Hosea 2:3

2:3 Otherwise, I will strip her naked,

and expose her like she was when she was born.

I will turn her land into a wilderness

and make her country a parched land,

so that I might kill ¹  her with thirst.

Hosea 2:15

2:15 From there I will give back her vineyards to her,

and turn the “Valley of Trouble” ²  into an “Opportunity ³  for Hope.”

There she will sing as she did when she was young, ⁴ 

when ⁵  she came up from the land of Egypt.

Hosea 13:14

The Lord Will Not Relent from the Threatened Judgment

13:14 Will I deliver them from the power of Sheol? No, I will not! ⁶ 

Will I redeem them from death? No, I will not!

O Death, bring on your plagues! ⁷ 

O Sheol, bring on your destruction! ⁸ 

My eyes will not show any compassion! ⁹ 

[2:3]  ¹ tn Heb “and kill her with thirst.” The vav prefixed to the verb (וַהֲמִתִּיהָ, vahamittiha) introduces a purpose/result clause: “in order to make her die of thirst” (purpose) or “and thus make her die of thirst” (result).

[2:15]  ² tn Heb “Valley of Achor,” so named because of the unfortunate incident recorded in Josh 7:1-26 (the name is explained in v. 26; the Hebrew term Achor means “disaster” or “trouble”). Cf. TEV, CEV “Trouble Valley.”

[2:15]  ³ tn Heb “door” or “doorway”; cf. NLT “gateway.” Unlike the days of Joshua, when Achan’s sin jeopardized Israel’s mission and cast a dark shadow over the nation, Israel’s future return to the land will be marked by renewed hope.

[2:15]  ⁴ tn Heb “as in the days of her youth” (so NAB, NIV, NRSV).

[2:15]  ⁵ tn Heb “as in the day when” (so KJV, NASB).

[13:14]  ⁶ tn The translation of the first two lines of this verse reflects the interpretation adopted. There are three interpretive options to v. 14: (1) In spite of Israel’s sins, the Lord will redeem them from the threat of death and destruction (e.g., 11:8). However, against this view, the last line of 13:14 probably means that the Lord will not show compassion to Israel. (2) The Lord announces the triumphant victory over death through resurrection (cf. KJV, ASV, NIV). However, although Paul uses the wording of Hosea 13:14 as an illustration of victory over death, the context of Hosea’s message is the imminent judgment in 723-722 b.c. (3) The first two lines of 13:14 are rhetorical questions without explicit interrogative markers, implying negative answers: “I will not rescue them!” (cf. NAB, NASB, NCV, NRSV, TEV, CEV, NLT). The next two lines in 13:14 are words of encouragement to Death and Sheol to destroy Israel. The final line announces that the Lord will not show compassion on Israel; he will not spare her.

[13:14]  ⁷ tn Heb “Where, O Death, are your plagues?” (so NIV).

[13:14]  ⁸ tn Heb “Where, O Sheol, is your destruction?” (NRSV similar).

[13:14]  sn The two rhetorical questions in 13:14b function as words of encouragement, inviting personified Death and Sheol to draw near like foreign invading armies to attack and kill Israel (cf. TEV, CEV, NLT).

[13:14]  ⁹ tn Heb “Compassion will be hidden from my eyes” (NRSV similar; NASB “from my sight”).