Charles Ellicott Commentary Hosea 9:1

"Rejoice not, O Israel, for joy, like the peoples; for thou hast played the harlot, [departing] from thy God; thou hast loved hire upon every grain-floor." — Hosea 9:1 (ASV)

For joy.—Better, to exultation. The harlot’s hire on every corn-floor expresses in bold imagery the prophet’s scorn for the idolatrous corruption of the people. The bounteous yield of the harvest is called the “harlot’s hire,” which lures Jehovah’s faithless bride to worship the false deity from whose hands these gifts were supposed to come. The people’s momentary prosperity is attributed to their idols. (Jeremiah 44:17–19.)