Hosea 8:9

gone up Used, like ἀναβαίνω, of going inland (-up the country").

a wild ass alone by himself Rather, a wild ass taking his own way by himself. The point of comparison is obstinacy. The wild ass is a gregarious animal, but individuals in the herd will sometimes go and roam moodily and obstinately by themselves. See Tristram, Nat. Hist. of Bible, pp. 41 43, and Davidson's full note on Job 35:5-8. Ishmael is compared to the wild ass in Genesis 16:12, and now it appears that Israel is no better than Ishmael. In spite of warnings, he will have his way, though intercourse with Assyria is his ruin.

Ephraim hath hired lovers Rather, loves. The allusion is to the gifts by which Israel sought to gain the Assyrian or Egyptian alliance (Hosea 12:2). The Sept. evidently had a different, though probably not a more correct text.