Hosea 2:9

2:9 Therefore, I will take back ¹  my grain during the harvest time ² 

and my new wine when it ripens; ³ 

I will take away my wool and my flax

which I had provided ⁴  in order to clothe her. ⁵ 

Hosea 2:17-18

2:17 For ⁶  I will remove the names of the Baal idols ⁷  from your lips, ⁸ 

so that you will never again utter their names!” ⁹ 

New Covenant Relationship with Repentant Israel

2:18 “At that time ¹⁰  I will make a covenant for them with the wild animals,

the birds of the air, and the creatures that crawl on the ground.

I will abolish ¹¹  the warrior’s bow and sword

– that is, every weapon of warfare ¹²  – from the land,

and I will allow them to live securely.” ¹³ 

[2:9]  ¹ tn Heb “I will return and I will take.” The two verbs joined with vav conjunction form a verbal hendiadys in which the first verb functions adverbially and the second retains its full verbal sense (GKC 386-87 §120.d, h): אָשׁוּב וְלָקַחְתִּי (’ashuv vÿlaqakhti) means “I will take back.”

[2:9]  ² tn Heb “in its time” (so NAB, NRSV).

[2:9]  ³ tn Heb “in its season” (so NAB, NASB, NRSV).

[2:9]  ⁴ tn The words “which I had provided” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons; cf. NIV “intended to cover.”

[2:9]  ⁵ tn Heb “to cover her nakedness” (so KJV and many other English versions); TEV “for clothing.”

[2:9]  sn This announcement of judgment is extremely ironic and forcefully communicates poetic justice: The punishment will fit the crime. The Israelites were literally uncovering their nakedness in temple prostitution in the Baal fertility cult rituals. Yahweh will, in effect, give them what they wanted (nakedness) but not in the way they wanted it: Yahweh will withhold the agricultural fertility they sought from Baal which would lead to nakedness caused by impoverishment.

[2:17]  ⁶ tn The vav consecutive prefixed to וַהֲסִרֹתִי (vahasiroti) “I will remove” (vav consecutive + Hiphil perfect 1st person common singular) introduces an explanatory clause.

[2:17]  ⁷ tn Heb “the Baals.” The singular term בַּעַל (ba’al) refers to the Canaanite god Baal himself, while the plural form הַבְּעָלִים (habbé’alim) refers to the manifestations of the god (i.e., idols; BDB 127 s.v. בָּעַל II.1).

[2:17]  ⁸ tn Heb “from her mouth.” In the translation this is rendered as second person for consistency.

[2:17]  ⁹ tn Heb “they will no longer be mentioned by their name.”

[2:18]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “And in that day” (so KJV, ASV).

[2:18]  ¹¹ tn Heb “I will break”; NAB “I will destroy”; NCV “I will smash”; NLT “I will remove.”

[2:18]  ¹² tn Heb “bow and sword and warfare.” The first two terms in the triad וְקֶשֶׁת וְחֶרֶב וּמִלְחָמָה (vÿqeshet vÿkherev umilkhamah, literally, “bow and sword and warfare”) are examples of synecdoche of specific (bow and sword) for general (weapons of war, so CEV). However, they might be examples of metonymy (bow and sword) of association (warfare).

[2:18]  ¹³ tn Heb “and I will cause them to lie down in safety.” The causative nuance (“will make them”) is retained in several English versions (e.g., KJV, ASV, NASB, NRSV).