Hosea5
King James Version · Public Domain
1Hear ye this, O priests; and hearken, ye house of Israel; and give ye ear, O house of the king; for judgment is toward you, because ye have been a snare on Mizpah, and a net spread upon Tabor.
2And the revolters are profound to make slaughter, though I have been a rebuker of them all.
3I know Ephraim, and Israel is not hid from me: for now, O Ephraim, thou committest whoredom, and Israel is defiled.
4They will not frame their doings to turn unto their God: for the spirit of whoredoms is in the midst of them, and they have not known the Lord.
5And the pride of Israel doth testify to his face: therefore shall Israel and Ephraim fall in their iniquity; Judah also shall fall with them.
6They shall go with their flocks and with their herds to seek the Lord; but they shall not find him; he hath withdrawn himself from them.
7They have dealt treacherously against the Lord: for they have begotten strange children: now shall a month devour them with their portions.
8Blow ye the cornet in Gibeah, and the trumpet in Ramah: cry aloud at Beth–aven, after thee, O Benjamin.
9Ephraim shall be desolate in the day of rebuke: among the tribes of Israel have I made known that which shall surely be.
10The princes of Judah were like them that remove the bound: therefore I will pour out my wrath upon them like water.
11Ephraim is oppressed and broken in judgment, because he willingly walked after the commandment.
12Therefore will I be unto Ephraim as a moth, and to the house of Judah as rottenness.
13When Ephraim saw his sickness, and Judah saw his wound, then went Ephraim to the Assyrian, and sent to king Jareb: yet could he not heal you, nor cure you of your wound.
14For I will be unto Ephraim as a lion, and as a young lion to the house of Judah: I, even I, will tear and go away; I will take away, and none shall rescue him.
15I will go and return to my place, till they acknowledge their offence, and seek my face: in their affliction they will seek me early.
Study Guide
Public-domain commentary and original-language notes for Hosea 5.
Chapter Summary
In this chapter: The Divine judgments against Israel. (1-7). Approaching desolations threatened. (8-15).
vv1-7
The piercing eye of God saw secret liking and disposition to sin, the love the house of Israel had to their sins, and the dominion their sins had over them. Pride makes men obstinate in other sins. And as Judah was treading in the same steps, they would fall with Israel. By dealing treacherously with the Lord, men only deceive themselves. Those that go to seek the Lord with their flocks and their herds only, and not with their hearts and souls, cannot expect to find him; nor shall any speed who do not seek the Lord while he may be found. See how much it is our concern to seek God early, now, while it is the accepted time, and the day of salvation.
vv8-15
The destruction of impenitent sinners is not mere talk, to frighten them, it is a sentence which will not be recalled. And it is a mercy that we have timely warning given us, that we may flee from the wrath to come. Compliance with the commandments of men, who thwart the commandments of God, ripens a people for ruin. The judgments of God are sometimes to a sinful people as a moth, and as rottenness, or as a worm; as these consume the clothes and the wood, so shall the judgments of God consume them. Silently, they shall think themselves safe and thriving, but when they look into their state, shall find themselves wasting and decaying. Slowly, for the Lord gives them space to repent. Many a nation; as well as many a person, dies of a consumption. Gradually, God comes upon sinners with lesser judgments, to prevent greater, if they will be wise, and take warning. When Israel and Judah found themselves in danger, they sought the protection of the Assyrians, but this only helped to make their wound the worse. They would be forced to apply to God. He will bring them home to himself, by afflictions. When men begin to complain more of their sins than of their afflictions, then there begins to be some hope of them; and when under the conviction of sin, and the corrections of the rod, we must seek the knowledge of God. Those who are led by severe trials to seek God earnestly and sincerely, will find him a present help and an effectual refuge; for with him is plenteous redemption for all who call upon him. There is solid peace, and there only, where God is.
Key Words
שָׁמַע: to hear intelligently (often with implication of attention, obedience, etc.; causatively, to tell, etc.)
כֹּהֵן: literally one officiating, a priest; also (by courtesy) an acting priest (although a layman)
קָשַׁב: to prick up the ears, i.e. hearken
בַּיִת: a house (in the greatest variation of applications, especially family, etc.)
יִשְׂרָאֵל: Jisrael, a symbolical name of Jacob; also (typically) of his posterity
אָזַן: to broaden out the ear (with the hand), i.e. (by implication) to listen
מֶלֶךְ: a king
מִשְׁפָּט: properly, a verdict (favorable or unfavorable) pronounced judicially, especially a sentence or formal decree (human or (participant's) divine law, individual or collective), including the act, the place, the suit, the crime, and the penalty; abstractly, justice, including a participant's right or privilege (statutory or customary), or even a style
פַּח: a (metallic) sheet (as pounded thin); also a spring net (as spread out like a lamina)
מִצְפָּה: Mitspah, the name of two places in Palestine
Cross References
Hosea 5Direct law forbidding the removal of landmarks, which Judah's rulers spiritually and civilly imitated.
Supported by Matthew Poole, John Calvin
The precise warning of seeking God too late and not finding Him when He withdraws.
Supported by Matthew Henry, JFB
Parallels Ephraim's willing walk after human statutes (the statutes of Omri) instead of God's commands.
Supported by Matthew Poole, John Calvin, JFB
Parallels the 'profound' revolters who seek deep to hide their counsel from the Lord.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Repeats the phrase 'the spirit of whoredoms' causing Israel to err and depart from God.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Verbatim parallel: 'the pride of Israel testifieth to his face' and they do not return.
Supported by Matthew Henry, JFB
The covenant pattern of God departing until they confess their iniquity and acknowledge their offense.
Supported by Matthew Henry, Matthew Poole
Illuminates God's silent, slow-working judgment under the metaphor of a consuming moth.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Ephraim's foolish political vacillation, calling to Egypt and going to Assyria for help.
Supported by John Calvin, JFB
Parallels God's fearsome judgment as a lion and a leopard waiting to tear.
Supported by Matthew Henry
The immediate historical and spiritual resolution: returning to the Lord who tore them.
Supported by Matthew Henry
The image of a wife departing treacherously from her husband, matching Israel's spiritual adultery.
Supported by JFB
The swift execution of judgment under the temporal unit of 'a month' devouring them.
Supported by JFB
The covenant curse pronounced on those who remove their neighbor's landmark.
Supported by John Calvin
Historical fulfillment of Israel sending to the Assyrian king Pul for military support.
Supported by Matthew Poole