fall = stumble. in the day. Compare Jeremiah 6:4 , Jeremiah 6:5 and Hos 15:8 . destroy = lay prostrate. thy mother: i. e. the whole nation is referred to, as is clear from verses: Hosea 4:4 , Hosea 4:3 , &o.; Hosea 2:3 , Hosea 2:9 , Hosea 2:12 . read more
People are. Not "is", because the noun though singular is collective, with plural verb. lack of knowledge. See note on Hosea 2:20 . knowledge = the knowledge [of Me]. thou hast forgotten. Reference to Pentateuch (Deuteronomy 32:18 ). read more
sinned. Hebrew chata'. App-44 . therefore will I change their glory into shame. The Sopherim confess ( App-33 ) that they altered thus the primitive Hebrew text: which read "My glory have they changed into shame": i. e. they altered the verb hemiru (they have changed) to 'amir (I shall change); and, kebodi (My glory) to kebodam (their glory). This alteration was made from a mistaken reverence. It will be seen that the word "therefore" is not required. read more
eat up the sin = the sin-offering. Reference to Pentateuch (Leviticus 6:30 ): i. e. those sin-offerings which should have been wholly burnt, and not eaten. See notes on Leviticus 6:26 , Leviticus 6:30 . App-92 . Set their heart = lift up their soul: i. e. desire. Hebrew. nephesh. App-13 . iniquity = wrong-doing. read more
like people, &c. Compare Isaiah 24:2 .Jeremiah 5:31 . punish = visit. reward = requite. read more
"Yet let no man strive, neither let any reprove; for thy people are as they that strive with the priest."Mauchline paraphrased this verse: "It is God who has the controversy with his people; therefore, let no man enter into it."[11] The forbidding of any man to reprove, however, might also be referred to any who might have sought to reprove the prophet Hosea for pronouncing such stern judgments against Israel. In any case, the judgment is of God, and is not merely that of Hosea. Due to certain... read more
"And thou shalt stumble in the day, and the prophet shall also stumble with thee in the night; and I will destroy thy mother."The alternative reference to day and night in this verse is not restrictive but inclusive. It means prophet and priest shall fall by the sword day and night; there shall be no safety anywhere at any time. The prophet in this passage is not a reference to any of God's legitimate prophets, but to the type of retainer who was a part of the paid staff of the pagan... read more
"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 thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I also will forget thy children."Harper was of the opinion that "I will reject thee" in this passage indicates that "Hosea had at one time recognized the Northern priesthood as legitimate,"[16] but this is by no means a necessary deduction. The rejection of knowledge on the part of the priests (a past... read more
"As they were multiplied, so they sinned against me: I will change their glory into shame."This verse, as the passage before it, has its primary reference, not to the pagan priesthood, but to Israel the priest of God in the national sense (Exodus 19:6). The evidence that this is the true interpretation is strengthened by the frantic efforts of some scholars who have vainly tried to move Exodus 19:6 into post-exilic times."[23] The more the nation increased and the greater became their... read more
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E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - Hosea 4:4
let no man. The reason being given in Hosea 4:4 . they that strive with the priest. Reference to Pentateuch (Numbers 16:1 , &c. Deuteronomy 17:12 ). App-92 . read more