Tree of Life Version
Hosea 8:7
7“For they sow wind, and reap a whirlwind. There is no mature grain— the sprout yields no meal. Should it produce anything, strangers 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
5Samaria! Your calf is thrown down! My anger is kindled against them! How long will they be incapable of innocence? 6For a craftsman from Israel made it, so it is no god. For the calf of Samaria will be splinters. “For they sow wind, and reap a whirlwind. There is no mature grain— the sprout yields no meal. Should it produce anything, strangers would swallow it up. 8Israel has been swallowed up! Now they are among the nations, like an ornament with no delight in it. 9For they have gone up to Assyria, like a wild donkey alone by itself. 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
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 in accord with covenant love. Break up your unplowed ground. For it is time to seek Adonai, until He comes and showers righteousness on you.
- Job 4:8As I have seen, those who plow iniquity and sow harm, reap them.
- Proverbs 22:8One who sows injustice will reap trouble, and the rod of his fury will perish.
- Ecclesiastes 5:16So, all his days he eats in darkness, and he has much grief, sickness, and humiliation.
- Galatians 6:7Do not be deceived—God is not mocked. For whatever a man sows, that he also shall reap.
- Isaiah 17:11In the day that you plant, you fence it in, and in the morning you made your seed to sprout— but the harvest will be a heap in a day of grief and incurable pain.
- Jeremiah 12:13They sowed wheat but reaped thorns. They wore themselves out, gaining nothing. So be ashamed of your harvest, because of Adonai’s fierce anger.
- Hosea 7:9Strangers devoured his strength— yet he does not know it. Gray hairs have spread on him— and he does not know it.
- Deuteronomy 28:33A people you do not know will eat up the produce of your soil and all your labor, and you will be only oppressed and crushed all the time.
- Judges 6:3Whenever Israel had done their sowing, the Midianites, Amalekites and people from the east would come up and raid them.
- 2 Kings 13:3So the anger of Adonai was kindled against Israel, and He continually gave them into the hand of King Hazael of Aram and into the hand of Ben-hadad son of Hazael.
- 2 Kings 15:19Then King Pul of Assyria invaded the country, so Menahem gave Pul a thousand talents of silver so that his hand might be with him to 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
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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