Hosea 1:7

1:7 But I will have pity on the nation ¹  of Judah. ²  I will deliver them by the Lord their God; I will not deliver them by the warrior’s bow, by sword, by military victory, ³  by chariot horses, or by chariots.” ⁴ 

Hosea 3:5

3:5 Afterward, the Israelites will turn and seek the Lord their God and their Davidic king. ⁵  Then they will submit to the Lord in fear and receive his blessings ⁶  in the future. ⁷ 

Hosea 5:4

5:4 Their wicked deeds do not allow them to return to their God;

because a spirit of idolatry ⁸  controls their heart, ⁹ 

and they do not acknowledge the Lord.

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

[1:7]  ² 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]  ³ tn Heb “by war” (so NAB, NRSV, TEV); KJV, NASB, NIV “battle.”

[1:7]  ⁴ sn These military weapons are examples of the metonymy of adjunct (the specific weapons named) for subject (warfare).

[3:5]  ⁵ tn Heb “David their king”; cf. NCV “the king from David’s family”; TEV “a descendant of David their king”; NLT “David’s descendant, their king.”

[3:5]  ⁶ tn Heb “his goodness”; NLT “his good gifts.”

[3:5]  ⁷ tn Heb “in the end of the days.” Cf. NAB, NASB, NIV, NCV, NLT “in the last days.”

[5:4]  ⁹ tn Heb “a spirit of harlotries”; NIV “a spirit of prostitution”; TEV “Idolatry has a powerful hold on them.” However, CEV takes this literally: “your constant craving for sex keeps you from knowing me.”

[5:4]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “is in their heart” (so NIV); NASB, NRSV “is within them.”