Bible Strands
Hosea 4:16
For Israel is as obstinate as a stubborn heifer. Can the LORD now shepherd them like lambs in an open meadow?
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The prophet Hosea addresses the northern kingdom of Israel amid active idolatry, speaking immediately after warning Judah to avoid Gilgal and Beth-aven worship.
The words — `סֹרֵרָה` (soreerah) denotes willful rebellion, paired with `יִרְעֵם` (yire'em), meaning he will pasture or shepherd them.
The thread — The pattern of covenant rejection mirrors 1 Samuel 15:11, the consequence of scattering aligns with Leviticus 26:33, and the pastoral metaphor parallels Isaiah 5:17's image of lambs feeding in desolate ruins.
Why it lands — The rhetorical question demands the reader recognize that divine guidance cannot be applied to unyielding rebellion, requiring a choice between submission and isolation.
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
King James Version
For Israel slideth back as a backsliding heifer: now the Lord will feed them as a lamb in a large place.
Cross-references
- 1 Samuel 15:11 “I regret that I have made Saul king, for he has turned away from following Me and has not carried out My instructions.” And Samuel was distressed and cried out to the LORD all that night.
- Leviticus 26:33 But I will scatter you among the nations and will draw out a sword after you as your land becomes desolate and your cities are laid waste.
- Isaiah 5:17 Lambs will graze as in their own pastures, and strangers will feed in the ruins of the wealthy.
- Isaiah 7:21 On that day a man will raise a young cow and two sheep,
- Isaiah 22:18 roll you into a ball, and sling you into a wide land. There you will die, and there your glorious chariots will remain—a disgrace to the house of your master.
- Jeremiah 3:6 Now in the days of King Josiah, the LORD said to me, “Have you seen what faithless Israel has done? She has gone up on every high hill and under every green tree to prostitute herself there.
- Jeremiah 3:8 She saw that because faithless Israel had committed adultery, I gave her a certificate of divorce and sent her away. Yet that unfaithful sister Judah had no fear and prostituted herself as well.
- Jeremiah 3:11 And the LORD said to me, “Faithless Israel has shown herself more righteous than unfaithful Judah.
- Jeremiah 5:6 Therefore a lion from the forest will strike them down, a wolf from the desert will ravage them. A leopard will lie in wait near their cities, and everyone who ventures out will be torn to pieces. For their rebellious acts are many, and their unfaithful deeds are numerous.
- Jeremiah 7:24 Yet they did not listen or incline their ear, but they followed the stubborn inclinations of their own evil hearts. They went backward and not forward.