Hosea 5:2

2 You refuse to obey me. You offer sacrifices to other gods. So I will punish all of you.

Hosea 5:2 Meaning and Commentary

Hosea 5:2

And the revolters are profound to make slaughter
The revolters are the king, priests, and people, who had revolted from the true worship and ways of God unto idolatry. These formed deep laid schemes, and took crafty methods, like hawkers; who lay themselves flat upon the ground to manage their snares and nets, and observe the creatures that fall into them, and take them, and whom they artfully decoy, to which the allusion is; and that either to slay those who would not comply with their false worship; or rather to multiply the sacrifices of slain beasts, and offer them with a great show of devotion and religion, and thereby beguile, entice, and ensnare simple and unwary souls; so the Targum,

``they sacrifice to idols abundantly;''

and which, in the sight of God, was mere slaughter and butchery: though I [have been] a rebuker of them all;
king, priests, and prophets; those idolaters, revolters, or worshippers of Baal, as Aben Ezra calls them: this is to be interpreted either of the prophet, who had freely, faithfully, and openly reproved all orders of men for their departure from God and his worship, and for their idolatrous practices; or of the Lord himself, which comes to the same sense, who had rebuked them by his prophets, and corrected them by his judgments, but to no purpose: and therefore they could not plead ignorance, or excuse themselves upon that account.

Hosea 5:2 In-Context

1 "Listen to me, you priests! Pay attention, people of Israel! Listen, you members of the royal family! Here is my decision against you. You have been like a trap at Mizpah. You have been like a net spread out on Mount Tabor.

2 You refuse to obey me. You offer sacrifices to other gods. So I will punish all of you.

3 People of Ephraim, I know all about you. What you are doing is not hidden from me. Now you have joined yourselves to other gods. You have made yourselves 'unclean.'

4 "You can't return to me because you have done so many evil things. In your hearts you long to act like prostitutes. You do not recognize me as the Lord.

5 Israel, your pride witnesses that you are guilty. People of Ephraim, you trip and fall because you have sinned. Judah, you fall down along with them.