Hosea 10:7

7 Israel will be destroyed; its king will be like a chip of wood floating on the water.

Hosea 10:7 Meaning and Commentary

Hosea 10:7

[As for] Samaria
The metropolis of the ten tribes of Israel, and here put for the whole kingdom: her king is cut off;
which some understand of Pekah, who was killed by Hoshea; others of several of their kings cut off one after another, very suddenly and quickly, as the metaphor after used shows; or rather Hoshea the last king is meant, who was cut off by the king of Assyria; the present tense is used for the future, to denote the certainty of it. Aben Ezra thinks the verb "cut off" is to be repeated, Samaria is "cut off, her king [is] cut off"; both king and kingdom destroyed. So the Targum,

``Samaria is cut off with her king:''

as the foam upon the water;
as any light thing flowing upon it; as the bark of a tree, as Kimchi and Abarbinel; or as the scum upon a boiling pot of water, as Jarchi, and the Targum; or as foam, which is an assemblage of bubbles upon the water; such are kings and kingdoms, swell, look big and high for a while; but are mere bubbles, empty things; and are often suddenly, quickly, and easily destroyed; so Samaria and her king were by the Assyrian army; the Lord of hosts, the King of kings, being against them.

Hosea 10:7 In-Context

5 The people from Israel are worried about the calf-shaped idol at Beth Aven. The people will cry about it, and the priests will cry about it. They used to shout for joy about its glory,

6 but it will be carried off to Assyria as a gift to the great king. Israel will be disgraced, and the people will be ashamed for not obeying.

7 Israel will be destroyed; its king will be like a chip of wood floating on the water.

8 The places of false worship will be destroyed, the places where Israel sins. Thorns and weeds will grow up and cover their altars. Then they will say to the mountains, "Cover us!" and to the hills, "Fall on us!"

9 "Israel, you have sinned since the time of Gibeah, and the people there have continued sinning. But war will surely overwhelm them in Gibeah, because of the evil they have done there.