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.
• 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.
• 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

5Samaria, throw out your calf-idol! My anger burns against them. How long will they be incapable of purity? 6They are from Israel! This calf—a metalworker has made it; it is not God. It will be broken in pieces, that calf of Samaria. “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. 8Israel is swallowed up; now she is among the nations like something no one wants. 9For they have gone up to Assyria like a wild donkey wandering alone. Ephraim has sold herself to 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 righteousness for yourselves, reap the fruit of unfailing love, and break up your unplowed ground; for it is time to seek the Lord, until he comes and showers his righteousness on you.
• Job 4:8As I have observed, those who plow evil and those who sow trouble reap it.
• Proverbs 22:8Whoever sows injustice reaps calamity, and the rod they wield in fury will be broken.
• Ecclesiastes 5:16This too is a grievous evil: As everyone comes, so they depart, and what do they gain, since they toil for the wind?
• Galatians 6:7Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.
• Isaiah 17:11though on the day you set them out, you make them grow, and on the morning when you plant them, you bring them to bud, yet the harvest will be as nothing in the day of disease and incurable pain.
• Jeremiah 12:13They will sow wheat but reap thorns; they will wear themselves out but gain nothing. They will bear the shame of their harvest because of the Lord’s fierce anger.”
• Hosea 7:9Foreigners sap his strength, but he does not realize it. His hair is sprinkled with gray, but he does not notice.
• Deuteronomy 28:33A people that you do not know will eat what your land and labor produce, and you will have nothing but cruel oppression all your days.
• Judges 6:3Whenever the Israelites planted their crops, the Midianites, Amalekites and other eastern peoples invaded the country.
• 2 Kings 13:3So the Lord’s anger burned against Israel, and for a long time he kept them under the power of Hazael king of Aram and Ben-Hadad his son.
• 2 Kings 15:19Then Pul king of Assyria invaded the land, and Menahem gave him a thousand talents of silver to gain his support and strengthen his own 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