Therefore they shall be like the morning mist or like the dew that goes early away, like the chaff that swirls from the threshing floor or like smoke from a window.
English Standard Version (ESV)
The prophet uses four vivid images of disappearance, but look closely: the "morning cloud" and "early dew" represent things that were once present and perhaps even refreshing, while "chaff" and "smoke" describe what was always insubstantial and worthless. This distinction shows that their coming destruction isn't just a fading away, but a removal of what was already empty and useless in God's eyes.
Therefore they shall be like the morning mist or like the dew that goes early away, like the chaff that swirls from the threshing floor or like smoke from a window.
English Standard Version (ESV)
The prophet Hosea has been denouncing Israel's deep-seated idolatry and spiritual adultery, calling them foolish for trusting in their own strength and idols instead of God. This verse follows immediately, proclaiming the inevitable and utter destruction that will result from their persistent sinfulness. They are likened to ephemeral things like mist, dew, chaff, and smoke, highlighting how quickly their power, nation, and very existence will vanish.
Why did Hosea compare Israel to things that disappear so quickly? It wasn't just about their eventual fate, but the nature of their promises and goodness.
The Evaporation of Hope
Hosea paints a stark picture of Israel's coming destruction using four vivid images: the morning cloud, the early dew, chaff, and smoke.
This dual imagery highlights how Israel's supposed strength and their spiritual 'goodness' were equally ephemeral. Their trust in idols and fleeting alliances offered no real security, ultimately leading to utter annihilation.
Hosea uses powerful imagery of wind and dispersal. What does this tell us about the nature of God's judgment and its impact?
The Violence of Divine Justice
The prophet doesn't just say Israel will disappear; he emphasizes how they will disappear – violently and completely.
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Together, these images convey that God's judgment would not be a gentle correction but a powerful, destructive force that would utterly remove His people, leaving them scattered and forgotten.
The prophet Hosea uses vivid imagery of fleeting natural phenomena—the morning cloud, early dew, chaff, and smoke—to describe the imminent and total destruction of the Northern Kingdom of Israel. This destruction was not an abstract theological concept but a direct historical consequence of their idolatry and rebellion, culminating in their conquest and deportation by the Assyrian Empire.
c. 750 BC— this verse
Hosea prophesies to Israel
Hosea delivers his prophetic oracles during a period of relative prosperity but deep spiritual decay in the Northern Kingdom of Israel.
c. 745-738 BC
Assyrian invasions under Tiglath-Pileser III
The Assyrian Empire expands westward, forcing tribute from Israel and leading to the deportation of many Israelites from northern and eastern regions of the kingdom.
722 BC
Fall of Samaria and destruction of Israel
The Assyrian king Sargon II conquers the Northern Kingdom of Israel, destroying its capital city, Samaria, and deporting the majority of its population, effectively ending its existence as a nation.
This passage uses the same imagery of the morning cloud and dew to describe the transient nature of Israel's devotion, directly echoing the comparison in Hosea 13:3 about their national existence.
Psalm 1:4This Psalm contrasts the righteous with the wicked, describing the wicked as 'like chaff that the wind drives away,' which powerfully illustrates the destructive and scattered fate described by the chaff simile in Hosea.
Isaiah 41:2This prophetic passage speaks of a powerful force rising from the east ('from the north and a great nation') that scatters people like chaff, resonating with the image of the whirlwind driving chaff from the threshing floor.
Job 7:9Job describes his fleeting existence and lack of hope by comparing himself to 'a cloud that vanishes and goes away, so he who goes down to Sheol does not come up,' capturing the sense of ephemeral disappearance highlighted by the cloud and smoke imagery.
clarkeHosea 13:3: "Therefore they shall be as the morning cloud, and as the early dew that passeth away, as the chaff that is driven with the whirlwind out of the floor, and as the smoke out of the chimney."
Therefore they shall be as the morning Cloud - as the early Dew - as the Chaff - as the Smoke - Four things, most easy to be driven about and dissipated, are employed here to show how they should be scattered among the nations, and dissipated by captivity.
calvinHosea 13:3: "Therefore they shall be as the morning cloud, and as the early dew that passeth away, as the chaff that is driven with the whirlwind out of the floor, and as the smoke out of the chimney."
- Propterea erunt quasi nubes matutina, quasi ros mane exoriens, transiens quasi palea quae ex area projicitur, et quasi fumus e fumario, (Nam 'rvh accipitur hoc sensu: significat quidem fenestram, sed est vaporarium camini.)
The Prophet employs here four similitudes to show the condition of Is…
The prophet uses four vivid images of disappearance, but look closely: the "morning cloud" and "early dew" represent things that were once present and perhaps even refreshing, while "chaff" and "smoke" describe what was always insubstantial and worthless. This distinction shows that their coming destruction isn't just a fading away, but a removal of what was already empty and useless in God's eyes.
The prophet Hosea has been denouncing Israel's deep-seated idolatry and spiritual adultery, calling them foolish for trusting in their own strength and idols instead of God. This verse follows immediately, proclaiming the inevitable and utter destruction that will result from their persistent sinfulness. They are likened to ephemeral things like mist, dew, chaff, and smoke, highlighting how quickly their power, nation, and very existence will vanish.
The prophet Hosea has been denouncing Israel's deep-seated idolatry and spiritual adultery, calling them foolish for trusting in their own strength and idols instead of God. This verse follows immediately, proclaiming the inevitable and utter destruction that will result from their persistent sinfulness. They are likened to ephemeral things like mist, dew, chaff, and smoke, highlighting how quickly their power, nation, and very existence will vanish.
"Therefore they shall be like the morning mist or like the dew that goes early away, like the chaff that swirls from the threshing floor or like smoke from a window." — The prophet uses four vivid images of disappearance, but look closely: the "morning cloud" and "early dew" represent things that were once present and perhaps even refreshing, while "chaff" and "smok…
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Last reviewed October 2026