Hosea 14
Commentary from 7 fathers
Return, O Israel, to the Lord thy God; for the people have fallen through thine iniquities.
ἐπιστράφηθι, ᾿Ισραήλ, πρὸς Κύριον τὸν Θεόν σου, διότι ἠσθένησαν ἐν ταῖς ἀδικίαις σου.
Ѡ҆брати́сѧ, і҆и҃лю, ко гдⷭ҇ꙋ бг҃ꙋ твоемꙋ̀, занѐ и҆знемо́глъ є҆сѝ въ непра́вдахъ твои́хъ.
Take with you words, and turn to the Lord your God: speak to him, that ye may not receive [the reward of] unrighteousness, but that ye may receive good things: and we will render in return the fruit of our lips.
λάβετε μεθ᾿ ἑαυτῶν λόγους καὶ ἐπιστράφητε πρὸς Κύριον τὸν Θεὸν ὑμῶν· εἴπατε αὐτῷ, ὅπως μὴ λάβητε ἀδικίαν καὶ λάβητε ἀγαθά, καὶ ἀνταποδώσομεν καρπὸν χειλέων ἡμῶν.
Возми́те съ собо́ю словеса̀ и҆ ѡ҆брати́тесѧ ко гдⷭ҇ꙋ бг҃ꙋ ва́шемꙋ, рцы́те є҆мꙋ̀: (мо́жеши всѧ́къ ѿврещѝ грѣ́хъ:) ꙗ҆́кѡ да не прїи́мете непра́вды, но да прїи́мете блага̑ѧ, и҆ воздади́мъ пло́дъ ᲂу҆сте́нъ на́шихъ.
Do not be surprised that I view the people of the old covenant as pitiable and woeful. When so many blessings from heaven came into their hands, they thrust them aside and were at great pains to reject them. The morning Sun of justice arose for them, but they thrust aside its rays and still sit in darkness. We [the Gentiles], who were nurtured by darkness, drew the light to ourselves and were freed from the gloom of error. They were the branches of that holy root, but those branches were broken. We had no share in the root, but we did reap the fruit of godliness. From their childhood they read the prophets, but they crucified him whom the prophets had foretold. We did not hear the divine prophecies, but we did worship him of whom they prophesied. And so they are pitiful because they rejected the blessings that were sent to them, while others seized hold of these blessings and drew them to themselves. Although they had been called to the adoption of sons, they fell to kinship with dogs; we who were dogs received the strength, through God’s grace, to put aside the irrational nature that was ours and to rise to the honor of sons.
Discourses Against Judaizing Christians 1:2.1
Assur shall never save us; we will not mount on horseback; we will no longer say to the works of our hands, Our gods. He who is in thee shall pity the orphan.
᾿Ασσοὺρ οὐ μὴ σώσῃ ἡμᾶς, ἐφ᾿ ἵππον οὐκ ἀναβησόμεθα· οὐκέτι μὴ εἴπωμεν· θεοὶ ἡμῶν, τοῖς ἔργοις τῶν χειρῶν ἡμῶν· ὁ ἐν σοὶ ἐλεήσει ὀρφανόν.
А҆ссꙋ́ръ не спасе́тъ на́съ, на ко́ни не взы́демъ, ксемꙋ̀ не рече́мъ:
4–8"I will heal their apostasy; I will love them freely, for my anger has turned from them. I will be like the dew to Israel; he shall blossom like the lily; he shall take root like the trees of Lebanon; his shoots shall spread out; his beauty shall be like the olive, and his fragrance like Lebanon. They shall return and dwell beneath my shadow; they shall flourish like the grain; they shall blossom like the vine; their fame shall be like the wine of Lebanon. O Ephraim, what have I to do with idols? It is I who answer and look after you. I am like an evergreen cypress; from me comes your fruit." LXX: "I will heal their inhabitants; I will love them openly, for my anger has turned away from them. I will be like dew for Israel; he shall blossom like the lily, and cast forth his roots as Lebanon. His branches shall spread, and his beauty shall be like the olive tree, and his fragrance like Lebanon. They shall return, and sit under his shade; they shall drink and be filled with the grain, and they shall flourish like the vine; the memory of Ephraim shall be as wine. What will he have more to do with idols? I have humbled him, and I will strengthen him; I am as a cypress tree, your fruit has come forth from me." Turning to repentance, and like an orphan recognizing the father whom they had abandoned, God responded: "I will heal their contrition," or "their dwelling places" in which they had been wounded, or broken, or in which they had lived so poorly: "I will love them freely;" which the LXX translated as "confessing" or "clearly" and "openly," or "without any doubt." But the Lord loves those who love him, of whom he also says in another place: "I love those who love me" (Prov. 8:17). For I used to be angry with them because of the sins they had committed, but now I will have mercy on them because of my clemency. And I will be to them as dew, so as to extinguish the Babylonian furnace and the furnace of burning heat with my moisture, which I spoke through the patriarch Isaac to my servant Jacob: 'Your dwelling place will be from the dew of heaven.' For just as the Lord becomes for believers light, way, truth, bread, vine, fire, shepherd, lamb, gate, worm, etc. Thus, to those in need of His mercy, and inflamed with the fever of sin, He is turned to us as dew, whom Isaiah says: "For when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness." (Isai. XXVI, 9) And in the Song of Deuteronomy, Moses speaks: "My doctrine shall drop as the rain, my speech shall distil as the dew, as the small rain upon the tender herb, and as the showers upon the grass" (Deut. XXXII, 2). But when the Lord has sprinkled us with His dew, and moistened the dryness of our hearts with His rain, we will flourish, and indeed flower into usefulness, imitating the Lord and Savior, who says in the Song of Songs: "I am the flower of the field and the lily of the valley" (Cant. II, 1), and speaks to His bride, who has no wrinkle or blemish: "As a lily among thorns, so is my love among the daughters." And when we grow in the Lord, we will send down our roots like the trees of Lebanon, which rise as high as the heavens, so sink as low in the earth, that they may not be shaken by any storm, but remain steadfast. The branches of these trees are stretched out here and there, so that the birds of the sky may come and dwell in them. And lest we might think because it was said, his root shall break forth, or his roots shall be like Lebanon, that he speaks of cedar and unfruitful trees, he likens the holy man, converted to the Lord, to fruitful olive trees, who says in another place: "But I am like a fruitful olive tree in the house of God" (Psalm LI, 1). Five wise virgins have prepared their fruit, from which the swelling of wounds is mitigated, the limbs of the languishing rest, light is kindled in the darkness, those who fight in agony are anointed. This olive will have a fragrance like that of Lebanon or frankincense, which is a kind of incense. It is called the same thing among Greeks and Hebrews, both the mountain and the incense, or certainly the mountain of Lebanon. It is very fertile and green, protected by the thickest hair of trees, so that the olive may say: "We are the good odor of Christ" (2 Corinthians 2:16). But whoever turns to the Lord will receive the reward of his conversion, to sit in His shadow and say: "I rested and sat down under His shadow, and His fruit is sweet to my mouth" (Song of Solomon 2:3). And when they sit in its shade, they who were once dead will live again, and they will drink and be drunken with wheat, that is, with the abundance of all things. And that this drunkenness here does not mean a disturbance of the mind, but the abundance of all things, that verse declares, saying, 'You have visited the earth and made it drunk' (Ps. 64:10). And Joseph's banquet, in which it is said that he made his brothers drunk (Gen. 43). And the Lord speaking to the apostles: "Eat, my friends, and drink, and be drunk, brethren" (Cant. V,1). Whether because our Lord himself is the grain and vine, whoever believes in him is said to be intoxicated. Finally it follows: "And his memorial shall flourish as the vine, as wine of Libanus." But we can call wine Libanus mixed and seasoned with thyme, so that it has the sweetest smell, or wine Libanus which is offered to the Lord in the temple, about which we read under the name of Libanus in Zacharias: "Open," "your gates, O Libanus" (Zach. XI,1). When the abundance of things is about to come to an end, O Ephraim, you who repent and have begun to be mine, cast away your idols and despise your images; for I am the one who humbled you, and I will exalt you, and whether I hear and direct you, I will make you like a green fir tree, so that it shall be said of you according to the Hebrews in the Psalm: "The fir tree is the house of the Lord." (Psalm 104:18). Or certainly I will be as a fir tree that is dense, so that one may rest in my shade. About the juniper, which is "ἀρκεύθοις" in Greek according to the Septuagint, it is recorded that Solomon made the doors of the temple, because Christ, through whom we approach the Father, has this nature, that it always flourishes, always brings forth new fruit, and never loses its vigor. This juniper, while those resting under its shade may not be struck by the fever of this world and, like those who once hit Jonah (Ch. IV), it provides food and not only rest to those who sleep and sit; but also satiety to those who eat. Whatever we have interpreted according to allegory, in the coming of the Lord and Savior and the conversion of true Israel, can refer to heretics and Jews as well as to misguided nations and all perverse teachings: so that they attain pardon when they repent. If, therefore, the fullness of the promise has been fulfilled in the coming of the Savior and is daily fulfilled in the Church, it is to be believed that it will be more fully completed when perfection arrives, which is now in part, will be destroyed. Note that we have often said, the safety of Israel and the return to the Lord, and the redemption from captivity, is not to be accepted carnally, as the Jews think, but spiritually, as is most truly proved.
Commentary on Hosea 14:5-9
I will restore their dwellings, I will love them truly: for he has turned away my wrath from him.
ἰάσομαι τὰς κατοικίας αὐτῶν, ἀγαπήσω αὐτοὺς ὁμολόγως, ὅτι ἀποστρέψω τὴν ὀργήν μου ἀπ᾿ αὐτοῦ.
бо́зи на́ши, дѣла́мъ рꙋ́къ на́шихъ: ꙗ҆́кѡ въ тебѣ̀ поми́лꙋетсѧ сирота̀. И҆сцѣлю̀ селє́нїѧ и҆́хъ, возлюблю̀ ѧ҆̀ ꙗ҆вле́ннѡ, ꙗ҆́кѡ ѿврати́сѧ гнѣ́въ мо́й ѿ ни́хъ.
This is our Faith. Thus did God will that He should be known by all, thus believed the three children, and felt not the fire into the midst whereof they were cast, which destroyed and burnt up unbelievers, whilst it fell harmless as dew upon the faithful, for whom the flames kindled by others became cold, seeing that the torment had justly lost its power in conflict with faith. For with them there was One in the form of an angel, comforting them, to the end that in the number of the Trinity one Supreme Power might be praised. God was praised, the Son of God was seen in God's angel, holy and spiritual grace spake in the children.
Exposition of the Christian Faith 1:4.33
I will be as dew to Israel: he shall bloom as the lily, and cast forth his roots as Libanus.
ἔσομαι ὡς δρόσος τῷ ᾿Ισραήλ, ἀνθήσει ὡς κρίνον καὶ βαλεῖ τὰς ρίζας αὐτοῦ ὡς ὁ Λίβανος·
Бꙋ́дꙋ ꙗ҆́коже роса̀ і҆и҃лю, процвѣте́тъ ꙗ҆́кѡ крі́нъ и҆ простре́тъ коре́нїе своѐ ꙗ҆́коже лїва́нъ.
His branches shall spread, and he shall be as a fruitful olive, and his smell shall be as [the smell] of Libanus.
πορεύσονται οἱ κλάδοι αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἔσται ὡς ἐλαία κατάκαρπος, καὶ ἡ ὀσφρασία αὐτοῦ ὡς Λιβάνου·
По́йдꙋтъ вѣ̑тви є҆гѡ̀, и҆ бꙋ́детъ ꙗ҆́коже ма́слина плодови́та, и҆ ѡ҆бонѧ́нїе є҆гѡ̀ а҆́ки лїва́на:
They shall return, and dwell under his shadow: they shall live and be satisfied with corn, and he shall flower as a vine: his memorial shall be to Ephraim as the wine of Libanus.
ἐπιστρέψουσι καὶ καθιοῦνται ὑπὸ τὴν σκέπην αὐτοῦ, ζήσονται καὶ μεθυσθήσονται σίτῳ· καὶ ἐξανθήσει ὡς ἄμπελος μνημόσυνον αὐτοῦ, ὡς οἶνος Λιβάνου.
ѡ҆братѧ́тсѧ и҆ сѧ́дꙋтъ под̾ кро́вомъ є҆гѡ̀, поживꙋ́тъ и҆ ᲂу҆твердѧ́тсѧ пшени́цею, и҆ процвѣте́тъ ꙗ҆́кѡ вїногра́дъ па́мѧть є҆гѡ̀, ꙗ҆́коже вїно̀ лїва́ново.
Holy people have never testified that they attained by their effort the right path to travel on as they made their way to the increase and perfection of virtue. Rather they would plead to the Lord and say, “Direct me in your truth,” and, “Direct my way in your sight.” Another one declares that it is not by faith alone but also by experience and, as it were, in the very nature of things that he has seized upon this, [saying], “I have known, O Lord, that a person’s way is not in him, nor is it in a man to walk and to direct his own steps.” And the Lord himself says to Israel, “I will direct him like a green fir tree; from me your fruit has been found.”
Conference 3:13.1
What [has] he to do any more with idols? I have afflicted him, and I will strengthen him: I am as a leafy juniper tree. From me is thy fruit found.
τῷ ᾿Εφραίμ, τί αὐτῷ ἔτι καὶ εἰδώλοις; ἐγὼ ἐταπείνωσα αὐτόν, καὶ ἐγὼ κατισχύσω αὐτόν· ἐγὼ ὡς ἄρκευθος πυκάζουσα, ἐξ ἐμοῦ ὁ καρπός σου εὕρηται.
Є҆фре́мови что̀ є҆мꙋ̀ є҆щѐ и҆ кꙋмі́рѡмъ; а҆́зъ смири́хъ є҆го̀, а҆́зъ и҆ ᲂу҆крѣплю̀ є҆го̀: а҆́ки сме́рчїе ᲂу҆чаще́ное, ѿ менє̀ ѡ҆брѣ́тесѧ пло́дъ тво́й.
If any reader is “a spiritual man who judges all things and he is judged by no one,” not only will he allegorize the major regions as Judea and Egypt and Babylon but also areas of the earth. And just as in Judea is Jerusalem and Bethlehem and other cities, so in Egypt when he reads, “Diospolis, Bubastis, Taphnis, Memphis, Syene,” he will understand the meaning of things figuratively. “Who is wise and understands these things? Or who is understanding and will know them?”
Homilies on Jeremiah 28:5
And to such a degree does the gospel desire that there should be wise people among believers, that for the sake of exercising the understanding of its hearers, it has spoken certain truths in enigmas, others in what are called “dark” sayings, others in parables, and others in problems. And one of the prophets—Hosea—says at the end of his prophecy, “Who is wise, and he will understand these things? Or prudent, and he shall know them?”
Against Celsus 3:45
You could really demonstrate that a wise and understanding person is the one with knowledge of what has been said and with zeal for the things by which it is possible for people who avoid evil and zealously practice good to be established in freedom from lower things and in enjoyment of higher things. This is because everything done by God is marked by great correctness, with which he also applies punishment to the fallen and knows how to achieve their salvation when they repent. You could also demonstrate that the righteous are those of their number who also know how to profit from each category and who develop greater self-control from the punishments, on the one hand, while taking the enjoyment of the good things stemming from repentance as a stimulus to virtue, on the other. You could also demonstrate that the impious are those who deserve troubles in every way and of every kind, gaining nothing from them, stuck fast in a downward direction, and as a result not able to understand anything of their duty.
Commentary on Hosea 14:10
It is only by deeply considering the matters in the divinely inspired Scriptures that we shall find the hidden truth. It would be fitting for us when looking into the dark shadows of the law to say what one of the holy prophets rightly said, “Whoever will be wise will understand these things; and whoever will be prudent will know them.” “For the law is but a shadow of the good things to come, and not the exact image of the objects,” as it is written. Yet the shadows bring forth the truth, even if they do not contain the whole truth in themselves. Because of this, the divinely inspired Moses placed a veil upon his face and spoke thus to the children of Israel, all but shouting by this act that a person might behold the beauty of the utterances made through him, not in outwardly appearing figures but in meditations hidden within us.
Letter 41:7
Who is wise, and will understand these things? or prudent, and will know them? for the ways of the Lord are straight, and the righteous shall walk in them: but the ungodly shall fall therein.
τίς σοφὸς καὶ συνήσει ταῦτα; ἢ συνετὸς καὶ ἐπιγνώσεται αὐτά; ὅτι εὐθεῖαι αἱ ὁδοὶ τοῦ Κυρίου, καὶ δίκαιοι πορεύσονται ἐν αὐταῖς, οἱ δὲ ἀσεβεῖς ἀσθενήσουσιν ἐν αὐταῖς.
Кто̀ премꙋ́дръ и҆ ᲂу҆разꙋмѣ́етъ сїѧ̑; и҆ смы́сленъ, и҆ ᲂу҆вѣ́сть сїѧ̑; ꙗ҆́кѡ пра̑вы пꙋтїѐ гдⷭ҇ни, и҆ првⷣнїи по́йдꙋтъ въ ни́хъ, а҆ нечести́вїи и҆знемо́гꙋтъ въ ни́хъ.
"Who is wise and will understand these things? Who is prudent and will know them? Because the ways of the Lord are straight, and the just shall walk in them; But the transgressors shall fall therein." LXX: "Who is wise and will understand these things, or prudent and will know them? For the ways of the Lord are straight and the just shall walk in them: but the wicked shall fall therein." When he says, "Who is wise and will understand these things? Who is prudent and will know them?" he indicates the obscurity of the volume and the difficulty of the explanation. But if he who wrote either acknowledges it to be difficult or impossible, what can we do, whose eyes are dimmed with blindness and filth of sins, so that we cannot perceive the brightest rays of the sun, except to say what is written: "O the depth of the riches of the wisdom and of the knowledge of God! How incomprehensible are His judgments, and how unsearchable are His ways!" (Rom. II, 33)! For who can, without Christ teaching, know what Jezrael means: what its sister, not having obtained mercy means; what the third brother, not being my people means; who the adulteress is, who will sit for a long time without the law of God; what the covenant with the beasts of the earth and the birds of the sky means; who David is to whom the people will return, whose third day will be the resurrection, and whose coming forth will be compared to the dawn: what the first and last rain means; who is the one the prophet says will come to show us righteousness, or in whose type Israel was brought up out of Egypt, and was carried in arms, and led by the ropes of love: who it is that will slay Death, and dry up his veins and springs, and will make desolate the vessels that were kept in the treasury, and other things too long to relate? Therefore, whoever is holy and just will know the right ways of the Lord. We recognize the ways of the Lord by reading the Old and New Testaments, understanding the Scriptures. In these ways, whoever walks, unless he is converted to the Lord and the veil, which was before the eyes of Moses, has been taken away from him, he will not be able to find the right path. But if he says with David: "Reveal my eyes, and I will consider the wonders of your law" (Ps. CXVIII, 18), he will walk in them, and he will find Christ: and he will feel offended, weakened, and fallen by the Jews and heretics, whom the Scripture now calls prevaricators or impious, according to what is written: "Behold, this one is placed for the ruin and resurrection of many in Israel" (Luke II, 34).
Commentary on Hosea 14:10
Samaria shall be utterly destroyed: for she has resisted her God; they shall fall by the sword, and their sucklings shall be dashed against the ground, and their women and child ripped up.
ΑΦΑΝΙΣΘΗΣΕΤΑΙ Σαμάρεια, ὅτι ἀντέστη πρὸς τὸν Θεὸν αὐτῆς· ἐν ῥομφαίᾳ πεσοῦνται αὐτοί, καὶ τὰ ὑποτίτθια αὐτῶν ἐδαφισθήσονται, καὶ αἱ ἐν γαστρὶ ἔχουσαι αὐτῶν διαρραγήσονται.
Поги́бнетъ самарі́а, ꙗ҆́кѡ сопроти́висѧ бг҃ꙋ своемꙋ̀: ѻ҆рꙋ́жїемъ падꙋ́тъ са́ми, и҆ младе́нцы и҆́хъ разбїю́тсѧ, и҆ во ᲂу҆тро́бѣ и҆мꙋ́щыѧ и҆́хъ разсѧ́дꙋтсѧ.