Hosea 14 · Verse 5

Hosea 14:5

I will be as the dew unto Israel: he shall grow as the lily, and cast forth his roots as Lebanon.
Hosea 14:5, King James Version

Hosea 14:5 in other translations

BSBI will be like the dew to Israel; he will blossom like the lily and take root like the cedars of Lebanon.
WEBI will be like the dew to Israel. He will blossom like the lily, and send down his roots like Lebanon.
ASVI will be as the dew unto Israel; he shall blossom as the lily, and cast forth his roots as Lebanon.
YLTI am as dew to Israel, he flourisheth as a lily, And he striketh forth his roots as Lebanon.
DARBYI will be as the dew unto Israel: he shall blossom as the lily, and cast forth his roots as Lebanon.
BBEI will be as the dew to Israel; he will put out flowers like a lily, and send out his roots like Lebanon.
WebsterI will be as the dew to Israel: he shall grow as the lily and cast forth his roots as Lebanon.

What does Hosea 14:5 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
5. as the dew--which falls copiously in the East, taking the place of the more frequent rains in other regions. God will not be "as the early dew that goeth away," but constant (Ho 6:3, 4; Job 29:19; Pr 19:12). the lily--No plant is more productive than the lily, one root often producing fifty bulbs [Pliny, Natural History, 21.5]. The common lily is white, consisting of six leaves opening like bells. The royal lily grows to the height of three or four feet; Mt 6:29 alludes to the beauty of its flowers. roots as Lebanon--that is, as the trees of Lebanon (especially the cedars), which cast down their roots as deeply as is their height upwards; so that they are immovable [Jerome], (Is 10:34). Spiritual growth consists most in the growth of the root which is out of sight.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 5 I will be as the dew unto Israel - On these metaphors I gladly avail myself of the elegant and just observations of Bp. Lowth. "These verses (Hos 14:5-7) contain gracious promises of God's favor and blessings upon Israel's conversion. In the fifth verse, it is described by that refreshment which copious dews give to the grass in summer. If we consider the nature of the climate, and the necessity of dews in so hot a country, not only to refresh, but likewise to preserve life; if we consider also the beauty of the oriental lilies, the fragrance of the cedars which grow upon Lebanon, the beauteous appearance which the spreading olive trees afforded, the exhilarating coolness caused by the shade of such trees, and the aromatic smell exhaled by the cedars; we shall then partly understand the force of the metaphors here employed by the prophet; but their full energy no one can conceive, till he feels both the want, and enjoys the advantage, of the particulars referred to in that climate where the prophet wrote." - Lowth's twelfth and nineteenth prelection; and Dodd on the place. What a glorious prophecy! What a wonderful prophet! How sublime, how energetic, how just! The great master prophet, Isaiah, alone could have done this better. And these promises are not for Israel merely after the flesh; they are for all the people of God. We have a lot and portion in the matter; God also places his love upon us. Here the reader must feel some such sentiment as the shepherd in Virgil, when enraptured with the elegy which his associate had composed on their departed friend. The phraseology and metaphors are strikingly similar; and therefore I shall produce it. Tale tuum carmen nobis, divine poeta, Quale sopor fesses in gramine, quale per aestum Dulcis aquae saliente sitim restinguere rivo. Nec calamis solum aequiparas, sed voce magistrum. Fortunate puer! tu nunc eris alter ab illo. Nos tamen haec quocunque modo tibi nostra vicissim Dicemus, Daphninque tuum tollemus ad astra: Daphnin ad astra feremus: amavit nos quoque Daphnis. Virgil. Ecl. v., ver. 45. "O heavenly poet, such thy verse appears, So sweet, so charming to my ravish'd ears, As to the weary swain with cares oppress'd, Beneath the sylvan shade, refreshing rest; As to the feverish traveler, when first He finds a crystal stream to quench his thirst. In singing, as in piping, you excel; And scarce your master could perform so well. O fortunate young man! at least your lays Are next to his, and claim the second praise. Such as they are, my rural songs I join To raise your Daphnis to the powers divine; For Daphnis was my friend, as well as thine."

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Hosea 14:4-8

Israel seeks God's face, and they shall not seek it in vain. His anger is turned from them. Whom God loves, he loves freely; not because they deserve it, but of his own good pleasure. God will be to them all they need. The graces of the Spirit are the hidden manna, hidden in the dew; the grace thus freely bestowed on them shall not be in vain. They shall grow upward, and be more flourishing; shall grow as the lily…

Read the full comment on Hosea 14:4-8 →

Hosea 14:5 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

אֶהְיֶ֤ה'eh.YehI will beH1961
כַטַּל֙kha.Tallike the dewH2919
לְיִשְׂרָאֵ֔לle.Yis.ra.'Elto IsraelH3478
יִפְרַ֖חyif.Rachit will blossomH6524
כַּשּֽׁוֹשַׁנָּ֑הka.sho.sha.Nahlike <the> lilyH7799
וְיַ֥ךְve.Yakhand it may strikeH5221
שָׁרָשָׁ֖יוsha.ra.Shavroots itsH8328
כַּלְּבָנֽוֹן\׃ka.le.va.Nonlike <the> LebanonH3844

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Hosea 14:5

  • Isaiah 35:2

    It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing: the glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it, the excellency of Carmel and Sharon, they shall see the glory of the Lord, and the excellency of our God.

  • Isaiah 27:6

    He shall cause them that come of Jacob to take root: Israel shall blossom and bud, and fill the face of the world with fruit.

  • Ephesians 3:17

    That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,

  • Matthew 6:28

    And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:

  • Job 29:19

    My root was spread out by the waters, and the dew lay all night upon my branch.

  • Isaiah 26:19

    Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust: for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead.

  • Isaiah 44:3

    For I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground: I will pour my spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring:

  • Micah 5:7

    And the remnant of Jacob shall be in the midst of many people as a dew from the Lord, as the showers upon the grass, that tarrieth not for man, nor waiteth for the sons of men.

  • Ezekiel 17:22-24

    Thus saith the Lord God; I will also take of the highest branch of the high cedar, and will set it; I will crop off from the top of his young twigs a tender one, and will plant it upon an high mountain and eminent: In the mountain of the height of Israel will I plant it: and it shall bring forth boughs, and bear fruit, and be a goodly cedar: and under it shall dwell all fowl of every wing; in the shadow of the branches thereof shall they dwell. And all the trees of the field shall know that I the Lord have brought down the high tree, have exalted the low tree, have dried up the green tree, and have made the dry tree to flourish: I the Lord have spoken and have done it.

  • 2 Samuel 23:4

    And he shall be as the light of the morning, when the sun riseth, even a morning without clouds; as the tender grass springing out of the earth by clear shining after rain.

  • 2 Kings 19:30

    And the remnant that is escaped of the house of Judah shall yet again take root downward, and bear fruit upward.

  • Psalms 72:6

    He shall come down like rain upon the mown grass: as showers that water the earth.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
as the dew.
De 32:2; 2Sa 23:4; Job 29:19; Ps 72:6; Pr 19:12; Isa 18:4; 26:19
Isa 44:3; Mic 5:7
he shall.
So 2:1,2,16; 4:5; Mt 6:28; Lu 12:27
grow. or, blossom. cast. Heb. strike.
2Ki 19:30; Ps 72:16; Isa 27:6; 35:2; Eze 17:22-24; Eph 3:17

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Hosea 14:4

    I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely: for mine anger is turned away from him.

  • Hosea 14:5

    I will be as the dew unto Israel: he shall grow as the lily, and cast forth his roots as Lebanon.

  • Hosea 14:6

    His branches shall spread, and his beauty shall be as the olive tree, and his smell as Lebanon.

Read all of Hosea 14

Hosea 14:5 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Yo seré á Israel como rocío; él florecerá como lirio, y extenderá sus raíces como el Líbano.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Je guérirai leur abandon de moi, je les aimerai librement, car ma colère s’est détournée d’eux.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Ich werde für Israel sein wie der Tau: blühen soll es wie die Lilie, und Wurzeln schlagen wie der Libanon.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Sanabo contritiones eorum; diligam eos spontanee: quia aversus est furor meus ab eis.