Hosea 2:8

Agricultural Fertility Withdrawn from Israel

2:8 Yet ¹  until now ²  she has refused to acknowledge ³  that I ⁴  was the one

who gave her the grain, the new wine, and the olive oil;

and that it was I who ⁵  lavished on her the silver and gold –

which they ⁶  used in worshiping Baal! ⁷ 

Hosea 8:4

The Political and Cultic Sin of Israel

8:4 They enthroned kings without my consent! ⁸ 

They appointed princes without my approval! ⁹ 

They made idols out of their silver and gold,

but they will be destroyed! ¹⁰ 

Hosea 10:1

Israel is Guilty of Fertility Cult Worship

10:1 Israel was a fertile vine

that yielded fruit.

As his fruit multiplied,

he multiplied altars to Baal. ¹¹ 

As his land prospered,

they adorned the fertility pillars.

Psalms 115:4-8

115:4 Their ¹²  idols are made of silver and gold –

they are man-made. ¹³ 

115:5 They have mouths, but cannot speak,

eyes, but cannot see,

115:6 ears, but cannot hear,

noses, but cannot smell,

115:7 hands, but cannot touch,

feet, but cannot walk.

They cannot even clear their throats. ¹⁴ 

115:8 Those who make them will end up ¹⁵  like them,

as will everyone who trusts in them.

Isaiah 46:6

46:6 Those who empty out gold from a purse

and weigh out silver on the scale ¹⁶ 

hire a metalsmith, who makes it into a god.

They then bow down and worship it.

Jeremiah 10:4

10:4 He decorates it with overlays of silver and gold.

He uses hammer and nails to fasten it ¹⁷  together

so that it will not fall over.

Habakkuk 2:18-19

2:18 What good ¹⁸  is an idol? Why would a craftsman make it? ¹⁹ 

What good is a metal image that gives misleading oracles? ²⁰ 

Why would its creator place his trust in it ²¹ 

and make ²²  such mute, worthless things?

2:19 The one who says to wood, ‘Wake up!’ is as good as dead ²³  –

he who says ²⁴  to speechless stone, ‘Awake!’

Can it give reliable guidance? ²⁵ 

It is overlaid with gold and silver;

it has no life’s breath inside it.

[2:8]  ¹ tn Or “For” (so KJV, NASB); or “But” (so NCV).

[2:8]  ² tn The phrase “until now” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity and smoothness.

[2:8]  ³ tn Heb “she does not know” (so NASB, NCV); or “she does not acknowledge.”

[2:8]  ⁴ tn The 1st person common singular independent personal pronoun אָנֹכִי (’anokhi, “I”) is emphatic, since the subject of this verbal clause is already explicit in the verb נָתַתִּי (natatti, Qal perfect 1st person common singular: “I gave”).

[2:8]  ⁵ tn The phrase “that it was I who” does not appear in the Hebrew text here, but is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity.

[2:8]  ⁶ sn The third person plural here is an obvious reference to the Israelites who had been unfaithful to the Lord in spite of all that he had done for them. To maintain the imagery of Israel as the prostitute, a third person feminine singular would be called for; in the interest of literary consistency this has been supplied in some English translations (e.g., NCV, TEV, CEV, NLT).

[2:8]  ⁷ tn Heb “for Baal” (so NAB, NIV, NRSV); cf. TEV “in the worship of Baal.”

[8:4]  ⁸ tn Heb “but without me”; NCV “without asking my permission”; CEV “without consulting me.”

[8:4]  ⁹ tn Heb “but I did not know”; NRSV “but without my knowledge.”

[8:4]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “in order to be cut off.” The text gives the impression that they made the idols for this purpose, but the language is ironic and sarcastic, bringing out the futility of their efforts. One could paraphrase, “they made idols…but only so that they might be destroyed.” Though they had other plans for the idols, God’s judgment would bring their intentions to naught.

[10:1]  ¹¹ tn The phrase “to Baal” does not appear in the Hebrew text here, but is implied; it is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity. Cf. NCV “altars for idols”; NLT “altars of their foreign gods.”

[115:4]  ¹² tn The referent of the pronominal suffix is “the nations” (v. 2).

[115:4]  ¹³ tn Heb “the work of the hands of man.”

[115:7]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “they cannot mutter in their throats.” Verse 5a refers to speaking, v. 7c to inarticulate sounds made in the throat (see M. Dahood, Psalms [AB], 3:140-41).

[115:8]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “will be.” Another option is to take the prefixed verbal form as a prayer, “may those who make them end up like them.”

[46:6]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “the reed,” probably referring to the beam of a scales. See BDB 889 s.v. קָנֶה 4.c.

[10:4]  ¹⁷ tn The pronoun is plural in Hebrew, referring to the parts.

[2:18]  ¹⁸ tn Or “of what value.”

[2:18]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “so that the one who forms it fashions it?” Here כִּי (ki) is taken as resultative after the rhetorical question. For other examples of this use, see R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 73, §450.

[2:18]  ²⁰ tn Heb “or a metal image, a teacher of lies.” The words “What good is” in the translation are supplied from the previous parallel line. “Teacher of lies” refers to the false oracles that the so-called god would deliver through a priest. See J. J. M. Roberts, Nahum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah (OTL), 126.

[2:18]  ²¹ tn Heb “so that the one who forms his image trusts in it?” As earlier in the verse, כִּי (ki) is resultative.

[2:18]  ²² tn Heb “to make.”

[2:19]  ²³ tn Heb “Woe [to] the one who says.” On the term הוֹי (hoy) see the note on the word “dead” in v. 6.

[2:19]  ²⁴ tn The words “he who says” in the translation are supplied from the previous parallel line.

[2:19]  ²⁵ tn Though the Hebrew text has no formal interrogative marker here, the context indicates that the statement should be taken as a rhetorical question anticipating the answer, “Of course not!” (so also NIV, NRSV).