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 2:9-10

2:9 Therefore, I will take back ²  my grain during the harvest time ³ 

and my new wine when it ripens; ⁴ 

I will take away my wool and my flax

which I had provided ⁵  in order to clothe her. ⁶ 

2:10 Soon ⁷  I will expose her lewd nakedness ⁸  in front of her lovers,

and no one will be able to rescue her from me! 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).

[2:9]  ² tn Heb “I will return and I will take.” The two verbs joined with vav conjunction form a verbal hendiadys in which the first verb functions adverbially and the second retains its full verbal sense (GKC 386-87 §120.d, h): אָשׁוּב וְלָקַחְתִּי (’ashuv vÿlaqakhti) means “I will take back.”

[2:9]  ³ tn Heb “in its time” (so NAB, NRSV).

[2:9]  ⁴ tn Heb “in its season” (so NAB, NASB, NRSV).

[2:9]  ⁵ tn The words “which I had provided” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons; cf. NIV “intended to cover.”

[2:9]  ⁶ tn Heb “to cover her nakedness” (so KJV and many other English versions); TEV “for clothing.”

[2:10]  ⁷ tn The particle עַתָּה (’attah) often refers to the imminent or the impending future: “very soon” (BDB 774 s.v. עַתָּה 1.b). In Hosea it normally introduces imminent judgment (Hos 2:12; 4:16; 5:7; 8:8, 13; 10:2).

[2:10]  ⁸ tn Heb “her lewdness” (so KJV, NIV); NAB, NRSV “her shame.”

[2:10]  ⁹ tn Heb “out of my hand” (so NAB, NASB, NRSV); TEV “save her from my power.”