Hosea 4:6

4:6 You have destroyed ¹  my people

by failing to acknowledge me!

Because you refuse to acknowledge me, ² 

I will reject you as my priests.

Because you reject ³  the law of your God,

I will reject ⁴  your descendants.

Hosea 5:1

Announcement of Sin and Judgment

5:1 Hear this, you priests!

Pay attention, you Israelites! ⁵ 

Listen closely, ⁶  O king! ⁷ 

For judgment is about to overtake you! ⁸ 

For you were like a trap ⁹  to Mizpah, ¹⁰ 

like a net ¹¹  spread out to catch Tabor. ¹² 

Hosea 9:7

9:7 The time of judgment ¹³  is about to arrive! ¹⁴ 

The time of retribution ¹⁵  is imminent! ¹⁶ 

Let Israel know! ¹⁷ 

Israel Rejects Hosea’s Prophetic Exhortations

The prophet is considered a fool ¹⁸  –

the inspired man ¹⁹  is viewed as a madman ²⁰  –

because of the multitude of your sins

and your intense ²¹  animosity.

Hosea 13:12

Israel’s Punishment Will Not Be Withheld Much Longer

13:12 The punishment ²²  of Ephraim has been decreed; ²³ 

his punishment is being stored up for the future.

[4:6]  ¹ tn Heb “they have destroyed” or “my people are destroyed” (so KJV, NIV, NRSV).

[4:6]  ² tn Heb “Because you reject knowledge”; NLT “because they don’t know me.”

[4:6]  ³ tn Heb “have forgotten”; NAB, NIV “have ignored.”

[4:6]  ⁴ tn Heb “forget” (so KJV, NRSV); NLT “forget to bless.”

[5:1]  ⁵ tn Heb “O house of Israel” (so NAB, NASB, NRSV); NLT “all of Israel’s leaders.”

[5:1]  ⁶ tn Heb “Use the ear”; ASV “give ear.”

[5:1]  ⁷ tn Heb “O house of the king” (so KJV); NIV “O royal house.”

[5:1]  ⁸ tn Heb “for the judgment is to you”; or “For this accusation is against you.” Cf. NIV “This judgment is against you.”

[5:1]  ⁹ sn The noun פַּח (pakh, “trap”) is used (1) literally of a bird-trap, used in similes and metaphors (Amos 3:5; Prov 7:23; Eccl 9:12), and (2) figuratively to refer to (a) calamities and plots (Job 18:9; 22:10; Pss 91:3; 119:110; 124:7; 140:6; 141:9; 142:4; Prov 22:5; Isa 24:17-18; Jer 18:22; 48:43-44; Hos 9:8) and (b) a source of calamity (Josh 23:13; Pss 11:6; 69:23; Isa 8:14; Hos 5:1; BDB 809 s.v. פַּח).

[5:1]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “you were a trap to Mizpah.”

[5:1]  ¹¹ sn The noun רֶשֶׁת (reshet, “net”) is used (1) literally of a net used to catch birds (Prov 1:17) and (2) in figurative descriptions of the wicked plotting to ensnare their victims (Prov 29:5; Pss 9:16; 10:9; 25:15; 31:5; 35:7; 57:7; 140:6; Job 18:8; BDB 440 s.v. רֶשֶׁת).

[5:1]  ¹² tn Heb “and a net spread out over Tabor.”

[9:7]  ¹³ tn Heb “the days of the visitation”; NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV “the days of punishment.”

[9:7]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “has come” (בָּאוּ, ba’u). The two perfect tense (suffix-conjugation) verbs בָּאוּ (Qal perfect 3rd person common plural from בּוֹא, bo’, “to come”) repeated in this verse are both examples of the so-called “prophetic perfect”: the perfect, which connotes completed or factual action, is used in reference to future events to emphasize the certainty of the announced event taking place.

[9:7]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “the days of the retribution”; NIV “of reckoning”; NRSV “of recompense.”

[9:7]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “has come”; NIV “are at hand”; NLT “is almost here.”

[9:7]  ¹⁷ tc The Aleppo Codex and Leningrad Codex (the MT ms employed for BHS) both place the atnach (colon-divider) after יֵדְעוּ יִשְׂרָאֵל (yedÿ’u yisra’el, “Let Israel know!”), indicating that this line belongs with 9:7a (cf. NAB, NASB, NIV). However, the LXX reads κακωθήσεται (kakwqhsetai) which reflects an underlying Vorlage of יָרֵעוּ (yare’u, Qal imperfect 3rd person common plural from יָרַע, yara’, “to cry”), as opposed to the MT יֵדְעוּ (yedÿ’u, Qal jussive 3rd common plural from יָדַע, yada’, “to know”). The Old Greek connects יֵדְעוּ יִשְׂרָאֵל (“Israel cries out”) with the following lines (cf. NRSV), which appear to be quotations of Israel mocking Hosea. Aquila (ἔγνω, egnw) and Symmachus (γνώσεται, gnwsetai) both reflect the proto-MT tradition. For a discussion of this textual and syntactical problem, see H. W. Wolff, Hosea (Hermeneia), 150.

[9:7]  ¹⁸ tn Or “is distraught”; cf. CEV, NLT “are crazy.”

[9:7]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “the man of the Spirit”; NAB, NRSV “spirit.”

[9:7]  ²⁰ tn Or “is driven to despair.” The term מְשֻׁגָּע (mÿshugga’, Pual participle masculine singular from שָׁגַע, shaga’, “to be mad”) may be understood in two senses: (1) It could be a predicate adjective which is a figure of speech: “to be maddened,” to be driven to despair (Deut 28:34); or (2) it could be a substantive: “a madman,” referring to prophets who attempted to enter into a prophetic state through whipping themselves into a frenzy (1 Sam 21:16; 2 Kgs 9:11; Jer 29:26; see BDB 993 s.v. שָׁגַע). The prophetic context of 9:7 favors the latter option (which is followed by most English versions). Apparently, the general populace viewed these mantics with suspicion and questioned the legitimacy of their claim to be true prophets (e.g., 2 Kgs 9:11; Jer 29:26).

[9:7]  ²¹ tn Heb “great.”

[13:12]  ²² tn The noun עָוֹן (’avon) has a three-fold range of meanings: (1) “iniquity,” so KJV, NASB, NRSV; (2) “guilt,” so NAB, NIV; and (3) “punishment” (BDB 730 s.v. עָוֹן). The oracle of 13:12-13 announces that Israel’s punishment, though momentarily withheld, will suddenly come upon her like labor pains that will kill her.

[13:12]  ²³ tn Heb “has been bound.” צָרַר (tsarar, “to bind”) refers elsewhere to the action of scribes binding a document into a sealed scroll of safekeeping (Isa 8:16; HALOT 1058 s.v. I צרר 1; BDB 864 s.v. צָרַר 1). Here it figuratively depicts the record of Israel’s sins being written down and permanently bound in a sealed scroll for safekeeping (cf. NCV, TEV “are on record”). The guilt of Israel’s sin will be retained.