Hosea 9:16

9:16 Ephraim will be struck down ¹  –

their root will be dried up;

they will not yield any fruit.

Even if they do bear children,

I will kill their precious offspring.

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 ²  her with thirst.

Hosea 13:1

Baal Worshipers and Calf Worshipers to be Destroyed

13:1 When Ephraim ³  spoke, ⁴  there was terror; ⁵ 

he was exalted ⁶  in Israel,

but he became guilty by worshiping Baal and died.

Hosea 4:3

4:3 Therefore the land will mourn,

and all its inhabitants will perish. ⁷ 

The wild animals, ⁸  the birds of the sky,

and even the fish in the sea will perish.

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! ⁹ 

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

O Death, bring on your plagues! ¹⁰ 

O Sheol, bring on your destruction! ¹¹ 

My eyes will not show any compassion! ¹² 

Hosea 9:11

The Fertility Worshipers Will Become Infertile

9:11 Ephraim will be like a bird;

what they value ¹³  will fly away.

They will not bear children –

they will not enjoy pregnancy –

they will not even conceive! ¹⁴ 

Hosea 7:7

7:7 All of them are blazing like an oven;

they devour their rulers.

All of their kings fall –

and none of them call on me!

Hosea 13:16

13:16 (14:1) ¹⁵  Samaria will be held guilty, ¹⁶ 

because she rebelled against her God.

They will fall by the sword,

their infants will be dashed to the ground –

their ¹⁷  pregnant women will be ripped open.

Hosea 4:19

4:19 A whirlwind has wrapped them in its wings;

they will be brought to shame because of their idolatrous worship. ¹⁸ 

Hosea 10:15

10:15 So will it happen to you, O Bethel, ¹⁹ 

because of your great wickedness!

When that day dawns, ²⁰ 

the king of Israel will be destroyed. ²¹ 

Hosea 7:16

7:16 They turn to Baal; ²² 

they are like an unreliable bow.

Their leaders will fall by the sword

because their prayers to Baal ²³  have made me angry.

So people will disdain them in the land of Egypt. ²⁴ 

Hosea 10:12

10:12 Sow righteousness for yourselves,

reap unfailing love.

Break up the unplowed ground for yourselves,

for it is time to seek the Lord,

until he comes and showers deliverance ²⁵  on you.

Hosea 12:14

12:14 But Ephraim bitterly ²⁶  provoked him to anger;

so he will hold him accountable for the blood he has shed, ²⁷ 

his Lord ²⁸  will repay him for the contempt he has shown. ²⁹ 

Hosea 9:6

No Escape for the Israelites This Time!

9:6 Look! ³⁰  Even if ³¹  they flee from the destruction,

Egypt will take hold ³²  of them,

and Memphis will bury them.

The weeds will inherit the silver they treasure ³³  –

thorn bushes will occupy their homes. ³⁴ 

Hosea 12:11

12:11 Is there idolatry ³⁵  in Gilead? ³⁶ 

Certainly its inhabitants ³⁷  will come to nothing! ³⁸ 

Do they sacrifice bulls in Gilgal?

Surely their altars will be like stones heaped up on a plowed field!

Hosea 13:15

The Capital of the Northern Empire Will Be Destroyed

13:15 Even though he flourishes like a reed plant, ³⁹ 

a scorching east wind will come,

a wind from the Lord rising up from the desert.

As a result, his spring will dry up; ⁴⁰ 

his well will become dry.

That wind ⁴¹  will spoil all his delightful foods

in the containers in his storehouse.

[9:16]  ¹ tn Or perhaps, following the plant metaphor, “will be blighted” (NIV similar).

[2:3]  ² 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).

[13:1]  ³ sn In Hosea the name “Ephraim” does not refer to the tribe, but to the region of Mount Ephraim where the royal residence of Samaria was located. It functions as a synecdoche of location (Mount Ephraim) for its inhabitants (the king of Samaria; e.g., 5:13; 8:8, 10).

[13:1]  ⁴ tn The rulers of Ephraim (i.e., Samaria) issued many political decisions in the 8th century b.c. which brought “terror” to the other regions of the Northern Kingdom, as well as to Judah: “hearts shook as the trees of the forest shake before the wind” (Isa 7:2; 2 Kgs 16:5).

[13:1]  ⁵ tn The noun רְתֵת (rÿtet, “terror, trembling”) appears only here in OT (BDB 958 s.v. רְתֵת; HALOT 1300-1301 s.v. רְתֵת). However, it is attested in 1QH 4:33 where it means “trembling” and is used as a synonym with רַעַד (ra’ad, “quaking”). It also appears in Mishnaic Hebrew, meaning “trembling” (G. Dalman, Aramäisch-neuhebräisches Handwörterbuch, 406, s.v. רעד). This is the meaning reflected in the Greek recensions of Aquila, Symmachus, and Theodotion, as well as Jerome’s Latin Vulgate.

[13:1]  ⁶ tc The MT vocalizes the consonantal text as נָשָׂא (nasa’, “he exalted”; Qal perfect 3rd person masculine singular) which is syntactically awkward. The LXX and Syriac reflect a vocalization tradition of נִשָּׂא (nisa’, “he was exalted”; Niphal perfect 3rd person masculine singular). The BHS editors suggest that this revocalization should be adopted, and it has been followed by NAB, NIV, NRSV.

[4:3]  ⁷ tn Or “languish” (so KJV, NRSV); NIV “waste away.”

[4:3]  ⁸ tn Heb “the beasts of the field” (so NAB, NIV).

[13:14]  ⁹ 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]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “Where, O Death, are your plagues?” (so NIV).

[13:14]  ¹¹ 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]  ¹² tn Heb “Compassion will be hidden from my eyes” (NRSV similar; NASB “from my sight”).

[9:11]  ¹³ tn Heb “their glory” (so NASB); TEV “Israel’s greateness.”

[9:11]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “no childbearing, no pregnancy, no conception.” The preposition מִן (min) prefixed to the three parallel nouns functions in a privative sense, indicating deprivation (BDB 583 s.v. מִן 7).

[13:16]  ¹⁵ sn Beginning with 13:16, the verse numbers through 14:9 in the English Bible differ by one from the verse numbers in the Hebrew text (BHS), with 13:16 ET = 14:1 HT, 14:1 ET = 14:2 HT, etc., through 14:9 ET = 14:10 HT. Thus ch. 14 in the Hebrew Bible has 10 verses.

[13:16]  ¹⁶ tn Or “must bear its guilt” (NIV similar); NLT “must bear the consequences of their guilt”; CEV “will be punished.”

[13:16]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “his.” This is a collective singular, as recognized by almost all English versions.

[4:19]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “their altars” (so NAB, NRSV) or “their sacrifices” (so KJV, NASB, NIV). Here זִבְחוֹתָם (zivkhotam, “altars; sacrifices”) is a metonymy of association for Israel’s apostate idolatrous Baal worship.

[10:15]  ¹⁹ map For location see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.

[10:15]  ²⁰ tn Heb “when the dawn is cut off” or “when the day ceases.” Cf. NLT “When the day of judgment dawns.”

[10:15]  ²¹ tn The root דָמָה (damah, “to be cut off, cease to exist, be destroyed”; BDB 198 s.v. דָמָה; HALOT 225 s.v. דמה) is repeated in the Hebrew text. The form נִדְמֹה (nidmoh, Niphal infinitive absolute) appears in the first colon, and the form נִדְמָה (nidmah, Niphal perfect 3rd person masculine singular) appears in the second colon. This striking repetition creates a dramatic wordplay which, for stylistic reasons, cannot be reproduced in English translations: “The moment the dawn ceases to exist (i.e., at the break of dawn), the king of Israel will cease to exist.”

[7:16]  ²² tc The MT reads the enigmatic יָשׁוּבוּ לֹא עָל (yashuvu lo’ ’al) which is taken variously: “they turn, but not upward” (NASB); “they do not turn to the Most High” (NIV); “they return, but not to the most High” (KJV). The BHS editors suggest יָשׁוּבוּ לַבַּעַל (yashuvu labba’al, “they turn to Baal”; so RSV) or יָשׁוּבוּ לַבְּלִיַּעַל (yashuvu labbÿliyya’al, “they turn to Belial”) which is reflected by the LXX.

[7:16]  ²³ tn Heb “because their tongue.” The term “tongue” is used figuratively, as a metonymy of cause (tongue) for the effect (prayers to Baal).

[7:16]  ²⁴ tn Heb “this [will] be for scorn in the land of Egypt”; NIV “they will be ridiculed (NAB shall be mocked) in the land of Egypt.”

[10:12]  ²⁵ tn Or “righteousness” (so KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT); NAB “justice.”

[12:14]  ²⁶ 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]  ²⁷ tn Heb “He will leave his blood upon him”; NIV “will leave upon him the guilt of his bloodshed.”

[12:14]  ²⁸ tn The Hebrew term translated “Lord” here is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).

[12:14]  ²⁹ tn Heb “for his contempt” (so NIV); NRSV “for his insults”; NAB “for his outrage.”

[9:6]  ³⁰ tn The deictic particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “Behold!”) is used frequently in prophetic announcements, introducing a solemn or important declaration, particularly in threats of judgment (BDB 244 s.v. הִנֵּה b.β). Many modern English versions leave this particle untranslated here.

[9:6]  ³¹ tn The conjunction כִּי (ki) introduces a concessive clause: “Although, when, if, even if” (BDB 473 s.v. כִּי 2.c.β). It has a force approximating “even if” (so NIV, NCV, NRSV, CEV, NLT), but it represents a situation as more likely to occur than אִם (‘im, “if”). The concessive use of כִּי is normally followed by an imperfect, but occasionally a perfect is used, as is the case here (e.g., Mic 7:8; Nah 1:10; Pss 21:12; 119:83).

[9:6]  ³² tn The verb קָבַץ (qavats, “to gather together”) should be nuanced “grab hold” in this context (HALOT 1063 s.v. קבץ). This pictures a personified Egypt taking the fugitives prisoner.

[9:6]  ³³ tn Heb “the treasured things of their silver”; NASB, NIV, TEV, NLT “treasures of silver.”

[9:6]  ³⁴ tn Heb “their tents” (so NIV, NRSV); CEV “your tents.”

[12:11]  ³⁵ tn The noun אָוֶן (’aven) has a broad range of meanings which includes: (1) “wickedness, sin, injustice” (2) “deception, nothingness,” and (3) “idolatry, idolatrous cult” (HALOT 22 s.v. אָוֶן; BDB 19 s.v. אָוֶן). While any of these meanings would fit the present context, the second-half of the verse refers to cultic sins, suggesting that Hosea is denouncing Gilead for its idolatry. Cf. NLT “Gilead is filled with sinners who worship idols.”

[12:11]  ³⁶ tn The introductory deictic particle אִם (’im) functions as an interrogative and introduces an interrogative clause: “Is there…?” (see HALOT 60 s.v. אִם 5; BDB 50 s.v. אִם 2). The LXX assumed that אִם was being used in its more common function as a conditional particle: “If there….”

[12:11]  ³⁷ tn Heb “they”; the referent (the inhabitants of Gilead) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[12:11]  ³⁸ tn The noun שָׁוְא (shav’, “emptiness, nothing”), which describes the imminent judgment of the people of Gilead, creates a wordplay in Hebrew with the noun אָוֶן (’aven, “nothingness” = idolatry). Because Gilead worshiped “nothingness” (idols), it would become “nothing” (i.e., be destroyed).

[13:15]  ³⁹ tc The MT reads בֵּן אַחִים יַפְרִיא (ben ’akhim yafri’, “he flourishes [as] a son of brothers”), which is awkward syntactically and enigmatic contextually. The Greek, Syriac, and Latin versions reflect a Vorlage of בֵּין אַחִים יַפְרִיד (ben ’akhim yafrid, “he causes division between brothers”). The BHS editors suggest the MT confused the common term אָח (’akh, “brother”) for the rarer term אָחוּ (’akhu, “marsh plant, reed plant” [Job 8:11] and “reed bed” [Gen 41:2, 18; HALOT 31 s.v. אָחוּ]). This is an Egyptian loanword which is also attested in Ugaritic and Old Aramaic. The original text probably read either כְּאָחוּ מַפְרִיא (kÿ’akhu mafri’, “he flourishes like a reed plant”; comparative כְּ, kaf, + noun אָחוּ, “reed” followed by Hiphil participle masculine singular from פָּרַה, parah, “to flourish”) or בֵּין אָחוּ מַפְרִיא (ben ’akhu mafri’, “he flourishes among the reeds”; preposition בֵּין, ben, “between” followed by masculine singular noun אָחוּ “reed” followed by Hiphil participle masculine singular from פָּרַה). The confusion over אָחוּ (“reed plant”) probably led to secondary scribal errors: (1) faulty word-division of אָחוּ מַפְרִיא to אָחוּם יַפְרִיא, and (2) secondary orthographic confusion of י (yod) and ו (vav) between אָחוּם and resultant אָחִים. For discussion, see D. Barthélemy, ed., Preliminary and Interim Report on the Hebrew Old Testament Text Project, 5:268-69. Several English versions retain the MT: “even though he thrives among his brothers” (NIV), “Though he be fruitful among his brethren” (KJV), “No matter how much you prosper more than the other tribes” (CEV), “Ephraim was the most fruitful of all his brothers (NLT). Others adopt one of the two emendations: (1) “though he flourishes among the reeds” (NEB, NASB, NJPS), and (2) “even though he flourishes like weeds” (TEV), “though he may flourish as the reed plant” (RSV).

[13:15]  tn Or “among the reed plants” (cf. NEB, NASB, NJPS).

[13:15]  ⁴⁰ tc The MT וְיֵבוֹשׁ (vÿyevosh, “will be ashamed”; vav + Qal imperfect 3rd person masculine singular from בּוֹשׁ, bosh, “to be ashamed”) does not fit the context. The LXX, Syriac, and Vulgate reflect a Vorlage of וְיוֹבִישׁ (vÿyovish, “will dry up”; vav + Hiphil imperfect 3rd person masculine singular from יָבַשׁ, yavash, “to be dry”; HALOT 384 s.v. יבשׁ 1). This fits well with the parallel וְיֶחֱרַב (vÿyekherav, “will become dry”; vav + Qal imperfect 3rd person masculine singular from חָרַב, kharav, “to be dry”). See Isa 42:15; 44:27; Jer 51:36. The variant read by the ancient versions is followed by almost all modern English versions (as well as KJV, ASV).

[13:15]  ⁴¹ tn The term “wind” is not repeated in the Hebrew text at this point but is implied; it is supplied in the translation for clarity.