Hosea 5:10-13

The Oppressors of the Helpless Will Be Oppressed

5:10 The princes of Judah are like those who move boundary markers.

I will pour out my rage on them like a torrential flood! ¹ 

5:11 Ephraim will be oppressed, ²  crushed ³  under judgment, ⁴ 

because he was determined to pursue worthless idols. ⁵ 

The Curse of the Incurable Wound

5:12 I will be like a moth to Ephraim,

like wood rot ⁶  to the house of Judah.

5:13 When Ephraim saw ⁷  his sickness

and Judah saw his wound,

then Ephraim turned ⁸  to Assyria,

and begged ⁹  its great king ¹⁰  for help.

But he will not be able to heal you!

He cannot cure your wound! ¹¹ 

[5:10]  ¹ tn Heb “like water” (so KJV, NAB, NRSV); NLT “like a waterfall.” The term מַיִם (mayim, “water”) often refers to literal flood waters (Gen 7:7, 10; 8:3, 7-9; Isa 54:9) and figuratively describes the Lord’s judgment that totally destroys the wicked (BDB 566 s.v. מַי 4.k).

[5:11]  ² 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]  ³ 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]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ tn The meaning of the Hebrew term translated “worthless idols” is uncertain; cf. KJV “the commandment”; NASB “man’s command”; NAB “filth”; NRSV “vanity.”

[5:12]  ³ tn The noun רָקָב (raqav, “rottenness, decay”) refers to wood rot caused by the ravages of worms (BDB 955 s.v. רָקָב); cf. NLT “dry rot.” The related noun רִקָּבוֹן (riqqavon) refers to “rotten wood” (Job 41:27).

[5:13]  ⁴ tn Hosea employs three preterites (vayyiqtol forms) in verse 13a-b to describe a past-time situation.

[5:13]  ⁵ tn Heb “went to” (so NAB, NRSV, TEV); CEV “asked help from.”

[5:13]  ⁶ tn Heb “sent to” (so KJV, NIV, NRSV).

[5:13]  ⁷ tc The MT reads מֶלֶךְ יָרֵב (melekh yarev, “a contentious king”). This is translated as a proper name (“king Jareb”) by KJV, ASV, NASB. However, the stative adjective יָרֵב (“contentious”) is somewhat awkward. The words should be redivided as an archaic genitive-construct מַלְכִּי רָב (malki rav, “great king”; cf. NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT) which preserves the old genitive hireq yod ending. This is the equivalent of the Assyrian royal epithet sarru rabbu (“the great king”). See also the tc note on the same phrase in 10:6.

[5:13]  ⁸ tn Heb “your wound will not depart from you.”