Hosea 1:5

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

Hosea 1:7

1:7 But I will have pity on the nation ³  of Judah. ⁴  I will deliver them by the Lord their God; I will not deliver them by the warrior’s bow, by sword, by military victory, ⁵  by chariot horses, or by chariots.” ⁶ 

Hosea 7:16

7:16 They turn to Baal; ⁷ 

they are like an unreliable bow.

Their leaders will fall by the sword

because their prayers to Baal ⁸  have made me angry.

So people will disdain them in the land of Egypt. ⁹ 

Hosea 2:18

New Covenant Relationship with Repentant Israel

2:18 “At that time ¹⁰  I will make a covenant for them with the wild animals,

the birds of the air, and the creatures that crawl on the ground.

I will abolish ¹¹  the warrior’s bow and sword

– that is, every weapon of warfare ¹²  – from the land,

and I will allow them to live securely.” ¹³ 

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

[1:5]  ² 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).

[1:7]  ³ tn Heb “house”; cf. NCV, TEV, NLT “the people of Judah.”

[1:7]  ⁴ tn The word order in this line is rhetorical, emphasizing the divine decision to withhold pity from Israel but to bestow it on Judah. The accusative direct object, which is introduced by a disjunctive vav (to denote contrast), appears before the verb: וְאֶת־בֵּית יְהוּדָה אֲרַחֵם (vé’et-bet yéhudah ’arakhem, “but upon the house of Judah I will show pity”).

[1:7]  ⁵ tn Heb “by war” (so NAB, NRSV, TEV); KJV, NASB, NIV “battle.”

[1:7]  ⁶ sn These military weapons are examples of the metonymy of adjunct (the specific weapons named) for subject (warfare).

[7:16]  ⁵ tc The MT reads the enigmatic יָשׁוּבוּ לֹא עָל (yashuvu lo’ ’al) which is taken variously: “they turn, but not upward” (NASB); “they do not turn to the Most High” (NIV); “they return, but not to the most High” (KJV). The BHS editors suggest יָשׁוּבוּ לַבַּעַל (yashuvu labba’al, “they turn to Baal”; so RSV) or יָשׁוּבוּ לַבְּלִיַּעַל (yashuvu labbÿliyya’al, “they turn to Belial”) which is reflected by the LXX.

[7:16]  ⁶ tn Heb “because their tongue.” The term “tongue” is used figuratively, as a metonymy of cause (tongue) for the effect (prayers to Baal).

[7:16]  ⁷ tn Heb “this [will] be for scorn in the land of Egypt”; NIV “they will be ridiculed (NAB shall be mocked) in the land of Egypt.”

[2:18]  ⁷ tn Heb “And in that day” (so KJV, ASV).

[2:18]  ⁸ tn Heb “I will break”; NAB “I will destroy”; NCV “I will smash”; NLT “I will remove.”

[2:18]  ⁹ tn Heb “bow and sword and warfare.” The first two terms in the triad וְקֶשֶׁת וְחֶרֶב וּמִלְחָמָה (vÿqeshet vÿkherev umilkhamah, literally, “bow and sword and warfare”) are examples of synecdoche of specific (bow and sword) for general (weapons of war, so CEV). However, they might be examples of metonymy (bow and sword) of association (warfare).

[2:18]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and I will cause them to lie down in safety.” The causative nuance (“will make them”) is retained in several English versions (e.g., KJV, ASV, NASB, NRSV).