Hosea 8:10

Yea, 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.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(10) There is much difference of opinion as to the interpretation of this verse. Much depends on the reference of the word “them.” We prefer to regard it as referring to Ephraim rather than to the nations (i.e., Assyria and Egypt). Render, I will gather them (Israel) together, so that in a short time they may delay (this translation approved by Ewald, Wünsche, and Simson) to render the tribute burden due to the king of princes (i.e., the Assyrian monarch). “Gather them together,” i.e., in restraint, so that they cannot roam so wildly, seeking help (Ewald). This accords with Hosea 2:8-9; Hosea 3:4. Such non-payment of tribute actually occurred a few years later (2Kings 17:4). Others render it: I will gather these nations (of the East) round about her to look scornfully on her ruin, and they shall sorrow a little (used ironically) at the imposition of the king of the princes.

Benson Commentary

Hosea 8:10. Yea, though they have hired — Namely, allies; among the nations — And have been no way solicitous to gain my favour or help; now will I gather them — I will now (though they make so little account of my power) bring those very allies, namely, the Assyrians, against them. Here God tells them, that whatever sums they might offer, or expense they might be at, in order to raise armies of foreign auxiliaries, he would imbody those armies, he would press the men, paid by their money, into his own service against them. And they shall sorrow a little — Or, in a little time; for the burden of the king of princes — “They shall be severely galled by the yoke of the Assyrian king, and of the princes set over his several provinces.” — Newcome. Bishop Horsley, who thinks that the kings and princes, or rulers, of Israel are here intended, renders this clause differently, thus: And ere long they shall sorrow on account of the burden, the king and the rulers: that is, “Ere long the king and the rulers will lament the impolitic expense incurred in gifts and presents to their faithless allies, and the burden of taxes for that purpose laid upon the people.” The reading of

ושׂרים, and rulers, “is supported,” says he, “by such a weight of authority, that I cannot but adopt it; and yet there is no difficulty in the construction of the common text. For it might be thus rendered: And ere long the rulers shall sorrow for the burden of the king, that is, for the burden imposed by the king [namely, the king of Israel] in taxes.”

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

8:5-10 They promised themselves plenty, peace, and victory, by worshipping idols, but their expectations came to nothing. What they sow has no stalk, no blade, or, if it have, the bud shall yield no fruit, there was nothing in them. The works of darkness are unfruitful; nay, the end of those things is death. The hopes of sinners will deceive them, and their gains will be snares. In times of danger, especially in the day of judgment, all carnal devices will fail. They take a course by themselves, and like a wild ass by himself, they will be the easier and surer prey for the lion. Man is in nothing more like the wild ass's colt, than in seeking for that succour and that satisfaction in the creature, which are to be had in God only. Though men may sorrow a little, yet if it is not after a godly sort, they will be brought to sorrow everlastingly.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Yea, though they have hired - Or better, "because or when they hinge among the pagan, now will I gather them;" i. e., I will gather the nations together. The sin of Israel should bring its own punishment. He sent presents to the king of Assyria, in order to strengthen himself against the will of God; "he thought himself secured by his league made with them; but he should find himself much deceived in his policy;" he had "hired among them" only; "now," ere long, very speedily, God Himself would "gather them," i. e., those very nations, not in part, but altogether; not for the help of Israel, but for its destruction. As though a man would let out some water from a deep lake ponded up, the water, as it oozed out, loosened more and more the barriers which withheld it, until, at length, all gave way, and the water of the lake was poured out in one wide wild waste, desolating all, over which it swept. It may be, that Assyria would not have known of, or noticed Israel, had not Israel first invited him.

And they shall sorrow a little for the burden of the king of princes - So great shall be the burden of the captivity hereafter, that they shall then sorrow but little for any burdens put upon them now, and which they now feel so heavy. "The king of princes" is the king of Assyria, who said, "Are not my princes altogether kings?" Isaiah 10:8. The burden of plained will then be the thousand talents of silver which Menahem gave to Pul, king of Assyria, to support him in his usurpation, and in order to pay which, he "exacted the money of Israel, even of all the mighty men of wealth, of each man fifty shekels of silver" 2 Kings 15:19-20.

If we adopt the English margin, "begin," we must render, "and they shall begin to be minished through the burden of the king of the princes," i. e., they shall be gradually reduced and brought low through the exactions of the Assyrians, until in the end they shall be carried away. This describes the gradual decay of Israel, first through the exactions of Pul, then through the captivity of Gilead by Tiglathpileser.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

10. will I gather them—namely, the nations (Assyria, &c.) against Israel, instead of their assisting her as she had wished (Eze 16:37).

a little—rather, "in a little" [Henderson]. English Version gives good sense: They shall sorrow "a little" at the imposition of the tribute; God suspended yet the great judgment, namely, their deportation by Assyria.

the burden of the king of princes—the tribute imposed on Israel (under Menahem) by the Assyrian king Pul, (2Ki 15:19-22), who had many "princes" under his sway (Isa 10:8).

Matthew Poole's Commentary

Yea, though; or, Yea, because; they think this the way to prevent their calamities, but it shall appear this was the ready way to bring their calamities upon them; and forasmuch as they have hired the aid of the nations to secure them against their God and his judgments, therefore, &c.

Gather them; bring Israel together by a secret and unfailing train. I will, saith God, assemble and herd them together, that they may be taken and destroyed together. Others say, God will gather the nations together against Israel.

They shall sorrow a little, for a while before their final captivity they shall complain and be grieved,

for the burden of the king of princes; the tribute laid on them by the king and princes, i.e. of Israel; but better as we read it, the king of Assyria, the great king who boasted of his princes.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

Yea, though they have hired among the nations,.... That is, lovers, as before; got into confederacies and alliances with the nations about them, thinking thereby to strengthen their hands, and secure themselves and their kingdom; particular regard may be had to the Egyptians, as distinct from the Assyrians, whom they privately engaged on their side to shake off the Assyrian yoke, or their obligation to send yearly presents to the Assyrian king:

now will I gather them; either the Assyrians against them, to invade their land, besiege their city, and take and carry them captive; or the Israelites in a body into the city of Samaria, and there be cooped up, and taken and destroyed, or carried captive; for this is not to be interpreted of the collection of them out of their captivity, as the Targum and Jarchi, but of the gathering of them together for their destruction:

and they shall sorrow a little for the burden of the king of princes; the tax or tribute imposed upon them by the king of Assyria, whose princes were altogether kings, Isaiah 10:8; and who used to be called king of kings, being at the head of a monarchy, which had many kings subject to it; as the kings of Babylon were afterwards called, Ezekiel 26:7; this may refer to the yearly present or tribute, which Hoshea king of Israel was obliged to give to the king of Assyria, which he was very uneasy at, and did not pay it, which drew upon him the resentment of the Assyrian king; and that sorrow and uneasiness which that tribute gave the king of Israel and his people were but little and small in comparison of what they after found; it was the beginning of sorrows to them: and so some render the words, "they began" (l); that is, to sorrow and complain "a little"; or this may refer to their burdens and oppressions when in captivity, which were laid upon them by the king of Assyria, and the princes, the rulers, and governors of the several places where the Israelites were carried captive: even the "few that shall remain" (m), as some render it; and not die by famine, pestilence, and sword. Kimchi and Ben Melech think there is a deficiency of the copulative and between king and princes; which is supplied by the Targum, and by the Septuagint, Vulgate Latin, Syriac, and Arabic versions, which read, "the king and princes".

(l) "incipient", Calvin; "ceperunt enim paululum", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Zanchius, Drusius, Tarnovius, so Ben Melech. (m) "et remanebunt pauci", Schmidt; a rad. "durare, permanere".

Geneva Study Bible

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

(h) That is, for the king and the princes will lay upon them: and by this means the Lord brings them to repentance.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

10. This verse is obscure, and open to a variety of interpretations; the following however seems by far the most probable.

Yea, though they have hired among the nations] Rather, Yea, though they hire, &c. i.e. though they attain a certain amount of success in their negotiations, and win the protection of some stronger nation, yet the time has come for me to check their misplaced activity.

now will I gather them] Surely not, ‘now will I gather the Assyrian army to fight against them’, which does not suit the context (mark ‘yea, though’), but, ‘now will I restrain their roving propensities.’ Where or how, we are not yet told; it is captivity which is dimly hinted at. This interpretation is strongly confirmed by the next clause.

and they shall sorrow a little for the burden of the king of princes] ‘The king of princes’ is a phrase not found elsewhere, but might conceivably = ‘the king of kings’, which is a title claimed by Tiglath-Pileser I. (Records of the Past, Hosea 5:8, comp. Ezekiel 26:7). The ‘burden’ might be the heavy tribute paid by Menahem (2 Kings 15:20). But why ‘sorrow a little’? No better sense is made by rendering ‘and they shall begin to be diminished [in numbers, or in prosperity] by reason of the burden of the king of princes’; why ‘begin’? A third rendering, ‘and they shall soon be in anguish through the burden’ &c. involves a violation of Hebrew usage (‘soon’ should be ‘a little’). The only remedy is to follow the Septuagint, which reads two of the Hebrew words differently, and render that they may cease for a little from anointing a king and princes (all the versions and some Hebr. MSS. sanction ‘and’). Comp. Hosea 13:10 ‘Give me a king and princes’, from which it seems as if the personnel of the class of ‘princes’ would vary according as the king were of one dynasty or another. In Judah, at any rate, as well as in Egypt, we know that the royal princes enjoyed many of the more important offices under the crown (comp. Isaiah 7:13; Jeremiah 17:20; 1 Kings 22:26; 2 Kings 25:25).

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 10. - Yea, though they have hired among the nations, now will I gather them. Instead of "have hired," "sue" would make the sense more obvious. But who are they of whom it is here said, "I will gather them"?

(1) The nations, among whom Ephraim has been suing for endearments from paramours, shall be gathered together to effect the hurt or ruin of Ephraim; while for this explanation Ezekiel 16:37, is cited as parallel: "Behold, therefore, I will gather all thy lovers, with whom thou hast taken pleasure, and all them that thou hast loved, with all them that thou hast hated; I will even gather them round about against thee, and will discover thy nakedness unto them, that they may see all thy nakedness." But

(2) others maintain that the persons gathered are the Ephraimites whom the Lord will gather, that is to say,

(a) will bring them all together among the nations, leading them thither; and to this exposition Hosea 9:6 is thought to furnish a parallel, at least as far as the meaning of the verb "to gather" is concerned: "Egypt shall gather them up, Memphis shall bury them."

(b) Or the Ephraimites shall be gathered together to be led away in chains and dispersed among the nations;

(c) or shall be gathered for death and to perish by sword and famine; or

(d) to be gathered together unto Samaria and other fortified cities, in order to be taken to. gather and carried by their enemies away into captivity.

(3) Rashi understands the gathering together of Israel, but in the sense of a promise . "Though they have sued for endearments among the nations, I will gather them out of the nations among which they have been dispersed, as the same verb, קבצ, is used in Isaiah 54. and Jeremiah 31:10, viz. 'I will not delay their deliverance."' This exposition is not in harmony with the context, from which we expect a threat of punishment rather than a promise of reward. Both Kimchi and Aben Ezra favor exposition

(1) "What benefit is it to them, asks the prophet, that they sue among the nations? For soon I will gather the nations against them to carry them into captivity." Thus Kimchi and somewhat similarly Aben Ezra. Whether we take the verb as pointed with daghesh in the tav, and so from נחן, to give, that is, gifts to lovers, or without daghesh, and from חנה equivalent to נָחַן אֶחִנִח, to hire or bargain, makes little difference in the general sense of the clause. And they shall sorrow a little for the burden of the king of princes. This fixes with more definiteness the meaning of the foregoing member of the verse. According to

(1) this rendering of יַחֵלוּ (Qeri) Hiph. from הוּל, "a little" would require to be taken Ironically; it is better, therefore, to render it "in a little time." The burden is not that of taxation or even deportation, but of oppression in exile. The oppressor is the monarch of Assyria, who asks boastingly. "Are not my princes altogether kings?" Another

(2) translation is, "They will begin to diminish on account of the burden of the king of princes.' According to this the verb וַיָּהֵלוּ is future of Hiph. חֵחֵל from חלל, to begin, and מְעָט is either an infinitive for מַעט, or rather a verbal adjective: and the sense is that they begin to be or become fewer in consequence of the Assyrian's oppression. But

(3) taking the verb from the same root חלל cognate with Greek χαλάω, loose, set free, Gesenius translates, "And they (the hostile nations) shall presently force them from the burden (i.e. the unpleasant dominion)of the king." The Septuagint

(4) read מִמָּשַׁח instead of מִמַּשּׂא, and a copula between, i.e." and princes;" and render, Καὶ κοπάσουσι μικρὸν τοῦ χρίειν βασιλέα καὶ ἄρχπντας, equivalent to "And they shall cease a little to anoint a king and princes." Our choice must lie between

(1) and

(2) in interpreting this difficult clause; there is a modification of

(1) worth mentioning; it is: "They shall in a little while sorrow for the burden which they pay (i.e. the tribute which they pay) kings and princes," viz. all of them, the two concluding words being thus in apposition to the subject of the verb. On the whole, we prefer there rendering of the clause in the Authorized Version, as both grammatical and supplying a sense consistent with the context. The prophet foretells that Israel would ere long feel painfully the sorrowful consequences of their going to Assyria and suing there for help. Oppressed by a yearly tribute to the Assyrian king, they would smart under the yoke, and long to be free. Hosea 8:10

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

"For they went up to Asshur; wild ass goes alone by itself; Ephraim sued for loves. Hosea 8:10. Yea, though they sue among the nations, now will I gather them, and they will begin to diminish on account of the burden of the king of the princes." Going to Assyria is defined still further in the third clause as suing for loves, i.e., for the favour and help of the Assyrians. The folly of this suing is shown in the clause, "wild ass goes by itself alone," the meaning and object of which have been quite mistaken by those who supply a כ simil. For neither by connecting it with the preceding words thus, "Israel went to Asshur, like a stubborn ass going by itself" (Ewald), nor by attaching to it those which follow, "like a wild ass going alone, Ephraim sued for loves," do we get any suitable point of comparison. The thought is rather this: whilst even a wild ass, that stupid animal, keeps by itself to maintain its independence, Ephraim tries to form unnatural alliances with the nations of the world, that is to say, alliances that are quite incompatible with its vocation. Hithnâh, from tânâh, probably a denom. of 'ethnâh (see at Hosea 2:14), to give the reward of prostitution, here in the sense of bargaining for amours, or endeavouring to secure them by presents. The kal yithnū has the same meaning in Hosea 8:10. The word אקבּצם, to which different renderings have been given, can only have a threatening or punitive sense here; and the suffix cannot refer to בּגּוים, but only to the subject contained in yithnu, viz., the Ephraimites. The Lord will bring them together, sc. among the nations, i.e., bring them all thither. קבּץ is used in a similar sense in Hosea 9:6. The more precise definition is added in the next clause, in the difficult expression ויּחלּוּ מעט, in which ויּחלּוּ may be taken most safely in the sense of "beginning," as in Judges 20:31; 2 Chronicles 29:17, and Ezekiel 9:6, in all of which this form occurs, and מעט as an adject. verb., connected with החל like the adjective כּהות in 1 Samuel 3:2 : "They begin to be, or become, less (i.e., fewer), on account of the burden of the king of princes," i.e., under the oppression which they will suffer from the king of Assyria, not by war taxes or deportation, but when carried away into exile. מלך שׂרים equals מלך מלכים is a term applied to the great Assyrian king, who boasted, according to Isaiah 10:8, that his princes were all kings.