The Meaning of Hosea 13:3 Explained

Hosea 13:3

KJV: Therefore they shall be as the morning cloud, and as the early dew that passeth away, as the chaff that is driven with the whirlwind out of the floor, and as the smoke out of the chimney.

YLT: Therefore they are as a cloud of the morning, And as dew, rising early, going away, As chaff tossed about out of a floor, And as smoke out of a window.

Darby: Therefore they shall be as the morning cloud, and as the early dew that passeth away, as the chaff driven with the whirlwind out of the threshing-floor, and as the smoke out of the lattice.

ASV: Therefore they shall be as the morning cloud, and as the dew that passeth early away, as the chaff that is driven with the whirlwind out of the threshing-floor, and as the smoke out of the chimney.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Therefore they shall be as the morning  cloud,  and as the early  dew  that passeth away,  as the chaff  [that] is driven with the whirlwind  out of the floor,  and as the smoke  out of the chimney. 

What does Hosea 13:3 Mean?

Verse Meaning

Because they did this the Ephraimites would soon vanish from their land. They would disappear like fog or dew in the morning and like chaff from a threshing floor and smoke from a chimney that the wind blew away. Judgment would come swiftly and surely.

Context Summary

Hosea 13:1-14 - To Oppose God Is Destruction
Again, a very tender chapter. The lips that speak with trembling betray the heart that God can exalt. But when we turn to Baal, the emblem of self-confidence, we pass as the morning cloud the dew, the chaff, and the smoke.
In Hosea 13:4 we again get the sweet strain of early memory. God had not changed and was waiting to save. They had refused His help and had destroyed themselves, and He who would have done His best for them had been constrained to act as though He were a lion, a leopard, or a bear. In the wilderness we are thankful enough for His help, but when we reach the land of the vine and olive, we follow the devices and desires of our own hearts.
What a magnificent outburst is that which declares the divine intention to ransom even from death and the grave! We all know the New Testament setting of these words. Our Savior by His death destroyed him that had the power of death. He is death's plague and the grave's destruction. The sting of death is sin, but Jesus has borne sin away. The strength of sin is a violated law, but He has fulfilled the law. He is more than conqueror, and the soul that is one with Him shall share His triumph. [source]

Chapter Summary: Hosea 13

1  Ephraim's glory vanishes
4  God's anger
9  God's mercy
15  The judgment of Samaria

What do the individual words in Hosea 13:3 mean?

Therefore they shall be like the cloud morning and like the dew early that passes away Like chaff blown off from a threshing floor and like smoke from a chimney
לָכֵ֗ן יִֽהְיוּ֙ כַּעֲנַן־ בֹּ֔קֶר וְכַטַּ֖ל מַשְׁכִּ֣ים הֹלֵ֑ךְ כְּמֹץ֙ יְסֹעֵ֣ר מִגֹּ֔רֶן וּכְעָשָׁ֖ן מֵאֲרֻבָּֽה

יִֽהְיוּ֙  they  shall  be 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: אֶהְיֶה 
Sense: to be, become, come to pass, exist, happen, fall out.
כַּעֲנַן־  like  the  cloud 
Parse: Preposition-k, Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: עָנָן  
Sense: cloud, cloudy, cloud-mass.
בֹּ֔קֶר  morning 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: בֹּקֶר 
Sense: morning, break of day.
וְכַטַּ֖ל  and  like  the  dew 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Preposition-k, Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: טַל  
Sense: dew, night mist.
מַשְׁכִּ֣ים  early 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Participle, masculine singular
Root: שָׁכַם  
Sense: to rise or start early.
הֹלֵ֑ךְ  that  passes  away 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine singular
Root: הָלַךְ  
Sense: to go, walk, come.
כְּמֹץ֙  Like  chaff 
Parse: Preposition-k, Noun, masculine singular
Root: מֹץ  
Sense: chaff.
יְסֹעֵ֣ר  blown  off 
Parse: Verb, Piel, Imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: סָעַר  
Sense: to storm, rage.
מִגֹּ֔רֶן  from  a  threshing  floor 
Parse: Preposition-m, Noun, feminine singular
Root: גֹּרֶן  
Sense: threshing-floor.
וּכְעָשָׁ֖ן  and  like  smoke 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Preposition-k, Noun, masculine singular
Root: עָשָׁן  
Sense: smoke.
מֵאֲרֻבָּֽה  from  a  chimney 
Parse: Preposition-m, Noun, feminine singular
Root: אֲרֻבָּה  
Sense: lattice, window, sluice.