Hosea 2:5

2:5 For their mother has committed adultery;

she who conceived them has acted shamefully.

For she said, “I will seek out ¹  my lovers; ² 

they are the ones who give me my bread and my water,

my wool, my flax, my olive oil, and my wine. ³ 

Hosea 3:3

3:3 Then I told her, “You must live with me many days; you must not commit adultery or have sexual intercourse with ⁴  another man, and I also will wait for you.”

Hosea 4:12

4:12 They consult their wooden idols,

and their diviner’s staff answers with an oracle.

The wind of prostitution blows them astray;

they commit spiritual adultery ⁵  against their God.

Hosea 4:15

Warning to Judah: Do Not Join in Israel’s Apostasy!

4:15 Although you, O Israel, commit adultery,

do not let Judah become guilty!

Do not journey to Gilgal!

Do not go up to Beth Aven! ⁶ 

Do not swear, “As surely as the Lord lives!”

Hosea 5:3

5:3 I know Ephraim all too well; ⁷ 

the evil of ⁸  Israel is not hidden from me.

For you have engaged in prostitution, O Ephraim;

Israel has defiled itself. ⁹ 

Hosea 9:1

Fertility Cult Festivals Have Intoxicated Israel

9:1 O Israel, do not rejoice jubilantly ¹⁰  like the nations,

for you are unfaithful ¹¹  to your God.

You love to receive a prostitute's wages ¹² 

on all the floors where you thresh your grain.

[2:5]  ¹ tn Heb “I will go after” (so KJV, NAB, NIV, NRSV).

[2:5]  ² sn This statement alludes to the practice of sexual rites in the Canaanite fertility cult which attempted to secure agricultural fertility from the Canaanite gods (note the following reference to wool, flax, olive oil, and wine).

[2:5]  ³ tn Heb “my drinks.” Many English versions use the singular “drink” here, but cf. NCV, TEV, CEV “wine.”

[3:3]  ⁴ tn Heb “and you will not be for”; NIV “be intimate with.”

[4:12]  ⁷ tn Heb “adultery.” The adjective “spiritual” is supplied in the translation to clarify that apostasy is meant here.

[4:15]  ¹⁰ sn Beth Aven means “house of wickedness” in Hebrew; it is a polemic reference to “Bethel,” which means “house of God.” Cf. CEV “at sinful Bethel.”

[5:3]  ¹³ tn The phrase “all too well” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity and stylistic reasons.

[5:3]  ¹⁴ tn The phrase “the evil of” does not appear in the Hebrew text here, but is implied by the metonymical (cause-effect) use of the term “Israel.” It is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity. Cf. NCV “what they have done is not hidden from me.”

[5:3]  ¹⁵ tn Or “Israel has become corrupt”; NCV “has made itself unclean”; TEV “are unfit to worship me.”

[9:1]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “do not rejoice unto jubilation”; KJV “Rejoice not…for joy”; NASB “Do not rejoice…with exultation.”

[9:1]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “you have committed adultery”; NRSV “you have played the whore.”

[9:1]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “you love the wages of the prostitute” (NIV similar); NAB “loving a harlot’s hire.”