the Week of Christ the King / Proper 29 / Ordinary 34
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Green's Literal Translation
Hosea 10:12
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If you plant goodness, you will harvest faithful love. Plow your ground, and you will harvest with the Lord . He will come, and he will make goodness fall on you like rain.
Sow for yourselves, with a view to righteousness; Harvest in accordance with kindness. Break up your uncultivated ground, For it is time to seek the LORD Until He comes and rains righteousness on you.
I said, ‘Plant goodness, harvest the fruit of loyalty, plow the new ground of knowledge. Look for the Lord until he comes and pours goodness on you like water.'
Sow righteousness for yourselves, reap unfailing love. Break up the unplowed ground for yourselves, for it is time to seek the Lord , until he comes and showers deliverance on you.
Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap according to kindness; break up your fallow ground; for it is time to seek Yahweh, until he comes and rains righteousness on you.
Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: for [it is] time to seek the LORD, till he shall come and reign righteousness upon you.
Sow with a view to righteousness [that righteousness, like seed, may germinate]; Reap in accordance with mercy and lovingkindness. Break up your uncultivated ground, For it is time to seek and search diligently for the LORD [and to long for His blessing] Until He comes to rain righteousness and His gift of salvation on you.
Sow for yourselves righteousness; reap steadfast love; break up your fallow ground, for it is the time to seek the Lord , that he may come and rain righteousness upon you.
Sow to yourselves in righteousness, Reap according to kindness. Break up your fallow ground; For it is time to seek Yahweh, Until he comes and rains righteousness on you.
Sowe ye to you riytfulnesse in treuthe, and repe ye in the mouthe of merci, and make ye newe to you a feld newli brouyte to tilthe. Forsothe tyme is to seke the Lord, whanne he cometh, that schal teche you riytfulnesse.
Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap according to mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the LORD, till he come and rain righteousness upon you.
Sow for yourselves righteousness and reap the fruit of loving devotion; break up your unplowed ground. For it is time to seek the LORD until He comes and sends righteousness upon you like rain.
Plow your fields, scatter seeds of justice, and harvest faithfulness. Worship me, the Lord , and I will send my saving power down like rain.
Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap according to kindness; break up your fallow ground; for it is time to seek Jehovah, till he come and rain righteousness upon you.
Put in the seed of righteousness, get in your grain in mercy, let your unploughed earth be turned up: for it is time to make search for the Lord, till he comes and sends righteousness on you like rain.
If you sow righteousness for yourselves, you will reap according to grace. Break up unused ground for yourselves, because it is time to seek Adonai , till he comes and rains down righteousness upon you.
Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap according to mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek Jehovah, till he come and rain righteousness upon you.
Sow to yourselves according to righteousness, reap according to mercy, break up your fallow ground; for it is time to seek the LORD, till He come and cause righteousness to rain upon you.
Sow to your selues in righteousnesse, reape in mercie: breake vp your fallow ground: for it is time to seeke the Lord, till he come and raine righteousnesse vpon you.
I said, ‘Plant the good seeds of righteousness, and you will harvest a crop of love. Plow up the hard ground of your hearts, for now is the time to seek the Lord , that he may come and shower righteousness upon you.'
Plant what is right and good for yourselves. Gather the fruit of lasting love. Break up your ground that has not been plowed. For it is time to look for the Lord, until He comes and pours His saving power on you.
Sow for yourselves righteousness; reap steadfast love; break up your fallow ground; for it is time to seek the Lord , that he may come and rain righteousness upon you.
Sowe to your selues in righteousnes: reape after the measure of mercy: breake vp your fallowe grounde: for it is time to seeke the Lorde, till he come and raine righteousnesse vpon you.
Sow for yourselves righteousness, and reap a harvest of mercy; light a lamp for yourselves; for it is time to seek the LORD, till he come and reveal his righteousness to you.
Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap ye at thc bidding of lovingkindness, furrow to yourselves the newly-ploughed soil, - then will be the time to seek Yahweh, until he come, that he may rain down righteousness for you.
Sow for yourselves in justice, and reap in the mouth of mercy, break up your fallow ground: but the time to seek the Lord is, when he shall come that shall teach you justice.
Sow for yourselves righteousness, reap the fruit of steadfast love; break up your fallow ground, for it is the time to seek the LORD, that he may come and rain salvation upon you.
Sowe to your selues in righteousnesse, and reape the fruites of well doyng, plowe vp your freshe lande: for it is tyme to seeke the Lorde tyll he come and rayne righteousnesse vpon you.
Sow to yourselves for righteousness, gather in for the fruit of life: light ye for yourselves the light of knowledge; seek the Lord till the fruits of righteousness come upon you.
I said, ‘Plow new ground for yourselves, plant righteousness, and reap the blessings that your devotion to me will produce. It is time for you to turn to me, your Lord , and I will come and pour out blessings upon you.'
Sow righteousness for yourselvesand reap faithful love;break up your unplowed ground.It is time to seek the Lorduntil he comes and sends righteousnesson you like the rain.
Sow to yourselves in righteousness, Reap according to kindness. Break up your fallow ground; For it is time to seek the LORD, Until he comes and rains righteousness on you.
Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the Lord , till he come and rain righteousness upon you.
Sow for yourselves righteousness; reap loyal love. Break up for yourself fallow ground; it is time to seek Yahweh so he will come and rain righteousness upon you.
Sow for yourselves in righteousness, Reap according to loving-kindness, Till for yourselves tillage of knowledge, To seek Jehovah, Till he come and shew righteousness to you.
that they might sowe vnto rightuousnes, and reape the frutes of weldoynge: yt they might plowe vp their fresh londe, and seke the LORDE, till he came, and lerned them rightuousnes.
Sow for yourselves righteousness; Reap in mercy; Break up your fallow ground, For it is time to seek the LORD, Till He comes and rains righteousness on you.
Sow with a view to righteousness, Reap in accordance with kindness; Break up your fallow ground, For it is time to seek the LORD Until He comes to rain righteousness on you.
Sow with a view to righteousness,Reap in accordance with lovingkindness;Break up your fallow ground,Indeed, it is time to seek YahwehUntil He comes and rains righteousness on you.
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
Sow: Hosea 8:7, Psalms 126:5, Psalms 126:6, Proverbs 11:18, Proverbs 18:21, Ecclesiastes 11:6, Isaiah 32:20, James 3:18
break: Jeremiah 4:3, Jeremiah 4:4
time: Psalms 105:4, Isaiah 31:1, Isaiah 55:6, Jeremiah 29:12-14, Jeremiah 50:4, Amos 5:4, Amos 5:6, Amos 5:8, Amos 5:15, Zephaniah 2:1-3, Luke 13:24
rain: Hosea 6:3, Psalms 72:6, Isaiah 5:6, Isaiah 30:23, Isaiah 44:3, Isaiah 45:8, Ezekiel 34:26, Acts 2:18, 1 Corinthians 3:6, 1 Corinthians 3:7
Reciprocal: Job 4:8 - they that plow Isaiah 17:11 - the harvest Isaiah 28:24 - break Isaiah 55:10 - as the rain Lamentations 3:25 - unto Ezekiel 14:20 - by Zephaniah 2:3 - Seek ye Zechariah 7:9 - saying Zechariah 10:1 - and give Mark 4:5 - General Acts 24:25 - righteousness 2 Corinthians 9:10 - increase Galatians 6:7 - for Hebrews 6:7 - receiveth
Gill's Notes on the Bible
Saw to yourselves in righteousness,.... Not the seed of grace, which bad men have not, and cannot saw it; and which good men need not, it being sown in them already, and remaining; rather the seed of the word, which should be laid up in their hearts, dwell richly in them, and be kept and retained by them; though it is best of all to understand it of works of righteousness; as sowing to the flesh is doing the works of the flesh, or carnal and sinful acts; so sowing "unto righteousness" g, as it may be rendered, is doing works of righteousness; living soberly and righteously; doing works according to the word of righteousness, from good principles, and with good views, with a view to the glory of God: and which will be "sowing to themselves", turn to their own account; for though such works are not profitable to God, as to merit anything at his hands; yet they are not only profitable to others, but to those that do them; for though not "for", yet "in keeping" the commands of God there is "great reward",
Psalms 19:11. Reap in mercy; or "according to mercy" h not according to the merit of works, for there is none in them; but according to the mercy of God, to which all blessings, temporal, spiritual, and eternaL, are owing; and such who sow to the Spirit, or spiritual things, shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting; not as the reward of debt, but of grace; not as of merit, but as owing to the mercy of Christ, Galatians 6:9 Judges 1:21;
break up your fallow ground; that is, of their hearts; which were like ground unopened, unbroken, not filled and manured, nor sown with seed, but overrun with weeds and thistles; and so were they, hard and impenitent, destitute of grace, and full of sin and wickedness, and stood in need of being renewed in the spirit of their minds; which this exhortation is designed to convince them of, and to stir them up to make use of proper methods of obtaining it, through the efficacious grace of God; see Jeremiah 4:5;
for [it is] time to seek the Lord: for his grace; as the husbandman seeks, prays, and waits for rain, when he has tilled his ground, and sowed his seed, to water it, and make it fruitful, that he may have a good reaping time, a plentiful harvest; and as there is a time to seek for the one, so for the other:
till he come and rain righteousness upon you; that is, Christ, whose coming is as the rain, Hosea 6:3; and who, when he should come, whether personally by his incarnation, or spiritually by his gracious presence, would rain a plentiful rain of the doctrines of grace, and the blessings of it, such as peace pardon, righteousness, and eternal life by him; particularly the justifying righteousness wrought out by him, which is fully manifested in the Gospel, the ministration of that righteousness, and is applied unto, and put upon, all them that believe: or "till he come and teach you righteousness" i; as Christ did when come; he taught the word of righteousness in general, and the righteousness of God in particular, and directed men to seek it; declared he came to fulfil all righteousness, and taught men to believe in him for it, and that he is their righteousness, and the end of the law for it; as well as he taught them to live righteously and godly; see Joel 2:23. The Targum is,
"O house of Israel, do for yourselves good works; walk in the way of truth; establish for yourselves the doctrine of the law; behold, at all times the prophets say to you, return to the fear of the Lord; now shall he be revealed, and bring righteousness to you.''
But these exhortations were vain and fruitless, as appears by what follows:
g לצדקה "ad justitiam", Pagninus, Montanus, Munster, Calvin, Junius Tremellius, Drusius, Tarnovius, Cocceius. h לפי חסד "ad os miserecordiae", Montanus "secundum misericordiam", Pagninus; "secundum pietatem", Cocceius, Schmidt. i ויורה צדק לכם "et doceat justitiam vos", Pagninus, Montanus, Drusius, Cocceius, Schmidt.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy - Literally, “in the proportion of mercy,” not in proportion to what you have sown, nor what justice would give, but beyond all deserts, “in the proportion of mercy;” i. e., “according to the capacity and fullness of the mercy of God; what becometh the mercy of God, which is boundless,” which overlooketh man’s failings, and giveth an infinite reward for poor imperfect labor. As our Lord says, “Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together and running over, shall men give into your bosom” Luke 6:38. : “If the earth giveth thee larger fruits than it has received, how much more shall the requiting of mercy repay thee manifold more than thou gavest!” Sowing and reaping always stand over against each other, as labor and reward. “He that soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully” 2 Corinthians 9:6.
And, “whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to the flesh, shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. In due season we shall reap, if we faint not” Galatians 6:7-9. We are bidden “to sow to ourselves,” for, “our goodness reacheth not to God” Psalms 16:2; our’s is the gain, if we love God, the Fountain of all good. This reward, “according to mercy,” is in both worlds. it is in this world also. For “grace well used draws more grace.” God giveth “grace upon grace” John 1:16; so that each good deed, the fruit of grace, is the seed-corn of larger grace. “If thou humble thyself, it stimulates thee to humble thyself more. If thou prayest, thou longest to pray more. If thou givest alms, thou wishest to give more.” It is in the world to come. For, says a holy man , “our works do not pass away as it seems, but each thing done in time, is sown as the Seed of eternity. The simple will be amazed, when from this slight seed he shall see the copious harvest arise, good or evil, according as the seed was.” “Thou seekest two sheaves, rest and glory. They shall reap glory and rest, who have sown toil and self-abasement” .
Break up your fallow ground - This is not the order of husbandry. The ground was already plowed, harrowed, sown. Now he bids her anew, “Break up your fallow ground.” The Church breaks up her own fallow ground, when she stirs up anew the decaying piety of her own members; she breaks up fallow ground, when, by preaching the Gospel of Christ, she brings new people into His fold. And for us too, one sowing sufficeth not. It must be no surface-sowing. And “the soil of our hearts must ever be anew cleansed; for no one in this mortal life is so perfect, in piety, that noxious desires will not spring up again in the heart, us tares in the well-tilled field.”
For it is time to seek the Lord, until He come and rain righteousness upon you - Or better, “until he shall come and teach you righteousness.” To “rain righteousness” is the same image as Solomon uses of Christ; “He shall come down like rain upon the mown grass, as showers that water the earth” Psalms 72:6, and Isaiah, “drop down ye heavens from above and let the skies pour down righteousness” Isaiah 45:8. It expresses in picture-language how He, who is “our Righteousness,” came down from heaven, to give life to us, who were dried and parched up and withered, when the whole face of our mortal nature was as dead. Yet there is nothing to indicate that the prophet is here using imagery. The Hebrew word is used very rarely in the meaning, to “rain;” in that of teaching, continually, and that, in exactly the same idiom as here . One office of our Lord was to teach. Nicodemus owned Him, “as a teacher sent from” God John 3:2. The Samaritans looked to the Messiah, as one who should “teach all things” John 4:25. The prophets foretold that He should “teach us His ways” Isaiah 2:3, that He should be a “witness unto the people” Isaiah 55:4.
The prophet bids them “seek diligently,” and perseveringly, “not leaving off or desisting,” if they should not at once find, but continuing the search, quite “up to” the time when they should find. His words imply the need of perseverance and patience, which should stop short of nothing but God’s own time for finding. The prophet, as is the way of the prophets, goes on to Christ, who was ever in the prophets’ hearts and hopes. The words could only be understood improperly of God the Father. God does not “come,” who is everywhere. He ever was among His people, nor did He will to be among them otherwise than heretofore. No coming of God, as God, was looked for, to “teach righteousness.” Rather, the time was coming, when He would be less visibly among them than before. Among the ten tribes, as a distinct people, He would shortly be no more, either by prophecy, or in worship, or by any perceptible token of His providence. From Judah also He was about, although at a later period, to withdraw the kingdom of David, and the Urim and Thummira, and the Shechinah, or visible presence. Soon after the captivity, prophecy itself was to cease. But “the coming of Christ the patriarchs and holy men all along desired to see: Abraham saw it and was glad John 8:56. Jacob longed for it Genesis 49:18. The law and the prophets directed to it, so that there were always in Israel such as waited for it, as appears by the example of old Simeon and Joseph of Arimathaea, and those many prophets and righteous men whom our Saviour speaks of Luke 2:25; Mark 15:43; Matthew 13:17. “He that should come” seems to have been a known title for Him; since John Baptist sent two of his disciples, to say unto Him, “Art thou He that shall come, or do we look for another?” Matthew 11:3.
The prophet saith then, “Now is the time to seek the Lord, and prepare for the coming of Christ, for He, when He cometh, will teach you, yea, will give you true righteousness, whereby ye shall be righteous before God, and heirs of His kingdom.” : “So God speaketh through Isaiah, “keep ye judgment and do justice, for My salvation is near to come, and my righteousness to be revealed.” In both places, people are warned, “to prepare the way” to receive Christ, which was the office assigned to the law. As Paul saith, “Whereunto was the law? It was added because of transgressions.” It was given to restrain the passions of people by fear of punishment, lest they should so defile themselves by sin, as to despise the mercy and office of Christ. It was given to prepare our souls by love of righteousness and mercy to receive Christ, that he might enrich them with the divine wealth of righteousness.” : “If Israel of old were so to order their ways in expectation of Him, and that they might be prepared for His coming; and if their neglecting to do this made them liable to such heavy judgments, how much severer judgments shall they be worthy of, who, after His Coming and raining upon them the plentiful showers of heavenly doctrine, and abundant measure of His grace and gifts of His Holy Spirit, do, for want of breaking up the fallow ground of their hearts, suffer His holy word to be lost on them. The fearful doom of such unfruitful Christians is set down by Paul” Hebrews 6:4-8.
The present is ever the time to seek the Lord. “Behold now is the accepted time; behold now is the Day of Salvation” 2 Corinthians 6:2. As Hosea says, “it is time to seek the Lord until He come,” so Paul saith, “unto them that look for Him, shall he appear the second time, without sin, unto salvation” Hebrews 9:28.
Clarke's Notes on the Bible
Verse Hosea 10:12. Sow to yourselves in righteousness — Let the seed you sow be of the best kind, and in just measure.
Reap in mercy — By the blessing of God on this ploughing, sowing, and harrowing, you may expect a good crop in harvest.
Break up your fallow ground — Do not be satisfied with a slight furrow; let the land that was fallowed (slightly ploughed) be broken up again with a deep furrow.
For it is time to seek the Lord — This should be immediately done: the season is passing; and if you do not get the seed in the ground, the early rain will be past, and your fields will be unfruitful.
Rain righteousness upon you. — God will give you the early rain in due time, and in proper measure. Here are the metaphors, and the application cannot be difficult. Here are ploughing, fallowing, sowing, harrowing, watering, reaping, threshing, and feeding on the produce of well-directed labour. All may be applied to the human heart, and the work of God upon it. Correction, contrition, conversion, receiving the grace of Christ, bringing forth fruit, &c.
