1 Heare yee this, O priests, and hearken, ye house of Israel, and giue yee eare, O house of the king: for iudgement is toward you, because yee haue beene a snare on Mizpah, and a net spread vpon Tabor.
2 And the reuolters are profound to make slaughter, though I haue bene a rebuker of them all.
3 I know Ephraim, and Israel is not hid from me: for now, O Ephraim, thou committest whordome, and Israel is defiled.
4 They will not frame their doings to turne vnto their God: for the spirit of whoredomes is in the midst of them, and they haue not knowen the Lord.
5 And the pride of Israel doth testifie to his face: therefore shall Israel and Ephraim fall in their iniquity: Iudah also shall fall with them.
6 They shall goe with their flocks, and with their heards to seeke the Lord: but they shall not finde him, he hath withdrawen himselfe from them.
7 They haue dealt treacherously against the Lord: for they haue begotten strange children, now shall a moneth deuoure them with their portions.
8 Blow yee the cornet in Gibeah, and the trumpet in Ramah: cry alowd at Beth-auen: after thee, O Beniamin.
9 Ephraim shall be desolate in the day of rebuke: among the tribes of Israel haue I made knowen that which shall surely be.
10 The Princes of Iudah were like them that remooue the bound: therefore I will powre out my wrath vpon them like water.
11 Ephraim is oppressed, and broken in iudgement: because he willingly walked after the commandement.
12 Therefore wil I be vnto Ephraim as a moth: and to the house of Iudah as rottennesse.
13 When Ephraim saw his sicknesse, and Iudah saw his wound: then went Ephraim to the Assyrian, and sent to king Iareb; yet could he not heale you, nor cure you of your wound.
14 For I will bee vnto Ephraim as a Lion, and as a yong Lion to the house of Iudah: I, euen I wil teare and goe away: I will take away, and none shall rescue him.
15 ¶ I will goe and returne to my place, till they acknowledge their offence, and seeke my face: in their affliction they will seeke me early.
The Divine judgments against Israel. (1-7) Approaching desolations threatened. (8-15)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.
8-15 The destruction of impenitent sinners is not mere talk, to frighten them, it is a sentence which will not be recalled. And it is a mercy that we have timely warning given us, that we may flee from the wrath to come. Compliance with the commandments of men, who thwart the commandments of God, ripens a people for ruin. The judgments of God are sometimes to a sinful people as a moth, and as rottenness, or as a worm; as these consume the clothes and the wood, so shall the judgments of God consume them. Silently, they shall think themselves safe and thriving, but when they look into their state, shall find themselves wasting and decaying. Slowly, for the Lord gives them space to repent. Many a nation; as well as many a person, dies of a consumption. Gradually, God comes upon sinners with lesser judgments, to prevent greater, if they will be wise, and take warning. When Israel and Judah found themselves in danger, they sought the protection of the Assyrians, but this only helped to make their wound the worse. They would be forced to apply to God. He will bring them home to himself, by afflictions. When men begin to complain more of their sins than of their afflictions, then there begins to be some hope of them; and when under the conviction of sin, and the corrections of the rod, we must seek the knowledge of God. Those who are led by severe trials to seek God earnestly and sincerely, will find him a present help and an effectual refuge; for with him is plenteous redemption for all who call upon him. There is solid peace, and there only, where God is.
Commentary by Matthew Henry, 1710.