Hosea 11:9

I will not execute the full fury of My anger; I will not destroy Ephraim again. For I am God and not man—the Holy One among you—and I will not come in wrath.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — Yahweh addresses Ephraim immediately after questioning how He could surrender them and feeling His compassion stir. This declaration follows His rhetorical lament in verse 8 and precedes the warning of His roaring judgment in verse 10.

The words — The text highlights אֶֽעֱשֶׂה ('e.'e.Seh), literally "I will carry out," paired with חֲר֣וֹן (cha.Ron), meaning "burning," to describe the withheld fury of His anger. It also uses אָשׁ֖וּב ('a.Shuv), literally "I will repeat," regarding the act of destroying Ephraim.

The thread — The assertion "I am God and not man" echoes Numbers 23:19, which contrasts divine constancy with human fickleness. The theme of withheld wrath and pardoning transgression aligns with Micah 7:18, while Isaiah 55:8 underscores the distinction between divine and human ways.

Why it lands — The text states that God withholds complete wrath because His nature as the Holy One prevents Him from acting like a man who acts on fleeting impulse. It requires the reader to recognize that divine restraint is grounded in God's immutable character, not in human merit or changing circumstances.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Hebrew words

לֹ֤אlo'not אֶֽעֱשֶׂה֙'e.'e.SehI will carry out חֲר֣וֹןcha.Ron[the] burning of אַפִּ֔י'a.P/ianger/ my לֹ֥אlo'not אָשׁ֖וּב'a.ShuvI will repeat לְשַׁחֵ֣תle./sha.Chetto/ destroy אֶפְרָ֑יִם'ef.Ra.yimEphraim כִּ֣יkifor אֵ֤ל'el[am] God אָֽנֹכִי֙'a.no.KhiI וְלֹא־ve./lo'-and/ not אִ֔ישׁ'Isha human בְּקִרְבְּךָ֣be./kir.be./Chain/ midst/ your קָד֔וֹשׁka.Do.osh[the] holy [one]וְלֹ֥אve./Lo'and/ not אָב֖וֹא'a.Vo'I will come בְּעִֽיר׃be./'Irin/ rage

King James Version

I will not execute the fierceness of mine anger, I will not return to destroy Ephraim: for I am God, and not man; the Holy One in the midst of thee: and I will not enter into the city.

Cross-references

Numbers 23:19 God is not a man, that He should lie, or a son of man, that He should change His mind. Does He speak and not act? Does He promise and not fulfill?
Isaiah 55:8 “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways,” declares the LORD.
Micah 7:18 Who is a God like You, who pardons iniquity and passes over the transgression of the remnant of His inheritance—who does not retain His anger forever, because He delights in loving devotion?
Isaiah 12:6 Cry out and sing, O citizen of Zion, for great among you is the Holy One of Israel.”
Jeremiah 30:11 For I am with you to save you, declares the LORD. Though I will completely destroy all the nations to which I have scattered you, I will not completely destroy you. Yet I will discipline you justly, and will by no means leave you unpunished.”
Ezekiel 37:27 My dwelling place will be with them; I will be their God, and they will be My people.
Malachi 3:6 “Because I, the LORD, do not change, you descendants of Jacob have not been destroyed.
Hosea 14:4 I will heal their apostasy; I will freely love them, for My anger has turned away from them.
Zephaniah 3:15 The LORD has taken away your punishment; He has turned back your enemy. Israel’s King, the LORD, is among you; no longer will you fear any harm.
Romans 11:28 Regarding the gospel, they are enemies on your account; but regarding election, they are loved on account of the patriarchs.