הושע, פרק י׳, פסוק י׳

A harsh and vivid picture of divine punishment emerges, comparing the nation to a rebellious work animal bound to a heavy yoke. God expresses His absolute, resolute desire to discipline the people for their many sins. Because they continually rejected the rebukes of the prophets, God will now actively subject them to constant judgments and bring upon them real, severe suffering [רד״ק, רש״י, מצודת דוד, מצודת ציון].

To execute this punishment, God will bring together many foreign nations to wage war against them [מצודת דוד, אבן עזרא, שטיינזלץ]. In a tragic reversal of history, whereas the tribes of Israel once gathered together to punish their own sinners during the incident of the Concubine in Gibeah, now foreign nations will gather to destroy the kingdom of Ephraim [אברבנאל]. This occurs because the Israelites failed to zealously defend God and eradicate idolatry themselves; therefore, God will bring the Assyrian army to do the job in their place [מלבי״ם].

These foreign powers will subdue the people by binding them, much like tying and harnessing oxen to a plow [מצודת ציון, אבן עזרא, רד״ק, שטיינזלץ]. This vivid imagery of the yoke and the plow is interpreted in three distinct ways. In one view, the enemies will harness the people to a heavy yoke and force them to plow two furrows at once. This serves as a metaphor for labor far beyond their physical strength and represents a double, immense disaster [מצודת ציון, אבן עזרא, מלבי״ם, רד״ק, מצודת דוד]. The number two also hints at the kingdoms of Judah and Ephraim, who are compared to two plowing cows tied together to commit evil. This sinful alliance began when King Jehoshaphat of Judah married into the house of King Ahab of Israel [אבן עזרא, רד״ק].

Alternatively, the imagery focuses on the physical and psychological torment of the exhausted animal. Here, the pegs of the plow's yoke pierce downward on both sides, resting right next to the animal's eyes, vividly illustrating the intense suffering of the nation [רש״י, שטיינזלץ]. A third perspective views this binding as a direct consequence of the nation's most prominent offenses. The foreign armies will tie the people in the ropes of the yoke as a specific punishment for their two central sins: the two golden calves erected for worship in Dan and Bethel [אברבנאל, שטיינזלץ].