Hosea 4:1

The Lord’s Covenant Lawsuit against the Nation Israel

4:1 Hear the word of the Lord, you Israelites! ¹ 

For the Lord has a covenant lawsuit ²  against the people of Israel. ³ 

For there is neither faithfulness nor loyalty in the land,

nor do they acknowledge God. ⁴ 

Proverbs 21:3

21:3 To do righteousness and justice

is more acceptable ⁵  to the Lord than sacrifice. ⁶ 

Isaiah 1:16

1:16 ⁷ Wash! Cleanse yourselves!

Remove your sinful deeds ⁸ 

from my sight.

Stop sinning!

Isaiah 58:6

58:6 No, this is the kind of fast I want. ⁹ 

I want you ¹⁰  to remove the sinful chains,

to tear away the ropes of the burdensome yoke,

to set free the oppressed, ¹¹ 

and to break every burdensome yoke.

Jeremiah 22:15

22:15 Does it make you any more of a king

that you outstrip everyone else in ¹²  building with cedar?

Just think about your father.

He was content that he had food and drink. ¹³ 

He did what was just and right. ¹⁴ 

So things went well with him.

Amos 5:24

5:24 Justice must flow like torrents of water,

righteous actions ¹⁵  like a stream that never dries up.

Micah 6:8

6:8 He has told you, O man, what is good,

and what the Lord really wants from you: ¹⁶ 

He wants you to ¹⁷  promote ¹⁸  justice, to be faithful, ¹⁹ 

and to live obediently before ²⁰  your God.

Zechariah 7:9

7:9 “The Lord who rules over all said, ‘Exercise true judgment and show brotherhood and compassion to each other.

Zechariah 8:16

8:16 These are the things you must do: Speak the truth, each of you, to one another. Practice true and righteous judgment in your courts. ²¹ 

James 1:27

1:27 Pure and undefiled religion before ²²  God the Father ²³  is this: to care for orphans and widows in their misfortune and to keep oneself unstained by the world.

James 2:13

2:13 For judgment is merciless for the one who has shown no mercy. But mercy triumphs over ²⁴  judgment.

[4:1]  ¹ tn Heb “sons of Israel” (so NASB); KJV “children of Israel”; NAB, NRSV “people of Israel.”

[4:1]  ² tn The noun רִיב (riv, “dispute, lawsuit”) is used in two contexts: (1) nonlegal contexts: (a) “dispute” between individuals (e.g., Gen 13:7; Isa 58:1; Jer 15:10) or (b) “brawl; quarrel” between people (e.g., Exod 17:7; Deut 25:1); and (2) legal contexts: (a) “lawsuit; legal process” (e.g., Exod 23:3-6; Deut 19:17; 21:5; Ezek 44:24; Ps 35:23), (b) “lawsuit; legal case” (e.g., Deut 1:12; 17:8; Prov 18:17; 25:9), and (c) God’s “lawsuit” on behalf of a person or against his own people (Hos 4:1; 12:3; Mic 6:2; HALOT 1225-26 s.v. רִיב). The term in Hosea refers to a covenant lawsuit in which Yahweh the suzerain lodges a legal case against his disobedient vassal, accusing Israel and Judah of breach of covenant which will elicit the covenant curses.

[4:1]  ³ tn Heb “with the inhabitants of the land” (so KJV); NAB, NASB, NRSV “against the inhabitants of the land.”

[4:1]  ⁴ tn Heb “there is no truthfulness nor loyalty nor knowledge of God in the land.” Here “knowledge of God” refers to recognition of his authority and obedience to his will.

[21:3]  ⁵ tn The Niphal participle בָּחַר (bakhar, “to choose”) means “choice to the Lord” or “chosen of the Lord,” meaning “acceptable to the Lord”; cf. TEV “pleases the Lord more.”

[21:3]  ⁶ sn The Lord prefers righteousness above religious service (e.g., Prov 15:8; 21:29; 1 Sam 15:22; Ps 40:6-8; Isa 1:11-17). This is not a rejection of ritual worship; rather, religious acts are without value apart from righteous living.

[1:16]  ⁷ sn Having demonstrated the people’s guilt, the Lord calls them to repentance, which will involve concrete action in the socio-economic realm, not mere emotion.

[1:16]  ⁸ sn This phrase refers to Israel’s covenant treachery (cf. Deut 28:10; Jer 4:4; 21:12; 23:2, 22; 25:5; 26:3; 44:22; Hos 9:15; Ps 28:4). In general, the noun ַמעַלְלֵיכֶם (ma’alleykhem) can simply be a reference to deeds, whether good or bad. However, Isaiah always uses it with a negative connotation (cf. 3:8, 10).

[58:6]  ⁹ tn Heb “Is this not a fast I choose?” “No” is supplied in the translation for clarification.

[58:6]  ¹⁰ tn The words “I want you” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[58:6]  ¹¹ tn Heb “crushed.”

[22:15]  ¹² tn For the use of this verb see Jer 12:5 where it is used of Jeremiah “competing” with horses. The form is a rare Tiphel (see GKC 153 §55.h).

[22:15]  ¹³ tn Heb “Your father, did he not eat and drink and do justice and right.” The copulative vav in front of the verbs here (all Hebrew perfects) shows that these actions are all coordinate not sequential. The contrast drawn here between the actions of Jehoiakim and Josiah show that the phrase eating and drinking should be read in the light of the same contrasts in Eccl 2 which ends with the note of contentment in Eccl 2:24 (see also Eccl 3:13; 5:18 [5:17 HT]; 8:15). The question is, of course, rhetorical setting forth the positive role model against which Jehoiakim’s actions are to be condemned. The key terms here are “then things went well with him” which is repeated in the next verse after the reiteration of Josiah’s practice of justice.

[22:15]  ¹⁴ sn The father referred to here is the godly king Josiah. He followed the requirements for kings set forth in 22:3 in contrast to his son who did not (22:13).

[5:24]  ¹⁵ tn Traditionally, “righteousness.”

[6:8]  ¹⁶ sn What the Lord really wants from you. Now the prophet switches roles and answers the hypothetical worshiper’s question. He makes it clear that the Lord desires proper attitudes more than ritual and sacrifice.

[6:8]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “except.” This statement is actually linked with what precedes, “What does he want from you except….”

[6:8]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “to do,” in the sense of “promote.”

[6:8]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “to love faithfulness.”

[6:8]  ²⁰ tn Heb “to walk humbly [or perhaps, “carefully”] with.”

[8:16]  ²¹ sn For a similar reference to true and righteous judgment see Mic 6:8.

[1:27]  ²² tn Or “in the sight of”; Grk “with.”

[1:27]  ²³ tn Grk “the God and Father.”

[2:13]  ²⁴ tn Grk “boasts against, exults over,” in victory.