Hosea 4:10

10 And they shall eat, and they shall not be [ful]filled; they did fornication, and ceased not, for they forsook the Lord in not keeping (his word). (And they shall eat, but they shall not be fulfilled; for they worshipped idols, and ceased not, yea, they deserted the Lord, and followed other gods.)

Hosea 4:10 Meaning and Commentary

Hosea 4:10

For they shall eat, and not have enough
Namely, the priests; for of them the words are continued, who ate of the sacrifices of the people, and of feasts made in honour of idols; and yet, either what they ate did not satisfy or nourish them, or else their appetites were still greedy after more of the same kind: or this may respect a famine, either at the siege of Samaria, or in their captivity; when they who had lived so voluptuously should have so little to eat, that it should not satisfy them: or though, as others, they eat to the honour of their idols, expecting to be blessed with plenty by them, they shall not have it: they shall commit whoredom, and shall not increase;
that is, their offspring; they shall not beget children, so the Targum, Jarchi, and Kimchi; or the children they beget shall quickly die; yea, though they commit whoredom in the idol's temple with that view, where the women prostituted themselves for that purpose: because they have left off to take heed to the Lord;
to his word, and worship, and ordinances, which they formerly had some regard unto, but now had relinquished: or, "the Lord they have forsaken", or "left off to observe" F25; his ways, his word, and worship. R. Saadiah connects this with the following words, they have forsaken the Lord to observe fornication and wine; but wrongly.


FOOTNOTES:

F25 (rmvl wbze hwhy ta) "Jehovam desierunt observare", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Rivetus, Liveleus; "ad observandum", Schmidt; "reliquerunt observare", Cocceius; "deseruerunt observare", so some in Vatablus.

Hosea 4:10 In-Context

8 They shall eat (from) the sins of my people, and they shall raise (up) the souls of them to the wickedness of them.
9 And it shall be, as the people, so the priest; and I shall visit on him the ways of him, and I shall yield to him the thoughts of him. (And it shall be, as for the people, so for the priests; and I shall punish them for their ways, and I shall repay them for their deeds.)
10 And they shall eat, and they shall not be [ful]filled; they did fornication, and ceased not, for they forsook the Lord in not keeping (his word). (And they shall eat, but they shall not be fulfilled; for they worshipped idols, and ceased not, yea, they deserted the Lord, and followed other gods.)
11 Fornication, and wine, and drunkenness do away the heart. (Wine and drunkenness do away clear thinking.)
12 My people asked in his tree, and the staff thereof told to it; for the spirit of fornication deceived them, and they did fornication, (going away) from their God. (My people asked for counsel, or advice, from their piece of wood, and a staff, or a stick, told them what to do; and so the spirit of adultery, or of idolatry, deceived them, and they did adultery, or idolatry, and went away from their God.)
Copyright © 2001 by Terence P. Noble. For personal use only.