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The Prophets · Old Testament

Hosea 8

Hosea 8: the trumpet, the calf of Samaria and the whirlwind

General context

"Set the trumpet to thy mouth." One will come "as an eagle against the house of the Lord" because they have transgressed the covenant and law. Israel will cry, "My God, we know thee," but has cast off the good, and the enemy will pursue. They have set up kings and princes without the Lord, and made idols of silver and gold. "Thy calf, O Samaria, hath cast thee off"; the workman made it, "therefore it is not God," and it will be broken in pieces. "They have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind"; the stalk yields no meal, and what it yields strangers swallow. Israel is swallowed up and will be among the Gentiles "as a vessel wherein is no pleasure." They have gone up to Assyria, "a wild ass alone by himself," and Ephraim has hired lovers. Though they hire among the nations, the speaker will gather them, and they will "sorrow a little for the burden of the king of princes." Ephraim has made many altars to sin. "I have written to him the great things of my law, but they were counted as a strange thing." They sacrifice and eat, but the Lord does not accept; he will remember their iniquity, and "they shall return to Egypt." Israel has forgotten his Maker and built temples, Judah has multiplied fenced cities, and the speaker will send fire on his cities to devour the palaces.

Cited passages: Hosea 8:1, Hosea 8:2, Hosea 8:3, Hosea 8:4, Hosea 8:5, Hosea 8:6, Hosea 8:7, Hosea 8:8, Hosea 8:9, Hosea 8:10, Hosea 8:11, Hosea 8:12, Hosea 8:13, Hosea 8:14

Hosea 8 (KJV)

1Set the trumpet to thy mouth. He shall come as an eagle against the house of the Lord, because they have transgressed my covenant, and trespassed against my law.

2Israel shall cry unto me, My God, we know thee.

3Israel hath cast off the thing that is good: the enemy shall pursue him.

4They have set up kings, but not by me: they have made princes, and I knew it not: of their silver and their gold have they made them idols, that they may be cut off.

5Thy calf, O Samaria, hath cast thee off; mine anger is kindled against them: how long will it be ere they attain to innocency?

6For from Israel was it also: the workman made it; therefore it is not God: but the calf of Samaria shall be broken in pieces.

7For they have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind: it hath no stalk: the bud shall yield no meal: if so be it yield, the strangers shall swallow it up.

8Israel is swallowed up: now shall they be among the Gentiles as a vessel wherein is no pleasure.

9For they are gone up to Assyria, a wild ass alone by himself: Ephraim hath hired lovers.

10Yea, though they have hired among the nations, now will I gather them, and they shall sorrow a little for the burden of the king of princes.

11Because Ephraim hath made many altars to sin, altars shall be unto him to sin.

12I have written to him the great things of my law, but they were counted as a strange thing.

13They sacrifice flesh for the sacrifices of mine offerings, and eat it; but the Lord accepteth them not; now will he remember their iniquity, and visit their sins: they shall return to Egypt.

14For Israel hath forgotten his Maker, and buildeth temples; and Judah hath multiplied fenced cities: but I will send a fire upon his cities, and it shall devour the palaces thereof.

This page shows the King James Version. In the app, reading opens in the Berean Standard Bible unless you have chosen another translation. The reader includes five translations: the Berean Standard Bible (BSB), the King James Version (KJV), the World English Bible (WEB), the Bible in Basic English (BBE), and the American Standard Version (ASV). Search covers three of them: Berean Standard, King James, and World English. Basic English and American Standard readers search the King James words.

Historical context

The one who comes "as an eagle" is not named; the verse gives the reason, covenant and law transgressed, not the identity. The kings and princes set up "not by me" are unnamed. Samaria's calf is named as the object the chapter attacks, and the text's argument against it is that "the workman made it." Two foreign destinations appear: Israel has "gone up to Assyria," and yet "they shall return to Egypt"; the text does not reconcile the two beyond stating both. "The king of princes" is a title without a name. Ephraim "hath hired lovers," and the next verse says the hiring is "among the nations"; chapter 2 never named the lovers. Verse 12 says the Lord has "written to him the great things of my law," a claim of written law that the chapter does not describe further. Judah appears only in the last verse, with fenced cities. The speaker shifts between "my covenant" and the third person "the Lord accepteth them not" in verse 13; no other speaker is marked. No date and no occasion are given.

Cited passages: Hosea 8:1, Hosea 8:4, Hosea 8:6, Hosea 8:9, Hosea 8:13, Hosea 8:10, Hosea 8:12, Hosea 8:14

Literary context

The trumpet opens the chapter as it opened the alarm in 5:8, "Blow ye the cornet in Gibeah, and the trumpet in Ramah." Israel's claim "we know thee" is set against the book's earlier findings that there is "no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land" and that "they have not known the Lord." The sowing proverb moves from wind to whirlwind to a stalk with no meal, and "swallow" carries over from verse 7 to verse 8, where Israel itself is swallowed. Verse 11 turns a phrase back on itself, altars "to sin" becoming altars "to sin." Return to Egypt in verse 13 reverses the memory in 2:15 of the day "when she came up out of the land of Egypt." The chapter ends with builders, temples and fenced cities, and a fire that devours palaces, so human construction is the last thing named before judgment. Idols made "of their silver and their gold" in verse 4 repeat what 2:8 said of silver and gold prepared for Baal.

Cited passages: Hosea 8:1, Hosea 5:8, Hosea 8:2, Hosea 4:1, Hosea 5:4, Hosea 8:7, Hosea 8:8, Hosea 8:11, Hosea 2:15, Hosea 8:14, Hosea 8:4, Hosea 2:8

Key moments

  1. Trumpet and eagle (Hosea 8:1). A trumpet is ordered as one comes like an eagle against the house of the Lord.
  2. My God, we know thee (Hosea 8:2). Israel is quoted claiming to know God while casting off the good.
  3. Kings not by me (Hosea 8:4). They set up kings and princes without the Lord and make idols of silver and gold.
  4. The calf of Samaria (Hosea 8:6). The calf was made by a workman, is not God, and will be broken in pieces.
  5. Sow the wind, reap the whirlwind (Hosea 8:7). The sowing yields no meal, and strangers swallow whatever it yields.
  6. Law counted a strange thing (Hosea 8:12). The Lord has written the great things of his law, and they treat it as strange.
  7. Fire on the cities (Hosea 8:14). Israel forgets his Maker and builds temples, Judah multiplies cities, and fire will devour the palaces.

For reflection

Israel is quoted crying "My God, we know thee" in the same chapter that says the great things of the law were counted a strange thing. What might it look like for a claim to know God and a treatment of his law as strange to exist side by side?

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