12:9 “I am the Lord your God 1 who brought you 2 out of Egypt;
I will make you live in tents again as in the days of old. 3
12:10 I spoke to the prophets;
I myself revealed many visions; 4
I spoke in parables 5 through 6 the prophets.”
12:11 Is there idolatry 7 in Gilead? 8
Certainly its inhabitants 9 will come to nothing! 10
Do they sacrifice bulls in Gilgal?
Surely their altars will be like stones heaped up on a plowed field!
12:12 Jacob fled to the country of Aram,
then Israel worked 11 to acquire a wife;
he tended sheep to pay for her.
12:13 The Lord brought Israel out of Egypt by a prophet,
and due to a prophet 12 Israel 13 was preserved alive. 14
12:14 But Ephraim bitterly 15 provoked him to anger;
so he will hold him accountable for the blood he has shed, 16
his Lord 17 will repay him for the contempt he has shown. 18
1 sn The
2 tn Or “[Ever since you came] out of Egypt”; CEV “just as I have been since the time you were in Egypt.”
3 tn Heb “as in the days of meeting” (כִּימֵי מוֹעֵד, kime mo’ed). This phrase might refer to “time of the festival” (e.g., Hos 2:13; 9:5; cf. NASB, NRSV, NLT) or the
4 tn Heb “I myself multiplied vision[s]”; cf. NASB “I gave numerous visions.”
5 tn There is debate whether אֲדַמֶּה (’adammeh, Piel imperfect 1st person common singular) is derived from I דָמָה (damah, “similitude, parable”) or II דָמָה (“oracle of doom”). The lexicons favor the former (BDB 198 s.v. I דָּמָה 1; HALOT 225-26 s.v. I דמה). Most translators favor “parables” (cf. KJV, RSV, NASB, NIV, NJPS), but a few opt for “oracles of doom” (cf. NRSV, TEV, CEV).
6 tn Heb “by the hand of”; KJV, ASV “by the ministry of.”
7 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.”
8 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….”
9 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the inhabitants of Gilead) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
10 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).
11 tn Heb “served” (so NAB, NIV, NRSV); NLT “earned a wife.”
12 tn Heb “by a prophet” (so NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).
13 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Israel) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
14 tn Heb “was protected”; NASB “was kept.” The verb שָׁמַר (shamar, “to watch, guard, keep, protect”) is repeated in 12:13-14 HT (12:12-13 ET). This repetition creates parallels between Jacob’s sojourn in Aram and Israel’s sojourn in the wilderness. Jacob “tended = kept” (שָׁמַר) sheep in Aram, and Israel was “preserved = kept” (נִשְׁמָר, nishmar) by Moses in the wilderness.
15 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.
16 tn Heb “He will leave his blood upon him”; NIV “will leave upon him the guilt of his bloodshed.”
17 tn The Hebrew term translated “Lord” here is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).
18 tn Heb “for his contempt” (so NIV); NRSV “for his insults”; NAB “for his outrage.”