Commentary on the Holy Bible

In the beginning of Ilosea's prophecy, we read that the Lord directed him " to take unto liim a wife of whoredoms, and children of whoredoms;" that is, to marry a woman who, before her marriage, had lived a debauched life, but who, after her marriage, should retire from all bad conversation, and whose children should be legitimate, notwithstanding that, by reason of the blemish which their mother had contracted by her former life, they were called the children of whoredoms. This prostitute woman, and the children who were to be born of her, were a figure and a kind of real prophecy which described the idolatry and infidelity of Samaria and the ten tribes, formerly the Lord's spouse, but who afterwards became idolatrous and corrupt.

The children of this faithless woman are cliildrcn of prostitution, since they imitate the idolatry of their mother. God gives these children the names of Jezreel, God will disperse; Lo-rechamah, or Without tnercy; and Lo-ammi, Thou art no longer my people; to show, — 1. That God was going to revenge upon the house of Jehi/, king of Israel, the sins which he had committed at Jezreel, when he usurped the kingdom of the ten tribes. 2. That the Lord would treat his idolatrous and sinful people without mercy..3. That he would reject them, and no more look upon them as his people.

Hosea is concise, sententious, and abrupt. It is his manner to omit the connexivc and adversative particles; an observation which we should recollect when we observe them occasionally supplied by versions or manuscripts. These are among the causes of that obscurity for which he is remarkable: but the greatest difficulties arise from the corrupt readings which deform the printed text. He chiefly addresses Israel; but introduces frequent mention of Judah. He not only inveighs against the vices of the people, but sharply arraigns the conduct of their kings, princes, and priests.

I have already, at the beginning of Isaiah, given a table of the chronological succession of all the prophets: that of Archbishop Newcome on the Uvelve minor prophets I subjoin here, because it contains some differences from the preceding.

order and time in which the twelve jiinor prophets flourished.

. Jonah prophesied between 823 B. C. and 783 B. C. in the reign of Jeroboam II., king of Israel. See 2 Kings xiv. 25.

2. Amos prophesied from about 823 B. C. to about 785 B. C. in the reign of Uzziah, king of Judah, and in that of Jeroboam II., king of Israel. See Amos i. 1.

3. HosEA flourished from about 809 B. C. to about 698 B. C, in the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and in that of Jeroboam II., king of Israel. See Hos. i. 1. [But see the observations in the preceding page.]

5. Nahum is supposed to have prophesied betw^een 720 B. C. and 698 B. C, in the reign of Hezekiah.

6. Joel is supposed to have prophesied between 697 B. C. and 660 B. C, in the reign of Manasseh.

8. Habakkuk is thought to have prophesied between 606 B. C. and 598 B. C, in the reign of Jehoiakim.

9. Obadiah prophesied soon after 587 B. C, between the taking of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar, and the destruction of the Edomites by the same prince.

10. Haggai prophesied about 520 B. C. after the return from Babylon. See Haggai i. I.

12 Malachi is generally believed to have prophesied about 436 B C.

Chronological Notes relative to the commencement of Hosed' s prophesying, upon the supposition that this event took place in the last year of the reign of Jeroboam II., king of Israel.

Fear of the world, according to the TJsherian account, 3219. — Year of the Julian period, 3929. — Year since the Flood, 1563. Year from the vocation of Abram, 1136. — Year from the foundation of Solomon's temple, 227. — Year before the First Olympiad, 9. — Year before the building of Rome, 32. — Year before the vulgar era of Christ's nativity, 785. — Cycle of the Sun, 9. — Cycle of the Moon, 15. — Second year of Cosnus, the second king of Macedon; which was the thirtieth from the foundation of the monarchy. — Thirteenth year of Agamestor, perpetual archon of the Athenians. — Thirteenth year of Ardysus, king of Lydia. — Twelfth year of Amulius Sylvius, king of the Albans. — Twenty-fifth year of Charilaus, king of the Lacedaemonians. — Forty-first year of Jeroboam II., king of Israel. — Twenty-sixth year of Uzziah, king

Under the figure of a wife proving false to her marriage vows, and bearing children that would follow her example, the prophet represents the shameful idolatry of the ten tribes, which provoked God to cast them off. The whole passage is information by action instead of loords. The names of the children are all emblematical. The first is intended to put Israel in mind of their unrepented guilt, and the acts of cruelty committed in their palace of Jezreel, (1 Kings x.\i. 1.) The second and third, signifying not finding mercy, and not my people, denote that, in consequence of their guilt, they loere to be rejected of God, 1—9. God promises, however, to repair the loss to his Church by calling in the Gentiles, 10; and by uniting all the children of God under one head, the Messiah, in the latter days, 1 1.

'pHE word of the Lord that came unto Hosea, the son of Beeri, in the days of " Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and in the days of '' Je-

In the days of Uzziah, cjc.J If we suppose, says Bp. Newcomc, that Hosea prophesied during the course of sixty-six years, and place him from the year 790 before Christ to the year 724, he will have exercised his office eight years in the reign of Jeroboam the second, thirty-three years in, the reign of Uzziah, the whole reigns of Jotham and Ahaz, and three years in the reign of Hezekiah; but will not have survived the taking of Samaria. But see the preceding account of this prophet.

I think the first verse to be a title to this book added by the compiler of his prophecies, and that it relates more to facts which took place in those reigns.

roboam the son of Joash, king of IsraeL

2 The beginning of the word of the Lord by Hosea. And the Lord said to Hosea, ■= Go, take unto thee a

and had been predicted by Hosea, who would only be said to have prophesied under all those kings, by his predictions, which were consecutively fulfilled under them. By those, though dead, he continued to speak. The prophet's work properly begins at ver. 2; hence called, " The beginning of the word of the Lord bv Hosea."

The ten tribes ilireatened with

Aiite U. c. 32. of vvlioredoms: for ^ the land

3 So he went and took Gomer the daughter of Diblaim; which conceived, and bare him a son.

4 And the Lord said unto him. Call his name Jezreel; for yet a little lohile, "^ and I will f avenge the blood of Jezreel upon the house of Jehu,? and will cause to cease the kingdom of the house of Israel.

5 '' And it shall come to pass at that day, that I will break the bow of Israel in the valley of Jezreel.

6 And she conceived again, and bare a

PIOSEA. destruction fur their idolatries.

"tor '1 Will no more have mercy r. Aii.an., upon the house of Israel; " but "''' """"^ '^- I will utterly take them away.

7 " But I will have mercy upon the house of Judah, and will save them by the Lord their God, and ° will not save them by bow, nor by sword, nor by battle, by horses, nor by horsemen.

8 Now when she had weaned Lo-nihamah, she conceived, and bare a son.

9 Then said God, call his name p Lo-ammi: for ye are not my people, and I will not be your God.

10 Yet "1 the number of the children of Israel who have committed fornication against me, and raise np children who, by the power of e.xample, will themselves swerve to idolatry. See chap. v. 7. And thus show them that they are radically depraved.

Verse 3. He went and took Gomer'] All this appears to be a real transaction, though having a typical meaning. If he took an Israelite, he must necessarily have taken an idolatress; one who had worshipped the calves of Jeroboam at Dan or at Bethel.

Verse 4. Call his name Jezreel] Sxinr that is, God will disperse. This seems to intimate that a dispersion or sowing of Israel shall take place; which happened under Shalmaneser, king of Assyria, 2 Kings xvii. 5, 6. But the word refers also to the name of a city, where Jehu slew Jezebel and all the children of Ahab. 2 Kings i.x. 10, 36, and x. 6.

This was one of those prophetic names which we so often meet with in the Scriptures; e. g., Japheth, Abraham, Israel, Judah, Joshua, Zerubbabel, Solomon, Sheer-jashub, &c.

Tlie blood of JezreeT] Not Jehu's vengeance on Ihab's family, but his acts of cruelty while he resided at Jezreel, a city in the tribe of Issachar, Josh. xix. 18, where the kings of Israel had a palace, 1 Kings xxi. 1.

Will cause to cease the kingdom] Either relating 10 the cutting off of the kingdom of Israel by the Assyrians, see ver. 6. or to the ceasing of the kingdom of Israel from the house of Jehu, 2 Kings x. 30, and which was fulfilled, 2 Kings xv. 10. — Newcome.

Verse 5. In the valley of Jezreel] This also is supposed to relate either to some signal defeat of the Israelites by the Assyrians, which took place in the valley of Jezreel; or to the death of Zechariah, the fourth lineal descendant of Jehu, which may have happened here. See 2 Kings xv. 10. — Newcome.

A''erse 6. Call her Lo-ruhamah] rr^m nS, " Not having obtained mercy." This also was a prophetic or typical name; and the reason of its imposition is immediately given:

^ Heb. Xwill not add any more to. — gether pardon them. ■" 2 Kings xix

10. PThat IS, Not my people.

For I will no more have mercy] Tl^' n"DlN nS O □niN ki lo osiph od arachem, " For I will no more add to have mercy upon the house of Israel." This refers to the total destruction of that kingdom.

Verse. 7. But I will have mercy upon the house of Judah] I will spare them as a kingdom after Israel has been carried away into captivity by the Assyrians.

And will save them hy the Lord their God] Remarkably fulfilled in the supernatural defeat of thb army of the Assyrians, see 2 Kings xix. 35; and so they vi'ere saved not by boio, nor by sword, nor by battle, nor by horses, nor by horsemen. The former expression may mean, not in icar by horses, i. e., yoked to war chariots, nor by horsemen — nor by cavalry, howeyer efficient such troops might have then been deemed.

Verse 9. Call his name Lo-ammi] 'C^' nS Loammi, "Not my people;" for which the reason is immediately given:

Ye are not tny people, and I will not be your God.] The word God is not added here by any of the ancient versions or M.SS.; and yet the construction absolutely requires it, as Houbigant properly observes, who thinks the present reading CDdS HTIN nS lo eheych lachem, " I will not be to you," a corruption of the word OJ'n'?!* eloheychcm, " your God." It is strange that no various reading occurs on this verse in any MS. yet discovered. In two of the oldest of mine there is a blank of half a line left after the last word; and so it is in the Masoretic Bibles, though the sense is not complete; for it is evidently continued in the following verse. Probably God refers to the words, Exod. iii. 14: rrnx Tiyxn'nx lam that I am. I am, ri'nx eheyeh, — / shall be, hath sent me unto you. I will not be your eheyeh, i. e., I will not be your God.

God had promised that the children of Israel should be

as the sand of the sea. See Gen. xxxii. 12; Rom.

ix. 25, 26. And though for their iniquities he had

Tlie prophet exhorts his people CHAP. II.

Ante U. C. 32. which Cannot be measured nor

R. Aiban., numbered; ^ and it sliall come

it was said unto them, ' Ye are not my people, there it shall be said unto them, Ye are " the sons of the living God.

thinned and scattered them, yet the spirit and design of his promise and covenant shall be fulfilled. An Israel there shall be. In the place of the reprobated people, who were now no longer his people, there shall be found an Israel that shall be the children of the living God. See the above scriptures, and 1 Pet. ii. 10. This must mean either the Israelites after their conversion to Cliristianity, or even the Gentiles themselves converted to God, and now become the true Israel.

Verse 11. The children of Judah and the children of Israel] After the return from Babylon, the distinction between Israel and Judah was entirely destroyed; and those of them that did return were all included under one denomination, Jeios; and the one head may refer to Zerubbabel their leader, and afterwards under Ezra and Nehemiah. In the more extensive view of

11 'Then shall the children of Judah and the children of Israel be gathered together, and appoint themselves one head, and they shall come up out of the land: for gx'eat shall be the day of Jezreel.

the prophet the one Head maj mean Jesus Christ, under whom the true Israel, Jews and Gentiles, shall be finally gathered together; so that there shall be one flock, and one Shepherd over that flock.

They shall come up out of the land] Assyria and Chaldea in particular; but also from the various places of their dispersions in general.

Great shall be the day of Jezreel.] He alludes to the meaning of the word, the seed of God. God who has dispersed — sown, them in different lands, shall gather them together; and that day of God's power shall be great and glorious. It was a wonderful seed time in the Divine justice; it shall then be a wonderful harvest in the Divine mercy. He sowed them among the nations in his wrath; he shall reap them and gather them in his bounty.

The prophet exhorts his people to speak and to act as became those loho obtained mercy of God; and to remonstrate strongly against the conduct of their mother, {Samaria,) ivhose captivity is threatened on account of her forsahng God, and ascribing her prosperity to idols, 1—5.,4.s an amplification of this threatening, the prophet enumerates a series of afflictions which were to befall her to bring her to a sense of her duty to God; and of her folly in seeking after idols, and falsely ascribing to them the blessings of Providence, 6—13. After these corrections, however, God promises to conduct Israel safely to their men land; perhaps alluding to their restoration from the Babylonish captivity, for this prophecy is supposed to have been delivered about two hundred and fifty years prior to this event, 14, 15. He farther engages to deal with them as a tender husband, and not as a severe master, as were the idols tchich they served, 16, 17. The rest of the chapter promises the people of God, the true Israel, security from every evil, with the possession of every blessing, under a new covenant; and that in terms full of beauty, energy, and consolation. Heaven and earth, and whatever they contain; all nature, and the God of nature, are represented as uniting to make the people of God happy; so that if they only breathe a wish, one part of nature, animate or inanimate, echoes it to another, and all join in sweet harmony to transmit it to the ear of the.Almighty. " I loill hear, saith 'he Lord, / loill hear the heavens, and they shall hear the earth; and the earth shall hear the corn, and the wine, and the oil; and they shall hear Jezreel."

CAY ye unto your brethren, " Ammi; and to your sisters,

2 Plead with your mother,

plead: for ° she is not my wife, neither am I

Verse 1. Say ye unto your brethren, Ammi] I prefer the interpretation of these proper names. Say ye unto your brethren, MV people; and to your sisters, who have obtained iMebcv.

her husband: let her therefore put away her '^ whoredoms out of her sight, and her adulteries from between her breasts;

Verse 2. Plead with your mother] People of Judah, accuse your mother, (Jerusalem,) who has abandoned my worship, and is become idolatrous; convinca her of her folly and wickedness, and let her return to him from whom she has so deeply revolted.

Tlireatenings of punishme?it HOSEA.

AnteU. c. 32. set her as in the day that she R. Aibanl"' was ' bom, and make her ^ as cir. annum 12. ^ wilderness, and set her hke a dry land, and slay her with ^ thirst.

4 And I will not have mercy upon her children; for they be the ' children of whoredoms.

5 '' For their mother hath played the harlot: she that conceived them hath done shamefully: for she said, I will go after my lovers, ' that give 7ne my bread and my water, my wool and my flax, mine oil and my " drink.

6 Therefore, behold, " I will hedge up thy Way with thorns, and " make a wall, that she shall not find her paths.

7 And she shall follow after her lovers, but she shall not overtake them; and she shall seek them, but shall not find them: then shall she say, f I will go and return to my « first husband; for then ivas it better with me than now.

8 For she did not "■ know that ' I gave her

against the idolatrous Israelites

Verse 3. Lest I strip her naked] Lest I expose her to infamy, want, and punishment. The punishment of an adulteress among the ancient Germans was this: " They shaved off her hair, stripped her naked in the presence of her relatives, and in this state drove her from the house of her husband." See on Isa. iii. 17; and see also Ezek. xvi. 39; xsiii. 26. However reproachful this might be to such delinquents, it had no tendency to promote their moral reformation.

And set her like a dry land] The Israelites, if obedient, were promised a land flowing with milk and honey; but, should they be disobedient, the reverse. And this is what God here threatens against disobedient

Verss 4. They be the children of whoredoms.] They are all idolaters; and have been consecrated to idols, whose marks they bear.

Verse 5. That give me my bread] See the note on Jer. xliv. 17, 18, where nearly the same words, are found and illustrated.

Verse 6. / loill hedge up thy ivay loith thorns] I %vill put it out of your power to escape the judgments I have threatened; and, in sphe of all your attachment to your idols, you shall find that they can give you neither bread, nor water, nor u-ool, nor flax, nor oil, nor drink. And ye shall be brought into such circumstances, that the pursuit of your expensive idolatry shall be impossible. And she shall be led so deep into captivity, as never to find the road back to her own land. And this is the fact; for those who were carried away into Assyria have been lost among the nations, few of

9 Therefore will I return, and ""• ^"""^ ''^- '' take away my com in the time thereof, and my wine in the season thereof, and will '^ recover my wool and my flax given to cover her nakedness.

10 And now ^ will I discover her '^ lewdness in the sight of her lovers, and none shall deliver her out of mine hand.

11 ^ I will also cause all her mirth to cease, her " feast days, her new moons, and her Sabbaths, and all her solemn feasts.

1 2 And I will ^ destroy her vines and her fig-trees, "^ whereof she hath said, These are my rewards that my lovers have given me: and ^ I will make them a forest, and the beasts of the field shall eat them.

13 And I will visit upon her the days of Baalim, wherein she burned incense to them.

new wine. "Or, wherewith they made Baal; chapter viii. 4.

them having ever returned to Judea. And, if in being, where they arc now is utterly unknown.

Verse 8. For she did not knoio that I gave her com] How often are the gifts of God's immediate bounty attributed to fortuitous causes — to any cause but the right one!

Which they prepared for Baal.] And how often are the gifts of God's bounty perverted into means of dishonouring him! God gives us wisdom, strength, and property; and we use them to sin against him with the greater skill, potver, and effect! Were the goods those of the enemy, in whose service they are employed, the crime would be the less. But the crime is deeply engrained, when God's property is made the instrument to dishonour himself.

Verse 9. Therefore will I return, and take away] In the course of my providence, I will withhold those benefits which she has prostituted to her idolatrous services. And I will neither give the land rain, nor fruitful seasons.

Verse 10. In the sight of her lovers] Her idols, and her faithful or faithless allies.

Verse 11. Her feast days] Jerusalem thall be pillaged and destroyed; and therefore all her joyous assemblies, and religious feasts, &c., shall cease.

Verse 12. These are my rewards] They attributed all the blessings of Providence as rewards received from the idols which they worshipped.

Verse 13. Days of Baalim] To visit signifies to inflict punishment; the days are taken for the acts of idolatrous worship committed on them; and Baalim

Ante U. C. 32. earrings and her jewels, and she

R. Alban., ' Went after lier lovers, and forgat

14 Therefore, behold, I will allure her, and f bring her into the wilderness, and speak ^ comfortably "^ unto her.

1 5 And I will give her vineyards from thence, and ' the valley of Achor for a door of hope: and she shall sing there, as in "^ the days of her youth, and ' as in the day when she came up out of the land of Egypt.

1 6 And it shall be at that day, saith the Lord, that thou shalt call me ™ Ishi; and shalt call me no more " Baali.

17 For "I will take away the names of Baahm out of her mouth, and they shall no

means the multitude of false gods worshipped by them. Baal was a general name for a male idol, as Astarte was for a, female. Baalim includes all the male idols, as Ashtaroth all those that were female. But the species of idol was often designated by some adjunct; as Baal-Zehuh, Baal-Peoi, Baal-Zephon, i?aa/-Berith, &c.

Her earrings] nOil nizmah, signifies rather a.nose jewel. These are worn by females in the East to the present day, in great abundance.

Verse 14. / will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak comfortably unto her.] After inflicting many judgments upon her, I will restore her again. 1 will deal with her as a very affectionate husband would do to an unfaithful wife. Instead of making her a public example, he takes her in private, talks to and reasons with her; puts her on her good behaviour; promises to pass by all, and forgive all, if she will now amend her ways. In the meantime he provides what is necessary for her wants and comfortable support; and thus, opening a door of hope for her, she may be fully reconciled; rejoice as at the beginning, when he first took her by the hand, and she became his bride. This is most probably the simple meaning of the above metaphorical expressions. The vallei/ of Achor was very fruitful; it lay to the north of Jericho, not far from Gilgal. See Isa. Ixv. 10.

Verse 15. She shall sing there] There she shall sing the responsive song, as on high festival occasions, and in marriage ceremonies. The Book of Canticles is of this sort.

Verse 16. Thou shalt call me Ishi] That is, my man, or my husband; a title of love and affection; and not Baali, my master, a title exciting /ear and apprehension; which, howsoever good in itself, was now rendered improper to be applied to Jehovah, having Been prostituted to false gods. This intimated that

18 And in that day will 1 r. Alban.,

the beasts of the field, and with the fowls of heaven, and with the creeping things of the ground: and « I will break the bow and the sword, and the battle out of the earth, and will make them to ' lie down safely.

19 And I will betroth thee unto me for ever; yea, I will betroth thee unto me in righteousness, and in judgment, and in lovingkindncss, and in mercies.

20 I will even betroth thee unto me in faithfulness; and ^ thou shalt know the Lord.

21 And it shall come to pass in that day^ I will hear, saith the Lord, I will hear the hea-

they should scrupulously avoid idolatry; and they had such a full proof of the inefficacy of their idolatrous worship that, after their captivity, they never more served idols.

Verse 18. Will I make a covenant for them] I will make an agreement between them and the birds, beasts, and reptiles, so that they shall not be injured by those; their flocks shall not be destroyed, nor their crops spoiled. I will also prevent every species of war, that they may no more have the calamities that arise from that source. They shall also be safe from robbers and nightly alarms; for / will make them to lie down in safety.

Verse 19. I will betroth thee unto me] The people are always considered under the emblem of a wife unfaithful to her husband.

In righteousness] According to law, reason, and equity.

In judgment] According to what is fit and becoming.

//( lovingkindness] Having the utmost affection and love for thee.

In mercies.] Forgiving and blotting out all past miscarriages. Or there may be an allusion here to the dowry given by the husband to his wife: " I will give righteousness," &c., as a dowry.

A'^erse 20. In faithfulness] Thou shalt no more prostitute thyself to idols, but be faithful to him who calls himself thy husband.

Thou shalt know the Lord.] There shall be no more infidelity on thy part nor divorce on mine; and thou shalt experience me to be the sole, present, and eternal good of thy immortal spirit: and when this conviction is fully rooted, then there can be no more idolatry, for it shall be seen that an idol is nothing in

Verse 21. / will hear, saith the Lord] The sentence is repeated, to show how fully the thing was

A. ^I. cir. 3219. ygns and they shall hear the

R^Aiban™' 22 And the earth shall hear the

" and they shall hear Jezreel. 23 And ^ I will sow her unto me in the earth,

determined by the Almighty, and how implicitly they might depend on the Divine promise.

/ will hear the heavens] The visible heavens, the atmosphere, where vapours are collected. The clouds, when they wish to deposit their fertilizing showers upon the earth.

They shall hear the earth] When it seems to supplicate for rain.

Verse 22. Shall hear the corn, and the wine] When they seem to express a desire to supply the wants of man.

And they shall hear Jezreel.] The destitute people who are in want of the necessaries of life.

This most elegant gradation in the exertion of the influences of nature, for the supply of the wants of man, may be considered thus: —

1. There is a concord, harmony, and mutual influence, which God has established in the parts of created nature, in reference to the support and preservation of the human race.

2. God alone is the author of all this; and unless he give his command, communicate his energetic influence to the different parts of nature, these effects will not, cannot be produced.

3. Jezreel, the people who have been dispersed for their iniquities, and now about to be sown or planted in their own land, will require the most fostering care. See on ver. 23.

4. They are heard in desiring oil, wine, and corn. These are necessary to the support and comfort of life; and to those the desire of animal life naturally aspires.

5. These products are looked for from the earth. On it, and l>i/ it, grass grows for the cattle, and corn for the service of man.

6. The seeds or germs, whence proceed corn, wine, and oil, live and grow in the earth; but cannot come to perfection, unless the earth be impregnated with the dews and rains from the clouds. They are therefore represented as imploring the heavens to collect their clouds, to pour down their fructifying moisture upon it.

7. The clouds, or materials of which they are composed, not being able to arrange themselves, nor aggregate themselves so as to meet those demands, prevent drought, and maintain an effective vegetation, are represented as calling upon the heavens to form, arrange, and supply them with the requisite quantity of moisture.

8. God, who is the author of all being and all bounty, dependent on nothing, comes forward and says, / will hear the heavens, the clouds which are gathered in the atmosphere; he will arrange the particles, saturate those that are light, till they become sufficiently impregnated with the necessary fluid; and then direct them in his providence where to deposit their contents. Aiid,

B. When brought to the proper place, he will sliake that had not obtained mercy; Ante u. C. 32. and I ^ will say to them which r. Aiban.,

my people; and they shall say, Thou art my

them with his winds, or strike them with his thunder, so as to cause them to fall down in drops to fertilize the earth with their showers. Thus then —

1. God works upon the heavens.

2. In them the clouds are collected.

3. The clouds drop their moisture upon the earth. i. The earth exerts its vegetative influence upon the germs which it contains.

5. They expand, increase, and become matured, under the genial influences of the heavens, sun, air, water, from the clouds, &c.

6. Man receives and applies those bounties of Providence, and variously prepares them for the support and comfort of life.

Take all this in still fewer words: —

As Jezreel or the Israelites are here considered as perishing for want of food, all inanimate nature is represented as invoking God in their behalf.

1. The heavens have prayed that they be stored with clouds, that they may drop down fatness upon the

2. The Lord answers the heavens, and clouds are formed.

3. The earth invokes the clouds, that they may drop down their fatness into its bosom.

4. The bottles of heaven are, consequently, unstopped for this purpose.

5. Then the corn, vine, and olive, implore the earth to put forth its vegetative energy.

6. The earth answers; and com, wine, and oil are produced.

7. Jezreel cries for the necessaries of life, and the abundance of the above supplies all his wants.

All these are dependent on each other, as the links are which constitute a chain; and God has the government of the whole; and he manages all for the benefit of man. How wondrous is this providence! How gracious is this God!

Here is a series of prosopopceias together. Com, wine, oil, the earth, the clouds and their contents, the heaven.'!, sun, moon, &c.,are all represented as intelligent beings, speaking to and influencing each other. God is at one end of the chain, and man at the other; and by means of the intermediate links the latter is kept in a state of continued dependence upon theybrmer for life, breath, and all things.

Verse 23. / tvill sow her] Alluding to the import of the name Jezreel, the seed of God. Then shall it appear that God has shown mercy to them that had not obtained mercy. Then the covenant of God v,'ill be renewed; for he will call them his people who were not his people; and they shall call Jehovah their God, who before had him not for the object of their worship. It does not appear that these promises have had their fulfilment among the Jews. They must either be understood of the blessings experienced by the Gentiles on their conversion to God by the preaching of the Gospel, or are yet to be fulfilled to the Jews on their embracing the Gospel, and being brought back to their own land.

The sentences in the latter part of this verse are very abrupt, but exceedingly expressive; leaving out those words supplied by the translators, and which un nerve the passage, it stands thus: / will say lu not MY PEOPLE, Thou my people; and they shall sav, Mv

By the prophet's taking back his wife, for whom he {her friend or husband) still retained his affection, though she had proved unfaithful; by his entering into a new contract with her; and by his giving her hopes of reconciliation, after she should for some lime prove, as in a slate of widowhood, the sincerity of her repentance; is represented the gracious manner in which God will restore the Jews from the Babylonish captivity, 1—4. It is also very strongly intimated that the whole house of Israel will be added to the Church of Christ in the latter days, 5.

beloved of her "• friend, yet an adulteress, according to the love

of the Lord toward the children of Israel, who

look to other gods, and love flagons "= of

2 So I bought her to me for fifteen pieces

Verse 1. Go yet, love a woman] This is a different command from that mentioned in the first chapter. That denoted the infidelity of the kingdom of Israel, and God's divorce of them. He gave them up to their enemies, and caused them to be carried into captivity. The icoman mentioned here represents one who was a lawful wife joining herself to a paramour; then divorced by her husband; afterwards repenting, and desirous to be joined to her spouse; ceasing from her adulterous commerce, but not yet reconciled to him. This was the state and disposition of the Jews under the Babylonish captivity. Though separated from their own idols, they continued separated from their God. He is still represented as having affectionate feelings towards them; awaiting their full repentance and contrition, in order to renew the marriage covenant. These things are pointed out by the symbolical actions of the prophet.

Beloved of her friend] Or, a lover of evil; or, loving another: for the Hebrew words i'T n^ns mean one who loves evil or a, friend: because ^n signifies a friend, or evil, according as it is pointed- The former seems to be its best sense here; y) rea is a friend; J?T ra is evil.

According to the love of the Lord] This woman, who had proved false to her husband, was still beloved by him, though he could not acknowledge her; as the Israelites were beloved by the Lord, while they were looking after other gods. The flagons of wine were probably such as were used for libations, or drunk ki idol feasts. Others think that the words should be translated cakes of dried grapes, sioeet cakes, consecrated wafers.

3 And I said unto her, Thou shall ^ abide for me many days; thou shalt not play the harlot, and thou shalt not be for another man: so luill I also he for thee.

4 For the children of Israel shall abide many

Verse 2. Fifteen pieces of silver] If they were shekels, the price of this woman was about two pounds five shillings.

A homer of barley] As the homer was about eight bushels, or something more, the homer and half was about twelve or thirteen bushels.

Verse 3. Thou shalt abide for me many days] He did not take her home, but made a contract with her that, if she would abstain from her evil ways, he would take her to himself after a suflicient trial. In the meantime he gave her the money and the barley to subsist upon, that she might not be under the temptation of becoming again unfaithful.

So will / also be fur thee.] That is, if thou, Israel, wilt keep thyself separate from thy idolatry, and give me proof, by thy total abstinence from idols, that thou wilt be my faithful worshipper, I will receive thee again, and in the meantime support thee with the necessaries of life while thou art in the land of thy captivity. This is farther illustrated in the followmg verses.

Verse 4. Many days without a king] Hitherto this prophecy has been literally fulfilled. Since the destruction of the temple by the Romans they have neither had king nor prince, nor any civil government of their own, but have lived in different nations of the earth as mere exiles. They have neither priests not sacrifices, nor urim nor thummim; no prophet, no oracle, no communication of any kind from God.

Without an image — ephod — tcraphim] The Scpluagint read, OvUs ovar/c 6vaiac, oi't'f oi-of OemaaTripinv. ov6e ifparciof, ovie iriluv: " Without a sacrifice, without an altar, without a priesthood, and without oracles;" that is, the urim and thummim. The Vulgate, Arabic, and Syriac read nearly the same. Instead of nax^

days ^without a king, and without a prince, and without sacrifice, and without s an image, and without an ^ ephod, and

matstsebah, an image, they have evidently read n3n mizheach, an altar; the letters of these words being very similar, and easily mistaken for each other. But instead of either, one, if not two, of KenmcoWs MSS. has nnJO minchah, an oblation.

What is called image may signify any kind oi pillar, such as God forbade them to erect, Lev. xxvi. 1, lest it should be an incitement to idolatry.

The ephod was the high priest's garment of ceremony; the teraphim were some kind of amulets, telesms, or idolatrous images; the iirim and thummim belonged to the breast-plate, which was attached to the ephod.

Instead of teraphim some would read seraphim, changing the n tau into tf sin; these are an order of the celestial hierarchy. In short, all the time that the Israelites were in captivity in Babylon, they seem to have been as wholly without forms of idolatrous worship as they were without the worship of God; and this may be what the prophet designs: they were totally without any kind of public worship, whether true or false. As well without images and teraphim, as tr.ey were without sacrifice and ephod, though still idolaters in their hearts. They were in a state of the most miserable darkness, which was to continue many days; and it has continued now nearly eighteen hundred years, and must continue yet longer, till they acknowledge him as their Saviour whom they crucified as a blasphemer.

5 Afterward shall the children of A- M. cir. 3219.

Israel return, and '^ seek the Lord Ante U. C. 32.

turn] Shall repent of their iniquities, and seek the Lord; lay aside their mod worship, and serve the true God in spirit and in truth.

And David their king] Or as the Targum, " They shall obey the Messiah, the Son of David, their King;" and thus look believingly upon him whom they have pierced, and mourn. And then shall their long spiritual darkness and dismal captivity have an end; but not before. The Messiah, as David, is promised in Jer. xxx. 9; Ezek. xxxiv. 23; xxxvii. 22, 24, 25, (where see the notes,) and in this place of Hosea. Some think that the family of David is intended; but if we go to the rigour of the letter, the house of Israel was scarcely ever perfectly submissive to David. And we know that after the death of Solomon they never acknowledged the house of David till they were all carried away captive; and certainly never since. And to say that Zerubbabel is here meant, is not supportable, as the very short and imperfect obedience of the Jews to Zerubbabel can never comport with the high terms of this and similar prochecies. We are obliged, therefore, from the evidence of these prophecies, from the evidence of the above facts, from the evidence of the rabbins themselves, and from the evidence of the New Testament, to consider these texts as applying solely to Jesus Christ, the promised Messiah, who has been a light to lighten the Gentiles, and will yet be the glory of his people Israel. There is a strange propensity in some men to deny these evidences of Christianity, while they profess to believe its doctrines.

The prophet charges his people with their enormous sins, 1, 2; in consequence of which they are threatened with heavy judgments, 3-5. God himself is then introduced complaining of the ignorance and obstinacy of Israel; and as their priests had a large share in the common guilt, it is declared that they shall be visited with a proportionable share of the common ruin, 6—11. The sins of idolatry and divination are then particularly reproved, 12-14; and Judah admonished to beware of these sins, which would leave her rebellious sister Israel helpless and desolate as a lamb in a desert, 15, 16. In the remaining verses the style is varied, but the subject is the same. Ephraim is given up to idolatry, and the necessary consequence declared to be a bitter draught! Immediately ive see him bound in the wings of a mighty tempest, and driven as chaff before the wind, either to desiructio7i or captivity, 17-19.

TTEAR the word of the Lord, ye children of Israel: for the Lord hath a =" controversy with the inhabitants of the land,

Verse I. The Lord hath a controversy] D'"l rib, what we should call a lawsuit, in which God is plain- knowledge of God Ante u. c. 27.

mercy, nor in the land. 2 By swearing, and lying, and tiff, and the Israelites defendants. It is Jehovah versus Israel and Judah.

But when has God a controversy with any land I— mourn, and ° every one that dwelleth therein shall languish, with the beasts of the field, and with the fowls of lieaven; yea, the fishes

of the sea also shall be taken away. 4 Yet let no man strive, nor reprove another:

for tliy people are as they '' that strive with

Answer. When there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land. These refer to the minds of the people. But wherever these righteous principles are wanting, there will soon be a vicious practice; hence it is added.

Verse 2. By swearing, and lying] Where there is no truth thfere will be lies and perjury; for false swearing is brought in to confirm lying statements. And when there is no mercy, killing, slaying, and murders, will be frequent. And where there is no knowledge of God, no conviction of his omnipresence and omniscience, private oflFences, such as stealing, adulteries, &c., wUl prevail. These, sooner or later, break out, become a food, and carry all before them. Private stealing will assume the form of a public robbery, and adulteries become fashionable, especially among the higher orders; and suits of crim. con. render them more public, scandalous, and corrupting. By the examination of witnesses, and reading of infamous letters in a court of justice, people are taught the wiles and stratagems to be used to accomplish these ends, and prevent detection; and also how to avoid those circumstances which have led to the detection of others. Every report of such matters is an experimental lecture on successful debauchery.

Blood toucheth blood.] Murders are not only frequent, but assassinations are mutual. Men go out to kill each other; as in our duels, the frenzy of cowards; and as there is no law regarded, and no justice in the land, the nearest akin slays the murderer. Even in our land, where duels are so frequent, if a man kiU his antagonist, it is murder; and so generally brought in by an honest coroner and his jury. It is then brought into court; but who is hanged for it? The very murder is considered as an affair of honour, though it began in a dispute about a prostitute; and it is directed to be brought in manslaughter; and the murderer is slightly fined for having hurried his neighbour, perhaps once his friend, into the eternal world, loith all his imperfections on his head! No wonder that a land mourns where these prevail; and that God should have a controversy with it. Such crimes as these are sufficient to bring God's curse upon any land. And how does God show his displeasure! See the following verse.

That dwelleth therein shall languish] Endemic and

5 Therefore shall thou fall i^A"'-^-

s in the day, and the prophet Ante u. c. 27. also shall fall with thee in the 11. Aiiuin,, ' night, and 1 will ^ destroy thy ""'• '"""'" "■ mother.

6 ' My people are '' destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing tliou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy chil - dren.

epidemic disorders shall prevail, and multitudes shall die; so that tnonrning shall be found in all quarters.

The beasts of the field, and with the fuwls] There is a death of cattle and domestic animals, in consequence of the badness of the season.

The fishes of the sea also shall be taken away.] Those immense shoals which at certain seasons frequent the coasts, which are caught in millions, and become a very useful home supply, and a branch of most profitable traffic, they shall be directed by the unseen influence of God to avoid our coasts, as has frequently been the case with herrings, mackerel, pilchards, &c.; and so this source of supply and wealth has been shut up, because of the iniquities of the land.

Verse 4. Yet let no man strive] Or, no man contendeth. All these evils stalk abroad unreproved, for all are guilty. None can say, " Let me pluck the mote out of thy eye," because he knows that " there is a beam in his own."

For thy people are] The people and the priest are alike rebels against the Lord; the priests having become idolaters, as well as the people. Bp. Newcome renders this clause, " And as is the provocation of the priest, so is that of my people.^'' The whole clause in the original is jHJ 'O'lTiD '^py^ veammccha kimeribey cohen, " and thy people as the rebellions of the priest." But one of my oldest MSS. omits jno cohen, "priest;" and then the text may be read. And thy people are as rebels. In this MS. [DD cohen is added in the margin by a much later hand.

Verse 5. Therefore shalt thou fall in the day] In the most open and public manner, without snare or ambush.

And the prophet also shall fall — in the night] The false prophet, when employed in taking prognostications from stars, meteors, &c.

And I will destroy thy mother.] The metropolis or mother city. Jerusalem or Samaria is meant.

Verse 6. My people are destroyed fur luck of knowledge] They have not the knowledge of God, nor of sacred things, nor of their own interest, nor of the danger to which they are exposed. They walk on blindly, and perish.

Because thou hast rejected knowledge] So they might have become wise, had they not rejected the means of improvement.

Thou shalt be no priest to me] If this be the true reading, there must be reference to some particular

7 ' As they were increased, so they sinned against me: " therefore will I change their glory into shame.

8 They eat up the sin of my people, and they " set their heart on their iniquity.

9 And there shall be, ° hke people, like priest: and I will f punish them for their ways, and ■• reward them their doings.

10 For "■ they shall eat, and not have enough: they shall commit whoredom, and shall not increase: because they have left off to take heed to the Lord.

1 1 Whoredom and wine and new wine ^ take away the heart.

12 My people ask counsel at their ' stocks, and their staff declareth unto them: for " the spirit of whoredoms hath caused them to err, and they have gone a whoring from under their God.

priest, well known, to whom these words are personally addressed; unless by priest the whole priesthood is meant, and then it may apply to the priests of Jeroboam's calves.

Verse 7. Will I change their glory into shame.^ As the idolaters at Dan and Bethel hare changed my glory into the similitude of an ox that eateth grass, (Rom. i. 23,) so will I change their glory into shame or ignominy. In the day of my wrath, their calf-gods shall not deliver them.

Verse 8. They eat up the sin of my people^ nXOn chattalh, the sin-offering, though it be offered contrary to the law; for their hearts are set on iniquity, they wish to do whatever is contrary to God.

Averse 9. Like people, like priest\ " The priest a wanderer from the narrow way;

The silly sheep, no wonder that they stray."

/ will punish the?n] Both priest and people; both equally bad.

Verse 10. They shall eat, and not have enough] Whatever means they may use to satisfy or gratify themselves shall be ineffectual.

Take away the heart.] Darken the understanding, deprave the judgment, pervert the will, debase all the passions, &c.

And their staff declareth] They use divination by rods; see the note on Ezek. xxi., where this sort of divination (rabdomancy) is explained.

Verse 13. Under oaks] p'7N allon, from bSx alal, he was strong. Hence, the oak, in Latin, is called robur; which word means also, strength, the oak being the strongest of all the trees of the forest.

13 ■' They sacrifice upon the tops of the mountains, and burn incense upon the hills, imder oaks and poplars and elms, be- _^ cause the shadow thereof is good: ■" therefore your daughters shall commit whoredom, and your spouses shall commit adultery.

14 ^ I will not punish your daughters when they commit whoredom, nor your spouses when they commit adultery: for themselves are separated with whores, and they sacrifice with harlots • therefore the people that ^ doth not understand shall ^ fall.

15 Though thou, Israel, play the harlot, yet let not Judah offend; ^ and come not ye unto Gilgal, neither go ye up to ^ Beth-aven, " nor swear. The Lord liveth.

16 For Israel '^slideth back as a backsliding

The shadow thereof is good] Their " daughters committed whoredom, and their.spouses committed adultery." 1. Their deities were worshipped by prostitution. 2. They drank much in their idol worship, ver. 11, and thus their passions became inflamed. 3. The thick groves were favourable to the whoredoms and adulteries mentioned here. In imitation of these, some nations have their public gardens.

Verse 14. I ivill not punish] "Why should you be stricken any more: ye will revolt more and more. When God, in judgment, removes his judgments, the case of that people is desperate. AVhile there is hope, there is correction.

Themselves are separated] There is a reference here to certain debaucheries which should not be described. The state of the people at this time must have been abominable beyond all precedent; animal, sensual, bestial, diabolical: women consecrating themselves to serve their idols bj' public prostitution; boys dismembered like the Galli or priests of Cybele; men and women acting unnaturally; and all conjoining to act diabolically.

Verse 15. Let not Judah offend] Israel was totally dissolute; Judah was not so. Here she is exhorted to maintain her integrity. If the former will go to what was once Beth-el, the house of God, now Bethaven, the house of iniquity, because Jeroboam has set up his calves there, let not Judah imitate them. 6*87- gal was the place where the covenant of circumcision was renewed when the people passed over Jordan; but was rendered infamous by the worship of idols, after Jeroboam had set up his idolatry.

Verse 16. Israel slideth back] They are untractable, like an unbroken heifer or steer, that pulls bach, rather than draw in the yoke.

Will feed them as a lamb m a large place.] A species heifer: now tlic Loud will feed

Ante. U C. 27. tliein as a lamb in a large place. 17 Ephraiin is joined to idols: " let him alone.

18 Their committed

sour: they have continually: « her of irony. Ye shall go to Assyria, and be scattered among the nations; ye may sport yourselves in the extensive empire, whither ye shall be carried captives.

Is joined to idols] Is become incorporated with false gods.

Let him alone.] They are irreclaimable, leave them to the consequences of their vicious conduct.

Verse 18. Their drink is sour] Or rdither, he is gone after their wine. The enticements of idolatry have carried them away.

^ rulers ivith shame do love, Give ye.

19 ' The wind hath bound her up in her wings, and '' they shall be ashamed because of their sacrifices.

Her rulers with shame do love] Rather, have loved shame; they glory in their abominations.

Give ye.] Perhaps it would be better to read. Her rulers have committed, &c. They have loved gifts. What a shame! These were their rulers, literally, their shields. Justice and judgment were perverted.

Ver.se 19. The wind hath bound her] A parching wind has blasted them in their loings — -coasts, borders; or they are carried away into captivity, as with the most rapid blight. These two last verses are very obscure.

This chapter begins toith threatening the Israelites for ensnaring the people to idolatry by their sacrifices and other rites on Mizpah and Tabor, 1—5. Their sacrifices, however costly, are declared to be unacceptable, 6; and their substance is devoted to the locust, 7. Nor is judgment to stop here. The cities of Judah are called upon, in a very animated manner, to prepare for the approach of enemies. Benjamin is to be pursued; Ephraim is to be desolate; and all this is intimated to Israel, that they may by repentance avert the judgment, 8, 9. The following verses contain farther denunciations, 10-13, expressed in terms equally terrible and sublime, 14. The Lord afflicts not willingly the children of men; he visits them with temporal calamities that he may heal their spiritual malady, 15.

XTEAR ye this, 0 priests; and hearken, ye house of Israel;

and give ye ear, 0 house of the king; for judgment is toward

you, because ' ye have been a snare on Mizpah, and a net spread upon Tabor.

2 A nd the revolters are ^ profound to make slaughter, "= though I have been "• a Rebuker of them all.

Verse 1. Hear ye this, O priests] A process is instituted against the priests, the Israelites, and the house of the king; and they are called on to appear and defend themselves. The accusation is, that they have ensnared the people, caused them to practise idolatry, both at Mizpah and Tabor. Mizpah was situated beyond Jordan, in the mountains of Gilead; see Jndg. xi. 29. And Tabor was a beautiful mountain in the tribe of Zebulun. Both these places are said to be eminent for hunting, &c.; and hence the natural occurrence of the words snare and net, in speaking of them.

3 ''I know Ephraim, and Israel is not hid from me: for now, O Ephraim, '^thou committest whoredom, and Israel is deliled.

4 f 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.

ter] Here may be a reference to the practice of hunters, making deep pits in the ground, and lightly covering them over, that the beasts, not discovering them, might fall in, and become a prey.

Though I have been a Rebuker] " I will bring chastisement on them all." As they have made victims of others to their idolatry, I will make victims of them to my justice. Some have thought that as many as wished to depart from the idolatrous worship set up by Jeroboam, were slaughtered; and thus Jeroboam the son of Ncbat made Israel to sin.

Ante U. c. 27. doth testify to his face: there-

R Alban.™' fore shall Israel and Ephraim

6 ' They shall go with their flocks and with their herds to seek the Lord; but they shall not find Mtn; 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.

8 " Blow ye the cornet in Gibeah, and the trumpet in Ramah: fcry aloud at iBeth-aven, ' after thee, 0 Benjamin.

9 Epliraim 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

never purpose to turn to God, they have fully imbibed the spirit of idolatn'.

Verse 5. The pride of Israel doth testify to his face] The effrontery with which they practise idolatry manifests, not only their insolence, but the deep depravity of their heart; but their pride and arrogance shall be humbled.

Verse 6. They shall go with their flocks] They shall offer many sacrifices, professing to seek and be reconciled to the Lord; but they shall not find him. As they still retain the spirit of their idolatry, he has withdrawn himself from them.

Verse 7. Now shall a month devour them] In a month's time the king of Assyria shall be upon them, and oblige them to purchase their lives and liberties by a grievous tax of fifty shekels per head. This Menahem, king of Israel, gave to Pid, king of Ass}Tria, 2 Kings XV. 16-20. Instead of month, some translate the original locust. " The locusts shall devour them."

Verse 8. Blow ye the comet in Gibeah] Gibeah and Ramah were cities of Judah, in the tribe of Benjamin.

After thee, O Benjamin] An abrupt call of warning. " Benjamin, fly for thy life! The enemy is just behind thee!" This is a prediction of the invasion of the Assyrians, and the captivity of the ten tribes.

Verse 9. Among the tribes of Israel have I made known] They have got sufficient warning; it is their own fault that they have not taken it.

Verse 10. Like them that remove the bound] As execrable as they who remove the land-mark. They

1 1 Lphraim is ' oppressed and r. Aiban., broken in judgment, because he '^"'' ^""""^ '^'^- willingly walked after " the commandment.

12 Therefore ivill I he unto Epliraim as a moth, and to the house of Judah ' as " rottenness.

13 When Ephraim saw his sickness, and Judah saw his ^ wound, then went Ephraim y to the Assyrian, ^ and sent " to King Jareb: yei could he not heal 3-ou, nor cure you of your wound.

14 For ''I will he 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.

have leaped over law's inclosure, and scaled all the walls of right; they have despised and broken all laws, human and Divine.

Verse 11. Walked after the commandment.] Jeroboam's commandment to worship his calves at Dan and Beth-el. Many of them were not forced to do this; they did it willingly.

Verse 12. Unto Ephraim as a moth] I will consume them by little and little, as a moth frets a garment.

Verse 13. When Ephraim saw his sickness] When both Israel and Judah felt their own weakness to resist their enemies, instead of calling upon and trusting in me, they sought sinful alliances, and trusted in their idols.

King Jarel] This name occurs nowhere in Scripture but here and in chap. x. 6. The Vulgate and Targum render HT yareb, an avenger, a person whom they thought able to save them from their enemies. It is well known that Menahem, king of Israel, sought alliance with Put and Tiglath-pileser, kings of Assyria, and Ahaz, king of Judah. These were the protectors that Ephraim sought after. See 2 Kings xv. and xvi. But far from healing them by making them tributary, the Assyrians made their wound more dangerous.

Verse 15. I will go and return to my place] I will abandon them till they acknowledge their offences. This had the wbhed-for effect, as we shall see in the following chapter; for they repented and turned to God, and he had mercy upon them. These two verses are considered as instances of the true sublime.

The prophet earnestly exhorts to repentance, 1-3. God is then introduced as very tenderly and pathetically remonstrating against the backslidings of Ephraim and Judah, 4-11.

r! Alban*."' and ''he will heal us; he hath cir. annum 17. smitten, and he will bind us up.

2 " After two days will he revive us: in the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight.

3 '' Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the Lord: his going forth is prepared

Verse 1. Come, and let us return unto the Lord} When God had purposed to abandon them, and they found that he had returned to his place— Xo his temple, where alone he could be successfully sought; the}', feeling their weakness, and the fickleness, weakness, and unfaithfulness of their idols and allies, now resolve to " return to the Lord;" and, referring to what he said, chap. v. 14: "I will tear and go away;" they say, he " hath torn, but he will heal us;" their allies had torn, but they gave them no healing. While, therefore, they acknowledge the justice of God in their punishment, they depend on his wellknown mercy and compassion for restoration to life and health.

Verse 2. After two days U'ill he revive] Such is his power that in two or three days he can restore us. He can realize all our hopes, and give us the strongest token for good.

In the third day he will raise us up] In so short a time can he give us complete deliverance. These words are supposed to refer to the death and resurrection of our Lord; and it is thought that the apostle refers to them, 1 Cor. sv. 4: " Christ rose again the third day, according to the Scriptures;" and this is the only place in the Scriptures, i. e., of the Old Testament, where his resurrection on the third day seems to be hinted at. The original, lj"3p' yekimenu, has been translated, he will raise him up. Then they who trusted in him could believe that they should be quickened together with him.

And we shall live in his sight.] His resurrection being a proof of theirs.

Verse 3. Then shall we knoto] We shall have the fullest evidence that we have not believed in vain.

If ue follow on to know the Lord] If we continue to be as much in earnest as we now are.

His going forth] The manifestation of his mercy to our souls is as certain as the rising of the sun at the appointed time.

And he shall come unto us as the rain] As surely as the early and the latter rain come. The first, to prepare the earth for the seed; this fell in autumn: the second, to prepare the full ear for the harvest; this come unto us ^ as the rain, as AnteU.C.27.

the latter and lormer rain imto R. Alban.,

4 '' 0 Ephraim, what shall I do unto thee 1 O Judah, what shall I do unto thee? for your ' goodness is "^ as a morning cloud, and as the early dew it goeth away.

5 Therefore have I hewed the7n 'by the

fell in spring. Here is strong confidence; but not misplaced, however worthless the persons were. As surely as the sun, who is now set, is running his course to arise on us in the morning, and make a glorious day after a dreary night; so surely shall the Lord come again from his place, and the Sun of righteousness shall arise on our souls with healing in his wings. He is already on his xvay to save us.

Verse 4. O Ephraim, what shall I do unto theel] This is the answer of the Lord to the above pious resolutions; sincere while they lasted, but frequently forgotten, because the people were fickle. Their goodness (for goodness it was while it endured) was like the ynorhing cloud that fadeth away before the rising sun, or like the early dew which is speedily evaporated by heat. Ephraim and Judah had too much goodness in them to admit of their total rejection, and too much evil to admit of their being placed among the children. Speaking after the manner of men, the justice and mercy of God seem puzzled how to act toward them. When justice was about to destroy them for their iniquity, it was pre'vented by their repentance and contrition: when mercy was about to pour upon them as penitents its choicest blessings, it was prevented by Iheix fckleness and relapse! These things induce the just and merciful God to exclaim, " O Ephraim, what shall I do unto thee? 0 Judah, what shall I do unto thee V The only thing that could be done in such a case was that which God did.

Verse 5. Therefore have I hewed them by the prophets] I have sent my prophets to te.stify against their fickleness. They have smitten them with the most solemn and awCal threatenings; they have, as it were, slain them by the words of my mouth. But to what purpose 1

Thy judgments are as the light that goeth forth] Instead of Si" ^1N "]'a3rr:i umispatcycha or yetse, " and thy judgments a light that goeth forth," the versions in general have read "IIXJ •U-3a''31 umishpati keor, " and my judgment is as the light." The final ] caph in the common reading has by mistake been taken from IIX aur, and joined to 'D3"ii'"3 7nishpati; and thus turned it from the singular to the plural number, with the postfix "] cha. The proper

The deplorable fickleness

prophets; I have slain them by •" the words of my mouth: " and thy judgments are as the light

6 Forldesired "mercy, and p not sacrifice; and the ilvnowledgeofGod more than burnt offerings.

7 But they ■■ like men ^ have transgressed the covenant: there ' have they dealt treacherously against me.

8 " Gilead is a city of them that work iniquity, and is " polluted with blood.

reading is, most probably, " And my judgment is as the light going forth." It sliall be both evident and swift; alluding both to the velocity and splendour of ligiit.

^'erse 6. I desired mercy, and not sacrifice] I taught them righteousness by my prophets; for I desired mercy. I was more willing to save than to destroy; and would rather see them full of penitent and holy resolutions, than behold them offering the best and most numerous victims upon my altar. See Matt. ix. 13.

Verse 7. But they like men (DIXD keadam, " like Adam") have transgressed the covenant^ They have sinned against light and knowledge as he did. This is sense, the other is scarcely so. There vi'as a striking similarity in the two cases. Adam, in Paradise, transgressed the commandment, and I cast him out: Israel, in possession of the promised land, transgressed my covenant, and I cast them out, and sent them into

Verse 8. Gilead is a city of them that luork iniquity] In this place Jacob and Laban made their covenant, and set up a heap of stones, which was called Galeed, the heap of testimony; and most probably idolatry was set np here Perhaps the very heap became the object of superstitious adoration.

Verse 9. As troops of robbers] What a sad picture is this of the state of the priesthood! The country of Gilead was infamous for its robberies and minders.

wait lor a man, so " the company of priests murder in the way "^ by consent: for they commit y lewdness.

10 I have seen ^ a horrible thing in the house of Israel: there is "^ the whoredom of Ephraim, Israel is defiled.

1 1 Also, 0 Judah, '' he hath set a harvest for thee, ■= when I returned the captivity of my people.

The idolatrous priests there formed themselves into companies, and kept possession of the roads and passes; and if they found any person going to Jerusalem to worship the true God, they put him to death. The reason is given: —

For they commit lewdness.] They are gross idolaters.

Verse 10. / have seen a horrible thing] That is, the idolatry that prevailed in Israel to such a degree that the whole land was defiled.

Verse 11. 0 Judah, he hath set a harvest for thee] Thou also hast transgressed; thy harvest will come; thou shall be reaped down and sent into captivity. The sickle is already thrust in. That which tliou hast sowed shall ihou reap. They who soio unto the flesh shall reap corruption.

When I returned the captivity of my people.] Bp. Newcome translates, " Among those who lead away the captivity of my people." There is thy harvest; they who have led Israel into captivity shall lead thee also into the same. The Assyrians and Babylonians were the same kind of people; equally idolatrous, equally oppressive, equally cruel. From the common reading some suppose this to be a promise of return from captivity. It is true that Judah was gathered together again and brought back to their omi land; hut the majority of the Israelites did not return, and are not now to be found.

Here God complains that though he had employed every means for reforming Israel, they still persisted in their iniquity, without fearing the consequences, 1,2; that those who ought to check their crimes were pleased ivith them, 3; and that they all bvmed with adultery, as an oven when fully healed, and ready to receive the kneaded dough, 4. The fifth verse alludes to some recent enormities; the sixth charges them teith dividing their time between inactivity and iniquity; the seventh alludes to their civil broils and conspiracies; (see 2 Kings XV. 10, 14, 25;) the eighth to their joining themselves rvith idolatrous nations; and the ninth describes the sad consequence. The tenth verse reproves their pride and open contempt of God's worship; the eleventh reproves their foolish conduct in applying for aid to their enemies; (see 2 Kings xv. 19, and xvii. 4;) the twelfth onrf thirteenth threaten them with punishments; the fourteenth charges them with hypocrisy in their acts of humiliation; the fifteenth with ingratitude; and the image of the deceitful bow, in the sixteenth verse, is highly expressive of their frequent apostasies; and their hard speeches against God shall be visited upon them by their becoming a reproach in the land of their enemies.

Israel, then the iniquity of Ephraim was discovered, and the " wickedness of Samaria: for '' they commit falsehood; and the thief comcth in, and the troop of robbers '^ spoileth without.

2 And they "^ consider not in their hearts that I " remember all their wickedness: now ' tiieir own doings have beset them about; they are f before my face.

3 They make the king glad with their wickedness, and the princes "^ with their lies.

4 ' They are all adulterers, as an oven heated by the baker, "^ who ceasetli ' from raising after he hath kneaded the dough, until it be leavened.

Verse 1. When I would have healed Israel] As soon as one wound was healed, another was discovered. Scarcely was one sin blotted out till another was committed.

The troop of robbers spoileth without.] The Assyrians, under different leaders, waste and plunder the

A'erse 2. They consider not in their hearts] They do not consider that my eye is upon all their ways; they do not think that I record all their wickedness; and they know not their own evil doings are as a host of enemies encompassing them about.

Verse 3. They make the king glad] They pleased Jeroboam by coming readily into his measures, and heartily joining with him in his idolatry. And they professed to be perfectly happy in their change, and to be greatly advantaged by their new gods; and that the religion of the state now was better than that of Jehovah. Thus, they made all their rulers " glad with their lies."

Verse 4. As an oven heated by the baker] CalmeVs paraphrase on this and the following verses expresses pretty nearly the sense: Hosea makes a twofold comparison of the Israelites; to an oven, and to dough. Jeroboam set fire to his own oven — his kingdom — and put the leaven in his dough; and afterwards went to rest, that the fire might have time to heat his oven, and the leaven to raise his dough, that the false principles which he introduced might infect the whole population. This prince, purposing to make his subjects relinquish their ancient religion, put, fn a certain sense, the fire to his own oven, and mixed his dough with leaven. At first he used no violence; but was satisfied with exhorting them, and proclaiming a feast. This fire spread very rapidly, and the dough was very soon impregnated by the leaven. All Israel was seen running to this feast, and partaking in these innovations. But

5 In the day of our king the ^. M. nr 3^

6 For they have "made ready their heart like an oven, whiles they lie in wait: their baker sleepeth all the night; in the morningit burncth as a flaming fire.

7 They are all hot as an oven, and have devoured their judges; ° all their kings ^ are fallen: 1 there is none among them that callcth unto me.

8 Ephraim, he ' hath mi.xed himself among the people; Ephraim is a cake not turned.

9 ^ Strangers have devoured his strength, and he knoweth it not: yea, gray hairs are ' hero

what shall become of the oven — the kingdom; and the bread — the people? The oven shall be consumed by these flames; the king, the princes, and the people shall be enveloped in the burning, ver. 7. Israel was put under 'the ashes, as a loaf well kneaded and leavened; but not being carefully turned, it was burnt on one side before those who prepared it could eat of it; and enemies and strangers came and carried off the loaf. See ver. 8 and 9. Their lasting captivity was the consequence of their wickedness and their apostasy from the religion of their fathers. On this explication verses 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9, may be easily understoood.

Verse 7. All their kings are fallen] There was a pitiful slaughter among the idolatrous kings of Israel; four of them had fallen in the time of this prophet. Zechariah was slain by Shallum; Shallum, by Menahem; Pekahiah, by Pekah; and Pekah, by lloshea, 2 Kings XV. All were idolaters, and all came to an untimely death.

Verse 8. ^1 cake not turned.] In the East, having heated the hearth, they sweep one corner, put the I cake upon it, and cover it with embers; in a short i time they turn it, cover it again, and continue this 1 several times, till they find it sufficiently baked. All travellers into Asiatic countries have noted this.

Verse 9. Gray hairs are here and there upon him, yet he knoweth not.] The kingdom is grown old in iniquity; the time of their captivity is at hand, and they are apprehensive of no danger. They are in the state of a silly old man, who tlirough age and infirmities is become nearly bald, and the few remaining hairs on his head are quite gray. But he does not consider his latter end; is making no provision for that eternity on the brink of which he is constantly standing; does not apply to the sovereign Physician to heal his spiritual diseases; but calls in the doctors to cure him of old age and death! This miserable state and preposterous conduct we witness every day.

r" Aibanl" 1 0 And the " pride of Israel cir. annum 17. testifieth to his face: and ' they do not return to the Lord their God, nor seek him for all this.

11'" Ephraim also is like a silly dove without heart: == they call to Egypt, they go to Assyria.

12 When they shall go, ^ I will spread my net upon them; I will bring them down as the fowls of the heaven; I will chastise them, ^ as their congregation hath heard.

13 Wo unto them! for they have fled from me: ^destruction imto them! because they have

O how fast does the human being cling to his native earth! Reader, hear the voice of ar. old man; —

Shall our pale wither'd hands be still slrelch'd out? Trembling at once with eagerness and age; With avarice and ambition grasping — fast Grasping at air! For what hath earth beside % We want but little; nor that little long.

Verse 10. The pride of Israel] The same words as at chap. v. 5, where see the note.

"Verse 1 1. Ephraim also is like a silly dove without hearf\ A. bird that has little understanding; that is easihj snared and taken; that is careless about its oivn young, and seems to live without any kind of thought. It has been made, by those who, like itself, are without heart, the symbol of conjugal affection. Nothing worse could have been chosen, for the dove and its mate are continually quarrelling.

They call to Egypt, they go to Assyria.] They strive to make these their allies and friends; but in this they showed that they were without heart, had not a sound understanding; for these were rival nations, and Israel could not attach itself to the one without incurring the jealousy and displeasure of the other. Thus, like the silly dove, they were constantly falling into snares; sometimes of the Egyptians, at others of the Assyrians. By the former they were betrayed; by the latter, ruined.

Verse 12. When they shall go] To those nations for help —

1 will spread my net upon them] I will cause them to be taken by those in whom they trusted.

/ will bring them down] They shall no sooner set off to seek this foreign help, than my net shall bring them down to the earth. The allusion to the dove, and to the mode of taking the fowls of heaven, is still carried on.

As their congregation hath heard.] As in their solemn assemblies they before have heard; in the read-

14 -^ And they have not cried "■■■ ^''"""' ''7- unto me with their heart, when they howled upon their beds: they assemble themselves for corn and wine, and they rebel against me

1 5 Though I ^ have bound and strengthened their arms, yet do they imagine mischief against me.

16 '' They return, but not to the Most High: f they are like a deceitful bow: their princes shall fall by the sword for the ^ rage of their tongue: this shall be their derision '' in the land of Egypt.

Bishop Neiocome translates: " I will chastise them when they hearken to their assembly." That is, when they take the counsel of their elders to go down to Egypt for help, and trust in the arm of the Assyrians for succour.

Verse 13. Wo unto them!] They shall have tco, because they have fled from me. They shall have destruction, because they have transgressed against mr.

Though I have redeemed them] Out of Egypt; and given them the fullest proof of my love and power.

Yet they have spoken lies against me.] They have represented me as rigorous and cruel; and my service as painful and unprofitable.

Verse 14. They have not cried unto me luith their heart] They say they have sought me, but could not find me; that they have cried unto me, but I did not answer. I know they have cried, yea, howled; but could I hear them when all was forced and hypocritical, not one sigh coming from their heart?

They assemble themselves for corn and ivine] In dearth and famine they call and howl: but they assemble themselves, not to seek me, but to invoke their false gods for corn and wine.

Verse 15. Though I have bound and strengthened their arms] Whether I dealt with them in judgment or mercy, it was all one; in all circumstances they rebelled against me.

Verse 16. They return, but not to the Most High] They go to their idols.

They are like a deceitful bow] Which, when it is reflexed, in order to be strung, suddenly springs back into its quiescent curve; for the eastern bows stand in their quiescent state in a curve, something like C3; and in order to be strung must be bended back in the opposite' direction. This bending of the bow requires hoih'strength and skill; and if not properly done, it will fly back, and regain its former position; and in this recoil endanger the archer — -may even break an arm. I have been in this danger myself in bending the Asiatic bow. For want of this knowledge not one commentator has hit the meaning of the passage. Shall fall by the sword] Their tongue has been en- raged against me; the sword shall be enraged against them. They have mocked me, (ver. 5.) and their fall is now a subject of derision in the land of Egypt. What they have sown, that do they now reap.

This chapter begins with threatening some hostile invasion iji short and broken sentences, full of rapidity, and expressive of sudden danger and alarm: " The trumpet to thy mouth; he cometh as an eagle," 1. And why? For their hypocrisy, 2; iniquity, 3; treason (see 2 Kings xv. 13, 17) and idolatry, 4; particularly the worshipping of the calves of Dan and Beth-el, 5, 6. The folly and unprofitableness of pursuing evil courses' is then set forth in brief but very emphatic terms. The labour of the wicked is vain, like sowing of the wind; and the fruit of it destructive as the whirlwind. Like corn blighted in the bud, their toil shall have no recompense; or if it should have a little, their enemies shall devour it, 7. They themselves, too, shall suffer the same fate, and shall be treated by the nations of Assyria and Egypt as the vile sherds of a broken vessel, 8, 9. Their incorrigible idolatry is again declared to be the cause of their approaching captivity under the king of Assyria. And as they delighted in idolatrous altars, there they shall have these in abundance, 10-14. The last words contain a prediction of the destruction of the fenced cities of Judah, because the people trusted in these for deliverance, and not in the Lord their God.

XET Mhe trumpet to ''thy mouth. He shall come "^ as an eagle against the house of the Lord, because ■* they have transgressed my covenant, a:id trespassed against my law.

2 " Israel shall cry unto me, My God, ^ vfe know thee.

3 Israel hath cast off the thing that is good: the enemy shall pursue him.

Verse 1. Set the trumpet to thy mouth] Sound another alarm. Let them know that an enemy is fast approaching.

As an eagle against the house of the Lord] If this be a prophecy against Judah, as some have supposed, then by tlie eagle Nebuchadnezzar is meant, who is often compared to this king of birds. See Ezek. xvii. 3;.Ter. xlviii. 10; xlix. 22; Dan. vii. 4.

But if the prophecy be against Israel, which is the most likely, then Shalmaneser, king of Assyria, is intended, who, for his rapidity, avarice, rapacity, and strengtli, is fitly compared to this royal bird. He is represented here as hovering over the house of God, as tlie eagle does over the prey which he has just espied, and on which he is immediately to pounce.

Verse 2. Israel shall cry] The rapidity of the eagle's (light is well imitated in the rapidity of the sentences in this place.

My God, we know thee.] • The same sentiment, from the same sort of persons, under the same feelings, as that in the Gospel of.St. Matthew, chap. vii. 22: " Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name I and in thy name have cast out devils? Then will I profess unto them, I never knew you."

Verso 4. They have set up kings, but not by me] Properly speaking, not one of the kings of Israel,

4 ^ They have set up kings, but not by me: they have made princes, and I knew it not: '' of their silver and their gold have they made them idols, that they may be cut off

5 Thy'calf, O Samaria, hath cast thee off; mine anger is kindled against them: ' how long will it be ere they attain to innocency?

6 For from Israel was it also: the workman made it; therefore it is not God; but

from the defection of the ten tribes from the house of David, was the anointed of the Lord.

/ knew it not] It had not my approbation. In this sense the word know is frequently understood.

That they may be cut off.] That is, They shall be cut off in consequence of their idolatry.

Verse 5. Thy calf, O Samaria, hath cast thee off] Bishop Newcome translates: " Remove far from thee thy calf, O Samaria!" Abandon thy idolatry; for my anger is kindled against thee.

How long will it be ere they attain to innocency?] How long will ye continue your guilty practices ' When shall it be said that ye are free from these vices' The calf or ox, which was the object of the idolatrous worship of the Israelites, was a supreme deity in Egypt; and it was there they learned this idolatry. A white ox was worshipped under the name of Apis. at Memphis; and another ox under the name of Mncvis, was worshipped at On, or Heliopolis. Td Osiris the males of this genus were consecrated, and the females to Isis. It is a most ancient superstition, and still prevails in the East. The cow is a most sacred animal among the Hindoos.

wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind: it hath no ' stalk: the bud shall yield no meal: if so be it yield, "" the strangers shall swallow it up.

S " Israel is swallowed up: now shall they be among the Gentiles ° as a vessel wherein is no pleasure.

9 For P they are gone up to Ass3a-ia, i a wild ass alone by himself: Ephraim ' hath hired ^ lovers.

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.

This is an overwhelming argument against all idols. Nothing need be added. The workman has made them; therefore they are not God.

Verse 7. They have soivJi the loind, and they shall reap the whirlwind] As the husbandman reaps the same kind of grain which ho has sown, but in far greater abundance, thirty, sixty, or one hundred fold; so he who sows the wind shall have a whirlwind to reap. The vental seed shall be multiplied into a tempest; so they who sow the seed of unrighteous^ ness shall reap a harvest of judgment. This is a fine, hold, and energetic metaphor.

It hath no stalk] Nothing that can yield a blossom. If it have a blossom, that blossom shall not yield fruit; if there be fruit, the sower shall not enjoy it, for strangers shall eat it. The meaning is, the labours of this people shall be utterly unprofitable and vain.

Verse 8. Now shall they be among the Gentiles] They shall be carried into captivity, and there be as a vessel wherein there is no pleasure; one soUed, unclean, infectious, to be despised, abhorred, not used. The allusion is to a rotten, corrupted skin-bottle; a bottle made of goat, deer, or calf hide, still commonly used in Asia and Africa. Some of them are splendidly ornamented. This is the case with one now liefore me made of a goat's skin well dressed, variously painted, and ornamented with leather fringes, tassels, &c. In such a bottle there might be pleasure; but the Israelites are compared to such a bottle, rough, illdressed, not ornamented, old, musty, and putrid. This shows the force of the comparison.

,-1 loild ass alone by himself] Like that animal, jealous of its liberty, and suffering no rival. If we may credit Pliny and others, one male wild ass will

12 I have written to him? the great things of my law, hut they were counted as a Strang* thing.

13 '■ They ^ sacrifice flesh for the sacrifices of mine offerings, and eat it; ^ hut the Lord acceptelh them not; "^ now will he remember their iniquity, and visit their sins: '' they shall return to Egypt.

14 "For Israel hath forgotten '^ his Maker, and s buildeth temples: and Judah hath mul tiplied fenced cities: but '^ I will send a fire upon his cities, and it shall devour the palaces

keep a whole flock of females to himself, suffer no other to approach them, and even bite off the genitals of the colts, lest in process of time they should be come his rivals. " Mares singuli fseminarum gregibus imperitant; timent libidinis ffimulos, et ideo gravidas custodiunt, morsuque natos mares castrant.'" — Hist. Nat., lib. viii., c. 30. The Israelites, with all this selfishness and love of liberty, took no step that did not necessarily lead to their thraldom and destruction.

Verse 10. For the burden of the king of princes The exactions of the Assyrian king, and the princes of the provinces.

Verse 11. Many altars to sin] Though it does not appear that the Jews in Babylon were obliged to worship the idols of the country, except in the case mentioned by Daniel, yet it was far otherwise with the Israelites in Assyria, and the other countries of their dispersion. Because they had made many altars to sin while they were in their own land, they were obliged to continue in the land of their captivity a similar system of idolatry against their will. Thus they felt and saw the evil of their idolatry, without power to help themselves.

Verse 12. I have written to him the great things of my law] I have as it were inscribed my laws to them, and they have treated them as matters in which they had no interest.

Verse 13. They sacrifice flesh] Bp. Newcome translates thus: " They sacrifice gifts appointed unto me, and eat flesh." They offer to their idols the things which belong to Jehovah; or, while pretending to offer unto the Lord, they eat and drink idolatrously; and therefore the Lord will not accept them.

return to Egypt after the conquest of Palestine by Shalmaneser, and many after the ruin of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar; but they had in effect returned to Egypt by setting up the worship of the golden calves, which were in imitation of the Egyptian Apis.

Verse 14. Israel hath forgotten his Maker] And therefore built temples to other gods. Judah had lost all confidence in the Divine protection, and therefore built many fenced cities. But the fire of God's anger burnt up both the temples and the fortified cities

The f>rophet reproves the Israelites for their sacrifices and rejoicings on their corn-floors, by which they ascribed to idols, as the heathen did, the praise of all their plenty, 1. For which reason they are threatened with famine and exile, '2, 3, in a land where they should be polluted, and icant the means of worshipping the God of their fathers, or observing the solemnities of hi.'s appointment, 4, 5. Nay more; they shall speedily fall before the destroyer, be buried in Egypt, and leave their own pleasant places desolate, 6—9. God is then introduced declaring his early favour for his people, and the delight he took in thetr obedience; but now they had so deeply revolted, all their glory ivill take wing, God will frrsake them, and their offspring be devoted to destruction, 10—16.

2 '' The floor and the ^ wine-press shall not feed them, and the new wine shall fail in her.

3 They shall not dwell in ' the Lord's land; s but Ephraim shall return to Egypt, and * they shall eat unclean things ' in Assyria.

4 '' They shall not offer wine offerings to the Lord, * neither shall they be pleasing unto him: ^ their sacrifices shall he unto them as

Verse 1. Rejoice not] Do not imitate the heathens, nor serve their idols. Do not prostitute thy soul and body in practising their impurities. Hitherto thou hast acted as a common harlot, who goes even to tlie common threshing places; connects herself with the meanest, in order to get a hire even of the grain there threshed out.

A'erse 3. But Ephraim shall return to Egypt] See on chap. viii. 12.

Verse 4. As the bread of mourners] By the law, a dead body, and every thing that related to it, the house where it lay, and the persons who touched it, were all polluted and unclean, and whatever they touched was considered as defiled. See Deut. xxvi. 14; Num. six. 11, 13, 14.

For their bread for their soul] The bread for the common support of life shall not be sanctified to them by having the first-fruits presented at the temple.

Verse 5. What will ye do in the solemn day] When ye shall be despoiled of every thing by the Assyrians; for the Israelites who remained in the land after its

the bread of mourners; all that eat thereof shall he polluted: for their bread "for their soul shall not come into the house of the

5 What will 3'e do in " the solemn day, and in the day of the feast of the Lord?

6 Few, lo, they are gone because of ^ destruction: "i Egypt shall gather them up, Memphis shall bury them: ■■ the ^ pleasant places for their silver, ' nettles shall possess them: thorns shall be in their tabernacles.

7 The days of visitation are come, the davs of recompense are come; Israel shall know

subjection to the Assyrians did worship the true God, and offer unto him the sacrifices appointed by the law, tliough in an imperfect and schismatic manner; and it was a great mortification to them to be deprived of their religious festivals in a land of strangers. See

Verse 6. For, lo, they are gone] Many of them fled to Egypt to avoid the destruction; but they went there only to die.

The pleasant places ybr their silver] The fine estates or villas which they had purchased by their money, being- now neglected and uninhabited, are covered with nettles; and even in their tabernacles, thorns and brambles of different kinds grow. These are the fullest marks of utter desolation.

The prophet is afoot] Who has pretended to fore tell, on Divine authority, peace and plenty; for behold all is desolation.

Ante u. c. 7. '^ spiritual man is mad, lor the RAiban™' multitude of thine iniquity, and

8 The " watchman of Ephraim was with my God: but the prophet is a snare of a fowler in all his ways, a?id hatred " in the house of his God.

9 y They have deeply corrupted themselves, as in the days of ^ Gibeah: ^ therefore he will remember their iniquity, he will visit their sins.

10 I found Israel likes grapes in the wilderness; I saw your fathers as the '' first ripe in the fig tree " at her first time: but they went to ^ Baal-peor, and ' separated themselves f unto that shame; s and their abomi-

\\ As for Ephraim, their glory r" "Aiban."' shall fly away like a bird, from "■"■ ^""""^ ='^- the birth, and from the womb, and from the conception.

12 ''Though they bring up their children, yet ' will I bereave them, that there shall not be a man left: yea, ^ wo also to them when I ' depart from them!

13 Ephraim, " as I saw Tynis, is planted in a pleasant place; " but Ephraim shall bring forth his children to the murderer.

14 Give them, 0 Lord: what wilt thou give? give them ° a p miscarrying womb and dry breasts.

15 All their wickedness i is in Gilaal: foi

The spiritual man] nnn tys ish haruach, the man of spirit, who was ever pretending to be under a Divine afflatus.

Is mad] He is now enraged to see every thing falling out contrary to his prediction.

Verse 8. The watchman of Ephraim] The true prophet, teas with — -faithful to, God.

The prophet] The false prophet is the snare of a fowler; is continually deceiving the people, and leading them into snares, and infusing into their hearts deep hatred against God and his worship.

Verse 9. They have deeply corrupted themselves, as in the days of Gibeah] This relates to that shocking rape and murder of the Levite's wife, mentioned Judg. xix. 16, &c.

Averse 10. I found Israel liJce grapes in the wilderness] While they were faithful, they were as acceptable to me as ripe grapes would be to a thirsty traveller in the desert.

As the first ripe] Those grapes, whose bud having come fir.st, and being e.'iposed most to the sun, have been the first ripe upon the tree; which tree was now in the vigour of youth, and bore fruit for the first time. A metaphor of the rising prosperity of the Jewish state. But they went to Baal-peor] The same as the Roman Priapus, and worshipped with the most impure rites.

And their abominations were according as they loved.] Or, " they became as abominable as the object of their love." So Bp. Newcome. And this was superlatively abominable.

Verse 11. Their glory shall fiy away] It shall suddenly spring away from them, and return no more.

From the birth] " So that there shall be no birth, no carrying in the womb, no conception." — Newcome. They shall cease to glory in their numbers; for no children shall be born, no woman shall be pregnant, for none shall conceive. Here judgment blasts the very germs of population.

Verse 12. Though they bring up their children] And were they even to have children, I would bereave them of them; for, when I depart from them, they shall have all manner of wretchedness and wo.

Verse 13. Ephraim, as I saw Tynts] Tyre was strongly situated on a rock in the sea; Samaria was on a mountain, both strong and pleasant. But the strength and beauty of those cities shall not save them from destruction.

Ephraim shall bring forth his children to the mur - derer.] The people shall be destroyed, or led into captivity by the Assyrians. Of the grandeur, wealth, power, &c., of Tyre, see the notes on Ezekiel, chap, xxvii. and xxviii.

Verse 14. Give them, O Lord: what wilt thou give J] There is an uncommon beauty in these words. The prophet, seeing the evils that were likely to fall upon his countrymen, begins to make intercession for them; but when he had formed the first part of his petition, " Give them, O Lord!" the prophetic light discovered to him that the petition would not be answered, and that God was about to give them something widely different. Then changing his petition, which the Divine Spirit had interrupted, by signifying that he must noi proceed in his request, he asks the question, then, " What wilt thou give them V and the answer is, " Give them a miscarrying womb, and dry breasts." And this he is commanded to announce It is probable that the Israelites had prided themselves in the fruitfulness of their families, and the numerous population of their country. God now tells them that this shall be no more; their wives shall be barren, and their land cursed.

Verse 15. All their wickedness is in GilgaT] Though we are not directly informed of the fact, yet we have

there I hated them; ' for the wickedness of their doings I will drive them out of mine house, I will love them no more: ' all

their princes are revolters. 16 Ephraim is smitten, their root is dried

up, they shall bear no fruit: yea, ' though

reason to believe they had been guihy of some scandalous practices of idolatry in Gilgal. See chap.

For there I hated them\ And therefore he determined, " for the wickedness of their doings, to drive them out of his house," so that they should cease to be a part of the heavenly family, either as sons or servants; for he would " love them no more," and bear with them no longer.

Verse 16. Ephraim is smitten] The thing being determined, it is considered as already done.

Their root is dried up] They shall never more be a kingdom. And they never had any political form from their captivity by the Assyrians to the present day.

Yea, though they bring forth] See the note on ver. II, 12.

Verse 17. My God will cast them away] Here the prophet seems to apologize for the severity of these even " the beloved fruit of their Ante u. u. 7. womb. ^TAi't'"'

away, because they did not hearken unto him: and they shall be 'wanderers among the nations.

denunciations; and to vindicate the Divine justice, from which they proceeded. It is —

Because they did not hearken unto him] That " my God," the fountain of mercy and kindness, " will cast them away."

And they shall be wanderers among the nations.] And where they have wandered to, who can tell? and in what nations to be found, no man knows. Wanderers they are; and perhaps even now unknown to themselves. Some have thought they have found them in one country; some, in another; and a very pious writer, in a book entitled, The Star in the West, thinks he has found their descendants in the American Indians; among whom he has discovered many customs, apparently the same with those of the ancient Jews, and commanded in the Law. He even thinks that the word Je-ho-vah is found in their solemn festal cry, Ye-ho-wa-he. If they be this long lost people, they are utterly unknown to themselves; their origin being lost in a very remote antiquity.

This chapter treats of the same subject, but elegantly varied. It begins with comparing Israel to a fruitful vine, but corrupted by too much prosperity, I. It next reproves and threatens them ^or their idolatry, 2; anarchy, 3; and breach of coornanf, 4. Their idolatry is then enlarged on; and Its fatal conseijue'nce's declared in terms full of sublimity and pathos, 5-8. God is now introduced complaining of their excessive guilt; and threatening them with captivity in terms that bear a manifest allusion to their favourite idolatry, the worshipping the similitude of a calf or heifer, 9-11. Upon which the prophet, in a beautiful allegory suggested by the preceding metaphors, exhorts them to repentance; and warns them of the dreadful consequences of their evil courses, if obstinately persisted in, 12-15.

B. c. cir. 740 JSKAH/L, IS » an " empty vine A- u. C. cir. 14. he bringeth forth fruit unto R. Roman., himself: according to the multit. tude of his fruit "= he hath in- vine emptying the fruit which it giveth.