Hosea 1:3

1:3 So Hosea married ¹  Gomer, the daughter of Diblaim. Then she conceived and gave birth to a son for him.

Hosea 1:5

1:5 At that time, ²  I will destroy the military power ³  of Israel in the valley of Jezreel.”

Hosea 2:10

2:10 Soon ⁴  I will expose her lewd nakedness ⁵  in front of her lovers,

and no one will be able to rescue her from me! ⁶ 

Hosea 2:17

2:17 For ⁷  I will remove the names of the Baal idols ⁸  from your lips, ⁹ 

so that you will never again utter their names!” ¹⁰ 

Hosea 4:10

4:10 They will eat, but not be satisfied;

they will engage in prostitution, but not increase in numbers;

because they have abandoned the Lord

by pursuing other gods. ¹¹ 

Hosea 5:6-7

The Futility of Sacrificial Ritual without Moral Obedience

5:6 Although they bring their flocks and herds ¹² 

to seek ¹³  the favor of the Lord, ¹⁴ 

They will not find him –

he has withdrawn himself from them!

5:7 They have committed treason ¹⁵  against the Lord,

because they bore illegitimate children.

Soon ¹⁶  the new moon festival will devour them and their fields.

Hosea 7:5

7:5 At the celebration ¹⁷  of their king, ¹⁸ 

his princes become inflamed ¹⁹  with wine;

they conspire ²⁰  with evildoers.

Hosea 12:13

12:13 The Lord brought Israel out of Egypt by a prophet,

and due to a prophet ²¹  Israel ²²  was preserved alive. ²³ 

[1:3]  ¹ tn Heb “so he went and took” (וַיֵּלֶךְ וַיִּקַּח, vayyelekh vayyiqqakh; so NAB, NRSV).

[1:5]  ² tn Heb “In that day” (so NIV; NAB, NRSV “On that day”).

[1:5]  ³ tn Heb “I will break the bow” (so NAB, NRSV). The phrase “break the bow” (וְשַׁבָרְתִּי אֶת־קֶשֶׁת, véshavarti ’et-qeshet) is figurative. The term קֶשֶׁת (qeshet, “bow”) frequently refers to the warrior’s weapon (2 Sam 22:35; Ps 18:35; Job 20:24; Hos 2:20; Zech 9:10; 10:4). The reference to the warrior’s bow is a synecdoche of specific (bow) for general (military weaponry or power; see HALOT 1155 s.v. קֶשֶׁת 3). The noun קֶשֶׁת is used figuratively for “power” several times (e.g., Gen 49:24; 1 Sam 2:4; Jer 49:35; Job 29:20; Ps 37:15; BDB 906 s.v. 1.e).

[2:10]  ³ 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]  ⁴ tn Heb “her lewdness” (so KJV, NIV); NAB, NRSV “her shame.”

[2:10]  ⁵ tn Heb “out of my hand” (so NAB, NASB, NRSV); TEV “save her from my power.”

[2:17]  ⁴ tn The vav consecutive prefixed to וַהֲסִרֹתִי (vahasiroti) “I will remove” (vav consecutive + Hiphil perfect 1st person common singular) introduces an explanatory clause.

[2:17]  ⁵ tn Heb “the Baals.” The singular term בַּעַל (ba’al) refers to the Canaanite god Baal himself, while the plural form הַבְּעָלִים (habbé’alim) refers to the manifestations of the god (i.e., idols; BDB 127 s.v. בָּעַל II.1).

[2:17]  ⁶ tn Heb “from her mouth.” In the translation this is rendered as second person for consistency.

[2:17]  ⁷ tn Heb “they will no longer be mentioned by their name.”

[4:10]  ⁵ tn Heb “by guarding harlotry.” The present translation assumes that the first word of v. 11 in the Hebrew text is to be taken with the infinitive at the end of v. 10 (so also NAB, NIV, NCV, NRSV).

[5:6]  ⁶ sn The terms flocks and herds are used figuratively for animal sacrifices (metonymy of association). Hosea describes the futility of seeking God’s favor with mere ritual sacrifice without the prerequisite moral obedience (e.g., 1 Sam 15:24; Ps 50:6-8; 51:17-18; Isa 1:12; Mic 6:6-8).

[5:6]  ⁷ tn Heb “they go out to seek the Lord”; NCV “to worship the Lord”; NLT “to offer sacrifices to the Lord.”

[5:6]  ⁸ tn Heb “the Lord”; the phrase “the favor of” does not appear in Hebrew here, but is supplied for the sake of clarity. It is implied by the metonymical (cause-effect) reference to the Lord, the source of favor and forgiveness.

[5:7]  ⁷ tn Heb “dealt treacherously against” (so KJV, NASB); NRSV “dealt faithlessly”; NLT “betrayed the honor of.”

[5:7]  ⁸ 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).

[7:5]  ⁸ tn Heb “the day of” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NRSV); NIV “On the day of the festival of our king”; NLT “On royal holidays.”

[7:5]  ⁹ tc The MT preserves the awkward 1st person common plural suffix reading מַלְכֵּנוּ (malakenu, “our king”). The BHS editors suggest reading the 3rd person masculine plural suffix מַלְכָּם (malkam, “their king”; so CEV), as reflected in the Aramaic Targum.

[7:5]  ¹⁰ tc The MT vocalizes the consonants החלו as הֶחֱלוּ a Hiphil perfect 3rd person common plural from I חָלָה (“to become sick”). However, this is syntactically awkward. The BHS editors suggest revocalizing it as Hiphil infinitive construct + 3rd person masculine singular suffix from חָלַל (khalal, “to begin”) or Hiphil perfect 3rd person common plural from חָלַל. For a discussion of this textual problem, see D. Barthélemy, ed., Preliminary and Interim Report on the Hebrew Old Testament Text Project, 5:240.

[7:5]  ¹¹ tn Heb “he joined hands”; NCV “make agreements.”

[12:13]  ⁹ tn Heb “by a prophet” (so NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).

[12:13]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Israel) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[12:13]  ¹¹ 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.