Bible Verses and Early Church Commentary | Historical Christian Faith

[AD 420] Jerome on Hosea 5:1-2

"Hear these things, O priests, and attend, O house of Israel, and O house of the king, give ear; for judgment is for you. For you have become a snare at Mizpah and a net spread upon Tabor, and victims on high have been turned aside into the depths." LXX: "Listen to these things, priests, and attend, House of Israel, and House of the King, perceive with your ears, for judgment belongs to you, since you have become a snare for speculation, and like a net spread out over Italy, those who capture it have established a hunt." The priests of the ten tribes are called to judgment, and the kings, not because the priests are from the tribe of Levi, but because the priests are called by the people. So even the priests of Baal, and four hundred and fifty prophets whom Elijah slew (1 Kings 18), and later Jehu the son of Namshi (2 Kings 9:10), in the presence of Jonadab the son of Rechab, were called priests. But even Israel, that is the people, is called to judgment, and none is excused, so that both priests and people and kings, who had led the people and appointed priests, hear together what they did and why they are handed over to enemies. I have appointed you as spies," he said, "and as leaders among the people, and have placed you on the high pinnacle of dignity, so that you might guide the wandering people. But you have become a trap, and are to be called not so much spies and leaders as hunters. For you have spread your net over Mount Tabor, which the Seventy translated as Itabyrium, having the custom of using Greek speech to decline Hebrew names, just as Edom, that is, Esau, and Seir are always interpreted as Idumea. But Mount Tabor is in Galilee, located in a plain, round and lofty, and finished equally on every side. About this mountain, we also read in the Psalms: "Thabor and Hermon shall rejoice in thy name". (Psalm 88:13). This mountain was translated as "Itabyrium" by the Seventy translators [of the Septuagint], as in Jeremiah. Birds are often caught in traps set upon this mountain. "And ye have cast off my fear, and have not kept my covenant. I also will cast off you for ever." (Jeremiah 34:15-16). The kings and priests have prohibited the people from going to the Temple of Jerusalem; therefore, they are said to have turned down sacrifices into the depths. According to the trope, the people are accused not to consider themselves strangers to crime, if they are induced by kings and priests, whom we understand as leaders of heretics. The leaders themselves are also accused of having taken the people like a trap and, with spies placed in the Church, led them astray. And on the lofty and most beautiful mountain "Tabor", which is interpreted as "coming light", they set traps, so that they could draw every deceiving person into the abyss, and offer them as sacrifices to demons, and steer them into the pit, lest they ever come to their senses, or sigh for the house of God, the Church. Some think that Thabor means a lake, that is, a cistern, and is suitable for the immediate meaning, that the heretics dug a lake and fell into the pit which they made. (Ps. LVI).

Source: Commentary on Hosea 5:1-2

[AD 604] Gregory the Dialogist on Hosea 5:1

For indeed the shepherds drink most pure water, when with a right understanding they imbibe the streams of truth. But to foul the same water with their feet is to corrupt the studies of holy meditation by evil living. And truly the sheep drink the water fouled by their feet, when any of those subject to them follow not the words that they hear but only imitate the bad examples that they see. Thirsting for things said but perverted by the works observed, they take in mud with their draughts, as from polluted fountains. Hence also it is written through the prophet, “A snare for the downfall of my people are evil spirits.”

Source: PASTORAL CARE 1:2

[AD 1781] Richard Challoner on Hosea 5:1

O priests: What is said of priests in this prophecy is chiefly understood of the priests of the kingdom of Israel; who were not true priests of the race of Aaron; but served the calves at Bethel and Dan.

[AD 215] Clement of Alexandria on Hosea 5:2

Therefore the Word who leads us his children to salvation is unquestionably an educator of little ones. In fact, through Hosea, the Word says plainly of himself, “I am your educator.” The matter he educates us in is fear of God, for this fear instructs us in the service of God, educates to the knowledge of truth, and guides by a path leading straight up to heaven.

Source: CHRIST THE EDUCATOR 1:7.53

[AD 420] Jerome on Hosea 5:3-4

"And I am skilled in all of them, and I know Ephraim, and Israel is not hidden from me: for now Ephraim has committed fornication, Israel is contaminated: they will not give their thoughts, to turn again to their God, for the spirit of fornication is in the midst of them, and they have not known the Lord." LXX: "For I am your master: I have known Ephraim, and Israel has not departed from me; for now Ephraim has fornicated, Israel is defiled. They have not given their thoughts to turn back to the Lord their God, for the spirit of fornication is in them and they have not known the Lord." O priests and kings, who deceived my people; and you, the people, who have been deceived, have sinned so gravely that you have not only killed victims, but also sent them down to the depths of hell: do not think that the magnitude of your crimes has caused you to be completely separated from me. I am your teacher, indeed a scholar, who desires to improve, not punish; and to save, not destroy. "I know Ephraim," he says, "that is, Jeroboam, from whom the people were persuaded; and all the kings who followed him in both rank and wickedness, and Israel was not hidden from me, that is, the people of ten tribes, because Israel was contaminated by a fornicating king. At first the king began to fornicate from the worship of God, desiring to worship golden calves, and the people wanting to follow him, they fulfilled equal impiety with equal zeal." (III Kings 12) Finally, they shall not return to the Lord because they found what they wanted, and the spirit of fornication, which according to the apostle, works in the sons of diffidence, possesses their captive hearts, and therefore under that ruler, they did not know, no, they forgot their Creator. (Ephesians 2). Therefore, the leaders of perverse teachings and the people of the Lord do not ignore: not because they are worthy of His knowledge, but because nothing of what they do in secret is hidden from Him, of whom some were deceived and others fell. And they will not give their thoughts to repentance, who always advance in destruction. For the spirit of fornication, by which they have committed fornication in the Church and have departed from true marriage, is in their midst: therefore they have not known the Lord.

Source: Commentary on Hosea 5:3-4

[AD 1107] Theophylact of Ohrid on Hosea 5:3

That “I know” means “I loved” is seen from God’s words: “I instruct them because I loved Ephraim, and I did not remove Israel from me. For though she plays the whore in idolatry, nevertheless I would not reject her, but I will be with her.” This is in harmony with what the prophet was told in the beginning, when he was ordered to marry a whore. Who would not love an instructor who corrects with love rather than with anger? This is also the instruction pertaining to every leader: to chastise not for anger but for education and assistance.

Source: COMMENTARY ON HOSEA 5

[AD 420] Jerome on Hosea 5:4

First the king [Jeroboam I] chose to play the whore away from the worship of God, wishing to adore golden calves. And the people followed him willingly—with equal zeal they accomplished equal ungodliness. They do not return to the Lord, for they found what they were looking for, and the spirit of whoredom—which according to the apostle “works in the sons of distrust”6—holds their hearts captive. As long as it governs, they will not know the Lord. In fact, they forgot their Creator.… They—whoever advances in ruin—do not have thoughts of penitence. For the spirit of whoredom, by which they played the whore in the church and by which they went away from the true marriage, dwells in their midst. That is why they did not know the Lord.

Source: COMMENTARY ON HOSEA 1:5

[AD 420] Jerome on Hosea 5:5

"And the pride of Israel shall answer in his face: and Israel and Ephraim shall fall in their iniquity: Juda shall also fall with them." LXX: "And the injury of Israel will be humbled before him: and Israel and Ephraim will be weakened in their iniquities, and Judah will also be weakened with them." The word "Gaon" is interpreted by Septuagint and Symmachus as "injury," by Aquila and Theodotion as "pride." Therefore, whatever Israel did, whether acting arrogantly against the Lord or worshipping idols to injure the Creator, will be answered in its face so that it may not go unpunished, but rather its humiliation will be humbled, and both people and kings will fall or weaken in their injustice, so that those who were strong in wickedness are forced to return to the Lord in weakness. And this will not only happen to Israel and Ephraim, that is, the ten tribes and their kings, so that they will be led into captivity; but Judah also, that is, the two tribes which ruled in Jerusalem, will follow the footsteps of the captives, that as they imitated the crime, they may imitate the punishment. Heretics have the mother of their iniquity in their pride, while they boast that they always know more, and rage against the Church. But their pride will weaken, and the people and teachers will equally fall: even Judah, who appears to be in the house of God, and in the Church, dwells not in mind but in body: and he has the same opinion in error with heretics; he is useless in promising the ecclesiastical name, because he also must be punished with the heretics. We rush towards what is clear, so that we may linger in the more obscure.

Source: Commentary on Hosea 5:5

[AD 420] Jerome on Hosea 5:6-7

"In their flocks and herds they will go to seek the Lord, but they will not find Him; He has withdrawn Himself from them. They have transgressed against the Lord, for they have produced illegitimate children. Now the month and its parts will devour them." LXX: "When they go with sheep and calves seeking the Lord, but shall not find him, he hath withdrawn himself from them. Because they have forsaken the Lord, and have brought up strange children, their rust shall devour them and their portions." Not only Israel and Ephraim will go with flocks and herds to seek the Lord, but also Judah, of whom it is written above: "Judah will also fall with them," all having this struggle, that they may try to appease with sacrifices those whom they have offended with their transgressions; and they will not find whom they seek, because he also departed from those who were departing. Especially when elsewhere he says, "Will I eat the flesh of bulls or drink the blood of goats?" And again, "I will not accept a bull from your house, nor goats from your flocks" (Ps. 49:13 and 9). And in Isaiah: "I do not want the sacrifices of rams or the fat of lambs or the blood of goats and bulls" (Isaiah 1:11). For they have transgressed against the Lord; because fornicating with idols, they did not beget children to God, but to demons. Some think that this signifies what is said in Ezra much later (1 Esdras 10) when they took foreign wives, creating children with them, and later were compelled to repudiate them. But it is better to accept foreign children who were generated in idolatrous error or whom they consecrated to idols by leading them through fire. Because, therefore, they did this, shortly afterwards, not after infinite periods of years, and as I used to predict before, far from the future; but now and in the present, the Assyrian and Chaldean will come and devour them with their parts, that is, with the possessions that they received in the division of the land according to the measure of the rope. Because we said "he will devour them," the Seventy translated "rust" for "them"; yet indeed rust, that is, ἐρυσίβη, in Hebrew is called Hasil, as they also said in the Prophet Joel: "The remnants of a worm will eat rust," which is to say, Hasil. But the month is called Hodes; finally Aquila translated "neomenias," that is, "Kalendas"; Symmachus and Theodotion translated "month"; and the sense is, the enemy will come each month and devastate all things. We read the Books of Kings and Chronicles, and we find that under King Pekah, who reigned over ten tribes, Tiglath-pileser, the king of Assyria, came and took a great part of the people of Samaria to the Assyrians, at which time, according to the Greeks, it was the second year of the first Olympiad; and among the Latins (not yet founded Rome) Amulius was ruling in the twentieth year, whom later Romulus drove out of the kingdom. Heretics suspect that God is pleased with the multitude of sacrifices; and ecclesiastics, that by giving alms, they redeem sins, in which they remain: whereas every sacrifice except past sins, not present ones; thus, they do not find the Lord, Who removes Himself from such things, and retreats far away. These have truly ($"Al." however$) acted deceitfully against God, and have begotten children for the devil, not for Christ: therefore their works are cursed at all times, and all things that they do, the rusty color of blood lays waste, because they are closely related to blood and killing. But the rusty color is said in a proper sense to come down in the night dew, and to stain the lactating grains of wheat with the color of vermilion or red lead, and suitably in accordance with conversion, it devastates the clergy of heretics, of whom it is said, "Their clergy shall not " "profit them" (Jeremiah XII, 13, according to the LXX).

Source: Commentary on Hosea 5:6-7

[AD 1781] Richard Challoner on Hosea 5:7

Children that are strangers: That is, aliens from God: and therefore they are threatened with speedy destruction.

[AD 420] Jerome on Hosea 5:8-9

Blow the horn in Gabaa, trumpet in Rama: howl at Bethaven after your back, O Benjamin: Ephraim shall be in desolation in the day of rebuke, among the tribes of Israel have I made known the truth." LXX: "Blow the trumpet on the hills, sound on the high places," "proclaim it in the house." ὢν: "Benjamin's mind has failed, Ephraim has become desolate in the days of reproof, in the tribes of Israel I have shown faithfulness." Ephraim and Israel and Judah shall each month, or the rust with its parts, devour. Therefore, I command you who listen that you do not sound a trumpet with a lofty voice, but a clear one: for there is a need for a clear hearing, so that all who are around may hear. "Blow the trumpet in Gabaa," which the Septuagint translated the etymology into "hills": and "sound the trumpet in Rama," which means "high": and these two are in the tribe of Benjamin, cities close to each other, that is, Gabaa, where Saul was born; and Rama, which is near Gabaa, situated on the seventh stone from Jerusalem; and which the king of Israel tried to occupy, to close the exit and entrance of the tribe of Judah. In Gabaa and in Rama, therefore, a clear trumpet and tuba resound, whose trumpet is pastoral, and the horn is made curved; whence it is properly called a Hebraic Sophar, and a κερατίγνυμι in Greek. But the tuba is made of bronze or silver, with which they rattled in wars and ceremonies. Above Bethaven, which was once called Bethel, and is in the tribe of Ephraim, where there was a golden calf, there is a need for not a clangor and sound, but a wailing: because there is a nearby captivity. And he said beautifully that Bethaven is located behind Benjamin, for where the tribe of Benjamin finishes, not far in the tribe of Ephraim, this city was founded. Therefore, I say and command: Blow the trumpet in Gabaa, and the horn in Rama, and howl in Bethaven, because the regal house of Ephraim, or Ephraim himself, that is the empire of Israel, will now be in desolation; and the neighboring captivity approaches. On the day of correction and supplication of the ten tribes of Israel, I showed my faithful words that I threatened through the prophets, so that I might prove, by action, what I had announced by word. Certain people who were near Bethaven according to the Seventy who said the house was the "city of the sun," were interpreted as saying that Christ, the sun of righteousness, was the city, and they wanted his Church to be that city. But this displeases me, for the house of an idol, which Aquila interpreted as "useless house," cannot be referred to the Church by means of tropology. But let us say this, that the heretics who promise themselves lofty knowledge in Gabaa and Rama, are ordered to howl ((or "jubilate")) in the house of an idol; and they should not be before the face of Benjamin, who is interpreted as "son of the right hand," but rather behind him, where he does not have eyes. For all the boasting of Ephraim, which means "abundance," he will soon be in desolation, and when the day of judgment and time of correction comes, I will show that my words are not in vain. Because we translated "Benjamin at your back," the Seventy translated it as "Benjamin's mind was moved," always adapting Benjamin, a man of the church, to excess of mind. Hence in the sixty-seventh psalm it is said: "There Benjamin, the youth, is in excess of mind." And in Jacob's blessings, in the person of Benjamin, from whom Paul the Apostle was descended, we read: "Benjamin is a ravenous wolf; in the morning he shall devour the prey, and in the evening he shall divide the spoil." (Gen. XLIX, 27). For he who persecuted the Church in the beginning, later on throughout the whole world, bestowed nourishment upon those who believed in the Gospel. From this it happened that Saul, who was from the tribe of Benjamin, raving with madness, prophesied among the choir of prophets all day long until evening (1 Kings 10).

Source: Commentary on Hosea 5:8-9

[AD 420] Jerome on Hosea 5:10

"The leaders of Judah have become like those who remove a boundary; upon them I will pour out my wrath like water." LXX: "The leaders of Judah have become like those who move boundary lines. I will pour out my rage on them like a flood, raging and swift." After the captivity of Ephraim and Israel, and their land became desolate, the leaders of Judah who should have wept and encouraged their people to turn away from idolatry, lest they suffer similarly, began to rejoice and be happy that their land was opened wide for them to possess. They became like those who remove boundary lines and expanded their kingdom and possession in the former places of Israel. Therefore, thus says the Lord: And upon those princes of Judah shall come the Babylonians; and they shall take them: their bowels will not be of force, but of my indignation. And he also speaks to the princes of Judah, that is, the Church, that they ought not to exult; and to estimate their own salvation through the perdition of heretics, but rather to mourn because they are lost. Wherefore even the Apostle Paul teaches the ecclesiastical men not to glory in the breaking off of the Jewish branches, but rather to fear lest they themselves be broken off (Rom. XI). And in another place: "Who," he says, "is scandalized, and I am not burned." (2 Corinthians 2:29)? Otherwise, against such leaders who glory in the miseries of others, and therefore think that they are standing if others fall, the Lord will pour out His anger like water. Seventy interpreted the word "impetus" as wrath, and some think that it should be understood as a blessing, according to what we read elsewhere: "The impetus of a river rejoices the city of God" (Ps. 45:4). But more correctly (as all except the Seventy have translated) anger should be received, especially since the name of effusion and anger is appropriate, as the prophet says to the Lord: "Pour out your anger upon them, and let the fury of your wrath take hold of them" (Ps. LXVIII, 25). The princes of Judah have moved the boundaries which their fathers had set, when they change truth with falsehood, and they preach something different from what they have received from the apostles.

Source: Commentary on Hosea 5:10

[AD 1781] Richard Challoner on Hosea 5:10

As they that take up the bound: That is, they that remove the boundary, encroaching on the property of their neighbours: figuratively: going beyond the boundary of the laws of God.

[AD 420] Jerome on Hosea 5:11

"Ephraim endures slander, broken in judgement, because he started to follow after filth." LXX: "Ephraim oppressed his adversary, trampled justice, because he began to pursue vain things." If Ephraim is wicked, and because of his wickedness he will be destroyed, how can it now be said: "Ephraim endures slander, broken in judgement?" For he who endures slander is also broken, his judgement oppressed unjustly, especially when a just cause is stated for which he was given up to captivity. For it follows: 'since he began to leave behind filth', that is, behind the idols which are compared to filth. Therefore, what he says is this: Ephraim is oppressed by the Assyrians, first by Pul, then by Tiglath-pileser (2 Kings 15), and afterwards by Salmanazar; not because they were righteous who oppressed him, and therefore he was handed over to them; but because those who were once my people, when I abandoned them, were handed over to punishment, and in this there seems to be slander, not towards God ("Al." from God), who inflicts just sentence: but towards those who endure torments, while they are handed over to more wicked adversaries. And the Lord brought upon them the cause of contempt in this part, and to be delivered unto the worst, and no judgment to be had toward them: for Ephraim began to go after idols, and to forsake God: for he himself had made golden calves. According to the interpretation of the Septuagint, Ephraim, that is, Jeroboam, oppressed his adversary Rehoboam, that is, the tribe of Judah, and in it he oppressed: because he followed the filthy idols of the Egyptians, and deserted Jerusalem and the temple. The meaning concerning heretics is clear: that with their false sophisms and dialectical art they often suppress churchmen; but when they have done this, they do not follow the purity of true faith, but the filth of lies; who are given over to the devil and his angels and seem to suffer slander and have the truth of judgment broken within them. Thus Israel is laid waste; and all its labors are devastated by the Assyrian conqueror; and the bishop lost God and therefore he is broken in judgment; because he followed idols.

Source: Commentary on Hosea 5:11

[AD 420] Jerome on Hosea 5:12

"And I am like a moth to Ephraim, and like rottenness to the house of Judah." LXX: "And I am like a tribulation to Ephraim, and like a stimulus to the house of Judah." In the Hebrew language "moth" is called "Recob" for "rot and decay"; one of which consumes clothes and the other wood: for which the LXX translated as "turbulence", which is "disorder" or "turbulence", and "stimulus". And it should be noted that the moth pertains to Ephraim, and the rottenness to the house of Judah. Therefore, how does a clothes moth consume clothing, and decay or rot consume wood; which both take a long time: In the same way, God gave a place for repentance to the ten tribes, and later to the two tribes for a long time, calling them to salvation, storing up His wrath for the day of wrath, like a moth or decay, not because God is a moth or decay, disturbance or affliction, but because to those who suffer punishment all these things seem so. Therefore, first consumed was Ephraim and Israel, then followed was the house of Judah: not Judah himself, but his house; otherwise, it was reserved for the genealogy of Judah, among whom He had been placed: And He was the expectation of the nations. However, the heretics, who are understood to be Ephraim, and also Judas, namely, those who remain with the Church, and who are contained in the errors or vices of heretics, will be subject to the same judgment.

Source: Commentary on Hosea 5:12

[AD 420] Jerome on Hosea 5:12

Just as the moth consumes clothing and decay or dry-rot consumes wooden things (which both occur over a long time), in the same manner God, giving a place of penitence over a long time to the ten tribes and then afterward to the two tribes—summoning to salvation those who treasure for themselves wrath for the day of wrath—becomes like a moth or rot.

Source: COMMENTARY ON HOSEA 2:5

[AD 420] Jerome on Hosea 5:13

"And Ephraim saw his sickness, and Judah his band: and Ephraim went to the Assyrian, and sent to the avenging king: and he shall not be able to heal you, neither shall he be able to take off the band from you." LXX: "And Ephraim saw his weakness, and Judah his pain, and Ephraim went to the Assyrians, and sent ambassadors to king Jareb, and he will not be able to free you, nor will he make an end of your pain." Embassies are not held in Hebrew. And where the Septuagint place "Jarib," we translate it as "avenger" according to Symmachus; for Aquila and Theodotion translated it as "judge." And this name "Jarib," signifying "avenger" and "judge," is shown by the name of Gideon who, when the worshippers of Baal sought him for punishment, because he had overthrown the grove of Baal and its altars, answered his father, "Let Baal therefore plead against him" or "avenge" himself, and he was afterward called "Jerubbaal," that is to say, "Let Baal plead against him." Therefore, understanding their own weakness, Ephraim sought not aid from Him who could loose them, but from the King of the Assyrians, to whom they were in sinfulness bound together with the ten tribes. We read that under King Manahen, who ruled over ten tribes (IV Kings XV), Israel sent gifts to the Assyrians; and Judah under King Ahaz, sought aid from Tiglath-pileser king of the Assyrians, who was unable to deliver them from those who opposed God, nor could he loosen the bonds of captivity. We can refer to those bonds, for which it is written in Hebrew as Mezur, and which Aquila interpreted as ἐπίδεσιν or συνδεσμὸν, that is, "binding" or "conspiracy," and to that time when Rezin and Pekah son of Remaliah devastated many thousands of men from the tribe of Judah (Ibid. XVI), and Judah pleaded in vain for help against not two, but the aid of the kings of Assyria. Some people, according to the trope of Ephraim and Judah, refer both to heretics and to men of the church, because both they and Judas, the sinners, are bound with the chains of sins, according to what is written: “With the cords of his sins every one is bound” (Prov. 5:22). They have sent to Assyria and to the avenging king, that is, to the devil, of whom we read: “That thou mayst destroy the enemy and the avenger” (Ps. 8:3). And because they did not beseech the true helper or judge; therefore He has made them abide in the pain of sickness and the chains of their own offenses. I have read in the commentaries of someone that the King "Jarib" is interpreted as Christ. And because it follows: "He will not be able to heal you," this argument is used, that Christ cannot heal heretics or sinning Christians at the time of judgment, where there is no mercy, according to what is written: "But in hell, who shall confess to thee?" (Ps. VI). And that he cannot heal or free, not because of his weakness, but because of their merit, who have sought help too late. How our Lord was said to have been unable to work miracles in his own country, and the reason why he was unable, he explains: 'Because,' he says, 'they did not believe in him.' He said these things: we will interpret the king unfavorably. Because we explained 'Jarib,' which means 'avenger:' others read Jarim with the letter Mem, which is transferred to 'woods:' hence Cariath Jarim, interpreted as 'the village of woods.'

Source: Commentary on Hosea 5:13

[AD 420] Jerome on Hosea 5:14

"For I am like a lioness of Ephraim, and like a lion's cub to the house of Judah." LXX: "For I am like a panther to Ephraim, and like a lion in the house of Judah." When they go to Assyria and send to the avenging or the revenger king, who will not be able to heal them; nor to undo the bound chain, I will show that with me opposing, all human help is vain: for I will be like a lioness to Ephraim, and like a lion's whelp to the house of Judah. For the lioness, which in Hebrew is called Sohel, the Seventy [translators] interpreted it as 'panther,' which is similarly said in Greek and in Latin, and both the name of the beast and every beast can be taken [in this sense]: so that you may recognize whatever is savage in the beasts, as existing in God's indignation. There is nothing swifter than the panther, nothing stronger than the lion: in the panther the swiftness of the destruction of the kingdom of Samaria is significant among the Assyrians; and in the lion, the strongest [beast], is shown their kingdom against Jerusalem and Judah somewhat later in time of the Chaldeans. And because she had said that she was both a lioness or panther, she maintains the metaphor and says:

Source: Commentary on Hosea 5:14

[AD 420] Jerome on Hosea 5:15

"I will take and go, and I will take away and there is no one who can deliver: going I will return to my place until you fail and seek my face." LXX: "And I will snatch, and go and take away, and there will be no one who can deliver: I will go and return to my rightful place until they are destroyed and seek my face." It is asked, if God takes, and takes away, and holds, no one can take them from his hands, according to what is written: "No one can snatch them from the hand of my Father" (John X, 29) how was Judas snatched from the hand of God through betrayal? We will briefly answer this, that no one can snatch from the hand of God: however, he who is held, can by his own will fall away from the hand of God. And what follows: "Going, I shall return to my place," we ought to accept the place of God, his magnificence and majesty: so that he does not in any way descend to deal with men, become angry, show mercy, forget, become like a panther, turn into a lion, change into beasts: but may despise human things, and allow those whom he formerly protected to submit to their enemies, so that they may waste away, and fail, and die, and afterwards seek the face of the Lord and say: "Illuminate your face and we will be saved" (Ps. LXXIX, 4). "And: Show us, Lord, your mercy, and grant us your salvation" (Psalm 85:8). Even to heretics and the negligent Church, God turns into a panther and a lion; and He will reclaim the prey from those who had previously seized it from the Church, so that those who had been lost might be saved when they are captured. He will not dwell in the gathering of the wicked but will return to His place, as He said, "I am in the Father, and the Father is in me" (John 14:1). He will reject and despise them until they are consumed by their impiousness and seek Him through penance, abandoned as they once were. Some think heaven is God's dwelling place; thus God, offended by those who dwell on earth, will return and make perish those who, through the enormity of their sins, have converted the most merciful Lord into a wild beast for themselves.

Source: Commentary on Hosea 5:15

[AD 420] Jerome on Hosea 5:15

By “my place” we have to understand God’s place, his splendor and majesty, so that by no means according to the dispensation does he descend to men, become angry, merciful, forgetful, become as a panther, turn into a lion, change into beasts. On the contrary, he disdains human things and allows those whom he once protected to be cast to enemies so that they may languish, disappear and be destroyed, and seek eventually the face of the Lord.… Others consider God’s place the heaven where God returns after being offended by the inhabitants of the earth, and he allows to go to ruin those who, due to the multitude of their sins, turned the mercy of the Lord into the rage of beasts toward them.

Source: COMMENTARY ON HOSEA 2:5

[AD 444] Cyril of Alexandria on Hosea 5:15

It seems that the saying refers very suitably to the mystery of Christ and the redemption through him, pointing to the conversion to God. For the face of God we seek signifies most certainly the Son himself, “who is the image, and the radiance, and the very seal of the Father’s nature.” Thus the true face of God and Father is the Son, inasmuch as he is recognized in him: “And who saw him, saw the Father.” The psalmist thus calls him when he cries out to God of all, saying: “Cause your face to shine upon your servant.” Indeed, just as from the person of those who were already transformed according to the Son through the Spirit: “The light of your face, O Lord, has been marked upon us.” Or as the prophet says: “The light of our face, the anointed Lord.”

Source: COMMENTARY ON HOSEA 4:61

[AD 444] Cyril of Alexandria on Hosea 5:15

“They seek early” seems to indicate here that they, as if awakened from the sleep of thoughtlessness which was in them, and further as if brought from night and darkness to light and day, will call out to one another that it is fitting to return to the Lord. This is a return to the senses of those fallen into deception and those taken up by the worship of idols. For the fruit of vigilance is at present seeking to get out of the gloom which is demonic.

Source: COMMENTARY ON HOSEA 4:62