Hosea 4:3

3 Therefore the earth shall mourn, and every one that dwells therein shall be cut off, with the beasts of the field and the fowls of heaven; and even the fishes of the sea shall be caught.

Hosea 4:3 Meaning and Commentary

Hosea 4:3

Therefore shall the land mourn
Because of the calamities on it, the devastations made in it; nothing growing upon it, through a violent drought; or the grass and corn being trodden down, or eaten up, by a foreign army: and everyone that dwelleth therein shall languish;
that is, every man, an inhabitant thereof, shall become weak, languish away, and die through wounds received by the enemy; or for want of food, or being infected with the wasting and destroying pestilence: with the beasts of the field, and with the fowls of heaven;
the one shall die in the field for want of grass to eat, and the other shall drop to the earth through the infection of the air: yea, the fishes of the sea also shall be taken away;
or "gathered" ^F16; to some other place, so as to disappear; or they shall be consumed and die, as Kimchi interprets it; and as all these creatures are for the good of men, for sustenance, comfort, and delight, when they are taken away, it is by way of punishment for their sins. So the Targum,

``the fishes of the sea shall be lessened for their sins.''

---

FOOTNOTES:

F16 (wpoay) "congregabuntur", V. L.; "collgentur", Montanus, Vatablus, Drusius, Schmidt.

Hosea 4:3 In-Context

1 Hear the word of the LORD, ye sons of Israel; for the LORD contends with the inhabitants of the land because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the earth.

2 By swearing and lying and murdering and stealing and committing adultery, they prevailed, and blood touches blood.

3 Therefore the earth shall mourn, and every one that dwells therein shall be cut off, with the beasts of the field and the fowls of heaven; and even the fishes of the sea shall be caught.

4 Certainly man does not contend with nor reprehend man; for thy people are as those that resist the priest.

5 Therefore thou shalt fall in the day, and the prophet shall also fall with thee by night, and I will cut off thy mother.