Hosea 8:7

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.
• 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.
• New Living Translation (NLT)“They have planted the wind and will harvest the whirlwind. The stalks of grain wither and produce nothing to eat. And even if there is any grain, foreigners will eat it.

Context of Hosea 8:7

5I have spurned your calf, O Samaria. My anger burns against them. How long will they be incapable of innocence? 6For it is from Israel; a craftsman made it; it is not God. The calf of Samaria shall be broken to pieces. 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. 8Israel is swallowed up; already they are among the nations as a useless vessel. 9For they have gone up to Assyria, a wild donkey wandering alone; Ephraim has hired lovers.

Hosea 8:7 word by word

כִּ֛י ר֥וּחַ יִזְרָ֖עוּ וְסוּפָ֣תָה יִקְצֹ֑רוּ קָמָ֣ה אֵֽין־ל֗וֹ צֶ֚מַח בְּלִ֣י יַֽעֲשֶׂה־קֶּ֔מַח אוּלַ֣י יַֽעֲשֶׂ֔ה זָרִ֖ים יִבְלָעֻֽהוּ׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• For they have sownזָרַעzâra‛ · to sowH2232
• the windרוּחַrûach · spirit: breathH7307
• and they shall reapקָצַרqâtsar · to reapH7114
• the whirlwindסוּפָהsûphâh · whirlwindH5492
• it hath no stalkקָמָהqâmâh · standing grainH7054
• the budצֶ֫מַחtsemach · branchH6780
• shall yieldעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to make: doH6213
• no mealקֶ֫מַחqemach · flourH7058
• ifאוּלַי'ûlay 'ûlay · perhapsH194
• the strangersזוּרzûr · be a strangerH2114
• shall swallow it upבָּלַעbâla‛ · to swallow upH1104

Cross-references for Hosea 8:7

• Hosea 10:12Sow for yourselves righteousness; reap steadfast love; break up your fallow ground, for it is the time to seek the Lord, that he may come and rain righteousness upon you.
• Job 4:8As I have seen, those who plow iniquity and sow trouble reap the same.
• Proverbs 22:8Whoever sows injustice will reap calamity, and the rod of his fury will fail.
• Ecclesiastes 5:16This also is a grievous evil: just as he came, so shall he go, and what gain is there to him who toils for the wind?
• Galatians 6:7Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap.
• Isaiah 17:11though you make them grow on the day that you plant them, and make them blossom in the morning that you sow, yet the harvest will flee away in a day of grief and incurable pain.
• Jeremiah 12:13They have sown wheat and have reaped thorns; they have tired themselves out but profit nothing. They shall be ashamed of their harvests because of the fierce anger of the Lord."
• Hosea 7:9Strangers devour his strength, and he knows it not; gray hairs are sprinkled upon him, and he knows it not.
• Deuteronomy 28:33A nation that you have not known shall eat up the fruit of your ground and of all your labors, and you shall be only oppressed and crushed continually,
• Judges 6:3For whenever the Israelites planted crops, the Midianites and the Amalekites and the people of the East would come up against them.
• 2 Kings 13:3And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he gave them continually into the hand of Hazael king of Syria and into the hand of Ben-hadad the son of Hazael.
• 2 Kings 15:19Pul the king of Assyria came against the land, and Menahem gave Pul a thousand talents of silver, that he might help him to confirm his hold on the royal power.

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

• Idolatry
• Meteorology and Celestial Phenomena
• Sin
• Sower
• Whirlwind

In the dictionaries

• Hosea
• Reaping
• Stalk
• Whirlwind
• Wind
• Zechariah, Book of

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