Hosea 11:1

Reversal of the Exodus: Return to Egypt and Exile in Assyria

11:1 When Israel was a young man, I loved him like a son, ¹ 

and I summoned my son ²  out of Egypt.

Yeremia 2:2

2:2 “Go and declare in the hearing of the people of Jerusalem: ³  ‘This is what the Lord says: “I have fond memories of you, ⁴  how devoted you were to me in your early years. ⁵  I remember how you loved me like a new bride; you followed me through the wilderness, through a land that had never been planted.

Yehezkiel 16:8

16:8 “‘Then I passed by you and watched you, noticing ⁶  that you had reached the age for love. ⁷  I spread my cloak ⁸  over you and covered your nakedness. I swore a solemn oath to you and entered into a marriage covenant with you, declares the sovereign Lord, and you became mine.

Yehezkiel 16:22

16:22 And with all your abominable practices and prostitution you did not remember the days of your youth when you were naked and bare, kicking around in your blood.

Yehezkiel 16:60

16:60 Yet I will remember the covenant I made with you in the days of your youth, and I will establish a lasting ⁹  covenant with you.

[11:1]  ¹ tn The words “like a son” are not in the Hebrew text, but are necessary to clarify what sort of love is intended (cf. also NLT).

[11:1]  ² tc The MT reads בְנִי (vÿni, “My son”); however, the LXX reflects בָנָיו (vanav, “his sons”). The MT should be retained as original here because of internal evidence; it is much more appropriate to the context.

[2:2]  ³ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[2:2]  ⁴ tn Heb “I remember to/for you.”

[2:2]  ⁵ tn Heb “the loyal love of your youth.”

[2:2]  sn The Hebrew word translated “how devoted you were” (חֶסֶד, khesed) refers metaphorically to the devotion of a new bride to her husband. In typical Hebraic fashion, contemporary Israel is identified with early Israel after she first entered into covenant with (= married) the Lord. The reference to her earlier devotion is not absolute but relative. Compared to her unfaithfulness in worshiping other gods after she got into the land, the murmuring and complaining in the wilderness are ignored.

[16:8]  ⁶ tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates becoming aware of something and has been translated here as a participle.

[16:8]  ⁷ tn See similar use of this term in Ezek 23:17; Prov 7:16; Song of Songs 4:10; 7:13.

[16:8]  ⁸ tn Heb “wing” or “skirt.” The gesture symbolized acquiring a woman in early Arabia (similarly, see Deut 22:30; Ruth 3:9).

[16:60]  ⁹ tn Or “eternal.”