Hosea 6:11

Also, O Judah, he hath set an harvest for thee,.... That is, God hath set and appointed a time of wrath and vengeance for thee, which is sometimes signified by a harvest, Revelation 14:15; because

Also, O Judah, he hath set an harvest for thee, when I returned the captivity of my people. Also, O Judah, he hath set an harvest for thee, when I returned the captivity of my people.

This verse is confessedly very dark to interpreters, who agree not whether Judah be vocative or nominative; or who it is that setteth, whether Ephraim, Judah, or God; or what captivity is here meant, whether one past or to come: the conciseness of our prophet makes him very obscure. Also, O Judah; or also Judah, i.e. as Israel is polluted, and must expect to be chastised; or, O Judah, thou art like polluted Israel in sin, and mightest be every way like in punishment. He hath set an harvest for thee; but thy God hath appointed a harvest for thee, thou shalt not as Israel be utterly cut off, a seed of thee shall be sowed, and thou shalt reap the harvest with joy. When I returned; when I shall return, rather, so it looks to what is to come; or else, forasmuch as I will turn the captivity of my people, the house of Judah.

Hosea 6:11 Also, O Judah, he hath set an harvest for thee, when I returned the captivity of my people.Ver. 11. Also, O Judah, he hath set an harvest for thee] This is a very difficult text, and much vexed by interpreters. Et hic nisi Lyra lyrasset, nos omnes delirassemus. Lyra sets this sense upon the text, and I accord him: Though thou, Judah, art also to be carried captive; yet God hath set, or provided for thee, a harvest in thine own land, when I shall have returned the captivity of my people, viz. under the conduct of Zorobabel, by the decree of Cyrus. Here, then, is a promise of a joyful harvest to Judah, who is not to be punished with like severity as Israel, Hosea 1:7, and for the change of person, when I returned, for he shall have returned. See Isaiah 29:19 Jeremiah 31:23 Zephaniah 3:20 Psalms 14:7. Simul Iudae captivitas et reditus praedicitur significanter admodum, saith Jerome here; both the captivity and return of Judah is here very significantly foretold. It is a very good note that one giveth here, sc. that God in his chastisement ever showeth himself mindful of his covenant; after a long barrenness, he setteth for his people a plentiful harvest, and turneth again their captivity, after that for a time he hath tried them. His mercy also and faithfulness herein appeareth, that be mingleth promises with threatenings; and while he utterly destroyeth the kingdom of the ten tribes, he preserveth the commonwealth of Judah, wherein the Messiah was to come, and whereof there was not (by the ancient prophecies) to be a dissolution, till Shiloh came. Hence it is that promises of the restoration of Judah are ever intermingled, lest any should doubt the manifestation of the Messiah in the fulness of time.

(11) An harvest.—The harvest is not of joy, but of sorrow and affliction, befalling Judah, like Israel, for her sins: a contrast to the usual accompaniments of the season when the Feast of Tabernacles was celebrated (Deuteronomy 12:13-16; Leviticus 23:40; Psalms 126:5-6). In regard of the last clause of the verse, “when I turn the captivity of my people,” it is best to unite it with the succeeding chapter. (So Ewald, Reuss, &c.) Some writers (as recently, Nowack) explain the Hebrew word for captivity by a different etymology, and here interpret “destiny,” or “fate.” The full turning of the captivity cannot be realised till Ephraim and Judah accept the Christ.

Verse 11. O Judah, he hath set a harvest for thee] Thou also hast transgressed; thy harvest will come; thou shalt be reaped down and sent into captivity. The sickle is already thrust in. That which thou hast sowed shalt thou reap. They who sow unto the flesh shall reap corruption. When I returned the captivity of my people.] Bp. Newcome translates, "Among those who lead away the captivity of my people." There is thy harvest; they who have led Israel into captivity shall lead thee also into the same. The Assyrians and Babylonians were the same kind of people; equally idolatrous, equally oppressive, equally cruel. From the common reading some suppose this to be a promise of return from captivity. It is true that Judah was gathered together again and brought back to their own land, but the majority of the Israelites did not return, and are not now to be found.

10, 11. Jehovah is still the speaker. From his heavenly ‘place’ he points indignantly (as Hosea 6:7) to the abominations practised ‘there’, i.e. in the whole land of Israel, for even Judah has not escaped the infection. The structure of the verses becomes more symmetrical, if we attach the concluding words of Hos 6:10 to Hosea 6:11, and turn Hosea 6:11 thus, altering one vowel-point, Israel is defiled; for thee also, Judah, a harvest is appointed. The Septuagint partly favours this, rendering ἐμιάνθηἸσραὴλκαὶἸούδα. The concluding words of Hos 6:11 should rather be attached to Hosea 6:1 of chap. 7.

Also, O Judah, He hath set a harvest for thee, when I returned - (rather, when I return) the captivity of My people. The “harvest” may be either for good or for bad.

Hosea 6:10-11 sum up the accusation. Wherever the eye of Jehovah falls, he sees a horrible thing… whoredom — The former signifies abominations and crimes of every kind (Jeremiah 18:13); the second,