The Meaning of Hosea 10:10 Explained

Hosea 10:10

KJV: It is in my desire that I should chastise them; and the people shall be gathered against them, when they shall bind themselves in their two furrows.

YLT: When I desire, then I do bind them, And gathered against them have peoples, When they bind themselves to their two iniquities.

Darby: At my pleasure will I chastise them; and the peoples shall be assembled against them, when they are bound for their two iniquities.

ASV: When it is my desire, I will chastise them; and the peoples shall be gathered against them, when they are bound to their two transgressions.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

[It is] in my desire  that I should chastise  them; and the people  shall be gathered  against them, when they shall bind  themselves in their two  furrows. 

What does Hosea 10:10 Mean?

Verse Meaning

At the Lord"s chosen time He would chasten (punish, discipline, cf. Hosea 5:2) His people by binding them as prisoners, harnessing them to their sins (cf. Hosea 10:11). Other peoples would oppose them in battle when the Lord had bound them up for being twice guilty. The double guilt in view is probably their original guilt because of their sin at Gibeah and their present guilt because of their sin at Bethel. [1] Another view is that it refers to the sin of forsaking God and the sin of forsaking His appointed Davidic kings. [2]

Context Summary

Hosea 10:1-15 - "break Up Your Fallow Ground"
Israel brought forth fruit, but not such as God could delight in. It was corrupt and evil. How great a disappointment to the Great Cultivator! The land was covered with obelisks and altars, the symbols of idolatry, and the Canaanites themselves had not been more shameless in sin. But notice the terrible judgments that must befall. There would be revolution, for when men say, We fear not the Lord, they will go on to say, We fear not the king. Beth-aven, the "house of vanity," would replace Beth-el, the "house of God." The golden calves would be carried off by the conqueror. The king would perish as foam upon the water. The yoke of conquest would be placed on Ephraim's fair neck. The fortresses of Israel would be carried by assault, with all the accompaniments of savage warfare. Is it not "an evil thing and bitter" to forsake the Lord!
Is it not time that we should look into our hearts and lives, break up the fallow ground, now covered with thorns and thistles, and begin to sow in righteousness? Let us ask God to drive the plowshares of deep soul-searching and conviction across the hard and sterile acres of our hearts, and sow them with His good seed. [source]

Chapter Summary: Hosea 10

1  Israel is reproved and threatened for their impiety and idolatry,
12  and exhorted to repentance

What do the individual words in Hosea 10:10 mean?

When [it is] My desire and I will chasten them and shall be gathered against them Peoples when I bind them for two - their transgressions
בְּאַוָּתִ֖י וְאֶסֳּרֵ֑ם וְאֻסְּפ֤וּ עֲלֵיהֶם֙ עַמִּ֔ים בְּאָסְרָ֖ם לִשְׁתֵּ֥י [עינתם] (עוֹנֹתָֽם)

בְּאַוָּתִ֖י  When  [it  is]  My  desire 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, feminine singular construct, first person common singular
Root: אַוָּה  
Sense: desire, lust, will (not necessarily evil).
וְאֶסֳּרֵ֑ם  and  I  will  chasten  them 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive imperfect, first person common singular, third person masculine plural
Root: יָסַר 
Sense: to chasten, discipline, instruct, admonish.
וְאֻסְּפ֤וּ  and  shall  be  gathered 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Piel, Conjunctive perfect, third person common plural
Root: אָסַף 
Sense: to gather, receive, remove, gather in.
עֲלֵיהֶם֙  against  them 
Parse: Preposition, third person masculine plural
Root: עַל 
Sense: upon, on the ground of, according to, on account of, on behalf of, concerning, beside, in addition to, together with, beyond, above, over, by, on to, towards, to, against.
עַמִּ֔ים  Peoples 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural
Root: עַם 
Sense: nation, people.
בְּאָסְרָ֖ם  when  I  bind  them 
Parse: Preposition-b, Verb, Qal, Infinitive construct, third person masculine plural
Root: אָסַר  
Sense: to tie, bind, imprison.
לִשְׁתֵּ֥י  for  two 
Parse: Preposition-l, Number, fdc
Root: שְׁנַיִם  
Sense: two.
[עינתם]  - 
Parse: Noun, feminine plural construct, third person masculine plural
(עוֹנֹתָֽם)  their  transgressions 
Parse: Noun, common plural construct, third person masculine plural
Root: עֲיָם  
Sense: glow, heat.