Discovery BoxHosea 6:4--8:14
Context6:4 What am I going to do with you, O Ephraim?
What am I going to do with you, O Judah?
For 1 your faithfulness is as fleeting as the morning mist; 2
it disappears as quickly as dawn’s dew! 3
6:5 Therefore, I will certainly cut 4 you into pieces at the hands of the prophets; 5
I will certainly kill you 6 in fulfillment of my oracles of judgment; 7
for 8 my judgment 9 will come forth like the light of the dawn. 10
6:6 For I delight in faithfulness, not simply in sacrifice;
I delight 11 in acknowledging God, not simply in whole burnt offerings. 12
6:7 At Adam 13 they broke 14 the covenant;
Oh how 15 they were unfaithful 16 to me!
6:8 Gilead is a city full of evildoers; 17
its streets are stained with bloody footprints! 18
6:9 The company of priests is like a gang of robbers,
lying in ambush to pounce on a victim.
They commit murder on the road to Shechem;
they have done heinous crimes!
6:10 I have seen a disgusting thing in the temple of Israel:
there Ephraim practices temple prostitution
and Judah defiles itself.
6:11 I have appointed a time to reap judgment 19 for you also, O Judah!
Whenever I want to restore the fortunes of my people, 20
7:1 whenever I want to heal Israel,
the sin of Ephraim is revealed,
and the evil deeds of Samaria are exposed.
For they do what is wrong;
thieves break into houses,
and gangs rob people out in the streets.
that I remember all of their wicked deeds.
Their evil deeds have now surrounded them;
their sinful deeds are always before me. 22
7:3 The royal advisers delight the king with their evil schemes,
the princes make him glad with their lies.
7:4 They are all like bakers, 23
they 24 are like a smoldering oven;
they are like a baker who does not stoke the fire
until the kneaded dough is ready for baking.
7:5 At the celebration 25 of their king, 26
his princes become inflamed 27 with wine;
they conspire 28 with evildoers.
7:6 They approach him, all the while plotting against him.
Their hearts are like an oven;
their anger smolders all night long,
but in the morning it bursts into a flaming fire.
7:7 All of them are blazing like an oven;
they devour their rulers.
All of their kings fall –
and none of them call on me!
7:8 Ephraim has mixed itself like flour 29 among the nations;
Ephraim is like a ruined cake of bread that is scorched on one side. 30
7:9 Foreigners are consuming what his strenuous labor produced, 31
but he does not recognize it!
His head is filled with gray hair,
but he does not realize it!
7:10 The arrogance of Israel testifies against him,
yet they refuse to return to the Lord their God!
In spite of all this they refuse to seek him!
7:11 Ephraim has been like a dove,
easily deceived and lacking discernment.
They called to Egypt for help;
they turned to Assyria for protection.
7:12 I will throw my bird net over them while they are flying,
I will bring them down like birds in the sky;
I will discipline them when I hear them flocking together.
7:13 Woe to them! For they have fled from me!
Destruction to them! For they have rebelled against me!
I want to deliver 32 them,
but they have lied to me.
7:14 They do not pray to me, 33
but howl in distress on their beds;
They slash themselves 34 for grain and new wine,
but turn away from me.
7:15 Although I trained and strengthened them, 35
they plot evil against me!
they are like an unreliable bow.
Their leaders will fall by the sword
because their prayers to Baal 37 have made me angry.
So people will disdain them in the land of Egypt. 38
An eagle 40 looms over the temple of the Lord!
For they have broken their covenant with me, 41
and have rebelled against my law.
8:2 Israel cries out to me,
“My God, we acknowledge you!”
8:3 But Israel has rejected what is morally good;
so an enemy will pursue him.
8:4 They enthroned kings without my consent! 42
They appointed princes without my approval! 43
They made idols out of their silver and gold,
but they will be destroyed! 44
8:5 O Samaria, he has rejected your calf idol!
My anger burns against them!
They will not survive much longer without being punished, 45
even though they are Israelites!
8:6 That idol was made by a workman – it is not God!
The calf idol of Samaria will be broken to bits.
8:7 They sow the wind,
and so they will reap the whirlwind!
The stalk does not have any standing grain;
it will not produce any flour.
Even if it were to yield grain,
foreigners would swallow it all up.
8:8 Israel will be swallowed up among the nations;
they will be like a worthless piece of pottery.
8:9 They have gone up to Assyria,
like a wild donkey that wanders off.
Ephraim has hired prostitutes as lovers. 46
8:10 Even though they have hired lovers among the nations, 47
I will soon gather them together for judgment. 48
Then 49 they will begin to waste away
under the oppression of a mighty king. 50
8:11 Although Ephraim has built many altars for sin offerings,
these have become altars for sinning!
8:12 I spelled out my law for him in great detail,
but they regard it as something totally unknown 51 to them!
8:13 They offer up sacrificial gifts to me,
and eat the meat,
but the Lord does not accept their sacrifices. 52
Soon he will remember their wrongdoing,
he will punish their sins,
and they will return to Egypt.
8:14 Israel has forgotten his Maker and built royal palaces,
and Judah has built many fortified cities.
But I will send fire on their cities;
it will consume their royal citadels.
[6:4] 1 tn The vav prefixed to וְחַסְדְּכֶם (vÿkhasdÿkhem, “your faithfulness”) functions in an explanatory sense (“For”).
[6:4] 2 tn Heb “your faithfulness [so NCV; NASB “your loyalty”; NIV, NRSV, NLT “your love”] is like a morning cloud” (וְחַסְדְּכֶם כַּעֲנַן־בֹּקֶר, vÿkhasdÿkhem ka’anan-boqer).
[6:4] 3 tn Heb “the dew departing early” (BDB 1014 s.v. שָׁכַם); cf. NRSV “the dew that goes away early.” The Hiphil participle מַשְׁכִּים (mashkim) means “to depart early” (Gen 19:27; Josh 8:14; Judg 19:9). The idiom means “early morning” (1 Sam 17:16).
[6:5] 4 tn The two suffix conjugation verbs חָצַבְתִּי (khatsavti, Qal perfect 1st person common singular from חָצַב, khatsav, “to cut into pieces”) and הֲרַגְתִּים (haragtim, Qal perfect 1st person common singular + 3rd person masculine plural suffix from הָרַג, harag, “to kill”) are used in reference to future-time events. These are examples of the so-called “prophetic perfect” which emphasizes the certainty of the future event (e.g., Num 24:17; Josh 10:19; Isa 8:23; 9:1). For this function of the perfect, see IBHS 480-81 §30.1d. Most English versions, however, render these as past tenses.
[6:5] 5 tn Heb “by the prophets” (so KJV, NRSV). The prophets are pictured as the executioners of Israel and Judah because they announced their imminent destruction. The prophetic word was endowed with the power of fulfillment.
[6:5] 6 tn Heb “them.” The shift from the 2nd person masculine singular referents (“your” and “you”) in 6:4-5 to the 3rd person masculine plural referent (“them”) is an example of enallage, a poetic device used for emphasis.
[6:5] 7 tn Heb “with the words of my mouth” (so NIV); TEV “with my message of judgment and destruction.”
[6:5] 8 tn The disjunctive vav prefixed to the noun (וּמִשְׁפָּטֶיךָ, umishpatekha) has an explanatory function.
[6:5] 9 tc The MT reads וּמִשְׁפָּטֶיךָ אוֹר יֵצֵא (umishpatekha ’or yetse’, “and your judgments [are] a light [which] goes forth”) which is enigmatic and syntactically awkward (cf. KJV, NASB). The LXX reads καὶ τὸ κρίμα μου ὡς φώς (kai to krima mou {ws fos, “my judgment goes forth like light”) which reflects וּמִשְׁפָּטִי כָאוֹר יֵצֵא (umishpati kha’or yetse’, “my judgment goes forth like the light”) and posits only a simple misdivision of words. This is reflected in the Syriac Peshitta and Aramaic Targum and is followed by the present translation (so also NCV, NRSV). See D. Barthélemy, ed., Preliminary and Interim Report on the Hebrew Old Testament Text Project, 5:238.
[6:5] 10 tn The noun אוֹר (’or, “light”) is used here in reference to the morning light or dawn (e.g., Judg 16:2; 19:26; 1 Sam 14:36; 25:34, 36; 2 Sam 17:22; 23:4; 2 Kgs 7:9; Neh 8:3; Job 24:14; Prov 4:18; Mic 2:1; cf. CEV, NLT) rather than lightning (cf. NIV). This continues the early morning imagery used throughout 6:2-5.
[6:6] 11 tn The phrase “I delight” does not appear in the Hebrew text a second time in this verse, but is implied from the parallelism in the preceding line.
[6:6] 12 sn Contrary to popular misunderstanding, Hosea does not reject animal sacrifice nor cultic ritual, and advocate instead obedience only. Rather, God does not delight in ritual sacrifice without the accompanying prerequisite moral obedience (1 Sam 15:22; Pss 40:6-8; 51:16-17; Prov 21:3; Isa 1:11-17; Jer 7:21-23; Hos 6:6; Mic 6:6-8). However, if prerequisite moral obedience is present, he delights in sacrificial worship as an outward expression (Ps 51:19). Presented by a repentant obedient worshiper, whole burnt offerings were “an aroma pleasing” to the
[6:7] 13 tn Or “Like Adam”; or “Like [sinful] men.” The MT reads כְּאָדָם (kÿ’adam, “like Adam” or “as [sinful] men”); however, the editors of BHS suggest this reflects an orthographic confusion of בְּאָדָם (bÿ’adam, “at Adam”), as suggested by the locative adverb שָׁם (sham, “there”) in the following line. However, שָׁם sometimes functions in a nonlocative sense similar to the deictic particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “Behold!”). The singular noun אָדָם (’adam) has been taken in several different ways: (1) proper name: “like Adam” (כְּאָדָם), (2) collective singular: “like [sinful] men” (כְּאָדָם), (3) proper location: “at Adam,” referring to a city in the Jordan Valley (Josh 3:16), emending comparative כְּ (kaf) to locative בְּ (bet, “at”): “at Adam” (בְּאָדָם). BDB 9 s.v. אָדָם 2 suggests the collective sense, referring to sinful men (Num 5:6; 1 Kgs 8:46; 2 Chr 6:36; Jer 10:14; Job 31:33; Hos 6:7). The English versions are divided: KJV margin, ASV, RSV margin, NASB, NIV, TEV margin, NLT “like Adam”; RSV, NRSV, TEV “at Adam”; KJV “like men.”
[6:7] 14 tn The verb עָבַר (’avar) refers here to breaking a covenant and carries the nuance “to overstep, transgress” (BDB 717 s.v. עָבַר 1.i). Cf. NAB “violated”; NRSV “transgressed.”
[6:7] 15 tn The adverb שָׁם (sham) normally functions in a locative sense meaning “there” (BDB 1027 s.v. שָׁם). This is how it is translated by many English versions (e.g., KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV). However, in poetry שָׁם sometimes functions in a nonlocative sense to introduce expressions of astonishment or when a scene is vividly visualized in the writer’s imagination (see BDB 1027 s.v. 1.a.β), or somewhat similar to the deictic particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “Behold!”): “See [שָׁם] how the evildoers lie fallen!” (Ps 36:13); “Listen! The cry on the day of the
[6:7] 16 tn The verb בָּגַד (bagad, “to act treacherously”) is often used in reference to faithlessness in covenant relationships (BDB 93 s.v. בָּגַד).
[6:8] 17 tn The participle phrase פֹּעֲלֵי אָוֶן (po’ale ’aven, “workers of wickedness”) emphasizes continual (uninterrupted), habitual action. This particular use of the participle is an ironic play on the professional occupation function (see IBHS 615 §37.2c). In effect, the major “professional guild” in Gilead is evil-working; the people are producers of evil!
[6:8] 18 tn Heb “it is foot-tracked with blood”; NAB “tracked with (+ footprints of NLT) blood.”
[6:11] 19 tn Heb “a harvest is appointed for you also, O Judah” (similar ASV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).
[6:11] 20 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.
[7:2] 21 tn Heb “and they do not say in their heart”; TEV “It never enters their heads.”
[7:2] 22 tn Heb “they [the sinful deeds] are before my face” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV); NCV “they are right in front of me.”
[7:4] 23 tc The MT reads מְנָאֲפִים (mÿna’afim, “adulterers”; Piel participle masculine plural from נָאַף, na’af, “to commit adultery”), which does not seem to fit the context. The original reading was probably אוֹפִים (’ofim, “bakers”; Qal participle masculine plural from אָפַה, ’afah, “to bake”), which harmonizes well with the baker/oven/fire motif in 7:4-7. The textual deviation was caused by: (1) confusion of נ (nun) and ו (vav), (2) metathesis of נ/ו (nun/vav) and א (alef), and (3) dittography of מ (mem) from the preceding word. Original כֻּלָּם אוֹפִים (kullam ’ofim, “all of them are bakers”) was confused for כֻּלָּם מְנָאֲפִים (“all of them are adulterers”). In spite of this most English versions follow the reading of the MT here.
[7:4] 24 tc The MT preserves the enigmatic כְּמוֹ תַנּוּר בֹּעֵרָה מֵ (kÿmo tannur bo’erah me, “Like a burning oven, from…?”). The adjectival participle בֹּעֵרָה (“burning”) is feminine while the noun תַנּוּר (tannur, “oven”) that it modifies is masculine. The BHS editors solve this problem by simply redividing the words: כְּמוֹ תַנּוּר בֹּעֵר הֵם (cÿmo tannur bo’er hem, “they are like a burning oven”). This solution is followed by many English versions (e.g., NCV, NRSV, NLT).
[7:5] 25 tn Heb “the day of” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NRSV); NIV “On the day of the festival of our king”; NLT “On royal holidays.”
[7:5] 26 tc The MT preserves the awkward 1st person common plural suffix reading מַלְכֵּנוּ (malakenu, “our king”). The BHS editors suggest reading the 3rd person masculine plural suffix מַלְכָּם (malkam, “their king”; so CEV), as reflected in the Aramaic Targum.
[7:5] 27 tc The MT vocalizes the consonants החלו as הֶחֱלוּ a Hiphil perfect 3rd person common plural from I חָלָה (“to become sick”). However, this is syntactically awkward. The BHS editors suggest revocalizing it as Hiphil infinitive construct + 3rd person masculine singular suffix from חָלַל (khalal, “to begin”) or Hiphil perfect 3rd person common plural from חָלַל. For a discussion of this textual problem, see D. Barthélemy, ed., Preliminary and Interim Report on the Hebrew Old Testament Text Project, 5:240.
[7:5] 28 tn Heb “he joined hands”; NCV “make agreements.”
[7:8] 29 tn The words “like flour” are not in the Hebrew text, but are implied by the imagery.
[7:8] 30 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.”
[7:9] 31 tn Heb “foreigners consume his strength”; NRSV “devour (sap NIV) his strength.”
[7:13] 32 tn Heb “redeem” (so NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT); NCV, TEV “save”; CEV “I would have rescued them.”
[7:14] 33 tn Heb “they do not cry out to me in their heart”; NLT “with sincere hearts.”
[7:14] 34 tc The MT reads יִתְגּוֹרָרוּ (yitgoraru) which is either (1) Hitpolel imperfect 3rd person masculine plural (“they assemble themselves”; so KJV, NASB) from I גּוּר (gur, “to sojourn”; BDB 157 s.v. I גּוּר) or (2) Hitpolel imperfect 3rd person masculine plural (“they excite themselves”) from II גּוּר (gur, “to stir up”; BDB 158 s.v. II גּוּר). However, the Hebrew lexicographers suggest that both of these options are unlikely. Several other Hebrew
[7:15] 35 tn Heb “their arms” (so NAB, NRSV).
[7:16] 36 tc The MT reads the enigmatic יָשׁוּבוּ לֹא עָל (yashuvu lo’ ’al) which is taken variously: “they turn, but not upward” (NASB); “they do not turn to the Most High” (NIV); “they return, but not to the most High” (KJV). The BHS editors suggest יָשׁוּבוּ לַבַּעַל (yashuvu labba’al, “they turn to Baal”; so RSV) or יָשׁוּבוּ לַבְּלִיַּעַל (yashuvu labbÿliyya’al, “they turn to Belial”) which is reflected by the LXX.
[7:16] 37 tn Heb “because their tongue.” The term “tongue” is used figuratively, as a metonymy of cause (tongue) for the effect (prayers to Baal).
[7:16] 38 tn Heb “this [will] be for scorn in the land of Egypt”; NIV “they will be ridiculed (NAB shall be mocked) in the land of Egypt.”
[8:1] 39 tn Heb “A horn unto your gums!”; NAB “A trumpet to your lips!”
[8:1] 40 tn Or perhaps “A vulture.” Some identify the species indicated by the Hebrew term נֶשֶׁר (nesher) as the griffon vulture (cf. NEB, NRSV).
[8:1] 41 tn Heb “my covenant” (so NAB, NIV, NRSV); TEV “the covenant I made with them.”
[8:4] 42 tn Heb “but without me”; NCV “without asking my permission”; CEV “without consulting me.”
[8:4] 43 tn Heb “but I did not know”; NRSV “but without my knowledge.”
[8:4] 44 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.
[8:5] 45 tn Heb “How long will they be able to be free from punishment?” This rhetorical question affirms that Israel will not survive much longer until God punishes it.
[8:9] 46 tn Or “has hired herself out to lovers”; cf. NIV “has sold herself to lovers.”
[8:10] 47 tn Or “they have hired themselves out to lovers”; cf. NASB “they hire allies among the nations.”
[8:10] 48 tn The Piel stem of קָבַץ (qavats) is often used in a positive sense, meaning “to regather” a dispersed people (HALOT 1063 s.v. קבץ 3.a; BDB 868 s.v. קָבַץ 1.α). However, in Hosea 8:10 it is used in a negative sense, meaning “to assemble (people) for judgment” (e.g., Ezek 20:34; Hos 9:6; HALOT 1063 s.v. 3.e.i). Cf. JPS “I will hold them fast” (in judgment, see the parallel in 9:6).
[8:10] 49 tn The vav consecutive + preterite וַיָּחֵלּוּ (vayyakhellu, Hiphil preterite 3rd person common plural from חָלַל, khalal, “to begin”]) denotes temporal subordination to the preceding clause: “then…” (so NLT); cf. TEV, CEV “Soon.”
[8:10] 50 tn Heb “a king of princes” (cf. KJV, NASB); TEV “the emperor of Assyria.”
[8:12] 51 tn Heb “foreign” or “alien”; NASB, NRSV “as a strange thing.”
[8:13] 52 tn Heb “does not accept them”; the referent (their sacrifices) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
