast off fear, and restrain prayer before God.
(2) Though God should let us alone, Satan will not.
(3) If God let us alone it is the prelude of our destruction. We are left in our sins,
surrounded with enemies and dangers.
(4) Should God let us alone now, He will not do so hereafter. Learn—
1. The wretched state into which sin may have brought us.
2. The necessity of constant watchfulness and prayer, that none of these evils come
upon us. It is better to endure the deepest distress than to enjoy a false and delusive
peace. Let us dread nothing so much as a state of insensibility; a being “ past feeling”
is the certain sign of perdition. (B. Beddome, M. A.)
The derelict
I. The meaning of the verse and the kernel-truth contained in it. Under the seductive
influence and example of Ahab and his queen Jezebel, the revolt of Israel had become
complete. From the false worship of the true God they had turned further aside to the
worship of false gods, and were as really idolaters as the heathen nations around them.
But it was not all at once, or without many measures aimed at their reformation, that
God finally abandoned them. The spirit of His dealings with them, for a long period, was
expressed in those tender words, as if spoken by a father over a prodigal son, “How shall
I give thee up, Ephraim?” A succession of prophets, like Elijah and Elisha, was sent to
remonstrate with them; severe chastisements, such as famine and other national
calamities, were commissioned to “hedge up their way with thorns,” to bring their sins to
their remembrance, and to lead them to a penitent return to God. But while individuals
were thereby recovered, any good effects upon the nation were temporary and partial.
And then, at length, the patience of a long-suffering God becoming exhausted, He
declares His holy purpose to suspend all further measures for their recovery. This
unfolds the meaning and presents the remarkable central doctrine of the verse. Some
have indeed understood it to bear a different sense, and to convey a seasonable warning
to the neighbouring kingdom of Judah, rather than to announce the final rejection of
Israel. As if it were said: “He is joined to idols; beware of following his evil example; keep

211. aloof, yea, at a far distance from him. You cannot touch pitch and not be defiled. When
the dove associates with the raven, it soon begins to smell of carrion. Have no fellowship
with the unfruitful works of darkness, hut rather reprove them.” And this is a most
seasonable thought in itself, which has been anticipated in a previous verse; but it is not
the immediate truth expressed in these solemn words. Their general meaning is, that
when individuals or a nation continue and obstinately persist in sin, especially in the
face of providential chastisement and means of grace, it is not an uncommon thing with
God at length to give up His gracious dealings with them, and to abandon them to ruin.
The same doctrine, declaring one of the laws of the Divine procedure, comes out with
startling distinctness in other passages of Scripture. Thus in Ezekiel: “As for you, O
house of Israel, thus saith the Lord God, Go ye, serve ye every one his idols.” And in the
Book of Psalms: “My people would not hearken to My voice, and Israel would none of
Me: so I gave them to their own hearts’ lusts, and they walked in their own counsels.”
II. And this doctrine or law of God’s moral government has written itself in many
retributive facts on the history of not a few of the nations of the earth. Thus, when a
people have shown a disposition, in the mass of their population, to reject and persecute
the religion of Christ, and they have persisted in this even when lengthened
opportunities for repentance have been given them and they have been tried by various
agencies to bring them to a right state of mind, they have at length been abandoned and
given over to the error and darkness which they preferred. It would be easy to name
more than one nation in Europe which, at the great Protestant reformation three
centuries ago, drove away the Gospel from their gates, and turned its messengers into
martyrs, and which have been sinking lower and lower in the scale of nations ever since.
The same thing holds true of individuals, only with a depth of meaning which, from the
nature of the case, is not applicable in its full extent to organised communities. When
men persist, in indifference and unbelief, and in following after their hearts’ idols, and
all this in the face of measures to break them off from their forbidden attachments, God
at length withdraws every means of recovering them, and gives them over to their
merited doom. This terrible experience is not indeed to be confounded with that
temporary withdrawal of the light of His countenance with which the Father sometimes
punishes those children who have partially wandered from Him. This form of Divine
dealing is wise, merciful, and paternal, and is referred to in a subsequent verse: “I will
go,” says Jehovah, “and return to My place, till they acknowledge their offence and seek
My face: in their affliction they will seek Me early.” But the dealing of which this verse
speaks is judicial and punitive. And so it also was with the miserable, blighted, heaven-
deserted Saul, like his own mountain of Gilboa, with no dew resting on it. It is a
melancholy thing to see a physician leaving the sick-chamber, and declaring that he can
do no more for his patient. It is sad to hear of a crew leaving a wrecked ship, escaping
from the doomed thing, and making no more efforts to keep it from sinking. But what is
this to God’s abandoning an incorrigible human spirit! Lord, afflict me with
chastisements, bereave me with strokes, do anything to me rather than say, “He is joined
to idols: let him alone.” (A. Thomson, D. D.).
18 Even when their drinks are gone,

212. they continue their prostitution;
their rulers dearly love shameful ways.
BAR ES, "Their drink is sour - Literally, “turned,” as we say of milk. So Isaiah
says, “Thy silver is become dross; thy wine is mingled,” i. e., adulterated, “with water”
Isa_1:22; and our lord speaks of “salt which had lost its savor.” The wine or the salt,
when once turned or become insipid, is spoiled, irrecoverably, as we speak of “dead
wine.” They had lost all their life, and taste of goodness.
Her rulers with shame do love, give ye - Avarice and luxury are continually
banded together according to the saying, “covetous of another’s, prodigal of his own.”
Yet it were perhaps more correct to render, “her rulers do love, do love, shame.” They
love that which brings shame, which is bound up with shame, and ends in it; and so the
prophet says that they “love the shame” itself. They act, as if they were in love with the
shame, which, all their lives long, they are unceasingly and, as it were, by system,
drawing upon themselves. They chase diligently after all the occasions of sins and sinful
pleasures which end in shame; they omit nothing which brings it, do nothing which can
avoid it. What else or what more could they do, if they “loved the shame” for its own
sake?
CLARKE, "Their drink is sour - Or rather, he is gone after their wine. The
enticements of idolatry have carried them away.
Her rulers with shame do love - Rather, have loved shame; they glory in their
abominations.
Give ye - Perhaps it would be better to read, Her rulers have committed, etc. They
have loved gifts. What a shame! These were their rulers, literally, their shields. Justice
and judgment were perverted.
GILL, "Their drink is sour,.... In their stomachs, having drank so much that they
cannot digest it; hence nauseous eructations, with a filthy stench, are belched out; so it is
a charge of drunkenness which Ephraim or the ten tribes were addicted to, and are
accused of, Isa_28:1 or "their drink is gone" (y); it has lost its colour, brightness, smell,
and flavour; it is turned to vinegar; expressive of the general corruption and depravity of
manners and religion among them; see Isa_1:22 or "their drink departeth", or "causeth
to depart"; or "is refractory" (z); that is, it made them refractory, like a refractory belief,
as before; caused them to depart from God and his worship, and led them into all sin
and irreligion, particularly what follows:
they have committed whoredom continually; corporeal whoredom, which
drunkenness leads to; and spiritual whoredom or idolatry, which they had committed,

213. and continued in, ever since the days of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and increased
therein:
her rulers with shame do love, give ye; or "her shields" (a); those that should have
been the protectors of Israel, compared before to a heifer; and preserved them not only
from their external enemies, but from all innovations in religion; and which we rightly
enough render "rulers", civil and ecclesiastic, kings, princes, and priests; see Psa_47:9,
these "loved, give ye", which was a "shame" to them: the sense is, either they loved gifts
and bribes, and were continually saying, "give, give", when causes were to be tried, and
so perverted justice and judgment, which was very shameful; or they loved wine and
strong drink, and therefore required it to be continually given them, which was very
scandalous in rulers more especially, Pro_30:4; or they loved whoredom, both in a
corporeal and spiritual sense, and desired more harlots and more idols, and added to
their old ones, which was very abominable and ignominious. So the Targum,
"they turned themselves after fornication they loved, which brought shame unto them;''
and these may be considered as so many reasons why Judah should have nothing to do
with Israel.
HE RY, " Corporal whoredom is another crime here charged upon them: They have
committed whoredom continually, Hos_4:18. They drove a trade of uncleanness; it was
not a single act now and then, but their constant practice, as it is of many that have eyes
full of adultery and which cannot cease from that sin, 2Pe_2:14. Now the abominable
filthiness and lewdness that was found in Israel is here spoken of, (1.) As a concomitant
of their idolatry; their false gods drew them to it; for the devil whom they worshipped,
though a spirit, is an unclean spirit. Those that worshipped idols were separated with
harlots, and they sacrificed with harlots; for because they liked not to retain God in
their knowledge, but dishonoured him, therefore God gave them up to vile affections, by
the indulging of which they dishonoured themselves, Rom_1:24, Rom_1:28. (2.) As a
punishment of it. The men that worshipped idols were separated with harlots that
attended the idolatrous rites, as in the worship of Baal-peor, Num_25:1, Num_25:2. To
punish them for that God gave up their wives and daughters to the like vile affections:
They committed whoredom and adultery (Hos_4:13), which could not but be a great
grief and reproach to their husbands and parents; for those that are not chaste
themselves desire to have their wives and daughters so. But thus they might read their
sin in their punishment, as David's adultery was punished in the debauching of his
concubines by his own son, 2Sa_12:11. Note, When the same sin in others is made men's
grief and affliction which they have themselves been guilty of they must own that the
Lord is righteous.
3. The perverting of justice, Hos_4:18. Their rulers (be it spoken to their shame) do
love, Give ye, that is, they love bribes, and have it continually in their mouths, Give,
give. They are given to filthy lucre; every one that has any business with them must
expect to be asked, What will you give? Though, as rulers, they are bound by office to do
justice, yet none can have justice done them without a fee; and you may be sure that for a
fee they will do injustice. Note, The love of money is the ruin of equity and the root of all
iniquity. But of all men it is a shame for rulers (who should be men fearing God and
hating covetousness) to love Give ye. Perhaps this is intended in that part of the charge
here, Their drink is sour; it is dead; it is gone. Justice, duly administered, is refreshing,
like drink to the thirsty, but when it is perverted, and rulers take rewards either to acquit
the guilty or to condemn the innocent, the drink is sour; they turn judgment into

214. wormwood, Amo_5:7. Or it may refer in general to the depraved morals of the whole
nation; they had lost all their life and spirit, and were as offensive to God as dead and
sour drink is to us. See Deu_32:32, Deu_32:33.
JAMISO , "Their drink is sour — metaphor for utter degeneracy of principle
(Isa_1:22). Or, unbridled licentiousness; not mere ordinary sin, but as abandoned as
drunkards who vomit and smell sour with wine potations [Calvin]. Maurer not so well
translates, “When their drinking is over, they commit whoredoms,” namely, in honor of
Astarte (Hos_4:13, Hos_4:14).
her rulers — Israel’s; literally, “shields” (compare Psa_47:9).
with shame ... love, Give ye — (Pro_30:15). No remedy could be effectual against
their corruptions since the very rulers sold justice for gifts [Calvin]. Maurer translates,
“The rulers are marvelously enamored of shame.” English Version is better.
CALVI , "Verse 18
The Prophet, using a metaphor, says here first, that their drink had become putrid;
which means, that they had so intemperately given themselves up to every kind of
wickedness, that all things among them had become fetid. And the Prophet alludes
to shameful and beastly excess: for the drunken are so addicted to wine, that they
emit a disgusting smell, and are never satisfied with drinking, until by spewing, they
throw up the excessive draughts they have taken. The Prophet then had this in view.
He speaks not, however, of the drinking of wine, this is certain: but by drunkenness,
on the contrary, he means that unbridled licentiousness, which then prevailed
among the people. Since then they allowed themselves every thing they pleased
without shame, they seemed like drunken men, insatiable, who, when wholly given
to wine, think it their highest delight ever to have wine on the palate, or to fill
copiously the throat, or to glut their stomach: when drunken men do these things,
then they send forth the offensive smell of wine. This then is what the Prophet
means, when he says, Putrid has become their drink; that is, the people observe no
moderation in sinning; they offend not God now, in the common and usual manner,
but are wholly like beastly men, who are nothing ashamed, constantly to belch and
to spew, so that they offend by their fetid smell all who meet them. Such are this
people.
He afterwards adds, By wantoning they have become wanton This is another
comparison. The Prophet, we know, has hitherto been speaking of wantonness in a
metaphorical sense, signifying thereby, that Israel perfidiously abandoned
themselves to idols, and thus violated their faith pledged to the true God. He now
follows the same metaphor here, ‘By wantoning they have become wanton.’ Hence
he reproaches and represents them as infamous on two accounts, — because they
cast aside every shame, like the drunken who are so delighted with wine, that
through excess they send forth its offensive smell, — and because they were like
wantons.
At last he says, Her princes have shamefully loved, Bring ye Here, in a peculiar way,
the Prophet shows that the great sinned with extreme licentiousness; for they were

215. given to bribery: and the eyes of the wise, we know, are blinded, and the hearts of
the just are perverted, by gifts. But the Prophet designedly made this addition, that
we might know that there were then none among the people who attempted to apply
a remedy to the many prevailing vices; for even the rulers coveted gain; no one
remembered for what purpose he had been called. Hence it happened that every one
indulged himself with impunity in whatever pleased him. How so? Because there
were no censors of public morals. Here we see in what a wretched state the people
are, when there are none to exercise discipline, when even the judges gape for gain,
and care for nothing but for gifts and riches; for then what the Prophet describes
here as to the people of Israel must happen. Her princes, then, have loved, Bring ye.
Respecting the word ‫,קלון‬ kolun, we must shortly say, that Hosea does not simply
allude to any kinds of gifts, but to such gifts as proved that there was a public sale of
justice; as though he said, “ ow the judges, when they say, Bring ye, when they
love, Bring ye, make no distinction whatever between right and wrong, and think all
this lawful; for the people are become insensible to such a disgraceful conduct:
hence they basely and shamefully seek gain.”
COFFMA , "Verse 18
"Their drink has become sour; they play the harlot continually; her rulers love
shame."
"Her rulers love shame ..." The word here rendered "rulers" actually means
"shields," but this is a figurative designation of the princes who ruled the people, as
in Psalms 47:10.[46] It is said that they love shame in the sense that they loved the
sins and indulgences which brought shame both to themselves and to the people.
COKE, "Verse 18
Hosea 4:18. Their drink is sour— Drunkenness hath turned them away. Houbigant.
Those who understand it according to our translation, suppose that the prophet
means the wine which was poured out in libations to their false gods. The Chaldee
renders it, Their princes have multiplied banquets by rapine. See Pococke. The
allusion is to libations made with wine grown dead or turning sour. The image
represents the want of all spirit of piety in their acts of worship, and the
unacceptableness of such worship in the sight of God; which is alleged as a reason
for the determination, expressed in the preceding clause, to give Ephraim up to his
own ways. "Leave him to himself," says God to his prophet; "his pretended
devotions are all false and hypocritical; I desire none of them."
ELLICOTT, "Verse 18-19
(18, 19) The Authorised version is here very defective. Translate, Their carousal
hath become degraded; with whoring they whore. Her shields love shame. A blast
hath seized her in its wings, so that they are covered with shame for their offerings.
“Shields” mean the princes of the people, as in Psalms 47:9. The fern. “her” in these
verses refers to Ephraim, in accordance with the common Hebrew idiom. The
change of person to the masculine plural is characteristic of the style of Hebrew

216. prophecy. The storm-wind hath seized upon her with its wings—carried her away
like a swarm of locusts or a baffled bird.
TRAPP, "Verse 18
Hosea 4:18 Their drink is sour: they have committed whoredom continually: her
rulers [with] shame do love, Give ye.
Ver. 18. Their drink is sour] That is, they are past grace, and it is now past time a
day to do them good: for thou seest how the matter mends with them, even as sour
ale mends in summer: and how they even stink above ground, as Psalms 14:2. Vina
probantur odore, colore, sapore, &c., but their wine hath neither good colour, smell,
nor savour or taste; it is dead and gone, and they are as trees twice dead and rotten,
and therefore pulled up by the roots, such as the Latins call vappae, worthless
fellows, that is, past the best, and now good for nothing: see Isaiah 1:22. What life or
sweetness can be in apostates? yea, how sour and unsavoury to such are all fleshly
comforts! They use to drink away their terrors, and drive away their melancholy
dumps with merry company. But will that hold? what are such plasters better than
the devil’s drugs, than his whistle, to call men off from better practices? There is a
cup in the hands of the Lord, it is full of mixture, but extremly sour; and the very
dregs thereof all the wicked of the earth shall wring them out, and drink them up,
Psalms 75:8, though it be eternity to the bottom.
They have committed whoredom continually] Here they are taxed for whoredom, as
before for drunkenness (so some carry it), and afterwards for covetousness. This is
that chariotmen of shame, flagitiorum trigae, whereby the prophet persuadeth
Judah to shake off Israel, as not fit to be conversed with. He had charged them
before with fornication of both sorts; here he showeth how unwearied they were in
their wickedness, and in addition how intense, for fornicando fornicati sunt, they
have done wickedly as they could, they have eked out their idolatries and adulteries,
and though wearied and even wasted with the multitude of their wickedness, yet
they have not given over, but are unsatisfied, and would sin in perpetuity: as that
filthy fornicator who said he would desire no other heaven but to live for ever on
earth, and to be carried from one brothel house to another. "She hath wearied
herself with lies, and yet her great scum went not forth out of her: therefore shall it
be in the fire," Ezekiel 24:12. Therefore shall graceless wretches be tormented for
ever, because they would sin for ever; and therefore suffer all extremity, because
they do wickedly with both hands earnestly, Micah 7:3; woefully wasting the
marrow of their time, the flower of their age, the strength of their bodies, the vigour
of their spirits, in the pursuit of their lusts, in the froth and filth whereof is bred
that worm that never dieth; which is nothing else but the furious reflection of the
soul upon its own once wilful folly, and now woeful misery.
Her rulers with shame do love, Give ye] Her shields (oh shameful!) do love, Give ye;
where there is in the original an elegant alliteration that cannot be translated, ‫אהבו‬
‫הבו‬ Dilexerunt Afferte, not Afferre, as the Vulgate corruptly readeth it. The Doric

217. dialect, the horse leech’s language, Give, Give, they are perfectly skilled in:
δωροφαγια, gift-greediness, is all their delight: like the ravens of Arabia, that
fullgorged, have a tuneable sweet record, but empty, screech horribly. Plerique
officiarii, saith one: Very many rulers do as Plutarch reporteth of Stratocles and
Dromoclites, a couple of corrupt officers, qui sese mutuo ad messem auream invitare
solebant, who were wont to invite one another to the golden harvest, thereby
meaning the court, and the judgment seat (Plutarch in Politic.). These follow the
administration of justice as a trade only, with an unquenchable and unconscionable
desire for gain: which justifieth the common resemblance of the courts of justice to
the bush, whereunto while the sheep do flee for defence in weather, he is sure to lose
part of his fleece. ow are these shields? are they not rather sharks? Are they
protectors, and not rather pillagers, latrones publici, public robbers, as Cato called
them? These shields of the earth belong to God, saith David, Psalms 47:9, should
they not then be like him " ow there is no iniquity with the Lord our God, nor
accepting of persons, nor receiving of gifts," 2 Chronicles 19:7, neither by, himself
nor by his man Elisha, nor by his man’s man Gehazi, without distaste. By one
period of speech, by one breath of the Lord, are they both forbidden: Deuteronomy
16:18-20, "Thou shalt not respect persons, nor receive a gift": For what reason: "A
gift doth blind the eyes of the wise," yea, it transforms them into walking idols, that
have eyes and see not, ears and hear not: only it leaveth them hands to handle, that
the very touching whereof will infect and venom a man, as Pliny writes of the fish
Torpedo. Let such, therefore, shake their hands from bribes, Isaiah 33:15, as Paul
shook off the viper: and be so far from saying, Give ye, that he should rather say to
those that offer it, "Thy money perish with thee." "He that hateth gifts shall live,"
Proverbs 15:27. Jethro’s justice of peace should be a man of courage, fearing God,
hating covetousness, Exodus 18:21; not bound to the peace (as one phraseth it) by a
gift in a basket, nor struck dumb by the appearance of angels.
PETT, "Verse 18-19
‘Their drink has become sour, they play the harlot continually, her rulers dearly
love shame, the wind has wrapped her up in its wings, and they will be put to shame
because of their sacrifices.’
Hosea now provides the reasons why Israel are to be avoided. The first reason is
because their drink has become sour, not literally, but because of their disobedience
and unfaithfulness to YHWH. Drinking was a major part of their feasts as they
‘drank before YHWH’ (compare Exodus 24:11). But now it is no longer to be seen
as religiously satisfying, or as a contribution to spiritual blessing as they join in
worship, but is to be seen as ‘sour’, and as bringing judgment and condemnation on
those who partake. We can compare how Paul warned that to drink of the wine at
the Lord’s Supper would bring judgment on those whose hearts were not right and
who treated it casually (1 Corinthians 11:27-29).
The second reason is because they constantly ‘play the harlot’ by lusting after the
Baalim. By doing so they demonstrate their unfaithfulness to YHWH, even if they
do introduce Him and His ame (‘as YHWH lives’) into their rituals. Thus they are
unacceptable to Him.

218. The third reason is because ‘her shields (i.e. her rulers/defenders) dearly love
shame.’ The thought is that even the leadership, and those responsible for their
wellbeing and protection, lust after shameful things rather than after YHWH. They
love what is shameful. ote the change from ‘they’ to ‘her’, the former representing
the children of Israel, the latter Israel as an entity (their mother - Hosea 4:5). Hosea
regularly changes from singular to plural and back again when speaking of Israel,
even in the same context.
The fourth reason is because, as a result of their false sacrifices offered at the high
places, Israel has been ‘wrapped up in the wings of the wind’, that is, are finding
and will find that the winds of destruction are blowing heavily upon them, and will
eventually carry them away from their land. Depending on the date of this prophecy
they had already experienced something of this (or would soon) when part of their
land had been turned into an Assyrian province, with many taken into exile (2 Kings
15:29). One day it would happen to them all (2 Kings 17:5 ff.).
Some, however would translate as ‘spirit’ instead of ‘wind’ (compare Hosea 4:12)
with the idea being that they are borne along by ‘the spirit of licentiousness’
(whoredom).
K&D, "Verse 18-19
“Their drinking has degenerated; whoring they have committed whoredom; their
shields have loved, loved shame. Hosea 4:19. The wind has wrapt it up in its wings,
so that they are put to shame because of their sacrifices.” ‫סר‬ from ‫,סוּר‬ to fall off,
degenerate, as in Jeremiah 2:21. ‫סבא‬ is probably strong, intoxicating wine (cf. Isaiah
1:22; ahum 1:10); here it signifies the effect of this wine, viz., intoxication. Others
take (sâr) in the usual sense of departing, after 1 Samuel 1:14, and understand the
sentence conditionally: “when their intoxication is gone, they commit whoredom.”
But Hitzig has very properly object to this, that it is intoxication which leads to
licentiousness, and not temperance. Moreover, the strengthening of (hisnū) by the
inf. abs. is not in harmony with this explanation. The (hiphil hiznâh) is used in an
emphatic sense, as in Hosea 4:10. The meaning of the last half of the verse is also a
disputed point, more especially on account of the word ‫,הבוּ‬ which only occurs here,
and which can only be the imperative of ‫יהב‬)‫הבוּ‬ for ‫,)הבוּ‬ or a contraction of ‫.אהבוּ‬
All other explanations are arbitrary. But we are precluded from taking the word as
an imperative by ‫,קלון‬ which altogether confuses the sense, if we adopt the rendering
“their shields love 'Give ye' - shame.” We therefore prefer taking ‫הבוּ‬ as a
contraction of ‫,אהבוּ‬ and ‫הבוּ‬ ‫אהבוּ‬ as a construction resembling the pealal form, in
which the latter part of the fully formed verb is repeated, with the verbal person as
an independent form (Ewald, §120), viz., “their shields loved, loved shame,” which
yields a perfectly suitable thought. The princes are figuratively represented as
shields, as in Ps. 47:10, as the supporters and protectors of the state. They love
shame, inasmuch as they love the sin which brings shame. This shame will inevitably
burst upon the kingdom. The tempest has already seized upon the people, or wrapt
them up with its wings (cf. Psalm 18:11; Psalm 104:3), and will carry them away
(Isaiah 57:13). ‫,צרר‬ literally to bind together, hence to lay hold of, wrap up. (Rūăch),
the wind, or tempest, is a figurative term denoting destruction, like ‫קדים‬ ‫רוּח‬ in Hosea

219. 13:15 and Ezekiel 5:3-4. ‫אותהּ‬ refers to Ephraim represented as a woman, like the
suffix attached to ‫מגנּיה‬ in Hosea 4:18. ‫מזּבחותם‬ ‫,יבשׁוּ‬ to be put to shame on account of
their sacrifices, i.e., to be deceived in their confidence in their idols ((bōsh) with
(min) as in Hosea 10:6; Jeremiah 2:36; Jeremiah 12:13, etc.), or to discover that the
sacrifices which they offered to Jehovah, whilst their heart was attached to the idols,
did not save from ruin. The plural formation ‫זבחות‬ for ‫זבחים‬ only occurs here, but it
has many analogies in its favour, and does not warrant our altering the reading into
‫,מזבּחותם‬ after the Sept. ἐκ τῶν θυσιατηρίων , as Hitzig proposes; whilst the
inadmissibility of this proposal is sufficiently demonstrated by the fact that there is
nothing to justify the omission of the indispensable ‫,מן‬ and the cases which Hitzig
cites as instances in which (min) is omitted (viz., Zechariah 14:10; Psalm 68:14, and
Deuteronomy 23:11) are based upon a false interpretation.
PULPIT, "Hosea 4:18, Hosea 4:19
The first of these two verses gives a picture of the degeneracy of the times; the
second predicts the destruction that would ensue. Their drink is sour (margin, is
gone): they have committed whoredom continually. If the first clause be taken
literally,
In the one case the wind is the strong storm-wind of Divine wrath that will seize on
Ephraim, wrap her up with its wings, and carry her away. In the other, Ephraim
wraps up the wind, that is, disappointment, the result of her sin, in the fold of her
skirt. The
19 A whirlwind will sweep them away,
and their sacrifices will bring them shame.
BAR ES, "The wind hath bound her up in her wings - When God brought
Israel out of Egypt, He “bare them on eagle’s wings, and brought them unto Himself”
Exo_19:4; Deu_32:11. Now they had abandoned God, and God abandoned them as chaff
to the wind. The certainty of Israel’s doom is denoted by its being spoken of in the past.
It was certain in the divine judgment. Sudden, resistless, irreversible are God’s
judgments, when they come. As if “imprisoned in the viewless winds,” and “borne with

220. resistless violence,” as it were on the wings of the whirlwind, Israel should be hurried by
the mighty wrath of God into captivity in a distant land, bound up so that none should
escape, but, when arrived there, dispersed here and there, as the chaff before the wind.
And they shall be ashamed because of their sacrifices - They had sacrificed to
the calves, to Baal, or to the sun, moon, stars, hoping aid from them rather than from
God. When then they should see, in deed, that from those their sacrifices no good came
to them, but evil only, they should be healthfully ashamed. So, in fact, in her captivity,
did Israel learn to be ashamed of her idols; and so does GOd by healthful
disappointment, make us ashamed of seeking out of Him, the good things, which He
alone hath, and hath in store for them who love Him.
CLARKE, "The wind hath bound her - A parching wind has blasted them in their
wings - coasts, borders; or they are carried away into captivity, as with the most rapid
blight. These two last verses are very obscure.
GILL, "The wind hath bound her up in her wings,.... That is, the wind in its
wings hath bound up Ephraim, Israel, or the ten tribes, compared to a heifer; meaning,
that the wind of God's wrath and vengeance, or the enemy, the Assyrian, should come
like a whirlwind, and carry them swiftly, suddenly, and irresistibly, out of their own land,
into a foreign country: the past tense for the future, as is common in prophecy, because
of the certainty of it; so Jarchi and Joseph Kimchi: but Aben Ezra, David Kimchi,
Abarbinel, and Abendana, render it "she", that is, Israel, "hath bound up the wind in her
wings" (b); meaning that they had laboured in vain in their idolatrous worship; and it
was all one as if a than should attempt to gather the wind, and bind it up in the skirts of
his garment, and when he opens them there is nothing to be found: and to this sense is
the Targum,
"the works of their great men are not right, as it is impossible to bind the wind in a
wing;''
referring to the sins of their rulers, as before: or rather the sense is, the wind shall get
into the loose skirts of the garments of, he Israelites, which shall be as a sail to it, as
Schmidt observes, and shall carry them into distant lands; which falls in with the first
sense of the words, and is best:
and they shall be ashamed because of their sacrifices: they of the ten tribes, the
people of Israel; or their shields, their rulers, as Aben Ezra, shall be filled with shame,
being disappointed of the help they expected from their idols, to whom they offered
sacrifices; and the more, inasmuch as they will find that these idolatrous sacrifices are
the cause of their ruin and destruction. The Targum is,
"because of the altars of their idols;''
and so the Septuagint, Syriac, and Arabic versions, "because of their altars".
JAMISO , "Israel shall be swept away from her land (Hos_4:16) suddenly and

221. violently as if by “the wings of the wind” (Psa_18:10; Psa_104:3; Jer_4:11, Jer_4:12).
ashamed ... of their sacrifices — disappointed to their shame in their hope of help
through their sacrifices to idols.
CALVI , "Verse 19
If this rendering be approved, The wind hath bound her in its wings, the meaning is,
that a sudden storm would sweep away the people, and thus would they be made
ashamed of their sacrifices. So the past tense is to be taken for the future. We may
indeed read the words in the past tense, as though the Prophet was speaking of what
had already taken place. The wind, then, has already swept away the people; by
which he intimates, that they seemed to have struck long and deep roots in their
superstitions, but that the Lord had already given them up to the wind, that it might
hold them tied in its wings. And wings, we know, is elsewhere ascribed to the wind,
Psalms 104:3. And thus the verse will be throughout a denunciation of vengeance.
The other similitude or metaphor is the most appropriate, and harmonizes better
with the subject; for were not men to support their minds with vain confidence, they
could never with so much audacity despise God’s word. Hence they are said to tie
the wind in their wings; being unmindful of their own condition, they attempt as by
means of the wind to fly; but when they proudly raise up themselves, they have no
support but the wind. Let us now proceed —
BE SO , "Verse 19
Hosea 4:19. The wind hath bound her up in her wings — Or rather, binds, or, is
binding her up, the present tense being put to denote instant futurity. The passage is
strongly figurative, to signify that they should be suddenly taken away out of their
country, and carried with irresistible force, and incredible speed, into a distant land.
It is not unusual, in other writers, to attribute wings to the winds, to express their
swiftness; and when any thing is said to be bound up in the wings of the wind, the
expression must signify its being taken far away with great celerity. “An admirable
image this,”
says Bishop Horsley, “of the condition of a people, torn by a conqueror from their
native land, scattered in exile to the four quarters of the world, and living
thenceforward without any settled residence of their own, liable to be moved about
at the will of arbitrary masters, like a thing tied to the wings of the wind, obliged to
go with the wind which ever way it set, but never suffered for a moment to lie still.
The image is striking now; but must have been more striking when a bird with
expanded wings, or a huge pair of wings, without head or body, was the
hieroglyphic of the element of the air, or rather of the general mundane atmosphere,
one of the most irresistible of physical agents.” And they shall be ashamed because
of their sacrifices — They shall be confounded to find, by experience, that all their
sacrifices to idols have profited them nothing, but brought severe calamities upon
them.

222. COFFMA , "Verse 19
"The wind hath wrapped her up in its wings; and they shall be put to shame
because of their sacrifices."
"The wind ..." "The wind here is the strong storm-wind of Divine wrath that will
seize on Ephraim and carry her away."[47]
"They shall be put to shame ..." These verses are the pronouncement of God's
judgment of Israel and the impending punishment that would destroy the northern
Israel and remove it from the stage of history permanently. The use of the past tense
is prophetic and shows that the judgment was as certain as if it had already
occurred.
COKE, "Verse 19
Hosea 4:19. The wind hath bound her up, &c.— A whirlwind shall involve her in its
eddies. Houbigant. One of the Jewish expositions is, "The wind is joined to her
wings, as it is with a bird which it suffereth not to rest till it hath carried her afar
off: so shall the armies of the enemy come against them, and carry them away
captive:"—An admirable image of the condition of a people torn by a conqueror
from their native land, scattered in exile to the four quarters of the world, and living
thenceforward without any settled residence of their own, liable to be moved about
at the will of arbitrary masters, like a thing tied to the wings of the wind, obliged to
go with the wind whichever way it set, but never suffered for a moment to lie still.
The image is striking now; but must have been more striking, when a bird with
expanded wings, or a huge pair of wings without head or body, was the hieroglyphic
of the element of the air, or rather of the general mundane atmosphere, one of the
most irresistible of physical agents. Hath bound, should be rendered, is binding, the
present tense, to denote instant futurity. See Bishop Horsley.
REFLECTIO S.—1st, Israel's sins are the cause of all her miseries.
1. The prophet in God's name summons the people to attend the charge that he is
about to lay against them. Hear the word of the Lord, ye children of Israel: for the
Lord hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land. Sin was the high offence,
the cause of all their miseries and ours; and in God's chosen nation it was more
exceeding sinful.
2. Their indictment charges them with many high crimes and misdemeanors; for
one of a thousand of which they cannot answer him. There is no truth, hypocritical
towards God, and faithless towards men, their professions were deceit, and their
promises falsehood: nor mercy; for where honesty is banished, charity cannot
subsist. They paid no regard to the distresses of the indigent; and, wrapped up in
themselves, with unfeeling disregard beheld the miseries of others. or knowledge
of God in the land: they desired not to know him, their hearts were averse from his
teachings; and this wilful ignorance was at once the cause and aggravation of their
other sins. By swearing, they increased their load of guilt, wantonly profane, and
taking God's name in vain: and lying; they added perjury to profaneness, and in

223. their ordinary conversation copied closely after their father the devil, who was a liar
from the beginning: and by a complication of all the most enormous crimes they
filled up the measure of their iniquities; by killing, and stealing, and committing
adultery, they break out, with lawless violence, unrestrained by the laws of God or
man, as a torrent, that sweeps away every mound, and deluges the country. And
blood toucheth blood; so vast is the effusion of it, occasioned by the frequency of
murders; or the dreadful massacres of the successive kings, each grasping at the
crown over the corpse of his predecessor, 2 Kings 15:8-30.
3. An awful sentence is passed upon them: for such sins, wherever they are found,
are sure to meet a just recompense of reward. Therefore shall the land mourn, laid
waste and desolate with famine and the sword; and every one that dwelleth therein
shall languish, with the beasts of the field, and with the fowls of heaven, pining for
want, or consumed with war and pestilence; yea, the fishes of the sea also shall be
taken away, that no food may remain to satisfy their hunger. ote; God can quickly
consume a sinful land: he has only to withdraw his mercies, and we perish
immediately.
4. Their case is desperate. Yet let no man strive, nor reprove another: either these
are the words of the incorrigible people, silencing their reprovers; or of God to the
prophet, enjoining him and other good men to desist from their labours, and
abandon them to ruin: for thy people are as they that strive with the priest; they are
so impudent in sin, that they would fly in the face even of the priests of God who
admonished them; or all were become so bad, that, if a priest dared reprove them,
they retorted on him, Physician, heal thyself. Therefore shalt thou fall in the day, the
day of vengeance approaching; or to-day, immediately the wrath shall go forth; and
the prophet also, the false prophets who deceived them with lying divinations, shall
fall with thee in the night of deep adversity, which approaches; and I will destroy
thy mother, the nation in general; for the people of Judaea as well as the ten tribes
are here doomed to utter ruin. ote; (1.) They who are deaf to rebuke are on the
precipice of ruin. (2.) We are bound not to suffer sin upon our brethren, without
friendly admonition; but when we perceive them exasperated, instead of humbled,
silence becomes duty. (3.) When sinners strive with their faithful ministers, and
refuse to hear, their blood is on their own heads. (4.) They who have contributed to
seduce others shall meet the heavier vengeance in the day of recompense.
2nd, The sin and punishment of the ungodly priests correspond with each other.
1. They rejected the knowledge of God, and suffered the people to perish for lack of
it. And though this will be no excuse for the people, who chose darkness rather than
light, yet will their blood be required at the negligent watchman's hands. I will also
reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me, cut off both from the office and
benefit of the priesthood. ote; (1.) Ignorance in a priest or minister of religion is
doubly scandalous, and wilful ignorance the more atrociously criminal, as thereby
not only their own souls but the souls of others are destroyed. (2.) Ignorance in the
people is so far from being the mother of devotion, that it is the forerunner of
destruction. (3.) Though, in such careless days as ours, men unqualified by

224. ignorance, and scandalous by immoralities, are too often permitted to call
themselves ministers of God, he will with abhorrence reject their pretensions, and in
the great day drive them from his throne with a—Depart, accursed, I never knew
you.
2. They forgot the law of God, took no pains to remember it themselves or inculcate
it upon others; therefore God threatens, I will also forget thy children, the children
of the priests, who should be degraded, and not succeed their fathers in the
priesthood. Wicked parents thus bring a curse upon their own offspring.
3. The abuse of their blessings shall prove their bane. As they were increased in
numbers, wealth, and power, so they sinned against me with the more daring
profaneness and insolent ingratitude; therefore will I change their glory into shame,
when, led into a wretched captivity, they should be stripped of all their possessions
and honours, and mingle with the ignominious heathen.
4. They were luxurious. They eat up the sin of my people, feasting on the sin-
offerings; and while they were careless about instructing the people concerning the
nature and design of the sacrifices, they fattened themselves upon the choicest part
of them; they set their heart on their iniquity, wholly given up to the indulgence of
their appetites; or lifted up their soul thereunto, well-pleased that the people should
continue to sin, because this would multiply the sacrifices, and provide food for
their gluttony. And there shall be like people, like priest, equally ignorant,
intemperate, and profane; for when priests shew such ill examples, no wonder that a
general profligacy of manners ensues. And I will punish them for their ways: they
who were companions in sin shall suffer together; and reward them their doings,
pouring out that vengeance upon them which they have provoked: for they shall eat,
and not have enough; either their insatiable appetites should ever be craving, and
find no satisfaction; or during the famine; or in captivity, they should know the
pinchings of hunger; and pine away for very want of sustenance.
5. They committed fornication, and thought to have a numerous issue by these
unlawful means; but they shall not increase; God will disappoint their desires, or
slay their children: because they have left off to take heed to the Lord; apostate
from his service, and open violators of his law. ote; (1.) When God is disregarded,
men stop at no abominations. (2.) God's curse will blast all unlawful ways of
increase.
6. They had given their hearts to wine and wicked women. Whoredom and wine,
and new wine, take away the heart, utterly estrange it from God; or such sins
stupify the conscience, and rob men of their reason, so that they act as if infatuated.
Thus does the curse ever follow the sin, close as the shadow does the body.
3rdly, The prophet goes on to charge upon the people of Israel those atrocious
crimes which cried for vengeance.
1. Their sins were,

225. [1.] Idolatry. The spirit of whoredoms hath caused them to err: their hearts were
violently bent upon their idols, with such raging desires as govern the most
licentious of mankind; and so astonishingly besotted, that they leave the living God,
who would have been their husband, father, friend, almighty to help, all-wise to
direct them, to ask counsel at their stocks; as if the log that they had squared and
planed could teach them: and their staff declareth unto them; either some little
image engraved on them, to which they paid their devotions: or they used the
divinations of the heathen; and by the falling of their staff took directions for their
conduct. To these senseless idols they offered their sacrifices and incense, upon the
tops of the mountains, under oaks and poplars, and elms, because the shadow
thereof is good, copying the manners of their heathen neighbours, and choosing the
same places for the scenes of their impure rites and ceremonies.
[2.] Adultery. They are separated with whores, and sacrifice with harlots, the
worship of their gods being celebrated with such abominations; and this continually,
these crimes were their habitual practice.
[3.] Bribery, and perversion of justice. Her rulers with shame do love, Give ye.
othing could be obtained of them without a fee, who should have administered
justice freely; and gain, not right, swayed their decisions.
[4.] They obstinately persisted in their wicked ways. Israel slideth back, as a
backsliding heifer, or refractory, that no fence can keep in; or that will not suffer
the yoke, and, when goaded to draw, goes backward. So had they been, refusing to
be restrained by God's law, or kicking against the pricks of the prophetic warnings
and afflictive providences: and so wedded were they to their idols; sins these, which,
wherever they are found, will assuredly, as here, provoke God's wrath and
indignation against the guilty soul: for the people that doth not understand the
danger and evil of their ways shall fall, and perish in their iniquities.
2. God threatens them with a variety of evils, as the righteous punishment of their
transgressions.
[1.] Their daughters shall be given up to every vile and licentious practice, led by the
bad examples of their husbands and fathers; and permitted with impunity to do so,
as a punishment for the like crimes which they had committed.
[2.] They shall be given as sheep to the slaughter. The Lord will feed them as a lamb
in a large place, and their prosperity shall hasten their perdition; or as one lamb,
separated from the flock and in a desart, falls a prey to the devouring wolves, so
should they be given up to the hand of the Assyrians, and dispersed in their vast
empire.
[3.] God will abandon them to their own hearts; and a heavier curse cannot fall
upon the sinner, than when God withdraws all his grace, and saith, Let him alone;
let my Spirit no more strive, nor ministers rebuke, nor conscience check, nor

226. providences restrain, nor mercies affect him: then his doom is fixed.
[4.] God will make their sins their punishment, as the drunkard often proves. Their
drink is sour, their stomachs ovvercharged, and sickness like death seizes them, till
every table is filled with vomit.
[5.] They shall be hurried away captives. The wind hath bound her up in her wings:
the Assyrians, like a whirlwind, shall carry all before them; and then, too late, they
shall be ashamed because of their sacrifices, when their folly, in trusting to idols,
and departing from God, will be made manifest.
3. Judah is admonished to take warning by Israel's sin. Though thou, Israel, play
the harlot, yet let not Judah offend. Some interpreters suppose, that this is rather a
caution to Israel, among all their other sins, not to draw their brethren of the house
of Judah to offend with them, which would aggravate their guilt. But it is rather
addressed to Judah, who might be tempted to join with the house of Israel in
idolatry, which would be more criminal in them, who had the temple in the midst of
them, and had not yet apostatized from God; and therefore they are forbidden to
meet the Israelites in their places of idolatrous worship, Come not ye unto Gilgal,
the chief scene of their wickedness, see chap. Hosea 9:15, Hosea 12:11 neither go ye
up to Beth-aven: once the name was Bethel, the house of God; but since the golden
calf has been erected there, it is Beth-aven, a house of iniquity or vanity, and to be
shunned as the plague: nor swear, The Lord liveth; profanely, or falsely, or
thoughtlessly taking this awful name into their lips. ote; (1.) The more advantages
we enjoy to know God, and the more obligations we are under to cleave to him, the
more will every departure from him bring aggravated guilt. (2.) They who would
abstain from sin must shun the company of evil men, and never venture into the
places of temptation: when we are out of the path of duty we must not expect
protection. (3.) They who draw no sacred reverence for God's name, evidently
declare the profaneness and impiety of their hearts,
TRAPP, "Verse 19
Hosea 4:19 The wind hath bound her up in her wings, and they shall be ashamed
because of their sacrifices.
Ver. 19. The wind hath bound her up in her wings] The evil spirit (saith Jerome)
hurries them towards hell, which is the just hire of the least sin; how much more of
these afore mentioned abominations! Take it rather to be spoken of the suddenness,
swiftness, and unresistableness of God’s judgments, set forth by mighty winds
rending the rocks, and tearing up the mountains by the roots, Job 38:9. How then
shall wicked men (compared to chaff or "dust of the mountains") stand before the
tempest of God’s wrath, the thunder of his power? Well they may applaud and
stroke themselves for a time; but the wind shall bind them up in her wings; God
shall blow them to destruction, Job 4:9 : his executioners have the "wings of a
stork," large and long, and "wind in those wings," to note their ready obedience,
Zechariah 5:9. And although, Ezekiel 1:26, God be represented as sitting upon a
throne to show his slowness to punish, yet that "throne hath wings and hands under

227. those wings," to show his swiftness and readiness to do seasonable execution upon
his enemies.
And they shall be ashamed because of their sacrifices] Wherein they trusted, but
now see themselves disappointed, their idols not able to help them. Then shall they
cast their idols of silver and of gold, which they have made each for himself to
worship, "to the moles and to the bats, to go into the clefts of the rocks, and into the
tops of the ragged rocks," Isaiah 2:20-21; see also Isaiah 30:22. If they be not thus
ashamed of their former fopperies, they are the more to be pitied, Illum ego periisse
dice cui periit pudor. He is an undone man that shames not, does not hesitate for his
evil practices, that blusheth not, bleedeth not before God for them, lying down in his
shame, Jeremiah 3:25, as fully ashamed of his former hopes, Psalms 119:116, which
now he seeth how far they have abused him.
BI, "The wind hath bound her up in her wings.
Retributive justice
The simple meaning is that Israel shall be borne away from her land, suddenly and
violently, as by the winds of heaven. There is retributive justice in the universe.
I. Its emblem. The wind. It is like wind—
1. In its agitation. Wind is a disturbance or agitation of the atmosphere, The average
condition of the air is silence and serenity. The normal condition of Divine
government is quiet. It has no tempest where there is no wickedness.
2. In its violence. Power is in the wind. Cambyses being once in the wilderness with
the soldiers, a strong and violent wind broke forth and buried thousands of them in
the sand. Who can stand before retributive justice when it comes forth in its power?
II. Its effect. “Ashamed because of the sacrifices.”
1. The shame of disappointment. All plans broken, all purposes thwarted, all hopes
destroyed.
2. The shame of exposure. The wicked always live in masquerade, they always appear
to be what they are not. Retributive justice takes off the mask.
3. The shame of remorse. This is the most burning shame of all. It sends its fires
down into the very centre of man’s being, and sets all the moral nerves aflame. Let
the wicked take warning. Let not the present stillness of their atmosphere deceive
them. Their sins are generating a heat that must, sooner or later, so disturb the
elements about them as to bring on ruin. (Homilist.).