Verse Lens · Expanded explanation
Hosea 5:14 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 14. 14For I will be unto Ephraim as a lion, and as a young lion to the house of Judah: I, even I, will tear and go away; I will take away, and none shall rescue him.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
This verse replaces moth and rot with lion and young-lion tearing and carrying away both kingdoms.
The trumpet moves the book from lawsuit to war
This verse is one part of that explanation in Hosea 5:8-15. The complete section carries the connected meaning and how it should shape life.
Read It With
- Hosea 5:8-15
Read Hosea 5:14 with 5:8-15. This verse replaces moth and rot with lion and young-lion tearing and carrying away both kingdoms. The complete unit establishes this movement: Ephraim and Judah face conflict and internal wrong; seeking Assyria's king cannot cure their wound because the deeper crisis is portrayed as the LORD's own moth-like and lion-like judgment.
Why This Verse Appears Here
The alarm moves the accusation into international policy and shows that imperial patronage cannot heal covenant and social wounds. Within that movement, this verse replaces moth and rot with lion and young-lion tearing and carrying away both kingdoms.
Follow the Context
- Alarms sound through Benjaminite towns as Ephraim approaches desolation.
- Judah's princes are compared with boundary movers and face poured-out wrath.
- Ephraim is oppressed after following a disputed command.
- Moth and rot depict slow internal decay.
- Ephraim and Judah see sickness and wound and go to Assyria's great king.
- The foreign king cannot heal; lion imagery and divine withdrawal demand acknowledgment.
Phrase-by-Phrase Explanation
“I will tear and go away”
In plain language: predatory judgment imagery of seizure and absence
replaces moth and rot with lion and young-lion tearing and carrying away both kingdoms. The violent image portrays irresistible judgment, not a behavior for human leaders to imitate.
Why it matters: The wording carries interpretive or ethical risk that requires the complete unit and stated limits.
How certain? probableWhat This Verse Is Not Saying
The lion image does not authorize tearing, kidnapping, cruelty, or war by human agents.
What Remains True
The violent image portrays irresistible judgment, not a behavior for human leaders to imitate.
How It Can Shape Life
- Take public danger seriously while prohibiting revenge and religious violence.
Teach It Back
Explain how Hosea 5:14 functions within Hosea 5:8-15. Show what the surrounding verses add, identify the stated uncertainty, and name the boundary that keeps this verse from being misused.
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Continue in Context
Read the complete section for the connected explanation and how it should shape life. This verse is a doorway into that passage, not a saying that stands alone.
Read Hosea 5:8-15 — War Alarms and Foreign Alliances Cannot Heal Ephraim or JudahSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? probable
Where care is needed
The specific invasion and relation between divine and imperial agency remain debated.
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact reader-facing Scripture wording, paragraph markers, supplied-word markup, and complete verse coverage.
Exact location: Hosea 5:8-15, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: Hosea
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2
Supports: Masoretic Hebrew, morphology, syntax, names, wordplay, repetitions, and the base text for translation questions.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v.2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Hos.xml, 5:8-15
Open source ↗translation and translator notes
NET Bible: Hosea with translators' notes
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, 2006
Supports: Verse-level translation, textual, grammatical, historical, rhetorical, and uncertainty notes.
Exact location: NET Bible Hosea PDF, printed pp. 1682-1683, translation and notes on 5:8-15
Open source ↗