Hosea 3:3

3:3 Then I told her, “You must live with me many days; you must not commit adultery or have sexual intercourse with ¹  another man, and I also will wait for you.”

Hosea 5:6

The Futility of Sacrificial Ritual without Moral Obedience

5:6 Although they bring their flocks and herds ² 

to seek ³  the favor of the Lord, ⁴ 

They will not find him –

he has withdrawn himself from them!

Hosea 8:10

8:10 Even though they have hired lovers among the nations, ⁵ 

I will soon gather them together for judgment. ⁶ 

Then ⁷  they will begin to waste away

under the oppression of a mighty king. ⁸ 

Hosea 9:1

Fertility Cult Festivals Have Intoxicated Israel

9:1 O Israel, do not rejoice jubilantly ⁹  like the nations,

for you are unfaithful ¹⁰  to your God.

You love to receive a prostitute's wages ¹¹ 

on all the floors where you thresh your grain.

Hosea 10:14

Bethel Will Be Destroyed Like Beth Arbel

10:14 The roar of battle will rise against your people;

all your fortresses will be devastated,

just as Shalman devastated ¹²  Beth Arbel on the day of battle,

when mothers were dashed to the ground with their children.

Hosea 11:11

11:11 They will return in fear and trembling ¹³ 

like birds from Egypt,

like doves from Assyria,

and I will settle them in their homes,” declares the Lord.

[3:3]  ¹ tn Heb “and you will not be for”; NIV “be intimate with.”

[5:6]  ² sn The terms flocks and herds are used figuratively for animal sacrifices (metonymy of association). Hosea describes the futility of seeking God’s favor with mere ritual sacrifice without the prerequisite moral obedience (e.g., 1 Sam 15:24; Ps 50:6-8; 51:17-18; Isa 1:12; Mic 6:6-8).

[5:6]  ³ tn Heb “they go out to seek the Lord”; NCV “to worship the Lord”; NLT “to offer sacrifices to the Lord.”

[5:6]  ⁴ tn Heb “the Lord”; the phrase “the favor of” does not appear in Hebrew here, but is supplied for the sake of clarity. It is implied by the metonymical (cause-effect) reference to the Lord, the source of favor and forgiveness.

[8:10]  ⁵ tn Or “they have hired themselves out to lovers”; cf. NASB “they hire allies among the nations.”

[8:10]  ⁶ tn The Piel stem of קָבַץ (qavats) is often used in a positive sense, meaning “to regather” a dispersed people (HALOT 1063 s.v. קבץ 3.a; BDB 868 s.v. קָבַץ 1.α). However, in Hosea 8:10 it is used in a negative sense, meaning “to assemble (people) for judgment” (e.g., Ezek 20:34; Hos 9:6; HALOT 1063 s.v. 3.e.i). Cf. JPS “I will hold them fast” (in judgment, see the parallel in 9:6).

[8:10]  ⁷ tn The vav consecutive + preterite וַיָּחֵלּוּ (vayyakhellu, Hiphil preterite 3rd person common plural from חָלַל, khalal, “to begin”]) denotes temporal subordination to the preceding clause: “then…” (so NLT); cf. TEV, CEV “Soon.”

[8:10]  ⁸ tn Heb “a king of princes” (cf. KJV, NASB); TEV “the emperor of Assyria.”

[9:1]  ⁹ tn Heb “do not rejoice unto jubilation”; KJV “Rejoice not…for joy”; NASB “Do not rejoice…with exultation.”

[9:1]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “you have committed adultery”; NRSV “you have played the whore.”

[9:1]  ¹¹ tn Heb “you love the wages of the prostitute” (NIV similar); NAB “loving a harlot’s hire.”

[10:14]  ¹² tn Heb “as the devastation of Shalman.” The genitive noun שַׁלְמַן (shalman, “Shalman”) functions as a subjective genitive: “as Shalman devastated [Beth Arbel].”

[11:11]  ¹³ tn For the meaning of חָרַד (harad, “to tremble”) with prepositions of direction, see 11:10 above.