The LORD hath also a controversy with Judah, and will punish Jacob according to his ways; according to his doings will he recompense him.
The Lord hath also a controversy with Judah - (Hosea 4:1; Micah 6:2, "The Lord hath a controversy with His people, and He will plead with Israel"). Judah, under Ahaz, had fallen into idolatry (2 Kings 16:3, etc., 2 Kings 16:10-16).
And will punish Jacob - i:e., the ten tribes. If Judah, the favoured portion of the nation, shall not be spared, much less degenerate Israel. The measure of the guilt of Judah was not yet so filled up as that of Israel. Therefore, the expression is not so strong against the former as against the latter. God has some subject of controversy against Judah (Revelation 2:12; Revelation 2:16), but He has set His mind upon [the force of lª-] visiting Jacob's (Israel's) sin upon him.