Bible Commentaries

Rejoice not, O Israel, for joy, ^a as [other] people: for thou hast gone a whoring from thy God, thou hast loved ^b a reward upon every cornfloor.

(a) For even though all other people should escape, yet you will be punished.

(b) You have committed idolatry in hope of reward, and to have your barns filled ((Jeremiah 44:17)), as a harlot that had rather live by playing the whore, than to be provided for by her own husband.

^c The floor and the winepress shall not feed them, and the new wine shall fail in her.

(c) These outward things that you seek will be taken from you.

They shall not offer ^d wine [offerings] to the LORD, neither shall they be pleasing unto him: their sacrifices [shall be] unto them as the bread of mourners; all that eat thereof shall be polluted: for their bread ^e for their soul shall not come into the house of the LORD.

(d) All their doings both with regard to administration and religion, will be rejected as polluted things.

(e) The meat offering which they offered for themselves.

What will ye do ^f in the solemn day, and in the day of the feast of the LORD?

(f) When the Lord will take away all the occasions of serving him, which will be the most grievous part of your captivity, when you will see yourselves cut off from God.

For, lo, they are gone because of ^g destruction: Egypt shall gather them up, Memphis shall bury them: the pleasant [places] for their silver, nettles shall possess them: thorns [shall be] in their tabernacles.

(g) Even though they think to escape by fleeing the destruction that is at hand, yet they will be destroyed in the place where they flee for help.

The days of visitation are come, the days of recompence are come; Israel shall know [it]: ^h the prophet [is] a fool, the spiritual man [is] mad, for the multitude of thine iniquity, and the great hatred.

(h) Then they will know that they were deluded by those who claimed themselves to be their prophets and spiritual men.

The watchman of Ephraim ⁱ [was] with my God: [but] the prophet [is] a snare of a fowler in all his ways, [and] hatred in the house of his God.

(i) The Prophet's duty is to bring men to God, and not to be a snare to pull them from God.

They ^k have deeply corrupted [themselves], as in the days of Gibeah: [therefore] he will remember their iniquity, he will visit their sins.

(k) This people is so rooted in their wickedness, that Gibeah, which was similar to Sodom, was never more corrupt; (Judges 19:22).

I found Israel like ^l grapes in the wilderness; I saw your fathers as the firstripe in the fig tree at her first time: [but] they went to Baalpeor, and separated themselves unto [that] shame; and [their] abominations were according ^m as they loved.

(l) Meaning, that he esteemed them and delighted in them in this way.

(m) They were as abominable to me, as their lovers the idols.

[As for] Ephraim, their glory shall fly away like a bird, from the birth, ⁿ and from the womb, and from the conception.

(n) Signifying that God would destroy their children by these different means, and so consume them by little and little.

Ephraim, as I saw ^o Tyrus, [is] planted in a pleasant place: but Ephraim shall bring forth his children to the murderer.

(o) As they kept tender plants in their houses in Tyrus to preserve them from the cold air of the sea, so was Ephraim at the first to me: but now I will give him to the slaughter.

Give them, O LORD: what wilt thou give? give them a ^p miscarrying womb and dry breasts.

(p) The Prophet seeing the great plagues of God toward Ephraim, prays to God to make them barren, rather than that this great slaughter should come upon their children.

All their wickedness [is] in ^q Gilgal: for there I hated them: for the wickedness of their doings I will drive them out of mine house, I will love them no more: all their princes [are] revolters.

(q) The chief cause of their destruction is that they commit idolatry, and corrupt my religion in Gilgal.