Hosea 2:17

2:17 For ¹  I will remove the names of the Baal idols ²  from your lips, ³ 

so that you will never again utter their names!” ⁴ 

Hosea 4:5

4:5 You stumble day and night,

and the false prophets stumble with you;

You have destroyed your own people! ⁵ 

[2:17]  ¹ tn The vav consecutive prefixed to וַהֲסִרֹתִי (vahasiroti) “I will remove” (vav consecutive + Hiphil perfect 1st person common singular) introduces an explanatory clause.

[2:17]  ² tn Heb “the Baals.” The singular term בַּעַל (ba’al) refers to the Canaanite god Baal himself, while the plural form הַבְּעָלִים (habbé’alim) refers to the manifestations of the god (i.e., idols; BDB 127 s.v. בָּעַל II.1).

[2:17]  ³ tn Heb “from her mouth.” In the translation this is rendered as second person for consistency.

[2:17]  ⁴ tn Heb “they will no longer be mentioned by their name.”

[4:5]  ⁵ tc The MT reads וְדָמִיתִי אִמֶּךָ (vÿdamiti ’immekha, “and I will destroy your mother”), and is followed by most English versions; however, the text should probably be emended to וְדָמִית עַמֶּךָ (vÿdamit ’ammekha, “and you have destroyed your own people”). The 2nd person masculine singular form וְדָמִית (vÿdamit, “and you have destroyed”) is preserved in several medieval Hebrew mss and reflected in Jerome’s Vulgate. For discussion in favor of the MT reading, see D. Barthélemy, ed., Preliminary and Interim Report on the Hebrew Old Testament Text Project, 5:232.

[4:5]  tn Or “and I will destroy your mother” (so NASB, NRSV).