And they gave their hands that they would put away their wives; and [being] guilty, [they offered] a ram of the flock for their trespass.
Ver. 19. And they gave their hands] i.e. They plighted their troth, and assured the assent of their hearts, 2 Kings 10:15 .
That they would put away their wives] Though as dear to them, haply, as was George Carpenter's (martyr), burnt at Munchen, in Bavaria; My wife and children, said he, are so dear unto me, that they cannot be bought from me for all the riches and possessions of the duke of Bavaria: but for the love of my Lord God I will willingly forsake them. Let us do so by our dilecta delicta, our dearest and most delicious sins.
They offered a ram of the flock] This shows that they sinned against knowledge; for a sin of ignorance the oblation was not a ram, but a goat.