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 5:10

The Oppressors of the Helpless Will Be Oppressed

5:10 The princes of Judah are like those who move boundary markers.

I will pour out my rage on them like a torrential flood! ³ 

Hosea 6:5

6:5 Therefore, I will certainly cut ⁴  you into pieces at the hands of the prophets; ⁵ 

I will certainly kill you ⁶  in fulfillment of my oracles of judgment; ⁷ 

for ⁸  my judgment ⁹  will come forth like the light of the dawn. ¹⁰ 

Hosea 10:9

Failure to Learn from the Sin and Judgment of Gibeah

10:9 O Israel, you have sinned since the time ¹¹  of Gibeah,

and there you have remained.

Did not war overtake the evildoers in Gibeah?

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 12:14

12:14 But Ephraim bitterly ¹³  provoked him to anger;

so he will hold him accountable for the blood he has shed, ¹⁴ 

his Lord ¹⁵  will repay him for the contempt he has shown. ¹⁶ 

[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).

[5:10]  ³ tn Heb “like water” (so KJV, NAB, NRSV); NLT “like a waterfall.” The term מַיִם (mayim, “water”) often refers to literal flood waters (Gen 7:7, 10; 8:3, 7-9; Isa 54:9) and figuratively describes the Lord’s judgment that totally destroys the wicked (BDB 566 s.v. מַי 4.k).

[6:5]  ⁴ tn The two suffix conjugation verbs חָצַבְתִּי (khatsavti, Qal perfect 1st person common singular from חָצַב, khatsav, “to cut into pieces”) and הֲרַגְתִּים (haragtim, Qal perfect 1st person common singular + 3rd person masculine plural suffix from הָרַג, harag, “to kill”) are used in reference to future-time events. These are examples of the so-called “prophetic perfect” which emphasizes the certainty of the future event (e.g., Num 24:17; Josh 10:19; Isa 8:23; 9:1). For this function of the perfect, see IBHS 480-81 §30.1d. Most English versions, however, render these as past tenses.

[6:5]  ⁵ tn Heb “by the prophets” (so KJV, NRSV). The prophets are pictured as the executioners of Israel and Judah because they announced their imminent destruction. The prophetic word was endowed with the power of fulfillment.

[6:5]  ⁶ tn Heb “them.” The shift from the 2nd person masculine singular referents (“your” and “you”) in 6:4-5 to the 3rd person masculine plural referent (“them”) is an example of enallage, a poetic device used for emphasis.

[6:5]  ⁷ tn Heb “with the words of my mouth” (so NIV); TEV “with my message of judgment and destruction.”

[6:5]  ⁸ tn The disjunctive vav prefixed to the noun (וּמִשְׁפָּטֶיךָ, umishpatekha) has an explanatory function.

[6:5]  ⁹ tc The MT reads וּמִשְׁפָּטֶיךָ אוֹר יֵצֵא (umishpatekha ’or yetse’, “and your judgments [are] a light [which] goes forth”) which is enigmatic and syntactically awkward (cf. KJV, NASB). The LXX reads καὶ τὸ κρίμα μου ὡς φώς (kai to krima mou {ws fos, “my judgment goes forth like light”) which reflects וּמִשְׁפָּטִי כָאוֹר יֵצֵא (umishpati kha’or yetse’, “my judgment goes forth like the light”) and posits only a simple misdivision of words. This is reflected in the Syriac Peshitta and Aramaic Targum and is followed by the present translation (so also NCV, NRSV). See D. Barthélemy, ed., Preliminary and Interim Report on the Hebrew Old Testament Text Project, 5:238.

[6:5]  ¹⁰ tn The noun אוֹר (’or, “light”) is used here in reference to the morning light or dawn (e.g., Judg 16:2; 19:26; 1 Sam 14:36; 25:34, 36; 2 Sam 17:22; 23:4; 2 Kgs 7:9; Neh 8:3; Job 24:14; Prov 4:18; Mic 2:1; cf. CEV, NLT) rather than lightning (cf. NIV). This continues the early morning imagery used throughout 6:2-5.

[6:5]  sn In 6:3 unrepentant Israel uttered an over-confident boast that the Lord would rescue the nation from calamity as certainly as the “light of the dawn” (שַׁחַר, shakhar) “comes forth” (יֵצֵא, yetse’) every morning. Playing upon the early morning imagery, the Lord responded in 6:4 that Israel’s prerequisite repentance was as fleeting as the early morning dew. Now in 6:5, the Lord announces that he will indeed appear as certainly as the morning; however, it will not be to rescue but to punish Israel: punishment will “come forth” (יֵצֵא) like the “light of the dawn” (אוֹר).

[10:9]  ¹¹ tn Heb “days” (so KJV, NAB, NIV, NRSV).

[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].”

[12:14]  ¹³ tn The noun תַּמְרוּרִים (tamrurim, “bitter things”) functions as an adverbial accusative of manner, modifying the finite verb: “He bitterly provoked Him to anger” (GKC 375 §118.q). The plural form of the noun functions as a plural of intensity: “very bitterly.” For the adverbial function of the accusative, see IBHS 172-73 §10.2.2e.

[12:14]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “He will leave his blood upon him”; NIV “will leave upon him the guilt of his bloodshed.”

[12:14]  ¹⁵ tn The Hebrew term translated “Lord” here is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).

[12:14]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “for his contempt” (so NIV); NRSV “for his insults”; NAB “for his outrage.”