John Calvin Commentary Hosea 5:10

"The princes of Judah are like them that remove the landmark: I will pour out my wrath upon them like water." — Hosea 5:10 (ASV)

Here the Prophet transfers the blame for all the evils that then prevailed in the tribe of Judah to their princes. He says that the people had fallen away and departed from God through the princes' fault, and he uses a very fitting analogy. We know that there is nothing secure in human possessions unless the boundaries of fields are fixed, for no one can otherwise keep what is his.

By the metaphor of boundaries in fields, the Prophet refers to the whole political order. The meaning is that all things were now in a state of disorder and confusion among the Jews because their leaders, who should have ruled the people and kept them in obedience, had destroyed the whole order of things. We now understand what the Prophet really intended.

But it must be observed that the tribe of Judah had previously been kept separate, as if by boundaries, as God’s heritage, because Israel had become alienated. God's possession had been diminished by the defection of Jeroboam, and He retained only one tribe and a half in His service. The Prophet now says that the Jews had mixed with the Israelites and had thus themselves become alienated from the Lord, because the princes themselves had taken away the boundaries. That is, through indolence and other vices, they had destroyed all reverence for God, all care for religion, and also every concern for what was just and right. He therefore severely threatens them: I will pour out, he says, my wrath upon them like waters.

By this metaphor, the Prophet means that God would deal much more severely with them than with the common people. It is as if God says, “I will with full force pour out My fury upon them, as if it were the ancient flood.” The meaning is, “I will overwhelm them in My vengeance, because they have done more evil by their bad examples than if they had been private individuals.” Thus, we see that the corruption of the people is attributed to the princes, and therefore God’s more dreadful vengeance is pronounced upon them.

But we must bear in mind what I have said before. The Prophet here metaphorically gives the name 'boundaries' to the lawful worship of God and to whatever He had commanded the people, so that they might be His secure possession. This is just as fields among people are usually separated by boundaries so that everyone may keep what is his.