Hosea 5:1

Announcement of Sin and Judgment

5:1 Hear this, you priests!

Pay attention, you Israelites! ¹ 

Listen closely, ²  O king! ³ 

For judgment is about to overtake you! ⁴ 

For you were like a trap ⁵  to Mizpah, ⁶ 

like a net ⁷  spread out to catch Tabor. ⁸ 

Hosea 6:8

6:8 Gilead is a city full of evildoers; ⁹ 

its streets are stained with bloody footprints! ¹⁰ 

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

[5:1]  ² tn Heb “Use the ear”; ASV “give ear.”

[5:1]  ³ tn Heb “O house of the king” (so KJV); NIV “O royal house.”

[5:1]  ⁴ tn Heb “for the judgment is to you”; or “For this accusation is against you.” Cf. NIV “This judgment is against you.”

[5:1]  ⁵ 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]  ⁶ tn Heb “you were a trap to Mizpah.”

[5:1]  ⁷ 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]  ⁸ tn Heb “and a net spread out over Tabor.”

[6:8]  ⁹ tn The participle phrase פֹּעֲלֵי אָוֶן (po’ale ’aven, “workers of wickedness”) emphasizes continual (uninterrupted), habitual action. This particular use of the participle is an ironic play on the professional occupation function (see IBHS 615 §37.2c). In effect, the major “professional guild” in Gilead is evil-working; the people are producers of evil!

[6:8]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “it is foot-tracked with blood”; NAB “tracked with (+ footprints of NLT) blood.”