Hosea 13:11

11 In my anger I have given you kings, and in my fury I have taken them away. ¹

Hosea 13:11 Meaning and Commentary

Hosea 13:11

I gave thee a king in mine anger
Not the king of Assyria, sent to waste and destroy them, and carry them captive, as some, for of him the next clause cannot be said; nor Jeroboam, the first king of the ten tribes, as others, who was not given in anger to Israel, but to Solomon; rather Saul, as Kimchi and Aben Ezra, the first king of all Israel; and who was given at the request of the people, though in anger and resentment, they rejecting God their King; or it may design the kingly office and power in general, in a succession of kings from him the first of them: and took [him] away in my wrath;
not Jeroboam, who does not appear to be taken away by death in wrath; rather Saul, who died in battle with the Philistines, and fell on the mountains of Gilboa: but it may be rendered better, "I will take him away" ^F15; and refers not to Zedekiah the last king of Judith, as some in Kimchi; but to Hoshea, the last king of the ten tribes; for it is of there more especially the words, both in the text and context, are spoken; and so it respects the entire removal of kingly power from them, which ceased in Hoshea; see ( Hosea 3:4 ) ( 10:15 ) .

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FOOTNOTES:

F15 (xqaw) "et auferam", Zanchius, Piscator, Cocceius, V. L. "recipiam", Drusius; "accipiam", Schmidt.

Hosea 13:11 In-Context

9 "I will destroy you, people of Israel! Then who can help you?

10 You asked for a king and for leaders, but how can they save the nation?

11 In my anger I have given you kings, and in my fury I have taken them away.

12 "Israel's sin and guilt are on record, and the records are safely stored away.

13 Israel has a chance to live, but is too foolish to take it - like a child about to be born, who refuses to come out of the womb.

Cross References

• 1. 13.11 a 1 Samuel 10.17-24; b 1 Samuel 15.26.