Israel is an empty vine, he brings forth fruit unto himself: according to the multitude of his fruit he has increased the altars; according to the goodness of his land they have made goodly images.
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George Leo Haydock
AD 1849
Branches. Septuagint, "Wood. "Symmachus, This is all: it yields no fruit. Protestants, "empty. "(Haydock)
Hebrew, "plucked. "The grapes are taken away, as the Israelites were; though they boasted of their numbers, chap. ix. 16. They are often compared to a vine, the symbol of fecundity, Isaias v. 3., and Psalm cxxvii. 3. (Calmet)
The greater benefits of God enhanced their ingratitude. (Worthington)
On every noted hill (Haydock) profane altars were erected. Ver. 2. Divided between the Lord and idols, 3 Kings xviii. 21. (Calmet)
The Jews relate that Osee, the last king of Israel, gave the people leave to go to Jerusalem; (4 Kings xvii. 2.) and as they would not take advantage of it, their ruin was decreed. (St. Jerome) Ver. 3. No king, in captivity; or they give this title to the golden calf. Mana hem had destroyed one, so that they could not but see its vanity. The neighbouring nations looked upon their idols as their kings. Ver. 4. Covenant with Phul, who seeks only your destructio...
Having good shoots and fruitbearing branches, she [Israel] produced many clusters, and the abundance of the grapes equaled the great number of the branches. But she who before was of such a kind offended God afterward, turning the abundance of the fruits into a great number of offenses. The more people she had, the more altars she built, and she overmatched the abundance of the land by the number of the idols.
