Hosea 7:1
in Hosea 7When I heal Israel, the iniquity of Ephraim will be exposed, as well as the crimes of Samaria. For they practice deceit and thieves break in; bandits raid in the streets.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
When I would heal Israel, then is the iniquity of Ephraim uncovered, and the wickedness of Samaria; for they commit falsehood, and the thief entereth in, and the troop of robbers ravageth without.
KJV
When I would have healed Israel, then the iniquity of Ephraim was discovered, and the wickedness of Samaria: for they commit falsehood; and the thief cometh in, and the troop of robbers spoileth without.
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This verse in Hosea 7
Commentary
7 notes on this verseWhen I wanted to heal Israel, the iniquity of Ephraim was revealed, and the malice of Samaria: for they have wrought falsehood, and a thief is come in to spoil, a robber without. The Septuagint likewise. Often has Israel received wounds of idolatry, and especially that one, when in the desert they fashioned a calf's head, and said: 'These are thy gods, O Israel, that have brought thee out of the land of Egypt' (Exod. XXXII, 4).
This site's exposition
When I would have healed Israel
on Hosea 7:1-3
The healer is refused before he can finish his work: when the Lord would have healed Israel, the iniquity of Ephraim only came into fuller view, a thief working within the walls and a troop of robbers ranging outside them. Verse two turns from the public crimes to the hidden ledger, they consider not in their hearts that I remember all their wickedness, their own doings surrounding them and standing before God's face whether they notice or not. Even the throne is implicated, princes made glad with lies rather than warned by truth, so no rank in the nation stands outside the corruption the prophet is describing.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
When I would have healed Israel,....
When they began to prosper they grew more proud, wanton, and secure, and so stopped the progress of their cure. Note, It is sin that turns away good things from us when they are coming towards us; and it is the folly and ruin of multitudes that, when God would do well for them, they do ill for themselves.
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Political, as well as moral, healing is meant. When I would have healed Israel in its calamitous state, then their iniquity was discovered to be so great as to preclude hope of recovery. Then he enumerates their wickedness: "The thief cometh in (indoors stealthily), and the troop of robbers spoileth without" (out-of-doors with open violence).
When I would have healed Israel - As soon as one wound was healed, another was discovered. Scarcely was one sin blotted out till another was committed. The thief cometh in - Their own princes spoil them. The troop of robbers spoileth without - The Assyrians, under different leaders, waste and plunder the country.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
When I would have healed Israel - God begins anew by appealing to Israel, that all which He had done to heal them, had but served to make their sin more evident, and “that,” from highest to lowest, as to all manners and ways of sin. When the flash of God’s light on the sinner’s conscience enlightens it not, it only discloses its darkness.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
When I would heal Israel When I wish to save them and heal them, their iniquities are revealed before Me, for they constantly commit falsehood, and thieves come constantly from them and steal their neighbors’ property, and also their bands spread out with lawlessness, to rob the people.
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. 4 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
15 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כְּרָפְאִ֣י | kerafei | when heal I | H7495 → | 67 times |
| לְיִשְׂרָאֵ֗ל | leyisrael | <to> Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| וְנִגְלָ֞ה | veniglah | and it is revealed | H1540 → | 186 times |
| עֲוֹ֤ן | ʾavon | [the] iniquity of | H5771 → | 233 times |
| אֶפְרַ֙יִם֙ | ʾefrayim | Ephraim | H669 → | 180 times |
| וְרָע֣וֹת | veraot | and [the] evil deeds of | H7451 → | 662 times |
| שֹֽׁמְר֔וֹן | shomeron | Samaria | H8111 → | 109 times |
| כִּ֥י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| פָעֲל֖וּ | faalu | they do | H6466 → | |
| שָׁ֑קֶר | shaker | falsehood | H8267 → | |
| וְגַנָּ֣ב | veganav | and a thief | H1590 → | |
| יָב֔וֹא | yavo' | he comes | H935 → | 2568 times |
| פָּשַׁ֥ט | pashat | it attacks | H6584 → | |
| גְּד֖וּד | gedud | a marauding band | H1416 → | |
| בַּחֽוּץ׃ | bachutz | in the street | H2351 → |
כְּרָפְאִ֣יwhen heal I
kerafeiH7495 →67 times
לְיִשְׂרָאֵ֗ל<to> Israel
leyisraelH3478 →2507 times
וְנִגְלָ֞הand it is revealed
veniglahH1540 →186 times
עֲוֹ֤ן[the] iniquity of
ʾavonH5771 →233 times
אֶפְרַ֙יִם֙Ephraim
ʾefrayimH669 →180 times
וְרָע֣וֹתand [the] evil deeds of
veraotH7451 →662 times
שֹֽׁמְר֔וֹןSamaria
shomeronH8111 →109 times
כִּ֥יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
פָעֲל֖וּthey do
faaluH6466 →
שָׁ֑קֶרfalsehood
shakerH8267 →
וְגַנָּ֣בand a thief
veganavH1590 →
יָב֔וֹאhe comes
yavo'H935 →2568 times
פָּשַׁ֥טit attacks
pashatH6584 →
גְּד֖וּדa marauding band
gedudH1416 →
בַּחֽוּץ׃in the street
bachutzH2351 →
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
Luke 13:34O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those sent to her, how often I have longed to gather your children together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you…
it leads to
- Matthew 23:37–39
O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those sent to her, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you…
- Deuteronomy 32:11–12
As an eagle stirs up its nest and hovers over its young, He spread His wings to catch them and carried them on His pinions.
- Luke 19:41–42
As Jesus approached Jerusalem and saw the city, He wept over it
- Acts 7:52
Which of the prophets did your fathers fail to persecute? They even killed those who foretold the coming of the Righteous One. And now you are His betrayers and murderers—
- Isaiah 30:15
For the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel, has said: “By repentance and rest you would be saved; your strength would lie in quiet confidence—but you were not willing.”
- Matthew 23:37–39
Through
Luke 19:42and said, “If only you had known on this day what would bring you peace! But now it is hidden from your eyes.
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 32:29
If only they were wise, they would understand it; they would comprehend their fate.
- Luke 1:77–79
to give to His people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins,
- Isaiah 48:18
If only you had paid attention to My commandments, your peace would have been like a river, and your righteousness like waves of the sea.
- Deuteronomy 32:29
About Hosea
Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Carl Friedrich Keil, The Twelve Minor Prophets; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Hosea 7:1; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.