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Scriptural Text [& Editorial]
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Commentary & Explanation
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Footnotes ~ References ~ JST
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CHAPTER 4
Israel loses all truth, mercy, and the knowledge of God and goes a
whoring after false gods.
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1 HEAR the word of the
LORD, ye children of Israel: for the LORD hath a
acontroversy with the inhabitants of the land, because
there is no btruth, nor mercy, nor
cknowledge of God in the land.
2 By aswearing, and
blying, and killing, and cstealing, and
committing adultery, they dbreak out, and
eblood toucheth blood.
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3 Therefore shall the aland
mourn, and every one that dwelleth therein shall languish, with the beasts of
the field, and with the fowls of heaven; yea, the fishes of the sea also
shall be taken away.
4 Yet let no man astrive, nor
reprove another: for thy people are as they that strive with the
priest.
5 Therefore shalt thou fall in the day, and the
aprophet also shall fall with thee in the night, and I will
destroy thy mother.
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6 ¶ My people are destroyed for lack of
aknowledgea: because
thou hast brejected
cknowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no
priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the dlaw of thy
God, I will also forget thy children.
7 As they were increased, so they sinned
against me: therefore will I change their glory into
ashame.
8 They eat up the sin of my people, and they set their heart on their iniquity.
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6a My people are destroyed for lack of
knowledge That knowledge is of the Son of God as Jesus Christ the
Messiah who is to come, which the sacrifice of animals is but a foreshadowing
of and not an end in it self. Ephraim/Israel had turned it into the worship
of the 'calf' as an idol of worship in and of it self and they had lost the
imagery that the 'calf' was but a similitude of Jesus Christ to come. Also
Judah had lost all understanding among their 'shepherds' as to the coming
of the Son of God and that the temple sacrifice was but a forshadowing
remembrance of that which was to come in Christ.
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9 And there shall be, like people, like priest: and I will punish them for their ways, and reward them their doings.
10 For they shall eat, and not have enough: they shall commit whoredom, and shall not increase: because they have left off to take heed to the LORD.
11 aWhoredom and wine and
new wine take away the heart.
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12 ¶ My people ask acounsel
at their stocks, and their staff declareth unto them: for the
bspirit of cwhoredoms hath caused
them to err, and they have gone a whoring from under their God.
13 They sacrifice upon the tops of the
mountains, and burn incense upon the hills, under oaks and poplars and elms,
because the shadow thereof is good: therefore your daughters shall
commit whoredom, and your spouses shall commit
aadultery.
14 I will not punish your daughters when they commit whoredom, nor your spouses when they commit adultery: for themselves are separated with whores, and they sacrifice with harlots: therefore the people that doth not understand shall fall.
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15 ¶ Though thou, Israel, play the
aharlot, yet let not Judah offend; and come not ye
unto Gilgal, neither go ye up to bBeth-aven, nor swear, The
LORD liveth.
16 For Israel slideth back as a
backsliding heifera: now the LORD
will feed them as a lamb in a large place.
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16a For Israel slideth back as a
backsliding heifer It ought not be forgotten that the symbol of
the tribe of Ephraim is the 'heifer' and the dualistic inference that it is
the 'calf' which they have taken upon themself to worship is as was the case
back in the time of Moses. Thus they have degenerated or slide backwards into
that mode of worshipping the calf as was prohibitted in the day of Moses.
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17 Ephraim is joined to
aidols: let him alone.
18 Their drink is sour: they have committed
whoredom continually: her rulers awith shame do
love, Give ye.
19 The wind hath bound her up in her wings, and they shall be ashamed because of their sacrifices.
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