a house (in the greatest variation of applications · preposition + noun, common masculine singular construct
Israel
יִשְׂרָאֵ֔לYis.ra.'El
H3478
Jisrael · proper noun, a place name
whoredom
זְנ֣וּתze.Nut
H2184
adultery · noun, common feminine singular absolute
Ephraim
לְאֶפְרַ֔יִםle.'ef.Ra.yim
H669
Ephrajim · preposition + proper noun, a man's name
Israel
יִשְׂרָאֵֽלYis.ra.'El
H3478
Jisrael · proper noun, a place name
defiled
נִטְמָ֖אnit.Ma'
H2930
to be foul · verb, niphal perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Hosea 5:3 I know Ephraim, and Israel is not hid from me: for now, O Ephraim, thou committest whoredom, and Israel is defiled.
Jeremiah 23:14 I have seen also in the prophets of Jerusalem an horrible thing: they commit adultery, and walk in lies: they strengthen also the hands of e…
Jeremiah 3:6 The LORD said also unto me in the days of Josiah the king, Hast thou seen that which backsliding Israel hath done? she is gone up upon every…
Jeremiah 5:30-31 A wonderful and horrible thing is committed in the land;
Ezekiel 23:5 And Aholah played the harlot when she was mine; and she doted on her lovers, on the Assyrians her neighbours,
1 Kings 12:8 But he forsook the counsel of the old men, which they had given him, and consulted with the young men that were grown up with him, and which…
1 Kings 15:30 Because of the sins of Jeroboam which he sinned, and which he made Israel sin, by his provocation wherewith he provoked the LORD God of Isra…
2 Kings 17:7 For so it was, that the children of Israel had sinned against the LORD their God, which had brought them up out of the land of Egypt, from u…
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Hosea 6:4–end
Two things, two evil things, both Judah and Ephraim are here charged with, and justly accused of: -
I. That they were not firm to their own convictions, but were unsteady, unstable as water, Hos 6:4, Hos 6:5. O Ephraim! what shall I do unto thee? O Judah! what shall I do unto thee? This is a strange expression. Can Infinite Wisdom be at a loss what to do? Can it be nonplussed, or put upon taking new measures? By no means; but God speaks after the manner of men, to show how absurd and unreasonable they were, and how just his proceedings against them were. Let them not complain of him as harsh and severe in tearing them, and smiting them, as he has done; for what else should he do? What other…
horrible thing-- (Jer 5:30; Jer 18:13; Jer 23:14).
whoredom--idolatry.
Adam Clarke on Hosea 6:10
I have seen a horrible thing - That is, the idolatry that prevailed in Israel to such a degree that the whole land was defiled.
John Gill on Hosea 6:10
I have seen an horrible thing in the house of Israel,.... Idolatry, the calves set up at Dan and Bethel, which God saw with abhorrence and detestation; or the prophet saw it, and it made his hair stand on end as it were, as the word (g) signifies, that such wickedness should be committed by a professing people:
there is the whoredom of Ephraim; in the house of Israel is the whoredom of Jeroboam, who was of the tribe of Ephraim, and caused Israel to sin, to go a whoring after idols; or the whoredom of the tribe of Ephraim, which belonged to the house of Israel, and even of all the ten tribes; both corporeal and spiritual whoredom, or idolatry, are here meant:
Israel is defiled; with whoredo…
In the house of Israel, I saw dreadful things; there were the fornications of Ephraim, Israel is defiled; and, Judah, I will put a harvest for you, when I will return the captivity of my people. From this crime and terrible horror, Jeremiah also spoke: "The heavens were astounded at this and the earth became deeply afraid" (Jeremiah 2). For what is more terrible than ten tribes suddenly turning to the worship of idols? Where it is said to their metropolis, "Take away your calf, Samaria, in which Ephraim first fornicated," that is, Jeroboam of the tribe of Ephraim, and by his fornication, Israel was defiled, namely the people of Samaria, who obtained for the most part the common name of Israel. Hence the speech is also turned to Judah: "You too, Judah, set up your harvest," and the sense is, "Do not think yourself secure because Israel is led away captive; prepare your crops, so that they can be harvested; for not long after, you yourself will be led captive to Babylon, and the time of your harvest will come." And when the Chaldeans cut you down, I will bring back the captivity of my people and under Cyrus the king of Persia and Artaxerxes will I lead back my people. And observe how significantly the captivity and the return of Judah is prophesied; but of Israel, that is, of the ten tribes, it is now silent, although when something prosperous is said, the advent of Christ is deferred. And in the house of the heretics, we see horrible things every day: first the masters fornicate, and the people who are led by them are defiled. It is also commanded to the Jews, that is, to the Church, that he himself should prepare, because of sins, his own harvest or vintage, when the time of judgment comes. But to him forgiveness is granted, and the Lord promises pardon, because he whom he loves he rebukes, and chastises every son whom he receives, to establish the proven and cleansed in his treasures. Some refer to what is said, "Juda, begin your harvest," or "put your harvest for yourself," in a good way, so that after Israel is punished, he may receive the fruit of his deeds according to what is written: "Those who sow in tears shall reap in joy" (Psalm 126: 5). We prefer a higher level of perception.
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
on Hosea 6:10–end
Hosea 6:10-11
10. I have seen an horrible thing in the house of Israel: there is the whoredom of Ephraim, Israel is defiled.
10. In domo Israel vidi flagitium, illic scortatio Ephraim, pollutus est Israel.
11. Also, O Judah, he hath set an harvest for thee, when I returned the captivity of my people.
11. Etiam Jehudah posuit messem (vel, plantam) tibi, dum ego reduco captivitatem populi mei (vel, in reducendo me, ad verbum, captivitatem populi mei.)
Here God declares that he is the fit judge to take cognizance of the vices of Israel; and this he does, that he might cut off the handle of vain excuses, which hypocrites often adduce when they are reproved. Who indeed can at this day persua…
In these crimes the priests take the lead. Like highway robbers, they form themselves into gangs for the purpose of robbing travellers and putting them to death. חכּי, so written instead of חכּה (Ewald, 16, b), is an irregularly formed infinitive for חכּות (Ewald, 238, e). 'Ish gedūdı̄m, a man of fighting-bands, i.e., in actual fact a highway robber, who lies in wait for travellers.
(Note: The first hemistich has been entirely misunderstood by the lxx, who have confounded כּחכּי with כּחך, and rendered the clause καὶ ἡ Ἰσχύς ἀνδρὸς πειρατοῦ· ἔκρυψαν (חבו or חבאו instead of חבר) ἱερεῖς ὁδόν. Jerome has also rendered כחכי strangely, et quasi fauces (כּחכּי) virorum latronum parti…
something horrible: The prophet uses this rare word (also in Jer 18:13) to describe the depth of Israel’s sin in breaking God’s covenant and betraying his trust.
Rashi on Hosea 6:10
a horrible thing Heb. שַׁעֲרוּרִיָה. Jonathan renders this as an expression of change, for they changed their way, and so: (Jer. 5:20) “an appalling and horrible thing (שֲעֲרוּרָה).”
