Hosea 11:5

11:5 They will return to Egypt! ¹ 

Assyria will rule over them ² 

because they refuse to repent! ³ 

Hosea 6:3

6:3 So let us acknowledge him! ⁴ 

Let us seek ⁵  to acknowledge ⁶  the Lord!

He will come to our rescue as certainly as the appearance of the dawn,

as certainly as the winter rain comes,

as certainly as the spring rain that waters the land.”

[11:5]  ¹ tc Or “Will they not return to Egypt?” (so NIV). Following the LXX and BHS, the MT לֹא (lo’, “not”) should probably be read as לוֹ (lo, “to him”) and connected to the end of 11:4 rather than the beginning of 11:5. The textual confusion between לֹא and לוֹ probably reflects an unintentional scribal error due to a mistake in hearing (cf., e.g., Kethib/Qere in Ps 100:3).

[11:5]  ² tn Heb “Assyria, he will be his [Israel’s] king” (NASB similar).

[11:5]  ³ tn Heb “return” (so KJV, ASV, NASB, NRSV). The root שׁוּב (shuv, “to turn, return”) appears at the beginning and ending of this verse, creating an inclusio. This repetition produces an ironic wordplay: because Israel refuses to “return” to God or “turn” from its sin, it will “return” to Egypt. The punishment fits the crime.

[6:3]  ⁴ tn The object (“him”) is omitted in the Hebrew text, but supplied in the translation for clarity.

[6:3]  ⁵ tn Heb “let us pursue in order to know.” The Hebrew term רָדַף (radaf, “to pursue”) is used figuratively: “to aim to secure” (BDB 923 s.v. רָדַף 2). It describes the pursuit of a moral goal: “Do not pervert justice…nor accept a bribe…pursue [רָדַף] justice” (Deut 16:20); “those who pursue [רָדַף] righteousness and who seek [בָּקַשׁ, baqash] the Lord” (Isa 51:1); “He who pursues [רָדַף] righteousness and love finds life, prosperity, and honor” (Prov 21:20); “Seek [בָּקַשׁ] peace and pursue [רָדַף] it” (Ps 34:15); “they slander me when I pursue [רָדַף] good” (Ps 38:21).

[6:3]  ⁶ tn The Hebrew infinitive construct with לְ (lamed) denotes purpose: “to know” (לָדַעַת, lada’at).