Hosea 2:23

2:23 Then I will plant her as my own ¹  in the land.

I will have pity on ‘No Pity’ (Lo-Ruhamah).

I will say to ‘Not My People’ (Lo-Ammi), ‘You are my people!’

And he ²  will say, ‘You are ³  my God!’”

Hosea 4:6

4:6 You have destroyed ⁴  my people

by failing to acknowledge me!

Because you refuse to acknowledge me, ⁵ 

I will reject you as my priests.

Because you reject ⁶  the law of your God,

I will reject ⁷  your descendants.

Hosea 10:11

Fertility Imagery: Plowing, Sowing, and Reaping

10:11 Ephraim was a well-trained heifer who loved to thresh grain;

I myself put a fine yoke ⁸ on her neck.

I will harness Ephraim.

Let Judah plow! ⁹ 

Let Jacob break up ¹⁰  the unplowed ground for himself!

Hosea 14:3

14:3 Assyria cannot save us;

we will not ride warhorses.

We will never again say, ‘Our gods’

to what our own hands have made.

For only you will show compassion to Orphan Israel!” ¹¹ 

[2:23]  ¹ tn Heb “for myself.”

[2:23]  ² tn The Hebrew text, carrying out the reference to the son born in 1:8-9, uses the third person masculine singular pronoun here; some English translations use third person plural (“they,” so KJV, NASB, NIV, CEV) in keeping with the immediate context, which refers to reestablished Israel.

[2:23]  ³ tn The words “You are” do not appear in the Hebrew text, but are implied. It is necessary to supply the phrase in the translation to prevent the reader from understanding the predicate “my God” as an exclamation (cf. NAB).

[4:6]  ⁴ tn Heb “they have destroyed” or “my people are destroyed” (so KJV, NIV, NRSV).

[4:6]  ⁵ tn Heb “Because you reject knowledge”; NLT “because they don’t know me.”

[4:6]  ⁶ tn Heb “have forgotten”; NAB, NIV “have ignored.”

[4:6]  ⁷ tn Heb “forget” (so KJV, NRSV); NLT “forget to bless.”

[10:11]  ⁸ tc The MT is unintelligible: עַל־טוּב (’al-tuv, “upon a fine [thing]”?). Cf. KJV “I passed over upon her fair neck”; NRSV “I spared her fair neck.” The BHS editors suggest the revocalization עֹל־טוּב (’ol-tuv, “a fine yoke”), followed by many modern English versions (e.g., NAB, NASB, NIV, NCV, TEV, NLT). The noun עֹל (’ol, “yoke”) also appears in 11:4 in a metaphor which compares Israel to a young heifer as well.

[10:11]  ⁹ tn Or “Judah will plow” (so NASB); NIV, NRSV, CEV “Judah must plow.”

[10:11]  ¹⁰ tn Or “Jacob will break up.”

[14:3]  ¹¹ tn Heb “For the orphan is shown compassion by you.” The present translation takes “orphan” as a figurative reference to Israel, which is specified in the translation for clarity.