Hosea 4:9

4:9 I will deal with the people and priests together: ¹ 

I will punish them both for their ways,

and I will repay them for their deeds.

Hosea 5:12

The Curse of the Incurable Wound

5:12 I will be like a moth to Ephraim,

like wood rot ²  to the house of Judah.

Hosea 8:2

8:2 Israel cries out to me,

“My God, we acknowledge you!”

Hosea 11:5

11:5 They will return to Egypt! ³ 

Assyria will rule over them ⁴ 

because they refuse to repent! ⁵ 

[4:9]  ¹ tn Heb “And it shall be, like people, like priest” (so ASV); NAB “The priests shall fare no better than the people.”

[5:12]  ² tn The noun רָקָב (raqav, “rottenness, decay”) refers to wood rot caused by the ravages of worms (BDB 955 s.v. רָקָב); cf. NLT “dry rot.” The related noun רִקָּבוֹן (riqqavon) refers to “rotten wood” (Job 41:27).

[11:5]  ³ tc Or “Will they not return to Egypt?” (so NIV). Following the LXX and BHS, the MT לֹא (lo’, “not”) should probably be read as לוֹ (lo, “to him”) and connected to the end of 11:4 rather than the beginning of 11:5. The textual confusion between לֹא and לוֹ probably reflects an unintentional scribal error due to a mistake in hearing (cf., e.g., Kethib/Qere in Ps 100:3).

[11:5]  ⁴ tn Heb “Assyria, he will be his [Israel’s] king” (NASB similar).

[11:5]  ⁵ tn Heb “return” (so KJV, ASV, NASB, NRSV). The root שׁוּב (shuv, “to turn, return”) appears at the beginning and ending of this verse, creating an inclusio. This repetition produces an ironic wordplay: because Israel refuses to “return” to God or “turn” from its sin, it will “return” to Egypt. The punishment fits the crime.