4:15 Although you, O Israel, commit adultery,
do not let Judah become guilty!
Do not journey to Gilgal!
Do not go up to Beth Aven! 1
Do not swear, “As surely as the Lord lives!”
9:12 Even if they raise their children,
I will take away every last one of them. 2
Woe to them!
For I will turn away from them.
10:14 The roar of battle will rise against your people;
all your fortresses will be devastated,
just as Shalman devastated 3 Beth Arbel on the day of battle,
when mothers were dashed to the ground with their children.
12:11 Is there idolatry 4 in Gilead? 5
Certainly its inhabitants 6 will come to nothing! 7
Do they sacrifice bulls in Gilgal?
Surely their altars will be like stones heaped up on a plowed field!
1 sn Beth Aven means “house of wickedness” in Hebrew; it is a polemic reference to “Bethel,” which means “house of God.” Cf. CEV “at sinful Bethel.”
2 tn Heb “I will bereave them from a man”; NRSV “I will bereave them until no one is left.”
3 tn Heb “as the devastation of Shalman.” The genitive noun שַׁלְמַן (shalman, “Shalman”) functions as a subjective genitive: “as Shalman devastated [Beth Arbel].”
4 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.”
5 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….”
6 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the inhabitants of Gilead) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
7 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).