Hosea 2:12

2:12 I will destroy her vines and fig trees,

about which she said, “These are my wages for prostitution ¹ 

that my lovers gave to me!”

I will turn her cultivated vines and fig trees ²  into an uncultivated thicket,

so that wild animals ³  will devour them.

Hosea 2:21

Agricultural Fertility Restored to the Repentant Nation

2:21 “At that time, ⁴  I will willingly respond,” ⁵  declares the Lord.

“I will respond to the sky,

and the sky ⁶  will respond to the ground;

Hosea 4:12-13

4:12 They consult their wooden idols,

and their diviner’s staff answers with an oracle.

The wind of prostitution blows them astray;

they commit spiritual adultery ⁷  against their God.

4:13 They sacrifice on the mountaintops,

and burn offerings on the hills;

they sacrifice ⁸  under oak, poplar, and terebinth,

because their shade is so pleasant.

As a result, your daughters have become cult prostitutes,

and your daughters-in-law commit adultery!

Hosea 9:10

9:10 When I found Israel, it was like finding grapes in the wilderness.

I viewed your ancestors ⁹  like an early fig on a fig tree in its first season.

Then they came to Baal-Peor and they dedicated themselves to shame –

they became as detestable as what they loved.

Hosea 10:1

Israel is Guilty of Fertility Cult Worship

10:1 Israel was a fertile vine

that yielded fruit.

As his fruit multiplied,

he multiplied altars to Baal. ¹⁰ 

As his land prospered,

they adorned the fertility pillars.

Hosea 10:4

10:4 They ¹¹  utter empty words, ¹² 

taking ¹³  false oaths and making empty ¹⁴  agreements.

Therefore legal disputes sprout up

like poisonous weeds ¹⁵  in the furrows of a plowed field.

Hosea 14:5-8

14:5 I will be like the dew to Israel;

he will blossom like a lily,

he will send down his roots like a cedar of ¹⁶  Lebanon.

14:6 His young shoots will grow;

his splendor will be like an olive tree,

his fragrance like a cedar of Lebanon.

14:7 People will reside again ¹⁷  in his shade;

they will plant and harvest grain in abundance. ¹⁸ 

They will blossom like a vine,

and his fame will be like the wine from Lebanon.

14:8 O Ephraim, I do not want to have anything to do ¹⁹  with idols anymore!

I will answer him and care for him.

I am like ²⁰  a luxuriant cypress tree; ²¹ 

your fruitfulness comes from me! ²² 

[2:12]  ¹ tn Heb “my wages.” The words “for prostitution” are not in the Hebrew text but are supplied for clarity; cf. CEV “gave…as payment for sex.”

[2:12]  ² tn Heb “I will turn them”; the referents (vines and fig trees) have been specified in the translation for clarity.

[2:12]  ³ tn Heb “the beasts of the field” (so KJV, NASB); the same expression also occurs in v. 18).

[2:21]  ⁴ tn Heb “And in that day”; NAB, NRSV “On that day.”

[2:21]  ⁵ tn The verb עָנָה, (’anah) which is used throughout 2:23-24, is related to the root I עָנָה (’anah), “to answer, listen attentively, react willingly” (BDB 772 s.v. 1.b; HALOT 852 s.v. ענה 3.b).

[2:21]  ⁶ tn Heb “and they.” In the Hebrew text the plural pronoun is used because it refers back to the term translated “sky,” which is a dual form in Hebrew. Many English versions (e.g., NAB, NASB, NRSV) use the plural term “heavens” here, which agrees with a plural pronoun (cf. also NIV, NCV “skies”).

[4:12]  ⁷ tn Heb “adultery.” The adjective “spiritual” is supplied in the translation to clarify that apostasy is meant here.

[4:13]  ⁸ tn The phrase “they sacrifice” is not repeated in the Hebrew text here but is implied by parallelism; it is provided in the translation for the sake of clarity.

[9:10]  ⁹ tn Heb “fathers”; a number of more recent English versions use the more general “ancestors” here.

[10:1]  ¹⁰ tn The phrase “to Baal” does not appear in the Hebrew text here, but is implied; it is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity. Cf. NCV “altars for idols”; NLT “altars of their foreign gods.”

[10:4]  ¹¹ tc The referent of the 3rd person common plural verb דִּבְּרוּ (dibbÿru, “they speak”) is the masculine singular noun וְהַמֶּלֶךְ (vÿhammelekh, “a king” in v. 3) which is used generically, representing all human kings of Israel to which the 3rd common plural verb refers. Although this is a bit syntactically awkward, it is not necessary to emend the MT to the 3rd masculine singular verb form דָּבַר (davar, “he speaks”) as the BHS editors suggest. The LXX, however, reads the singular form λαλῶν (lalwn, “uttering”).

[10:4]  ¹² tn Heb “they speak words.” The cognate accusative construction דִּבְּרוּ דְבָרִים (dibbÿru dÿvarim; literally, “they speak words”) is an idiom that means “they speak mere words” (so NASB; NRSV similar) or “they utter empty words” (so TEV), that is, they make empty promises (e.g., Isa 58:13; BDB 180-181 s.v. דָּבַר 2). The immediately following collocated phrase אָלוֹת שָׁוְא (’alot shavÿ’, “swearing an empty oath”) confirms this nuance. The LXX understood this idiom in the same way: λαλῶν ῥήματα προφάσειας ψευδεῖς (lalwn r{hmata profaseias yeudeis, “speaking false professions as his words”).

[10:4]  ¹³ tn The two infinitive absolutes אָלוֹת (’alot, Qal infinitive absolute from II אָלָה, ’alah, “to swear an oath”; BDB 46 s.v. II אָלָה) and כָּרֹת (karot, Qal infinitive absolute from כָּרַת, karat, “to make [a covenant]”; BDB 503 s.v. כָּרַת 4), which appear without conjunctions, continue the description of the action of the preceding finite verb דִּבְּרוּ (dibbÿru, Piel perfect 3rd person common plural from דָּבַר, davar, “to speak”). Although the infinitives continue the description of the action of the finite verb, they call special attention to the action of the infinitive rather than the action of the finite verb. See IBHS 595 §35.5.2b.

[10:4]  ¹⁴ tn The word “empty” is not in the Hebrew text, but is implied. It is supplied in the translation for clarity. Cf. TEV “useless treaties.”

[10:4]  ¹⁵ tn The noun II רֹאשׁ (ro’sh) refers to a “poisonous plant” (Deut 29:17; Hos 10:4) or “bitter herb” (Ps 69:22; Lam 3:5; BDB 912 s.v. רֹאשׁ 1; HALOT 1167 s.v. רֹאשׁ 1).

[14:5]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “like Lebanon” (so KJV; also in the following verse). The phrase “a cedar of” does not appear in the Hebrew text; it is supplied in translation for clarity. Cf. TEV “the trees of Lebanon”; NRSV “the forests of Lebanon.”

[14:7]  ¹⁷ tn Hosea uses the similar-sounding terms יָשֻׁבוּ יֹשְׁבֵי (yashuvu yoshve, “the dwellers will return”) to create a wordplay between the roots שׁוּב (shuv, “to return”) and יָשַׁב (yashav, “to dwell; to reside”).

[14:7]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “they will cause the grain to live” or “they will revive the grain.” Some English versions treat this as a comparison: “they shall revive as the corn” (KJV); “will flourish like the grain” (NIV).

[14:8]  ¹⁹ tn The Hebrew expression מַה־לִּי עוֹד (mah-li ’od) is a formula of repudiation/emphatic denial that God has anything in common with idols: “I want to have nothing to do with […] any more!” Cf., e.g., Judg 11:12; 2 Sam 16:10; 19:23; 1 Kgs 17:18; 2 Kgs 3:13; 2 Chr 35:21; Jer 2:18; Ps 50:16; BDB 553 s.v. מָה 1.d.(c).

[14:8]  ²⁰ tn The term “like” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity, as in the majority of English versions (including KJV).

[14:8]  ²¹ tn Cf. KJV “a green fir tree”; NIV, NCV “a green pine tree”; NRSV “an evergreen cypress.”

[14:8]  ²² tn Heb “your fruit is found in me”; NRSV “your faithfulness comes from me.”