The Meaning of Hosea 9:7 Explained

Hosea 9:7

KJV: The days of visitation are come, the days of recompence are come; Israel shall know it: the prophet is a fool, the spiritual man is mad, for the multitude of thine iniquity, and the great hatred.

YLT: Come in have the days of inspection, Come in have the days of recompence, Israel doth know! a fool is the prophet, Mad is the man of the Spirit, Because of the abundance of thine iniquity, And great is the hatred.

Darby: The days of visitation are come; the days of recompence are come: Israel shall know it: the prophet is a fool, the inspired man is mad, because of the greatness of thine iniquity, and the great enmity.

ASV: The days of visitation are come, the days of recompense are come; Israel shall know it: the prophet is a fool, the man that hath the spirit is mad, for the abundance of thine iniquity, and because the enmity is great.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

The days  of visitation  are come,  the days  of recompence  are come;  Israel  shall know  [it]: the prophet  [is] a fool,  the spiritual  man  [is] mad,  for the multitude  of thine iniquity,  and the great  hatred. 

What does Hosea 9:7 Mean?

Verse Meaning

Israel was to know that the days of her punishment and retribution were imminent because the nation"s iniquity was fat and its hostility to the Lord was great. Another reason for her judgment was that the Israelites had regarded the prophets whom the Lord had sent to them as demented fools (cf. 2 Kings 9:11; Jeremiah 29:26-27). This probably included Hosea.
"The prophet represents Yahweh as saying that the captivity was a payment for the sin of the nation. One of the primary themes of this prophecy is the stark truth that sin demands requital, and Israel was soon to know that by experience. The present respite from national calamity was not to last forever." [1]

Context Summary

Hosea 9:1-9 - "the Days Of Recompense Are Come"
The subject of this chapter is the bitterness of the captivity which was awaiting Israel as the result of their unfaithfulness. Their exile would put an effectual end to their idolatrous and sensual feasts. Every pleasure would be removed and every taste would be offended. The contrasts here are very significant. If men choose unclean things when they might have clean, a situation will be created in which only unclean things shall be attainable, Hosea 9:3. If they withhold God's offerings when they have plenty, they will presently be reduced to such straits as not to have wherewith to sacrifice or even to sustain life, Hosea 9:4-5. If we go down to Egypt for help, in Egypt we shall die, Hosea 9:6-7. In other words, every sin carries within itself the seed of its own avenging. If allowed to work itself out, its harvest is unutterable and irretrievable.
What a privilege Ephraim had within his grasp, as a watchman with God, Hosea 9:8! It is to this privilege, also, that our Savior calls all of us. He says to us, as He said to His disciples, Tarry ye here and watch with me. But too often we refuse to heed the gracious challenge, and allow ourselves to be seduced by the tempter, or by the sloth and corruption of our own hearts, Hosea 9:8-9. [source]

Chapter Summary: Hosea 9

1  The distress and captivity of Israel for their sins

What do the individual words in Hosea 9:7 mean?

Have come the days of punishment have come of recompense knows Israel a fool the prophet [is] insane man [is] the spiritual because of the greatness of your iniquity and great enmity
בָּ֣אוּ ׀ יְמֵ֣י הַפְּקֻדָּ֗ה בָּ֚אוּ הַשִׁלֻּ֔ם‪‬ יֵדְע֖וּ יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל אֱוִ֣יל הַנָּבִ֗יא מְשֻׁגָּע֙ אִ֣ישׁ הָר֔וּחַ עַ֚ל רֹ֣ב עֲוֺנְךָ֔ וְרַבָּ֖ה מַשְׂטֵמָֽה

בָּ֣אוּ ׀  Have  come 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person common plural
Root: בֹּוא 
Sense: to go in, enter, come, go, come in.
יְמֵ֣י  the  days 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct
Root: יׄום 
Sense: day, time, year.
הַפְּקֻדָּ֗ה  of  punishment 
Parse: Article, Noun, feminine singular
Root: פְּקֻדָּה  
Sense: oversight, care, custody, mustering, visitation, store.
בָּ֚אוּ  have  come 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person common plural
Root: בֹּוא 
Sense: to go in, enter, come, go, come in.
הַשִׁלֻּ֔ם‪‬  of  recompense 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: שִׁלּוּם  
Sense: requital, reward.
יֵדְע֖וּ  knows 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: דָּעָה 
Sense: to know.
יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל  Israel 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יִשְׂרָאֵל  
Sense: the second name for Jacob given to him by God after his wrestling with the angel at Peniel.
אֱוִ֣יל  a  fool 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: אֱוִיל  
Sense: be foolish, foolish.
הַנָּבִ֗יא  the  prophet  [is] 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: נָבִיא  
Sense: spokesman, speaker, prophet.
מְשֻׁגָּע֙  insane 
Parse: Verb, Pual, Participle, masculine singular
Root: שָׁגַע  
Sense: to be mad.
אִ֣ישׁ  man  [is] 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: אִישׁ 
Sense: man.
הָר֔וּחַ  the  spiritual 
Parse: Article, Noun, common singular
Root: רוּחַ  
Sense: wind, breath, mind, spirit.
עַ֚ל  because 
Parse: Preposition
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.
רֹ֣ב  of  the  greatness 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: רֹב  
Sense: multitude, abundance, greatness.
עֲוֺנְךָ֔  of  your  iniquity 
Parse: Noun, common singular construct, second person masculine singular
Root: עָוֹן  
Sense: perversity, depravity, iniquity, guilt or punishment of iniquity.
וְרַבָּ֖ה  and  great 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Adjective, feminine singular
Root: רַב 
Sense: much, many, great.
מַשְׂטֵמָֽה  enmity 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular
Root: מַשְׂטֵמָה  
Sense: animosity, enmity.