Hosea 9 Study Notes: Exile for Unfaithful Ephraim
Hosea warns Israel not to celebrate its harvests, since unfaithfulness to God will cost them the land, their worship, and their food, with exile to Assyria and graves in Egypt. The people mock the prophet, sink as low as Gibeah and their fathers at Baal-peor, and face the loss of their children and a life of wandering.
General
To what earlier time does 9:9 compare Israel's deep corruption?
Answer: The outrage at Gibeah in the era of the judges
Hosea says Israel has corrupted itself deeply, as in Gibeah's day, and that God will call their guilt to mind and punish their sins (9:9). Gibeah recalls a shocking crime committed by men of that town in the time of the judges, the leaders God raised up before Israel had kings. The other tribes demanded that Benjamin's tribe hand over the guilty men of that town to be punished, but Benjamin refused and gathered there to fight instead (Judges 20:12-14). Those were days when Israel had no king and everyone did whatever seemed right to him (Judges 21:25). Hosea returns to the same memory later, saying Israel has sinned since Gibeah and stayed there (10:9). The comparison means Israel's present sin was as deep and as shameless as that old outrage.
- Hosea 9:9 (BSB)“They have deeply corrupted themselves as in the days of Gibeah; He will remember their guilt; He will punish their sins.”Israel's corruption is compared to Gibeah, and God will remember and punish their guilt.
- Judges 20:12-14 (BSB)“And the tribes of Israel sent men throughout the tribe of Benjamin, saying, “What is this wickedness that has occurred among you? Hand over the wicked men of Gibeah so we can put them to death and purge Israel of this evil.” But the Benjamites refused to heed the voice of their fellow Israelites. And from their cities they came together at Gibeah to go out and fight against the Israelites.”The tribes demanded that Benjamin give up the guilty men of Gibeah, but Benjamin refused and gathered for war.
- Judges 21:25 (BSB)“In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.”The Gibeah account closes by noting that Israel had no king then and each person did as he saw fit.
- Hosea 10:9 (BSB)“Since the days of Gibeah you have sinned, O Israel, and there you have remained. Did not the battle in Gibeah overtake the sons of iniquity?”Hosea says again that Israel has sinned since Gibeah and stayed there.
Theological
Which episode from Israel's past does 9:9 invoke as the measure of the nation's corruption?
Answer: The outrage at Gibeah in the era of the judges
Israel has deeply corrupted itself as in Gibeah's day, and God will call their guilt to mind and punish their sins (9:9). The allusion is to the outrage at Gibeah narrated in Judges 19-21, compounded when Benjamin refused the other tribes' demand to surrender the guilty and rallied there for war (Judges 20:12-14), in an age when Israel had no king and each man did what he judged right (Judges 21:25). Hosea revisits it in 10:9, charging that Israel has persisted in sin from Gibeah until now. The comparison places the prophet's generation alongside the darkest moral collapse of the period of the judges.
- Hosea 9:9 (BSB)“They have deeply corrupted themselves as in the days of Gibeah; He will remember their guilt; He will punish their sins.”Israel's corruption is compared to Gibeah, and God will remember and punish their guilt.
- Judges 20:12-14 (BSB)“And the tribes of Israel sent men throughout the tribe of Benjamin, saying, “What is this wickedness that has occurred among you? Hand over the wicked men of Gibeah so we can put them to death and purge Israel of this evil.” But the Benjamites refused to heed the voice of their fellow Israelites. And from their cities they came together at Gibeah to go out and fight against the Israelites.”The tribes demanded that Benjamin give up the guilty men of Gibeah, but Benjamin refused and gathered for war.
- Judges 21:25 (BSB)“In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.”The Gibeah account closes by noting that Israel had no king then and each person did as he saw fit.
- Hosea 10:9 (BSB)“Since the days of Gibeah you have sinned, O Israel, and there you have remained. Did not the battle in Gibeah overtake the sons of iniquity?”Hosea says again that Israel has sinned since Gibeah and stayed there.
General
In 9:10, what happened to Israel's fathers at Baal-peor?
Answer: They gave themselves to a shameful idol and became as vile as it
The LORD remembers how delightful Israel was to Him at the start, like grapes found in the desert or the first ripe figs of the season (9:10). But at Baal-peor their fathers devoted themselves to Shame, that is, to a shameful idol, and they became as vile as the idol they loved (9:10). Numbers 25 tells this story: at Peor, Israel attached itself to the Baal of that place, and the LORD's anger burned against them (Numbers 25:3), and a psalm adds that plague followed (Psalm 106:28-29). People become like what they worship. A psalm says idol makers grow to resemble their idols (Psalm 115:8), and Jeremiah says Israel chased what was worthless and so became worthless itself (Jeremiah 2:5).
- Hosea 9:10 (BSB)“I found Israel like grapes in the wilderness. I saw your fathers as the firstfruits of the fig tree in its first season. But they went to Baal-peor, and consecrated themselves to Shame; so they became as detestable as the thing they loved.”God recalls His early delight in Israel and their fall at Baal-peor, where they became like what they loved.
- Numbers 25:3 (BSB)“So Israel joined in worshiping Baal of Peor, and the anger of the LORD burned against them.”Israel took part in worshiping Peor's Baal and kindled the LORD's anger, the event Hosea recalls.
- Psalm 106:28-29 (BSB)“They yoked themselves to Baal of Peor and ate sacrifices offered to lifeless gods. So they provoked the LORD to anger with their deeds, and a plague broke out among them.”The psalmist recalls the same sin at Peor and the plague that followed.
- Psalm 115:8 (BSB)“Those who make them become like them, as do all who trust in them.”Idol makers and trusters come to resemble their idols, the principle seen at Baal-peor.
- Jeremiah 2:5 (BSB)“This is what the LORD says: “What fault did your fathers find in Me that they strayed so far from Me? They followed worthless idols, and became worthless themselves.”Jeremiah says Israel's fathers followed empty idols and so became empty themselves, the same transformation.
Theological
What does 9:10 say Israel's fathers became through their devotion at Baal-peor?
Answer: They gave themselves to a shameful idol and became as vile as it
The LORD recalls His initial delight in Israel, as rare and welcome as grapes in the desert or the first figs of the season (9:10). But at Baal-peor the fathers devoted themselves to Shame and became as abhorrent as the idol they loved (9:10). The episode is Numbers 25, where Israel yoked itself to Peor's Baal and provoked the LORD's anger (Numbers 25:3), followed by plague (Psalm 106:28-29). Hosea states a principle that runs through Scripture: worshipers are conformed to the object of their worship, so that idolaters become like their idols (Psalm 115:8) and those who pursue worthlessness become worthless (Jeremiah 2:5).
- Hosea 9:10 (BSB)“I found Israel like grapes in the wilderness. I saw your fathers as the firstfruits of the fig tree in its first season. But they went to Baal-peor, and consecrated themselves to Shame; so they became as detestable as the thing they loved.”God recalls His early delight in Israel and their fall at Baal-peor, where they became like what they loved.
- Numbers 25:3 (BSB)“So Israel joined in worshiping Baal of Peor, and the anger of the LORD burned against them.”Israel took part in worshiping Peor's Baal and kindled the LORD's anger, the event Hosea recalls.
- Psalm 106:28-29 (BSB)“They yoked themselves to Baal of Peor and ate sacrifices offered to lifeless gods. So they provoked the LORD to anger with their deeds, and a plague broke out among them.”The psalmist recalls the same sin at Peor and the plague that followed.
- Psalm 115:8 (BSB)“Those who make them become like them, as do all who trust in them.”Idol makers and trusters come to resemble their idols, the principle seen at Baal-peor.
- Jeremiah 2:5 (BSB)“This is what the LORD says: “What fault did your fathers find in Me that they strayed so far from Me? They followed worthless idols, and became worthless themselves.”Jeremiah says Israel's fathers followed empty idols and so became empty themselves, the same transformation.
General
According to 9:5-6, what will become of those who escape the destruction?
Answer: They will be gathered into Egypt and laid in graves at Memphis
Hosea asks what the people will do when the appointed festival day comes, the LORD's feast day (9:5), when they can no longer keep it. Even those who run from the destruction will not escape. They will end up collected in Egypt and laid in graves at Memphis, a great city of Egypt (9:6). Their treasured silver will be overgrown with weeds, and thorny plants will take over the places where they lived (9:6), for the time of punishment and payback has arrived (9:7). Fleeing to Egypt brings no rescue. The law had warned that God would send an unfaithful people back to Egypt (Deuteronomy 28:68), Hosea says the same again later (11:5), and Isaiah pronounces woe on those who rely on Egypt instead of the LORD (Isaiah 31:1).
- Hosea 9:5-6 (BSB)“What will you do on the appointed day, on the day of the LORD’s feast? For even if they flee destruction, Egypt will gather them and Memphis will bury them. Their precious silver will be taken over by thistles, and thorns will overrun their tents.”The festival days will find Israel helpless, and even survivors who flee will die and be buried in Egypt.
- Deuteronomy 28:68 (BSB)“The LORD will return you to Egypt in ships by a route that I said you should never see again. There you will sell yourselves to your enemies as male and female slaves, but no one will buy you.””The law warned that the LORD would send His unfaithful people back to Egypt.
- Hosea 11:5 (BSB)“Will they not return to the land of Egypt and be ruled by Assyria because they refused to repent?”Hosea later says again that Israel will go back to Egypt and live under Assyria's rule because they would not repent.
- Isaiah 31:1 (BSB)“Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, who rely on horses, who trust in their abundance of chariots and in their multitude of horsemen. They do not look to the Holy One of Israel; they do not seek the LORD.”Isaiah warns that looking to Egypt for rescue instead of to the LORD brings woe.
Theological
What end does 9:5-6 announce for those who flee the coming destruction?
Answer: They will be gathered into Egypt and laid in graves at Memphis
The rhetorical question of 9:5 asks what Israel will do on the LORD's appointed feast day once the land and its worship are lost. Escape from the destruction is no deliverance: the fugitives will be gathered by Egypt and buried at Memphis, while their treasured silver is overrun by thistles and their dwellings by thorns (9:6). The time of punishment and recompense has come (9:7). Egypt, the house of bondage, becomes their grave, echoing the covenant curse of return to Egypt (Deuteronomy 28:68), restated in 11:5, and Isaiah's woe on those who trust in Egypt rather than the LORD (Isaiah 31:1).
- Hosea 9:5-6 (BSB)“What will you do on the appointed day, on the day of the LORD’s feast? For even if they flee destruction, Egypt will gather them and Memphis will bury them. Their precious silver will be taken over by thistles, and thorns will overrun their tents.”The festival days will find Israel helpless, and even survivors who flee will die and be buried in Egypt.
- Deuteronomy 28:68 (BSB)“The LORD will return you to Egypt in ships by a route that I said you should never see again. There you will sell yourselves to your enemies as male and female slaves, but no one will buy you.””The law warned that the LORD would send His unfaithful people back to Egypt.
- Hosea 11:5 (BSB)“Will they not return to the land of Egypt and be ruled by Assyria because they refused to repent?”Hosea later says again that Israel will go back to Egypt and live under Assyria's rule because they would not repent.
- Isaiah 31:1 (BSB)“Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, who rely on horses, who trust in their abundance of chariots and in their multitude of horsemen. They do not look to the Holy One of Israel; they do not seek the LORD.”Isaiah warns that looking to Egypt for rescue instead of to the LORD brings woe.
General
Why does 9:1-2 tell Israel not to rejoice like the other nations?
Answer: They have been unfaithful to God, and their harvest will fail them
Israel is told not to celebrate with joy like the surrounding nations, because they have been unfaithful to their God (9:1). Hosea describes that unfaithfulness in the language of prostitution and ties it to the threshing floors, the places where grain was gathered in at harvest. So the grain and grape harvests will leave them hungry, and the wine will run out (9:2). Hosea has already said that Israel did not recognize the LORD as the giver of its grain, wine, and oil, and spent His gifts on Baal, a Canaanite god people believed sent rain and crops (2:8). The law of Moses had warned that turning from the LORD would bring harvests that fail (Deuteronomy 28:38-40). The festival joy Israel wanted would be taken away by the very God it had forgotten.
- Hosea 9:2 (BSB)“The threshing floor and winepress will not feed them, and the new wine will fail them.”Because of Israel's unfaithfulness, the places of threshing and pressing will no longer supply them.
- Hosea 2:8 (BSB)“For she does not acknowledge that it was I who gave her grain, new wine, and oil, who lavished on her silver and gold—which they crafted for Baal.”Israel failed to recognize the LORD as the giver of its grain, wine, oil, and wealth, and used His gifts for Baal.
- Deuteronomy 28:38-40 (BSB)“You will sow much seed in the field but harvest little, because the locusts will consume it. You will plant and cultivate vineyards, but will neither drink the wine nor gather the grapes, because worms will eat them. You will have olive trees throughout your territory but will never anoint yourself with oil, because the olives will drop off.”The law warned that covenant unfaithfulness would bring fields, vineyards, and olive trees that yield little.
Theological
On what ground does 9:1-2 forbid Israel's harvest rejoicing?
Answer: They have been unfaithful to God, and their harvest will fail them
Israel must not rejoice exultantly as the nations do, for it has been unfaithful to its God (9:1). Hosea frames the apostasy in the language of prostitution and locates it at the threshing floors, so that the harvest itself has become the scene of infidelity. The judgment fits the sin: the places of threshing and pressing will not sustain them, and the wine will fail (9:2). Hosea has already charged that Israel did not acknowledge the LORD as the source of grain, wine, and oil but devoted His gifts to Baal (2:8), and Deuteronomy's covenant curses had threatened exactly such failed harvests (Deuteronomy 28:38-40). The Giver withdraws the gifts that were credited to another.
- Hosea 9:2 (BSB)“The threshing floor and winepress will not feed them, and the new wine will fail them.”Because of Israel's unfaithfulness, the places of threshing and pressing will no longer supply them.
- Hosea 2:8 (BSB)“For she does not acknowledge that it was I who gave her grain, new wine, and oil, who lavished on her silver and gold—which they crafted for Baal.”Israel failed to recognize the LORD as the giver of its grain, wine, oil, and wealth, and used His gifts for Baal.
- Deuteronomy 28:38-40 (BSB)“You will sow much seed in the field but harvest little, because the locusts will consume it. You will plant and cultivate vineyards, but will neither drink the wine nor gather the grapes, because worms will eat them. You will have olive trees throughout your territory but will never anoint yourself with oil, because the olives will drop off.”The law warned that covenant unfaithfulness would bring fields, vineyards, and olive trees that yield little.
General
What does 9:3-4 say will happen to Ephraim and its offerings?
Answer: Ephraim will leave the LORD's land, and its offerings will bring Him no pleasure
The people will not stay in the LORD's land; Ephraim will go back to Egypt and will eat food that is unclean while in Assyria (9:3). Unclean here means food that the law of Moses did not allow God's people to eat or offer to Him. Away from the land they will bring the LORD no drink offerings, and He will take no pleasure in what they sacrifice. Their food will be like food eaten in mourning, defiling all who eat it, and it will only fill their own stomachs, never coming into the LORD's house (9:4). The law had warned that unfaithfulness would end with God scattering His people among the nations (Deuteronomy 28:64), and Ezekiel later speaks of Israel eating unclean bread in the lands of their banishment (Ezekiel 4:13).
- Hosea 9:3-4 (BSB)“They will not remain in the land of the LORD; Ephraim will return to Egypt and eat unclean food in Assyria. They will not pour out wine offerings to the LORD, and their sacrifices will not please Him, but will be to them like the bread of mourners; all who eat will be defiled. For their bread will be for themselves; it will not enter the house of the LORD.”Ephraim will be removed from the LORD's land, and in exile its offerings will be unclean and unacceptable.
- Deuteronomy 28:64 (BSB)“Then the LORD will scatter you among all the nations, from one end of the earth to the other, and there you will worship other gods, gods of wood and stone, which neither you nor your fathers have known.”The law warned that the LORD would scatter an unfaithful people among the nations.
- Ezekiel 4:13 (BSB)“Then the LORD said, “This is how the Israelites will eat their defiled bread among the nations to which I will banish them.””Ezekiel also speaks of Israel eating unclean bread in the lands where God would banish them.
Theological
According to 9:3-4, what becomes of Ephraim's place in the land and its worship?
Answer: Ephraim will leave the LORD's land, and its offerings will bring Him no pleasure
Exile is announced in covenant terms: they will be removed from the LORD's own land, with Ephraim going back to Egypt and eating unclean food while in Assyria (9:3). Removed from the land, they can no longer offer drink offerings or acceptable sacrifices; their food becomes like mourners' bread, defiling all who eat it, and it will serve only their hunger, never entering the LORD's house (9:4). Loss of the land means loss of the worship that the land made possible. This is the curse of scattering threatened in Deuteronomy 28:64, and Ezekiel describes the same defiled eating among the nations of exile (Ezekiel 4:13).
- Hosea 9:3-4 (BSB)“They will not remain in the land of the LORD; Ephraim will return to Egypt and eat unclean food in Assyria. They will not pour out wine offerings to the LORD, and their sacrifices will not please Him, but will be to them like the bread of mourners; all who eat will be defiled. For their bread will be for themselves; it will not enter the house of the LORD.”Ephraim will be removed from the LORD's land, and in exile its offerings will be unclean and unacceptable.
- Deuteronomy 28:64 (BSB)“Then the LORD will scatter you among all the nations, from one end of the earth to the other, and there you will worship other gods, gods of wood and stone, which neither you nor your fathers have known.”The law warned that the LORD would scatter an unfaithful people among the nations.
- Ezekiel 4:13 (BSB)“Then the LORD said, “This is how the Israelites will eat their defiled bread among the nations to which I will banish them.””Ezekiel also speaks of Israel eating unclean bread in the lands where God would banish them.
General
How do the people regard the prophet in 9:7-8, and why?
Answer: As a fool and a madman, because their guilt and hostility are so great
The people treat the prophet as a fool and say the man moved by God's Spirit is out of his mind, and Hosea says this is because their sin and hostility are so great (9:7). The prophet, together with God, is meant to be a watchman for Ephraim, a guard who warns of coming danger, yet traps are set on every road he takes and there is hostility even in God's own house (9:8). God appointed His prophets as watchmen to warn His people (Ezekiel 3:17), and Israel often scorned them. Jehu's fellow commanders called the prophet who anointed him a madman (2 Kings 9:11), and at Bethel the priest Amaziah ordered Amos to stop prophesying there (Amos 7:12-13). The worse a people's sin, the more foolish God's warnings sound to them.
- Hosea 9:7-8 (BSB)“The days of punishment have come; the days of retribution have arrived—let Israel know it. The prophet is called a fool, and the inspired man insane, because of the greatness of your iniquity and hostility. The prophet is Ephraim’s watchman, along with my God, yet the snare of the fowler lies on all his paths. Hostility is in the house of his God!”The people dismiss the prophet as a fool and madman, though he is Ephraim's watchman set to warn them.
- Ezekiel 3:17 (BSB)““Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from My mouth, give them a warning from Me.”God appoints His prophet as a watchman to warn His people, the role Hosea describes.
- 2 Kings 9:11 (BSB)“When Jehu went out to the servants of his master, they asked, “Is everything all right? Why did this madman come to you?” “You know his kind and their babble,” he replied.”Jehu's fellow commanders call the prophet who anointed him a madman, an example of this scorn.
- Amos 7:12-13 (BSB)“And Amaziah said to Amos, “Go away, you seer! Flee to the land of Judah; earn your bread there and do your prophesying there. But never prophesy at Bethel again, because it is the sanctuary of the king and the temple of the kingdom.””The priest at Bethel orders Amos to stop prophesying there, another prophet rejected by Israel.
Theological
In 9:7-8, how is the prophet treated, and to what does Hosea attribute it?
Answer: As a fool and a madman, because their guilt and hostility are so great
The prophet is scorned as foolish and the man of the Spirit as insane, and Hosea traces this verdict to the greatness of Israel's iniquity and hostility (9:7). The prophet stands with God as Ephraim's watchman, yet a fowler's snare is laid on every path and hostility fills even God's own house (9:8). The watchman's office is God's appointment for warning His people (Ezekiel 3:17), and contempt for the messenger is a recurring mark of Israel's rebellion: Jehu's companions dismiss the young prophet as a madman (2 Kings 9:11), and Amaziah expels Amos from Bethel (Amos 7:12-13). Sin darkens the mind so that God's word sounds like folly to those who reject it.
- Hosea 9:7-8 (BSB)“The days of punishment have come; the days of retribution have arrived—let Israel know it. The prophet is called a fool, and the inspired man insane, because of the greatness of your iniquity and hostility. The prophet is Ephraim’s watchman, along with my God, yet the snare of the fowler lies on all his paths. Hostility is in the house of his God!”The people dismiss the prophet as a fool and madman, though he is Ephraim's watchman set to warn them.
- Ezekiel 3:17 (BSB)““Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from My mouth, give them a warning from Me.”God appoints His prophet as a watchman to warn His people, the role Hosea describes.
- 2 Kings 9:11 (BSB)“When Jehu went out to the servants of his master, they asked, “Is everything all right? Why did this madman come to you?” “You know his kind and their babble,” he replied.”Jehu's fellow commanders call the prophet who anointed him a madman, an example of this scorn.
- Amos 7:12-13 (BSB)“And Amaziah said to Amos, “Go away, you seer! Flee to the land of Judah; earn your bread there and do your prophesying there. But never prophesy at Bethel again, because it is the sanctuary of the king and the temple of the kingdom.””The priest at Bethel orders Amos to stop prophesying there, another prophet rejected by Israel.
General
According to 9:17, why will God reject Ephraim, and what will they become?
Answer: Because they did not obey Him; they will wander among the nations
Verses 11-16 announce a heavy loss for Ephraim's future: its glory will vanish like a bird taking flight, and the nation will lose both new births and the children it has already raised (9:11-14, 16). This is one of the curses the law had warned would follow unfaithfulness to the covenant, a curse on the fruit of the womb (Deuteronomy 28:18). All their wickedness shows itself at Gilgal, where the LORD says He came to hate them; He will drive them out of His house for their evil deeds and love them no more, for every leader among them is a rebel (9:15). The chapter ends with the reason: God will cast them off since they would not listen to Him, and they will become wanderers among other peoples (9:17), just as the law said God would scatter a disobedient people (Leviticus 26:33). The judgment is severe, but it is God's just answer to stubborn rebellion, and later in the book the same God says He cannot give Ephraim up (11:8).
- Hosea 9:15 (BSB)“All their evil appears at Gilgal, for there I hated them. I will drive them from My house for the wickedness of their deeds. I will no longer love them; all their leaders are rebellious.”The LORD names Gilgal as the place where their evil shows and says He will expel them from His house.
- Hosea 9:17 (BSB)“My God will reject them because they have not obeyed Him; and they shall be wanderers among the nations.”The chapter closes with God rejecting Ephraim for disobedience and sending them to wander among the nations.
- Deuteronomy 28:18 (BSB)“The fruit of your womb will be cursed, as well as the produce of your land, the calves of your herds, and the lambs of your flocks.”The covenant curses included a curse on the fruit of the womb, the loss Hosea announces in 9:11-16.
- Leviticus 26:33 (BSB)“But I will scatter you among the nations and will draw out a sword after you as your land becomes desolate and your cities are laid waste.”The law warned that God would scatter a disobedient people among the nations.
- Hosea 11:8 (BSB)“How could I give you up, O Ephraim? How could I surrender you, O Israel? How could I make you like Admah? How could I treat you like Zeboiim? My heart is turned within Me; My compassion is stirred!”Later the LORD says He cannot give Ephraim up, showing that His compassion still stands beyond this judgment.
Theological
What reason and outcome does 9:17 give for God's rejection of Ephraim?
Answer: Because they did not obey Him; they will wander among the nations
Verses 11-16 announce judgment on Ephraim's posterity: its glory vanishes like a bird taking flight, and the nation is bereaved both of births and of the children it has raised (9:11-14, 16), the covenant curse on the fruit of the womb (Deuteronomy 28:18). Gilgal epitomizes their evil; there the LORD came to hate them, and He will expel them from His house for their wicked deeds and love them no more, for every one of their leaders is a rebel (9:15). The chapter's conclusion supplies the ground and the sentence: God rejects them because they would not listen to Him, and they will become wanderers among other peoples (9:17), the dispersion threatened in Leviticus 26:33. The verdict is just and unsoftened, yet it is not the LORD's last word, for in 11:8 His compassion is stirred and He will not give Ephraim up.
- Hosea 9:15 (BSB)“All their evil appears at Gilgal, for there I hated them. I will drive them from My house for the wickedness of their deeds. I will no longer love them; all their leaders are rebellious.”The LORD names Gilgal as the place where their evil shows and says He will expel them from His house.
- Hosea 9:17 (BSB)“My God will reject them because they have not obeyed Him; and they shall be wanderers among the nations.”The chapter closes with God rejecting Ephraim for disobedience and sending them to wander among the nations.
- Deuteronomy 28:18 (BSB)“The fruit of your womb will be cursed, as well as the produce of your land, the calves of your herds, and the lambs of your flocks.”The covenant curses included a curse on the fruit of the womb, the loss Hosea announces in 9:11-16.
- Leviticus 26:33 (BSB)“But I will scatter you among the nations and will draw out a sword after you as your land becomes desolate and your cities are laid waste.”The law warned that God would scatter a disobedient people among the nations.
- Hosea 11:8 (BSB)“How could I give you up, O Ephraim? How could I surrender you, O Israel? How could I make you like Admah? How could I treat you like Zeboiim? My heart is turned within Me; My compassion is stirred!”Later the LORD says He cannot give Ephraim up, showing that His compassion still stands beyond this judgment.