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Hosea Chapter
Five
New King James Version (NKJV)
INTRODUCTION TO HOSEA 5
The
design of this chapter is to expose the sins of Israel and of Judah, and to
declare the judgment of God upon them for them. Men of all ranks in Israel are
summoned to attend to the charge brought against then, and the sentence on them,
Hosea 5:1. The
charge exhibited is, that they were guilty of in, hating men to the slaughter
of idolatrous sacrifices, though they had been sufficiently rebuked and
corrected, Hosea 5:1; of both
corporeal and spiritual adultery, whereby they were defiled, and which was well
known to the Lord, Hosea 5:3; of
obstinate persistence in impenitence, owing to the efficacy of an unclean
spirit in them, and their want of the knowledge of God, Hosea 5:4; of open
pride, which stared them in the face, and for which they fell into calamities,
and Judah with them, and should not be able with all their sacrifices to find
favour with God, who had withdrawn himself from them, Hosea 5:5; also of
treacherous dealing with the Lord by their spiritual adultery, and begetting
strange children, Hosea 5:7; next
their punishment is denounced, of which notice was to be given them by the
sound of the trumpet, as an alarm of war, or as calling for mourning, Hosea 5:8; since
Ephraim would become desolate, of which notification had been made among the
tribes, Hosea 5:9; and
wrath would be poured out in great abundance on the princes of Judah, who were
very wicked men, Hosea 5:10; and
Ephraim would be oppressed and broken by the judgment of God, who would be as a
moth unto them, and also rottenness to Judah, because they followed the
commandments of men, Hosea 5:11; and,
what was still more provoking, when they were sensible of their calamities and
distresses, they sought not help from the Lord, but from men that could do them
no good; and therefore he threatens to be as a devouring lion to them, Hosea 5:13; and yet
the chapter concludes with a promise of the conversion of these people, after
the Lord had dealt with them in an angry manner, Hosea 5:15.
Hosea 5:1 “Hear this, O
priests! Take heed, O house of Israel! Give ear, O house of the king! For yours
is the judgment, Because you have been a snare to Mizpah
And a net spread on Tabor.
YLT 1`Hear this, O priests, and
attend, O house of Israel, And, O house of the king, give ear, For the judgment
[is] for you, For, a snare ye have been on Mizpah, And a net spread out on
Tabor.
Hear ye this, O priests,.... Though idolatrous
ones, who called themselves priests, and were reckoned so by others, though not
of the tribe of Levi, but such as Jeroboam had made priests, or were their
successors; and there might be some of the family of Aaron and tribe of Levi,
that might continue in the cities of Israel, and who gave in to the idolatrous
worship of those times. Some render it "princes"F3הכהנים "significat sacerdotes et principes", vid.
2 Sam. viii. 18. "Sacerdotes ac domum regis", i.e. "regem cum
principibus et aulicis", Liveleus. and the word signifies both:
and hearken, ye house of Israel; not the kingdom of
Judah, as Kimchi, for this is manifestly distinguished from Israel in this
chapter; nor the sanhedrim, to which sense Aben Ezra seems to incline; but the
ten tribes, the whole kingdom of Israel, the common people in it:
and give ye ear, O house of the king; of the king
of Israel, who, at this time, is thought to be Menahem; the royal family, the
princes of the blood, and all that belonged to the king's court; all of every
office, priestly or kingly, of every rank, high and low, are called upon to
hearken to what is about to be said, both concerning their sin and punishment:
for judgment is toward you: either to know and do
that which is just and right; it belonged to the priests to know and teeth
divine judgment, to instruct the people in the knowledge of the judgments,
statutes, and laws of God; and it belonged to, the king to execute human
judgment, to do justice and judgment according to the laws of God, and of the
realm; and it belonged to the people to attend to both: so the Targum,
"does
it not "belong" to you to know judgments?'
or
rather this is to be understood of punitive justice and judgment, of the
sentence of condemnation, or denunciation of punishment for sin: the reasons of
which follow,
because ye have been a snare on Mizpah, and a net spread upon
Tabor; these were two high mountains in the land of Israel; the former
was near Hermon and Lebanon, and the same with Gilead, Joshua 11:3; the
latter was a mountain in Galilee, between Issachar and Zebulun, six miles from
Nazareth: it was, according to Joseph ben GorionF4Hist. Heb. l. 4.
c. 25. p. 635. almost four miles high, had on the top of it a plain of almost
three miles; the true JosephusF5De Bello Jud. l. 4. c. 1. sect. 9.
says is was three and a quarter miles; See Gill on Jeremiah 46:18; the
JewsF6Jarchi ex Tanehuma, Abendana ex Midrash. have a tradition,
that Jeroboam set spies upon these mountains at the time of the solemn feasts,
to watch who went to them out of Israel, and to inform against them; but these
could not command all the roads leading to Jerusalem. It may be these mountains
were much infested with hawkers and hunters, to which there may be an allusion;
and the sense be, ye priests, people, and king, are like to those that set
snares and nets on those hills, as they to ensnare and catch creatures, so ye
to ensnare and draw men into idolatrous practices; or rather, since there is no
note of comparison, the meaning is, that they set up altars, and offered
sacrifices on these hills, and thereby ensnared not only those of their own
tribes, but drew and enticed many of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin to fall
in with the same idolatrous practices.
Hosea 5:2 2 The
revolters are deeply involved in slaughter, Though I rebuke them all.
YLT 2And to slaughter sinners
have gone deep, And I [am] a fetter to them all.
And the revolters are profound to make slaughter,.... The
revolters are the king, priests, and people, who had revolted from the true
worship and ways of God unto idolatry. These formed deep laid schemes, and took
crafty methods, like hawkers; who lay themselves flat upon the ground to manage
their snares and nets, and observe the creatures that fall into them, and take
them, and whom they artfully decoy, to which the allusion is; and that either
to slay those who would not comply with their false worship; or rather to
multiply the sacrifices of slain beasts, and offer them with a great show of
devotion and religion, and thereby beguile, entice, and ensnare simple and
unwary souls; so the Targum,
"they
sacrifice to idols abundantly;'
and
which, in the sight of God, was mere slaughter and butchery:
though I have been a rebuker of them all; king,
priests, and prophets; those idolaters, revolters, or worshippers of Baal, as
Aben Ezra calls them: this is to be interpreted either of the prophet, who had
freely, faithfully, and openly reproved all orders of men for their departure
from God and his worship, and for their idolatrous practices; or of the Lord
himself, which comes to the same sense, who had rebuked them by his prophets,
and corrected them by his judgments, but to no purpose: and therefore they
could not plead ignorance, or excuse themselves upon that account.
Hosea 5:3 3 I
know Ephraim, And Israel is not hidden from Me; For now, O Ephraim, you commit
harlotry; Israel is defiled.
YLT 3I have known Ephraim, And
Israel hath not been hid from me, For now thou hast gone a-whoring, Ephraim,
Defiled is Israel.
I know Ephraim, and Israel is not hid from me,.... Though
they may cover their designs from men, and seek deep to hide their counsel from
the Lord, and make plausible pretences for what they do, and put on an
appearance of religion; yet God, who knows all men, and their hearts, cannot be
deceived; he judges not according to outward appearance; all things are naked
and open to him; nor can any hide themselves from him; he knows their persons,
intentions, and designs, as well as actions. Kimchi interprets Ephraim of
Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, who was of that tribe; others, of the tribe itself,
and Israel of the other nine tribes; others take Ephraim for the ten tribes,
and Israel for the two tribes: but it is best to understand Ephraim and Israel
of the same, even of the ten tribes; whose works, as the Targum paraphrases it,
the Lord knew, particularly what follows:
for now, O Ephraim, thou committest whoredom; both
corporeal and spiritual adultery, which frequently went together, as observed
in the preceding chapter: the Lord knew their corporeal whoredom, though ever
so secretly committed, and their spiritual adultery or idolatry, under all the
specious pretences of worshipping him; which was an abhorrence to him, as well
as a pollution to them:
and Israel is defiled; with the same
sins; for all sin is of a defiling nature, and especially those mentioned,
which defile body and soul, and render men loathsome and abominable in the
sight of God.
Hosea 5:4 4 “They
do not direct their deeds Toward turning to their God, For the spirit of
harlotry is in their midst, And they do not know the Lord.
YLT 4They give not up their
habitual doings, To turn back unto their God, For a spirit of whoredoms [is] in
their midst, And Jehovah they have not known.
They will not frame their doings to turn unto their God,.... Either
their evil doings; they will not leave, as the Targum and JarchiF7So
R. Sol. Urbin. fol. 68. 2. ; their evil ways and worship, their adultery and
idolatry; which was necessary to repentance and true conversion to God, whom
they yet professed to be their God, though they had so sadly departed from him:
or their good works; they did not choose to do them, which were leading steps
to repentance and conversion, or fruits and evidences of it: they had no mind
to repent of their sins, and turn from them to the Lord; they had no thought,
care, or concern, about these things, but obstinately persisted in their sins
and in their impenitence: their wills were wretchedly depraved and corrupted;
their hearts hard, perverse, and obstinate; they had no will to that which is
good:
for the spirit of whoredom is in the midst of them; an unclean
spirit, that prompts them to and pushes them on to commit corporeal and
spiritual whoredom; the bias and inclination of their minds were this way which
put them upon such evil practices; the spirit of error, which caused them to
err, as the Targum and Kimchi; the lying spirit in the false prophets which
encouraged them therein; and even himself, the spirit that works in the
children of disobedience:
and they have not known the Lord; ignorance of God, his
nature and perfections, his will, word, and worship, was the cause of their
idolatry, and other sins; see Hosea 4:1; and this
was wilful and affected ignorance; they knew not, nor would they understand:
they rejected the knowledge of God, and the means of it; so the Targum,
"and
they sought not instruction (or doctrine) from the Lord.'
Hosea 5:5 5 The
pride of Israel testifies to his face; Therefore Israel and Ephraim stumble in
their iniquity; Judah also stumbles with them.
YLT 5And humbled hath been the
excellency of Israel to his face, And Israel and Ephraim stumble by their
iniquity, Stumbled also hath Judah with them.
And the pride of Israel doth testify to his face,.... Or,
"does" or "shall answer to his face"F8ענה בפניו
"respondebit", Montanus, Zanchius, Tarnovius, Rivet, Schmidt;
"respondit", Cocceius. ; contradicts him, convicts him, and fills him
with shame; the pride of his heart, and of his countenance, and which appears
in all his actions, and which is open and manifest to all, shall stare him in
the face, and confound him; even all the sinful actions done by him in a proud
and haughty manner, in contempt of God and of his laws, shall fly in his face,
and fill him with dread and horror. The Targum is,
"the
glory of Israel shall be humbled, and they seeing it:'
instead
of greatness, glory, and honour, they formerly had, they shall be in a mean low
condition, even in their own land, before they go into captivity; and which
their eyes shall behold, as Kimchi explains the paraphrase; and to this sense
Jarchi and Aben Ezra incline; and so read the Septuagint, Syriac, and Arabic
versions. Some understand this of God himself, who, formerly, at least, was the
pride, glory, and excellency of Israel; of whom they were proud, and boasted,
and gloried in; even he shall be a swift witness against them: and
therefore shall Israel and Ephraim fall in their iniquity; that is, the
ten tribes shall fall by and for their iniquities, such as before mentioned,
into ruin and misery; it has respect to their final destruction and captivity
by the Assyrians; they first fell into sin, and then by it into ruin: see Hosea 14:1;
Judah also shall fall with them; the two tribes of Judah
and Benjamin, as they fell into idolatry, and were guilty of the same crimes,
so should be involved in the same or like punishment, though not at the same
time; for the Babylonish captivity, in which Judah was carried captive, was
many years after Israel was carried captive by the Assyrians: unless this is to
be understood of the low, afflicted, and distressed condition of Judah, in the
times of Ahaz, by Tiglathpileser, king of Assyria, who had a little before carried
captive part of Israel, and by others; and in which times Judah fell into
idolatrous practices, and fell by them; see 2 Kings 15:29.
Hosea 5:6 6 “With
their flocks and herds They shall go to seek the Lord, But they will
not find Him; He has withdrawn Himself from them.
YLT 6With their flock and with
their herd, They go to seek Jehovah, and do not find, He hath withdrawn from
them.
They shall go with their flocks and with their herds to seek the
Lord,.... Not only the two tribes of Judah and Benjamin, to whom
Kimchi, Aben Ezra, and Abarbinel, restrain the words; but the ten tribes of
Israel also, who, when in distress, and seeing ruin coming upon them, should
seek the Lord; seek help from him against their enemies, and the pardon of
their sins; seek his face and favour, and to appease his wrath, by bringing a
multitude of sacrifices out of their flocks and herds; such a number of them,
as if they brought all their flocks and herds with them; but not with true
repentance for their sins, nor with faith in the great sacrifice, which legal
sacrifices, rightly performed, prefigured. Kimchi refers this to the times of
Josiah; but, as it respects Israel as well as Judah, it seems to design some
time a little before the ruin of them both:
but they shall not find him; shall not find grace and
mercy with him; he will not be favourable to them, will not afford them any
help, but give them up to utter ruin and destruction; as he did Israel at the
Assyrian captivity, and Judah at the Babylonish captivity:
he hath withdrawn himself from them; the glory of the Lord
departed from them; his Shechinah, or divine Majesty, as the Targum, removed
from them, because of their idolatry, and other sins; they sought him not where
and while he was to be found; and therefore, when they sought him, found him
not, because he had withdrawn his presence from among them, being provoked by
their iniquities.
Hosea 5:7 7 They
have dealt treacherously with the Lord, For they have begotten
pagan children. Now a New Moon shall devour them and their heritage.
YLT 7Against Jehovah they dealt
treacherously, For strange sons they have begotten, Now consume them doth a
month [with] their portions.
They have dealt treacherously against the Lord,.... Which was
the reason of his departure from them; as a woman deals treacherously with her
husband when she is unfaithful to him, and commits adultery; so Israel and
Judah dealt treacherously with the Lord, who stood in the relation of a husband
to them in covenant, by committing idolatry;
for they have begotten strange children; either of
strange women, the daughters of idolatrous Heathens they married, so the
Targum, Jarchi, and Kimchi; or rather their natural children, though born of
Israelitish or Jewish parents, both such; yet being educated by them in an
idolatrous way, and brought up in the commission of the evils their parents
were guilty of, are said to be strange children to the Lord, alienated from him
and his worship, and as such to be begotten:
now shall a month devour them with their portions; the Jews
understand this literally of the month Ab, the time of Jerusalem's destruction,
so Jarchi and R. Jeshuah in Aben Ezra and Ben Melech; or the month Tammuz, in
which the city was broke up, and the month Ab, in which it was destroyed, as
Kimchi; or rather, which is also a sense he mentions, it signifies a short
time, a very little while before the destruction should come; and compares it
with Zechariah 11:8;
though, according to the Targum, it is to be understood of every month; and so
denotes the continual desolation that should be made, until they were utterly
destroyed; but others seem better to interpret it of their new moon, or first
day of the month, which they observed in a religious way, by offering
sacrifice, &c. and on which they depended; but this should be so far from
being of any service to them, that it should turn against them; and, because of
the idolatry committed in them, the Lord would hate them, and destroy them on
account of them; even their farms, and fields, and vineyards, which were their
portions and inheritances; see Isaiah 1:13; unless
it is rather to be understood of the parts of the beasts slain in sacrifice on
those days, to appease the Lord; which would be so far from doing it, that they
would provoke him yet more to wrath, and slay them.
Hosea 5:8 8 “Blow
the ram’s horn in Gibeah, The trumpet in Ramah! Cry aloud at Beth Aven, ‘Look
behind you, O Benjamin!’
YLT 8Blow ye a cornet in Gibeah,
a trumpet in Ramah, Shout, O Beth-Aven, after thee, O Benjamin.
Blow ye the cornet in Gibeah, and the trumpet in Ramah,.... As an
alarm of war, to give notice that the enemy is at hand, just ready to invade
the kingdoms of Israel and Judah, and bring destruction upon them; according to
the Targum, the words are directed to the prophets,
"O
ye prophets, lift up your voice like a trumpet;'
to
declare to the people of Judah their sins and transgressions, and the
punishment that would be inflicted on them for them; or it may be, this is a
call of the people to fasting, mounting, and lamentation, as in Joel 2:1. Gibeah is
the same which is called "Gibeah of Saul", 1 Samuel 11:4; it
being the birth place of that prince; and which JosephusF9De Bello
Jud. l. 5. c. 2. sect. 1. calls Gabathsaoule, and interprets it the hill of
Saul, and says it was distant from Jerusalem about four miles; though elsewhereF11Antiqu.
l. 5. c. 2. sect. 8. he represents it as but two and a half miles; perhaps in
the latter place there is a corruption in the number; for, according to Jerom,
it was near Ramah, which was seven miles from Jerusalem; he says it is called
also "Gibeah of Benjamin", 1 Samuel 13:2;
because it was in that tribe, as was also Ramah; which, according to EusebiusF12Apud
Reland Palestina Illustrata, l. 3. tom. 2. p. 963. , was six miles from
Jerusalem; these were near to each other; see Judges 19:13; so
that the calamity threatened is what respects the two tribes:
cry aloud at Bethaven; the same with Bethel, or
a place near unto it, in the tribe of Benjamin, or on the borders of Ephraim;
see Hosea 4:15.
According to the above writerF13Apud Reland. ib. p. 637. , it lay
about twelve miles from Jerusalem; in the way to Sichem; and being upon the
borders both of Benjamin and Ephraim, it sometimes belonged to Israel, and
sometimes to Judah; see 2 Chronicles 13:19;
and seeing, as Jerom observes, that Benjamin was at the back of it (for where
the tribe of Benjamin ended, not far in the tribe of Ephraim, according to him,
was this city built), it therefore very beautifully follows,
after thee, O Benjamin; that is, either the
enemy is after thee, O Benjamin, is just at hand, ready to fall upon thee, and
destroy thee, as Jarchi, Kimchi, and Ben Melech; or rather, after the trumpet
is blown in Gibeah and Ramah, cities which belonged to Benjamin, let it he
blown, either in Bethaven, on the borders of Benjamin and Ephraim; or let it be
blown in the tribe of Judah, so that all the twelve tribes may have notice, and
prepare for what is coming upon them.
Hosea 5:9 9 Ephraim
shall be desolate in the day of rebuke; Among the tribes of Israel I make known
what is sure.
YLT 9Ephraim is for a desolation
in a day of reproof, Among the tribes of Israel I have made known a sure thing.
Ephraim shall he desolate in the day of rebuke,.... The
country of the ten tribes shall be laid desolate, the inhabitants of them
destroyed either by the sword, or famine, or pestilence, and the rest carried
captive, as they were by Shalmaneser; and this was the day of the Lord's rebuke
and chastisement of them: or of the reward of their sins, as the Targum, when
the Lord punished them for them; and this is what the trumpet was to be blown
for, in order to give notice of, or to call for mourning on account of it:
among the tribes of Israel have I made known that which shall
surely be; this desolation was foretold by the prophets, and published in
all the tribes of Israel, as what should certainly come to pass; and therefore
they could not plead ignorance of it, or say they had no notice given them, or
they would have repented of their sins. The Targum is,
"in
the tribes of Israel I have made known the law;'
so
Jarchi; which they transgressed, and therefore were made desolate; or the word
of truth, as Kimchi; the true and faithful word, that if they walked in his
ways, hearkened unto him, it would be well with them; but, if not, he would
destroy their land, and carry them captive.
Hosea 5:10 10 “The
princes of Judah are like those who remove a landmark; I will pour out My wrath
on them like water.
YLT 10Princes of Judah have been
as those removing a border, On them I do pour out as water My wrath.
The princes of Judah were like them that remove the bound,.... Or
landmark, which to do was contrary to the law, Deuteronomy 19:14;
and has always been reckoned a heinous sin among all nations, and is only done
by such who have no regard to right and wrong, and by them secretly; and such
were the kings, princes, and nobles of Judah; they secretly committed the
grossest iniquities, yea, were abandoned to their vile lusts, and could not be
contained within any bounds. The "caph" here used is, according to
Kimchi and Ben Melech, not a note of similitude, but of certainty; and then the
sense is, that the princes of Judah did remove the bound; either, in a literal
sense, by force and violence seized on the possessions and inheritances of
their neighbours which lay next to theirs; or, in a figurative sense, they
broke through all bounds and limits, and transgressed the laws of God and men,
being not to be restrained by either:
therefore I will pour
out my wrath upon them like water; in great abundance, and
with such force and vehemence, as not to be stopped, but utterly destroy; like
a flood of water, which overflows the banks, or breaks them down, and carries
all before it; or like the flood of water that came upon the earth, and carried
off the world of the ungodly; in like manner should the wrath of God be poured
down from heaven upon these princes without measure, exceeding all bounds, in
just retaliation for their removing the bounds of their neighbours, or
transgressing the laws of God: this was fulfilled either in the times of Ahaz,
when Rezin king of Syria, and Pekah king of Israel, as well as Tiglathpileser
king of Assyria, greatly afflicted Judah, 2 Chronicles 28:1;
or at the time of the Babylonish captivity.
Hosea 5:11 11 Ephraim
is oppressed and broken in judgment, Because he willingly walked by human
precept.
YLT 11Oppressed is Ephraim,
broken in judgment, When he pleased he went after the command.
Ephraim is oppressed, and broken in judgment,.... Here the
prophet again returns to the ten tribes, who were oppressed and broken, either
by their own judgments, as the Targum; by the tyranny of their kings, and the
injustice of their judges, who looked only for the mammon of unrighteousness;
or by the judgment of their enemies, the Assyrians, the taxes they laid upon
them, the devastations they made among them, and by whom, at last, they were
carried captive; or by the judgments of God upon them; for all the enemy did
was by his permission, and according to his will:
because he willingly walked after the commandment; not after the
commandment of God, but after the commandment of men, as Aben Ezra; or after
the commandment of the prophets of Baal, as Jarchi; or after the commandment of
Jeroboam the son of Nebat, as Kimchi, by worshipping the calves at Dan and
Bethel he set up there.
Hosea 5:12 12 Therefore
I will be to Ephraim like a moth, And to the house of Judah like
rottenness.
YLT 12And I [am] as a moth to
Ephraim, And as a rotten thing to the house of Judah.
Therefore will I be unto Ephraim as a moth,.... Which
eats garments, penetrates into them, feeds on them privately, secretly, without
any noise, and gradually and slowly consumes them; but at last utterly, that
they are of no use and profit: this may signify the various things which befell
the ten tribes in the reigns of Zachariah, Shallum, Menahem, Pekahiah, and
Pekah, which secretly and gradually weakened them; and the utter consumption of
them in the times of Hoshea by Shalmaneser:
and to the house of Judah as rottenness; as rottenness
in the bones, Proverbs 12:4;
which can never be got out or cured; or as a worm that eats into wood, as
Jarchi interprets it; and gets into the very heart of a tree, and eats it out:
thus the Lord threatens the house of Judah, or the two tribes, with a gradual,
yet thorough, ruin and destruction.
Hosea 5:13 13 “When
Ephraim saw his sickness, And Judah saw his wound, Then Ephraim went to
Assyria And sent to King Jareb; Yet he cannot cure you, Nor heal you of your
wound.
YLT 13And see doth Ephraim his
sickness, and Judah his wound, And Ephraim goeth unto Asshur, And sendeth unto
a warlike king, And he is not able to give healing to you, Nor doth he remove
from you a scar.
When Ephraim saw his sickness, and Judah saw his wound,.... That
their civil state were in a sickly condition, very languid, weak, feeble, and
tottering, just upon the brink of ruin; see Isaiah 1:6;
then went Ephraim to the Assyrian, and sent to King Jareb; that is, the
ten tribes, or the king of them, went and met the Assyrian king; and Judah the
two tribes, or the king of them, sent ambassadors to King Jareb; which sense
the order of the words, in connection with the preceding clause, seems to
require: by the Assyrian and King Jareb we are to understand one and the same,
as appears from the following words, "yet could he not heal &c.",
whereas, if they were different, it would have been expressed, "yet could
they not heal &c.", and the king of Assyria is meant, who: also is
called King Jareb, or rather king of JarebF14אל
מלך ירב "ad
regem", Jarchi, Zanchius, Liveleus, Drusius; so Luther in Tarnovius. ; see
Hosea 10:6; for
this does not seem to be the name of the king of Assyria himself; though it may
be that Pul, or Tiglathpileser, or Shalmaneser, might have more names than one,
whoever is meant; but rather it is the name of some place in Assyria, as Aben
Ezra, Kimchi, and Ben Melech, from which the country may be here denominated;
though the Targum takes it to be, not the proper name of a man or place, but an
appellative, paraphrasing it,
"and
sent to the king that shall come to avenge them;'
and
so other interpretersF15ירב
"altorem", V. L. "qui eum vindicaret", Tigurine version;
"propugnaturum", Junius & Tremellius; "qui litigaret",
Piscator. understand it, rendering it, either the king that should defend, as
Tremellius; or the king the adversary, or litigator, as Cocceius, HillerusF16Onomast.
Sacr. p. 219. , and GussetiusF17Ebr. Comment. p. 780. ; a court
adversary, that litigates a point, contends with one, and is an advocate for
another; or, as Hiller elsewhereF18Onomast. Sacr. p. 430. renders
it, the king that lies in wait: this was fulfilled with respect to Ephraim,
when Menahem king of Israel, or the ten tribes, often meant by Ephraim, went
and met Pul king of Assyria, and gave him a thousand talents to depart out of
his land; perceiving his own weakness to withstand him, and in order to
strengthen and confirm the kingdom in his hand, 2 Kings 15:19; or
when Hoshea king of Israel gave presents to Shalmaneser king of Assyria, and
became a servant to him, till he could get stronger, and shake off his yoke, 2 Kings 17:3; and
with respect to Judah it had its accomplishment when Ahaz king of Judah sent
messengers to Tiglathpileser king of Assyria to come and help him against the
kings of Syria and Israel, finding he was not strong enough to oppose them
himself, 2 Kings 16:7; now
all this was highly provoking to the Lord, that when both Israel and Judah
found themselves in a weak condition, and unable to resist their enemies,
instead of seeking to him for help they applied to a foreign prince, and which
proved unsuccessful to them:
yet could he not heal you, nor cure you of your wound; but, on the
contrary, afflicted them, hurt and destroyed them; there being a
"meiosis" in the words, which expresses less than is designed; for
though, with respect to Ephraim or Israel, Pul king of Assyria desisted from
doing any damage to Israel, yet a successor of his, TiglathPileser, came and
took several places of Israel, and carried the inhabitants captive; and at last
came Shalmaneser, and took Samaria, the metropolis of the land, and carried all
the ten tribes captive, 2 Kings 15:29; and
so, with respect to Judah, Tiglathpileser, whom Ahaz sent unto for help, not
only did not help and strengthen him, but afflicted him, 2 Chronicles 28:20;
thus when sensible sinners see their spiritual maladies, and feel the smart of
their wounds, and make a wrong application for relief, to their tears,
repentance, and humiliation, and to works of: righteousness, or to anything or
person short of Christ the great Physician, they meet with no success, find no
relief until better directed.
Hosea 5:14 14 For
I will be like a lion to Ephraim, And like a young lion to the house of
Judah. I, even I, will tear them and go away; I will take them
away, and no one shall rescue.
YLT 14For I [am] as a lion to
Ephraim, And as a young lion to the house of Judah, I -- I tear and go, I bear
away, and there is no deliverer.
For I will be unto Ephraim as a lion, and as a young lion
to the house of Judah,.... Being provoked by their above conduct and behaviour in
seeking to others, and not to him, for help, he threatens to punish them in a
more public and severe manner; not be to them only as a moth and rottenness,
but as a lion, and as a young lion, creatures strong and fierce, that destroy
and devour all that come into their hands, and from whom there is no
deliverance: thus the Lord was both to Israel and Judah, by means of the
Assyrians and Babylonians; the former are compared to a lion, that devoured
Israel; and the latter to a young lion, that broke the bones of Judah; see Jeremiah 50:17; and
last of all by means of the Romans, especially to Judah:
I, even I, will tear and go away; as a lion
tears its prey in pieces it seizes upon, and goes away, and leaves it torn,
having satisfied itself; and is in no fear of being pursued, or any vengeance
taken on him for what he has done; so the Lord would destroy Israel and Judah,
and leave them in their ruinous state, none being able to rise up and avenge
their cause. The "I" is doubled, to express the certainty of it:
I will take away, and none shall rescue him; as the lion,
having glutted itself with its prey, takes the rest away, and carries it to its
den, where none dare come and take it from him; so the Lord signifies, that
those of Israel and Judah that perished not by the sword of the enemy, or by
famine or pestilence, should be carried captive, and none should be able to
return them till he pleases: under the wrath and displeasure of God, and under
this tearing, rending, and afflictive dispensation, they now are, and will
continue till the time of their conversion.
Hosea 5:15 15 I
will return again to My place Till they acknowledge their offense.
Then they will seek My face; In their affliction they will
earnestly seek Me.”
YLT 15I go -- I turn back unto My
place, Till that they are desolate, and have sought My face. In their distress
they do seek Me speedily!'
I will go and return to my place,.... Leave the
countries of Israel and of Judah, where he had used to grant his gracious and
spiritual presence unto his people, and watched over them, and cared for them,
and bestowed many favours on them, and go up to heaven, the place of his more
glorious presence, as the Targum, Jarchi, and Kimchi, interpret it; and there,
as it were, shut himself up, particularly with respect to these people, as if
he had no more thought of them, or concern for them: this is to be understood
in a sense becoming and agreeable to the omnipresence of God:
till they acknowledge their offence, and seek my face; till the
Israelites acknowledge their idolatry, and the Jews their disbelief and
rejection of the Messiah, and all other sins; till they ingenuously confess
themselves to be guilty, or know and acknowledge they have sinned, as the
Targum; and then humbly seek the face and favour of God, the remission of their
sins from him, and acceptance with him:
in their affliction they will seek me early; in the
morning, betimes, early, and earnestly; which affliction may be understood both
of the Assyrian and Babylonish captivity; or rather of their present affliction
toward the close of it, when they shall be sensible of their sins, and confess
them, and look to him whom they have pierced, and mourn, and seek for pardon,
righteousness, and salvation, from him; and so all Israel shall be saved, of
whose conversion this is a prophecy.
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》