9I will not execute the fierceness of my anger. I will not return to destroy Ephraim: for I am God, and not man; the Holy One among you; and I will not come in wrath.
10They will walk after Yahweh, who will roar like a lion; for he will roar, and the children will come trembling from the west.
11They will come trembling like a bird out of Egypt, and like a dove out of the land of Assyria; and I will settle them in their houses,” says Yahweh.
9 I will not execute the fierceness of my anger. I will not return to destroy Ephraim: for I am God, and not man; the Holy One among you; and I will not come in wrath.
10 They will walk after Yahweh, who will roar like a lion; for he will roar, and the children will come trembling from the west.
11 They will come trembling like a bird out of Egypt, and like a dove out of the land of Assyria; and I will settle them in their houses,” says Yahweh.
KJVKing James Version
9 I will not execute the fierceness of mine anger, I will not return to destroy Ephraim: for I am God, and not man; the Holy One in the midst of thee: and I will not enter into the city.
10 They shall walk after the LORD: he shall roar like a lion: when he shall roar, then the children shall tremble from the west.
11 They shall tremble as a bird out of Egypt, and as a dove out of the land of Assyria: and I will place them in their houses, saith the LORD.
Show all 3 translations
JPSJPS Tanakh (1917)
9 I will not execute the fierceness of Mine anger, I will not return to destroy Ephraim; for I am God, and not man, the Holy One in the midst of thee; and I will not come in fury.
10 They shall walk after the LORD, who shall roar like a lion; for He shall roar, and the children shall come trembling from the west.
11 They shall come trembling as a bird out of Egypt, and as a dove out of the land of Assyria; and I will make them to dwell in their houses, saith the LORD.
Numbers 23:19(v9)God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should repent. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and…
Isaiah 55:8-9(v9)“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, and your ways are not my ways,” says Yahweh. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are…
Micah 7:18-20(v9)Who is a God like you, who pardons iniquity, and passes over the disobedience of the remnant of his heritage? He doesn’t retain his anger…
Isaiah 12:6(v9)Cry aloud and shout, you inhabitant of Zion; for the Holy One of Israel is great among you!”
Jeremiah 30:11(v9)For I am with you, says Yahweh, to save you; for I will make a full end of all the nations where I have scattered you, but I will not make…
Show all 63 cross-references
Isaiah 11:11(v11)It will happen in that day that the Lord will set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant that is left of his people from…
Joel 3:16(v10)Yahweh will roar from Zion, and thunder from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth will shake; but Yahweh will be a refuge to his…
Isaiah 31:4(v10)For Yahweh says to me, “As the lion and the young lion growling over his prey, if a multitude of shepherds is called together against him,…
Isaiah 60:8(v11)“Who are these who fly as a cloud, and as the doves to their windows?
Ezekiel 37:27-28(v9)My tent also will be with them. I will be their God, and they will be my people. The nations will know that I am Yahweh who sanctifies…
Amos 1:2(v10)He said: “Yahweh will roar from Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the pastures of the shepherds will mourn, and the top of…
Zechariah 10:10(v11)I will bring them again also out of the land of Egypt, and gather them out of Assyria; and I will bring them into the land of Gilead and…
Malachi 3:6(v9)“For I, Yahweh, don’t change; therefore you, sons of Jacob, are not consumed.
Jeremiah 25:30(v10)“Therefore prophesy against them all these words, and tell them, “ ‘Yahweh will roar from on high, and utter his voice from his holy…
Hosea 14:4(v9)“I will heal their waywardness. I will love them freely; for my anger is turned away from him.
Zephaniah 3:15-17(v9)Yahweh has taken away your judgments. He has thrown out your enemy. The King of Israel, Yahweh, is among you. You will not be afraid of…
Romans 11:28-29(v9)Concerning the Good News, they are enemies for your sake. But concerning the election, they are beloved for the fathers’ sake. For the…
Isaiah 64:2(v10)As when fire kindles the brushwood, and the fire causes the water to boil; Make your name known to your adversaries, that the nations may…
Jeremiah 31:1-3(v9)“At that time,” says Yahweh, “I will be the God of all the families of Israel, and they will be my people.” Yahweh says, “The people who…
Jeremiah 31:9(v10)They will come with weeping. I will lead them with petitions. I will cause them to walk by rivers of waters, in a straight way in which…
Hosea 3:5(vv10–11)Afterward the children of Israel shall return, and seek Yahweh their God, and David their king, and shall come with trembling to Yahweh and…
Exodus 32:10-14(v9)Now therefore leave me alone, that my wrath may burn hot against them, and that I may consume them; and I will make of you a great nation.”…
Deuteronomy 13:17(v9)Nothing of the devoted thing shall cling to your hand, that Yahweh may turn from the fierceness of his anger and show you mercy, and have…
Deuteronomy 32:26-27(v9)I said that I would scatter them afar. I would make their memory to cease from among men; were it not that I feared the provocation of the…
1 Samuel 26:8(v9)Then Abishai said to David, “God has delivered up your enemy into your hand today. Now therefore please let me strike him with the spear to…
2 Samuel 20:10(v9)But Amasa took no heed to the sword that was in Joab’s hand. So he struck him with it in the body, and shed out his bowels to the ground,…
Jeremiah 2:2(v10)“Go and proclaim in the ears of Jerusalem, saying, ‘Yahweh says, “I remember for you the kindness of your youth, the love of your weddings;…
Jeremiah 5:22(v10)Don’t you fear me?’ says Yahweh ‘Won’t you tremble at my presence, who have placed the sand for the bound of the sea, by a perpetual…
Jeremiah 7:6(v10)if you don’t oppress the foreigner, the fatherless, and the widow, and don’t shed innocent blood in this place, and don’t walk after other…
Jeremiah 7:9(v10)Will you steal, murder, commit adultery, swear falsely, burn incense to Baal, and walk after other gods that you have not known,
Jeremiah 33:9(v10)This city will be to me for a name of joy, for praise, and for glory, before all the nations of the earth, which will hear all the good…
Hosea 7:11(v11)“Ephraim is like an easily deceived dove, without understanding. They call to Egypt. They go to Assyria.
Amos 3:4(v10)Will a lion roar in the thicket, when he has no prey? Does a young lion cry out of his den, if he has caught nothing?
Amos 3:8(v10)The lion has roared. Who will not fear? The Lord Yahweh has spoken. Who can but prophesy?
Amos 9:14-15(v11)I will bring my people Israel back from captivity, and they will rebuild the ruined cities, and inhabit them; and they will plant…
Micah 4:5(v10)Indeed all the nations may walk in the name of their gods; but we will walk in the name of Yahweh our God forever and ever.
Habakkuk 3:16(v10)I heard, and my body trembled. My lips quivered at the voice. Rottenness enters into my bones, and I tremble in my place, because I must…
Zechariah 8:7(v10)Yahweh of Armies says: “Behold, I will save my people from the east country, and from the west country;
Zechariah 10:12(v10)I will strengthen them in Yahweh; and they will walk up and down in his name,” says Yahweh.
John 8:12(v10)Again, therefore, Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows me will not walk in the darkness, but will have…
Acts 24:25(v10)As he reasoned about righteousness, self-control, and the judgment to come, Felix was terrified, and answered, “Go your way for this time,…
Romans 8:1(v10)There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who don’t walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.
2 Peter 2:10(v10)but chiefly those who walk after the flesh in the lust of defilement and despise authority. Daring, self-willed, they are not afraid to…
Job 37:1(v10)“Yes, at this my heart trembles, and is moved out of its place.
Psalms 2:11(v10)Serve Yahweh with fear, and rejoice with trembling.
Psalms 78:38(v9)But he, being merciful, forgave iniquity, and didn’t destroy them. Yes, many times he turned his anger away, and didn’t stir up all his…
Psalms 119:120(v10)My flesh trembles for fear of you. I am afraid of your judgments.
Isaiah 2:5(v10)House of Jacob, come, and let’s walk in the light of Yahweh.
Isaiah 27:4-8(v9)Wrath is not in me, but if I should find briers and thorns, I would do battle! I would march on them and I would burn them together. Or…
Isaiah 42:13(v10)Yahweh will go out like a mighty man. He will stir up zeal like a man of war. He will raise a war cry. Yes, he will shout aloud. He will…
Isaiah 48:9(v9)For my name’s sake, I will defer my anger, and for my praise, I hold it back for you so that I don’t cut you off.
Isaiah 49:10(v10)They shall not hunger nor thirst; neither shall the heat nor sun strike them: for he who has mercy on them will lead them. He will guide…
Jeremiah 31:12(v11)They will come and sing in the height of Zion, and will flow to the goodness of Yahweh, to the grain, to the new wine, to the oil, and to…
Ezekiel 20:8-9(v9)“ ‘ “But they rebelled against me, and would not listen to me. They didn’t all throw away the abominations of their eyes. They also didn’t…
Ezekiel 20:13-14(v9)“ ‘ “But the house of Israel rebelled against me in the wilderness. They didn’t walk in my statutes, and they rejected my ordinances, which…
Ezekiel 20:21-23(v9)“ ‘ “But the children rebelled against me. They didn’t walk in my statutes, and didn’t keep my ordinances to do them, which if a man does,…
Ezekiel 28:25-26(v11)“ ‘The Lord Yahweh says: “When I have gathered the house of Israel from the peoples among whom they are scattered, and am sanctified in…
Ezekiel 36:33-34(v11)“ ‘The Lord Yahweh says: “In the day that I cleanse you from all your iniquities, I will cause the cities to be inhabited and the waste…
Ezekiel 37:21(v11)Say to them, ‘The Lord Yahweh says: “Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the nations, where they have gone, and will…
Ezekiel 37:25(v11)They will dwell in the land that I have given to Jacob my servant, in which your fathers lived. They will dwell therein, they, and their…
Hosea 6:1-3(v10)“Come! Let’s return to Yahweh; for he has torn us to pieces, and he will heal us; he has injured us, and he will bind up our wounds. After…
Hosea 9:3-6(v11)They won’t dwell in Yahweh’s land; but Ephraim will return to Egypt, and they will eat unclean food in Assyria. They won’t pour out wine…
Obadiah 1:17(v11)But in Mount Zion, there will be those who escape, and it will be holy. The house of Jacob will possess their possessions.
63 distinct cross-references across this passage (64 total citations).
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (18 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
John Calvin1540 · Public DomainOn vv9–11Then follows an explanation of this sentence, I will…
Then follows an explanation of this sentence, I will not execute the fury of my wrath: by which figurative mode of speaking he sets forth the punishment which was suitable to the sins of men. For it must ever be remembered, that God is exempt from every passion. But if no anger is to be supposed by us to be in God, what does he mean by the fury of his wrath? Even the relation between his nature and our innate or natural sins. But why does Scripture say that God is angry? Even because we imagine him to be so according to the perception of the flesh; for we do not apprehend God’s indignation, except as far as our sins provoke him to anger, and kindle his vengeance against us. Then God, with regard to our perception, calls the fury of his wrath the heavy judgement, which is equal to, or meet for, our sins. I will not execute, he says, that is, “I will not repay the reward which you have deserved.”
What then? I will not return to destroy Ephraim The verb אשוב, ashub, seems to have been introduced for this reason, because God had in part laid waste the kingdom of Israel: he therefore says, that the second overthrow, which he would presently bring, would not be such as would destroy the whole of Israel, or wholly consume them. I will not then return to destroy Ephraim; that is, “Though I shall again gird myself to punish the sins of the people, I shall yet restrain myself so that my vengeance shall not proceed to the destruction of the whole people.” The reason is subjoined, For I am God, and not man.
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As he intended in this place to leave to the godly some hope of salvation, he adds what may confirm this hope; for we know that when God denounces wrath, with what difficulty trembling consciences are restored to hope. Ungodly men laugh to scorn all threatening; but those in whom there is any seed of piety dread the vengeance of God, and whenever terror seizes them, they are tormented with marvellous disquietude, and cannot be easily pacified. This then is the reason why the Prophet now confirms the doctrine which he had laid down: I am God, he says, and not man; as though he had said, that he would be propitious to his people, for he was not implacable as men are; and they are very wrong who judge of him, or measure him, by men.
We must here first remember, that the Prophet directs not his discourse promiscuously to all the Israelites, but only to the faithful, who were a remnant among that corrupt people. For God, at no time, suffered all the children of Abraham to become alienated, but some few at least remained, as it is said in another place, (1 Kings 19:18.) These the Prophet now addresses; and to administer consolation, he moderates what he had said before of the dreadful vengeance of God. This saying then was not to relieve the sorrow of hypocrites; for the Prophet regarded only the miserable, who had been so smitten with the feeling of God’s wrath, that despair would have almost swallowed them up, had not their grief been mitigated. This is one thing. But further, when he says that he is God, and not man, this truth ought to come to our minds, that we may taste of God’s gratuitous promises, whenever we vacillate as to his promises, or whenever terror possesses our minds. What! Do you doubt when you have to do with God? But whence is it, that we with so much difficulty rely on the promises of God, except that we imagine him to be like ourselves? Inasmuch then, as it is our habit thus to transform him, let this truth be a remedy to this fault; and whenever God promises pardon to us, from which proceeds the hope of salvation, how much soever he may have previously terrified us by his judgements, let this come to our mind, that as he is God, he is not to be judged of by what we are. We ought then to recumb simply on his promises. “But then we are unworthy to be pardoned; besides, so great is the atrocity of our sins, that there can be no hope of reconciliation.” Here we must take instant hold on this shield, we must learn to fortify ourselves with this declaration of the Prophet, He is God, and not man: let this shield be ever taken to repel every kind of diffidence.
But here a question may be raised, “Was He not God, when he destroyed Sodom and the neighbouring cities?” That judgement did not take away from the Lord his glory, nor was his majesty thereby diminished. But these two sentences are to be read together; I am God, and not man, holy in the midst of thee. When any one reads these sentences apart, he does wrong to the meaning of the Prophet. God, then, does not only affirm here that he is not like men, but he also adds, that he is holy in the midst of Israel. It is one view of God’s nature that is here given us, and what is set forth is the immense distance between him and men, as we find it written by Isaiah the Prophet,
‘My thoughts are not as yours: as much as the heaven is distant from the earth, so distant are my thoughts from your thoughts,’ (Isaiah 55:8.)
So also in this place, the Prophet shows what God is, and how much his nature differs from the dispositions of men. He afterwards refers to the covenant which God made with his people: and what was the purport of that covenant? Even that God would punish his people; yet so as ever to leave some seed remaining.
‘I will chastise them,’ he says, ‘with the rod of men; I will not yet take away from them my mercy,’ (2 Samuel 7:14,15.)
Since God then had promised some mitigation or some alleviation in all his punishments, he now reminds us, that he will not have his Church wholly demolished in the world, for he would thus be inconsistent with himself: hence he says, I am God, and not man, holy in the midst of thee; and since I have chosen thee to myself to be my peculiar possession and inheritance, and promised also to be for ever thy God, I will now moderate my vengeance, so that some Church may ever remain.”
For this reason he also says I will not enter into the city Some say, “I will not enter another city but Jerusalem.” But this does not suit the passage; for the Prophet speaks here of the ten tribes and not of the tribe of Judah. Others imagine an opposite meaning, “I will not enter the city,” as though he said, that he would indeed act kindly towards the people in not wholly destroying them; but that they should hereafter be without civil order, regular government, and other tokens of God’s favour: ‘I will not enter the city;’ that is, “I will not restore you, so that there may be a city and a kingdom, and an united body of people.” But this exposition is too forced; nay, it is a mere refinement, which of itself vanishes. There is no doubt but that the similitude is taken from a warlike practice. For when a conqueror enters a city with an armed force, slaughter is not restrained but blood is indiscriminately shed. But when a city surrenders, the conqueror indeed may enter, yet not with a sudden and violent attack, but on certain conditions; and then he waits, it may be for two days, or for some time, that the rage of his soldiers may be allayed. Then he comes, not as to enemies, but as to his own subjects. This is what the Prophet means when he says, ‘I will not enter the city;’ that is, “I will make war on you and subdue your and force you to surrenders and that with great loss; but when the gates shall be opened, and the wall demolished, I will then restrain myself, for I am unwilling wholly to destroy you.”
If one objects and says, that this statement militates against many others which we have observed, the answer is easy, and the solution has already been adduced in another place, and I shall now only touch on it briefly. When God distinctly denounces ruin on the people, the body of the people is had in view; and in this body there was then no integrity. Inasmuch, then, as all the Israelites had become corrupt, had departed from the worship and fear of God, and from all piety and righteousness, and had abandoned themselves to all kinds of wickedness, the Prophet declares that they were to perish without any exception. But when he confines the vengeance of God, or moderates it, he has respect to a very small number; for, as it has been already stated, corruption had never so prevailed among the people, but that some seed remained. Hence, when the Prophet has in view the elect of God, he applies then these consolations, by which he mitigates their terror, that they might understand that God, even in his extreme rigour, would be propitious to them. Such is the way to account for this passage. With regard to the body of the people, the Prophet has already shown, that their cities were devoted to the fire, and that the whole nation was doomed to suffer the wrath of God; that every thing was given up to the fire and the sword. But now he says, “I will not enter;” that is, with regard to those whom the Lord intended to spare. And it must also be observed, that punishment was mitigated, not only with regard to the elect, but also with regard to the reprobate, who were led into captivity. We must yet remember, that when God spared them for a time, he chiefly consulted the good of his elect; for the temporary suspension of vengeance increased his judgement on the reprobate; for whosoever repented not in exile doubled, as it is evident, the wrath of God against themselves. The Lord, however, spared his people for a time; for among them was included his Church, in the same way as the wheat is preserved in the chaff, and is carried from the field with the straw. Why so? Even that the wheat may be separated. So also the Lord preserves much chaff with the wheat; but he will afterwards, in due time, divide the wheat from the chaff. We now understand the whole meaning of the Prophet, and also the application of his doctrine. It follows —
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators1599 · Public DomainOn vv9, 11To consume thee, but will cause thee to yield,…
To consume thee, but will cause thee to yield, and so receive thee to mercy: and this is meant of the final number who shall walk after the Lord.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp1656 · Public DomainOn vv9–11Hos 11:9 I will not execute the fierceness of…
Hos 11:9 I will not execute the fierceness of mine anger, I will not return to destroy Ephraim: for I [am] God, and not man; the Holy One in the midst of thee: and I will not enter into the city.
Ver. 9. I will not execute the fierceness of mine anger] Heb. the heat of it. God’s heart kindled, and whatsoever might cause repentance came together, and lay glowing, as it were, at his heart; and this cooled and even quenched the heat of his wrath (as the sunbeams when they shine full upon the fire), so that now he resolves not to execute the height of his heat, the extremity of his fury, for then the spirit should fail before him. Ephraim is God’s dear son, his pleasant child; whom, when he hears bemoaning himself, as Jer 30:18-20, he soon repents him of the evil, and cries,
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- “ Satis hoc pro crimine magno
Paulum supplicii lenem sumpsisse parentem. ”
I will not return to destroy Ephraim] I will not undo him twice over, or utterly ruin him; as those that have laid their enemy for dead, return to see whether he be dead outright; or as soldiers that have once pillaged a city return after a while to take all that little that was left before, and to set the rest on fire. God will not deal so hardly with Ephraim, though he might do it. Reprobates indeed shall have an evil, an only evil, Eze 7:5, without mixture of mercy; they must expect one plague upon another, as it fared with Pharaoh, till God had dashed the very breath out of his body. But for his elect people, Hath he smitten them, as he smote those that smote them? No, but in measure, in the branches only; he stayeth his rough wind, &c., Isa 27:7-8. And as Croesus’ dumb son burst out into, Kill not King Croesus (’Aνθρωπε, μη κτεινε τον χροισον. Herod.), so when enemies are ready to devour the Church, or Satan to swallow God’s child up in despair, his heart’s work; he can hold no longer, but cries, Save my child, save my Church. Why should "the spirit fail before me, and the souls which I have made? I have seen his ways and" (though bad enough) "I will heal him, I will lead him also, and restore comforts unto him and to his mourners," Isa 57:16-18.
For I am God, and not man] Yea, such a God as the like is not, for pardoning iniquity, and passing by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage, Mic 7:18. It is natural to him, Exo 34:6; it is usual, Neh 9:17, there he is called a God of pardons, as, Isa 55:7, he is said to multiply pardons. He hath commanded men to forgive an offending but repenting brother, seventy times seven times in a day, Mat 18:22. What then will himself do? For he is God Almighty, and not man. Man is an angry, vindictive, cruel creature; one man is a wolf, yea, a devil, to another; unsociable, implacable, unmerciful, as those were, Rom 1:31. Beware of men, saith our Saviour to his disciples, Mat 10:17; absurd and wicked men, 1Th 3:2; barbarous and brutish, skilful to destroy, Eze 21:31. Yea, beware of good men when enraged. What strange deaths doth David (soon after his foul fall and not fully recovered) put the poor Ammonites to, 2Sa 12:31. Further, men as they are unmerciful so they are unmindful of their promises. But God is not a man that he should lie, Num 23:18. What he hath spoken with his mouth he will make good with his hand. The Eternity of Israel will not lie (as men will, Rom 3:4), nor repent (as men do, whatever he may seem to do; {See Trapp on "Rom 3:3"} Rom 3:3); for he is not a man that he should repent, 1Sa 15:29. Men are mutable; the truest friend is ευμεταβλητον ζων, an easily changeable creature, as the heathen complained; all in changeable colours, as Tertullian saith of the peacock; as often changed as moved. Not so Almighty God. "I am Jehovah, I change not," Mal 3:6. {See Trapp On: Mal 3:6"} and remember still to retain high thoughts of God; not measuring him by our model; as to think him to be as merciful as we are, as powerful as our understanding can reach, &c. See Isa 55:8-9, and beg supernatural grace; without which it is impossible for a finite creature to believe the infinite attributes of Almighty God.
The Holy One in the midst of thee] Though Israel had deeply revolted, set up golden gods, and done wickedly as they could, so that there was no visible Church among them, yet God was the Holy One in the midst of them; seven thousand he had reserved that Elijah knew not of, 1Ki 19:18, and a Church there was in Israel when at worst. Like as there was in medio Papatu, in the darkest midnight of damned Popery; and at this very day there are said to be thousands of professed Protestants, even in Italy itself; and in Seville, a chief city of Spain, there are thought to be no fewer than twenty thousand.
And I will not enter into the city] I will not invade the city as an enemy, to waste all with fire and sword, as once at Sodom. For what reason? there are holy ones in the midst of thee (so Rivet expoundeth it by an enallage of the number), a considerable company of righteous people, for whose sake I will spare thee, Jer 5:1.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole1685 · Public DomainOn vv9–11Here mercy rejoiceth against judgment, and God declareth his…
Here mercy rejoiceth against judgment, and God declareth his purpose to spare, he promiseth that he will not execute according to utmost severity. This promise he confirmeth by doubling it, though in somewhat different words: I will not do as men, who having beat down au enemy, and wounded him, do return again to see whether he breathe, and to make an end of him; or conquerors, that plunder the conquered city, carry away the wealth of it, and after some time return to burn it; God will not do so.
I am God, and not man; his compassions are infinite, his goodness unchangeable; he remembers all his promises to every one, and now seeth who among Israel believe, and hope for his grace and mercy; these he must spare, as he is just Judge of the whole earth, and for their sakes he will spare many others.
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The Holy One in the midst of thee; a holy God, and in covenant, though not with all, yet with many among you, and those that are in covenant with God are holy ones too: I will not make them as Admah or Zeboim, for the case is different, in the cities of the plain there were no righteous ones, but here are some, though not many: and so Rivet renders the words, there is a holy one in the midst of thee, where the singular is used for plural, as in that passage,
there is none righteous. I will not enter into the city; I will not come amongst you, as I came into Sodom, &c. Here is comfort for God’s remnant.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill1763 · Public DomainOn vv9–11I will not execute the fierceness of mine anger,....…
I will not execute the fierceness of mine anger,.... That is, his wrath and fury to the uttermost; his people are deserving of his wrath as others, being by nature children of wrath as the rest; which they are sensible of under spiritual conviction, and therefore flee from it, where they may be safe: and though the Lord often chastises and afflicts them, yet not in wrath; or however but in a little wrath, as it seems to them; he does not stir up all his wrath, nor any in reality; all being poured upon his Son, their surety, who saves and delivers them from wrath to come;
I will not return to destroy Ephraim; or "again", or "any more, destroy" (f) him; not twice; he might be destroyed when carried captive into Assyria; but the remnant that shall spring from him in the latter day shall not be destroyed, but saved. The Targum is,
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"my word shall not return to destroy the house of Israel;''
or I will not return from my love and affections to them, I will never be wroth with them any more; nor from my mercy to them, which is from everlasting to everlasting; or from my covenant, promise, and resolution to save them, they shall not be punished with everlasting destruction:
for I am God, and not man; a God gracious and merciful, longsuffering, slow to anger, and pardoning sin, and not man, cruel, revengeful, implacable, who shows no mercy when it is in the power of his hands to avenge himself; or God that changes not in his purposes and counsels, in his love and affections, and therefore the sons of Jacob are not consumed, and not man that repents, is fickle, inconstant, and mutable; or God that is faithful to his covenant and promises, and not man that lies and deceives, promises and never performs. The Targum is,
"seeing I am God, my word remains for ever, and my works are not as the works of the flesh (or of men) who dwell upon the earth;''
the Holy One in the midst of thee; being in the midst of his people, he protects and defends them, and so they are safe; and being the Holy One there, he sanctifies them, and saves them, in a way consistent with his own holiness and justice: or there is "a Holy One", or Holy Ones, the singular put for the plural, "in the midst of thee" (g); and therefore thou shalt not be destroyed for their sakes, as Sodom would not, had there been ten righteous persons in it, to which some think the allusion is:
and I will not enter into the city; in a hostile way to destroy or plunder it; but this is not to be understood either of Samaria or Jerusalem, which were entered into in this manner. The Targum is,
"I have decreed by my word that my holy Shechinah shall be among you, and I will not change Jerusalem again for another city;''
which sense the Jewish commentators follow; but, as this respects Gospel times, the meaning seems to be, that God would dwell among his people everywhere, and would not be confined to any city or temple as heretofore; but wherever his church and people were, there would be his temple, and there he would dwell.
(f) "non perdam amplius", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator; "non iterum destruam", Cocceius. (g) "est sanctus", i.e. "sancti, in medio tui", Rivetus.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley1765 · Public DomainOn vv9–11Return - Conquerors that plunder the conquered city, carry…
Return - Conquerors that plunder the conquered city, carry away the wealth of it, and after some time return to burn it; God will not do so. Not man - Therefore my compassions fail not. The holy One - A holy God, and in covenant, though not with all, yet with many among you. Enter into the city - Utterly to destroy thee, as I did Sodom.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke1810 · Public DomainOn vv9–11Verse 9. I will not execute] Here is the…
Verse 9. I will not execute] Here is the issue of this conflict in the Divine mind. Mercy triumphs over Judgment; Ephraim shall be spared. He is God, and not man. He cannot be affected by human caprices. They are now penitent, and implore mercy; he will not, as man would do, punish them for former offenses, when they have fallen into his hand. The holy place is in Ephraim, and God is in this holy place; and he will not go into the cities, as he did into Sodom and Gomorrah, to destroy them. Judgment is his strange work. How exceedingly affecting are these two verses!
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson1811 · Public DomainOn v10Hos 11:10-11. They shall walk after the Lord —…
Hos 11:10-11. They shall walk after the Lord — The remnant shall hearken to God’s call, and shall comply with his commands, when he shall convert them by the powerful preaching of his gospel, and the efficacious influence of his grace. He shall roar like a lion — That is, he will show terrible signs of his anger, and then they will fear and obey him. God’s voice is elsewhere compared to the roaring of a lion, because of the terror which accompanies it: see the margin. The Chaldee says, The word of the Lord shall roar as a lion, and the words may be interpreted of the powerful voice of the gospel, sent forth, and sounding all over the world, and calling sinners to repentance. “The most learned commentators agree,” says Bishop Horsley, “that this roaring of the lion is the sound of the gospel; and that the subject of this and the following verse is, its promulgation and progress, the conversion of the Gentiles, and the final restoration of the Jews. ‘Clara et maxima voce predicabit evangelium,’ With a loud and most powerful voice shall he preach the gospel, says Piscator. And to the same effect Rivetus and Bochart. As a lion, by its roaring, calls animals of its own kind to a participation of the prey; so Christ, by the powerful voice of the gospel, shall call all nations to the fellowship of eternal life. — Livelye. The preaching of the gospel, reaching the remotest corners of the earth, is frequently represented under the image of the loudest sounds. And this loudness of the sound alone might justify the figure of the roaring lion. But a greater propriety of the figure will appear, if we recollect, that the first demonstrations of mercy to the faithful will be, the judgments executed on the anti-christian persecutors; to whom the sound of the gospel will be a sound of terror.” When he shall roar, then the children shall tremble from the west — The word יחרדו, rendered, shall tremble, describes the motion which a bird makes with its wings when it flies. Dr. Waterland renders it, shall come fluttering, and Bishop Horsley, shall hurry. The primary sense of the passage may be, that at this efficacious call of God, the remnant of Israel, who shall be accounted his children, and heirs of the promises made to their fathers, shall come in haste from the several places of their dispersions, and particularly from the western parts of the world, (see Zec 8:7,) called the sea in the original, and expressed in Isaiah by the islands of the sea: see Isa 11:11; Isa 24:14. They shall tremble as a bird out of Egypt — That is, fly with haste, as above. As a dove out of the land of Assyria — Great numbers of the Jews were exiles in Egypt and Assyria; and therefore, when the restoration of the Jews is spoken of, Egypt and Assyria are mentioned as countries from whence a great number of them should return. And I will place them in their houses — I will bring them back to their own country and habitations, like as the stork returns to her nest, and the dove to the dove-cot. This prophecy may be considered as receiving its completion in part when some of the Israelites, being recovered to the worship of the true God, returned to Judea with the two tribes of Judah and Benjamin, brought back to their own land from their captivity in Babylon. But the full accomplishment of it will not take place till the latter days, when the fulness of the Gentiles being brought in by the preaching of the gospel, all Israel shall be saved. Thus Bishop Horsley. These verses “contain a wonderful prophecy of the promulgation and progress of the gospel, and the restoration of the race of Israel. The first clause of the tenth verse states generally that they shall be brought to repentance. In what follows, the circumstances and progress of the business are described. First, Jehovah shall roar; the roaring is unquestionably the sound of the gospel. Jehovah himself shall roar; the sound shall begin to be uttered by the voice of the incarnate God himself. The first effect shall be, that children shall come fluttering from the west; a new race of children, converts of the Gentiles.” For, “it is remarkable, that the expression is neither their children, nor my children, but simply children. The first would limit the discourse to the natural Israel exclusively; the second would be nearly of the same effect, as it would express such as were already children at the time of the roaring. But the word children, put nakedly, without either of these epithets, expresses those who were neither of the natural Israel, nor children at the time of the roaring, but were roused by that sound, and then became children, that is, adopted children, by natural extraction Gentiles.” These shall come “chiefly from the western quarters of the world, or what the Scriptures call the west; for no part, I think, of Asia Minor, Syria, or Palestine, is reckoned a part of the east, in the language of the Old Testament. Afterward the natural Israel shall hurry from all the regions of their dispersion, and be settled in their own dwellings. It is to be observed that the roaring is mentioned twice. It will be most consistent with the style of the prophets to take this as two roarings; and to refer the hurrying of the children from the west to the first, the hurrying from Egypt and Assyria to the second. The times of the two roarings are, the first and second advent. The first brought children from the west; the renewed preaching of the gospel, at the second, will bring home the Jews. And perhaps this second sounding of the gospel may be, more remarkably even than the first, a roaring of Jehovah in person.” With this verse the chapter is closed in the Hebrew text and the Syriac version, and the following verse is given to the next chapter. But the division of the LXX., Vulgate, and Chaldee, which our public translation follows, seems preferable.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes1834 · Public DomainOn vv9–11I will not execute the fierceness of Mine anger…
I will not execute the fierceness of Mine anger - It is the voice of “mercy, rejoicing over judgment.” mercy prevails in God over the rigor of His justice, that though He will not suffer them to go utterly unpunished, yet He will abate of it, and not utterly consume them.
I will not return to destroy Ephraim - God saith that He will not, as it were, glean Ephraim, going over it again, as man doth, in order to leave nothing over. As it is in Jeremiah, “They shall thoroughly glean the remnant of Israel, as a vine. Turn back thine hand, as a grapegatherer into the baskets” Jer 6:9; and, “If grapegatherers come to thee, would they not leave some gleaning-grapes? but I have made Esau bare” Jer 49:9-10.
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For I am God and not man - o: “not swayed by human passions, but so tempering His wrath, as, in the midst of it, to remember mercy; so punishing the iniquity of the sinful children, as at once to make good His gracious promises which He made to their forefathers.” : “Man punishes, to destroy; God smites, to amend.”
The Holy One in the midst of thee - The holiness of God is at once a ground why He punishes iniquity, and yet does not punish to the full extent of the sin. Truth and faithfulness are part of the holiness of God. He, the Holy One who was “in the midst” of them, by virtue of His covenant with their fathers, would keep the covenant which He had made, and for their father’s sakes would not wholly cut them off. Yet the holiness of God hath another aspect too, in virtue of which the unholy cannot profit by the promises of the All-Holy. “I will not,” paraphrases Cyril, “use unmingled wrath. I will not “give” over Ephraim, wicked as he has become, to entire destruction. Why? Do they not deserve it? Yes, He saith, but “I am God and not man,” i. e., Good, and not suffering the motions of anger to overcome Me. For that is a human passion. Why then dost Thou yet punish, seeing Thou art God, not overcome with anger, but rather following Thine essential gentleness? I punish, He saith, because I am not only Good, as God, but holy also, hating iniquity, rejecting the polluted, turning away from God-haters, converting the sinner, purifying the impure, that he may again be joined to Me. We, then, if we prize the being with God, must, with all our might, fly from sin, and remember what He said. “Be ye holy, for I am holy.”
And I will not enter the city - God, who is everywhere, speaks of Himself, as present to us, when He shows that presence in acts of judgment or of mercy. He visited His people in Egypt, to deliver them; He visited Sodom and Gomorrah as a Judge, making known to us that He took cognizance of their extreme wickedness. God says, that He would “not enter the city,” as He did “the cities of the plain,” when He overthrew them, because He willed to save them. As a Judge, He acts as though He looked away from their sin, lest, seeing their city to be full of wickedness, He should be compelled to punish it. : “I will not smite indiscriminately, as man doth, who when wroth, bursts into an offending city, and destroys all. In this sense, the Apostle says, “Hath God cast away His people? God forbid! For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. God hath not east away His people, whom He foreknew. What saith the answer of God to Elias! I have reserved to Myself seven thousand men, who have not bowed the knee to Bard. Even so then, at this present time also, there is a remnant according to the election of grace” Rom 11:1-2, Rom 11:4-5. God then was wroth, not with His people, but with unbelief. For He was not angered in such wise, as not to receive the remnant of His people, if they were converted. No Jew is therefore repelled, because the Jewish nation denied Christ; but whoso, whether Jew or Gentile, denieth Christ, he himself, in his own person, repels himself.”
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary1859 · Public DomainOn vv9–11Not man. I am not actuated by the spirit…
Not man. I am not actuated by the spirit of revenge, nor do I fear lest my enemy escape. (Calmet) --- I punish in order to reclaim, (St. Jerome) and reserve eternal vengeance only for those who die impenitent. --- Holy one. If there be a just man in Israel, I will spare the nation; (Genesis xviii. 32.) or there are some just, like Tobias, and therefore a part shall be reserved; or, (Calmet) I am the just (Haydock) God. (St. Jerome)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown1871 · Public DomainOn vv9–11I will not return to destroy Ephraim--that is I…
I will not return to destroy Ephraim--that is I will no more, as in past times, destroy Ephraim. The destruction primarily meant is probably that by Tiglath-pileser, who, as the Jewish king Ahaz' ally against Pekah of Israel and Rezin of Syria, deprived Israel of Gilead, Galilee, and Naphtali (Kg2 15:29). The ulterior reference is to the long dispersion hereafter, to be ended by God's covenant mercy restoring His people, not for their merits, but of His grace.
God, . . . not man--not dealing as man would, with implacable wrath under awful provocation (Isa 55:7-9; Mal 3:6). I do not, like man, change when once I have made a covenant of everlasting love, as with Israel (Num 23:19). We measure God by the human standard, and hence are slow to credit fully His promises; these, however, belong to the faithful remnant, not to the obstinately impenitent.
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in the midst of thee--as peculiarly thy God (Exo 19:5-6).
not enter into the city--as an enemy: as I entered Admah, Zeboim, and Sodom, utterly destroying them, whereas I will not utterly destroy thee. Somewhat similarly JEROME: "I am not one such as human dwellers in a city, who take cruel vengeance; I save those whom I correct." Thus "not man," and "in the midst of thee," are parallel to "into the city." Though I am in the midst of thee, it is not as man entering a rebellious city to destroy utterly. MAURER needlessly translates, "I will not come in wrath."
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon1874 · Public DomainOn v1010, 11. No promise is made that judgment will…
10, 11. No promise is made that judgment will be withheld entirely. It must come, but it will not result in destruction. When it has accomplished its purpose the divine mercy will again manifest itself in the home-gathering of the dispersed exiles.
They shall walk after Jehovah — Can, in this connection, mean only that when he gives the signal they will readily respond.
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Roar like a lion — That is, with a powerful voice. Not as in Hos_5:14; Hos_13:7, but to summon the scattered people (Isa_11:12; Isa_27:13; Isa_49:22). When the signal is heard the exiles shall tremble [“come trembling”] — Though they recognize the call as the call of love, they tremble before the majesty and power of the caller (compare Hos_3:5).
The children — In Hebrew without the article, “sons” or “children”; only those whom he may acknowledge as sons (Hos_11:1; Hos_1:10).
From the west — Literally, from the sea, the Mediterranean, which is west of Palestine; perhaps equivalent to “the islands of the sea” (Isa_11:11). Hosea expects the Israelites to go into exile to Assyria and to Egypt (Hos_11:11), that is, to the south and east. Only in this passage he introduces a third place of exile. This peculiarity leads some to change the text so as to read, “from their captivity.”
Bird… dove — Ordinarily the flight of birds represents swiftness (Psa_55:6; Isa_60:8). If so here, come trembling cannot be a correct reproduction of the prophet’s thought. “A thrill of eagerness doubling the speed of motion is what is meant”; equivalent to they shall come swiftly (see the comparison in Hos_7:11).
I will place them — For the promise to re-establish Israel in the old home see also Hos_2:23.
Most recent commentators consider Hos_11:10-11 later additions, because (1) they are thought to be out of harmony with Hos_11:9 where the withdrawal of judgment is announced, while in these verses a dispersion is presupposed; (2) the verses contain expressions foreign to Hosea. To these verses are sometimes added Hos_11:8-9, in part, or even entire. The chief objection to these two verses is that they contain a promise which, it is said, weakens the preceding threat. In reply it may be said (1) Hos_11:8-9 do not imply a complete withholding of judgment; (2) the only peculiar expression is “from the west” (Hos_11:10); (3) a promise does not necessarily weaken a previous threat. It would do so only if the promise were unconditional. Hosea believes that the divine favor may be regained; but he makes it perfectly clear that it can be done only on condition of sincere repentance (Hos_14:1-3). As soon as the conditional character of a promise is recognized, the promise, far from weakening a threat, may become a strong incentive to repentance, to avert the fulfillment of the threat. Hence it will be seen that the objections raised against the originality of these verses are not conclusive.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges1878 · Public DomainOn vv9–119. I will not return, &c.] The strict rendering…
9. I will not return, &c.] The strict rendering of the words is, ‘I will not again destroy Ephraim’; the sense however, is, I will not bring back Ephraim to nothing. He who moulded Ephraim into a nation will not busy himself with it again to its destruction. Comp. the same Hebrew idiom in Hos_2:9.
for I am God, and not man] The perfection of the Divine nature does not, to Hosea, exclude the possession of something analogous to human feelings, but one thing it does forbid us to assume, viz. that an emotion of anger should divert Jehovah from the execution of his eternal purpose.
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the Holy One in the midst of thee] It is the glory of Israel to have the Holy One specially in her midst. Whatever interferes with His supreme right of property in Israel, He must destroy, but He will not so chastise His chosen people as to extinguish it altogether. All that is left will be holy, as Jehovah is holy—devoted to Jehovah, as Jehovah is devoted to Israel. Of course, though Jehovah’s holiness has a special relation to Israel, this does not exclude a more general relation to the world outside. His manifestation is concentrated, but not confined, within His ‘peculiar people.’
I will not enter into the city] But this is pointless, for why should a visit from Jehovah be deprecated (comp. Exo_20:24)? Hence many, adopting a different view of one word, render, I will not come in fury. This is, however, not free from objection, and a very slight emendation gives the very appropriate sense, I will not come to exterminate (parallel to ‘to destroy’).
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers1878 · Public DomainOn vv9–11(9) This sublime passage is remarkable as drawing illustrations…
(9) This sublime passage is remarkable as drawing illustrations from human emotions, and yet repudiating all human weakness. It suggests a hint of Divine mercy in its greatness, and of Divine justice too, which shows how, both being alike infinite, they can adjust themselves beyond the power of human experience and imagination.
The Holy One in the midst of thee is such a blending of justice and mercy.
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I will not enter into the city.—So ancient versions. “Enter”—i.e., as a destroyer. (Comp. Hos_11:6.) But many commentators interpret the Hebrew b‘îr (“into the city”) to mean in wrath. This is preferable.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary1880 · Public DomainOn vv9–11I will not execute the fierceness of mine anger,…
I will not execute the fierceness of mine anger, I will not return to destroy Ephraim. The promise of this verse is in harmony with the spirit of compassion expressed in the preceding. It is at once the effect and evidence of that feeling of Divine compassion. God would neither execute the burning heat of his wrath, for so the words literally mean, nor destroy Ephraim utterly, or again any more as formerly. The historic event referred to may be the destruction effected by Tiglath-pileser, ally of Ahaz King of Judah against Pekah King of Israel and Rezin King of Syria, when he carried away captive the inhabitants of Gilead, Galilee, and Naphtali, as we read in 2Ki_15:29, "In the days of Pekah King of Israel came Tiglath-pileser King of Assyria, and took Ijon, and Abel-beth-maachah, and Janoah, and Kedesh, and Hazer, and Gilead, and Galilee, all the land of Naphtali, and carried them captive to Assyria." But while this is probably the primary allusion, there is an ulterior reference to the future restoration of Israel. For I am God, and not man; the Holy One in the midst of thee: and I will not enter into the city (or, come into bumming wrath, Keil). A reason is here assigned for the exercise of the Divine com miseration just expressed; this reason is God"s covenant of everlasting love. He is God, and must be measured by a Divine standard not man, implacable and revengeful; though his people"s provocation had been grievous, God was in the midst of them as their God, long-suffering and steadfast to his covenant of love and purposes of mercy. He would not enter
(a) into the city as an enemy, and for the purpose of utter destruction, as he had entered into the cities of the plain for their entire and final ruin; or,
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(b) if the alternative rendering be preferred, he would not come into burning wrath. The fiery heat or fierceness of God"s wrath tends to destruction, not the amendment of the impenitent. The expression, "I will not return," may also be understood as equivalent to
(1) "I will not turn from my pity and promises;" or, "I will not turn away from Israel;" but
(2) it suits the context better to translate on the principle of two verbs expressing one idea in a modified sense, i.e. "I will not return to destroy," that is, "I will not again destroy Ephraim." Jerome"s explanation favors the first, and is, "I will not act according to the fury of my anger, nor change from my clemency to destroy Ephraim; for I do not strike to destroy for ever, but to amend... for I am God and not man. Man punishes for this purpose of destroying; God chastises for the purpose of amending." As God, his purpose of mercy was changeless; as the Holy One in Israel, he was infinitely pure and absolutely perfect, "the Father of lights, with whom can be no variation, neither shadow that is cast by turning." The meaning
(1) already given of coming into the city is supported by ancient versions, Hebrew expositors, and some of the ablest Christian commentators; yet
(2) we prefer that which understands dY in the sense of "the heat of wrath," deriving it from dW effervescence, which is that given in Keil"s translation. There is
(3) an explanation strongly advocated by Bishop Lowth and adopted by Rosenm It is as follows in the words of the bishop: "Jerome is almost singular in his explanation: "I am not one of those who inhabit cities; who live according to human laws; who think cruelty justice." Castalio follows Jerome. There is, in fact, in the latter member of the sentence, yb yaal, a parallelism and synonym to ya yl in the former. The future ya has a frequentative power, (see Psa_22:3, Psa_22:8) "I am not accustomed to enter a city: I am not an inhabitant of a city." For there is a beautiful opposition of the different parts: "I am God, and not man." This is amplified in the next line, and the antithesis a little varied: "I am thy God, inhabiting with thee, but in a peculiar and extraordinary manner, not in the manner of men." Nothing, I think, can be plainer or more elegant than this." The bishop"s rendering of the whole verse isI will not do according to the fervent of my wrath, I will not return to destroy Ephraim: For I am God, and not man; Holy in the midst of thee, though I inhabit not thy cities.
God and not man.
Well is it for us that them are respects in which God is as man; that he is sympathizing and (as we say) humane. But better is it for us that in other respects God is not as man; for, had he been subject to like passions with ourselves, he would not have borne with us, and we should have been utterly consumed.
I A REVELATION OF DIVINE SUPERIORITY. God, in his treatment of mankind, has shown himself to be altogether superior:
1. To human ignorance. He knows us as we cannot know one another, and all his counsels have been counsels of consummate wisdom.
2. To human vacillation. We are prone to be swayed, now by this motive and again by that; there is no such thing as perfect consistency and steadfastness in man. But God is above all such human weakness. "I am the Lord that changeth not, therefore the sons of Jacob are not consumed." "God is faithful," and we may trust him with an implicit confidence.
3. To human impatience. The hasty impatience of man with his fellow-man is in striking contrast with the forbearance of the supreme Ruler. Long-suffering is ever represented in the Scriptures as his especial attribute, and there is none for which we have more reason to be grateful. Had he not been a patient God he would not have borne with any one of us, for all have taxed and tried his patience.
II AN ENCOURAGEMENT TO HUMAN CONFIDENCE. It is well always to begin with the consideration of God"s character and attributes. But we cannot end there. We naturally and properly turn our regard towards ourselves, and see what is the bearing of the Divine attributes upon our necessities. This we may learn from the assurance that we are in the hands of One who is God and not man we may learn to cast ourselves with unhesitating confidence upon the Divine faithfulness and grace. No human pettiness shall we meet with from him, but large-hearted forbearance, sympathy, bounty, and love. T.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary1892 · Public DomainOn v10Hos_11:10. They] A remnant should walk after the Lord.…
CRITICAL NOTES.
Hos_11:10. They] A remnant should walk after the Lord. Roar] in judgments on the foe (Isa_31:4; Jer_25:26-30). Tremble] Hasten, like birds in rapid flight from western parts called the sea (Isa_11:11; Isa_24:14; Zec_8:7).
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Hos_11:11. As a dove] Ch. Hos_7:11; Isa_60:8. Houses] from whence they will not be driven again (Eze_28:26). The idea is this:—when God shall call, like the roaring of a lion, in loud and far-reaching tones, Israel will hear, return, walk with God, and remain faithful to him.
HOMILETICS
THE PENITENT’S RETURN TO GOD.—Hos_11:10-11
God will pity his people once more. They shall hasten to him in fear and trembling, be recalled from exile and bondage, and restored to their inheritance and their God.
I. It is a return from great distance. Man wilfully departed from God, lives now without desire to return, and is alienated from God in life and affection. Distance from God is the moral condition, the natural law, and the penal consequence of sin. “Why standest thou afar off, O Lord?”
II. It is a return in deep penitence. “They shall tremble as a bird.” The contrite heart trembles in fear. The sinner almost despairs in remembrance of his desert, and the holiness of God; or if moved by fear, he is conscious of guilt, greatly mourns his sin, and returns to confess to God and cry, “God be merciful to me a sinner.”
III. It is a return in swift obedience. “As a dove out of the land of Assyria,” remarkable for its swift flight, its rapid and constant speed when flying to its cot. The sinner makes haste from his danger to his rest. There is no time, no reason for delay. God draws, and he runs. Like the prodigal, he resolves and executes. “I will arise and go.” No sooner said than done. Like the manslayer of old, he has “fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us.”
IV. It is a return through severe discipline. The inward experiences and the outward conditions of the penitent have been most bitter and distressing. But many have been brought through severe trials and strange providences to God. Pain and sufferings have punished them for their sins. God has not only roared, but torn them to the astonishment of others. The call has been loud and the impressions deep. In fear and trembling, they have returned to “the lion of the tribe of Judah.”
V. It is a return to intimate friendship with God. “They shall walk after the Lord.” Walking with God includes friendship with God; for how can two walk together except there be agreement between them? It includes obedience, love, and constant activity in God’s service. Some turn away and flee from God. They are not near in thought nor deed. But the humbled penitents wish to please God and walk with him. They desire the abiding presence, and seek to dwell in “the everlasting habitations” of God. They follow after him with intense thirst and determined pursuit. The will, the word, and the character of God are their constant rule and delight. Many nations shall say, We will walk in his paths (Mic_4:2).
ISRAEL’S RETURN TO GOD PREDICTED
God would not destroy all Israel, a remnant should be preserved and walk after him. Hence many take the words as a prediction of the future restoration and return of God’s people.
I. They shall be gathered from distant places. “From the west,” “out of Egypt,” and “out of the land of Assyria.” No distance destroys God’s love, no bondage limits his power, and no enemy can keep his people when he calls them to himself. Many shall come from east and west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of God (Mat_8:11).
II. They shall be joined together in great numbers. “As a dove out of the land of Egypt.” Doves not only fly swiftly, but flock together. The sympathy of numbers is great in every undertaking, but especially in the service of God, where that sympathy is purified and rightly directed. “Who are these that fly as a cloud, and as doves to their windows” (Isa_60:8)? are words which describe the future converts to God.
III. They shall be restored to great privileges.
1. Fellowship with God. “They shall walk after the Lord.” They would be many days without leaders and sacrifices, but afterward should return and seek the Lord God and David their king (ch. Hos_3:4-5). They would live in loyal obedience to Jehovah, their lawful sovereign, and walk with him in sweet friendship and joy.
2. Security in their own habitations. “I will place them in their houses.” They would dwell securely, not in defenced cities, but in their homes, under their own vines and fig-trees (Mic_4:4). Man, like a bird, needs a shelter. Security and peace are only found in God. He can place them in Christ, in the Christian Church, and in his eternal kingdom. “In my Father’s house are many mansions … I go to prepare a place for you.”
ILLUSTRATIONS TO CHAPTER 11
Hos_11:10-11. Repentance.
At length corrected by the filial rod
Of his offended, but his gracious God,
And lashed from sins to sighs; and by degrees
From sighs to vows, from vows to bended knees;
From bended knees to a true pensive breast;
From thence to torments not to be expressed;
Returns, and (from his sinful self exiled)
Finds a glad Father, he a welcome child. [Quarles.]
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0On v10General Information:
General Information:
Yahweh is speaking about when he will restore his people.
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They will follow Yahweh
Worshiping and honoring Yahweh is spoken of as if it were following him (See: Metaphor)
he will roar like a lion
Yahweh making it possible for his people to return to his land is spoken of as if he were calling to his people. (See: Simile)
They will come trembling like a bird ... like a dove
They will come home quickly as a bird returns to its nest. "Trembling" may refer to the fluttering of a bird's wings. It may also signal the people's feelings of humility and reverence for God (See: Simile)
the declaration of Yahweh
"what Yahweh has declared" or "what Yahweh has solemnly said." See how you translated this in Hosea 2:13.
Tyndale Open Study Notes2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0On vv9–1011:9 No: The Lord alone would determine Israel’s fate.…
11:9 No: The Lord alone would determine Israel’s fate. God repeated the words I will not three times, emphasizing his decision not to completely destroy his people. • The reason for the divine decision is, I am the Holy One living among you. God’s holiness distinguishes him from every created thing (see “God’s Absolute Holiness” Theme Note). An offended mortal might very well destroy a rebel out of pique and spite. The Holy One does not operate out of those motives.
GEBible — Godless Engineer's Bible App
John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain On vv9–11 Then follows an explanation of this sentence, I will…
Then follows an explanation of this sentence, I will not execute the fury of my wrath: by which figurative mode of speaking he sets forth the punishment which was suitable to the sins of men. For it must ever be remembered, that God is exempt from every passion. But if no anger is to be supposed by us to be in God, what does he mean by the fury of his wrath? Even the relation between his nature and our innate or natural sins. But why does Scripture say that God is angry? Even because we imagine him to be so according to the perception of the flesh; for we do not apprehend God’s indignation, except as far as our sins provoke him to anger, and kindle his vengeance against us. Then God, with regard to our perception, calls the fury of his wrath the heavy judgement, which is equal to, or meet for, our sins. I will not execute, he says, that is, “I will not repay the reward which you have deserved.”
What then? I will not return to destroy Ephraim The verb אשוב, ashub, seems to have been introduced for this reason, because God had in part laid waste the kingdom of Israel: he therefore says, that the second overthrow, which he would presently bring, would not be such as would destroy the whole of Israel, or wholly consume them. I will not then return to destroy Ephraim; that is, “Though I shall again gird myself to punish the sins of the people, I shall yet restrain myself so that my vengeance shall not proceed to the destruction of the whole people.” The reason is subjoined, For I am God, and not man.
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As he intended in this place to leave to the godly some hope of salvation, he adds what may confirm this hope; for we know that when God denounces wrath, with what difficulty trembling consciences are restored to hope. Ungodly men laugh to scorn all threatening; but those in whom there is any seed of piety dread the vengeance of God, and whenever terror seizes them, they are tormented with marvellous disquietude, and cannot be easily pacified. This then is the reason why the Prophet now confirms the doctrine which he had laid down: I am God, he says, and not man; as though he had said, that he would be propitious to his people, for he was not implacable as men are; and they are very wrong who judge of him, or measure him, by men.
We must here first remember, that the Prophet directs not his discourse promiscuously to all the Israelites, but only to the faithful, who were a remnant among that corrupt people. For God, at no time, suffered all the children of Abraham to become alienated, but some few at least remained, as it is said in another place, (1 Kings 19:18.) These the Prophet now addresses; and to administer consolation, he moderates what he had said before of the dreadful vengeance of God. This saying then was not to relieve the sorrow of hypocrites; for the Prophet regarded only the miserable, who had been so smitten with the feeling of God’s wrath, that despair would have almost swallowed them up, had not their grief been mitigated. This is one thing. But further, when he says that he is God, and not man, this truth ought to come to our minds, that we may taste of God’s gratuitous promises, whenever we vacillate as to his promises, or whenever terror possesses our minds. What! Do you doubt when you have to do with God? But whence is it, that we with so much difficulty rely on the promises of God, except that we imagine him to be like ourselves? Inasmuch then, as it is our habit thus to transform him, let this truth be a remedy to this fault; and whenever God promises pardon to us, from which proceeds the hope of salvation, how much soever he may have previously terrified us by his judgements, let this come to our mind, that as he is God, he is not to be judged of by what we are. We ought then to recumb simply on his promises. “But then we are unworthy to be pardoned; besides, so great is the atrocity of our sins, that there can be no hope of reconciliation.” Here we must take instant hold on this shield, we must learn to fortify ourselves with this declaration of the Prophet, He is God, and not man: let this shield be ever taken to repel every kind of diffidence.
But here a question may be raised, “Was He not God, when he destroyed Sodom and the neighbouring cities?” That judgement did not take away from the Lord his glory, nor was his majesty thereby diminished. But these two sentences are to be read together; I am God, and not man, holy in the midst of thee. When any one reads these sentences apart, he does wrong to the meaning of the Prophet. God, then, does not only affirm here that he is not like men, but he also adds, that he is holy in the midst of Israel. It is one view of God’s nature that is here given us, and what is set forth is the immense distance between him and men, as we find it written by Isaiah the Prophet,
‘My thoughts are not as yours: as much as the heaven is distant from the earth, so distant are my thoughts from your thoughts,’ (Isaiah 55:8.)
So also in this place, the Prophet shows what God is, and how much his nature differs from the dispositions of men. He afterwards refers to the covenant which God made with his people: and what was the purport of that covenant? Even that God would punish his people; yet so as ever to leave some seed remaining.
‘I will chastise them,’ he says, ‘with the rod of men; I will not yet take away from them my mercy,’ (2 Samuel 7:14,15.)
Since God then had promised some mitigation or some alleviation in all his punishments, he now reminds us, that he will not have his Church wholly demolished in the world, for he would thus be inconsistent with himself: hence he says, I am God, and not man, holy in the midst of thee; and since I have chosen thee to myself to be my peculiar possession and inheritance, and promised also to be for ever thy God, I will now moderate my vengeance, so that some Church may ever remain.”
For this reason he also says I will not enter into the city Some say, “I will not enter another city but Jerusalem.” But this does not suit the passage; for the Prophet speaks here of the ten tribes and not of the tribe of Judah. Others imagine an opposite meaning, “I will not enter the city,” as though he said, that he would indeed act kindly towards the people in not wholly destroying them; but that they should hereafter be without civil order, regular government, and other tokens of God’s favour: ‘I will not enter the city;’ that is, “I will not restore you, so that there may be a city and a kingdom, and an united body of people.” But this exposition is too forced; nay, it is a mere refinement, which of itself vanishes. There is no doubt but that the similitude is taken from a warlike practice. For when a conqueror enters a city with an armed force, slaughter is not restrained but blood is indiscriminately shed. But when a city surrenders, the conqueror indeed may enter, yet not with a sudden and violent attack, but on certain conditions; and then he waits, it may be for two days, or for some time, that the rage of his soldiers may be allayed. Then he comes, not as to enemies, but as to his own subjects. This is what the Prophet means when he says, ‘I will not enter the city;’ that is, “I will make war on you and subdue your and force you to surrenders and that with great loss; but when the gates shall be opened, and the wall demolished, I will then restrain myself, for I am unwilling wholly to destroy you.”
If one objects and says, that this statement militates against many others which we have observed, the answer is easy, and the solution has already been adduced in another place, and I shall now only touch on it briefly. When God distinctly denounces ruin on the people, the body of the people is had in view; and in this body there was then no integrity. Inasmuch, then, as all the Israelites had become corrupt, had departed from the worship and fear of God, and from all piety and righteousness, and had abandoned themselves to all kinds of wickedness, the Prophet declares that they were to perish without any exception. But when he confines the vengeance of God, or moderates it, he has respect to a very small number; for, as it has been already stated, corruption had never so prevailed among the people, but that some seed remained. Hence, when the Prophet has in view the elect of God, he applies then these consolations, by which he mitigates their terror, that they might understand that God, even in his extreme rigour, would be propitious to them. Such is the way to account for this passage. With regard to the body of the people, the Prophet has already shown, that their cities were devoted to the fire, and that the whole nation was doomed to suffer the wrath of God; that every thing was given up to the fire and the sword. But now he says, “I will not enter;” that is, with regard to those whom the Lord intended to spare. And it must also be observed, that punishment was mitigated, not only with regard to the elect, but also with regard to the reprobate, who were led into captivity. We must yet remember, that when God spared them for a time, he chiefly consulted the good of his elect; for the temporary suspension of vengeance increased his judgement on the reprobate; for whosoever repented not in exile doubled, as it is evident, the wrath of God against themselves. The Lord, however, spared his people for a time; for among them was included his Church, in the same way as the wheat is preserved in the chaff, and is carried from the field with the straw. Why so? Even that the wheat may be separated. So also the Lord preserves much chaff with the wheat; but he will afterwards, in due time, divide the wheat from the chaff. We now understand the whole meaning of the Prophet, and also the application of his doctrine. It follows —
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv9, 11 To consume thee, but will cause thee to yield,…
To consume thee, but will cause thee to yield, and so receive thee to mercy: and this is meant of the final number who shall walk after the Lord.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv9–11 Hos 11:9 I will not execute the fierceness of…
Hos 11:9 I will not execute the fierceness of mine anger, I will not return to destroy Ephraim: for I [am] God, and not man; the Holy One in the midst of thee: and I will not enter into the city.
Ver. 9. I will not execute the fierceness of mine anger] Heb. the heat of it. God’s heart kindled, and whatsoever might cause repentance came together, and lay glowing, as it were, at his heart; and this cooled and even quenched the heat of his wrath (as the sunbeams when they shine full upon the fire), so that now he resolves not to execute the height of his heat, the extremity of his fury, for then the spirit should fail before him. Ephraim is God’s dear son, his pleasant child; whom, when he hears bemoaning himself, as Jer 30:18-20, he soon repents him of the evil, and cries,
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- “ Satis hoc pro crimine magno
Paulum supplicii lenem sumpsisse parentem. ”
I will not return to destroy Ephraim] I will not undo him twice over, or utterly ruin him; as those that have laid their enemy for dead, return to see whether he be dead outright; or as soldiers that have once pillaged a city return after a while to take all that little that was left before, and to set the rest on fire. God will not deal so hardly with Ephraim, though he might do it. Reprobates indeed shall have an evil, an only evil, Eze 7:5, without mixture of mercy; they must expect one plague upon another, as it fared with Pharaoh, till God had dashed the very breath out of his body. But for his elect people, Hath he smitten them, as he smote those that smote them? No, but in measure, in the branches only; he stayeth his rough wind, &c., Isa 27:7-8. And as Croesus’ dumb son burst out into, Kill not King Croesus (’Aνθρωπε, μη κτεινε τον χροισον. Herod.), so when enemies are ready to devour the Church, or Satan to swallow God’s child up in despair, his heart’s work; he can hold no longer, but cries, Save my child, save my Church. Why should "the spirit fail before me, and the souls which I have made? I have seen his ways and" (though bad enough) "I will heal him, I will lead him also, and restore comforts unto him and to his mourners," Isa 57:16-18.
For I am God, and not man] Yea, such a God as the like is not, for pardoning iniquity, and passing by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage, Mic 7:18. It is natural to him, Exo 34:6; it is usual, Neh 9:17, there he is called a God of pardons, as, Isa 55:7, he is said to multiply pardons. He hath commanded men to forgive an offending but repenting brother, seventy times seven times in a day, Mat 18:22. What then will himself do? For he is God Almighty, and not man. Man is an angry, vindictive, cruel creature; one man is a wolf, yea, a devil, to another; unsociable, implacable, unmerciful, as those were, Rom 1:31. Beware of men, saith our Saviour to his disciples, Mat 10:17; absurd and wicked men, 1Th 3:2; barbarous and brutish, skilful to destroy, Eze 21:31. Yea, beware of good men when enraged. What strange deaths doth David (soon after his foul fall and not fully recovered) put the poor Ammonites to, 2Sa 12:31. Further, men as they are unmerciful so they are unmindful of their promises. But God is not a man that he should lie, Num 23:18. What he hath spoken with his mouth he will make good with his hand. The Eternity of Israel will not lie (as men will, Rom 3:4), nor repent (as men do, whatever he may seem to do; {See Trapp on "Rom 3:3"} Rom 3:3); for he is not a man that he should repent, 1Sa 15:29. Men are mutable; the truest friend is ευμεταβλητον ζων, an easily changeable creature, as the heathen complained; all in changeable colours, as Tertullian saith of the peacock; as often changed as moved. Not so Almighty God. "I am Jehovah, I change not," Mal 3:6. {See Trapp On: Mal 3:6"} and remember still to retain high thoughts of God; not measuring him by our model; as to think him to be as merciful as we are, as powerful as our understanding can reach, &c. See Isa 55:8-9, and beg supernatural grace; without which it is impossible for a finite creature to believe the infinite attributes of Almighty God.
The Holy One in the midst of thee] Though Israel had deeply revolted, set up golden gods, and done wickedly as they could, so that there was no visible Church among them, yet God was the Holy One in the midst of them; seven thousand he had reserved that Elijah knew not of, 1Ki 19:18, and a Church there was in Israel when at worst. Like as there was in medio Papatu, in the darkest midnight of damned Popery; and at this very day there are said to be thousands of professed Protestants, even in Italy itself; and in Seville, a chief city of Spain, there are thought to be no fewer than twenty thousand.
And I will not enter into the city] I will not invade the city as an enemy, to waste all with fire and sword, as once at Sodom. For what reason? there are holy ones in the midst of thee (so Rivet expoundeth it by an enallage of the number), a considerable company of righteous people, for whose sake I will spare thee, Jer 5:1.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv9–11 Here mercy rejoiceth against judgment, and God declareth his…
Here mercy rejoiceth against judgment, and God declareth his purpose to spare, he promiseth that he will not execute according to utmost severity. This promise he confirmeth by doubling it, though in somewhat different words: I will not do as men, who having beat down au enemy, and wounded him, do return again to see whether he breathe, and to make an end of him; or conquerors, that plunder the conquered city, carry away the wealth of it, and after some time return to burn it; God will not do so.
I am God, and not man; his compassions are infinite, his goodness unchangeable; he remembers all his promises to every one, and now seeth who among Israel believe, and hope for his grace and mercy; these he must spare, as he is just Judge of the whole earth, and for their sakes he will spare many others.
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The Holy One in the midst of thee; a holy God, and in covenant, though not with all, yet with many among you, and those that are in covenant with God are holy ones too: I will not make them as Admah or Zeboim, for the case is different, in the cities of the plain there were no righteous ones, but here are some, though not many: and so Rivet renders the words, there is a holy one in the midst of thee, where the singular is used for plural, as in that passage,
there is none righteous. I will not enter into the city; I will not come amongst you, as I came into Sodom, &c. Here is comfort for God’s remnant.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv9–11 I will not execute the fierceness of mine anger,....…
I will not execute the fierceness of mine anger,.... That is, his wrath and fury to the uttermost; his people are deserving of his wrath as others, being by nature children of wrath as the rest; which they are sensible of under spiritual conviction, and therefore flee from it, where they may be safe: and though the Lord often chastises and afflicts them, yet not in wrath; or however but in a little wrath, as it seems to them; he does not stir up all his wrath, nor any in reality; all being poured upon his Son, their surety, who saves and delivers them from wrath to come;
I will not return to destroy Ephraim; or "again", or "any more, destroy" (f) him; not twice; he might be destroyed when carried captive into Assyria; but the remnant that shall spring from him in the latter day shall not be destroyed, but saved. The Targum is,
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"my word shall not return to destroy the house of Israel;''
or I will not return from my love and affections to them, I will never be wroth with them any more; nor from my mercy to them, which is from everlasting to everlasting; or from my covenant, promise, and resolution to save them, they shall not be punished with everlasting destruction:
for I am God, and not man; a God gracious and merciful, longsuffering, slow to anger, and pardoning sin, and not man, cruel, revengeful, implacable, who shows no mercy when it is in the power of his hands to avenge himself; or God that changes not in his purposes and counsels, in his love and affections, and therefore the sons of Jacob are not consumed, and not man that repents, is fickle, inconstant, and mutable; or God that is faithful to his covenant and promises, and not man that lies and deceives, promises and never performs. The Targum is,
"seeing I am God, my word remains for ever, and my works are not as the works of the flesh (or of men) who dwell upon the earth;''
the Holy One in the midst of thee; being in the midst of his people, he protects and defends them, and so they are safe; and being the Holy One there, he sanctifies them, and saves them, in a way consistent with his own holiness and justice: or there is "a Holy One", or Holy Ones, the singular put for the plural, "in the midst of thee" (g); and therefore thou shalt not be destroyed for their sakes, as Sodom would not, had there been ten righteous persons in it, to which some think the allusion is:
and I will not enter into the city; in a hostile way to destroy or plunder it; but this is not to be understood either of Samaria or Jerusalem, which were entered into in this manner. The Targum is,
"I have decreed by my word that my holy Shechinah shall be among you, and I will not change Jerusalem again for another city;''
which sense the Jewish commentators follow; but, as this respects Gospel times, the meaning seems to be, that God would dwell among his people everywhere, and would not be confined to any city or temple as heretofore; but wherever his church and people were, there would be his temple, and there he would dwell.
(f) "non perdam amplius", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator; "non iterum destruam", Cocceius. (g) "est sanctus", i.e. "sancti, in medio tui", Rivetus.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv9–11 Return - Conquerors that plunder the conquered city, carry…
Return - Conquerors that plunder the conquered city, carry away the wealth of it, and after some time return to burn it; God will not do so. Not man - Therefore my compassions fail not. The holy One - A holy God, and in covenant, though not with all, yet with many among you. Enter into the city - Utterly to destroy thee, as I did Sodom.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv9–11 Verse 9. I will not execute] Here is the…
Verse 9. I will not execute] Here is the issue of this conflict in the Divine mind. Mercy triumphs over Judgment; Ephraim shall be spared. He is God, and not man. He cannot be affected by human caprices. They are now penitent, and implore mercy; he will not, as man would do, punish them for former offenses, when they have fallen into his hand. The holy place is in Ephraim, and God is in this holy place; and he will not go into the cities, as he did into Sodom and Gomorrah, to destroy them. Judgment is his strange work. How exceedingly affecting are these two verses!
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On v10 Hos 11:10-11. They shall walk after the Lord —…
Hos 11:10-11. They shall walk after the Lord — The remnant shall hearken to God’s call, and shall comply with his commands, when he shall convert them by the powerful preaching of his gospel, and the efficacious influence of his grace. He shall roar like a lion — That is, he will show terrible signs of his anger, and then they will fear and obey him. God’s voice is elsewhere compared to the roaring of a lion, because of the terror which accompanies it: see the margin. The Chaldee says, The word of the Lord shall roar as a lion, and the words may be interpreted of the powerful voice of the gospel, sent forth, and sounding all over the world, and calling sinners to repentance. “The most learned commentators agree,” says Bishop Horsley, “that this roaring of the lion is the sound of the gospel; and that the subject of this and the following verse is, its promulgation and progress, the conversion of the Gentiles, and the final restoration of the Jews. ‘Clara et maxima voce predicabit evangelium,’ With a loud and most powerful voice shall he preach the gospel, says Piscator. And to the same effect Rivetus and Bochart. As a lion, by its roaring, calls animals of its own kind to a participation of the prey; so Christ, by the powerful voice of the gospel, shall call all nations to the fellowship of eternal life. — Livelye. The preaching of the gospel, reaching the remotest corners of the earth, is frequently represented under the image of the loudest sounds. And this loudness of the sound alone might justify the figure of the roaring lion. But a greater propriety of the figure will appear, if we recollect, that the first demonstrations of mercy to the faithful will be, the judgments executed on the anti-christian persecutors; to whom the sound of the gospel will be a sound of terror.” When he shall roar, then the children shall tremble from the west — The word יחרדו, rendered, shall tremble, describes the motion which a bird makes with its wings when it flies. Dr. Waterland renders it, shall come fluttering, and Bishop Horsley, shall hurry. The primary sense of the passage may be, that at this efficacious call of God, the remnant of Israel, who shall be accounted his children, and heirs of the promises made to their fathers, shall come in haste from the several places of their dispersions, and particularly from the western parts of the world, (see Zec 8:7,) called the sea in the original, and expressed in Isaiah by the islands of the sea: see Isa 11:11; Isa 24:14. They shall tremble as a bird out of Egypt — That is, fly with haste, as above. As a dove out of the land of Assyria — Great numbers of the Jews were exiles in Egypt and Assyria; and therefore, when the restoration of the Jews is spoken of, Egypt and Assyria are mentioned as countries from whence a great number of them should return. And I will place them in their houses — I will bring them back to their own country and habitations, like as the stork returns to her nest, and the dove to the dove-cot. This prophecy may be considered as receiving its completion in part when some of the Israelites, being recovered to the worship of the true God, returned to Judea with the two tribes of Judah and Benjamin, brought back to their own land from their captivity in Babylon. But the full accomplishment of it will not take place till the latter days, when the fulness of the Gentiles being brought in by the preaching of the gospel, all Israel shall be saved. Thus Bishop Horsley. These verses “contain a wonderful prophecy of the promulgation and progress of the gospel, and the restoration of the race of Israel. The first clause of the tenth verse states generally that they shall be brought to repentance. In what follows, the circumstances and progress of the business are described. First, Jehovah shall roar; the roaring is unquestionably the sound of the gospel. Jehovah himself shall roar; the sound shall begin to be uttered by the voice of the incarnate God himself. The first effect shall be, that children shall come fluttering from the west; a new race of children, converts of the Gentiles.” For, “it is remarkable, that the expression is neither their children, nor my children, but simply children. The first would limit the discourse to the natural Israel exclusively; the second would be nearly of the same effect, as it would express such as were already children at the time of the roaring. But the word children, put nakedly, without either of these epithets, expresses those who were neither of the natural Israel, nor children at the time of the roaring, but were roused by that sound, and then became children, that is, adopted children, by natural extraction Gentiles.” These shall come “chiefly from the western quarters of the world, or what the Scriptures call the west; for no part, I think, of Asia Minor, Syria, or Palestine, is reckoned a part of the east, in the language of the Old Testament. Afterward the natural Israel shall hurry from all the regions of their dispersion, and be settled in their own dwellings. It is to be observed that the roaring is mentioned twice. It will be most consistent with the style of the prophets to take this as two roarings; and to refer the hurrying of the children from the west to the first, the hurrying from Egypt and Assyria to the second. The times of the two roarings are, the first and second advent. The first brought children from the west; the renewed preaching of the gospel, at the second, will bring home the Jews. And perhaps this second sounding of the gospel may be, more remarkably even than the first, a roaring of Jehovah in person.” With this verse the chapter is closed in the Hebrew text and the Syriac version, and the following verse is given to the next chapter. But the division of the LXX., Vulgate, and Chaldee, which our public translation follows, seems preferable.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv9–11 I will not execute the fierceness of Mine anger…
I will not execute the fierceness of Mine anger - It is the voice of “mercy, rejoicing over judgment.” mercy prevails in God over the rigor of His justice, that though He will not suffer them to go utterly unpunished, yet He will abate of it, and not utterly consume them.
I will not return to destroy Ephraim - God saith that He will not, as it were, glean Ephraim, going over it again, as man doth, in order to leave nothing over. As it is in Jeremiah, “They shall thoroughly glean the remnant of Israel, as a vine. Turn back thine hand, as a grapegatherer into the baskets” Jer 6:9; and, “If grapegatherers come to thee, would they not leave some gleaning-grapes? but I have made Esau bare” Jer 49:9-10.
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For I am God and not man - o: “not swayed by human passions, but so tempering His wrath, as, in the midst of it, to remember mercy; so punishing the iniquity of the sinful children, as at once to make good His gracious promises which He made to their forefathers.” : “Man punishes, to destroy; God smites, to amend.”
The Holy One in the midst of thee - The holiness of God is at once a ground why He punishes iniquity, and yet does not punish to the full extent of the sin. Truth and faithfulness are part of the holiness of God. He, the Holy One who was “in the midst” of them, by virtue of His covenant with their fathers, would keep the covenant which He had made, and for their father’s sakes would not wholly cut them off. Yet the holiness of God hath another aspect too, in virtue of which the unholy cannot profit by the promises of the All-Holy. “I will not,” paraphrases Cyril, “use unmingled wrath. I will not “give” over Ephraim, wicked as he has become, to entire destruction. Why? Do they not deserve it? Yes, He saith, but “I am God and not man,” i. e., Good, and not suffering the motions of anger to overcome Me. For that is a human passion. Why then dost Thou yet punish, seeing Thou art God, not overcome with anger, but rather following Thine essential gentleness? I punish, He saith, because I am not only Good, as God, but holy also, hating iniquity, rejecting the polluted, turning away from God-haters, converting the sinner, purifying the impure, that he may again be joined to Me. We, then, if we prize the being with God, must, with all our might, fly from sin, and remember what He said. “Be ye holy, for I am holy.”
And I will not enter the city - God, who is everywhere, speaks of Himself, as present to us, when He shows that presence in acts of judgment or of mercy. He visited His people in Egypt, to deliver them; He visited Sodom and Gomorrah as a Judge, making known to us that He took cognizance of their extreme wickedness. God says, that He would “not enter the city,” as He did “the cities of the plain,” when He overthrew them, because He willed to save them. As a Judge, He acts as though He looked away from their sin, lest, seeing their city to be full of wickedness, He should be compelled to punish it. : “I will not smite indiscriminately, as man doth, who when wroth, bursts into an offending city, and destroys all. In this sense, the Apostle says, “Hath God cast away His people? God forbid! For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. God hath not east away His people, whom He foreknew. What saith the answer of God to Elias! I have reserved to Myself seven thousand men, who have not bowed the knee to Bard. Even so then, at this present time also, there is a remnant according to the election of grace” Rom 11:1-2, Rom 11:4-5. God then was wroth, not with His people, but with unbelief. For He was not angered in such wise, as not to receive the remnant of His people, if they were converted. No Jew is therefore repelled, because the Jewish nation denied Christ; but whoso, whether Jew or Gentile, denieth Christ, he himself, in his own person, repels himself.”
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv9–11 Not man. I am not actuated by the spirit…
Not man. I am not actuated by the spirit of revenge, nor do I fear lest my enemy escape. (Calmet) --- I punish in order to reclaim, (St. Jerome) and reserve eternal vengeance only for those who die impenitent. --- Holy one. If there be a just man in Israel, I will spare the nation; (Genesis xviii. 32.) or there are some just, like Tobias, and therefore a part shall be reserved; or, (Calmet) I am the just (Haydock) God. (St. Jerome)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv9–11 I will not return to destroy Ephraim--that is I…
I will not return to destroy Ephraim--that is I will no more, as in past times, destroy Ephraim. The destruction primarily meant is probably that by Tiglath-pileser, who, as the Jewish king Ahaz' ally against Pekah of Israel and Rezin of Syria, deprived Israel of Gilead, Galilee, and Naphtali (Kg2 15:29). The ulterior reference is to the long dispersion hereafter, to be ended by God's covenant mercy restoring His people, not for their merits, but of His grace.
God, . . . not man--not dealing as man would, with implacable wrath under awful provocation (Isa 55:7-9; Mal 3:6). I do not, like man, change when once I have made a covenant of everlasting love, as with Israel (Num 23:19). We measure God by the human standard, and hence are slow to credit fully His promises; these, however, belong to the faithful remnant, not to the obstinately impenitent.
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in the midst of thee--as peculiarly thy God (Exo 19:5-6).
not enter into the city--as an enemy: as I entered Admah, Zeboim, and Sodom, utterly destroying them, whereas I will not utterly destroy thee. Somewhat similarly JEROME: "I am not one such as human dwellers in a city, who take cruel vengeance; I save those whom I correct." Thus "not man," and "in the midst of thee," are parallel to "into the city." Though I am in the midst of thee, it is not as man entering a rebellious city to destroy utterly. MAURER needlessly translates, "I will not come in wrath."
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On v10 10, 11. No promise is made that judgment will…
10, 11. No promise is made that judgment will be withheld entirely. It must come, but it will not result in destruction. When it has accomplished its purpose the divine mercy will again manifest itself in the home-gathering of the dispersed exiles.
They shall walk after Jehovah — Can, in this connection, mean only that when he gives the signal they will readily respond.
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Roar like a lion — That is, with a powerful voice. Not as in Hos_5:14; Hos_13:7, but to summon the scattered people (Isa_11:12; Isa_27:13; Isa_49:22). When the signal is heard the exiles shall tremble [“come trembling”] — Though they recognize the call as the call of love, they tremble before the majesty and power of the caller (compare Hos_3:5).
The children — In Hebrew without the article, “sons” or “children”; only those whom he may acknowledge as sons (Hos_11:1; Hos_1:10).
From the west — Literally, from the sea, the Mediterranean, which is west of Palestine; perhaps equivalent to “the islands of the sea” (Isa_11:11). Hosea expects the Israelites to go into exile to Assyria and to Egypt (Hos_11:11), that is, to the south and east. Only in this passage he introduces a third place of exile. This peculiarity leads some to change the text so as to read, “from their captivity.”
Bird… dove — Ordinarily the flight of birds represents swiftness (Psa_55:6; Isa_60:8). If so here, come trembling cannot be a correct reproduction of the prophet’s thought. “A thrill of eagerness doubling the speed of motion is what is meant”; equivalent to they shall come swiftly (see the comparison in Hos_7:11).
I will place them — For the promise to re-establish Israel in the old home see also Hos_2:23.
Most recent commentators consider Hos_11:10-11 later additions, because (1) they are thought to be out of harmony with Hos_11:9 where the withdrawal of judgment is announced, while in these verses a dispersion is presupposed; (2) the verses contain expressions foreign to Hosea. To these verses are sometimes added Hos_11:8-9, in part, or even entire. The chief objection to these two verses is that they contain a promise which, it is said, weakens the preceding threat. In reply it may be said (1) Hos_11:8-9 do not imply a complete withholding of judgment; (2) the only peculiar expression is “from the west” (Hos_11:10); (3) a promise does not necessarily weaken a previous threat. It would do so only if the promise were unconditional. Hosea believes that the divine favor may be regained; but he makes it perfectly clear that it can be done only on condition of sincere repentance (Hos_14:1-3). As soon as the conditional character of a promise is recognized, the promise, far from weakening a threat, may become a strong incentive to repentance, to avert the fulfillment of the threat. Hence it will be seen that the objections raised against the originality of these verses are not conclusive.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv9–11 9. I will not return, &c.] The strict rendering…
9. I will not return, &c.] The strict rendering of the words is, ‘I will not again destroy Ephraim’; the sense however, is, I will not bring back Ephraim to nothing. He who moulded Ephraim into a nation will not busy himself with it again to its destruction. Comp. the same Hebrew idiom in Hos_2:9.
for I am God, and not man] The perfection of the Divine nature does not, to Hosea, exclude the possession of something analogous to human feelings, but one thing it does forbid us to assume, viz. that an emotion of anger should divert Jehovah from the execution of his eternal purpose.
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the Holy One in the midst of thee] It is the glory of Israel to have the Holy One specially in her midst. Whatever interferes with His supreme right of property in Israel, He must destroy, but He will not so chastise His chosen people as to extinguish it altogether. All that is left will be holy, as Jehovah is holy—devoted to Jehovah, as Jehovah is devoted to Israel. Of course, though Jehovah’s holiness has a special relation to Israel, this does not exclude a more general relation to the world outside. His manifestation is concentrated, but not confined, within His ‘peculiar people.’
I will not enter into the city] But this is pointless, for why should a visit from Jehovah be deprecated (comp. Exo_20:24)? Hence many, adopting a different view of one word, render, I will not come in fury. This is, however, not free from objection, and a very slight emendation gives the very appropriate sense, I will not come to exterminate (parallel to ‘to destroy’).
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv9–11 (9) This sublime passage is remarkable as drawing illustrations…
(9) This sublime passage is remarkable as drawing illustrations from human emotions, and yet repudiating all human weakness. It suggests a hint of Divine mercy in its greatness, and of Divine justice too, which shows how, both being alike infinite, they can adjust themselves beyond the power of human experience and imagination.
The Holy One in the midst of thee is such a blending of justice and mercy.
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I will not enter into the city.—So ancient versions. “Enter”—i.e., as a destroyer. (Comp. Hos_11:6.) But many commentators interpret the Hebrew b‘îr (“into the city”) to mean in wrath. This is preferable.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv9–11 I will not execute the fierceness of mine anger,…
I will not execute the fierceness of mine anger, I will not return to destroy Ephraim. The promise of this verse is in harmony with the spirit of compassion expressed in the preceding. It is at once the effect and evidence of that feeling of Divine compassion. God would neither execute the burning heat of his wrath, for so the words literally mean, nor destroy Ephraim utterly, or again any more as formerly. The historic event referred to may be the destruction effected by Tiglath-pileser, ally of Ahaz King of Judah against Pekah King of Israel and Rezin King of Syria, when he carried away captive the inhabitants of Gilead, Galilee, and Naphtali, as we read in 2Ki_15:29, "In the days of Pekah King of Israel came Tiglath-pileser King of Assyria, and took Ijon, and Abel-beth-maachah, and Janoah, and Kedesh, and Hazer, and Gilead, and Galilee, all the land of Naphtali, and carried them captive to Assyria." But while this is probably the primary allusion, there is an ulterior reference to the future restoration of Israel. For I am God, and not man; the Holy One in the midst of thee: and I will not enter into the city (or, come into bumming wrath, Keil). A reason is here assigned for the exercise of the Divine com miseration just expressed; this reason is God"s covenant of everlasting love. He is God, and must be measured by a Divine standard not man, implacable and revengeful; though his people"s provocation had been grievous, God was in the midst of them as their God, long-suffering and steadfast to his covenant of love and purposes of mercy. He would not enter
(a) into the city as an enemy, and for the purpose of utter destruction, as he had entered into the cities of the plain for their entire and final ruin; or,
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(b) if the alternative rendering be preferred, he would not come into burning wrath. The fiery heat or fierceness of God"s wrath tends to destruction, not the amendment of the impenitent. The expression, "I will not return," may also be understood as equivalent to
(1) "I will not turn from my pity and promises;" or, "I will not turn away from Israel;" but
(2) it suits the context better to translate on the principle of two verbs expressing one idea in a modified sense, i.e. "I will not return to destroy," that is, "I will not again destroy Ephraim." Jerome"s explanation favors the first, and is, "I will not act according to the fury of my anger, nor change from my clemency to destroy Ephraim; for I do not strike to destroy for ever, but to amend... for I am God and not man. Man punishes for this purpose of destroying; God chastises for the purpose of amending." As God, his purpose of mercy was changeless; as the Holy One in Israel, he was infinitely pure and absolutely perfect, "the Father of lights, with whom can be no variation, neither shadow that is cast by turning." The meaning
(1) already given of coming into the city is supported by ancient versions, Hebrew expositors, and some of the ablest Christian commentators; yet
(2) we prefer that which understands dY in the sense of "the heat of wrath," deriving it from dW effervescence, which is that given in Keil"s translation. There is
(3) an explanation strongly advocated by Bishop Lowth and adopted by Rosenm It is as follows in the words of the bishop: "Jerome is almost singular in his explanation: "I am not one of those who inhabit cities; who live according to human laws; who think cruelty justice." Castalio follows Jerome. There is, in fact, in the latter member of the sentence, yb yaal, a parallelism and synonym to ya yl in the former. The future ya has a frequentative power, (see Psa_22:3, Psa_22:8) "I am not accustomed to enter a city: I am not an inhabitant of a city." For there is a beautiful opposition of the different parts: "I am God, and not man." This is amplified in the next line, and the antithesis a little varied: "I am thy God, inhabiting with thee, but in a peculiar and extraordinary manner, not in the manner of men." Nothing, I think, can be plainer or more elegant than this." The bishop"s rendering of the whole verse isI will not do according to the fervent of my wrath, I will not return to destroy Ephraim: For I am God, and not man; Holy in the midst of thee, though I inhabit not thy cities.
God and not man.
Well is it for us that them are respects in which God is as man; that he is sympathizing and (as we say) humane. But better is it for us that in other respects God is not as man; for, had he been subject to like passions with ourselves, he would not have borne with us, and we should have been utterly consumed.
I A REVELATION OF DIVINE SUPERIORITY. God, in his treatment of mankind, has shown himself to be altogether superior:
1. To human ignorance. He knows us as we cannot know one another, and all his counsels have been counsels of consummate wisdom.
2. To human vacillation. We are prone to be swayed, now by this motive and again by that; there is no such thing as perfect consistency and steadfastness in man. But God is above all such human weakness. "I am the Lord that changeth not, therefore the sons of Jacob are not consumed." "God is faithful," and we may trust him with an implicit confidence.
3. To human impatience. The hasty impatience of man with his fellow-man is in striking contrast with the forbearance of the supreme Ruler. Long-suffering is ever represented in the Scriptures as his especial attribute, and there is none for which we have more reason to be grateful. Had he not been a patient God he would not have borne with any one of us, for all have taxed and tried his patience.
II AN ENCOURAGEMENT TO HUMAN CONFIDENCE. It is well always to begin with the consideration of God"s character and attributes. But we cannot end there. We naturally and properly turn our regard towards ourselves, and see what is the bearing of the Divine attributes upon our necessities. This we may learn from the assurance that we are in the hands of One who is God and not man we may learn to cast ourselves with unhesitating confidence upon the Divine faithfulness and grace. No human pettiness shall we meet with from him, but large-hearted forbearance, sympathy, bounty, and love. T.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain On v10 Hos_11:10. They] A remnant should walk after the Lord.…
CRITICAL NOTES.
Hos_11:10. They] A remnant should walk after the Lord. Roar] in judgments on the foe (Isa_31:4; Jer_25:26-30). Tremble] Hasten, like birds in rapid flight from western parts called the sea (Isa_11:11; Isa_24:14; Zec_8:7).
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Hos_11:11. As a dove] Ch. Hos_7:11; Isa_60:8. Houses] from whence they will not be driven again (Eze_28:26). The idea is this:—when God shall call, like the roaring of a lion, in loud and far-reaching tones, Israel will hear, return, walk with God, and remain faithful to him.
HOMILETICS
THE PENITENT’S RETURN TO GOD.—Hos_11:10-11
God will pity his people once more. They shall hasten to him in fear and trembling, be recalled from exile and bondage, and restored to their inheritance and their God.
I. It is a return from great distance. Man wilfully departed from God, lives now without desire to return, and is alienated from God in life and affection. Distance from God is the moral condition, the natural law, and the penal consequence of sin. “Why standest thou afar off, O Lord?”
II. It is a return in deep penitence. “They shall tremble as a bird.” The contrite heart trembles in fear. The sinner almost despairs in remembrance of his desert, and the holiness of God; or if moved by fear, he is conscious of guilt, greatly mourns his sin, and returns to confess to God and cry, “God be merciful to me a sinner.”
III. It is a return in swift obedience. “As a dove out of the land of Assyria,” remarkable for its swift flight, its rapid and constant speed when flying to its cot. The sinner makes haste from his danger to his rest. There is no time, no reason for delay. God draws, and he runs. Like the prodigal, he resolves and executes. “I will arise and go.” No sooner said than done. Like the manslayer of old, he has “fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us.”
IV. It is a return through severe discipline. The inward experiences and the outward conditions of the penitent have been most bitter and distressing. But many have been brought through severe trials and strange providences to God. Pain and sufferings have punished them for their sins. God has not only roared, but torn them to the astonishment of others. The call has been loud and the impressions deep. In fear and trembling, they have returned to “the lion of the tribe of Judah.”
V. It is a return to intimate friendship with God. “They shall walk after the Lord.” Walking with God includes friendship with God; for how can two walk together except there be agreement between them? It includes obedience, love, and constant activity in God’s service. Some turn away and flee from God. They are not near in thought nor deed. But the humbled penitents wish to please God and walk with him. They desire the abiding presence, and seek to dwell in “the everlasting habitations” of God. They follow after him with intense thirst and determined pursuit. The will, the word, and the character of God are their constant rule and delight. Many nations shall say, We will walk in his paths (Mic_4:2).
ISRAEL’S RETURN TO GOD PREDICTED
God would not destroy all Israel, a remnant should be preserved and walk after him. Hence many take the words as a prediction of the future restoration and return of God’s people.
I. They shall be gathered from distant places. “From the west,” “out of Egypt,” and “out of the land of Assyria.” No distance destroys God’s love, no bondage limits his power, and no enemy can keep his people when he calls them to himself. Many shall come from east and west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of God (Mat_8:11).
II. They shall be joined together in great numbers. “As a dove out of the land of Egypt.” Doves not only fly swiftly, but flock together. The sympathy of numbers is great in every undertaking, but especially in the service of God, where that sympathy is purified and rightly directed. “Who are these that fly as a cloud, and as doves to their windows” (Isa_60:8)? are words which describe the future converts to God.
III. They shall be restored to great privileges.
1. Fellowship with God. “They shall walk after the Lord.” They would be many days without leaders and sacrifices, but afterward should return and seek the Lord God and David their king (ch. Hos_3:4-5). They would live in loyal obedience to Jehovah, their lawful sovereign, and walk with him in sweet friendship and joy.
2. Security in their own habitations. “I will place them in their houses.” They would dwell securely, not in defenced cities, but in their homes, under their own vines and fig-trees (Mic_4:4). Man, like a bird, needs a shelter. Security and peace are only found in God. He can place them in Christ, in the Christian Church, and in his eternal kingdom. “In my Father’s house are many mansions … I go to prepare a place for you.”
ILLUSTRATIONS TO CHAPTER 11
Hos_11:10-11. Repentance.
At length corrected by the filial rod
Of his offended, but his gracious God,
And lashed from sins to sighs; and by degrees
From sighs to vows, from vows to bended knees;
From bended knees to a true pensive breast;
From thence to torments not to be expressed;
Returns, and (from his sinful self exiled)
Finds a glad Father, he a welcome child. [Quarles.]
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v10 General Information:
General Information:
Yahweh is speaking about when he will restore his people.
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They will follow Yahweh
Worshiping and honoring Yahweh is spoken of as if it were following him (See: Metaphor)
he will roar like a lion
Yahweh making it possible for his people to return to his land is spoken of as if he were calling to his people. (See: Simile)
They will come trembling like a bird ... like a dove
They will come home quickly as a bird returns to its nest. "Trembling" may refer to the fluttering of a bird's wings. It may also signal the people's feelings of humility and reverence for God (See: Simile)
the declaration of Yahweh
"what Yahweh has declared" or "what Yahweh has solemnly said." See how you translated this in Hosea 2:13.
translationWords
walk
Yahweh
lions
people of God
Egypt
dove
Assyria
life
declare
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv9–10 11:9 No: The Lord alone would determine Israel’s fate.…
11:9 No: The Lord alone would determine Israel’s fate. God repeated the words I will not three times, emphasizing his decision not to completely destroy his people. • The reason for the divine decision is, I am the Holy One living among you. God’s holiness distinguishes him from every created thing (see “God’s Absolute Holiness” Theme Note). An offended mortal might very well destroy a rebel out of pique and spite. The Holy One does not operate out of those motives.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.