הושע, פרק ט׳, פסוק ג׳

A tragic uprooting awaits the Israelites, tearing them away from their holy land as a direct result of their own actions. They will no longer be able to remain in their home, facing exile and leaving the land entirely desolate. This expulsion is born from their sins, specifically the defilement of the land and Jerusalem through idol worship. Because the holy land cannot tolerate idol worshippers indefinitely, it ultimately rejects and expels them [רד״ק].

In the wake of this destruction, the nation will fracture. Driven by the fear of approaching enemies, famine, and mounting troubles, a portion of the people will flee to Egypt and settle there [מצודת דוד, מלבי״ם, ביאור שטיינזלץ]. While the primary exile of the Kingdom of Ephraim was destined for Assyria, many individuals escaped to Egypt early on, and surviving remnants later joined the exiles of Judah who also sought refuge there. This return to Egypt stands in stark contrast to the original promise in the Torah that the Israelites would never see that land again [רד״ק].

The rest of the nation will be taken captive to Assyria, where they will be subjected to eating repulsive and disgusting food [מצודת ציון]. Scattered among foreign nations in an impure land, they will be forced to consume their meals in a state of impurity, completely unable to maintain the cleanliness and dietary standards of their heritage [מצודת דוד, רד״ק, מלבי״ם, ביאור שטיינזלץ]. Alternatively, this specific suffering acts as a direct measure for measure. The people are forced to eat impure food in exile because they behaved similarly while living in God's land, failing to dedicate their harvests to Him and instead offering their crops to foreign idols [אבן עזרא].