They haven’t cried to me with their heart, but they howl on their beds. They assemble themselves for grain and new wine. They turn away from me.
Parallel Translations
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They haven’t cried to me with their heart, but they howl on their beds. They assemble themselves for grain and new wine. They turn away from me.
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And they have not cried unto me with their heart, when they howled upon their beds: they assemble themselves for corn and wine, and they rebel against me.
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And they have not cried unto Me with their heart, though they wail upon their beds; they assemble themselves for corn and wine, they rebel against Me.
Cross-references (18)
Passages linked to Hosea 7:14 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Job 35:9-10 “By reason of the multitude of oppressions they cry out. They cry for help by reason of the arm of the mighty. But no one says, ‘Where is God my Maker, who gives songs in the night,
- James 4:3 You ask, and don’t receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures.
- Jeremiah 3:10 Yet for all this her treacherous sister, Judah, has not returned to me with her whole heart, but only in pretense,” says Yahweh.
- Psalms 78:34-37 When he killed them, then they inquired after him. They returned and sought God earnestly. They remembered that God was their rock, the Most High God, their redeemer. But they flattered him with their mouth, and lied to him with their tongue. For their heart was not right with him, neither were they faithful in his covenant.
- Isaiah 29:13 The Lord said, “Because this people draws near with their mouth and honors me with their lips, but they have removed their heart far from me, and their fear of me is a commandment of men which has been taught;
- Amos 2:8 and they lay themselves down beside every altar on clothes taken in pledge; and in the house of their God they drink the wine of those who have been fined.
- Micah 2:11 If a man walking in a spirit of falsehood lies: “I will prophesy to you of wine and of strong drink;” he would be the prophet of this people.
- Zechariah 7:5 “Speak to all the people of the land, and to the priests, saying, ‘When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and in the seventh month for these seventy years, did you at all fast to me, really to me?
- Philippians 3:19 whose end is destruction, whose god is the belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who think about earthly things.
- Judges 9:27 They went out into the field, harvested their vineyards, trod the grapes, celebrated, and went into the house of their god and ate and drank, and cursed Abimelech.
- Isaiah 65:14 Behold, my servants will sing for joy of heart, but you will cry for sorrow of heart, and will wail for anguish of spirit.
- Exodus 32:6 They rose up early on the next day, and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play.
- Isaiah 52:5 “Now therefore, what do I do here,” says Yahweh, “seeing that my people are taken away for nothing? Those who rule over them mock,” says Yahweh, “and my name is blasphemed continually all day long.
- Hosea 3:1 Yahweh said to me, “Go again, love a woman loved by another, and an adulteress, even as Yahweh loves the children of Israel, though they turn to other gods, and love cakes of raisins.”
- Hosea 13:16 Samaria will bear her guilt; for she has rebelled against her God. They will fall by the sword. Their infants will be dashed in pieces, and their pregnant women will be ripped open.”
- Amos 8:3 The songs of the temple will be wailing in that day,” says the Lord Yahweh. “The dead bodies will be many. In every place they will throw them out with silence.
- Romans 16:18 For those who are such don’t serve our Lord, Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by their smooth and flattering speech, they deceive the hearts of the innocent.
- James 5:1 Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries that are coming on you.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain The Prophet here again reproves the Israelites for having…
The Prophet here again reproves the Israelites for having not repented, after having been so often admonished; for, as it was said yesterday, all the chastisements which God by his own hand inflicts on us, have this as the object — to heal us of our vices. Now the Prophet says here that the Israelites had not cried to God, which is yet the chief thing in repentance. But this expression is to be noticed. They have not cried to me with their heart; that is sincerely. We indeed know that some worship of God had ever remained among them; though the Israelites devised for themselves many gods, yet the name of the true God had never been wholly obliterated among them; but they blended the worship of God with their own inventions; God, at the same time, could not endure these fictitious invocations. Hence he says, that they cried not from the heart. He accuses them, not that they performed no outward act, but that they did not bring a real desire of heart; nay, they only cried to God dissemblingly. We now perceive what the Prophet meant by saying, They have not cried to me with their heart As calling on God is the chief exercise of religion, and especially manifests our repentance, the Prophet expressly notices this defect in the Israelites — that they cried not to the Lord. But as they might object and say, that they had formally prayed, he adds, that they did not do so from the heart; for the outward act (ceremonia) without the exercise of the heart, is nothing else but a profanation of God’s name. In short, the Prophet shows here to the Israelites their hardness; for when they were smitten by God’s hand, they did not flee to him and supplicate pardon, at least they did not do this from the heart or sincerely.
He then adds, Because they howled on their beds Some explain the particle כי, ki, adversatively; as though the Prophet had said, “Though they howl on their beds, they do not yet direct their petitions to me.” But we may take it in its proper sense, and the sentence would thus run better: They howl then on their beds, that is, “They bring not their concerns to me; for like brute animals they utter their howlings:” and this we see to be the case with the unbelieving; for they fear the presence of God, and the very mention of him is dreaded by them; hence they howl, that is, they pour forth their impetuous feelings, but at the same time they shun every access to God as much as they can. The sense then is, “They cry not to me from the heart, for they only howl; but it is only by an animal effort without any reason.” If, however, any one prefers to take the particle כי, ki, adversatively, the sense would not be unsuitable, “Though they howl on their beds, they do not yet cry to me;” that is, “Though grief urges them to make great noises, they are yet mute as to any cry of prayer.” If any one more approves of this meaning, I say nothing against it: but as the particle כי, ki, is commonly taken as a causative, I prefer thus to explain it, “As they cry on their beds, they raise not up their voice to God.”
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Then it follows, They assemble, or, will assemble themselves for corn and wine This place is explained in two ways. Some think that the Israelites are here in an indirect way reproved, inasmuch as when they found wine and corn in the market, having obtained their wishes, they went on heedlessly in their sins, and despised God, as if they had no more need of his help. They then ran together for wine and corn; that is, as soon as they heard of wine or corn, they provided themselves with provisions, and afterwards neglected God. But this sense seems too frigid and strained. The Prophet then, I doubt not, opposes the running together of which he speaks, to true and sincere attention to prayer; as though he said, “They are not touched with grief for having offended me, though they see by evident proofs that I am displeased with them; they regard not my favor or my displeasure, provided they enjoy plenty of wine and corn: this satisfies them, and it is all the same with them whether I am adverse or propitious to them.” This seems to be the genuine meaning of the Prophet.
But that this reproof may be more evident, we must observe what Christ teaches, that we ought first to seek the kingdom of God. For men act strangely when they anxiously labour only for this life, and strive only to procure for themselves food, and what is needful for the wants of the flesh: we ever make a beginning here; and yet it is a most thoughtless anxiety, when we are so attentive to a frail life, and in the meantime neglect the kingdom of God. Inasmuch then as men by this perverted feeling derange the whole order of religion, the Prophet here shows that the Israelites did not truly and from the heart cry unto God, because they were only solicitous about wine and corn; for except when they were hungry, they despised God, and allowed him to rest quietly in heaven: hence penury and want constrained them. As brute beasts, when they are hungry, go to the stall, and seek not to be fed by the Lord; so also did the Israelites, when they were touched by some feeling of need; but at the same time they were contented with their wine and corn; nor had they any other God. Hence they so cried, that their voice did not come to God, as they did not indeed go really and directly to him. The Prophet then does here, by a particular instance, convict the Israelites of impious dissimulation, inasmuch as they did not seek God, but were only intent on food; and provided the stomach was well supplied, they neglected God, and desired not his favor, and only wished to have full barns and full cellars; for plenty of provisions, without the paternal favor of God, was their only desire. It is hence sufficiently evident that they did not cry to the Lord.
This place is worthy of being observed; for we here see that our prayers are faulty before God, if we begin with wine and bread, and seek not first the kingdom of God, that is, his glory; and if we apply not our minds to this — to live, so to have God propitious to us. When we go to Him, the fountain of divine blessing, God only desire to glut ourselves with the abundance of the good things which he has to bestow, then all our prayers are deservedly rejected by him. We see this to be the case with the Papists; when they present their supplications, they are wholly like animals. They indeed implore God for rain and for dry weather; but have they any desire of reconciling themselves to God? By no means; for they wish, as much as possible, to be at the farthest distance from him: but when want and famine constrain them, they then ask for rain, — for what purpose? only that they may abound in bread and wine. We ought then to preserve a legitimate order in our prayers. If the Lord shows to us proofs of his wrath, we must strive first to return into favor with him, and then his glory must be regarded by us, and he is to be sought with the real feeling of piety, that he may be a Father to us: and then may be added in their place the things which belong to the condition and preservation of the present life.
We must also notice what he adds, They have revolted from me The verb סור, sur, means, “to recede,” and also “to revolt;” and this second sense is the most suitable; for the Prophet said before that they had receded or departed from God; but now he seems to signify something more grievous, and that is, that they had revolted from God. Thus hypocrites, when they pretend to seek God in a circuitous course, betray their own revolt; for they are unwilling to be reconciled to him on the condition that they are to change for the better their life, to cast away the affections of the flesh, to renounce themselves and their depraved desires. These things they by no means seek. Hence then it becomes evident that they are witnesses to their own revolt, and also to dissimulation in their prayers, even when there is some appearance of piety. 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 They only seek their own commodity and wealth, and…
They only seek their own commodity and wealth, and pass not for me their God.
When they were in affliction, and cried out for pain, they sought not unto me for help.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Hos 7:14 And they have not cried unto me…
Hos 7:14 And they have not cried unto me with their heart, when they howled upon their beds: they assemble themselves for corn and wine, [and] they rebel against me.
Ver. 14. And they have not cried unto me with their heart] Hitherto hath been said what they had done; now what they had not done. Omissions are sins as well as commissions. Not serving of God, not sacrificing, is condemned, Mal 3:18 Ecc 9:2. Not robbing only, but the not relieving of the poor, was the rich man’s ruin, Luk 16:19. Omission of diet breeds diseases, and makes work for hell, or for the physician of our souls. It is the character of a graceless man, that he calleth not upon God; and we have too many of that profane Earl of Westmoreland’s mind, who said, that he needed not to pray at all, for he had tenants enough to pray for him. Some wicked pray (so as it is; indeed they cant, or charm, rather than pray; Isa 26:16, they poured forth a charm, לחשׁ when thy chastening was upon them), but they pray not with their heart. Their hearts are exercised with covetousness, 2Pe 2:14, and inhabited by the devil, Act 5:3. Simon Magus’ heart was not right with the Lord, Act 8:21. How could it be, when it was "in the gall of bitterness, and bond of perdition," Act 8:23, as every unregenerate heart is? Hence though God be near in their mouths, yet he is far from their reins, Jer 12:2; and though they honour him a little with their lips, yet their heart is far from him, Mat 15:8. A little artificial breath they can give God; and that is all. The breath that comes from life is warm (as that from the body), whereas artificial breath is cold, as that from bellows. The deeper and hollower the belly of the lute or viol the more pleasant is the sound; the fleeter, the more grating and harsh in our ears. The voice which is made in the mouth is nothing so sweet as that which comes from the depth of the breast. Eph 6:6, Do the will of God "from the heart": serve God "in the spirit," Rom 1:9. Lift up hands and hearts to God in the heavens, Lam 3:41. Lip labour is but lost labour, yea, it is sin, Pro 15:8. Displeasing service is double dishonour; as dissembled sanctity is double iniquity. These men cried vociferabantur, voce stentorea sonum edebant. They did set up their note, yea, they howled upon their beds, whereupon they had cast themselves, being sick, not of wantonness, as once Ahab was, but of want: which made them howl as dogs do when tied up from their meat and hunger bitten; but were no more regarded than a dog that howleth, or than the cuckoo in June. For what reason? They howled indeed to some tune (as they say), the Hebrew word hath a letter more than ordinary, to note as much (Jejelilu). {Hebrew Text Note} It was the heathen fashion to cry hideously to their gods; as also the Indians do to this day. So did these, because kept short, and held to strait allowance. It is said of the ravens of Arabia, that when they are hungry they screech horribly. And a parrot, when he is beaten, utters a hoarse and harsh voice. "The songs of the temple shall be howlings in that day," Amo 8:3; their sacrifices as the cutting off a dog’s neck, which is not done without much howling and yelling, Isa 66:3.
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They assemble themselves] sc. to make public supplication in their idol temples; called beds before (as some conceive), because as corporal fornication is committed in beds, so is spiritual in those places of superstition. Here therefore they met; not ad ruminandum (as the Vulgate Latin), to feed as beasts, nor to cut and lance themselves as Baal’s priests did (as the Septuagint, κατετεμνοντο), and the heathens in great afflictions, Deu 14:1. But to howl for wheat, for provender, for daily allowance of food, as now the Papists do in their sacra Ambarvalia; and as of old the Pagans did in extreme famine, or other public calamity: Inops Senatus auxilii humani ad Deos populum et vota convertit: omnia delubra implent (Liv. lib. 3). But as the grasshopper hops not much above the earth, and as vapours exhaled and drawn up by the sun do soon fall down again; so do drossy and earthy hearts in prayers, they seldom rise above grain and wine in their desires. Si ventri bene, si lateri, as Epicurus in Horace. If the belly may be filled, the back fitted, their own turns served, it is enough to them, whose belly is their god, and who mind earthly things only. Which when they have once got, then they rebel against me, they consume it upon their lust, Jas 4:2, and so fight against God with his own weapons, as Jehu did against Jehoram with his own men; they abuse their store to his dishonour; like grain fed cattle, they kick against their master; or as the young mule, that when she hath sucked her fill, kicks her dam; or as the wild ass, that snuffs up the wind, and cannot be taken. Or, secondly, they rebel after they have assembled themselves, and made a show of no small devotion; when once the duty is over they go to their old courses again, and undo all their prayers, as Jer 5:3, as if, now they had prayed, they had purchased a license to live as they wish. Whereas duties should mightily engage us against sin, and deliverances command obedience.
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 And they, immersed in these troubles. taken in the…
And they, immersed in these troubles. taken in the net, have not cried unto me; either they cried to their idols, not to God, see Hos 7:7; or else their tongues made noise, their hearts were silent, and that is, in God’s account, no cry at all.
With their heart; with affection, hope, humility, and sincerity; but out of some trouble, and more fear, they cried out to be delivered out of their pain and fear; it is therefore elegantly and properly called howling: though they did thus howl, yet they prayed not, they did not pour out a supplication to their God.
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Upon their beds; on their couches, or in their chambers.
They assemble, in the houses of their idols, for corn and wine; that they may have plenty of these to satisfy their appetite, to live luxuriously, and in jollity.
They rebel against me; as in the use of these to excess, so in this manner of seeking these, they rebel against God, and give that honour to the idol which is due only to God.
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 And they have not cried unto me with their…
And they have not cried unto me with their heart,.... In their distress, indeed, they cried unto the Lord, and said they repented of their sins, and promised reformation, and made a show of worshipping God; as invocation is sometimes put for the whole worship of God; but then this was not heartily, but hypocritically; their hearts and their mouths did not go together, and therefore was not reckoned prayer; nothing but howling, as follows:
when they howled upon their beds; lying sick or wounded there; or, as some, in their idol temples, those beds of adultery, where they pretended to worship God by them, and to pray to him through them; but such idolatrous prayers were no better than the howlings of clogs to him; even though they expressed outwardly their cries with great vehemency, as the word used denotes, having one letter more in it than common:
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they assemble themselves for corn and wine: either at their banquets, to feast upon them, as Aben Ezra; or to the markets, to buy them, as Kimchi suggests; or rather to their idol temples, to deprecate a famine, and to pray for rain and fruitful seasons; or if they gather together to pray to the Lord, it is only for carnal and worldly things; they only seek themselves, and their own interest, and not the glory of God, and ask for these things, to consume them on their lust. The Septuagint version is, "for corn and wine they were cut", or cut themselves, as Baal's priests did, when they cried to him, Kg1 18:28; and Theodoret here observes, that they performed the Heathen rites, and in idol temples made incisions on their bodies:
and they rebel against me: not only flee from him transgress his laws but cast off all allegiance to him and take up arms, and commit hostilities against him. The Targum joins this with the preceding clause,
"because of the multitude of corn and wine which they have gathered they have rebelled against my word;''
and to the same sense Jarchi; thus, Jeshurun waxed fat and kicked.
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 They assembled - In the houses of their idols.
They assembled - In the houses of their idols.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 14. They have not cried unto me with…
Verse 14. They have not cried unto me with their heart] They say they have sought me, but could not find me; that they have cried unto me, but I did not answer. I know they have cried, yea, howled; but could I hear them when all was forced and hypocritical, not one sigh coming from their heart?
They assemble themselves for corn and wine] In dearth and famine they call and howl: but they assemble themselves, not to seek ME, but to invoke their false gods for corn and wine.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain And they have not cried unto him with their…
And they have not cried unto him with their heart, when they howled upon their beds - Or, in the present time, “they cry not unto Me when they howl.” They did “cry,” and, it may be, they “cried” even “unto God.” At least, the prophet does not deny that they cried to God at all; only, he says, that they did “not cry to” Him “with their heart.” Their cries were wrung from them by their temporal distresses, and ended in them, not in God. There was no sincerity in their hearts, no change in their doings. Their cry was a mere howling. The secret complaint of the heart is a loud cry in the ears of God. The impetuous “cry” of impatient and unconverted suffering is a mere brutish “howling.” Their heart was set wholly on their earthly needs; it did not thank God for giving them good things, nor cry to Him truly when He withheld them.
But, it may be, that the prophet means also to contrast the acts of the ungodly, private and public, amid distress, with those of the godly. The godly man implores God in public and in private. The prayer on the “bed,” expresses the private prayer of the soul to God, when, the world being shut out, it is alone with Him. In place of this, there was the “howling,” as people toss fretfully and angrily on their beds, roar for pain; but, instead of complaining “to” God, complain “of” Him, and are angry, not with themselves, but with God. In place of the public prayer and humiliation, there was a mere tumultuous assembly, in which they clamored “for grain and wine,” and “rebelled against God. They assemble themselves;” (literally, “they gather themselves tumultuously together). They rebel against Me ;” (literally, “they turn aside against Me”). They did not only (as it is expressed elsewhere) “turn aside “from” God.” “They turn aside against Me,” He says, flying, as it were, in the very face of God. This “tumultuous assembly” was either some stormy civil debate, how to obtain the grain and wine which God withheld, or a tumultuous clamoring to their idols and false gods, like that of the priests of Baal, when arrayed against Elijah on Mount Carmel; whereby they removed the further from God’s law, and rebelled with a high hand against Him.
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: What is to “cry to the Lord,” but to long for the Lord? But if anyone multiply prayers, crying and weeping as he may, yet not with any intent to gain God Himself, but to obtain some earthly or passing thing, he cannot truly be said to “cry unto the Lord,” i. e., so to cry that his cry should come to the hearing of the Lord. This is a cry like Esau’s, who sought no other fruit from his father’s blessing, save to be rich and powerful in this world. When then He saith, “They cried not to Me in their heart, etc.,” He means, they were not devoted to Me, their heart was not right with Me; they sought not Myself, but things of Mine. They howled, desiring only things for the belly, and seeking not to have Me. Thus they belong not to “the generation of those who seek the Lord, who seek the face of the God of Jacob” Psa 24:6, but to the generation of Esau.”
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 Thought: "ruminated." (Haydock) --- Hebrew, "assembled, or been afraid."…
Thought: "ruminated." (Haydock) --- Hebrew, "assembled, or been afraid." Septuagint, "they were cut," (Calmet) in honour of idols, hoping to avert the famine. (St. Cyril)
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 not cried unto me--but unto other gods [MAURER], (Job…
not cried unto me--but unto other gods [MAURER], (Job 35:9-10). Or, they did indeed cry unto Me, but not "with their heart": answering to "lies," Hos 7:13 (see on Hos 7:13).
when they howled upon their beds--sleepless with anxiety; image of deep affliction. Their cry is termed "howling," as it is the cry of anguish, not the cry of repentance and faith.
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assemble . . . for corn, &c.--namely in the temples of their idols, to obtain from them a good harvest and vintage, instead of coming to Me, the true Giver of these (Hos 2:5, Hos 2:8, Hos 2:12), proving that their cry to God was "not with their heart."
rebel against me--literally, "withdraw themselves against Me," that is, not only withdraw from Me, but also rebel against Me.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 14. with their heart, when they howled] Rather, in…
14. with their heart, when they howled] Rather, in their heart, but they howl. The prophet contrasts the quiet communion of the heart with Jehovah and the wild-beastlike ‘howling’ of the impenitent Israelites, who murmur at the withdrawal of material blessings. Comp. Isa_24:11.
they assemble themselves] i.e. to lament together in their affliction. But the rendering is doubtful. Ewald, better, ‘they excite themselves’ (or, are inwardly moved). But it is much more natural to suppose that Daleth has become altered into Resh, and that we should read differently. Render therefore, with the Septuagint and some Hebrew MSS., they cut themselves. It is an allusion to a well-known sign of mourning, forbidden indeed by the Law (Deu_14:1; Lev_19:28; Lev_21:5), but habitually practised in Palestine (Jer_16:6; Jer_41:5; Jer_47:5; Jer_48:37), and still noticeable in the time of St Jerome (comm. on Jer_16:6).
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 (14) Cried . . . Howled—God discriminates between a…
(14) Cried . . . Howled—God discriminates between a heart-cry to Him, and a howl of despair, resembling the yell of a wild beast. A howl upon their bed is not a sob of true repentance.
They assemble themselves.—To supplicate Jehovah for fruitful harvests. This rendering is supported by several eminent authorities. Others follow Ewald in translating,” they excite themselves” with dervish-like devices and cries. The LXX. render with great force, “they cut themselves.” (Comp. 1Ki_18:28; Deu_14:1; Jer_16:6.) This is based on a slightly different reading, contained in some of Kennicott’s and De Rossi’s MSS., which is not improbably the right one. The charge is that all their simulated penitence is to secure physical comforts, not to show conformity with the Divine will.
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 And they have not cried unto me with their…
And they have not cried unto me with their heart, when they howled upon their beds. This clause may be more correctly rendered, They did not cry to me in their heart, but howl upon their beds. Their falsehood manifested itself in works as well as words; a practical example is here given. They did not, in reality, seek help from God; if they sought at all, it was insincerely. They cried to God, but that cry did not proceed from their heart. They gave vent to their feelings of distress by howlings upon their beds; but those howlings were the expression of unbelief and despair, not by any means evidences of faith. "They do not cry to me," says Aben Ezra, "as the sick man cries to the physician." The comment of Kimchi is still fuller and more explicit: "They have not cried to me in their heart, because of their notion that I do not see their cry nor know what is good or bad for them; but they howl upon their beds, i.e. when they are upon their bed and when they think of that misfortune which is coming upon them. They howl and weep because of their evil case, and do not think that the evil falls on them from me, because they have broken faith with me." The form of Wliliyey is correctly explained by Gesenius as future Hiph. with preformative put before the third person, the yod of the simple form being superficially taken to belong to the stem. His derivation from lae, God, as if a cry to him for help, is incorrect; it is really an onomatopoetic word. They assemble themselves for corn and wine, and they rebel against me. What this
(1) assembling of themselves was does not clearly appear; whether it was in the market-place or elsewhere to purchase corn in time of famine, as some think; or in idol-temples to propitiate their deities, like the Roman supplicatio or lectiosternium, as others suppose; or for the performance of some extra rite of worship to Jehovah; or for the purpose of plunder in a season of scarcity; or generally their assembling in knots and crowds to discuss anxiously and lament despairingly the distressed state of the country; their chief design and highest aim being a good supply of corn and wine, that is, the supply of mere bodily wants.
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(2) The LXX seem to have read wddgtyw, as their rendering is katetemnonto , equivalent to "they cut themselves," or" pined for corn and wine;" corresponding to which rendering is Cyril"s exposition: "As enthusiasts and fanatics making incisions with steel in their breasts and both hands, and absurdly all but shedding in sacrifice their own blood, perhaps to graven images.
(3) Jerome, taking the verb from rrG, to ruminate, translates accordingly: "super triticum et vinum ruminabant.
(4) The Syriac, tracing it to rWg, to be afraid, translates: "They feared (or, were fearfully anxious) about corn and wine." The common reading and rendering are clearly preferable; Kimchi"s exposition is in harmony therewith: "When corn or new wine comes into the city for sale, they all assemble at (or, round) it on account of the famine which is in the city; and yet they fall away from me." The construction of the last clause is pregnant, that is
(1) "they turn aside (and turn) against me." Here, again
(2) the LXX seem to have read WrsWyi, to which their translation, epaideuyhsan en emoi , equivalent to "they were instructed by me," corresponds.
Useless prayers.
Two instances in Scripture of true repentance at the point of death. Manasseh in the Old Testament, the dying thief in the New Testament. These save from despair, yet are too few to allow any to presume on them, Four characteristics of the useless prayer mentioned in the text,
I IT IS A DEFERRED PRAYER. "On their beds." In health and strength the idols had been worshipped. Now death seemed near, the Name of Jehovah was on the trembling lip. Mercifully, delay is not of itself sufficient to make a cry to God useless. David lingered in sin till Nathan rebuked him. The prodigal dwelt in the far country till all was gone, etc. Still it is perilous to defer any known duty, most of all that of coming to God.
II IT IS AN INSINCERE PRAYER. "They have not cried unto me with their heart." This fact would make any prayer useless. "God is a Spirit, and they that worship him must worship him in spirit, and in truth." Compare the prayers of the Pharisees" m the temple or the street with those of publicans and sinners. (Mat_6:7 Mat_6:15, etc.)
III IT IS A DESPERATE PRAYER, "They howled upon their beds." The agony of paint or the dread of meeting God, not the consciousness of sin, caused this. Repentance is not the dread of sin"s punishment, but the turning from sin because of its sinfulness. Contrast the cry of the condemned criminal with the prayer of the dying Christian. Depict, for example, the death of Stephen, and the utterance of Paul about his departure. (1Ti_6:6)
IV IT IS UNAVAILING. The unreality of the prayer was seen in the subsequent conduct of those who offered it. This is described in the next clause. No sooner were they restored to health than "they assembled for corn and wine," i.e. went back to the old revelries and forgetfulness. How many have dealt thus with God I Brought back from the gates of death, the spared life is no more sober, devout, and holy than the past. Let us beware lest we harden ourselves through the deceitfulness of sin. If, of those restored, so small a proportion prove that the prayers and vows in illness were genuine and availing, how can we indulge much hope of those whose future is not in time but in eternity?
In view of this solemn subject:
1. Urge Christians to speak faithfully to sinners in the day of health.
2. Urge sinners to come humbly to the Savior in the day of hope. A.R.
Failure to cry unto the Lord.
As a child in trouble calls aloud upon his father for help, as a soldier in danger calls upon a comrade for succor, so sinful, feeble, helpless man calls upon his God for deliverance and consolation, and does not call in vain. The guilt and folly of Israel was great in sinning, but far greater in neglecting to call upon the Lord with the heart. It appears when it is considered that this duty was neglected
I ALTHOUGH CIRCUMSTANCES MIGHT HAVE IMPELLED TO SUCH AN INVOCATION, Many a time had Israel been afflicted, and her afflictions were intended in mercy to drive her to the God she had forsaken. No one of us has been without occasion, urgent and distressing occasion, to seek God. Providence has not left us without the inducement, furnished by great straits and sore needs, to seek the God of salvation.
II ALTHOUGH NO OTHER REFUGE OR HELPER COULD BE FOUND. Israel was ever seeking safety by heathen alliances, by the policy of diplomacy, or by the might of arms. Yet events constantly taught the unwisdom of such recourse to human aid. It is well when the soul is led to exclaim, "Beside thee there is none else;" "To whom shall I go, but unto thee?
III ALTHOUGH ENCOURAGED BY THE CHARACTER AND THE PROMISES OF THE DIVINE HELPER. AS in the history of Israel, so through all time, the great Ruler has revealed himself as the great Deliverer. To us as Christians this revelation is especially plain and effective; for in Jesus we see the salvation of the Eternal." If it be hard to cry upon a God who is known to us only as a just and almighty Judge, surely it is not hard to call upon a God who has come to us in the person of his Son, full of "grace and truth.
IV ALTHOUGH THE VANITY IS APPARENT OF CALLING UPON THE LORD ONLY WITH THE LIPS. We have only to consider our own spiritual nature, and to remember that God is a Spirit, in order to feel the absurdity and uselessness of offering to Heaven the homage of the lips, and withholding the reverence, the faith, the aspirations of the heart, Ye shall find the Lord, if with all your heart ye truly seek him. 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 Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain They have not cried unto Me with their heart,…
Hos_7:14
They have not cried unto Me with their heart, when they howled upon their beds.
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Death-bed repentance
When called to encounter dangers, every possible precaution should be taken beforehand. Seasons of peril and distress often wring from the most hardened expressions of sorrow and remorse. These are to be attributed, for the most part, to the alarming perplexity in which they are involved, and differ widely from the heart-felt supplications of the humble and contrite. The procrastinating sinner cannot delude the all-seeing God by his selfish attempt to palm off these shrieks of a terrified soul for the sincere sorrow of the penitent. There are few persons so hardened in guilt as not to promise themselves some season of amendment; and, strange as it may appear, a death bed repentance is that upon which they rely.
1. The grand motive which should influence the sinner in turning to God is love to the kind and gracious Father, who has so long borne with his waywardness, and a sincere desire to promote His glory.
2. A reliance on a death-bed repentance implies a doubt of the declarations of the Bible, that God expects us to walk before Him during the days of our earthly pilgrimage in holiness and righteousness. God commands us, most explicitly, to work while it is day, and reminds us of an hour when the Master of the house, having closed the door, all applications for admission, no matter how loud or importunate, will be in vain.
3. It is a prominent feature in the great plan of redemption that we should openly acknowledge our allegiance to God by becoming a member of His Church; and by a holy life and heavenly conversation adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour. If all should look to a death-bed repentance to fit them for heaven, what a prospect the world would present!
4. In these enlightened days, it would be difficult to find one within the limits of civilised life, who had not repeatedly heard of the offers of mercy, through the merits of a crucified Saviour. The world, however, has presented too many charms; business completely engrossed his thoughts; the care of providing for the mere earthly wants of a family engaged too much of his time to leave any for the concerns of his soul. If the thought arises, When shall I prepare for my final account? the devil stands ready to suggest that a few hours of prayer on a death-bed will be preparation enough. And the careless worldling listens most readily to the sly tempters advice. (John N. Norton.)
Insufficiency and hypocrisy of death-bed remorse
That religion can never be genuine and saving, lasting and happy, which is not the religion of the heart. By the heart is meant that which universal custom has attached to the term, namely, the choice, the affections, the pleasures, the sincerity of the soul. Religion must be our chosen portion, our beloved employ, our chief delight, our sincere and real character. There is a radical deficiency, an utter worthlessness in the religion that does not reach and possess and penetrate the heart. It is a mere name, a mere form, a mere pretence, a mere delusion. Nothing short of Divine grace can plant religion in the heart. There is in the carnal mind of man an aversion to genuine religion. The renewing of the mind is therefore plainly essential to true godliness. All means must in themselves be insufficient to produce genuine religion.
I. The deep and awful impressions often produced on the minds of sinners by the apparently near approach of death. They howled upon their beds. The word howled imports the violence of all their emotions and cries and protestations; rage mingled with their terror.
1. At such a time the soul is awakened.
2. As the natural result of the awakening of the soul it is filled with terror.
3. Now the soul of such an awakened sufferer is filled with tormenting regrets and self-upbraidings for past folly, neglect, and wicked ness.
4. Resolutions of repentance and reformation, if life should but be spared, are often most violently expressed; and no more perhaps is said than is at the moment meant. But such resolutions often betray the sufferers ignorance of the treachery, corruption, and weakness of his own heart.
II. Frequently such terrors are unaccompanied by any change of heart, and the professions and resolutions made under such circumstances are often hypocritical. Afflictions are, indeed, the established means by which God awakens the careless, slumbering souls of men to an effectual saving sense of Divine things. The man who makes death-bed professions is often more deluded than those Whom he addresses.
III. Found on these considerations an argument to enforce serious attention to the solemn affairs of the soul during the period of health and ease. Man is a being so constituted and circumstanced by his Maker that it becomes his duty and interest to carry forward his Views to the future, and to make a timely provision for it. Religion makes great use of this reasonable principle of our nature. Here is the greatest need, the highest exercise for a wise providence in preparing for futurity. We must die. Take that statement to include all that inseparably attends and follows death. With such a prospect before us can we with any wisdom, with any safety, defer to the last critical hour the great work of preparation for an event so awful and momentous? (A. W.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain Hos_7:14. Cried] in anguish, not in penitence. Howled] in…
CRITICAL NOTES.—
Hos_7:14. Cried] in anguish, not in penitence. Howled] in deep affliction and despair. Assemble] Crowd together in idol temple to deprecate famine and depart from God. Rebel] Lit. withdraw themselves. Against] From me; they cast off all allegiance to God.
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HOMILETICS
THE HOWLING OF DISTRESS.—Hos_7:14
If the sinner will not take warning, but madly rush on, he must take the consequence of his folly. But when sorrow and punishment come upon him, he frets and cries to God in distress. When Israel suffered, they wept for their sins. God reproves them; they should have turned to him before. It is often too late to repent when the deed is done.
I. Men are often in great distress. Suffering of some kind we cannot avoid; it is incident to our mortal state. The ills that flesh is heir to are many. But sin brings suffering; neglect of Divine warnings brings Divine chastisement.
1. Men often lack the necessities of life. “Corn and wine” are not always given, often in justice withheld, and then famine results. The Irish famine through failure of potatoes created great distress. The luxuries and the necessities are taken away to humble our pride, punish our sin, and teach us dependence upon God. “The Lord gave” is the language of Scripture; that of atheism and pride, “My own hand hath gotten me this wealth” (Deu_8:17). Heathens even acknowledged God as “the Giver of good things.” He has the right to withdraw at his pleasure. God’s hand must be seen in losses as well as gains. “The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away.”
2. Men are often put on beds of affliction. “They howled upon their beds.” Active energetic persons are confined to their habitations, thrown helpless on their beds, and led to cry for mercy. Many have wearisome nights and days; bitter pains and sorrows; then they cry for mercy in sickness, which they despised in health. Their punishment is greater than they can bear. A sick bed is a place of trial and a school of discipline.
II. Men cry to God in great distress. In prosperity and freedom they are right enough. Even beasts do not utter their cry when they have food. But how natural to feel and complain under severe suffering! It is not palatable to reap the reward of our own doings. Hence—
1. Men cry, but it is not the cry of penitence. It is the howling of anguish; the cry of despair; mere noise without spiritual feeling.
2. They cry to God. Like the atheist on the Ægean Sea, they may forget or ridicule the idea of God in calm and sunshine. When the storms come they change their creed and cry to their God. Men may live without God, but they never want to suffer or die without him. “Then they cry unto the Lord in their trouble.”
3. Their cry is insincere. (a) It is not from the heart. “They have not cried unto me with their heart.” Their tears were wrung from them on account of distress and not sin. Their hearts were not set on God, and they could not pray unto him. The howling of the ancient heathen or the modern Indian is not true devotion. The prayer from a sense of pain and want is not the prayer of “a broken and contrite spirit,” which is acceptable to God.
Pleads he in earnest? look upon his face:
His eyes do drop no tears, his prayers are in jest;
His words come from his mouth, ours from our breast:
He prays but faintly, and would be denied:
We pray with heart and soul, and all beside.
(b) Their cry is public clamour. “They assemble themselves,” gather tumultuously together, to join in stormy debate or clamour to their gods. They thought more of corn and wine than pardon of sin and peace with God. Men are more anxious for the body than the soul, and when deprived of the blessings of this life fret and murmur against God.
4. Their cry ended in rebellion. “They rebel against me,” turn away from God, and then turn round to insult him to his face. This proved the insincerity of their prayer. Sanctified afflictions improve and wean from the world; unsanctified afflictions harden and lead to ungodliness. The iron when heated by the fire is soft and flexible, but afterwards goes hard and cold. When God slays men, then they seek him, return and inquire early after him. When restored they forget their vows and prayers, and live in estrangement from him. “For all this they sinned still, and believed not for his wondrous works” (Psa_78:32; Psa_78:34).
ILLUSTRATIONS TO CHAPTER 7
Hos_7:14. Cried. Many have been greatly afflicted and cried to God; been humbled, yet not made humble; humbled by force in their outward condition, but not humbled in their inward temper. “But when the sickness has passed away, the sweetness of the forbidden fruit again comes to mind; and as the dog returneth to his vomit,”—to the food which had caused his sickness,—“so a fool returneth to his folly” [Bridge].
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 General Information:
General Information:
Yahweh is speaking.
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they wail on their beds
It was usual for idol worshipers to eat ceremonial meals while reclining on couches or beds.
they turn away from me
Here no longer worshiping God is spoken of as turning away from him. AT: "they no longer worship me" (See: Metaphor)
Though I trained them and strengthened their arms
This may be a military metaphor, in which God training the Israelites to love him and obey him is spoken of as if he had been training their men for war. (See: Metaphor)
translationWords
heart
grain
wine
turn
evil
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 7:14 They cut themselves: Self-mutilation was characteristic of Canaanite…
7:14 They cut themselves: Self-mutilation was characteristic of Canaanite worship (see 1 Kgs 18:28); it was prohibited in Israel (Deut 14:1).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.