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Hosea 5

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Judgment Announced Against Israel's Leaders 1–7

1
Hear ye this, O priests; and hearken, ye house of Israel; and give ye ear, O house of the king; for judgment is toward you, because ye have been a snare on Mizpah, and a net spread upon Tabor. ​
2
And the revolters are profound to make slaughter, though I have been a rebuker of them all. ​
3
I know Ephraim, and Israel is not hid from me: for now, O Ephraim, thou committest whoredom, and Israel is defiled. ​
4
They will not frame their doings to turn unto their God: for the spirit of whoredoms is in the midst of them, and they have not known the LORD. ​
5
And the pride of Israel doth testify to his face: therefore shall Israel and Ephraim fall in their iniquity; Judah also shall fall with them. ​
6
They shall go with their flocks and with their herds to seek the LORD; but they shall not find him; he hath withdrawn himself from them. ​
7
They have dealt treacherously against the LORD: for they have begotten strange children: now shall a month devour them with their portions. ​

The Coming Military Disaster 8–12

8
Blow ye the cornet in Gibeah, and the trumpet in Ramah: cry aloud at Bethaven, after thee, O Benjamin. ​
9
Ephraim shall be desolate in the day of rebuke: among the tribes of Israel have I made known that which shall surely be. ​
10
The princes of Judah were like them that remove the bound: therefore I will pour out my wrath upon them like water. ​
11
Ephraim is oppressed and broken in judgment, because he willingly walked after the commandment. ​
12
Therefore will I be unto Ephraim as a moth, and to the house of Judah as rottenness. ​

Seeking Foreign Help Instead of God 13–15

13
When Ephraim saw his sickness, and Judah saw his wound, then went Ephraim to the Assyrian, and sent to king Jareb: yet could he not heal you, nor cure you of your wound. ​
14
For I will be unto Ephraim as a lion, and as a young lion to the house of Judah: I, even I, will tear and go away; I will take away, and none shall rescue him. ​
15
I will go and return to my place, till they acknowledge their offence, and seek my face: in their affliction they will seek me early. ​

Bible text: King James Version (1769 Blayney text) · Public domain

Study Notes for Hosea 5

Verse 1

a snare on Mizpah, and a net spread upon Tabor — Priests, 'the house of Israel' and 'the house of the king' are all summoned. A 'snare' (pach) and a 'net' (resheth) are a fowler's tools, as in 'the snare of the fowler' (Ps 91:3) and 9:8. Tabor is the mountain where Barak was sent to gather the tribes (Judg 4:6).

Verse 2

The revolters are profound to make slaughter — 'Revolters' (set) are those who turn aside, and 'profound' is amaq, deep: they have gone far into slaughter. The LORD says he was 'a rebuker' (musar, correction and discipline) of them all, so the judgment comes after the correction was given.

Verse 3

I know Ephraim — 'Know' (yada) is the verb Israel lacks in v.4: 'they have not known the LORD'. 'Not hid' is kachad, conceal, as in 'my sins are not hid from thee' (Ps 69:5). Ephraim 'committest whoredom', and Israel 'is defiled' (tame), the word for ceremonial uncleanness.

Verse 4

the spirit of whoredoms is in the midst of them — The 'spirit of whoredoms' is named already in 4:12. 'Frame' is natan, to give or set: they do not set their doings toward turning to God. The verse ends with 'they have not known the LORD', the lack named in 4:1 and 4:6.

Verse 5

the pride of Israel doth testify to his face — The same line returns in 7:10. 'Pride' (gaon) is arrogance or excellence, the word of 'the excellency of Jacob' (Amos 8:7), so what Israel boasted in testifies against it. 'Fall' is kashal, the verb of 4:5 and of 14:1, 'thou hast fallen by thine iniquity'; Judah falls with them.

Verse 6

to seek the LORD; but they shall not find him — Flocks and herds are brought as sacrifices, yet 'he hath withdrawn himself' (chalats, drawn off). The same outcome is stated in Prov 1:28, 'they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me', and Isaiah gives the LORD's verdict on a multitude of sacrifices (Isa 1:11).

Verse 7

strange children — 'Strange' is zur, foreign. Deut 7:4 gives the reason a foreign bond is feared: 'they will turn away thy son from following me, that they may serve other gods'. 'A month' is chodesh, the word also for the new moon ('her new moons', 2:11), and 'portions' (cheleq) are the allotments of their inheritance.

Verse 8

Blow ye the cornet in Gibeah — The alarm sounds in Benjamin's towns: Gibeah, Ramah (Josh 18:25) and 'Bethaven', named also in 4:15. The 'cornet' is the shofar, and the 'trumpet' (chatsotserah) is the silver trumpet of Num 10:2. 'After thee, O Benjamin' echoes Judg 5:14, 'after thee, Benjamin, among thy people'.

Verse 9

Ephraim shall be desolate — 'Desolate' is shammah, ruin, and the 'day of rebuke' (tochechah) is a day of reproof. 'Surely be' is aman, to be firm and confirmed: what the LORD has 'made known' among the tribes before it comes is certain to happen.

Verse 10

remove the bound — The 'bound' (gebul) is a boundary stone, and the curse stands in Deut 27:17, 'Cursed be he that removeth his neighbour's landmark'. The princes of Judah are charged with crossing a limit that the LORD set. His 'wrath' (ebrah) is 'poured out… like water'.

Verse 11

walked after the commandment — 'Commandment' is tsav, a word found only here and in Isa 28:10, 13 ('precept upon precept'). Ephraim 'willingly' (yaal, consented) followed a rule of its own choosing, as 'the statutes of Omri are kept' (Mic 6:16). Oppressed and broken, he is judged for it.

Verse 12

as a moth… as rottenness — The LORD is to Ephraim a moth (ash), the insect of 'the moth shall eat them up' (Isa 50:9), and to Judah 'rottenness' (raqab), the decay of 'the rottenness of the bones' (Prov 14:30). Both images are of slow ruin, set before the lion of v.14.

Verse 13

king Jareb — Jareb, 'he will contend', is a name found only here and in 10:6. Ephraim's 'sickness' (choli) and Judah's 'wound' (mazor) are carried to Assyria, which cannot heal. Menahem gave Pul silver (2 Kgs 15:19); Tilgathpilneser came to Ahaz and 'distressed him, but strengthened him not' (2 Chr 28:20).

Verse 14

as a lion — The LORD is the lion, as in 13:7–8. 'Tear' (taraf) is the verb of 'he hath torn' in 6:1, so the one who tears is the one who will heal. 'None shall rescue' echoes Deut 32:39, 'neither is there any that can deliver out of my hand', the verse that also says 'I wound, and I heal'.

Verse 15

till they acknowledge their offence — 'Offence' is the verb asham, be guilty, the word of 4:15, 'let not Judah offend', and of the guilt of Lev 5:2–5. The LORD returns 'to my place' until they seek his face. 'Seek me early' (shachar) is the word of Ps 78:34, 'When he slew them, then they sought him'.