Hosea 8:1-7

Israel Reaps the Whirlwind

1 ¹Put the trumpet to your lips! ²Like an eagle the enemy comes ³against the house of the LORD, Because they have ⁴transgressed My covenant And rebelled against My ⁵law.

2 ⁶They cry out to Me, "My God, ⁷we of Israel know You!"

3 Israel has rejected the good; The enemy will pursue him.

4 ⁸They have set up kings, but not by Me; They have appointed princes, but I did not know it. With their ⁹silver and gold they have made idols for themselves, That they might be cut off.

5 He has rejected your ¹⁰calf, O Samaria, saying, "My anger burns against them!" How long will they be incapable * of ¹¹innocence?

6 For from Israel is even this! A ¹²craftsman made it, so it is not God; Surely the calf of Samaria will be broken to pieces.

7 For ¹³they sow the wind And they reap the ¹⁴whirlwind. The standing grain has no heads; It yields ¹⁵no grain. Should it yield, strangers would swallow it up.

Hosea 8:1-7 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO HOSEA 8

This chapter treats of the sins and punishment of Israel for them, as the preceding; it is threatened and proclaimed that an enemy should come swiftly against them, because of their transgression of the covenant and law of God, Ho 8:1; their hypocrisy is exposed, Ho 8:2; they are charged with the rejection of that which is good, and therefore should be pursued by the enemy, Ho 8:3; with setting up kings and princes without consulting the Lord, Ho 8:4; and with making of idols, particularly the golden calves, which would be of no use to them, disappoint them, and at last be broke to pieces, Ho 8:4-6; their seeking to their neighbours for help, and entering into alliances with them, are represented as vain and fruitless, and issuing in their ruin and destruction, Ho 8:7-10; their sins of multiplying altars, contrary to the law of God, and in contempt of it, and offering sacrifices to the Lord, are observed; and they with a visitation from him, Ho 8:11-13; and the chapter is concluded with some notice and Judah, the one building temples, and multiplying fenced cities, which should be by fire, Ho 8:14.

Cross References

• 1. Jeremiah 4:13; Hosea 5:8
• 2. Habakkuk 1:8
• 3. Deuteronomy 28:49
• 4. Hosea 6:7
• 5. Hosea 4:6
• 6. Psalms 78:34; Hosea 7:14
• 7. Titus 1:16
• 8. 2 Kin 15:13, 17, 25; Hosea 13:10, 11
• 9. Hosea 2:8; Hosea 13:1, 2
• 10. Hosea 10:5; Hosea 13:2
• 11. Psalms 19:13; Jeremiah 13:27
• 12. Hosea 13:2
• 13. Proverbs 22:8
• 14. Isaiah 66:15; Nahum 1:3
• 15. Hosea 2:9

Footnotes

• [a] Lit "palate"
• [b] Lit "he"
• [c] Or "Your calf has rejected you"
• [d] Or "splinters"
• [e] Lit "growth"
• [f] Or "meal"