Hosea 5:14

The Lion Will Carry Israel Off Into Exile

5:14 I will be like a lion to Ephraim,

like a young lion to the house of Judah.

I myself will tear them to pieces,

then I will carry them off, and no one will be able to rescue them!

Hosea 14:8

14:8 O Ephraim, I do not want to have anything to do with idols anymore!

I will answer him and care for him.

I am like a luxuriant cypress tree;

your fruitfulness comes from me!


tn The Hebrew expression מַה־לִּי עוֹד (mah-liod) is a formula of repudiation/emphatic denial that God has anything in common with idols: “I want to have nothing to do with […] any more!” Cf., e.g., Judg 11:12; 2 Sam 16:10; 19:23; 1 Kgs 17:18; 2 Kgs 3:13; 2 Chr 35:21; Jer 2:18; Ps 50:16; BDB 553 s.v. מָה 1.d.(c).

tn The term “like” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity, as in the majority of English versions (including KJV).

tn Cf. KJV “a green fir tree”; NIV, NCV “a green pine tree”; NRSV “an evergreen cypress.”

tn Heb “your fruit is found in me”; NRSV “your faithfulness comes from me.”