Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Hosea 4:9
And there shall be, like people, like priest: and I will punish them for their ways, and reward them their doings.
9. like people, like priest ] i.e. the priest shall fare no better than the people. His official ‘nearness’ to Jehovah shall be no safeguard to him.
I will punish them ] Rather, punish him, viz. the priest representing the order.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
And there shall be like people, like priest – Priest and people were alike in sin. Yea they are wont, if bad, to foment each others sin. The bad priest copies the sins which he should reprove, and excuses himself by the frailty of our common nature. The people, acutely enough, detect the worldliness or self-indulgence of the priest, and shelter themselves under his example. Their defense stands good before people; but what before God? Alike in sin, priest and people should be alike in punishment. Neither secular greatness should exempt the laity, nor the dignity of his order, the priest. Both shall be swept away in one common heap, in one disgrace, into one damnation. They shall bind them in bundles to burn them.
And I will punish them for their ways, and reward them their doings – Literally, I will visit upon him his ways, and his doings I will make to return to him. People and priests are spoken of as one man. None should escape. The judgment comes down upon them, overwhelming them. Mans deeds are called his ways, because the soul holds on the tenor of its life along them, and those ways lead him on to his last end, heaven or hell. The word rendered doings signifies great doings, when used of God; bold doings, on the part of man. Those bold presumptuous doings against the law and will of God, God will bring back to the sinners bosom.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Hos 4:9
And there shall be, like people, like priest.
Hoseas proverb
Like princes, like people; but also, alas! like people, like priests,–a proverb which has acquired currency from its fatal truth, but which Hosea originated. The causes for the widespread immorality were twofold, as Hosea, resident perhaps in Samaria, saw more clearly, and pointed out more definitely than Amos. They were–
1. The detestable vileness and hypocrisy of the priests, with whom, as usual, the false prophets were in league. From Hosea, the earliest of the northern prophets whose works are extant, to Malachi the latest prophet of the returned exiles, the priests had very little right to be proud of their title. Their pretensions were, for the most part, in inverse proportion to their merits. The neutrality, or the direct wickedness, of the religious teachers of a country, torpid in callous indifference and stereotyped in false traditions, is always the worst sign of a nations decadence. Hosea was no exception to the rule that the true teacher must be prepared to bear the beatitude of malediction, and not least from those who ought to share his responsibilities. Amos had found by experience that for any man who desired a reputation for worldly prudence, the wisest rule was to hold his tongue; but for Hosea, for whom there was no escape from his native land, nothing remained but to bear the reproach that the prophet is a fool, and the spiritual man is mad, uttered by men full of iniquity and hatred. A fowlers snare was laid for him in all his ways, and he found nothing but enmity in the house of his God. The priests suffered the people to perish for lack of knowledge. They set their hearts on their iniquity, and contentedly connived at, if they did not directly foster, the sinfulness of the people, which at any rate secured them an abundance of sin-offerings. So far had they apostatised from their functions as moral teachers. And there was worse behind. They were active fomenters of evil. But the second cause of the national apostasy lay deeper still.
2. The corruption of worship and religion at its source. The calf-worship was now beginning to produce its natural fruit. It would have indignantly disclaimed the stigma of idolatry. It was represented as image-worship, the adoration of cherubic symbols, which were in themselves regarded as being so little a violation of the second commandment that they were consecrated even in the temple at Jerusalem. The centralisation of worship, it must be borne in mind, was a new thing. Local sanctuaries and local altars had been sanctioned by kings and used by prophets from time immemorial. The worship at Dan and Bethel could have claimed to be, in the fullest sense of the word, a worship of Jehovah, as national and as ancient as that at Jerusalem. For the ox was the most distinctive emblem of the cherub, and even in the wilderness, cherubs–possibly winged oxen–had bent over the mercy-seat and been woven on the curtains, and in the temple of Solomon had been embossed upon the walls, and formed the support of the great brazen laver. We read of no protest against this symbolism either by Elijah, Elisha, or Jonah. Hosea could more truly estimate its effects, and he judged it by its fruits. He saw the fatal facility with which the title Baal, Lord, might be transferred from the Lord of lords to the heathen Baalim. He saw how readily the emblem of Jehovah might be identified with the idol of Phoenicia. Jehovah-worship was perverted into nature-worship, and the coarse emblems of Asherah and Ashtoreth smoothed the way for a cultus of which the basis was open sensuality. The festal dances of Israel, in honour of God, which were as old as the days of the Judges, became polluted with all the abominations of Phoenician worship. The adultery and whoredom, which are denounced so incessantly on the page of Hosea, are not only the metaphors for idolatry, but the literal description of the lives which that idolatry corrupted. (Dean Farrar, D. D.)
Priests become time-servers
No greater calamity can come upon a people, because–
1. Such priests cannot exert the influence which they should exert. They should be men of God, supremely loyal to God, and witnessing for the supreme claim of spiritual and eternal things.
2. Their example is positively mischievous. Men need no aid from their leaders in living selfish, self-indulgent, covetous lives.
3. Time-serving utterly ruins personal character. Nobility, heroism, devotion can only be nourished by living outside ourselves, for God and our fellows. Time-servers are self-servers. (Robert Tuck, B. A.)
The degradation of holy office
The people may have what they like, and the priest will say, You could not help it. The priest will reproduce what the people are doing, and the people will take encouragement from the priest to go out and do double wickedness, and thus they shall keep the action even. To this degree of corruption may holiest institutions be dragged. The priest–meaning by that word teacher, preacher, minister, apostle–should always be strong enough to condemn; he can condemn generally, but not particularly; he can damn the distant, he must pet and flatter and gratify the near. He will outgrow this–when he knows Christ better; when he is enabled to complete his faith by feeling that it is not necessary for him to live, but it is necessary for him to speak the truth; when he comes to the point of feeling, that it is not at all needful he should have a roof over his head, but it is necessary that he should have an approving conscience; when he completes his theology by this Divinest morality, he will be a rare man in the earth, with a great voice thundering its judgments, and with a tender voice uttering its benedictions and solaces where hearts are broken with real contrition. Priests should lead; priests should not neglect denunciation, even where they are unable to follow their denunciations with examples to the contrary. The Word should be spoken boldly, roundly, grandly, in all its simplicity, purity, rigour, tenderness. (Joseph Parker, D. D.)
The reciprocal influence of priest-hood and people
I. There is sometimes a disgraceful reciprocal influence.
1. It is a disgrace to a true priest to become like the people. One who is not above the average man is no priest, he is out of his place. A priest is a man to mould, not to be moulded; to control, not to cringe; to lead, not to be led. His thoughts should sway the thoughts of the people, and his character should command their reverence. Sometimes you see priests become like the people, mean, sordid, grovelling.
2. It is a disgrace to a people to become like a bad priest. There are priests whose natures are lean, whose capacities are feeble, whose religion is sensuous, whose sympathies are exclusive, whose opinions are stereotyped, whose spirit is intolerant. Shame on the people who allow them selves to become like such a priest!
II. There is sometimes an honourable reciprocal influence.
1. It is honourable when people become like a true priest; when they feel one with him in spiritual interests and Christly pursuits.
2. It is honourable to the true priest when he has succeeded in making the people like him. He may well feel a devout exultation as he moves amongst them that their moral hearts beat in unison with his, that their lives are set to the same keynote, that they are of one mind and one heart in relation to the grand purpose of life. (Homilist.)
Naughty ministers
1. Evil ministers are a great cause of sin and misery upon the people they have charge of. It is an addition to the priests judgment that they drag so many with them into it.
2. Albeit naughty ministers be great plagues and snares to people, yet that will not excuse a peoples sin, nor exempt them from judgment, and therefore the people are threatened also. The sending of evil ministers may be so much the fruit of peoples former sins, and they may be so well satisfied with it as may justly ripen them for a stroke.
3. As pastors and people are ordinarily like each other in sin, and mutual plagues to each other, so will they be joined together in judgments, for there shall be, like people, like priest, that is, both shall be involved in judgment (though possibly in different measure, according to the degree Of their sin), and none of them able to help or comfort another.
4. Albeit the Lord may spare for a time, and seem to let things lie in confusion, yet He hath a day of visitation, wherein He will call men to an account, and recompense them, not according to their pretences, but their real deeds and practices.
5. When men have made no conscience of sin, so they might compass these delights, which they think will make them up, yet it is easy for God to prove that the blessing of these delights is only in His hand.
6. As no means can prosper where God deserts and withdraws His blessing, so what a man prosecutes unlawfully, He cannot look it should be blessed. (George Hutcheson.)
A courageous ministerial reproof
The great northern apostle, Bernard Gilpin, who refused a bishopric, did not confine his Christian labours to the church of Houghton, of which he was minister, but at his own expense visited the then desolate churches of Northumberland once every year to preach the Gospel. The Bishop of Durham commanded him to preach before the clergy. Gilpin then went into the pulpit, and selected for his subject the important charge of a Christian bishop. Having exposed the corruption of the clergy, he boldly addressed himself to his lordship, who was present. Let not your lordship, said he, say these crimes have been committed without your knowledge; for whatever you yourself do in person, or suffer through your connivance to be done by others, is wholly your own; therefore in the presence of God, angels, and men, I pronounce your fatherhood to be the author of all these evils; and I, and this whole congregation, will be a witness in the day of judgment that these things have come to your ears. The bishop thanked Mr. Gilpin for his faithful words, and gave him permission to preach throughout his diocese.
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 9. Like people, like priest]
“The priest a wanderer from the narrow way;
The silly sheep, no wonder that they stray.”
I will punish them] Both priest and people; both equally bad.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
The sum of these words is this, that God will certainly punish; for the sins both of priests and people are such that God will no further forbear either; and when he comes to punish, he will do it according to the ways and doings of both; where sins have been equal, punishment shall be equal too, both priest and people shall be led into captivity, and there used without any differencing respect of one or other.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
9. like people, like priestTheyare one in guilt; therefore they shall be one in punishment (Isa24:2).
reward them their doingsinhomely phrase, “pay them back in their own coin” (Pr1:31).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And there shall be, like people, like priest,…. No difference between them in their festivals, the one being as greedy of committing intemperance and uncleanness as the other, and in their common conversation of life; though the priests ought both to have given good instructions, and to have set good examples; but instead of that were equally guilty as the people, and so would be alike in their punishment, as it follows:
and I will punish them for their ways; their evil ways, as the Targum; their wicked manner of life and conversation, both of the people and the priests; especially the latter are meant: or, “I will visit upon him his ways” w; upon everyone of the priests, as well as the people; which visit must be understood in a way of wrath and vengeance:
and reward them their doings; reward them according to their doings, as their sins deserve, and as it is explained in the next verse: or, “I will return their doings to them” x; bring them back again, when they seemed to be past and gone, and set them before them, and charge them with them, and punish for them.
w “et visitabo super eum vias ejus”, V. L. Pagninus, Montanus, Cocceius, Schmidt. x “et opera ejus redire faciam”, Zanchius.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
“Therefore it will happen as to the people so to the priest; and I will visit his ways upon him, and I repay to him his doing.” Since the priests had abused their office for the purpose of filling their own bellies, they would perish along with the nation. The suffixes in the last clauses refer to the priest, although the retribution threatened would fall upon the people also, since it would happen to the priest as to the people. This explains the fact that in Hos 4:10 the first clause still applies to the priest; whereas in the second clause the prophecy once more embraces the entire nation.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
The Prophet here again denounces on both a common punishment, as neither was free from guilt. As the people, he says, so shall be the priest; that is “I will spare neither the one nor the other; for the priest has abused the honor conferred on him; for though divinely appointed over the Church for this purpose, to preserve the people in piety and holy life, he has yet broken through and violated every right principle: and then the people themselves wished to have such teachers, that is, such as were mute. I will therefore now” the Lord says, “inflict punishment on them all alike. As the people then, so shall the priest be.”
Some go farther, and say, that it means that God would rob the priests of their honor, that they might differ nothing from the people; which is indeed true: but then they think that the Prophet threatens not others as well as the priests; which is not true. For though God, when he punishes the priests and the people for the contempt of his law, blots out the honor of the priesthood, and so abolishes it as to produce an equality between the great and the despised; yet the Prophet declares here, no doubt, that God would become the vindicator of his law against other sinners as well as against the priests. This subject expands wider than what they mean. The rest we must defer till to-morrow.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(9, 10) As the people will be punished, so will the priest. The latter will not be saved by wealth or dignity. And I will visit upon him his ways (observe here the collective singular in the pronoun), and cause his doings to return upon him. The form of the punishment is to be noticed. The eating of the sin of the people shall leave them hungry, and their licentiousness shall leave them childless.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
9, 10. The judgment to fall upon priest and people alike.
And there [“it”] shall be, like people, like priest Priest and people shall perish alike. The fact that the former enjoys in his official capacity special nearness to Jehovah will not save him. This interpretation, which brings out the meaning of the Hebrew most naturally, is preferable to that which sees in these words a summing up of the preceding accusations and makes the next clause the beginning of the threat. Having made the general announcement of judgment, the prophet proceeds to describe in detail its character.
Them Hebrew, singular, the priest, that is, the priestly class, so throughout this section. The corrupt priests will be dealt with according to their deserts. The retribution is according to the lex talionis; the unholy greed will be punished with insufficiency of food (Lev 26:16; Mic 6:14).
They shall not have enough Referring back to Hos 4:8.
Commit whoredom To be understood not as in chapters 1-3 in a symbolic sense, but as in Hos 4:11; Hos 4:13-14, literally. This interpretation is supported by the character of the judgment threatened.
They shall not increase They will be cursed with childlessness. Jehovah will withdraw his blessings because they, probably both priest and people, have left off to take [“taking”] heed Had no regard for Jehovah or for his will.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘And it will be, like people, like priest, and I will punish them for their ways, and will requite them their doings.’
For in the end there will be no distinction between people and priest. People and priest alike will behave badly and will be punished for their ways and requited for their doings, because they are all equally guilty.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Hos 4:9 And there shall be, like people, like priest: and I will punish them for their ways, and reward them their doings.
Ver. 9. And there shall be like people like priest ] i.e. they shall share alike in punishment, as they have done in sin; neither shall their priesthood protect them, any more than it did Eli’s two sons, whose white ephod covered foul sins. A wicked priest is the worst creature upon earth. Who are devils but they that were once angels of light? and who shall have their portion with the devil and his angels but those dehonestamenta cleri malae monetae ministri, bad lived ministers. It was grown to a proverb in times of Popery, that the pavement of hell was pitched with soldiers’ helmets and shavelings’ crowns. Letters also were framed and published as sent from hell; wherein the devil gave the Popish clergy no small thanks, for so many millions of souls as by them were daily sent down to him. The priests might haply hope to be privileged and provided for in a common calamity, for their office sake; as Chrysostom saith that Aaron (though in the same fault with Miriam, Num 12:1 , yet) was not smitten with leprosy as she, for the honour of the priesthood ( . Chrys.), lest such a foul disease on his person should redound to the disgrace of his office. But I rather think he escaped by his true and timely repentance; whereby he disarmed God’s indignation, and redeemed his own sorrow and shame. For God is an impartial judge; neither is there with him respect of persons: priest and people shall all be carried captive one with another (the priests for the people, according to that of Isa 6:5 , “I am a man of polluted lips”: for what reason? “I live among a people of polluted lips,” and have learned their language; and especially the people for the priests, Jer 23:10 ; Jer 23:14-15 ; from the prophets there goes profaneness quite through the land), so they shall fare the worse one for another; they shall all be involved in the same punishment. Only it shall be more grievous to the priest, by how much higher thoughts he had of himself; looking on the people as his underlings, as they did, Joh 7:49 .
And I will punish them for their ways
And reward them for their deed
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
like people, &c. Compare Isa 24:2. Jer 5:31.
punish = visit.
reward = requite.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
like people: Isa 9:14-16, Isa 24:2, Jer 5:31, Jer 8:10-12, Jer 23:11, Jer 23:12, Eze 22:26-31, Mat 15:14
punish: Heb. visit upon, Hos 1:4, *marg.
reward them: Heb. cause to return, Psa 109:17, Psa 109:18, Pro 5:22, Isa 3:10, Zec 1:6
Reciprocal: Jdg 18:4 – hired me 1Sa 2:22 – did unto 1Ki 2:44 – return Act 23:14 – General
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Hos 4:9. There shall he is an expression looking forward to something to come, though the condition of which the Lord complained was present when the statement was made, The meaning is that when God brings the threatened punishment on the people, He will treat both the people and priest alike, and that is because they were both to blame. Jeremiah gives a brief but clear view of the mutuality of the corruptness of the nation as it pertained to the various classes, in chapter 5: 31, That statement is so fundamental in its bearings that I shall quote It for the convenience and information of the reader: “The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means; and the people love to have it so.”
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
4:9 And there shall be, like people, like {k} priest: and I will punish them for their ways, and reward them their doings.
(k) Signifying that as they have sinned together, so will they be punished together.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
God would, therefore, punish the unfaithful priests of Israel as He would punish the unfaithful people of Israel. Both groups were sinning, so God promised to punish them for their sinful ways and to repay them for their idolatrous works.