Bible Verses and Early Church Commentary | Historical Christian Faith

[AD 420] Jerome on Hosea 4:1-2

"Hear the word of the Lord, sons of Israel; for judgment is for the Lord with the inhabitants of the earth: for there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land. Cursed, and lying, and murder, and theft, and adultery have overflowed: and blood has touched blood." LXX: "Hear the word of the Lord, sons of Israel; for judgment is for the Lord with the inhabitants of the earth: for there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God over the earth. Curse, and lying, and murder, and theft, and adultery have been spilt over the earth, and they have mixed blood with blood." From the beginning of the prophet to this point, under the description of a prostitute and an adulteress, whose punishment is severe and long-lasting, a later restoration to their former or a better state is made for the ten tribes or two, and the sins of all are counted. Again now to Israel, that is, the speech turns to the ten tribes, explaining that God, angered, does not threaten and inflict such great punishments in vain: lest perhaps the sentence be not seen to have been passed justly, but by the power of God on those who have not sinned. Hear, said the prophet, the word of the Lord, O sons of Israel: for the Lord desires to judge with his people and to expose the reasons for his anger. There is no truth, and there is no mercy, and there is no knowledge of God in the land. For truth cannot be sustained without mercy, and mercy without truth makes the negligent; therefore, the one is mingled with the other, and whoever does not have either also does not have knowledge of God. But on the contrary, for truth there is falsehood, and for mercy there is cursing, murder, theft, adultery. He did not say, "there is"; but to demonstrate the abundance of sins, he uses the expression, "they have inundated" (Al. "they have overflowed"); and for the knowledge of God, which is not on earth, blood touched blood, or blood mingled with blood, so that they could increase sins with sins and add new ones to old. Indeed, those who are inhabitants of the earth and not sojourners are called to judgment: for from the face of the North evils blaze forth upon the inhabitants of the earth. And in the Apocalypse of John: Woe, woe, woe is said to the inhabitants of the earth. But he who is able to say with the prophet: “I am a stranger with thee, and a sojourner, as all my fathers were” (Psa. 38:13), and passes through this world like a stranger and a sojourner, follows after truth and mercy and the knowledge of God, lest he be overwhelmed by an inundation of curses and falsehood, of murder, and theft, and adultery, and of blood.

Source: Commentary on Hosea 4:1-2

[AD 386] Cyril of Jerusalem on Hosea 4:2

After Moses, prophets were sent to heal Israel. But in their exercise of healing they deplored the fact that they could not overcome evil, so that one of them says, “The faithful are gone from the earth, among men the upright are no more,” and again, “All alike have gone astray; they have become perverse; there is not one who does good, not even one.” And again, “Cursing, and theft, and adultery, and killing have overflowed” upon the land. “They sacrificed their sons and daughters to demons.” They engaged themselves in auguries and enchantments and divinations; and again, “they fastened their garments with cords and hung veils next to the altar.”

Source: CATECHETICAL LECTURE 12:6

[AD 420] Jerome on Hosea 4:3

Therefore the earth will mourn, and all who dwell in it will be weakened: in the beast of the field and in the bird of the sky, and even the fish of the sea will be gathered. " LXX: "Therefore the earth will mourn and be diminished with all who dwell in it, with the beasts of the field," "with the serpents of the earth, and with the birds of the sky, and the fish of the sea will fail." For there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God on earth, but on the contrary, curse, lying, homicide, theft, and adultery have flooded in and blood has touched blood: therefore the earth will mourn with its inhabitants, and be weakened, so that it will not have beasts of the field, and birds of the sky, and the fish of the sea will fail. For when the captivity of the ten tribes shall have come, with the inhabitant being taken away, even the beasts of the earth and the birds of the sky and the fish of the sea shall fail; and even the mute elements shall feel the wrath of the Lord. Let whoever does not believe that this happened to the people of Israel look at Illyria, look at Thrace, at Macedonia and Pannonia, and the entire land that stretches from Propontis and the Bosphorus to the Julian Alps, and they will prove that all creatures, which were previously fed by the Creator for human use, will fail along with men. But if we wish, as some think, to interpret savage men as beasts, and birds of the air as those who are lifted up in pride, and all things human as those which are contemptible, and fishes of the sea as those which are irrational, and so brutes that they have absolutely no sense, and do not see free air and sky: this is not so much the wrath as the mercy of the Lord, that the evils which are among men may be taken away from the earth.

Source: Commentary on Hosea 4:3

[AD 420] Jerome on Hosea 4:4-5

"Nevertheless, let no one judge, and let no man be accused: for thy people are as they that contradict the priest, and thou shalt fall this day, and the prophet shall fall with thee." LXX: "That no one be judged, nor anyone be rebuked: but my people are like a priest who is contradicted, and shall be weakened" "during the day, and the prophet shall be weakened with thee." According to the Septuagint interpreters, what we have placed "that no one be judged or rebuked," should be combined with the previous chapter, but we follow the Hebrews. Summoned to the judgment of God, children of Israel, who dwelt in the land so that they might hear the reasons for the indignation of the Lord, and recognize past sins for which they would be delivered to their enemies, now because they persist in wickedness and contemptuously face God, they hear: It is not necessary for you to come to judgment, so that you may be accused of your shameful deeds; for you are of such impudence, that even when convicted, you have neither shame nor modesty; but you contradict me, as if a disciple contradicts his master, the priest of the people, who does not have the dignity of priesthood. And because you are such, therefore you fall today, that is, you are led into captivity, and the kingdom of Israel is lost. What he says, "today," means the present time, or not by fraud and deceit, but by clear light you are led into captivity, and such will be your weakness that even the prophets, who used to prophesy falsehood to you, will fall with you and feel the captivity. We must accept either prophets or false prophets, or certainly all prophetic grace. For as long as the ten tribes were not captured, they had both the prophet Elijah and Elisha, and the other sons of the prophets who prophesied in Samaria. Hence the prophet Amos, who was from the tribe of Judah and from the village of Tekoa, was forced to return to his homeland, lest he prophesy in a foreign kingdom and in Samaria.

Source: Commentary on Hosea 4:4-5

[AD 428] Theodore of Mopsuestia on Hosea 4:4

My people are like a priest who is compromised. He has fallen from his previous dignity and does not appear worthy for any reason, just as a priest who falls into controversy would be set aside and dishonored by everyone. “And he will be weak by day.” To the greatest extent he will become weak because of the upcoming evils.

Source: COMMENTARY ON HOSEA 4

[AD 1781] Richard Challoner on Hosea 4:4

Let not any man judge: As if he would say: It is in vain to strive with them, or reprove them, they are so obstinate in evil.

[AD 428] Theodore of Mopsuestia on Hosea 4:5

Of the ones who first made use of false predictions to deceive you, most will also themselves become weak because of the calamity that holds them back. As if they were wrapped up in some kind of night darkness, they see the pursuit of deceit, which was useless for them.

Source: COMMENTARY ON HOSEA 4

[AD 430] Augustine of Hippo on Hosea 4:5

For us too, you see, once the night of this age is done, there will be a resurrection of the flesh for the kingdom; it’s the model or sample of this that has already occurred in our head. That, indeed, is why the Lord wished to rise again at night; because, in the apostle’s words, “God, who commanded the light to shine out of the darkness, has shone in our hearts.” So the Lord represented light shining out of darkness by being born at night and also by rising at night. Light out of darkness, in fact, is Christ out of the Jews, to whom it was said, “I have likened your mother to night.” But in that nation, as it were in that night, the virgin Mary was not night but somehow or other a star of the night; which is why a star also signaled her childbearing, guiding a far distant night, that is the magi from the east, to worship the light. Thus in them too would be realized the command to “the light to shine out of darkness.”

Source: SERMON 223D.2

[AD 430] Augustine of Hippo on Hosea 4:5

“Day continues according to your ordinance.” For all these things are day: “and this is the day which the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it” and “let us walk honestly as in the day.” “For all things serve you.” He said “all things of some,” “all” which belong to this day “serve you.” For the ungodly, of whom it is said, “I have compared thy mother unto the night,” do not serve you.

Source: EXPLANATION OF THE PSALMS 119:91

[AD 444] Cyril of Alexandria on Hosea 4:5

One says that Israel will be weak not forever but for days. For it has been reserved for her a time of salvation and a return to faith.

Source: COMMENTARY ON HOSEA 3:37

[AD 1107] Theophylact of Ohrid on Hosea 4:5

The mother of the people is the synagogue, which—since it is covered by the darkness of ignorance and did not receive the radiance of God’s knowledge—may be compared to the night.

Source: COMMENTARY ON HOSEA 4

[AD 420] Jerome on Hosea 4:6

"At night, I made your mother be silent, my people have become silent, because they have no knowledge: for you have rejected knowledge, I will reject you, and you will not serve as a priest to me; and you have forgotten the law of your God, I will also forget your sons." LXX: "I have compared thy mother to the night, and my people to have no knowledge. Since thou hast refused knowledge, I will also refuse thee, that thou shalt not be a priest to me. Thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, and I will forget thy children." Not because there are other mothers and other sons, does she call herself mother and sons; but just as the Lord spoke to the Jewish people and said, "Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets and stonest those sent to thee, how often I have desired to gather thy children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and thou didst not want it." (Matthew 23, 5). Not as another Jerusalem, and another people thereof: for it did not speak without the people to the building of the city and the wood and the stones. Thus the mother is called the crowd of the people and every multitude of the Hebrew nation, to whom it speaks: but the sons, either single or dispersed through the towns and villages of the people. Therefore in the night and darkness of captivity, mourning and pressing distress, Israel is surrendered and its people remain silent in eternal silence; because it did not have knowledge of the law, nor did it keep the commandments of God, and received what it had done. For she herself has rejected God's law, and thus she has lost the priesthood forever, and worships the golden calves in Dan and Bethel; and because she has forgotten God's law, and entirely enslaved herself to Egyptian idols, therefore the Lord will also forget her children, delivering them to eternal captivity: "For he who is ignorant, let him be ignorant." (I Cor. XIV), and in the Psalms we read: "They did not know, nor did they understand, they walked in darkness." (Ps. LXXXI, 5). We can refer everything that is said about the ten tribes to the heretics who have left the kingdom of David and Jerusalem, that is, Christ and the Church: and therefore they are covered with eternal night, they do not have the knowledge of God, and they are rejected by the Lord so that they may not perform the priesthood to him, and they never remember the children they have generated, because they have become aliens to him.

Source: Commentary on Hosea 4:6

[AD 420] Jerome on Hosea 4:7-9

"According to their abundance, so they sinned against me: I will change their glory into shame, they will eat the sins of my people, and lift up their souls to their iniquity, and it shall be as the people, so the priest, and I will visit upon him his ways, and render to him his thoughts." LXX: "According to their abundance, so they sinned against me, I will turn their glory into shame": they will eat the sins of my people, and receive them in their iniquities"; "others their souls, and it will be as the people, so also the priest, and I will take vengeance on him for his ways, and render to him his thoughts." Israel had as many altars built for demons as they had men, in whose sacrifices they sinned against me. Therefore, I will exchange their glory, in which they boasted to themselves and preferred to God, into ignominy, so that both the priests and the people may be captured. For indeed, the priests eat the sins of my people, concerning whom it is written: "Those who devour my people, like bread" (Ps 13:8). And therefore they eat the sins of my people, consenting to the crimes of wrongdoers since, when they witness them sinning, not only do they not rebuke them, but they praise and exalt them and call them blessed. About whom Isaiah speaks: "My people, who call you blessed, deceive you, and they "supplant" the paths of your feet" (Isa. III, 12). Concerning them, the Psalmist cries out: "For the sinner is praised in the desires of his soul, and the unjust is blessed" (Ps. IX, 24). Hence, both the people and the priest will equally endure the sentence of God's indignation; for not only will He visit the works that they call "ways," in which they walk, but also the thoughts which they have entertained to do such things. For not only the work, but also the contemplation of evil deeds will pay the penalty. It is easy to understand about heretics, that the more there are, the more they sin against God and glory in the people; and so they deceive the unfortunate, so that they may eat the sins of the people, and by sweet words devour the houses of widows (Luke XX). For when they see some sinning, they say: God seeks nothing else but the truth of faith, which if you keep, he does not care what you do. For by saying these things, they lift up their souls in their iniquities, so that they not only do not repent or humble themselves, but rejoice in their wicked deeds and walk with heads held high. Therefore both the people and the priest, the learned and the teachers of the law, will be equally punished.

Source: Commentary on Hosea 4:7-9

[AD 253] Origen of Alexandria on Hosea 4:8

The text wants you to make a more daring assertion if your hearing will still follow. What is the “sacrifice” that is offered “for sin” and is “very holy” except “the only begotten Son of God,” Jesus Christ my Lord? He alone is the “sacrifice for sins,” and he is “a very holy offering.” But since it added that “the priest who offers it will eat it,” it seems to be hard to understand. For that which it says must be eaten seems to be referring to the sin, just as in another place the prophet says concerning the priests that “they will eat the sins of my people.” This also shows that the priest ought to eat the sin of the one who is offering. We frequently show from holy Scripture that Christ is also the sacrifice that is offered for the sin of the world and the priest who brings the offering.

Source: HOMILIES ON LEVITICUS 5:2

[AD 420] Jerome on Hosea 4:8

[The priests] are feasting on the sins of my people, approving the crimes of the sinners. For when they behold them sinning, not only do they not argue but they praise and extol them, calling them fortunate.

Source: COMMENTARY ON HOSEA 1:4

[AD 444] Cyril of Alexandria on Hosea 4:8

They used to sacrifice goats for sin; for this reason the sacrifice was called sin. By offering a goat on the altar, the priests at the right time used to bring the intestines and the lard, and they ate the rest. This was ordered by the divine law. … “They eat the sins of my people” means they eat the offerings brought for sins.

Source: COMMENTARY ON HOSEA 3:40

[AD 444] Cyril of Alexandria on Hosea 4:9

Seemingly he calls “ways” the walking in works and “counsels” the faults from outrageous thoughts. Then, he says, she [Israel] did not go rightly, having turned aside from the straight road. As if marching the footpath of all profanity, they devised the most shameful and absurd things, dishonoring the God of all while turning toward idolatry.

Source: COMMENTARY ON HOSEA 3:41

[AD 455] Julian of Eclanum on Hosea 4:9

When, he says, the avenging judgment begins to work, these measures of griefs that they [Israel] made in sins will be filled, so that they may experience in punishments what they have achieved in desires.

Source: COMMENTARY ON HOSEA 1:4

[AD 604] Gregory the Dialogist on Hosea 4:9

We do not seek to gain souls; we devote ourselves daily to our own pursuits, we attend to earthly matters, we strive for human praise with all our will. From being set over others we have greater freedom to do anything we like, and so we turn the ministry we have received into an occasion for display. We abandon God’s cause, and we devote ourselves to earthly business; we accept a place of holiness and involve ourselves in earthly deeds. What is written in Hosea is truly fulfilled in us: “And so it will be, like people, like priest.” A priest does not differ from the people when he does not surpass their deeds by any merit of his own.

Source: FORTY GOSPEL HOMILIES 19

[AD 1107] Theophylact of Ohrid on Hosea 4:9

By calling the deeds “ways” he says that “I will bring over them all the judgment and punishment for their deeds. And I will punish not the deeds only but also ‘his’ counsels,” namely, of the people. For we will suffer punishment not only for the deeds but for the outrageous thoughts.

Source: COMMENTARY ON HOSEA 4

[AD 420] Jerome on Hosea 4:10-12

"And they shall eat, and not be satisfied: and they have committed fornication, and have not ceased: because they have forsaken the Lord in not keeping him: fornication, and wine, and drunkenness take away the heart. My people hath consulted their stocks, and their staff hath declared unto them: for the spirit of fornication hath deceived them, and they have committed fornication against their God." "And they shall eat, and not be filled:" "they have committed fornication, and shall not be directed: because they have forsaken the Lord, to keep not his law: fornication, and wine, and drunkenness take away the heart of my people. They consulted their wood, and their staff answered them: for the spirit of fornication hath deceived them" "and they have committed fornication against their God." Insatiable pleasure is created, and the more one is captured by it, the more hunger it creates. On the contrary, blessed are the hungry and thirsty for justice, for they will be satisfied. As justice satisfies, so too does iniquity, having no substance, delude those who consume it deceitfully and leave the stomachs of the devourers empty. They have committed fornication and have not ceased. Their strength fails in fornication, and the desire to fornicate does not rest. They committed fornication with the idols of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, and left their Lord God, not keeping what he had commanded, saying: "You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve" (Deuteronomy 6:13), but it should be read emphatically: Fornication and wine and drunkenness take away the heart. For just as wine and drunkenness make him who drinks thereof incapable of his own mind, so does fornication and pleasure pervert the senses and weaken the spirit; and it turns a rational man into a brute animal, so that he pursues brothels, dens of vice, and places of debauchery. And when his heart is stirred out of its place, he holds wood and stones as gods, and worships the works of his own hands. Hence the prophet, as if amazed and bewildered, speaks: “My people who were once called by my name have asked counsel of a wooden idol, and have sought intuition from rods, which the Greeks call divination by rods." Therefore in Ezekiel we read that Nebuchadnezzar mixed his rods against Ammon and Jerusalem, and a rod went forth against Jerusalem (Ezek. 25): and the cause of this madness of fornication is the spirit that deceived them, so that they might fornicate against their God. But he calls fornication idolatry, according to what we read in Jeremiah: "And they committed adultery with wood and stone, and I said, After they have committed adultery with all these things, return to me, but she did not return with all her heart, but with lies." And again: "You have left me and said, I will go on every high hill, and under every green tree I will spread myself in my fornication" (Jer. 3:5, 6). And in the Psalm it is said: 'You have destroyed all who commit fornication away from you' (Ps. 72:27). For the beginning of fornication is the invention of idols. Heretics are never satisfied with their own error, and do not cease from the disgracefulness of fornication. They do not keep the holy Law and Scriptures, abandon the Lord, become insane and inebriated, and, with the judgment of their mind destroyed, worship idols which they themselves have fashioned from their hearts and are possessed by the spirit of fornication.

Source: Commentary on Hosea 4:10-12

[AD 420] Jerome on Hosea 4:10

Desire is insatiable, and the more it is felt, the more it creates in those who enjoy it a greater hunger. On the contrary: “Blessed are the ones who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied.” For righteousness satisfies, while wickedness—because it has no substance—deceives by fraud those who feed on vain things and leaves empty the stomachs of those who hunger. “They played the whore continually.” In fornication they run out of strength, yet the ardent desire of the fornication does not make a pause. The ten tribes played the whore with the idols of Jeroboam son of Naboth.

Source: COMMENTARY ON HOSEA 1:4

[AD 444] Cyril of Alexandria on Hosea 4:10

A remnant from Israel has been preserved. Since the judgment does not go entirely to the priest, he adds, “They eat, but they are not satisfied.” This means either emigration and captivity for those leaders of Israel or, because of Christ, desolation of Judea by the hands of Romans.… For among those Israelites brought then by Shalmaneser and Tiglath-pileser III to Assyria and Media, very few could offer to the priests the things prescribed by the law.

Source: COMMENTARY ON HOSEA 3:42

[AD 444] Cyril of Alexandria on Hosea 4:10

“They kept the whoredom” means that they [Israel’s leaders] got ready to preserve the error for those who were under their authority. Yet they should rather have removed and thrown it from their midst. For it is the vigilance of the teachers which should eagerly remove what hurts the people and turn down without delay what is hateful to God. By refusing to do this, they allow the works of error to stay somehow and to keep. Yet they confirm rather the contrary, when the minds of those who teach receive nothing but wine and drunkenness. For how will the disciples keep vigil, and how will they be able to point the eye of the understanding to God in nature and in truth, if the instructors and the teachers of useful things will still encourage them to err?

Source: COMMENTARY ON HOSEA 3:43

[AD 373] Athanasius of Alexandria on Hosea 4:12

Anthony then asked, “Who are you who say such things to me? And at once he [the demonic voice] uttered a contemptible speech: ‘I am a lover of fornication; I have undertaken to ensnare the young and to entice them to it, and I am called the spirit of fornication. How many I have deceived who wished to be chaste! How many who practiced self-restraint have I by my seductions persuaded to change! I am he on whose account the prophet reproaches the fallen, saying, “You have been deceived by the spirit of fornication,” for through me they were tripped up. I am he who often troubled you but whom you as often overthrew.’ ”

Source: LIFE OF ST. ANTHONY 6

[AD 420] Jerome on Hosea 4:12

The unclean spirit before had been in the synagogue and had led them into idolatry. Of him it is written, “The spirit of harlotry has led them astray.” The spirit had gone out of a man and was roaming in the dry places in search of a resting place and could find none. He took with him seven other demons and returned to his former dwelling place. All these spirits were in the synagogue and could not bear the presence of the Savior. Indeed, “what harmony is there between Christ and Belial?” Christ and Belial could not abide in the same assembly. “Now in their synagogue there was a man with an unclean spirit, and he cried out, saying, ‘What have we to do with you?’ ” Who is asking, “What have we to do with you?” He is only one, but he cries out the recognition of many. He is aware that in his own defeat, his devils have been vanquished with him.

Source: HOMILIES ON MARK 76

[AD 435] John Cassian on Hosea 4:12

“It is written in the law: ‘You shall not commit fornication.’ ” This is kept in a beneficial way according to the simple sound of the letter by the person who is still entangled in the passions of fleshly impurity. It is necessarily observed in spiritual fashion, however, by one who has already left behind this filthy behavior and impure disposition. This person also rejects not only all idolatrous ceremonies but also every superstition of the Gentiles and the observance of auguries and omens, and of all signs and days and times, and is certainly not engaged in the divination of particular words or names. [This] befouls the wholesomeness of our faith. Jerusalem is said to have been debauched by this fornication, having fornicated “on every high hill and under every green tree.” And the Lord, rebuking [Jerusalem], says by the prophet: “Let the astrologers stand and save you, who gazed on the stars and counted the months, so that from them they might announce the things that are to happen to you.” Concerning this fornication the Lord reproaches them elsewhere when he says, “The spirit of fornication has deceived them, and they went fornicating away from their God.”

Source: CONFERENCE 14:11.2–3

[AD 420] Jerome on Hosea 4:13

"On the tops of the mountains, they sacrificed, and on the hills, they burned incense under an oak and a poplar and a terebinth because its shade was good." According to the Law, it is commanded that one should not offer sacrifice to the Lord anywhere other than the place that the Lord God chooses. Trees are not to be planted near the altar so that a passive and indulgent religion does not overthrow the austerity of the one true religion. On the contrary, Israel was sacrificing on the mountains and burning incense on the hills, loving the high places of the earth, for they had forsaken the Most High God and sought shadows, having lost the truth. This is what we read about each king: "But the high places were not taken away; the people still sacrificed and burned incense on the high places" (3 Kings 22:44), which in Hebrew is called Bama. Heretics promise themselves the sublimity of their doctrines and sacrifice under oak, poplar and terebinth, under barren trees, having neither fig nor vine, under which the Saint is said to rest. However, they sometimes assume a terebinth for themselves, which, according to Isaiah, has no leaves, so that they may seem to imitate the example of Abraham. (Isaiah VI)

Source: Commentary on Hosea 4:13

[AD 253] Origen of Alexandria on Hosea 4:14

Hear what he says through the prophet. When he had enumerated abominable things that the people had committed, he adds these words also: “And for this reason I will not visit your daughters when they fornicate, nor your daughters-in-law when they commit adultery.” This is terrible! This is the outcome when we are no longer reproached for sins, when we offend and are no longer corrected. For then, when we have exceeded the measure of sinning “the jealous God” turns his jealousy away from us, as he said above, “For my jealousy will be removed from you, and I will no longer be angry over you.” I have said these things about the statement “God is jealous.”

Source: HOMILIES ON EXODUS 8

[AD 420] Jerome on Hosea 4:14

"Therefore, your daughters will prostitute themselves, and your daughters-in-law will commit adultery. I will not punish your daughters when they fornicate or your daughters-in-law when they commit adultery, because they themselves consorted with prostitutes and offered sacrifices with effeminate men, and the people who do not understand will be punished." LXX: "Therefore your daughters will prostitute themselves, and your brides will commit adultery; I will not punish them for prostitution nor for adultery, because they went to prostitutes and arranged pagan temple rites with sacred prostitutes; a senseless people they are." The word Cadesoth, which was translated by Aquila ἐνηλλαγμένων, by Symmachus ἑταιρίδων, by the Seventy τετελεσμένων, by Theodotion κεχωρισμένων, we translate as "effeminate" in order to convey the meaning of the word to our ears. These are they who serve today in Rome, not the gods but the demons, who are called Gauls, because the Romans castrated men of this tribe for the honor of Atys (whom the goddess harlot had made a eunuch) and appointed them to be priests. Therefore, the men of the Gaulish race are effeminate, so that those who captured the city of Rome are struck by this ignominy. There was such idolatry in Israel, mostly by women, who worshiped Beelphegor for the obscenity of his magnitude, whom we can call Priapus. Therefore, Asa the king took away the lofty ones of the people and such priests and deposed his mother from her august throne, as is testified in the scripture, saying: "And Asa did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, as did David his father, and took away the sodomites out of the land, and removed all the idols that his fathers had made. And also Maacha his mother, he removed from being queen, because she had made an idol in a grove: and Asa destroyed her idol, and burnt it by the brook Cedron. But the high places were not taken away: nevertheless the heart of Asa was perfect with the Lord all his days." (III Kings 15, 11 seqq.) It must be known however, that at present in Kadesh, "prostitutes," are called "sacerdotes" or "priests" of Priapus. In other places, we read of Ca’desim, men who, driven by lust have been castrated, of whom Isaiah says, "And the mockers shall rule over them," for which in Hebrew it is written, "And the eunuchs shall rule over them," which we translate to mean "effeminate" people. But Aquila, giving an interpretation, that is to say, "those who have been changed," wanted to show that their nature had changed, and that men had been made women. Symmachus properly called them "prostitutes." The Septuagint called them "consecrated and initiated" to show themselves as idol worshipers. Theodotion called them "separated from the people" who seemed to have something more than the common people. We have briefly discussed the words, now let us return to the meaning of the chapter. It is a great offense to not merit the anger of the Lord after you have sinned. Israel had fornicated with their God, and were seduced by a spirit of fornication: therefore their daughters and brides fornicate, and are left unpunished in their sin, so that they may feel what their sons and wives did to their true parents and husbands, and understand the pain of God from their own pain, who is so angry that he does not strike these sinners. For the Apostle also testifies in mystical language, writing to the Romans: "For saying they were wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for the likeness of the image of corruptible man, and of birds, and of four-footed beasts, and of serpents. Therefore God gave them up to the desires of their heart, unto uncleanness, to dishonor their own bodies among themselves, who changed the truth of God into a lie and worshipped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen." And in order that we may know that the visitation of God is inflicted upon us when we are wounded and weak, in order that by means of the cauterization of bitter potions we may be cured of sickness – let us listen to the Lord speaking through the prophet: "I will visit their iniquities with a rod, and their sins with stripes; but my mercy will I not take from him" (Ps. 88:33-34). Therefore, he who is loved is corrected; he who is neglected is left to his own sins. And so great was the number of fornicators in Israel that vengeance ceased, despairing of amendment. For what is more shameful than to be joined to the worship of harlots and to offer sacrifices of their lust with effeminate men? And what the phrase, "A people that doth not understand shall be beaten," which in the Septuagint is translated: "And a people not understanding adhered to the harlot," means is that such a people shall be scourged in captivity and shall be visited with various plagues in order that, by means of pain, it may receive discipline. The easy understanding about heretics is that their children will fornicate and their spouses, namely, the souls which they have begotten in error and married to their doctrines. Such persons are unworthy of correction by God, for their every form of worship is fornication and they mingle foul deeds with foul doctrines. Therefore, they shall be beaten so that they may finally understand what God they seek. When you see a sinner abound in riches, boast in power, rejoice in health, delight in his spouse, be surrounded by a garland of children, and fulfill that which is written: "They are not in trouble as other men; neither are they plagued like other men" (Ps. 73:5), say that the Prophet's threat has been accomplished in him: "I will not visit upon your daughters when they commit fornication, nor upon your spouses when they shall commit adultery."

Source: Commentary on Hosea 4:14

[AD 444] Cyril of Alexandria on Hosea 4:14

And when these things occur, he says, I will remain calm, and I will not lay charges. Because of the misfortunes of the war and the troubles of the captivity, it seems right that all that will happen be predicted to the sinners. For they who once captured and overcame others will do with the captives as they like, making use of power without bridle and shamelessly attacking whomever they please, neither taking into account the law or considering what is likely or proper. But hardened and extremely wild in soul, they refuse to refrain from any kind of wretchedness. Therefore he clearly showed that the young children will be exposed to enemies because of the insult and shameless conduct of the fornicators.

Source: COMMENTARY ON HOSEA 3:46

[AD 420] Jerome on Hosea 4:15-16

"If you fornicate, Israel, let not at least Judah sin, and do not enter into Gilgal, and do not ascend into Bethaven, neither shall you swear, by the living Lord, for as an wanton heifer, Israel has sinned. Now the Lord will feed them as a lamb in a large place." LXX: "But you, Israel, do not ignore, and Judah, do not enter into Galgala, nor ascend into the house [ὢν] and do not swear, the Lord lives: for as a refuge-killed cow, Israel went insane. Now the Lord will feed them like a lamb in a spacious place." "For home" [ὢν] being read in some copies, and most particularly in Theodotion as "house of iniquity," which Aquila and Symmachus interpreted as ἀνωφελοῦς ["house of the profitless,"] that is, "useless" which is of no benefit, and is designated by another word "idol". But Bethel was formerly called the "House of God," but after the calves were placed in it, it was called "Bethaven," that is, "useless house" and "house of idols," which we have expressed as we read it in Hebrew. But it seems to me that both the people of Israel and Jeroboam the son of Nebat made a golden calf to be worshipped in the wilderness, and fashioned golden calves as they had learned in Egypt, where the bulls are worshipped as gods in their superstition. Let us discuss the meaning of the chapter: Sisemel, O Israel, you have been deceived by error and have mixed with prostitutes, so that whoever fulfills the act of offering and giving gifts to the king or himself, would become a priest of the high places. At least you, Judah, who possess Jerusalem and have Levites from the law and perform temple ceremonies, should not imitate the examples of your former sister Oolla in fornication and worship idols with her. Do not enter Galgala, about which we read in this same prophet: 'All their wickedness is in Galgala' (Hosea 9:15), where Saul was anointed king, where the people, coming out of the wilderness, camped for the first time, and were purified by a second circumcision. From that time on, in this notorious place, error of an opposing religion crept in. And do not go up to Bethaven, that is, what was once called Bethel, because after golden calves were placed there by Jeroboam son of Nabath, it is not called the House of God but the house of an idol. For which reason, I wonder why the Septuagint interpreted it as "unless I make a mistake, the middle Jod letter which is surrounded on both sides by Aleph and Nun letters was believed to be Vau based solely on its size." "You shall not make a false oath by my name," says the Lord. For I do not want my name to be mentioned on your lips, which is tainted by the memory of idols. For just as a cow that is wanton and throws off her yoke, so too Israel, that is, the ten tribes, turned away from the service of the Lord. For the wanton cow, the Seventy translated παροιστρῶσαν, which stung by desire and struck by the asylum, which they commonly call "tabanus". About which Virgil also reports in the third book of the Georgics.

...The name of the asylum is Roman: the Greeks called it "oestrum," a harsh and bitter name that drives all the herds to flee in terror from the woods. The sky roars and trembles with their cries, and the banks of the dry Tanagra shake. And so because Israel had become insane and, struck by the spirit of fornication, went mad with unbelievable fury, not much longer afterwards, but while the prophet's body was still possessed by the spirit, the Lord said: "I will feed them as a lamb in a spacious place." He kept the metaphor of a cow in heat, in the same way that he had used it before, calling the captivity in Assyria and the dispersion of Israel into the widest land of the Medes, the pasture of a wide field and of flocks of sheep and lambs. A predisposition is present against heretics, concerning whom or about whom it is said: If you fornicate once, heretic, at least, do not offend, church-goer, and do not enter into Galgala, the meetings of heretics, where the sins of everyone are exposed, and are rolled in the mud like pigs. Do not assume that you rise up to the proud and arrogant fictions of false teachings. For there is not the house of God, but the house of an idol. And do not swear by the name of Christ, whose majesty you have defiled by mingling it with idols. For just as a slaughtered cow falls in the asylum, so the heretics are struck by the burning arrows of the devil and abandon knowledge of the Law. Therefore, they will graze in the broad and spacious way that leads to death, and the patience of the Lord and the care of the good Shepherd will nourish them unto their own destruction.

Source: Commentary on Hosea 4:15-16

[AD 1781] Richard Challoner on Hosea 4:15

Not into Galgal, and come not up into Bethaven: Places where idols were worshipped. Bethel, which signifies the house of God, is called by the prophet, Bethaven, that is, the house of vanity, from Jeroboam's golden calf that was worshipped there.

[AD 407] John Chrysostom on Hosea 4:16

But what is the source of this hardness? It comes from gluttony and drunkenness. Who says so? Moses himself. “Israel ate and was filled, and the darling grew fat and frisky.” When brute animals feed from a full manger, they grow plump and become more obstinate and hard to hold in check; they endure neither the yoke, the reins, nor the hand of the charioteer. Just so, the Jewish people were driven by their drunkenness and plumpness to ultimate evil. They kicked about and failed to accept the yoke of Christ. And they failed to pull the plow of his teaching. Another prophet hinted at this when he said, “Israel is as obstinate as a stubborn heifer.” And still another called the Jews “an untamed calf.”

Source: DISCOURSES AGAINST JUDAIZING CHRISTIANS 1:2.5

[AD 420] Jerome on Hosea 4:17-19

"Partaker of their idols is Ephraim, leave him; he is separated from their congregation: they have committed fornication in their fornication; they loved to bring disgrace upon their protectors, his spirit is bound up in their wings, and they shall be confounded because of their sacrifices." LXX: "Ephraim, a participant in idols, has placed scandals for himself, he has provoked the Canaanites, they have committed fornication, they have loved disgrace from his roar; a whirlwind of spirit will whistle in his wings, and they will be confounded from their altars." Ephraim, of whose tribe Jeroboam son of Nabath, who first set up golden calves in Bethel and Dan, is king of ten tribes. Therefore, O Judah, whom I mentioned above, if Israel commits fornication, let at least Judah not sin. Listen to my advice, do not disregard the words of the prophets; for Ephraim once was a friend and partner with idols. Leave him, do not follow his impiety, for his worship and religion and food are separated from your fellowship. They serve idols once, sacrificed to devils, fornicating every day, and loving their fornication. Indeed, its leaders and protectors, that is, the kings, took pleasure in bringing dishonor to the people, that is, in the vice of the princes. The unhappy people received the worship of idols, whose unclean spirits bound Israel in their wings and do not allow it to fly freely. Therefore they shall be confounded in their sacrifices, and they shall receive disgrace for their confusion. Symmachus, because we have interpreted it as "he bound his spirit on his wings," translates it into Greek in this way, as if one binds the wind in the wings of the wind, so that both the princes and the people, indeed both demons and Israel, may assert that they are vainly coupled with vanities. For wind and spirit are called "Rua" in one word in Hebrew. That which the Seventy translated ("Al." placed) as "provoked the Canaanites," is not found in Hebrew, but it can be thus interpreted, that we say only that Israel had such zeal for the worship of idols, that it did not imitate the Canaanites, that is, the heathen; but it provoked them to emulate its own error. This same thing can also be referred to heretics, and it is said to Judah, that is, to an ecclesiastical man, because Israel, who is interpreted as bearing fruit, promises himself a false richness of doctrine, and fruitful teachings, and once was a friend of demons, dismiss him and despise him: especially since their sacrifices are separated from your own sacrifices. For this is what is said: their gathering has been separated, they committed fornication once, and their leaders have deceived the unhappy people; and for the worship of God they have imbued them with the disgrace of idols, and devilish spirits have bound them on their wings, who are carried around by every wind of doctrine; and they cannot remain firm on the solid foundation of the Church. Those who truly are confounded in their sacrifices, because their bread is the bread of sorrow. And what is said, "He provoked the Canaanites," can be referred to heretics in the same sense, that most heretics have invented such abominations and filthy things, and have impure sacrifices, so that idolatry is inferior. Or certainly because "Cananaean" means "trader," or μετάβολος, that is, "translator," all those who make the Father's house a house of trade (John 2), and seek profits from the people, and transfer the truth of the Church into falsehood, are to be called Canaanites.

Source: Commentary on Hosea 4:17-19

[AD 850] Ishodad of Merv on Hosea 4:19

The words “I will not visit your daughters when they prostitute themselves,” that is, when a woman is accused of being adulterous and there is no witness, “she will make,” Scripture says, “her offering of barley flour and will not pour any oil or incense.” And since she is in her sorrow, the appearance of her offering will be equally sad. “And the priest,” Scripture says, “will take some water from a vase of clay, and will throw some dust of the soil into the water, and will place the woman before the Lord and will make her swear.” If she is innocent, she will remain unscathed and will still be fertile and will conceive; otherwise she will be torn. But in the meantime God threatens, “I will ravage Jerusalem, and there will be no one of your establishments which you cared for,” and so on, because everything in the temple will be bound and delivered. “A nation that does not understand has kissed the woman of whoredom,” that is, these people, who are blind and do not realize who God is, who lives and abides among them, prefer to worship idols rather than God. They foolishly kiss the calves and give themselves over to the prostitution with demons.

Source: COMMENTARY ON HOSEA