51 “Listen to this, you priests!
Listen, house of Israel,
and give ear, house of the king!
For the judgment is against you;
for you have been a snare at Mizpah,
and a net spread on Tabor. 2 The rebels are deep in slaughter;
but I discipline all of them. 3 I know Ephraim,
and Israel is not hidden from me;
for now, Ephraim, you have played the prostitute.
Israel is defiled. 4 Their deeds won’t allow them to turn to their God;
for the spirit of prostitution is within them,
and they don’t know Yahweh. 5 The pride of Israel testifies to his face.
Therefore Israel and Ephraim will stumble in their iniquity.
Judah also will stumble with them. 6 They will go with their flocks and with their herds to seek Yahweh;
but they won’t find him.
He has withdrawn himself from them. 7 They are unfaithful to Yahweh;
for they have borne illegitimate children.
Now the new moon will devour them with their fields.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Hosea 5:1-7
Commentary on Hosea 5:1-7
(Read Hosea 5:1-7)
The piercing eye of God saw secret liking and disposition to sin, the love the house of Israel had to their sins, and the dominion their sins had over them. Pride makes men obstinate in other sins. And as Judah was treading in the same steps, they would fall with Israel. By dealing treacherously with the Lord, men only deceive themselves. Those that go to seek the Lord with their flocks and their herds only, and not with their hearts and souls, cannot expect to find him; nor shall any speed who do not seek the Lord while he may be found. See how much it is our concern to seek God early, now, while it is the accepted time, and the day of salvation.