Commentaries:
Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown
backsliding—Translate, "Israel is refractory, as a refractory heifer," namely, one that throws the yoke off her neck. Israel had represented God under the form of "calves" (I Kings 12:28); but it is she herself who is one.
lamb in a large place—not in a good sense, as in Isaiah 30:23. Here there is irony: lambs like a large pasture; but it is not so safe for them as a small one, duly fenced from wild beasts. God will "feed" them, but it shall be with the "rod" (Micah 7:14). It shall be no longer in the narrow territory of Israel, but "in a large place," namely, they shall be scattered in exile over the wide realm of Assyria, a prey to their foes; as lambs, which are timid, gregarious, and not solitary, are a prey when scattered asunder to wild beasts.
Other Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown entries containing Hosea 4:16:
Jeremiah 6:28
Jeremiah 7:24
Hosea 4:19
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