Introduction: The People's Repentance and Hashem's Response
Chapter 6 of Hoshea is a direct continuation of the conclusion of the previous chapter. There, the Holy One, Blessed is He, said: 'I will go and return to My place until they acknowledge their guilt and seek My face; in their distress they will seek Me earnestly.' The Shechinah withdraws to its place until the People of Israel repent, and when distress befalls them, they will seek His face. The chapter before us comes to elaborate: what exactly will they say when they seek Him, and what will the Holy One, Blessed is He, answer them? The first part of the chapter contains the words of the people, and the continuation is Hashem's response to them.
'Come, Let Us Return' - Recognizing that the Affliction Is from Divine Providence
לְכוּ וְנָשׁוּבָה אֶל ה' כִּי הוּא טָרָף וְיִרְפָּאֵנוּ, יַךְ וְיַחְבְּשֵׁנוּ. - Come, let us return to Hashem, for He has torn, and He will heal us; He has struck, and He will bind us up.
'Come, let us return' - this is the language of a person speaking to his fellow: each one turns to his friend and says to him, come, let us return to Hashem. And the fundamental realization on their lips is that 'He has torn' - our afflictions are not a natural coincidence, but absolute Providence from Hashem. If so, one should not seek material cures; rather, the One Who struck is the One Who will heal.
We have already seen earlier that the prophet speaks of two types of ailments: an internal illness, which requires healing, and an external wound, which requires bandaging and relief. Corresponding to the internal illness it says, 'He has torn, and He will heal us,' and corresponding to the external wound it says, 'He has struck, and He will bind us up' - 'struck' denotes an external blow, and therefore bandaging applies to it. In both cases, salvation depends solely upon Him.
'Torn' relates to the venom or toxin that a predator injects into its prey. Rav Dessler explains that this does not refer to literal venom like that of a snake, but rather to the claws of beasts of prey: when they tear their prey, remnants of flesh remain beneath their claws, which rot, putrefy, and develop infection. When the beast subsequently claws another animal, this infection can be fatal - and this is the 'venom' caused by predatory tearing. And since He is the One Who has torn, only He can provide the internal healing.
'He Will Revive Us After Two Days' - Four Explanations
יְחַיֵּנוּ מִיֹּמָיִם, בַּיּוֹם הַשְּׁלִישִׁי יְקִמֵנוּ וְנִחְיֶה לְפָנָיו. - He will revive us after two days; on the third day He will raise us up, and we will live before Him.
Rashi explains that 'two days' alludes to the two Batei HaMikdash that were destroyed, and 'on the third day He will raise us up' refers to the Third Temple, which will endure forever.
Ibn Ezra explains why specifically the third day is mentioned: in the natural course of illness, the third day is the peak of the affliction, as we find, 'when they were in pain on the third day.' But when the Holy One, Blessed is He, is the Healer, the matter is overturned: specifically on the third day He will raise us up and we will live before Him - contrary to nature.
Radak explains that 'two days' are the two exiles, the Egyptian exile and the Babylonian exile, and 'the third day' is the third exile, this present exile, after which He will raise us up and we will live before Him - enduring spiritual life before Him, may He be blessed, and there will be no further exile.
The Malbim explains differently: the verse refers to the exiles of the Ten Tribes and the exile of Judah and Benjamin. The Ten Tribes were exiled by Sennacherib in three stages, and Judah was likewise exiled three times by Nebuchadnezzar. And so they plead: He will revive us from the first two "days," which are the times of visitation, and "on the third day" - that is, after the third exile, which was like the final seal brought upon the kingdom of Israel and the kingdom of Judah and Benjamin, when the absolute fall occurred as they were driven from the Land - "He will raise us up, and we will live before Him," raising us up from this downfall.
"Let Us Know, Let Us Strive to Know" - An Understanding That Progressively Illuminates
וְנֵדְעָה נִרְדְּפָה לָדַעַת אֶת ה', כְּשַׁחַר נָכוֹן מֹצָאוֹ, וְיָבוֹא כַגֶּשֶׁם לָנוּ כְּמַלְקוֹשׁ יוֹרֶה אָרֶץ. - Let us know, let us strive to know Hashem; His coming forth is as certain as the dawn, and He will come to us like the rain, like the late rain that waters the earth.
The Malbim explains: We must strive to attain the true perception of Hashem, the ways of His providence, and the ways of His kindness and goodness, until that perception becomes clear, "as certain as the dawn." And why compare it to the dawn? In the pursuit of wisdom, the deeper a person delves, the more he understands, contemplates, and grasps. This is like the dawn, which does not illuminate all at once, but gradually rolls back darkness before light (and likewise at sunset). In this manner, step by step, the light of the knowledge of Hashem, the light of His salvation, and the light of His bounty will dawn upon us.
"And He will come to us like the rain" - the Malbim explains: Rain forms from moist vapors rising from the earth. When the clouds are saturated with vapor, the cold aloft causes condensation (much like in an air conditioner), and the rain begins to fall. Thus, rain specifically originates from below. (True, there is also the concept of "the upper waters," and Chazal note that there is rain that comes from clouds and rain that comes from the upper waters; for centuries people dismissed this as fantasy, but anyone who examines the writings of Rabbi Zamir Cohen will see that this is now recognized scientifically as well - there is water beyond the atmosphere, and massive ice meteorites enter it from time to time. But this is an aside.) Ordinary rain comes about through an awakening from below (itaruta deletata): evaporation rises from below, reaches the sky, condenses there, and descends.
From here emerges a fundamental principle: every awakening from Above (itaruta dele'eila) must be preceded by an awakening from below. There is no independent awakening from Above on its own. We ask, we pray, we yearn - and then bounty is bestowed upon us. But if we do not initiate the action on our part, the influence from Above will not arrive. Rain here is an expression of divine abundance, and this abundance is the knowledge and perception of Hashem.
"Like the late rain that waters the earth" - and if it does not come in its proper season, during the early rains, let it at least come like the malkosh, the late rain, which descends upon the earth and causes it to produce and sprout. This hints that the attainment will reach us in the end, as it is written: "For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of Hashem, as the waters cover the sea" - which is the aspect of the late rain, referring to the era of the coming of the Mashiach.
"The Ultimate Knowledge Is to Know That We Do Not Know"
The Malbim asks: Why does the verse say, "Let us know, let us strive to know"? It should have simply said, "Let us know Hashem." He explains: Knowing Hashem to the ultimate degree is impossible, for our minds are limited and our perception is meager, and to say "I know Hashem" is incorrect. As the well-known dictum states: The ultimate knowledge is to know that we do not know. That is, when one reaches the ultimate end, the bottom line, one arrives at the realization that we have no grasp of Divinity whatsoever; "no thought can grasp Him at all."
Hence, one whose knowledge is meager is certain that he knows, yet in truth he knows nothing, and therefore he seeks no further, remaining satisfied with his sparse knowledge. But one who has truly begun to know - that very knowledge drives him to pursue and thirst to know more. This is "Let us know, let us strive to know Hashem": the desire to know impels a person to continually pursue complete knowledge.
And this is often explained regarding the designation of the Holy One, blessed be He, as Ein Sof ("Without End") - as elaborated in the lessons on Nefesh HaChaim: Seemingly, it would have been more fitting to say "Without Beginning" (Ein Techilah), for whatever has no end has no beginning either. Rather, when we say "Without End," we are not describing Him, blessed be He, for we have no grasp of His essence at all. We are speaking about our own perception: we possess some beginning of perception, according to what Hashem revealed and taught us - about the Sefirot, the unfolding spiritual chain of being, His blessed Name, the influences descending from Him, His will, and the Torah He gave us. But we have no end, for one can never say, "I have reached complete perception." Thus, while we do not possess a comprehensive grasp of the reality, once we begin to perceive, there is an endless yearning to know more - there is "let us strive to know Hashem."
Hashem's Response: "Your Kindness Is Like a Morning Cloud"
מָה אֶעֱשֶׂה לְּךָ אֶפְרַיִם, מָה אֶעֱשֶׂה לְּךָ יְהוּדָה, וְחַסְדְּכֶם כַּעֲנַן בֹּקֶר וְכַטַּל מַשְׁכִּים הֹלֵךְ. - "What shall I do to you, Ephraim? What shall I do to you, Judah? For your kindness is like a morning cloud, and like the dew that departs early."
("Mashkim" is spelled with a chaf, not a kuf, denoting earliness.) Radak explains: How can I heal you? How can I bind up your wound, as you requested: "He will heal us... and He will bind us up"? For your repentance is not complete repentance. Even when the kings of Israel did what was upright in the eyes of Hashem, it was only temporary and for a brief era, and afterward they returned to doing evil - like Yehu, who for a certain period was a righteous king and afterward abandoned that path. And so too with the kings of Judah: in the days of Yoshiyahu they did what was upright in the eyes of Hashem, but in the days of his son and grandson they returned to wickedness. It turns out that your kindness is like a morning cloud or like dew, which as soon as it warms up a bit vanishes and is gone - your upright conduct is temporary and swiftly fleeting.
The Malbim emphasizes that this verse is Hashem's response. The entire first section - "Come, let us return," "He will revive us after two days," "Let us know, let us pursue the knowledge" - those were the words of the people, expressing the concept of "in their distress they will seek Me early" mentioned at the end of the previous chapter. And now the prophet reveals what Hashem answers them: "What shall I do to you, Ephraim? What shall I do to you, Judah?" - your kindness is like a morning cloud.
"What does Hashem your God require of you but... to do justice and to love kindness." The essential requirement is for a person to do kindness with fellow beings, and within "kindness" is also included the service of Hashem and the mitzvos, for kindness encompasses both the interpersonal realm and man's relationship with God - a person who conducts himself with piety conducts himself with piety toward Hashem, Blessed is He. And this is the meaning of "the Torah of kindness is on her tongue," for the Torah itself is an aspect of kindness. (Rav Dessler explains why the Torah is termed kindness, being the antithesis of taking, which is the concept of Torah study for its own sake; one who wishes may listen to the shiurim on Michtav MeEliyahu.)
Therefore Hashem says to them: Your kindness and your righteous deeds are like a morning cloud, like a cloud that disperses and does not saturate the earth. How can you then plead: "And He will come to us like rain"? To produce rain, sufficient vapor must rise, and you do not raise enough vapor. All that has emerged from all your vapors is a morning cloud, or dew, which vanishes as soon as the sun shines. In simple terms: You perform acts of kindness, but they are neither strong enough nor enduring enough - a temporary kindness that quickly evaporates and disappears, and such kindness cannot bring down a rain of benevolence upon you.
"Therefore I Have Hewn Them by the Prophets" - The Slaying of the Prophets
עַל כֵּן חָצַבְתִּי בַּנְּבִיאִים הֲרַגְתִּים בְּאִמְרֵי פִי, וּמִשְׁפָּטֶיךָ אוֹר יֵצֵא. - "Therefore I have hewn them by the prophets, I have slain them by the words of My mouth, and your judgments go forth as the light."
כִּי חֶסֶד חָפַצְתִּי וְלֹא זָבַח, וְדַעַת אֱלֹהִים מֵעֹלוֹת. - "For I desired kindness and not sacrifice, and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings."
Rashi explains "I have hewn them by the prophets" - I carved out My words through the prophets, and "I have slain them" refers to the people: since I rebuked them through the prophets and they did not listen, I slew them by the words of My mouth, on account of the words of My mouth, and they paid with their lives. Targum Yonasan explains similarly. Consequently, "and your judgments go forth as the light" - how can I show you favor? The attribute of strict justice demands that you be judged according to the full severity of your deeds.
The Malbim presents a comprehensive thesis throughout this entire chapter, the essence of which is: The Holy One, Blessed is He, sent the prophets to rebuke the people. The people were convinced that the more sacrifices they offered, the more Hashem would be appeased, allowing them to remain securely in the Land while continuing in all their evil and wickedness - idolatry, illicit relations, and bloodshed during the First Temple, and baseless hatred during the Second Temple - as long as they brought offerings in the Beis HaMikdash. This is why they proclaimed, "The Temple of Hashem, the Temple of Hashem, the Temple of Hashem are these": there is a Temple, and for every problem - we will offer another sacrifice and resolve it.
Yet this is a complete delusion. Can one bribe the Master of the Universe? To transgress His will and say to Him: Here, I am bringing You another offering! Does the Holy One, Blessed is He, eat the fat of sacrifices? This is precisely what is written: "Will you steal, murder, commit adultery, and swear falsely... and come and stand before Me in this House which is called by My Name, and say: 'We are saved'?" - an easy solution: commit every wicked act, come afterward to the Beis HaMikdash, and that is it, you are delivered.
The prophets told them: Realize that the Holy One, Blessed is He, does not desire sacrifices - "For I desired kindness and not sacrifice," and "the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings." These words were unacceptable to the people, and as a result they rose up and murdered the prophets, slaying Hashem's messengers. It turns out, says the Malbim, that the very fact that the Holy One, Blessed is He, sent them on a mission where they were killed means that, as it were, He slew them: "I have slain them by the words of My mouth." And the prophets gave their lives for that message, ready to proclaim the word of Hashem even when it brought about their death.
Therefore, "I hewed them by the prophets" - as if the bodies of the prophets are like rock, upon which is hewn and engraved with an iron pen: "For I desired loving-kindness, and not sacrifice." The prophets died over this very proclamation, and this made it an immortal, eternal statement that endures forever. And "therefore" - since your loving-kindness is like a morning cloud, since you do not practice loving-kindness and do not know God, therefore I hewed [them] by the prophets, whom I slew by the words of My mouth, and upon them I wrote with an iron pen that I desire loving-kindness and not sacrifice.
The Malbim adds: the slaughter-sacrifices and peace-offerings, which you bring merely to permit yourselves evil deeds, were truly intended for a person to feed their meat to the poor in sanctity - for I desire loving-kindness. As for the burnt-offering, which is offered entirely to the Most High, and from which no one receives anything, not even the Kohen, its main essence is drawing close to Hashem. And it is fitting for a person to sacrifice himself upon Hashem's altar - meaning his desires: if a person feels drawn to something that contradicts the will of Hashem, let him sacrifice it upon Hashem's altar, relinquishing his will. This is the burnt-offering that rises favorably before Him.
And relinquishing one's will - that is the soul. What is taken from a sacrifice? The life-force, the soul. When a person sacrifices his desire, he sacrifices his soul, just as the verse says: "If it be your will [*im yesh et nafshechem*]... intercede for me with Ephron the son of Zohar" - "your soul" means your will, for the will is an expression of the soul.
The Holy One, blessed be He, says: I do not desire that you bring Me a sacrifice and slaughter it on the altar. This resembles a person facing a severe crisis, all sorts of troubles and misfortunes, and seeing no way out, he brings a rooster and slaughters it - "We did kapparot," "an atonement for you." But what did you actually do for this? The rooster did nothing wrong, and what about you - what did you change? Did you start keeping Shabbat? Putting on tefillin? Attending Torah classes? All you did was slaughter a rooster. That was precisely their misconception back then: a person goes and offers a burnt-offering, forgetting that what Hashem primarily requires is that you sacrifice your soul and your desires, that people dedicate themselves entirely upon His altar with favor. The main thing is knowledge of God, and therefore "and the knowledge of God more than burnt-offerings" - this is what remained engraved and hewn into the bodies of the slain prophets.
And "and your judgments go forth as the light" is parenthetical: after seeing what evil deeds you commit, and after you killed the prophets over the words of My mouth - how can you expect your judgment to come to light favorably, that you be vindicated in your trial and that the Holy One, blessed be He, have pity and mercy upon you? Could such a thing even be contemplated?
Radak explains the verse according to the approach mentioned earlier: even when there were righteous kings, it was only temporary. Yehu among the kings of Israel eradicated the worshipers of Baal, but it was transient, and you did not maintain it for long - like a cloud that appears briefly and is gone. And so here, too, the Malbim explains: "For I desired loving-kindness, and not sacrifice" - even though they returned to worshiping Hashem in the Beit HaMikdash during the days of Hoshea the son of Elah. We have already seen that Hoshea the son of Elah possessed a great virtue, abolishing the border guards that Jeroboam had posted (since Jeroboam had stationed guards and forbidden pilgrimage to Jerusalem). Yet even so, this did not avert the decree of exile, and they were exiled. Why? Because they lacked loving-kindness and knowledge of God. Although they went up to the Beit HaMikdash and brought sacrifices (and some say they did not go up, but at least those who did) - they persisted in their corrupt deeds, lacking loving-kindness and knowledge of God. So too in Judah, who served Hashem in the time of Josiah, who tore down the high places and the altars, and they offered sacrifices in the Beit HaMikdash - Hashem says to them: I desire knowledge of God more than your offering burnt-offerings and sacrifices before Me.
"But they like Adam have transgressed the covenant"
וְהֵמָּה כְּאָדָם עָבְרוּ בְרִית, שָׁם בָּגְדוּ בִי - But they, like Adam, have transgressed the covenant; there have they dealt treacherously against Me.
Rashi explains "like Adam" - like Adam HaRishon: I brought him into the Garden of Eden and he transgressed My commandment, transgressing a covenant. Some say that Adam HaRishon drew forward his foreskin, meaning he tried to appear uncircumcised, and therefore it says "transgressed the covenant [of circumcision]." "There have they dealt treacherously against Me" - just like Adam HaRishon, who betrayed Me when I brought him into the Garden of Eden and he violated My command.
The Malbim, however, explains this in a deeper way, and one must follow the progression carefully. He now describes the manner in which the prophets were killed in those days, depicting it in exalted and lofty poetic imagery.
The prophets of Israel were killed by the kings of Israel on two occasions. The first was in the days of Ahab, when Jezebel killed all the prophets of Hashem - "and I, even I only, am left a prophet" - except for those whom Obadiah hid in a cave. All the prophets at that time were disciples of Elijah, and Elijah was "of the settlers of Gilead." Now, Chazal state in the Midrash that Elijah was from the descendants of Benjamin, since the men of Benjamin took the women of Yavesh-Gilead as wives.
Let us briefly recall that episode: in the wake of the concubine in Gibeah, all the tribes went out to wage war against the tribe of Benjamin. The community of Israel demanded to judge the perpetrators themselves, but the Benjamites refused, insisting on judging them within their own tribe - and after the concubine's husband dismembered her body and sent it to the twelve tribes of Israel to rouse them to action, Israel went out to fight Benjamin. In the first two battles, Israel suffered heavy casualties, but in the third they triumphed and nearly wiped out the tribe of Benjamin completely. Furthermore, they swore an oath that no man would give his daughter in marriage to Benjamin, which would have brought an end to the tribe. What did they do? They checked who had failed to assemble for the war, as the ban bound those who had gathered, and found that the people of Yavesh-Gilead had not come. Since the men there had defied the collective decree of Israel, they put them to death, and gave the women to the remnant of the tribe of Benjamin. Thus Benjamin survived and a tribe was not wiped out from Israel. (Those interested can listen to the recording on Sefer Shoftim, where this entire episode is discussed at length.)
Thus we find that the children of Binyamin settled in Yavesh Gilad, where they had taken their wives, and Eliyahu was among their descendants - which is why he is called "Eliyahu the Giladite," from the residents of Yavesh Gilad. From this, the Malbim deduces that the disciples of the prophets from Eliyahu's yeshivah were killed in Gilad.
And the second place was Shechem, in the days of Yeravam. Yeravam chose Shechem, which was a city of refuge for the Levi'im, as his royal capital. There were certainly prophets there who prophesied and rebuked him concerning the calves. We all remember what Yeravam did when a prophet came to rebuke him: he stretched out his hand and said, "Seize him!" whereupon his hand withered. There is no doubt that Yeravam killed the prophets of Hashem.
Now the prophet comes to connect history with what was happening in his own day. He describes the bloodshed perpetrated in Gilad and in Shechem - in Gilad, all the prophets slain by Izevel (Jezebel), and in Shechem, the prophets killed by Yeravam - and links it to ancient killings that took place in those very same locations, though those had been over an entirely different matter: the issue of illicit relations. In Shechem there was the incident of Dinah, following which Yaakov's sons killed all the men of Shechem (and the holy commentaries write that there were 24,000 residents there, all killed out of zealotry for Hashem over that act of depravity). In Gilad, there was the slaughter following the incident of the Concubine of Giv'ah. In both places, people were zealous for Hashem over an act of depravity, resulting in bloodshed.
Now the Malbim explains: those men who came to murder the prophets of Hashem imagined that they were acting out of zealotry for the Ba'al, zealotry for the golden calves, zealotry for idolatry - "How dare you prophets demean them?" For to them, this was a deity, and anyone who insults a deity faces dire consequences. Therefore, they rose up against the prophets and murdered them. This is the meaning of "they, like Adam, have transgressed the covenant": the prophets appeared to them as covenant-breakers, just as in the past, the people of Yavesh Gilad were killed in Gilad for violating the oath they had made to go and fight against the wrongdoers, which they failed to attend. In the same way, the prophets of Ba'al viewed the prophets of Hashem as covenant-breakers, and murdered them in that very same place, in Gilad.
"Gilad is a city of evildoers"
גִּלְעָד קִרְיַת פֹּעֲלֵי אָוֶן, עֲקֻבָּה מִדָּם. - Gilad is a city of evildoers, tracked with blood.
Rashi explains "akubah" as full of those lying in ambush to murder, from the root of "and his heel [eikev]" or "he outwitted me [vaya'akveini]." The Radak explains that it is similar to "the heart is deceitful [akov]" and "Yehu acted with subtlety [be'akbah]" - an expression of deception and trickery. Our Sages likewise taught that they would stalk [okvim] to take lives, meaning they did so in a way that would leave them uncaught, through cunning and stealth. This parallels Rashi's commentary on "Your name shall no longer be called Yaakov" - implying that you obtained the blessings through stealth and cunning, but rather "Yisrael," showing you obtained them through mastery, as they rightfully belong to you. Another interpretation: "akubah midam" means stained with blood, as in the phrase "if it has a wine stain [akivat yayin]" in the Talmud Yerushalmi, referring to a smudge of wine.
"And as marauders wait for a man" - The Murder in Shechem
וּכְחַכֵּי אִישׁ גְּדוּדִים חֶבֶר כֹּהֲנִים, דֶּרֶךְ יְרַצְּחוּ שֶׁכְמָה, כִּי זִמָּה עָשׂוּ. - And as bands of marauders wait for a man, so the company of priests murder on the way to Shechem, for they have committed deliberate wickedness.
Rashi explains "kechakei" from the word chakah, a fishhook: like a fisherman who gathers fish together on a hook, so too is the assembly of their troops, bands of their priests who join together to march along the road. "They murder on the way to Shechem [shechmah]" - meaning with one shoulder (shechem echad), all of them marching as one to murder. Thus, according to Rashi, this depicts how they assemble to commit wicked deeds. And "for they have committed deliberate wickedness [zimah]" does not refer to illicit relations here, but rather to plotting (zomemim) - they carried out their sinister plot, gathering in one place to go out, murder, and take plunder. Rashi also brings another explanation, which he considers more fitting: that "chakei" means joining together, uniting as one to go out and kill.
The Malbim continues along the line we explained earlier. Until now he explained what occurred in Gilad, and now he turns to what happened in Shechem. There, it was portrayed as if the prophets had committed depravity and illicit acts - just as the ancient inhabitants of Shechem had been killed over a matter of depravity, when the sons of Yaakov executed them for defiling their sister Dinah.
Therefore, "chakei" is not from the word for fishhook, but from the root of waiting and expecting (mechakeh): like a person waiting and watching, and if he sees troops of priests walking along the road to Shechem to murder people there, he surely pauses and understands that the reason is "for they have committed deliberate wickedness [zimah]" - that those people committed an act of depravity and therefore deserved death. Indeed, the ancient inhabitants of Shechem genuinely deserved death, for they shielded Shechem son of Chamor when they should have handed him over; and Yaakov's rebuke of his sons was solely due to the danger - "they will gather against me and strike me" - but strictly by the law, their sentence was death. And so, these priests claimed to be zealous over immorality, just as the sons of Yaakov had been zealous over the depravity committed in Shechem in ancient days.
This is how it appeared in their eyes: the calf-priests going out to kill the prophets of Hashem as if the prophets of Hashem had committed an act of depravity, pursuing them just like the sons of Yaakov pursued the men of Shechem. Says the verse: but it was not they who committed depravity! The prophets did nothing wrong and committed no depravity.
"In the house of Israel I have seen a horrible thing"
בְּבֵית יִשְׂרָאֵל רָאִיתִי שַׁעֲרוּרִיָּה, שָׁם זְנוּת לְאֶפְרַיִם נִטְמָא יִשְׂרָאֵל. - In the house of Israel I have seen a horrible thing; there is harlotry in Ephraim, Israel is defiled.
You say that the prophets must be killed because "they committed depravity," like the ancient depravity in Shechem? Hashem says to them: Did they commit depravity? Why, it is you who committed the depravity! "There is harlotry in Ephraim."
"A horrible thing" (sha'aruriyyah) - Rashi explains that it is an expression of deviation or change, as in "astonishment and horror" (shammah ve-sha'arurah). Ibn Ezra explains that it refers to something loathsome, like "disgusting figs" (te'enim hasho'arim). Radak explains that it connotes ugliness and filth. In other words: I saw filth, ugliness, and scandal in the house of Israel, for there is harlotry in Ephraim - Ephraim strayed after idolatry, and through them "Israel is defiled," since Ephraim was the ruling tribe at that time, and the other tribes were drawn after them and became defiled. It turns out that the depravity lay with them and not with the prophets: you killed the prophets claiming they committed depravity, when in truth it was you who committed depravity.
And this is what we cited in the name of the Vilna Gaon, that next to every house of idol worship there was also a house of prostitution. Why? Because this was the way to lure people to idol worship, since idolatry is very liberal and permits everything. If you cling to Hashem - the God of these people detests depravity; but if you cling to idol worship - anything goes. And that is what Chazal said: Israel only served idols in order to permit illicit relations for themselves in public.
"Judah, too, has a harvest set for you"
גַּם יְהוּדָה שָׁת קָצִיר לָךְ, בְּשׁוּבִי שְׁבוּת עַמִּי. - Judah, too, has a harvest set for you, when I restore the captivity of My people.
The Malbim explains: This verse refers back to what was said earlier, "What shall I do to you, Ephraim? What shall I do to you, Judah? For your kindness is like a morning cloud," which addressed both Ephraim and Judah. First he dealt with the sin of Ephraim - who killed the prophets in Gilead and Shechem - and now he returns to Judah. Even Judah, though they did not act as wickedly as Ephraim, nevertheless their kindness is like a morning cloud.
And "has a harvest set for you" means: when I restore the captivity of My people, the kindness you perform will return to you like a harvest, as it is written, "Sow for yourselves righteousness, reap according to kindness" - you will reap the fruit of kindness when I restore the captivity of My people. This occurred in the days of King Chizkiyahu, when Hashem restored their captivity and they were saved, and as it were, the kindness you performed yielded its fruit, as it is written, "And the remnant that survived of the house of Judah shall again take root downward and bear fruit upward."
And although we said that this kindness is insufficient and is like a morning cloud - true, it is not enough to bring about the complete redemption, nor enough to avert the trouble entirely, and Judah was ultimately exiled. But it was sufficient to produce a positive impact, and there was indeed a positive impact at least during the reign of King Chizkiyahu, when there was tranquility, and Hashem saved them from the hand of Sancheriv who had laid siege to them, and all who besieged Jerusalem died and became dead corpses. This is the meaning of "Judah, too, has a harvest set for you" - the kindness you did, you will at least reap its fruits "when I restore the captivity of My people." Yet the intent is that He would restore them to Himself, but it was not a complete restoration, for afterward they slipped back and corrupted their ways, and ultimately went into exile.
In summary:
The chapter opens with the people's call to repentance - an acknowledgment that the affliction is divinely ordained and that only the One who strikes can heal, a plea to rise up from exile, and an endless aspiration: "Let us know, let us strive to know Hashem," recognizing that the ultimate attainment of knowledge is knowing that we do not know, and that every grasp gives birth to a thirst for yet deeper comprehension. But Hashem's response is: your kindness is like a morning cloud and like early-vanishing dew - a temporary, fleeting devotion that does not generate enough vapor to bring down a rain of abundance, for there is no awakening from Above without an awakening from below. From here, the prophet turns to a harsh rebuke: the people thought they could absolve themselves through sacrifices and the Temple of Hashem while persisting in their misdeeds, and so they arose and murdered the prophets who cried out, "For I desire loving-kindness and not sacrifice, and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings" - and that pronouncement was, as it were, hewn into their flesh forever. In Gilead and Shechem, places where in ancient times men displayed zeal for Hashem over acts of depravity, the prophets were slaughtered under the false pretext that they were covenant-breakers and perpetrators of licentiousness - when in truth, the harlotry and outrage lay within the house of Israel itself. Only a spark of consolation remained for Judah: the kindness they performed, though it did not avert the decree, bore fruit "when I restore the captivity of My people" in the days of Hezekiah. And the enduring message for all generations: the Holy One, blessed be He, does not desire the mere slaughter of a rooster, but the sacrifice of the will - that man sacrifice his own will upon the altar of Hashem, for the will is the soul itself.