Hosea 4:18

Hos 4:18 Their drink is sour: they have committed whoredom continually: her rulers [with] shame do love, Give ye.

Ver. 18. Their drink is sour] That is, they are past grace, and it is now past time a day to do them good: for thou seest how the matter mends with them, even as sour ale mends in summer: and how they even stink above ground, as Psa 14:2. Vina probantur odore, colore, sapore, &c., but their wine hath neither good colour, smell, nor savour or taste; it is dead and gone, and they are as trees twice dead and rotten, and therefore pulled up by the roots, such as the Latins call vappae, worthless fellows, that is, past the best, and now good for nothing: see Isa 1:22. What life or sweetness can be in apostates? yea, how sour and unsavoury to such are all fleshly comforts! They use to drink away their terrors, and drive away their melancholy dumps with merry company. But will that hold? what are such plasters better than the devil’s drugs, than his whistle, to call men off from better practices? There is a cup in the hands of the Lord, it is full of mixture, but extremly sour; and the very dregs thereof all the wicked of the earth shall wring them out, and drink them up, Psa 75:8, though it be eternity to the bottom.

They have committed whoredom continually] Here they are taxed for whoredom, as before for drunkenness (so some carry it), and afterwards for covetousness. This is that chariotmen of shame, flagitiorum trigae, whereby the prophet persuadeth Judah to shake off Israel, as not fit to be conversed with. He had charged them before with fornication of both sorts; here he showeth how unwearied they were in their wickedness, and in addition how intense, for fornicando fornicati sunt, they have done wickedly as they could, they have eked out their idolatries and adulteries, and though wearied and even wasted with the multitude of their wickedness, yet they have not given over, but are unsatisfied, and would sin in perpetuity: as that filthy fornicator who said he would desire no other heaven but to live for ever on earth, and to be carried from one brothel house to another. "She hath wearied herself with lies, and yet her great scum went not forth out of her: therefore shall it be in the fire," Eze 24:12. Therefore shall graceless wretches be tormented for ever, because they would sin for ever; and therefore suffer all extremity, because they do wickedly with both hands earnestly, Mic 7:3; woefully wasting the marrow of their time, the flower of their age, the strength of their bodies, the vigour of their spirits, in the pursuit of their lusts, in the froth and filth whereof is bred that worm that never dieth; which is nothing else but the furious reflection of the soul upon its own once wilful folly, and now woeful misery.

Her rulers with shame do love, Give ye] Her shields (oh shameful!) do love, Give ye; where there is in the original an elegant alliteration that cannot be translated, אהבו δαε Dilexerunt Afferte, not Afferre, as the Vulgate corruptly readeth it. The Doric dialect, the horse leech’s language, Give, Give, they are perfectly skilled in: δωροφαγια, gift-greediness, is all their delight: like the ravens of Arabia, that fullgorged, have a tuneable sweet record, but empty, screech horribly. Plerique officiarii, saith one: Very many rulers do as Plutarch reporteth of Stratocles and Dromoclites, a couple of corrupt officers, qui sese mutuo ad messem auream invitare solebant, who were wont to invite one another to the golden harvest, thereby meaning the court, and the judgment seat (Plutarch in Politic.). These follow the administration of justice as a trade only, with an unquenchable and unconscionable desire for gain: which justifieth the common resemblance of the courts of justice to the bush, whereunto while the sheep do flee for defence in weather, he is sure to lose part of his fleece. Now are these shields? are they not rather sharks? Are they protectors, and not rather pillagers, latrones publici, public robbers, as Cato called them? These shields of the earth belong to God, saith David, Psa 47:9, should they not then be like him "Now there is no iniquity with the Lord our God, nor accepting of persons, nor receiving of gifts," 2Ch 19:7, neither by, himself nor by his man Elisha, nor by his man’s man Gehazi, without distaste. By one period of speech, by one breath of the Lord, are they both forbidden: Deu 16:18-20, "Thou shalt not respect persons, nor receive a gift": For what reason: "A gift doth blind the eyes of the wise," yea, it transforms them into walking idols, that have eyes and see not, ears and hear not: only it leaveth them hands to handle, that the very touching whereof will infect and venom a man, as Pliny writes of the fish Torpedo. Let such, therefore, shake their hands from bribes, Isa 33:15, as Paul shook off the viper: and be so far from saying, Give ye, that he should rather say to those that offer it, "Thy money perish with thee." "He that hateth gifts shall live," Pro 15:27. Jethro’s justice of peace should be a man of courage, fearing God, hating covetousness, Exo 18:21; not bound to the peace (as one phraseth it) by a gift in a basket, nor struck dumb by the appearance of angels.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Hos_4:18 is obscure; here, as elsewhere in 15-19, the correctness of the Hebrew text is open to question. The uncertainty is increased by the conflicting testimony of the ancient versions. Assuming that the Hebrew text is correct, the following appears to be the most probable interpretation:

Their drink is sour — Certainly an incorrect translation.

Drink appears to be used in the sense of drinking, carousing (1Sa_1:14; 1Sa_25:37). The verb means is finished, is passed (1Sa_15:32); therefore R.V. margin is nearer the truth, “Their carouse is over.” The first two clauses of Hos_4:18 are thrown together without conjunction, due to the deep emotion of the prophet. The connection must be supplied and may be indicated thus: “When their carousing is over they play the harlot”; that is, when they grow weary of one form of sin they immediately plunge into another.

They have committed whoredom continually — The verb form describes a common practice, and would better be reproduced in the English by the present tense; so R.V., “they play the harlot continually.”

But this does not reproduce fully the force of the original. The emphasis is not upon the continuation, but upon the eagerness with which the immoralities are practiced; a better rendering would be, “they indulge in whoredom.”

Her rulers with shame do love, Give ye — R.V., “her rulers dearly love shame”; margin, “they are given up to love (impure love); her rulers are a shame,” while possible, is not so good. In the Hebrew three letters seem to be accidentally repeated; if they are omitted the text reads, “her rulers love shame”; a slight emendation would give the more emphatic reading of R.V.

Rulers — Literally, shields (Psa_47:9); the office of the rulers was to guard and shield the people. This they neglected to do; all they cared for were the shameful practices.

The section closes with an announcement of judgment, in Hos_4:19.

The wind hath bound [“wrapped”] her up in her [“its”] wings — The tense is the so-called prophetic perfect; the event is still future but imminent, and the prophet is sure of its occurrence. The figure expresses the suddenness and violence with which Israel will be swept away (Isa_59:19).

They shall be ashamed [“put to shame”] because of their sacrifices — Sacrifices, with an unusual plural ending in Hebrew, would stand for the religious cult in general; its corruption (11ff.) is the cause of the nation’s overthrow. Neither the margin, “their altars shall be put to shame” nor LXX., “they shall be put to shame because of their altars,” is as good. Hos_4:18-19 contain several linguistic peculiarities; the freedom in the use of the pronouns is unusual, and it is quite possible that the text of 11-19 has not been handed down in its original purity.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

CRITICAL NOTES.—

Hos_4:18. Sour] A metaphor for degeneracy in principle (Isa_1:22); turned, as we say of milk. They had lost all their life and taste of goodness [Pusey]. Rulers] Lit. shields, protectors, and supporters of the state. Love] Avarice and luxury. No remedy against corruption when rulers are bribed.

Hos_4:19. Bound her up] A tempest will suddenly and violently seize them, wrap them up, and carry them away (Psa_18:11; Psa_104:3; Isa_57:13). Ashamed] of idols and disappointed in hope. Disappointment is certain to those who seek out of God what can only be found in him.

HOMILETICS

THE BITTERNESS AND THE PUNISHMENT OF SIN.—Hos_4:18-19

In these verses we have another triplet of vice. The people are guilty of intemperance and adultery. The princes and leaders are covetous, pervert justice, and cry, “Give, give.” The whole nation had become sapless and corrupt. “Drink” is here put for the effect of sweet intoxicating wine. As sourness was opposed to sweetness, so sin is opposed to holiness and idolatry to the service of God. The verses set forth the bitterness and the punishment of sin.

I. The Bitterness of Sin. “Their drink is sour,” their delights are insipid and dead. Man’s spiritual appetite is strong, and God has made abundant provision for our happiness. But men indulge in sin, are not satisfied with healthful refreshment, and “add drunkenness to thirst.” The appetite, cloyed with indulgence, turns with disgust from the sweetest dainties, while “every bitter thing is sweet” to the hungry soul (Pro_27:7). So in spiritual things. The sinner has no relish, and feels no need for the bread of life. He seeks to quench his thirst by intoxicating pleasure or sensual indulgence. This may make him merry, but cannot make him happy. Whatever be the relish and allurements of sin, “at the last it biteth like a serpent and stingeth like an adder.” There is poison in the cup. Like the little book which the Apostle John had to take, sin is sweet as honey in the mouth, but when committed, bitter in the belly (Rev_10:9). “Life, they say, is sweet; I have found it bitter,” said a young artist in the closing scenes of death. Lord Chesterfield echoed the sentiment, when he said, “I have run the silly rounds of business and of pleasure, and have done with them all. I have enjoyed all the pleasures of the world and know their futility, and do not regret their loss. I appraise them at their real value, which is very low; whereas those who have not experienced them always overrate them. They only see the gay outside, and are dazzled with their glare; but I have been behind the scenes. I look back on all that is passed as one of those romantic dreams which opium commonly produces, and I have no wish to repeat the nauseous dose.” This Marah is never dry. No art can sweeten, no draughts exhaust its perennial waters of bitterness. The bitterness of sin consists—

1. In its wretchedness. Byron described himself as a man whose happiness was gone and could not be restored. “If I were to live over again,” he writes, “I do not know what I would change in my life, except not to have lived at all.”

2. In its dissatisfaction. After all toil and labour “the good” is ever absent. The thing which was expected to give joy palls on the instant it is obtained, like the apples of the Dead Sea, which turn to ashes when tasted. On and on! the spirit still cries, “Give, give.”

3. In its disappointment. Solomon had tried everything, but unalloyed happiness was still beyond his grasp. He drank from broken cisterns, tasted the wormwood and the gall, and gives the verdict—“All was vanity and vexation of spirit, and there was no profit under the sun.”

II. The Punishment of Sin. “The wind hath bound her up in her wings.” The simple meaning of this is that they would be carried away with a swift and shameful destruction. So sudden is the overthrow of the wicked, that his designs are baffled, his life upset, and he himself overwhelmed with the tempest. “He shall take them away as with a whirlwind.”

1. This destruction is sudden. The wind may sleep and be forgotten, but justice never fails. The sky is clear, men settle down, and undisturbed pursue their folly; but “when they shall say peace and safety, then sudden destruction cometh upon them.” In their revelries they will be surprised, and, like Belshazzar, “they shall not escape.”

2. This destruction is violent. What more violent than mighty winds tearing up the mountains and rending the rocks (Job_28:9). The wicked cannot stand before the tempest of God’s wrath and the thunder of his power. Cambyses, invading Ethiopia, sent a detachment to ravage the country. Herodotus says that “after they had left Oasis, they halted to take some repast, when a strong south wind arose and overwhelmed them beneath a mountain of sand.” Plutarch, in the Life, speaking of the design of Alexander “to visit the temple of Jupiter Ammon,” adds, “it was a long and laborious journey, and they might be surprised by a violent south wind amidst the wastes of sand, as it happened long before to the army of Cambyses. The wind raised the sand, and rolled it in such waves, that it devoured full 50,000 men.”

3. This destruction is shameful. “They shall be ashamed because of their sacrifices.” Ashamed on account of their sacrifices, or of them, and should forsake them and turn to God. But in any case both they and their sacrifices would be put to shame. (a) They would be disappointed in their sacrifices. They had brought nothing but evil, and not any good. Nothing good should be sought, or can be found, away from God. (b) They would be detected on hill and in dale, in public and private worship. They could not hide their shameful ways from God. Justice would discover them. “As the thief is ashamed when he is found, so is the house of Israel ashamed.” (c) They would be exposed in their shame. Exposed without refuge to Divine judgment. Shame and confusion of face will be the final issue of all the lofty expectations and the sinful ways of the ungodly. Shame is their present fruit, and what will be the results in eternity “of those things whereof ye are now ashamed?” “Many that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake; some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.” Avoid the guilt if you wish to escape the doom of Israel.

ILLUSTRATIONS TO CHAPTER 4

Hos_4:18-19. Pleasure taken into the soul is like liquor poured into a vessel so much of it as it fills it also seasons, the touch and the tincture go together. It is certain sin has no real pleasures to be stow; they are all embittered, either by the strokes of providence from without, or the accusations of conscience from within. The fine colours of the serpent do by no means make amends for the smart and poison of his sting.

Penalties are often so long delayed, that men think they shall escape them; but they are certain to follow. When the whirlwind sweeps through the forest, at its first breath that giant tree, with all its boughs, falls crashing to the ground. But it had been preparing to fall twenty years. Twenty years before it received a gash, the water commenced to settle in it at some notch, and from thence decay began to reach in towards the heart of the tree. Every year the work of death progressed, till at length it stood all rottenness, and the first gale felled it to the ground. There are men, who for twenty years shame the day and the night with debaucheries, who yet seem strong and vigorous, but in reality are full of weakness and decay. They have been preparing to fall, and the first storm will strike them down in a moment [Beecher].

The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.

"Their drinking has degenerated; whoring they have committed whoredom; their shields have loved, loved shame. Hos 4:19. The wind has wrapt it up in its wings, so that they are put to shame because of their sacrifices." סר from סוּר, to fall off, degenerate, as in Jer 2:21. סבא is probably strong, intoxicating wine (cf. Isa 1:22; Nah 1:10); here it signifies the effect of this wine, viz., intoxication. Others take sâr in the usual sense of departing, after Sa1 1:14, and understand the sentence conditionally: "when their intoxication is gone, they commit whoredom." But Hitzig has very properly object to this, that it is intoxication which leads to licentiousness, and not temperance. Moreover, the strengthening of hisnū by the inf. abs. is not in harmony with this explanation. The hiphil hiznâh is used in an emphatic sense, as in Hos 4:10. The meaning of the last half of the verse is also a disputed point, more especially on account of the word הבוּ, which only occurs here, and which can only be the imperative of יהב (הבוּ for הבוּ), or a contraction of אהבוּ. All other explanations are arbitrary. But we are precluded from taking the word as an imperative by קלון, which altogether confuses the sense, if we adopt the rendering "their shields love 'Give ye' - shame." We therefore prefer taking הבוּ as a contraction of אהבוּ, and אהבוּ הבוּ as a construction resembling the pealal form, in which the latter part of the fully formed verb is repeated, with the verbal person as an independent form (Ewald, 120), viz., "their shields loved, loved shame," which yields a perfectly suitable thought. The princes are figuratively represented as shields, as in Ps. 47:10, as the supporters and protectors of the state. They love shame, inasmuch as they love the sin which brings shame. This shame will inevitably burst upon the kingdom. The tempest has already seized upon the people, or wrapt them up with its wings (cf. Psa 18:11; Psa 104:3), and will carry them away (Isa 57:13). צרר, literally to bind together, hence to lay hold of, wrap up. Rūăch, the wind, or tempest, is a figurative term denoting destruction, like רוּח קדים in Hos 13:15 and Eze 5:3-4. אותהּ refers to Ephraim represented as a woman, like the suffix attached to מגנּיה in Hos 4:18. יבשׁוּ מזּבחותם, to be put to shame on account of their sacrifices, i.e., to be deceived in their confidence in their idols (bōsh with min as in Hos 10:6; Jer 2:36; Jer 12:13, etc.), or to discover that the sacrifices which they offered to Jehovah, whilst their heart was attached to the idols, did not save from ruin. The plural formation זבחות for זבחים only occurs here, but it has many analogies in its favour, and does not warrant our altering the reading into מזבּחותם, after the Sept. ἐκ τῶν θυσιατηρίων, as Hitzig proposes; whilst the inadmissibility of this proposal is sufficiently demonstrated by the fact that there is nothing to justify the omission of the indispensable מן, and the cases which Hitzig cites as instances in which min is omitted (viz., Zac 14:10; Psa 68:14, and Deu 23:11) are based upon a false interpretation.

Keil & Delitzsch — Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament (1861–1891) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API. (Old Testament only.)

They are so impudent in receiving bribes, that they will command men to bring them unto them.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

Their drink is sour--metaphor for utter degeneracy of principle (Isa 1:22). Or, unbridled licentiousness; not mere ordinary sin, but as abandoned as drunkards who vomit and smell sour with wine potations [CALVIN]. MAURER not so well translates, "When their drinking is over, they commit whoredoms," namely, in honor of Astarte (Hos 4:13-14).

her rulers--Israel's; literally, "shields" (compare Psa 47:9).

with shame . . . love, Give ye-- (Pro 30:15). No remedy could be effectual against their corruptions since the very rulers sold justice for gifts [CALVIN]. MAURER translates, "The rulers are marvelously enamored of shame." English Version is better.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 18. Their drink is sour] Or rather, he is gone after their wine. The enticements of idolatry have carried them away.

Her rulers with shame do love] Rather, have loved shame; they glory in their abominations.

Give ye.] Perhaps it would be better to read, Her rulers have committed, &c. They have loved gifts. What a shame! These were their rulers, literally, their shields. Justice and judgment were perverted.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

The Prophet, using a metaphor, says here first, that their drink had become putrid; which means, that they had so intemperately given themselves up to every kind of wickedness, that all things among them had become fetid. And the Prophet alludes to shameful and beastly excess: for the drunken are so addicted to wine, that they emit a disgusting smell, and are never satisfied with drinking, until by spewing, they throw up the excessive draughts they have taken. The Prophet then had this in view. He speaks not, however, of the drinking of wine, this is certain: but by drunkenness, on the contrary, he means that unbridled licentiousness, which then prevailed among the people. Since then they allowed themselves every thing they pleased without shame, they seemed like drunken men, insatiable, who, when wholly given to wine, think it their highest delight ever to have wine on the palate, or to fill copiously the throat, or to glut their stomach: when drunken men do these things, then they send forth the offensive smell of wine. This then is what the Prophet means, when he says, Putrid has become their drink; that is, the people observe no moderation in sinning; they offend not God now, in the common and usual manner, but are wholly like beastly men, who are nothing ashamed, constantly to belch and to spew, so that they offend by their fetid smell all who meet them. Such are this people.

He afterwards adds, By wantoning they have become wanton This is another comparison. The Prophet, we know, has hitherto been speaking of wantonness in a metaphorical sense, signifying thereby, that Israel perfidiously abandoned themselves to idols, and thus violated their faith pledged to the true God. He now follows the same metaphor here, ‘By wantoning they have become wanton.’ Hence he reproaches and represents them as infamous on two accounts, — because they cast aside every shame, like the drunken who are so delighted with wine, that through excess they send forth its offensive smell, — and because they were like wantons.

At last he says, Her princes have shamefully loved, Bring ye Here, in a peculiar way, the Prophet shows that the great sinned with extreme licentiousness; for they were given to bribery: and the eyes of the wise, we know, are blinded, and the hearts of the just are perverted, by gifts. But the Prophet designedly made this addition, that we might know that there were then none among the people who attempted to apply a remedy to the many prevailing vices; for even the rulers coveted gain; no one remembered for what purpose he had been called. Hence it happened that every one indulged himself with impunity in whatever pleased him. How so? Because there were no censors of public morals. Here we see in what a wretched state the people are, when there are none to exercise discipline, when even the judges gape for gain, and care for nothing but for gifts and riches; for then what the Prophet describes here as to the people of Israel must happen. Her princes, then, have loved, Bring ye.

Respecting the word קלון, kolun, we must shortly say, that Hosea does not simply allude to any kinds of gifts, but to such gifts as proved that there was a public sale of justice; as though he said, “Now the judges, when they say, Bring ye, when they love, Bring ye, make no distinction whatever between right and wrong, and think all this lawful; for the people are become insensible to such a disgraceful conduct: hence they basely and shamefully seek gain.”

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

(18, 19) The Authorised version is here very defective. Translate, Their carousal hath become degraded; with whoring they whore. Her shields love shame. A blast hath seized her in its wings, so that they are covered with shame for their offerings. “Shields” mean the princes of the people, as in Psa_47:9. The fern. “her” in these verses refers to Ephraim, in accordance with the common Hebrew idiom. The change of person to the masculine plural is characteristic of the style of Hebrew prophecy. The storm-wind hath seized upon her with its wings—carried her away like a swarm of locusts or a baffled bird.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

18. Their drink is sour …] This translation is cannot be sustained philologically. If the text is correct, the only version at once intelligible and philologically sound is, ‘Their drunkenness has passed by.’ For the rendering of the verb comp. 1Sa_15:32 Hebr., and for ‘drunkenness’, lit. drink, comp. 1Sa_1:14; 1Sa_25:37 (where ‘wine’ must be synonymous with ‘the fumes of wine’). Connecting this clause with the following, we may render (as Henderson, following the Jewish commentator Abarbanel), When their carousal is over they indulge in lewdness, i.e. when tired of one sin they plunge without scruple into another. The Sept. rendering ἡρέτισε Χαναναίους is very difficult to justify. The Peshito omits the words. St Jerome explains the whole clause, Factum est, inquit Deus, convivium eorum à me alienum.

her rulers with shame do love, Give ye] Rather, her shields are enamoured of infamy (Henderson). This involves a slight change in the points, necessary in order to make sense of the word rendered ‘infamy.’ Probably, however, as Abp. Seeker was the first to infer from Sept. and Pesh., there is an erroneous repetition of three letters (comp. a similar case in Psa_88:17), so that we may render simply, ‘her shields love infamy’ (‘shields’ for ‘rulers’, as Psa_47:9). The Septuagint, indeed, suggests a various reading which possibly deserves the preference; it renders, ἠγάπησαν ἀτιμίαν ἐκ φρυάγματος αὐτῆς. Here, as in Amo_8:7, the Greek translator seems to have misunderstood the expression, ‘the excellency of Jacob’ (i.e. Jehovah). The Hebrew which he had before them may be thus put into English, they love infamy rather than her Excellency (or, her Pride, i.e. Jehovah, Israel’s God). Φρύαγμα is in fact the rendering of Heb. gâôn in Zec_11:3 and three other passages.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Their drink is sour,.... In their stomachs, having drank so much that they cannot digest it; hence nauseous eructations, with a filthy stench, are belched out; so it is a charge of drunkenness which Ephraim or the ten tribes were addicted to, and are accused of, Isa 28:1 or "their drink is gone" (y); it has lost its colour, brightness, smell, and flavour; it is turned to vinegar; expressive of the general corruption and depravity of manners and religion among them; see Isa 1:22 or "their drink departeth", or "causeth to depart"; or "is refractory" (z); that is, it made them refractory, like a refractory belief, as before; caused them to depart from God and his worship, and led them into all sin and irreligion, particularly what follows:

they have committed whoredom continually; corporeal whoredom, which drunkenness leads to; and spiritual whoredom or idolatry, which they had committed, and continued in, ever since the days of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and increased therein:

her rulers with shame do love, give ye; or "her shields" (a); those that should have been the protectors of Israel, compared before to a heifer; and preserved them not only from their external enemies, but from all innovations in religion; and which we rightly enough render "rulers", civil and ecclesiastic, kings, princes, and priests; see Psa 47:9, these "loved, give ye", which was a "shame" to them: the sense is, either they loved gifts and bribes, and were continually saying, "give, give", when causes were to be tried, and so perverted justice and judgment, which was very shameful; or they loved wine and strong drink, and therefore required it to be continually given them, which was very scandalous in rulers more especially, Pro 30:4; or they loved whoredom, both in a corporeal and spiritual sense, and desired more harlots and more idols, and added to their old ones, which was very abominable and ignominious. So the Targum,

"they turned themselves after fornication they loved, which brought shame unto them;''

and these may be considered as so many reasons why Judah should have nothing to do with Israel.

(y) "recessit potus eorum", Montanus, Drusius; "recessit vinum eorum", Schmidt. (z) "Recedere fecit inerum eorum", Tarnovius; "refractarium est merum eorum", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator. (a) "clypei ejus", Montanus, Vatablus; "scuta ejus", Drusius, Tarnovius; "cujus clypei", Cocceius.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Their drink is sour - Literally, “turned,” as we say of milk. So Isaiah says, “Thy silver is become dross; thy wine is mingled,” i. e., adulterated, “with water” Isa 1:22; and our lord speaks of “salt which had lost its savor.” The wine or the salt, when once turned or become insipid, is spoiled, irrecoverably, as we speak of “dead wine.” They had lost all their life, and taste of goodness.

Her rulers with shame do love, give ye - Avarice and luxury are continually banded together according to the saying, “covetous of another’s, prodigal of his own.” Yet it were perhaps more correct to render, “her rulers do love, do love, shame.” They love that which brings shame, which is bound up with shame, and ends in it; and so the prophet says that they “love the shame” itself. They act, as if they were in love with the shame, which, all their lives long, they are unceasingly and, as it were, by system, drawing upon themselves. They chase diligently after all the occasions of sins and sinful pleasures which end in shame; they omit nothing which brings it, do nothing which can avoid it. What else or what more could they do, if they “loved the shame” for its own sake?

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Separated from that allowed to God’s people, Deuteronomy xii. 12. Hebrew, "insipid," or spoiled. Chaldean, "their princes have sought after banquets." Septuagint, "He has provoked (surpassed) the Chanaanites." These two have not read as we do. --- They. Hebrew, "their shields (chiefs) have loved shame:" dissolute practices, or "presents," which are disgraceful. (Calmet) --- Septuagint, "They have loved shame by her rage. (19) A whirlwind shall whistle in," &c. (Haydock)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

Though in their idol feasts they drink wine and strong drinks, yet this is either sour and unpleasant, or corrupt and hurtful, there is no good savour in it; therefore, O Judah, decline thou the intimate familiarity, and have nothing to do with the idolatries, of Israel.

They have committed whoredom, both spiritual and corporal, continually, without ceasing from Jeroboam’s time to this day, two hundred years, one king after another, and one idolater after another; not one but either was an idolatrous worshipper of Baal or the calves, &c.

Her rulers with shame do love, Give ye; beside all this, there is shameful oppression and bribery among them; and what good then, O Judah, canst thou look for from society and friendship with them?

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Vers. 18, 19. The first of these two verses gives a picture of the degeneracy of the times; the second predicts the destruction that would ensue. Their drink is sour (margin, is gone): they have committed whoredom continually. If the first clause be taken literally,

(1) it denotes a charge of drunkenness preferred against Ephraim. To this vice the people of the northern kingdom, as is well known, were addicted: the wine, from oft-repeated potations, became sour in the stomach and produced loathsome eructations.

(2) Some, connecting closely the first and second clauses, and translating as in the margin, explain the meaning to be that "when their intoxication is gone they commit whoredom." But though drunkenness and debauchery frequently go together, it is rather during the former than afterwards that the latter is indulged in.

(3) The first clause had better be understood figuratively, and the latter either literally or figuratively, or both. Thus the sense is the degeneracy of principle among the people in general, or rather among the principal men of that day. By the finest wine becoming vapid, the prophet represents the leading men of the nation, on whom so much depended and from whom so much might be expected, as becoming unprincipled, and as being addicted to immorality or idolatry, or probably both (hazneh hiznu): "whoring they have committed whoredom.

(1) Her rulers (margin, shields) with shame do love, Give ye; or rather,

(2) her shields lore, love shame. The first takes Ybhe for Wbh, as imperative of bhy, to give, and should rather be, "Her shields love, " Give ye shame, as there is no preposition before the word "shame;" even thus it is awkward. Most modern expositors take Wbhe as a contraction of w bhea, and so a repetition of part of the full verb preceding; thus: Wbhe Wbja, equivalent to "loved, loved." Ewald, Delitzsch, and Pusey understand it so; the latter says this "is probably one of the earliest forms of the intensive verb, repeating a part of the verb itself with its inflection." And Keil calls it "a construction resembling the pealal form." Among the sebirin, or conjectural readings, we find both words united into one; thus: Wbhebha, equivalent to "mightily love." The shields are the princes, or natural protectors of the state, as in Psa_47:9, "The princes of the people are gathered together..., for the shields of the earth be. long unto God." The shame they loved was the sin which is a shame to either princes or people, causes shame, and ends in shame. Isaiah expounds the thought, (Isa_1:22) a comparison of which confirms the above exposition.

(1) The wind hath bound her up in her wings; or,

(2) she hath bound up the wind with her in her skirts.

In the one case the wind is the strong storm-wind of Divine wrath that will seize on Ephraim, wrap her up with its wings, and carry her away. In the other, Ephraim wraps up the wind, that is, disappointment, the result of her sin, in the fold of her skirt. The

(1) translation of the first clause of ver. 19 is supported by Rashi: "The storm takes her in its wings, as that bird which the wind does not let rest until it makes him go far away; so the enemies will come upon them and carry them into exile." Translation

(2) is favored by Aben Ezra and Kimchi; the former says, "As the man who binds the wind in the folds of his robe without finding anything therein." And they shall be ashamed because of their sacrifices. Frustrated in her hopes, and disappointed by the idols, from which she hoped so much and got so little, she is ashamed of the sacrifices she offered them; not of the altars (LXX), for the preposition rain is indispensable.

Abandonment.

Ephraim is in this book taken as the representative of the northern tribes, because it was the most numerous and powerful, and seems to have been the leader in the apostasy of Israel. The principle of this verse is one which we can recognize as just, but one upon which it would be dangerous, without authority, for erring man to act.

I THE CASE DESCRIBED IS ONE OF RESOLUTE APOSTASY AND IDOLATRY. Ephraim is represented, as not only idolatrous, but confirmed in idolatry. Having forsaken the Lord, Israel has gone after strange gods, and is joined unto them as in an adulterous connection. There are those who not only fall into sin, but wallow in sin; who are not only tempted, but delight in yielding to temptation.

II THE HUMAN ABANDONMENT HERE COUNSELED. "Let him alone." This presumes that many efforts to reform the sinful have been made. It would not, indeed, be lawful for man to give such a direction as this; but God gives it. Why? Doubtless that the sinner may be left to his own devices, to reap the consequence of his sinful ways. Expostulations, entreaties, threats, have all failed; and man can do no more. It is time for God to work; and he teaches by allowing the disobedient to eat the fruit of their conduct. "The way of transgressors is hard;" and they must walk therein in order to learn that this is so.

III THOSE ABANDONED BY MEN ARE NOT ABANDONED BY GOD. Mercy dictates the treatment here counseled. Ephraim is "let alone," in order that, learning by bitter experience the evil of sin, Ephraim may turn unto the Lord, and so seek and find pardon and acceptance. The eye of God is upon the abandoned sinner, and the hand of God is ready, at the right moment, to be stretched forth to deliver and to save. For such the mercy of the Sovereign, the grace of the Savior, may yet avail. T.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Their drink - Their wine is corrupt and hurtful. Continually - Without ceasing from Jeroboam's time to this day. Give ye - Beside there is shameful oppression and bribery among them.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

Their drinking bouts have become strange Their drinking bouts have become estranged from Me. סָר is an expression of ‘foreign.’ Comp. (Jer. 2:21) “a degenerate wild vine (סוּרֵי הַגֶּפֶן נָכְרִיָּה),” i.e., removed from its place and changed to another.

סָבְאָם Their wine feast that was with the harlots.

love to invite disgrace Heb. הֵבוּ. They invited disgrace for themselves. הֵבוּ is an expression of preparation. Comp. (Gen. 11:4) “Get ready (הָבָה) and let us build,” “Get ready (הָבָה) and let us descend,” (Ex. 10: 1) “Get ready (הָבָה) and let us deal wisely.”

her rulers Heb. מָגִנֶּיהָ, her shields, her princes and her kings.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.