Hosea 4:16

Backsliding. Literally, “stubborn,” or “rebellious.” The people of the northern kingdom were determined to have their own way, and so were like an unmanageable heifer that resists being trained and cannot be used to plow.

Feed them as a lamb. Some have suggested that this means God will deservedly and justly leave Israel to itself, as a lamb is left in a field to roam at will without provision and without protection. Instead of the controls and yoke (see on Matt. 11:29, 30) of God’s commandments, she would have the license of a desert, where there would be no protecting hedges. In this condition, without the shepherd’s watchful care, a lamb would easily fall prey to ravenous beasts, and so perish. Few creatures are more helpless than a lamb that has strayed from its shepherd (see Luke 15:3-7). So will it be with Israel.

Others have suggested that this clause should be considered a question rather than a statement; thus it would read, “Will the Lord now feed them as a lamb in a large place?”