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 5:1

Announcement of Sin and Judgment

5:1 Hear this, you priests!

Pay attention, you Israelites! ⁶ 

Listen closely, ⁷  O king! ⁸ 

For judgment is about to overtake you! ⁹ 

For you were like a trap ¹⁰  to Mizpah, ¹¹ 

like a net ¹²  spread out to catch Tabor. ¹³ 

Hosea 14:8

14:8 O Ephraim, I do not want to have anything to do ¹⁴  with idols anymore!

I will answer him and care for him.

I am like ¹⁵  a luxuriant cypress tree; ¹⁶ 

your fruitfulness comes from me! ¹⁷ 

[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.

[5:1]  ⁶ tn Heb “O house of Israel” (so NAB, NASB, NRSV); NLT “all of Israel’s leaders.”

[5:1]  ⁷ tn Heb “Use the ear”; ASV “give ear.”

[5:1]  ⁸ tn Heb “O house of the king” (so KJV); NIV “O royal house.”

[5:1]  ⁹ tn Heb “for the judgment is to you”; or “For this accusation is against you.” Cf. NIV “This judgment is against you.”

[5:1]  ¹⁰ sn The noun פַּח (pakh, “trap”) is used (1) literally of a bird-trap, used in similes and metaphors (Amos 3:5; Prov 7:23; Eccl 9:12), and (2) figuratively to refer to (a) calamities and plots (Job 18:9; 22:10; Pss 91:3; 119:110; 124:7; 140:6; 141:9; 142:4; Prov 22:5; Isa 24:17-18; Jer 18:22; 48:43-44; Hos 9:8) and (b) a source of calamity (Josh 23:13; Pss 11:6; 69:23; Isa 8:14; Hos 5:1; BDB 809 s.v. פַּח).

[5:1]  ¹¹ tn Heb “you were a trap to Mizpah.”

[5:1]  ¹² sn The noun רֶשֶׁת (reshet, “net”) is used (1) literally of a net used to catch birds (Prov 1:17) and (2) in figurative descriptions of the wicked plotting to ensnare their victims (Prov 29:5; Pss 9:16; 10:9; 25:15; 31:5; 35:7; 57:7; 140:6; Job 18:8; BDB 440 s.v. רֶשֶׁת).

[5:1]  ¹³ tn Heb “and a net spread out over Tabor.”

[14:8]  ¹⁴ tn The Hebrew expression מַה־לִּי עוֹד (mah-li ’od) is a formula of repudiation/emphatic denial that God has anything in common with idols: “I want to have nothing to do with […] any more!” Cf., e.g., Judg 11:12; 2 Sam 16:10; 19:23; 1 Kgs 17:18; 2 Kgs 3:13; 2 Chr 35:21; Jer 2:18; Ps 50:16; BDB 553 s.v. מָה 1.d.(c).

[14:8]  ¹⁵ tn The term “like” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity, as in the majority of English versions (including KJV).

[14:8]  ¹⁶ tn Cf. KJV “a green fir tree”; NIV, NCV “a green pine tree”; NRSV “an evergreen cypress.”

[14:8]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “your fruit is found in me”; NRSV “your faithfulness comes from me.”