Hosea 12:6

12:6 But you must return ¹  to your God,

by maintaining love and justice,

and by waiting ²  for your God to return to you. ³ 

Hosea 12:9

12:9 “I am the Lord your God ⁴  who brought you ⁵  out of Egypt;

I will make you live in tents again as in the days of old. ⁶ 

Hosea 13:4

Well-Fed Israel Will Be Fed to Wild Animals

13:4 But I am the Lord your God,

who brought you out of Egypt.

Therefore, you must not acknowledge any God but me;

except me there is no Savior.

Hosea 14:1

Prophetic Call to Genuine Repentance

14:1 Return, O Israel, to the Lord your God,

for your sin has been your downfall! ⁷ 

Hosea 4:6

4:6 You have destroyed ⁸  my people

by failing to acknowledge me!

Because you refuse to acknowledge me, ⁹ 

I will reject you as my priests.

Because you reject ¹⁰  the law of your God,

I will reject ¹¹  your descendants.

Hosea 9:1

Fertility Cult Festivals Have Intoxicated Israel

9:1 O Israel, do not rejoice jubilantly ¹²  like the nations,

for you are unfaithful ¹³  to your God.

You love to receive a prostitute's wages ¹⁴ 

on all the floors where you thresh your grain.

[12:6]  ¹ tn The verb תָשׁוּב (tashuv, Qal imperfect 2nd person masculine singular from שׁוּב, shuv, “to return”) functions as an imperfect of moral obligation, introducing the following imperatives (e.g., Gen 20:9; Exod 4:15). For this function of the imperfect, see IBHS 508-9 §31.4g.

[12:6]  ² tn The verb וְקַוֵּה (vÿqavveh, vav + Piel imperative 2nd person masculine singular from קָוָה, qavah, “to wait for”) means “to hope for, wait for, look eagerly for” (BDB 875 s.v. קָוָה 1; HALOT 1082 s.v. קָוָה 2.b). The Qal meaning refers to a general hope; the Piel meaning refers to hope directed toward an object, or hope inserted within a sequence of expectation and fulfillment. When the Piel is used in reference to a thing, it refers to waiting expectantly for something to occur (e.g., Gen 49:18; Isa 5:2, 4, 7; 59:9, 11; Jer 8:15; 13:16; 14:19; Ps 69:21; Job 3:9; 6:19; 11:20). When it is used in reference to God, it refers to the people of God waiting expectantly for God to do something or to fulfill his promise (e.g., Pss 25:5, 21; 27:14; 37:34; 40:2; 52:11; 130:5; Isa 8:17; 25:9; 26:8; 33:2; 51:5; 60:9; Hos 12:7). The personal object can be introduced by the preposition לְ (lamed, “for”; HALOT 1082 s.v. קָוָה 2.a) or אֶל (’el, “for”; HALOT 1082 s.v. קָוָה 2.b; e.g., Pss 27:14; 37:34; Isa 51:5; Hos 12:7). The point seems to be that if Israel will repent and practice moral righteousness, she can look to God in confident expectation that he will intervene on her behalf by relenting from judgment and restoring the covenant blessings.

[12:6]  ³ tn The phrase “to return to you” does not appear in the Hebrew text but is implied; it is provided in the translation for clarity. This ellipsis fills out the implicit connotations of the verb קָוָה (qavah, “to wait for”).

[12:9]  ⁴ sn The Lord answers Ephraim’s self-assertion (“I am rich!”) with the self-introduction formula (“I am the Lord your God!”) which introduces judgment oracles and ethical instructions.

[12:9]  ⁵ tn Or “[Ever since you came] out of Egypt”; CEV “just as I have been since the time you were in Egypt.”

[12:9]  ⁶ tn Heb “as in the days of meeting” (כִּימֵי מוֹעֵד, kime mo’ed). This phrase might refer to “time of the festival” (e.g., Hos 2:13; 9:5; cf. NASB, NRSV, NLT) or the Lord’s first “meeting” with Israel in the desert (cf. NAB, TEV, CEV). In his announcements about Israel’s future, Hosea uses “as in the days of […]” (כִּימֵי) or “as in the day of […]” (כְּיוֹם, kÿyom) to introduce analogies drawn from Israel’s early history (e.g., Hos 2:5, 17; 9:9; 10:9).

[14:1]  ⁷ tn Heb “For you have stumbled in your iniquity”; NASB, NRSV “because of your iniquity.”

[4:6]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “they have destroyed” or “my people are destroyed” (so KJV, NIV, NRSV).

[4:6]  ¹¹ tn Heb “Because you reject knowledge”; NLT “because they don’t know me.”

[4:6]  ¹² tn Heb “have forgotten”; NAB, NIV “have ignored.”

[4:6]  ¹³ tn Heb “forget” (so KJV, NRSV); NLT “forget to bless.”

[9:1]  ¹³ tn Heb “do not rejoice unto jubilation”; KJV “Rejoice not…for joy”; NASB “Do not rejoice…with exultation.”

[9:1]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “you have committed adultery”; NRSV “you have played the whore.”

[9:1]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “you love the wages of the prostitute” (NIV similar); NAB “loving a harlot’s hire.”