New English Translation
Hosea 8:7
7They sow the wind, and so they will reap the whirlwind! The stalk does not have any standing grain; it will not produce any flour. Even if it were to yield grain, foreigners would swallow it all 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
5O Samaria, he has rejected your calf idol! My anger burns against them! They will not survive much longer without being punished, even though they are Israelites! 6That idol was made by a workman – it is not God! The calf idol of Samaria will be broken to bits. They sow the wind, and so they will reap the whirlwind! The stalk does not have any standing grain; it will not produce any flour. Even if it were to yield grain, foreigners would swallow it all up. 8Israel will be swallowed up among the nations; they will be like a worthless piece of pottery. 9They have gone up to Assyria, like a wild donkey that wanders off. Ephraim has hired prostitutes as 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
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 righteousness for yourselves, reap unfailing love. Break up the unplowed ground for yourselves, for it is time to seek the Lord, until he comes and showers deliverance on you.
- Job 4:8Even as I have seen, those who plow iniquity and those who sow trouble reap the same.
- Proverbs 22:8The one who sows iniquity will reap trouble, and the rod of his fury will end.
- Ecclesiastes 5:16This is another misfortune: Just as he came, so will he go. What did he gain from toiling for the wind?
- Galatians 6:7Do not be deceived. God will not be made a fool. For a person will reap what he sows,
- Isaiah 17:11The day you begin cultivating, you do what you can to make it grow; the morning you begin planting, you do what you can to make it sprout. Yet the harvest will disappear in the day of disease and incurable pain.
- Jeremiah 12:13My people will sow wheat, but will harvest weeds. They will work until they are exhausted, but will get nothing from it. They will be disappointed in their harvests because the Lord will take them away in his fierce anger.
- Hosea 7:9Foreigners are consuming what his strenuous labor produced, but he does not recognize it! His head is filled with gray hair, but he does not realize it!
- Deuteronomy 28:33As for the produce of your land and all your labor, a people you do not know will consume it, and you will be nothing but oppressed and crushed for the rest of your lives.
- Judges 6:3Whenever the Israelites planted their crops, the Midianites, Amalekites, and the people from the east would attack them.
- 2 Kings 13:3The Lord was furious with Israel and handed them over to King Hazael of Syria and to Hazael’s son Ben Hadad for many years.
- 2 Kings 15:19Pul king of Assyria invaded the land, and Menahem paid him a thousand talents of silver to gain his support and to solidify his control of 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
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