Hosea 1:1
Konteks1:1 1 This is the word of the Lord which was revealed to Hosea 2 son of Beeri during the time when 3 Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah ruled Judah, 4 and during the time when Jeroboam son of Joash 5 ruled Israel. 6
Hosea 1:7
Konteks1:7 But I will have pity on the nation 7 of Judah. 8 I will deliver them by the Lord their God; I will not deliver them by the warrior’s bow, by sword, by military victory, 9 by chariot horses, or by chariots.” 10
Hosea 2:8
Konteks2:8 Yet 11 until now 12 she has refused to acknowledge 13 that I 14 was the one
who gave her the grain, the new wine, and the olive oil;
and that it was I who 15 lavished on her the silver and gold –
which they 16 used in worshiping Baal! 17
Hosea 4:3
Konteks4:3 Therefore the land will mourn,
and all its inhabitants will perish. 18
The wild animals, 19 the birds of the sky,
and even the fish in the sea will perish.
Hosea 5:13-14
Konteks5:13 When Ephraim saw 20 his sickness
and Judah saw his wound,
then Ephraim turned 21 to Assyria,
and begged 22 its great king 23 for help.
But he will not be able to heal you!
He cannot cure your wound! 24
5:14 I will be like a lion to Ephraim,
like a young lion to the house of Judah.
I myself will tear them to pieces,
then I will carry them off, and no one will be able to rescue them!
Hosea 6:4
Konteks6:4 What am I going to do with you, O Ephraim?
What am I going to do with you, O Judah?
For 25 your faithfulness is as fleeting as the morning mist; 26
it disappears as quickly as dawn’s dew! 27
Hosea 10:6
Konteks10:6 Even the calf idol 28 will be carried to Assyria,
as tribute for the great king. 29
Ephraim will be disgraced;
Israel will be put to shame because 30 of its wooden idol. 31
Hosea 10:14
Konteks10:14 The roar of battle will rise against your people;
all your fortresses will be devastated,
just as Shalman devastated 32 Beth Arbel on the day of battle,
when mothers were dashed to the ground with their children.
Hosea 11:9
Konteks11:9 I cannot carry out 33 my fierce anger!
I cannot totally destroy Ephraim!
Because I am God, and not man – the Holy One among you –
I will not come in wrath!
Hosea 12:4
Konteks12:4 He struggled 34 with an angel and prevailed;
he wept and begged for his favor.
and there he spoke with him! 37
[1:1] 1 tc The textual problems in Hosea are virtually unparalleled in the OT. The Masoretic Text (MT), represented by the Leningrad Codex (c.
[1:1] 2 tn Heb “The word of the
[1:1] 3 tn Heb “in the days of” (again later in this verse). Cf. NASB “during the days of”; NIV “during the reigns of”; NLT “during the years when.”
[1:1] 4 tn Heb “Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, Hezekiah, kings of Judah.”
[1:1] 5 sn Joash is a variation of the name Jehoash. Some English versions use “Jehoash” here (e.g., NIV, NCV, TEV, NLT).
[1:1] 6 tn Heb “Jeroboam son of Joash, king of Israel.”
[1:7] 7 tn Heb “house”; cf. NCV, TEV, NLT “the people of Judah.”
[1:7] 8 tn The word order in this line is rhetorical, emphasizing the divine decision to withhold pity from Israel but to bestow it on Judah. The accusative direct object, which is introduced by a disjunctive vav (to denote contrast), appears before the verb: וְאֶת־בֵּית יְהוּדָה אֲרַחֵם (vé’et-bet yéhudah ’arakhem, “but upon the house of Judah I will show pity”).
[1:7] 9 tn Heb “by war” (so NAB, NRSV, TEV); KJV, NASB, NIV “battle.”
[1:7] 10 sn These military weapons are examples of the metonymy of adjunct (the specific weapons named) for subject (warfare).
[2:8] 11 tn Or “For” (so KJV, NASB); or “But” (so NCV).
[2:8] 12 tn The phrase “until now” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity and smoothness.
[2:8] 13 tn Heb “she does not know” (so NASB, NCV); or “she does not acknowledge.”
[2:8] 14 tn The 1st person common singular independent personal pronoun אָנֹכִי (’anokhi, “I”) is emphatic, since the subject of this verbal clause is already explicit in the verb נָתַתִּי (natatti, Qal perfect 1st person common singular: “I gave”).
[2:8] 15 tn The phrase “that it was I who” does not appear in the Hebrew text here, but is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity.
[2:8] 16 sn The third person plural here is an obvious reference to the Israelites who had been unfaithful to the
[2:8] 17 tn Heb “for Baal” (so NAB, NIV, NRSV); cf. TEV “in the worship of Baal.”
[4:3] 18 tn Or “languish” (so KJV, NRSV); NIV “waste away.”
[4:3] 19 tn Heb “the beasts of the field” (so NAB, NIV).
[5:13] 20 tn Hosea employs three preterites (vayyiqtol forms) in verse 13a-b to describe a past-time situation.
[5:13] 21 tn Heb “went to” (so NAB, NRSV, TEV); CEV “asked help from.”
[5:13] 22 tn Heb “sent to” (so KJV, NIV, NRSV).
[5:13] 23 tc The MT reads מֶלֶךְ יָרֵב (melekh yarev, “a contentious king”). This is translated as a proper name (“king Jareb”) by KJV, ASV, NASB. However, the stative adjective יָרֵב (“contentious”) is somewhat awkward. The words should be redivided as an archaic genitive-construct מַלְכִּי רָב (malki rav, “great king”; cf. NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT) which preserves the old genitive hireq yod ending. This is the equivalent of the Assyrian royal epithet sarru rabbu (“the great king”). See also the tc note on the same phrase in 10:6.
[5:13] 24 tn Heb “your wound will not depart from you.”
[5:13] sn Hosea personifies Ephraim’s “wound” as if it could depart from the sickly Ephraim (see the formal equivalent rendering in the preceding tn). Ephraim’s sinful action in relying upon an Assyrian treaty for protection will not dispense with its problems.
[6:4] 25 tn The vav prefixed to וְחַסְדְּכֶם (vÿkhasdÿkhem, “your faithfulness”) functions in an explanatory sense (“For”).
[6:4] 26 tn Heb “your faithfulness [so NCV; NASB “your loyalty”; NIV, NRSV, NLT “your love”] is like a morning cloud” (וְחַסְדְּכֶם כַּעֲנַן־בֹּקֶר, vÿkhasdÿkhem ka’anan-boqer).
[6:4] sn The Hebrew poets and prophets frequently refer to the morning clouds as a simile for transitoriness (e.g., Job 7:9; Isa 44:22; Hos 6:4; 13:3; BDB 778 s.v. עָנָן 1.c). For discussion of this phenomena in Palestine, see Chaplin, PEQ (1883): 19.
[6:4] 27 tn Heb “the dew departing early” (BDB 1014 s.v. שָׁכַם); cf. NRSV “the dew that goes away early.” The Hiphil participle מַשְׁכִּים (mashkim) means “to depart early” (Gen 19:27; Josh 8:14; Judg 19:9). The idiom means “early morning” (1 Sam 17:16).
[10:6] 28 tn The antecedent of the 3rd person masculine singular direct object pronoun אוֹתוֹ (’oto, “it”) is probably the calf idol of Beth Aven mentioned in 10:5a. This has been specified in the translation for clarity (cf. TEV, NLT).
[10:6] 29 tc The MT reads מֶלֶךְ יָרֵב (melekh yarev, “a king who contends”?) which is syntactically awkward: מֶלֶךְ (“king”) followed by יָרֵב (“let him contend!”; Qal jussive 3rd person masculine singular from רִיב, riv, “to contend”). Note that KJV, ASV, NASB treat this as a proper name (“king Jareb”). The MT reading is probably the result of faulty word division. As the BHS editors suggest, the original reading most likely is מַלְכִּי רָב (malki rav, “the great king”). The suffixed י (yod) on מַלְכִּי is the remnant of the old genitive ending. This is the equivalent of the Assyrian royal epithet sarru rabbu (“the great king”). See also the tc note on the same phrase in 5:13.
[10:6] 30 tn The preposition מִן (min) functions in a causal sense specifying the logical cause: “because of” or “on account of” (e.g., Exod 2:23; Deut 7:7; Nah 3:4; BDB 580 s.v. מִן 2.f; HALOT 598 s.v. מִן 6).
[10:6] 31 tn The meaning of the root of מֵעֲצָתוֹ (me’atsato, preposition מִן, min, + feminine singular noun עֵצָה, ’etsah, + 3rd person masculine singular suffix) is debated. There are three options: (1) “its counsel” from I עֵצָה (“counsel; advice; plan”; BDB 420 s.v. עֵצָה; HALOT 867 s.v. I עֵצָה 3.a); (2) “its disobedience” from II עֵצָה (“disobedience,” but the existence of this root is debated; see HALOT 867 s.v. II עֵצָה); and (3) “its wooden idol” from III עֵצָה (“wood”; cf. Jer 6:6) referring to the wooden idol/effigy (the calf idol in 10:5), a stick of wood covered with gold (HALOT 867 s.v.). The last option is favored contextually: (a) the idol is called “a stick of wood” in Hos 4:12, and (b) the calf idol (probably the referent) of the cult is mentioned in 10:5. The English versions are divided: (1) “his idol” (RSV, NRSV), “its wooden idols” (NIV), “image” (NJPS margin), “that idol” (CEV), “this idol” (NLT); and (2) “his own counsel” (KJV, ASV), “its own counsel” (NASB), “his plans” (NJPS), “his schemes” (NAB), “the advice” (TEV).
[10:14] 32 tn Heb “as the devastation of Shalman.” The genitive noun שַׁלְמַן (shalman, “Shalman”) functions as a subjective genitive: “as Shalman devastated [Beth Arbel].”
[11:9] 33 tn The three imperfect verbs function as imperfects of capability, similar to the imperfects of capability in 11:8. See IBHS 564 §34.1a.
[12:4] 34 tc The MT vocalizes the consonantal text וָיָּשַׂר (vayyasar, vav consecutive + Qal preterite 3rd person masculine singular from שׂוּר, sur, “to see”); however, parallelism with שָׂרַה (sarah, “he contended”) in 12:3 suggested that it be vocalized as ויּשׂר (vav consecutive + Qal preterite 3rd person masculine singular from שׂרה [“to strive, contend”]). The latter is followed by almost all English versions here.
[12:4] 35 tn Heb “him”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[12:4] 36 map For location see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.
[12:4] 37 tc The Leningrad Codex and the Allepo Codex both read 1st person common plural עִמָּנוּ (’immanu, “with us”). The LXX and Peshitta both reflect an alternate Hebrew Vorlage of 3rd person masculine singular עִמוֹ (’imo, “with him”). The BHS editors suggest emending the MT in favor of the Greek and Syriac. The internal evidence of 12:4-5 favors the 3rd person masculine singular reading. It is likely that the 1st person common plural ־נוּ reading on עִמָּנוּ arose due to a misunderstanding of the 3rd person masculine singular ־נוּ suffix on יִמְצָאֶנּוּ (yimtsa’ennu, “he found him”; Qal imperfect 3rd person masculine singular + 3rd person masculine singular suffix) which was probably misunderstood as the 1st person common plural suffix: “he found us.” Several English versions follow the LXX and Syriac: “there he spoke with him” (RSV, NAB, NEB, NIV, NJPS, TEV). Others follow the MT: “there he spoke with us” (KJV, NASB, CEV). The Hebrew University Old Testament Project, which tends to preserve the MT whenever possible, adopts the MT reading but gives it only a “C” rating. See D. Barthélemy, ed., Preliminary and Interim Report on the Hebrew Old Testament Text Project, 5:262-63.