Berean Standard Bible
Hosea 8:7
7For they sow the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind. There is no standing grain; what sprouts fails to yield flour. Even if it should produce, the foreigners would swallow it up.
Hosea 8:7 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)For they have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind: it hath no stalk: the bud shall yield no meal: if so be it yield, the strangers shall swallow it up.
- New International Version (NIV)“They sow the wind and reap the whirlwind. The stalk has no head; it will produce no flour. Were it to yield grain, foreigners would swallow it up.
- English Standard Version (ESV)For they sow the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind. The standing grain has no heads; it shall yield no flour; if it were to yield, strangers would devour it.
- New King James Version (NKJV)“They sow the wind, And reap the whirlwind. The stalk has no bud; It shall never produce meal. If it should produce, Aliens would swallow it up.
Context of Hosea 8:7
5He has rejected your calf, O Samaria. My anger burns against them. How long will they be incapable of innocence? 6For this thing is from Israel— a craftsman made it, and it is not God. It will be broken to pieces, that calf of Samaria. For they sow the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind. There is no standing grain; what sprouts fails to yield flour. Even if it should produce, the foreigners would swallow it up. 8Israel is swallowed up! Now they are among the nations like a worthless vessel. 9For they have gone up to Assyria like a wild donkey on its own. Ephraim has hired lovers.
Read all of Hosea 8Hosea 8:7 word by word
כִּ֛י ר֥וּחַ יִזְרָ֖עוּ וְסוּפָ֣תָה יִקְצֹ֑רוּ קָמָ֣ה אֵֽין־ל֗וֹ צֶ֚מַח בְּלִ֣י יַֽעֲשֶׂה־קֶּ֔מַח אוּלַ֣י יַֽעֲשֶׂ֔ה זָרִ֖ים יִבְלָעֻֽהוּ׃Read the interlinear
- Forכִּיkîy · forH3588
- they sowזָרַעzâra‛ · to sowH2232
- the windרוּחַrûach · spirit: breathH7307
- and they shall reapקָצַרqâtsar · to reapH7114
- the whirlwindסוּפָהsûphâh · whirlwindH5492
- There is noאַ֫יִן'ayin · nothingH369
- standing grainקָמָהqâmâh · standing grainH7054
- what sproutsצֶ֫מַחtsemach · branchH6780
- failsבְּלִיbelîy · withoutH1097
- to yieldעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to make: doH6213
- flourקֶ֫מַחqemach · flourH7058
- Even ifאוּלַי'ûlay 'ûlay · perhapsH194
- the foreignersזוּרzûr · be a strangerH2114
- would swallow it upבָּלַעbâla‛ · to swallow upH1104
Cross-references for Hosea 8:7
- Hosea 10:12Sow for yourselves righteousness and reap the fruit of loving devotion; break up your unplowed ground. For it is time to seek the LORD until He comes and sends righteousness upon you like rain.
- Job 4:8As I have observed, those who plow iniquity and those who sow trouble reap the same.
- Proverbs 22:8He who sows injustice will reap disaster, and the rod of his fury will be destroyed.
- Ecclesiastes 5:16This too is a grievous affliction: Exactly as a man is born, so he will depart. What does he gain as he toils for the wind?
- Galatians 6:7Do not be deceived: God is not to be mocked. Whatever a man sows, he will reap in return.
- Isaiah 17:11though on the day you plant you make them grow, and on that morning you help your seed sprout— yet the harvest will vanish on the day of disease and incurable pain.
- Jeremiah 12:13They have sown wheat but harvested thorns. They have exhausted themselves to no avail. Bear the shame of your harvest because of the fierce anger of the LORD.”
- Hosea 7:9Foreigners consume his strength, but he does not notice. Even his hair is streaked with gray, but he does not know.
- Deuteronomy 28:33A people you do not know will eat the produce of your land and of all your toil. All your days you will be oppressed and crushed.
- Judges 6:3Whenever the Israelites planted their crops, the Midianites, Amalekites, and other people of the east would come up and invade them,
- 2 Kings 13:3So the anger of the LORD burned against Israel, and He delivered them continually into the hands of Hazael king of Aram and his son Ben-hadad.
- 2 Kings 15:19Then Pul king of Assyria invaded the land, and Menahem gave Pul a thousand talents of silver in order to gain his support and strengthen his own grip on the kingdom.
Commentaries on Hosea 8:7
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 7They have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind - As the husbandman reaps the same kind of grain which he has sown, but in far greater abundance, thirty, sixty, or one hundred fold; so he who sows the wind shall have a whirlwind to reap. The vental seed shall be multiplied into a tempest so they who sow the seed of unrighteousness shall reap a harvest of judgment. This is a fine, bold, and energetic metaphor. It hath no stalk - Nothing that can…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 7For they have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind - “They shall reap,” not merely as “they have sown,” but with an awful increase. They sowed folly and vanity, and shall reap, not merely emptiness and disappointment, but sudden, irresistible destruction. “They sowed the wind,” and, as one seed bringeth forth many, so the wind, “penn‘d up,” as it were, in this destructive tillage, should “burst forth again, reinforced in strength, in mightier…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 5-10Verses 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…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 7When Hosea announced God's judgment, the punishment fit the crime (see study note on Hosea 4:10). Through their idol worship and political schemes, the Israelites caused their own downfall (see Galatians 6:7).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 77. sown ... reap--(Pr 22:8; Ga 6:7). "Sow ... wind," that is, to make the vain show of worship, while faith and obedience are wanting [Calvin]. Rather, to offer senseless supplications to the calves for good harvests (compare Ho 2:8); the result being that God will make them "reap no stalk," that is, "standing corn." Also, the phraseology proverbially means that all their undertakings shall be profitless (Pr 11:29; Ec 5:16). the bud--or, "growth."…Read the comment
Topics related to Hosea 8:7
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Hosea 8
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
Berean Standard Bible — © Berean Bible — CC0 / Public Domain
Commentaries