Hosea 5:2

2 You have dug a deep pit to trap them at Acacia Grove. But I will settle with you for what you have done.

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 “Hear this, you priests. Pay attention, you leaders of Israel. Listen, you members of the royal family. Judgment has been handed down against you. For you have led the people into a snare by worshiping the idols at Mizpah and Tabor.
2 You have dug a deep pit to trap them at Acacia Grove. But I will settle with you for what you have done.
3 I know what you are like, O Ephraim. You cannot hide yourself from me, O Israel. You have left me as a prostitute leaves her husband; you are utterly defiled.
4 Your deeds won’t let you return to your God. You are a prostitute through and through, and you do not know the LORD .
5 “The arrogance of Israel testifies against her; Israel and Ephraim will stumble under their load of guilt. Judah, too, will fall with them.

Footnotes 1

  • [a]. Hebrew at Shittim. The meaning of the Hebrew for this sentence is uncertain.
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