Hosea 11:5
in Hosea 11Will they not return to the land of Egypt and be ruled by Assyria because they refused to repent?
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
They shall not return into the land of Egypt; but the Assyrian shall be their king, because they refused to return to me.
KJV
He shall not return into the land of Egypt, but the Assyrian shall be his king, because they refused to return.
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This verse in Hosea 11
Commentary
8 notes on this verse"It won't return to the land of Egypt, and Assur himself" (The Vulgate adds "is") "its king, because they refused to convert. The sword has begun in its cities, and will consume its chosen ones: it will eat their heads, and my people will hang in my return. But a yoke will be imposed on them together, which will not be removed." LXX: "Ephraim will dwell in Egypt, and Assur himself will be its king: because he did not want to convert.
This site's exposition
the Assyrian shall be his king
on Hosea 11:5-7
He shall not return into the land of Egypt reads with the readings named: some of the bench take it literally against a flight to Egypt for help, others read it as Egypt standing for the old bondage now to be exchanged for a new one under Assyria, since they refused to return to the Lord who called them. The sword shall abide on his cities pictures the coming invasion consuming what their own counsels built, and my people are bent to backsliding names a settled posture rather than a single lapse, called to the most High yet none exalting him, the plea met with silence.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Here is God very angry, and justly so, with Israel; see what are the tokens of God's displeasure with which they are here threatened. God, who brought them out of Egypt, to take them for a people to himself, since they would not be faithful to him, shall bring them into a worse condition than he at first found them in (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
Note, Those that will not return to the duties they have left cannot expect to return to the comforts they have lost. God, who gave them Canaan, that good land, and a very safe and comfortable settlement in it, shall bring his judgments upon them there, which shall make their habitation unsafe and uncomfortable (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
He shall not return into the land of Egypt,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
He shall not return to Egypt - Some had probably returned already to Egypt; the rest were looking to Egypt for help, and rebelling against the Assyrian, (whose servant their king Hoshea had become), and making alliance with So king of Egypt. The prophet tells them, as a whole, that they shall not return to Egypt to which they looked, but should have the Assyrian for their king, whom they would not. “They refused to return” to God, who lovingly called them; therefore, what they desired, they should not have; and what they feared, that they should have.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
In a figurative sense, "he shall return to Egypt" (Ho 9:3), that is, to Egypt-like bondage; also many Jewish fugitives were literally to return to Egypt, when the Holy Land was to be in Assyrian and Chaldean hands.
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
He shall not return into - Egypt - I have brought them thence already, with the design that the nation should never return thither again; but as they have sinned, and forfeited my favor and protection, they shall go to Assyria; and this because they refused to return to me. This view of the verse removes every difficulty.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
with cords of a man I constantly drew them with tender cords with which a man draws his son; i.e., drawing mercifully. Jonathan, too, rendered it in this manner.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 3 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
11 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| לֹ֤א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יָשׁוּב֙ | yashuv | he will return | H7725 → | 1056 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| אֶ֣רֶץ | ʾeretz | [the] land of | H776 → | 2504 times |
| מִצְרַ֔יִם | mitzrayim | Egypt | H4714 → | 641 times |
| וְאַשּׁ֖וּר | veashur | and Assyria | H804 → | 151 times |
| ה֣וּא | hu' | it | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| מַלְכּ֑וֹ | malko | [will be] king his | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| כִּ֥י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| מֵאֲנ֖וּ | meanu | they have refused | H3985 → | |
| לָשֽׁוּב׃ | lashuv | to repent | H7725 → | 1056 times |
לֹ֤אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
יָשׁוּב֙he will return
yashuvH7725 →1056 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
אֶ֣רֶץ[the] land of
ʾeretzH776 →2504 times
מִצְרַ֔יִםEgypt
mitzrayimH4714 →641 times
וְאַשּׁ֖וּרand Assyria
veashurH804 →151 times
ה֣וּאit
hu'H1931 →1879 times
מַלְכּ֑וֹ[will be] king his
malkoH4428 →2525 times
כִּ֥יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
מֵאֲנ֖וּthey have refused
meanuH3985 →
לָשֽׁוּב׃to repent
lashuvH7725 →1056 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Hosea 9:3They will not remain in the land of the LORD; Ephraim will return to Egypt and eat unclean food in Assyria.
it leads to
- Ezekiel 4:13
Then the LORD said, “This is how the Israelites will eat their defiled bread among the nations to which I will banish them.”
- Hosea 8:13
Though they offer sacrifices as gifts to Me, and though they eat the meat, the LORD does not accept them. Now He will remember their iniquity and punish their sins: They will return to…
- Leviticus 25:23
The land must not be sold permanently, because it is Mine, and you are but foreigners and residents with Me.
- Jeremiah 2:7
I brought you into a fertile land to eat its fruit and bounty, but you came and defiled My land, and made My inheritance detestable.
- Ezekiel 4:13
Through
Hosea 10:6Yes, it will be carried to Assyria as tribute to the great king. Ephraim will be seized with shame; Israel will be ashamed of its wooden idols.
it leads to
- Hosea 5:13
When Ephraim saw his sickness and Judah his wound, then Ephraim turned to Assyria and sent to the great king. But he cannot cure you or heal your wound.
- Isaiah 30:3
But Pharaoh’s protection will become your shame, and the refuge of Egypt’s shade your disgrace.
- Hosea 5:13
Through
Hosea 7:16They turn, but not to the Most High; they are like a faulty bow. Their leaders will fall by the sword for the cursing of their tongue; for this they will be ridiculed in…
it leads to
- Psalms 78:57
They turned back and were faithless like their fathers, twisted like a faulty bow.
- Psalms 78:57
Through
Hosea 8:13Though they offer sacrifices as gifts to Me, and though they eat the meat, the LORD does not accept them. Now He will remember their iniquity and punish their sins: They will return to…
it leads to
- Hosea 9:9
They have deeply corrupted themselves as in the days of Gibeah; He will remember their guilt; He will punish their sins.
- Hosea 9:9
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies5
On this verse
On this chapter
About Hosea
Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
- PlaceThe NileEgyptThe land where Joseph rose, where Israel grew into a nation in bondage, where the Passover lamb was slain and the sea opened, and…
- PlaceUpper MesopotamiaAssyriaMesopotamian empire whose capital Nineveh repented at Jonah's preaching and fell to Nahum's burden in 612 BC; the rod of God's ang…
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Edward Bouverie Pusey, The Minor Prophets: A Commentary; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Hosea 11:5-7; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.