Hosea 11:1-9

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Hosea 11:1-7

Here we find, I. God very gracious to Israel. They were a people for whom he had done more than for any people under heaven, and to whom he had given more, which they are here, I will not say upbraided with (for God gives, and upbraids not), but put in mind of, as an aggravation of their sin and an encouragement to repentance. 1. He had a kindness for them when they were young (Hos. 11:1): When Israel was a child then I loved him; when they first began to multiply into a nation in Egypt God... read more

Matthew Henry

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Hosea 11:8-12

In these verses we have, I. God's wonderful backwardness to destroy Israel (Hos. 11:8, 9): How shall I give thee up? Here observe, 1. God's gracious debate within himself concerning Israel's case, a debate between justice and mercy, in which victory plainly inclines to mercy's side. Be astonished, O heavens! at this, and wonder, O earth! at the glory of God's goodness. Not that there are any such struggles in God as there are in us, or that he is ever fluctuating or unresolved; no, he is in... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Hosea 11:1

When Israel was a child, then I loved him ,.... Or, "for Israel was a child" F21 כי "quia", V. L. Pagninus, Montanus, Junius & Tremellius. ; a rebellious and disobedient one, therefore his king was cut off in a morning, and he has been, and will be, without a king many days; yet still "I loved him": or, "though Israel was a child" F23 "Quamvis sit puer", Tarnovius, Rivet. ; a weak, helpless, foolish, and imprudent one, "yet I loved him": or, "when a child"; in the... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Hosea 11:2

As they called them, so they went from them ,.... That is, the prophets of the Lord, the true prophets, called Israel to the worship and service of God; but they turned a deaf ear to them, and their backs upon them; and the more they called to them, the further they went from them, and from the way of their duty; see Hosea 11:7 . So the Targum, "I sent the prophets to teach them, but they wandered from them;' Moses and Aaron were sent unto them, and called them out of Egypt, but they... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Hosea 11:3

I taught Ephraim also to go ,.... All the tribes of Israel and Ephraim, or the ten tribes with the rest; these the Lord instructed in the way of his commandments, and taught them to walk therein; he his angel before them, to conduct them through the wilderness; yea, he himself went before them in the pillar of cloud by day, and in the pillar of fire by night, to which history this seems to refer. So the Targum, "I, by an angel sent by me, led Israel in the right way.' The allusion seems... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Hosea 11:4

I drew them with cords of a man, with bands of love ,.... As Ephraim is compared to a heifer in the preceding chapter, here he is said to be drawn; but not with such cords and bands as cattle are, but with such as men are; in a rational and gentle way, in a kind, loving, tender, humane, friendly, and fatherly way and manner; so the Lord drew Israel on in the wilderness, till he was brought to Canaan's land, by bestowing kind favours upon them, and by making precious promises to them. So the... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Hosea 11:5

He shall not return into the land of Egypt ,.... Ephraim or Israel, the ten tribes: and the Septuagint and Arabic versions express them by name, though they give a wrong sense of the words, rendering them, "and Ephraim dwelt in Egypt"; he did so indeed with the other tribes formerly; but here it is said he shall not go thither again to be a captive there, but shall go into bondage more severe than that in Egypt, even into captivity in Assyria: rather the sense is, they should not go thither... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Hosea 11:6

And the sword shall abide on the cities ,.... Or "shall fall" F25 חלה "cedet", Calvin; "incidet", Schmidt; "irruet", Zanchius, Drusius, Liveleus. , and continue; meaning the sword of the Assyrians, whereby Ephraim should be brought into subjection to them, and the king of Assyria become king over them; his sword should be drawn, and rest upon them, not only on their chief city Samaria, besieged three years by him, but upon all their other cities, which would fall into his hands, with... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Hosea 11:7

And my people are bent to backsliding from me ,.... There is a propensity in thorn to it, through prevailing corruption in them; they are inclined unto it, the bias of their minds is that way; they are bent upon it, and pertinaciously abide in it; nor will they be reclaimed from it, by all the means and methods made use of, even though they had been, and professed themselves to be the people of God. Some understand this, not of their backsliding and aversion from God; but either of his... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Hosea 11:8

How shall I give thee up, Ephraim? how shall I deliver thee , Israel ?.... That is, as usually interpreted, into the hand of the enemy, or unto wrath, ruin, and destruction; for, notwithstanding all the sins of this people before observed, and the punishment threatened to be inflicted on them, the Lord is pleased here, and in the following verses, to give some intimations of his goodness, grace, and mercy to them; not to the whole body of them, for they as such were given and delivered... read more

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