46:3 “Listen to me, O family of Jacob, 3
all you who are left from the family of Israel, 4
you who have been carried from birth, 5
you who have been supported from the time you left the womb. 6
48:12 Listen to me, O Jacob,
Israel, whom I summoned!
I am the one;
I am present at the very beginning
and at the very end. 7
4:1 Hear the word of the Lord, you Israelites! 8
For the Lord has a covenant lawsuit 9 against the people of Israel. 10
For there is neither faithfulness nor loyalty in the land,
nor do they acknowledge God. 11
5:1 Hear this, you priests!
Pay attention, you Israelites! 12
Listen closely, 13 O king! 14
For judgment is about to overtake you! 15
For you were like a trap 16 to Mizpah, 17
like a net 18 spread out to catch Tabor. 19
3:1 I said,
“Listen, you leaders 20 of Jacob,
you rulers of the nation 21 of Israel!
You ought to know what is just, 22
1 tn Heb “all Judah.” The words “you people of” are supplied in the translation for clarity. The Hebrew text uses the name “Judah” by metonymy for the people of Judah. Unlike the previous instance in v. 13 where infants, wives, and children are mentioned separately, this reference appears to include them all.
2 tn Or perhaps “don’t get discouraged.”
3 tn Heb “house of Jacob”; TEV “descendants of Jacob.”
4 tn Heb “and all the remnant of the house of Israel.”
5 tn Heb “from the womb” (so NRSV); KJV “from the belly”; NAB “from your infancy.”
6 tn Heb “who have been lifted up from the womb.”
7 tn Heb “I [am] he, I [am the] first, also I [am the] last.”
8 tn Heb “sons of Israel” (so NASB); KJV “children of Israel”; NAB, NRSV “people of Israel.”
9 tn The noun רִיב (riv, “dispute, lawsuit”) is used in two contexts: (1) nonlegal contexts: (a) “dispute” between individuals (e.g., Gen 13:7; Isa 58:1; Jer 15:10) or (b) “brawl; quarrel” between people (e.g., Exod 17:7; Deut 25:1); and (2) legal contexts: (a) “lawsuit; legal process” (e.g., Exod 23:3-6; Deut 19:17; 21:5; Ezek 44:24; Ps 35:23), (b) “lawsuit; legal case” (e.g., Deut 1:12; 17:8; Prov 18:17; 25:9), and (c) God’s “lawsuit” on behalf of a person or against his own people (Hos 4:1; 12:3; Mic 6:2; HALOT 1225-26 s.v. רִיב). The term in Hosea refers to a covenant lawsuit in which Yahweh the suzerain lodges a legal case against his disobedient vassal, accusing Israel and Judah of breach of covenant which will elicit the covenant curses.
10 tn Heb “with the inhabitants of the land” (so KJV); NAB, NASB, NRSV “against the inhabitants of the land.”
11 tn Heb “there is no truthfulness nor loyalty nor knowledge of God in the land.” Here “knowledge of God” refers to recognition of his authority and obedience to his will.
12 tn Heb “O house of Israel” (so NAB, NASB, NRSV); NLT “all of Israel’s leaders.”
13 tn Heb “Use the ear”; ASV “give ear.”
14 tn Heb “O house of the king” (so KJV); NIV “O royal house.”
15 tn Heb “for the judgment is to you”; or “For this accusation is against you.” Cf. NIV “This judgment is against you.”
16 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).
17 tn Heb “you were a trap to Mizpah.”
18 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).
19 tn Heb “and a net spread out over Tabor.”
20 tn Heb “heads.”
21 tn Heb “house.”
22 tn Heb “Should you not know justice?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “Of course you should!”