Hosea 4:3

4:3 Therefore the land will mourn,

and all its inhabitants will perish. ¹ 

The wild animals, ²  the birds of the sky,

and even the fish in the sea will perish.

Hosea 4:10

4:10 They will eat, but not be satisfied;

they will engage in prostitution, but not increase in numbers;

because they have abandoned the Lord

by pursuing other gods. ³ 

Hosea 7:9

7:9 Foreigners are consuming what his strenuous labor produced, ⁴ 

but he does not recognize it!

His head is filled with gray hair,

but he does not realize it!

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 10:10

10:10 When I please, ⁹  I will discipline them; ¹⁰ 

I will gather nations together to attack them, ¹¹ 

to bind them in chains ¹²  for their two sins. ¹³ 

[4:3]  ¹ tn Or “languish” (so KJV, NRSV); NIV “waste away.”

[4:3]  ² tn Heb “the beasts of the field” (so NAB, NIV).

[4:10]  ³ tn Heb “by guarding harlotry.” The present translation assumes that the first word of v. 11 in the Hebrew text is to be taken with the infinitive at the end of v. 10 (so also NAB, NIV, NCV, NRSV).

[7:9]  ⁴ tn Heb “foreigners consume his strength”; NRSV “devour (sap NIV) his strength.”

[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.”

[10:10]  ⁹ tn Heb “in my desire”; ASV, NASB “When it is my desire”; NCV “When I am ready.”

[10:10]  ¹⁰ tc The MT reads וְאֶסֳּרֵם (vÿ’essorem, vav conjunction + Niphal imperfect 1st person common singular + 3rd person masculine plural suffix from אָסַר, ’asar, “to bind”). The LXX reads παιδεῦσαι αὐτούς (paideusai autous, “to discipline them”) which reflects a Vorlage of אִיסַּרֶם (’issarem, Qal imperfect 1st person common singular + 3rd person masculine plural suffix from יָסַר, yasar, “to discipline”; BDB 416 s.v. יָסַר 3). The textual variant was caused by orthographic confusion between ו (vav) and י (yod) with metathesis of the two letters.

[10:10]  ¹¹ tn Heb “Nations will be gathered together against them.”

[10:10]  ¹² tn The verb אָסַר (’asar, “to bind”) often refers to conquered peoples being bound as prisoners (BDB 63 s.v. אָסַר). Here it is used figuratively to describe the Israelites being taken into exile. Cf. NIV “to put them in bonds.”

[10:10]  ¹³ tc The Kethib is לִשְׁתֵּי עֵינֹתָם (lishte ’enotam, “for their two eyes”), while the Qere reads לִשְׁתֵּי עוֹנֹתָם (lishte ’onotam, “for their two sins”). The phrase “two sins” could refer to (1) the sinful episode at Gibeah and the subsequent war between the tribe of Benjamin and the other tribes (Judges 19-21), or (2) the entire Gibeah incident (Judges 19-21) and Israel’s subsequent failure to repent up to the time of Hosea: “the time of Gibeah” (first sin) and “there you have remained” (second sin).