Hosea 4:3

3 For this reason the land mourns, and everyone who lives in it languishes, along with the wild animals and the birds of the sky; even the fish of the sea disappear.^[a]

Hosea 4:3 Meaning and Commentary

Hosea 4:3

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" ^F16; 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.''

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FOOTNOTES:

F16 (wpoay) "congregabuntur", V. L.; "collgentur", Montanus, Vatablus, Drusius, Schmidt.

Hosea 4:3 In-Context

1 Hear the word of the Lord, people of Israel, for the Lord has a case against the inhabitants of the land: There is no truth, no faithful love, and no knowledge of God in the land!

2 Cursing, lying, murder, stealing, and adultery are rampant; one act of bloodshed follows another.

3 For this reason the land mourns, and everyone who lives in it languishes, along with the wild animals and the birds of the sky; even the fish of the sea disappear.

4 But let no one dispute; let no one argue, for My case is against you priests.

5 You will stumble by day; the prophet will also stumble with you by night. And I will destroy your mother.

Footnotes

• [a]. Gn 1:20-25