Hosea 2:6

The Lord’s Discipline Will Bring Israel Back

2:6 Therefore, I will soon ¹  fence her in ²  with thorns;

I will wall her in ³  so that ⁴  she cannot find her way. ⁵ 

Hosea 2:10

2:10 Soon ⁶  I will expose her lewd nakedness ⁷  in front of her lovers,

and no one will be able to rescue her from me! ⁸ 

Hosea 4:5

4:5 You stumble day and night,

and the false prophets stumble with you;

You have destroyed your own people! ⁹ 

Hosea 5:9

5:9 Ephraim will be ruined in the day of judgment! ¹⁰ 

What I am declaring ¹¹  to the tribes of Israel will certainly take place! ¹² 

Hosea 5:11

5:11 Ephraim will be oppressed, ¹³  crushed ¹⁴  under judgment, ¹⁵ 

because he was determined to pursue worthless idols. ¹⁶ 

Hosea 6:11

6:11 I have appointed a time to reap judgment ¹⁷  for you also, O Judah!

If Israel Would Repent of Sin, God Would Relent of Judgment

Whenever I want to restore the fortunes of my people, ¹⁸ 

Hosea 7:8

Israel Lacks Discernment and Refuses to Repent

7:8 Ephraim has mixed itself like flour ¹⁹  among the nations;

Ephraim is like a ruined cake of bread that is scorched on one side. ²⁰ 

Hosea 11:6

11:6 A sword will flash in their cities,

it will destroy the bars of their city gates,

and will devour them in their fortresses.

Hosea 13:7

13:7 So ²¹  I will pounce on them like a lion; ²² 

like a leopard I will lurk by the path.

[2:6]  ¹ tn The deictic particle הִנְנִי (hinni, “Behold!”) introduces a future-time reference participle that refers to imminent future action: “I am about to” (TEV “I am going to”).

[2:6]  ² tn Heb “I will hedge up her way”; NIV “block her path.”

[2:6]  ³ tn Heb “I will wall in her wall.” The cognate accusative construction וְגָדַרְתִּי אֶת־גְּדֵרָהּ (vÿgadarti ’et-gÿderah, “I will wall in her wall”) is an emphatic literary device. The 3rd person feminine singular suffix on the noun functions as a dative of disadvantage: “as a wall against her” (A. B. Davidson, Hebrew Syntax, 3, remark 2). The expression means “I will build a wall to bar her way.” Cf. KJV “I will make a wall”; TEV “I will build a wall”; RSV, NASB, NRSV “I will build a wall against her”; NLT “I will fence her in.”

[2:6]  ⁴ tn The disjunctive clause (object followed by negated verb) introduces a clause which can be understood as either purpose or result.

[2:6]  ⁵ tn Heb “her paths” (so NAB, NRSV).

[2:10]  ⁶ tn The particle עַתָּה (’attah) often refers to the imminent or the impending future: “very soon” (BDB 774 s.v. עַתָּה 1.b). In Hosea it normally introduces imminent judgment (Hos 2:12; 4:16; 5:7; 8:8, 13; 10:2).

[2:10]  ⁷ tn Heb “her lewdness” (so KJV, NIV); NAB, NRSV “her shame.”

[2:10]  ⁸ tn Heb “out of my hand” (so NAB, NASB, NRSV); TEV “save her from my power.”

[4:5]  ¹¹ tc The MT reads וְדָמִיתִי אִמֶּךָ (vÿdamiti ’immekha, “and I will destroy your mother”), and is followed by most English versions; however, the text should probably be emended to וְדָמִית עַמֶּךָ (vÿdamit ’ammekha, “and you have destroyed your own people”). The 2nd person masculine singular form וְדָמִית (vÿdamit, “and you have destroyed”) is preserved in several medieval Hebrew mss and reflected in Jerome’s Vulgate. For discussion in favor of the MT reading, see D. Barthélemy, ed., Preliminary and Interim Report on the Hebrew Old Testament Text Project, 5:232.

[5:9]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “day of rebuke” (so KJV, NASB); NCV, NRSV, TEV, NLT “day of punishment.”

[5:9]  ¹⁷ tn The verb הוֹדַעְתִּי (hoda’ti, Hiphil perfect 1st person common singular from יָדַע, yada’; Qal “to know,” Hiphil “to make known, declare”) here functions as (1) an instantaneous perfect, representing an action being performed at the same instant that the speaker utters the statement (e.g., Gen 14:22; Deut 8:19; 26:3; 2 Sam 17:11; 19:30; Ps 143:6); or (2) an epistolary perfect, representing a situation in past time from the viewpoint of the recipient of the message but in present time from the viewpoint of the writer (e.g., 1 Kgs 15:19; 2 Chr 2:12). For functions of the perfect tense (suffix-conjugation), see IBHS 486-90 §30.5.1.

[5:9]  ¹⁸ tn The substantival use of the Niphal participle נֶאֱמָנָה (ne’emanah, “that which is sure”) refers to an event that will occur in the future (BDB 52 s.v. אָמַן 2).

[5:11]  ²¹ tn The verb עָשַׁק (’ashaq, “to oppress”) may refer to (1) oppressing the poor and defenseless (BDB 798 s.v. עָשַׁק 1), or more likely to (2) oppression of one nation by another as the judgment of God (Deut 28:29, 33; 1 Chr 16:21; Pss 105:14; 119:121, 122; Isa 52:4; Jer 50:33; Hos 5:11; BDB 798 s.v. 2). The Qal passive participles עָשׁוּק (’ashuq, “oppressed”) and רְצוּץ (rÿtsuts, “crushed”) might refer to a present situation (so KJV, RSV, NASB, NIV, NRSV); however, the context suggests that they refer to a future situation (so NLT). When a participle is used in reference to the future, it often denotes an imminent future situation and may be rendered, “about to” (e.g., Gen 6:17; 15:14; 20:3; 37:30; 41:25; 49:29; Exod 9:17-18; Deut 28:31; 1 Sam 3:11; 1 Kgs 2:2; 20:22; 2 Kgs 7:2). For functions of the participle, see IBHS 627-28 §37.6f.

[5:11]  ²² sn The term רְצוּץ (rÿtsuts, “crushed”) is a metaphor for weakness (e.g., 2 Kgs 18:21; Isa 36:6; 42:3) and oppression (e.g., Deut 28:33; 1 Sam 12:3, 4; Amos 4:1; Isa 58:6). Here it is used as a figure to describe the devastating effects of the Lord’s judgment.

[5:11]  ²³ tn Heb “crushed of judgment” (רְצוּץ מִשְׁפָּט, rÿtsuts mishpat). The second term is a genitive of cause (“crushed because of judgment” or “crushed under judgment”) rather than respect (“crushed in judgment,” as in many English versions).

[5:11]  ²⁴ tn The meaning of the Hebrew term translated “worthless idols” is uncertain; cf. KJV “the commandment”; NASB “man’s command”; NAB “filth”; NRSV “vanity.”

[6:11]  ²⁶ tn Heb “a harvest is appointed for you also, O Judah” (similar ASV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).

[6:11]  ²⁷ tc In the verse divisions of the MT (Leningrad Codex and Aleppo Codex), this is the last line of 6:11. However, the BHK and BHS editors suggest that it belongs with the beginning of 7:1. The ancient versions (Greek, Syriac, Latin) all reflect textual traditions that connect it with 6:11. The English versions are divided: some connect it with 6:11 (KJV, NASB, NLT), while others connect it with 7:1 (RSV, NAB, NIV, NRSV, NJPS). The parallelism between this line and 7:1a favors connecting it with 7:1.

[7:8]  ³¹ tn The words “like flour” are not in the Hebrew text, but are implied by the imagery.

[7:8]  ³² tn Heb “a cake of bread not turned.” This metaphor compares Ephraim to a ruined cake of bread that was not turned over in time to avoid being scorched and burned (see BDB 728 s.v. עֻגָה). Cf. NLT “as worthless as a half-baked cake.”

[13:7]  ³⁶ tn The vav consecutive + preterite form וָאֱהִי (va’ehi) introduces a consequential or result clause; cf. NAB “Therefore”; NCV “That is why.”

[13:7]  ³⁷ tn Heb “So I will be like a lion to them” (so NASB); NIV “I will come upon them like a lion.”