The Meaning of Hosea 10:9 Explained

Hosea 10:9

KJV: O Israel, thou hast sinned from the days of Gibeah: there they stood: the battle in Gibeah against the children of iniquity did not overtake them.

YLT: From the days of Gibeah thou hast sinned, O Israel, There they have stood, Not overtake them in Gibeah doth battle, Because of sons of perverseness.

Darby: From the days of Gibeah hast thou sinned, O Israel: there they stood: the battle in Gibeah against the children of iniquity did not overtake them.

ASV: O Israel, thou hast sinned from the days of Gibeah: there they stood; the battle against the children of iniquity doth not overtake them in Gibeah.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

O Israel,  thou hast sinned  from the days  of Gibeah:  there they stood:  the battle  in Gibeah  against the children  of iniquity  did not overtake  them. 

What does Hosea 10:9 Mean?

Verse Meaning

The Israelites had sinned consistently since the days of the atrocity at Gibeah ( Judges 19-20; cf. Judges 9:9; Isaiah 1:10). The prophet visualized them as warriors standing at Gibeah. He asked rhetorically if the Lord"s battle against them would not be victorious at this site of their early sinning. He would indeed defeat these people so long associated with iniquity.

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 10:9 mean?

From the days of Gibeah you have sinned Israel there they stood not did overtake them in Gibeah the battle against the sons of iniquity
מִימֵי֙ הַגִּבְעָ֔ה חָטָ֖אתָ יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל שָׁ֣ם ! עָמָ֔דוּ לֹֽא־ תַשִּׂיגֵ֧ם בַּגִּבְעָ֛ה מִלְחָמָ֖ה עַל־ בְּנֵ֥י עַֽלְוָֽה

מִימֵי֙  From  the  days 
Parse: Preposition-m, Noun, masculine plural construct
Root: יׄום 
Sense: day, time, year.
הַגִּבְעָ֔ה  of  Gibeah 
Parse: Article, Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: גִּבְעָה  
Sense: a city in the mountain district of Judah.
חָטָ֖אתָ  you  have  sinned 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, second person masculine singular
Root: חָטָא 
Sense: to sin, miss, miss the way, go wrong, incur guilt, forfeit, purify from uncleanness.
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.
! עָמָ֔דוּ  they  stood 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person common plural
Root: עָמַד  
Sense: to stand, remain, endure, take one’s stand.
תַשִּׂיגֵ֧ם  did  overtake  them 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Imperfect, third person feminine singular, third person masculine plural
Root: מַשֶּׂגֶת 
Sense: to reach, overtake, take hold upon.
בַּגִּבְעָ֛ה  in  Gibeah 
Parse: Preposition-b, Article, Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: גִּבְעָה  
Sense: a city in the mountain district of Judah.
מִלְחָמָ֖ה  the  battle 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular
Root: מִלְחָמָה  
Sense: battle, war.
עַל־  against 
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.
בְּנֵ֥י  the  sons 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct
Root: בֵּן 
Sense: son, grandson, child, member of a group.
עַֽלְוָֽה  of  iniquity 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular
Root: עַלְוָה  
Sense: injustice, unrighteousness, iniquity.