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Agricultural Fertility Withdrawn from Israel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 9:6

No Escape for the Israelites This Time!

9:6 Look! ¹¹  Even if ¹²  they flee from the destruction,

Egypt will take hold ¹³  of them,

and Memphis will bury them.

The weeds will inherit the silver they treasure ¹⁴  –

thorn bushes will occupy their homes. ¹⁵ 

[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.

[9:6]  ¹⁵ tn The deictic particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “Behold!”) is used frequently in prophetic announcements, introducing a solemn or important declaration, particularly in threats of judgment (BDB 244 s.v. הִנֵּה b.β). Many modern English versions leave this particle untranslated here.

[9:6]  ¹⁶ tn The conjunction כִּי (ki) introduces a concessive clause: “Although, when, if, even if” (BDB 473 s.v. כִּי 2.c.β). It has a force approximating “even if” (so NIV, NCV, NRSV, CEV, NLT), but it represents a situation as more likely to occur than אִם (‘im, “if”). The concessive use of כִּי is normally followed by an imperfect, but occasionally a perfect is used, as is the case here (e.g., Mic 7:8; Nah 1:10; Pss 21:12; 119:83).

[9:6]  ¹⁷ tn The verb קָבַץ (qavats, “to gather together”) should be nuanced “grab hold” in this context (HALOT 1063 s.v. קבץ). This pictures a personified Egypt taking the fugitives prisoner.

[9:6]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “the treasured things of their silver”; NASB, NIV, TEV, NLT “treasures of silver.”

[9:6]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “their tents” (so NIV, NRSV); CEV “your tents.”