PUBLIC-DOMAIN CHRISTIAN BOOK
John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible — Hosea
Gill, John, 1697-1771 · 96,587 words · 161 reading sections
Hosea 6:1
Hosea 6:1 INTRODUCTION TO HOSEA 6 This chapter gives an account of some who were truly penitent, and stirred up one another to return to the Lord, encouraged by his power, grace, and goodness, Ho 6:1; and of others, who had only a form of religion, were very unstable in it; regarded more the ceremonial law, and the e…
812 wordsSECTION 62Hosea 6:2
Hosea 6:2 Ver. 2. After two days will he revive us: in the third day he will raise us up,.... The Jews, in their present state, are as dead men, both in a civil and spiritual sense, and their conversion and restoration will be as life from the dead; they are like persons buried, and, when they are restored, they will …
993 wordsSECTION 63Hosea 6:3
Hosea 6:3 Ver. 3. Then shall we know, [if] we follow on to know the Lord,.... The word "if" is not in the original text, and the passage is not conditional, but absolute; for as persons, when converted, know Christ, and not before, when he is revealed to them, and in them, as the only Saviour and Redeemer, so they con…
863 wordsSECTION 64Hosea 6:4
Hosea 6:4 Ver. 4. O Ephraim, what shall I do unto thee? O Judah, what shall I do unto thee?.... Or, "for thee" {x}? The Lord having observed the effect and consequence of his going and returning to his place, of his leaving his people for a long time under afflictions and in distress; namely, their thorough conversion…
448 wordsSECTION 65Hosea 6:5
Hosea 6:5 Ver. 5. Therefore have I hewed [them] by the prophets; I have slain them by the words of my mouth,.... Sharply reproved them for their sins by the prophets, who were as lapidaries that cut stone, or us hewers of timber that cut off the knotty parts; so these by preaching the terrors of the law, which is a ki…
542 wordsSECTION 66Hosea 6:6
Hosea 6:6 Ver. 6. For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice,.... That is, the one rather than the other, as the next clause explains it. Sacrifices were of early use, even before the law of Moses; they were of divine appointment, and were approved and accepted of by the Lord; they were types of Christ, and led to him, an…
660 wordsSECTION 67Hosea 6:7
Hosea 6:7 Ver. 7. But they, like men, have transgressed the covenant,.... The false prophets, as Aben Ezra, whom he threatened to cut off and slay, Ho 6:5; or rather Ephraim and Judah, whose goodness was so fickle and unstable; and who, instead of doing acts of mercy, and seeking after the true knowledge of God and hi…
512 wordsSECTION 68Hosea 6:8
Hosea 6:8 Ver. 8. Gilead [is] a city of them that work iniquity,.... The chief city in the land of Gilead, which lay beyond Jordan, inhabited by Gad and Reuben, and the half tribe of Manasseh; and so belonged to the ten tribes, whose sins are here particularly observed. It had its name from the country, or the country…
428 wordsSECTION 69Hosea 6:9
Hosea 6:9 Ver. 9. And as troops of robbers wait for a man,.... As a gang of highwaymen or footpads lie in wait in a ditch, or under a hedge, or in a cave of a rock or mountain, for a man they know will come by that way, who is full of money, in order to rob him; or, as Saadiah interprets it, as fishermen stand upon th…
319 wordsSECTION 70Hosea 6:10
Hosea 6:10 Ver. 10. I have seen an horrible thing in the house of Israel,.... Idolatry, the calves set up at Dan and Bethel, which God saw with abhorrence and detestation; or the prophet saw it, and it made his hair stand on end as it were, as the word {g} signifies, that such wickedness should be committed by a profe…
165 wordsSECTION 71Hosea 6:11
Hosea 6:11 Ver. 11. Also, O Judah, he hath set an harvest for thee,.... That is, God hath set and appointed a time of wrath and vengeance for thee, which is sometimes signified by a harvest, Re 14:15; because thou hast been guilty of idolatry also, as well as Ephraim or the ten tribes: or rather it may be rendered, "b…
194 wordsSECTION 72Hosea 7:1
Hosea 7:1 INTRODUCTION TO HOSEA 7 This chapter either begins a new sermon, discourse, or prophecy, or it is a continuation of the former; at least it seems to be of the same argument with the latter part of it, only it is directed to Israel alone; and consists of complaints against them because of their manifold sins…
908 wordsSECTION 73Hosea 7:2
Hosea 7:2 Ver. 2. And they consider not in their hearts [that] I remember all their wickedness,.... That is, the people of the ten tribes, and the inhabitants of Samaria, whose iniquity and wickedness are said to be discovered, and to be very notorious: and yet "they said not to their hearts" {m}, as in the original t…
332 wordsSECTION 74Hosea 7:3
Hosea 7:3 Ver. 3. They make the king glad with their wickedness,.... Not any particular king; not Jeroboam the first, as Kimchi; nor Jehu, as Grotius; if any particular king, rather Jeroboam the second; but their kings in general, as the Septuagint render it, in succession, one after another; who were highly delighted…
167 wordsSECTION 75Hosea 7:4
Hosea 7:4 Ver. 4. They [are] all adulterers,.... King, princes, priests, and people, both in a spiritual and corporeal sense; they were all idolaters, given to idols try, eager of it, and constant in it, as the following metaphors show; and they were addicted to corporeal adultery; this was a prevailing vice among all…
318 wordsSECTION 76Hosea 7:5
Hosea 7:5 Ver. 5. In the day of our king,.... Either his birthday, or his coronation day, when he was inaugurated into his kingly office, as the Targum, Jarchi, and Kimchi; or the day on which Jeroboam set up the calves, which might be kept as an anniversary: or, "it is the day of our king" {o}; and may be the words o…
492 wordsSECTION 77Hosea 7:6
Hosea 7:6 Ver. 6. For they have made ready their heart like an oven, whiles they lie in wait,.... The prince, people, and scorners before mentioned, being heated with wine, and their lust enraged, they were ready for any wickedness; for the commission of adultery, lying in wait for their neighbours' wives to debauch t…
245 wordsSECTION 78Hosea 7:7
Hosea 7:7 Ver. 7. They are all hot as an oven,.... Eager upon their idolatry, or burning in their unclean desires after other men's wives; or rather raging and furious, hot with anger and wrath against their rulers and governors, breathing out slaughter and death unto them: and have devoured their judges; that stood …
214 wordsSECTION 79Hosea 7:8
Hosea 7:8 Ver. 8. Ephraim, he hath mixed himself among the people,.... Either locally, by dwelling among them, as some of them at least might do among the Syrians; or carnally, by intermarrying with them, contrary to the command of God; or civilly, by entering into alliances and confederacies with them, as Pekah the s…
577 wordsSECTION 80Hosea 7:9
Hosea 7:9 Ver. 9. Strangers have devoured his strength,.... Or his substance, as the Targum; his wealth and riches, fortresses and strong holds: these strangers were either the Syrians, who, in the times of Jehoahaz, destroyed Ephraim or the Israelites, and so weakened them, as to make them like the dust by threshing,…
525 wordsSECTION 81Hosea 7:10
Hosea 7:10 Ver. 10. And the pride of Israel testifieth to his face,.... See Gill on "Ho 5:5"; notwithstanding their weak and declining state, they were proud and haughty; entertained a high conceit of themselves, and of their good and safe condition; and behaved insolently towards God, and were not humbled before him …
213 wordsSECTION 82Hosea 7:11
Hosea 7:11 Ver. 11. Ephraim also is like a silly dove, without heart,.... Or understanding; which comes and picks up the corns of grain, which lie scattered about, and does not know that the net is spread for it; and when its young are taken away, it is unconcerned, and continues its nest in the same place still; and,…
298 wordsSECTION 83Hosea 7:12
Hosea 7:12 Ver. 12. When they shall go,.... That is, to Egypt or Assyria: I will spread my net upon them; bring them into great straits and difficulties; perhaps the Assyrian army is meant, which was the Lord's net, guided, and directed, and spread by his providence, and according to his will, to take this silly dove…
295 wordsSECTION 84Hosea 7:13
Hosea 7:13 Ver. 13. Woe unto them, for they have fled from me,.... From the Lord, from his worship, and the place of it; from obedience to him, and the service of him; as birds fly from their nests, and leave their young, and wander about; so they had deserted the temple at Jerusalem, and forsaken the service of the s…
395 wordsSECTION 85Hosea 7:14
Hosea 7:14 Ver. 14. And they have not cried unto me with their heart,.... In their distress, indeed, they cried unto the Lord, and said they repented of their sins, and promised reformation, and made a show of worshipping God; as invocation is sometimes put for the whole worship of God; but then this was not heartily,…
1,157 wordsSECTION 86Hosea 8:1
Hosea 8:1 INTRODUCTION TO HOSEA 8 This chapter treats of the sins and punishment of Israel for them, as the preceding; it is threatened and proclaimed that an enemy should come swiftly against them, because of their transgression of the covenant and law of God, Ho 8:1; their hypocrisy is exposed, Ho 8:2; they are cha…
743 wordsSECTION 87Hosea 8:2
Hosea 8:2 Ver. 2. Israel shall cry unto me, my God, we know thee. In their distress they shall cry to the Lord to help them, and have mercy on them, as they used to do when in trouble, Isa 26:16; when the eagle is come upon them, and just ready to devour them; when Samaria is besieged with file Assyrian army, their ki…
349 wordsSECTION 88Hosea 8:3
Hosea 8:3 Ver. 3. Israel hath cast off [the thing that is] good,.... Or "rejected [him that is] good" {y}; that is, God, as Kimchi observes; for there is none good but him, Mt 19:17; he is the "summum bonum", "the chiefest good" to men, and is essentially, originally, and infinitely good in himself, and the fountain o…
301 wordsSECTION 89Hosea 8:4
Hosea 8:4 Ver. 4. They have set up kings, but not by me,.... Not by his authority, order, and command; not by asking advice of him, or his leave, but of themselves, and of their own, accord: this refers to the case of Jeroboam their first king, after their separation from the house of David, and from the tribes of Jud…
498 wordsSECTION 90Hosea 8:5
Hosea 8:5 Ver. 5. Thy calf, O Samaria, hath cast [thee] off,.... Or, is the cause of thy being cast off by the Lord, and of being cast out of thine own land, and carried captive into another; the past tense is used for the future, as is common in prophetic writings, to denote the certainty of the thing: or "thy calf h…
488 wordsSECTION 91Hosea 8:6
Hosea 8:6 Ver. 6. For from Israel [was] it also,.... That is, the calf was from Israel; it was an invention of theirs, as some say; they did not borrow it from their neighbours, as they did other idols, but it was their own contrivance: but this tines not seem to be fact; for the calf, the making of it indeed, was of …
557 wordsSECTION 92Hosea 8:7
Hosea 8:7 Ver. 7. For they have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind,.... The sense is, the Israelites took a great deal of pains in the idolatrous worship of the calves, and made a great stir, bustle, and noise in it, like the wind; were very vainglorious and ostentatious, made a great show of religion an…
350 wordsSECTION 93Hosea 8:8
Hosea 8:8 Ver. 8. Israel is swallowed up,.... Not only their substance, but their persons also, the whole nation of them, their whole estate, civil and ecclesiastic: it notes the utter destruction of them by the Assyrians, so that nothing of them and theirs remained; just as anyone is swallowed up and devoured by a br…
200 wordsSECTION 94Hosea 8:9
Hosea 8:9 Ver. 9. For they are gone up to Assyria,.... Or, "though they should go up to Assyria" {g}; to the king of Assyria, to gain his friendship, and enter into alliance with him; as, when Pal king of Assyria came against them, Menahem king of Israel went forth to meet him, and gave him a thousand talents of silve…
443 wordsSECTION 95Hosea 8:10
Hosea 8:10 Ver. 10. 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 A…
444 wordsSECTION 96Hosea 8:11
Hosea 8:11 Ver. 11. Because Ephraim hath, made many altars to sin,.... Not with an intention to commit sin, but to offer sacrifice for sin, and make atonement for it, as they thought; but these altars being erected for the sake of idols, and sacrifices offered on them to them, they sinned in so doing, and were the cau…
1,594 wordsSECTION 97Hosea 9:1
Hosea 9:1 INTRODUCTION TO HOSEA 9 This chapter is an address to Israel or the ten tribes, and contains either a new sermon, or is a very considerable part of the former upon the same subject, the sins and punishment of that people. It begins with an instruction to them, not to rejoice in their prosperity, as others d…
880 wordsSECTION 98Hosea 9:2
Hosea 9:2 Ver. 2. The floor and the winepress shall not feed them,.... Though their expectations from their worship of idols were large, they should find themselves mistaken; for there would not be a sufficiency of corn on the floor, nor of wine in the press, to supply them with what was necessary for their sustenance…
251 wordsSECTION 99Hosea 9:3
Hosea 9:3 Ver. 3. They shall not dwell in the Lord's land,.... The land of Israel, or Canaan; which, though all the earth is the Lord's, was peculiarly his; which he had chosen for himself, and for this people; where he had his temple, and caused his Shechinah or divine Majesty to dwell in a very special manner, and w…
433 wordsSECTION 100Hosea 9:4
Hosea 9:4 Ver. 4. They shall not offer wine [offerings] to the Lord,.... This is either a threatening of the cessation of sacrifices, being carried into Assyria, a strange land, where it was not lawful to offer sacrifice, there being no temple nor altar to offer in or at; and so as they would not offer to the Lord whe…
410 wordsSECTION 101Hosea 9:5
Hosea 9:5 Ver. 5. What will ye do in the solemn day, and in the day of the feast of the Lord?] Since their sacrifices now were so disagreeable and displeasing to the Lord, and so unavailable to themselves, what would they do when in captivity, "in the solemn day", the seventh day of the week, appointed by the Lord for…
310 wordsSECTION 102Hosea 9:6
Hosea 9:6 Ver. 6. For, lo, they are gone, because of destruction,.... That is, many of the people of Israel were gone out of their own land to others, particularly to Egypt, because of the destruction that was coming upon them, and to avoid it; because of the Assyrian army which invaded their land, and besieged Samari…
515 wordsSECTION 103Hosea 9:7
Hosea 9:7 Ver. 7. The days of visitation are come, the days of recompense are come,.... In which the Lord would punish the people of Israel for their sins, and reward them in a righteous manner, according as their evil works deserved; which time, being fixed and appointed by him, are called "days"; and these, because …
542 wordsSECTION 104Hosea 9:8
Hosea 9:8 Ver. 8. The watchman of Ephraim [was] with my God,.... Formerly the watchmen of Ephraim, or the prophets of Israel, were with the true God, whom the prophet calls his God; as Elijah and Elisha, who had communion and intimacy with him; had revelations and instructions from him; and were under the direction an…
309 wordsSECTION 105Hosea 9:9
Hosea 9:9 Ver. 9. They have deeply corrupted [themselves], as in the days of Gibeah,.... Not the false prophets and watchmen only; but rather Ephraim, or the ten tribes, through their means became extremely corrupt in principle and practice; they had most sadly degenerated, and were deeply sunk and immersed in all man…
224 wordsSECTION 106Hosea 9:10
Hosea 9:10 Ver. 10. I found Israel like grapes in the wilderness,.... Not Jacob or Israel personally, with the few souls that went down with him into Egypt; for these died in Egypt, and never returned from thence, or came into the wilderness to be found; nor Israel in a spiritual sense, the objects of electing, redeem…
1,392 wordsSECTION 107Hosea 9:11
Hosea 9:11 Ver. 11. [As for] Ephraim, their glory shall flee away like a bird,.... That is, suddenly, swiftly, and irrecoverably, and never return more; which some understand of God their glory, and of his departure from them, as in Ho 9:12; others of their wealth and riches, and whatever was glorious and valuable amo…
189 wordsSECTION 108Hosea 9:12
Hosea 9:12 Ver. 12. Though they bring up their children,.... Though this be the case of some, as to be conceived, carried in the womb to the full time, and be born, and brought up to a more adult age, and appear very promising to live, and perpetuate the names of their fathers and their families: yet will I bereave t…
294 wordsSECTION 109Hosea 9:13
Hosea 9:13 Ver. 13. Ephraim, as I saw Tyrus, [is] planted in a pleasant place,.... That is, either as the city of Tyre, a very famous city in Phoenicia, was situated in a very pleasant place by the sea, and abounded in wealth and riches, and was well fortified, and seemed secure from all danger, and from all enemies; …
361 wordsSECTION 110Hosea 9:14
Hosea 9:14 Ver. 14. Give them, O Lord: what wilt thou give them?.... The prophet foreseeing the butchery and destruction of their children, his heart ached for them; and, to show his tender affection for this people, was desirous of putting up a supplication for them; but was at a loss what to ask, their sins were so …
1,676 wordsSECTION 111Hosea 10:1
Hosea 10:1 INTRODUCTION TO HOSEA 10 This chapter is of the same argument with the former, and others before that; setting forth the sins of the ten tribes, and threatening them with the judgments of God for them; and exhorting them to repentance, and works of righteousness. They are charged with unfruitfulness and in…
715 wordsSECTION 112Hosea 10:2
Hosea 10:2 Ver. 2. Their heart is divided,.... Some say from Hoshea their king, who would have reformed them from their idolatry, and returned them to the true worship of God; but of that there is no proof; better from one another, their affections being alienated from each other, by their discords and animosities, th…
389 wordsSECTION 113Hosea 10:3
Hosea 10:3 Ver. 3. For now they shall say, we have no king,.... This they would say, either when they had one; but by their conduct and behaviour said they had none; because they had no regard unto him, no affection for him, and reverence of him; but everyone did what was right in his own eyes: or during the interregn…
292 wordsSECTION 114Hosea 10:4
Hosea 10:4 Ver. 4. They have spoken words, swearing falsely in making a covenant,.... Those are other crimes they were guilty of, for which the wrath of God could not be awarded from them by a king, if they had one, or by any other. They had used vain and idle words in their common talk and conversation; and lying and…
235 wordsSECTION 115Hosea 10:5
Hosea 10:5 Ver. 5. The inhabitants of Samaria shall fear because of the calves of Bethaven,.... Or, "the cow calves" {w}, as in the original; so called by way of derision, and to denote their weakness and inability to help their worshippers; and so Bethel, where one of these calves was, is here, as elsewhere, called B…
688 wordsSECTION 116Hosea 10:6
Hosea 10:6 Ver. 6. It shall also be carried unto Assyria [for] a present to King Jareb,.... Or, "he himself" {z}; not the people of Samaria, or of Bethaven, or of the calf, but the calf itself; which, being all of gold, was sent a present to the king of Assyria, here called Jareb; either Assyria, or the king of it; Se…
251 wordsSECTION 117Hosea 10:7
Hosea 10:7 Ver. 7. [As for] Samaria,.... The metropolis of the ten tribes of Israel, and here put for the whole kingdom: her king is cut off; which some understand of Pekah, who was killed by Hoshea; others of several of their kings cut off one after another, very suddenly and quickly, as the metaphor after used show…
223 wordsSECTION 118Hosea 10:8
Hosea 10:8 Ver. 8. The high places also of Aven,.... Bethel, which is not only as before called Bethaven, the house of iniquity; but Aven, iniquity itself; the high places of it were the temple and altars built there for idolatrous service, which were usually set on hills and mountains: the sin of Israel shall be des…
248 wordsSECTION 119Hosea 10:9
Hosea 10:9 Ver. 9. O Israel, thou hast sinned from the days of Gibeah,.... This has no respect, as the Targum, and others, to Gibeah of Saul, of which place he was, and the choosing him to be king; but to the affair of the Levite and his concubine at Gibeah in the days of the judges, and what followed upon it, Jud 19:…
485 wordsSECTION 120Hosea 10:10
Hosea 10:10 Ver. 10. [It is] in my desire that I should chastise them,.... Or, "bind them" {a}, and carry them captive; and by so doing correct them for their sins they have so long continued in: this the Lord had in his heart to do, and was determined upon it, and would do it with pleasure, for the glorifying of his …
540 wordsSource & rights
Public domain; John Gill (1697–1771). Source item is marked Public Domain on Internet Archive.
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Historical Christian writing; not Scripture.