Hosea 8:7 Meaning and Explanation
“For they have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind: it hath no stalk: the bud shall yield no meal: if so be it yield, the strangers shall swallow it up.”
King James Version (KJV)
Read this verse in context with translation switching:
Read Full Chapter →Having sown emptiness, Israel will reap a destroying storm; their effort yields no grain, and what little there is, foreigners will devour.
What Does Hosea 8:7 Mean?
With a farmer's image, God describes the harvest of false worship and faithless alliances. To sow the wind is to plant nothing of substance, and the crop is a whirlwind, a storm of ruin far greater than the seed. The grain has no stalk, the bud no meal, and any yield is swallowed by strangers.
This is the moral order God has woven into the world: what we plant, we gather, and emptiness returns multiplied. Lives invested in what cannot last reap loss, while the storm gathers strength. Yet the same law of sowing and reaping becomes good news when seed is planted in righteousness, for those who sow to the Spirit reap life, and in Christ the harvest is sure.
Hosea 8:7 in the Original Language
suphah (סוּפָה), 'whirlwind' -- a violent storm wind that sweeps away, dwarfing the wind that was sown.
Frequently Asked Questions About Hosea 8:7
What does Hosea 8:7 mean?
Having sown emptiness, Israel will reap a destroying storm; their effort yields no grain, and what little there is, foreigners will devour.