Verse 1. Brethren, and so forth Or, call your brethren, My people; and your sister, Her that hath obtained mercy. This is connected with the latter end of the foregoing chapter, and relates to the converts of Israel. Challoner.—I seemed to have abandoned them at the great day of carnage; ( Bible.) but I will still receive ( Calmet.) this portion of my people, as well as Juda. Bible.—Disdain not to call them brethren. More of the ten tribes than of the others embraced the faith of Christ, and more Gentiles than Jews became converts. Worthington.
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Verse 2. Your mother: the synagogue. Calmet.—He addresses Juda, (verse 11, 15) or all God’s people. Calmet. 1:11. This vineyard yields no good fruit. Isaiah 5 Idolatry prevails. Ezekiel 16:5 and 23:3.
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Verse 3. Drought. In Egypt the people were plunged into idolatry, and oppressed. Calmet.
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Verse 4. Fornications. They imitate their parents. Bible.—I will not spare them, as I did some in the wilderness. Saint Jerome—Punishment will not cease till people repent. Worthington.
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Verse 5. Lovers: idols, and foreign nations. Ezekiel 16:15, 33.
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Verse 6. Paths. The aid which she sought from foreigners shall prove vain.—It is often an effect of mercy, when our wicked plans miscarry. Saint Jerome
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Verse 8. Baal: or they formed idols.
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Verse 9. Season. When the harvest is ripe, the loss is more afflicting. God withdraws what proves an occasion of sin.—Liberty. The creature serves unwillingly. Romans 8:21.
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Verse 10. Folly, or shame. Genesis 34:7. Judges 19:23.
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Verse 11. Times. This was verified during the captivity.
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Verse 13. Ear. Hebrew “nose-ring,” or ornaments hanging from the nose. Calmet.
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Verse 14. I will allure her, and so forth After her disloyalties, I will still allure her by my grace, and so forth and send her vine-dressers, that is the apostles, originally her own children, who shall open to her the gates of hope; as heretofore, at her coming into the land of promise, she had all good success after she had satisfied the divine justice by the execution of Achan, in the valley of Achor. Joshua 7. Challoner.—Septuagint “I will seduce or make her stray;” πλανω. Bible.—I will permit her to yield to error, in captivity; (Theod.) or will cause her hopes to be frustrated yet in exile I will comfort her. The Jews were not changed till they had seen the vanity of idols, and suffered much. Calmet.—God’s grace prevents sinners, that they may be converted. Worthington.
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Verse 15. Vine. Hebrew “vineyards there,” ( Calmet.) or “from,” and so forth Bible.—Achor. The environs of Jericho were very enchanting. Isaiah 65:10.—Sing is better than Septuagint “shall be humbled.” Hebrew “shall answer,” as people singing alternately. Calmet.
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Verse 16. My husband. In Hebrew Ishi.—Baali: my lord. The meaning of this verse is: that, whereas, Ishi and Baali were used indifferently in those days by wives speaking to their husbands, the synagogue, whom God was pleased to consider as his spouse, should call him only Ishi, and abstain from the name of Baali, because of his affinity with the name of the idol Baal. Challoner.—The very name shall become obsolete. Bible.
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Verse 17. Baalim. It is the plural number of Baal; for there were divers idols of Baal. Challoner.—The Jews hence styled Esbaal, Isboseth; as boseth means “confusion.” 1 Chronicles 8:33.
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Verse 18. Beasts. The most savage nations shall receive the gospel, and become mild. Isaiah 11:6. Theod.—Wild beasts shall not infest the land. Leviticus 26:22. Calmet.
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Verse 19. I will espouse thee, and so forth This relates to the happy espousals of Christ with his Church, which shall never be dissolved. Challoner.—God gives the dowry, justice, and so forth
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Verse 20. Faith, the root of all virtues. We shall be true to each other. This has been realized only in the Church of Christ. Calmet.
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Verse 21. Hear the heavens, and so forth All shall conspire in favour of the Church, which in the following verse is called Jezrahel, that is, the seed of God. Challoner.—Harmony shall subsist between all the parts of the universe. The earth shall receive rain, and so forth This happiness was enjoyed in figure by the Jews, after their return, and in reality by Christians. Theod.
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Verse 22. Jezrahel. This most fruitful valley shall again be covered with abundant crops. The whole nation of the Jews shall be happy. Calmet.
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Verse 24. That which is not my people, and so forth This relates to the conversion of the Gentiles, ( Challoner.) as the apostles explain it. 1 Peter 2:10. Romans 9. Worthington.
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‘Ammi’ in Hebrew
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‘Ruhamah’ in Hebrew
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“Behold”, from “הִנֵּה”, means look at, take notice, observe, see, or gaze at. It is often used as an interjection.