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.
• 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

5Get rid of your calf-shaped idol, Samaria. My anger burns against these people. How long will they remain unclean? 6Samaria’s calf-shaped idol was made in Israel. Skilled workers made it. It is not a god. It will be smashed to pieces. “The people of Israel plant the wind, but they harvest a storm. A field of grain that doesn’t ripen will never produce any grain. Even if it did produce grain, foreigners would eat it all. 8Israel will be swallowed up. It has already mixed in with the other nations. It has become worthless. 9“The people of Israel went to Assyria. They were like wild donkeys wandering off alone. The people of Ephraim sold themselves to their 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 10:12“Break new ground. Plant righteousness, and harvest the fruit that your loyalty will produce for me.” It’s time to seek the Lord! When he comes, he will rain righteousness on you.
• Job 4:8Whenever I saw those who plowed wickedness and planted misery, they gathered its harvest.
• Proverbs 22:8Whoever plants injustice will harvest trouble, and this weapon of his own fury will be destroyed.
• Ecclesiastes 5:16This also is a painful tragedy: They leave exactly as they came. What advantage do they gain from working so hard for the wind?
• Galatians 6:7Make no mistake about this: You can never make a fool out of God. Whatever you plant is what you’ll harvest.
• Isaiah 17:11On the day you plant, you will make it grow. On the morning you set out the seedling, you will make it sprout. But the harvest will become a [rotting] pile on a day of grief and incurable pain.
• Jeremiah 12:13My people planted wheat, but they harvested thorns. They worked until they became sick, but they gained nothing by it. They were disappointed by their harvests because of the burning anger of the Lord.
• Hosea 7:9Foreigners are using up your strength, but you don’t realize it. You have become a gray-haired, old man, but you don’t realize it.
• Deuteronomy 28:33People you never knew will eat what your land and your hard work have produced. As long as you live, you will know nothing but oppression and abuse.
• Judges 6:3Whenever Israel planted crops, Midian, Amalek, and Kedem came and damaged the crops.
• 2 Kings 13:3So the Lord became angry with Israel and put it at the mercy of King Hazael of Aram and Hazael’s son Benhadad as long as they lived.
• 2 Kings 15:19King Pul of Assyria came to ⌞attack⌟ the country. So Menahem gave Pul 75,000 pounds of silver to gain his support and help strengthen his hold 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

• 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