Hosea 13:13

“The sorrows of a travailing woman shall come upon him, etc.] Upon Ephraim, or the ten tribes; that is, afflictions, distresses, and calamities, which are often in Scripture compared to the pains and sorrows of a woman in childbirth; and may denote the suddenness and inevitableness of them; (see <231308>Isaiah 13:8 <243006>Jeremiah 30:6,7). So the Targum, “distress and trouble shall come upon them, as pains on a woman with child;” which may respect the invasion of their land, the siege of Samaria, and their captivity; he [is] an unwise son; taking no warning by his ancestors, by their sins, and what befell them on account of them, but persisting in his sins, and in impenitence and hardness of…”

“sorrows of a travailing woman--calamities sudden and agonizing (Jer 30:6). unwise--in not foreseeing the impending judgment, and averting it by penitence (Pro 22:3). he should not stay long in the place of the breaking forth of children--When Israel might deliver himself from calamity by the pangs of penitence, he brings ruin on himself by so long deferring a new birth unto repentance, like a child whose mother has not strength to bring it forth, and which therefore remains so long in the passage from the womb as to run the risk of death (Kg2 19:3; Isa 37:3; Isa 66:9).”

“The sorrows of a travailing woman are come upon him - The travail-pangs are violent, sudden, irresistible. A moment before they come, all is seemingly perfect health; they come, increase in vehemence, and, if they accomplish not that for which they are sent, end in death, both to the mother and the child. Such are God’s chastisements. If they end not in the repentance of the sinner, they continue on in his destruction. But never is man more secure, than just before the last and final throe comes upon him. “The false security of Israel, when Samaria was on the point of falling into the hands of its enemies, was a picture of that of the synagogue, when greater evils were coming upon it. Never…”

“The sorrows - The punishment of his sins will overtake him suddenly, with great anguish. An unwise son - A foolish son, who endangers himself and his mother. He should not stay - As a child that sticks in the birth, so is Ephraim, one while will, another while will not return to God; and thus dies under the delay. Hosea 13:14”

“13:13 Israel was like a child in the womb who resists being born (literally an unwise son). Incredibly, Israel would rather stay in the womb than receive life from the Lord.”

“sorrows: Psa 48:6; Isa 13:8, Isa 21:3; Jer 4:31, Jer 13:21, Jer 22:23, Jer 30:6, Jer 49:24; Mic 4:9, Mic 4:10; Th1 5:3 an: Pro 22:3; Act 24:25 for he: Kg2 19:3; Isa 26:17, Isa 37:3; Act 16:29-34; Co2 6:2; Heb 3:7, Heb 3:8 long: Heb. a time Hosea 13:14”