Hosea 8:10

Yea, though they have hired among the nations, now will I gather them, and they shall sorrow a little for the burden of the king of princes. YEA, THOUGH THEY HAVE HIRED AMONG THE NATIONS, NOW WILL I GATHER THEM - namely, the nations (Assyria, etc.) against Israel, instead of their assisting her as she had wished (Ezekiel 16:37, "Behold, therefore I will gather all thy lovers, with whom thou hast taken pleasure, and all them that thou hast loved, with all them that thou hast hated; I will even gather them round about against thee"). Now, i:e., immediately. AND THEY SHALL SORROW A LITTLE - rather, 'in a little' (Henderson). The English version gives good sense: They shall sorrow [ yaacheeluw (H2490) is best taken from...

But it follows, _Though they have hired among the nations, now will I gather them_. This place may be variously expounded. The commonly received explanation is, that God would gather the hired nations against Israel; but I would rather refer it to the people themselves. But it admits of a twofold sense: the first is, that the great forces which the people has on every side acquired for themselves, would not prevent God from destroying them; for the verb קבף, _kobets_, which they render, “to gather,” often means in Hebrew to throw by a slaughter into an heap, as we say in French, _Trousser _, (to bundle.) And this meaning would be very suitable — that though they extended themselves far and wide, by gathering forces on every side, they would yet be collected in another way, for they would be brought together into a heap. The second sense is this — that when Israel should be drawn away to...

5-10 They promised themselves plenty, peace, and victory, by worshipping idols, but their expectations came to nothing. What they sow has no stalk, no blade, or, if it have, the bud shall yield no fruit, there was nothing in them. The works of darkness are unfruitful; nay, the end of those things is death. The hopes of sinners will deceive them, and their gains will be snares. In times of danger, especially in the day of judgment, all carnal devices will fail. They take a course by themselves, and like a wild ass by himself, they will be the easier and surer prey for the lion. Man is in nothing more like the wild ass's colt, than in seeking for that succour and that satisfaction in the creature, which are to be had in God only. Though men may sorrow a little, yet if it is not after a godly sort, they will be brought to sorrow everlastingly....

Verse Hosea 8:10. _FOR THE BURDEN OF THE KING OF PRINCES._] The exactions of the Assyrian king, and the princes of the provinces....

YEA, THOUGH THEY HAVE HIRED - Or better, “because or when they hinge among the pagan, now will I gather them;” i. e., I will gather the nations together. The sin of Israel should bring its own punishment. He sent presents to the king of Assyria, in order to strengthen himself against the will of God; “he thought himself secured by his league made with them; but he should find himself much deceived in his policy;” he had “hired among them” only; “now,” ere long, very speedily, God Himself would “gather them,” i. e., those very nations, not in part, but altogether; not for the help of Israel, but for its destruction. As though a man would let out some water from a deep lake ponded up, the water, as it oozed out, loosened more and more the barriers which withheld it, until, at length, all gave way, and the water of the lake was poured out in one wide wild waste, desolating all, over which i...

EXPOSITION This chapter deals with the punishment of apostasy. Once more the sins of the northern kingdom are enumerated and its approaching fall predicted. There is a close connection between the verses in the first section of the chapter. That connection is as follows: The first verse begins with an exclamation containing Jehovah's command to the prophet to act as his herald, putting the trumpet to his mouth and sounding the alarm about coming calamity. In the second clause of the same verse the nature of the calamity is announced. In the third and last clause of it the cause of the calamity is declared. The second verse represents Israel in their extremity crying to God for deliverance; the cry is very earnest, and proceeds from every member of the community, backed also with the assertion of their acquaintance with Jehovah. In the third verse Jehovah rejects their cry and refuses to...

YEA, THOUGH THEY HAVE HIRED AMONG THE NATIONS,.... That is, lovers, as before; got into confederacies and alliances with the nations about them, thinking thereby to strengthen their hands, and secure themselves and their kingdom; particular regard may be had to the Egyptians, as distinct from the Assyrians, whom they privately engaged on their side to shake off the Assyrian yoke, or their obligation to send yearly presents to the Assyrian king: NOW WILL I GATHER THEM; either the Assyrians against them, to invade their land, besiege their city, and take and carry them captive; or the Israelites in a body into the city of Samaria, and there be cooped up, and taken and destroyed, or carried captive; for this is not to be interpreted of the collection of them out of their captivity, as the Targum and Jarchi, but of the gathering of them together for their destruction: AND THEY SHALL SORROW...

CHAPTER 8:1-9:9 The Apostasy is Followed by Judgment _ 1. The judgment announced (Hosea 8:1) _ 2. The apostasy which resulted in judgment (Hosea 8:8) 3. Warning against self-security (Hosea 9:1) Hosea 8:1. The prophet is commanded to sound the alarm of the impending judgment. The message is that the enemy will come swift as an eagle upon the house of the Lord, which here does not mean the temple (which was in connection with Judah), but Israel as the chosen people was the house, the dwelling-place of the Lord. All their spurious profession, their false claim, “My God, we know Thee, we, Israel”, will go for nothing, because

ISRAEL'S UNSANCTIFIED NATIONAL LIFE. Man-made kings, like man-made gods (the calf of Samaria), are impotent; Israel sows the wind and shall reap the whirlwind; the sources of the national life are withered, and the nation ceases to count (Hosea 8:4). Resort to foreign aid only further diminishes its vital forces (Hosea 8:8). Multiplication of altars only multiplies sin; the rites of an unholy cultus can but hasten the Divine punishment (Hosea 8:11). Probably Hosea 8:14 is an addition, and there may be glosses besides. HOSEA 8:4. Hosea is the first prophet to denounc

HIRED. hired [lovers]. GATHER. gather [against]. THEM: i.e. the nations (Israel's lovers). SORROW. be in woe. A LITTLE. in. little time, speedily; as in Haggai 2:6. The Hebrew accents indicate that we should render "and, ere long, they will be writhing under the burden": king [will be writhing], princes [will be writhing]. THE BURDEN OF THE: i.e. the tribute [laid on them]. KING OF PRINCES. king and princes. Compare Isaiah 10:8; Isaiah 10:11 MADE MANY. multiplied. Compare Hosea 12:10. BE UNTO HIM. have become to him. SIN. The same wor