Hosea 6:5

6:5 Therefore, I will certainly cut ¹  you into pieces at the hands of the prophets; ² 

I will certainly kill you ³  in fulfillment of my oracles of judgment; ⁴ 

for ⁵  my judgment ⁶  will come forth like the light of the dawn. ⁷ 

Hosea 7:12

7:12 I will throw my bird net over them while they are flying,

I will bring them down like birds in the sky;

I will discipline them when I hear them flocking together.

Hosea 8:1

God Will Raise Up the Assyrians to Attack Israel

8:1 Sound the alarm! ⁸ 

An eagle ⁹  looms over the temple of the Lord!

For they have broken their covenant with me, ¹⁰ 

and have rebelled against my law.

Hosea 10:10

10:10 When I please, ¹¹  I will discipline them; ¹² 

I will gather nations together to attack them, ¹³ 

to bind them in chains ¹⁴  for their two sins. ¹⁵ 

Hosea 12:2

12:2 The Lord also has a covenant lawsuit ¹⁶  against Judah;

he will punish Jacob according to his ways

and repay him according to his deeds.

Hosea 12:14

12:14 But Ephraim bitterly ¹⁷  provoked him to anger;

so he will hold him accountable for the blood he has shed, ¹⁸ 

his Lord ¹⁹  will repay him for the contempt he has shown. ²⁰ 

[6:5]  ¹ tn The two suffix conjugation verbs חָצַבְתִּי (khatsavti, Qal perfect 1st person common singular from חָצַב, khatsav, “to cut into pieces”) and הֲרַגְתִּים (haragtim, Qal perfect 1st person common singular + 3rd person masculine plural suffix from הָרַג, harag, “to kill”) are used in reference to future-time events. These are examples of the so-called “prophetic perfect” which emphasizes the certainty of the future event (e.g., Num 24:17; Josh 10:19; Isa 8:23; 9:1). For this function of the perfect, see IBHS 480-81 §30.1d. Most English versions, however, render these as past tenses.

[6:5]  ² tn Heb “by the prophets” (so KJV, NRSV). The prophets are pictured as the executioners of Israel and Judah because they announced their imminent destruction. The prophetic word was endowed with the power of fulfillment.

[6:5]  ³ tn Heb “them.” The shift from the 2nd person masculine singular referents (“your” and “you”) in 6:4-5 to the 3rd person masculine plural referent (“them”) is an example of enallage, a poetic device used for emphasis.

[6:5]  ⁴ tn Heb “with the words of my mouth” (so NIV); TEV “with my message of judgment and destruction.”

[6:5]  ⁵ tn The disjunctive vav prefixed to the noun (וּמִשְׁפָּטֶיךָ, umishpatekha) has an explanatory function.

[6:5]  ⁶ tc The MT reads וּמִשְׁפָּטֶיךָ אוֹר יֵצֵא (umishpatekha ’or yetse’, “and your judgments [are] a light [which] goes forth”) which is enigmatic and syntactically awkward (cf. KJV, NASB). The LXX reads καὶ τὸ κρίμα μου ὡς φώς (kai to krima mou {ws fos, “my judgment goes forth like light”) which reflects וּמִשְׁפָּטִי כָאוֹר יֵצֵא (umishpati kha’or yetse’, “my judgment goes forth like the light”) and posits only a simple misdivision of words. This is reflected in the Syriac Peshitta and Aramaic Targum and is followed by the present translation (so also NCV, NRSV). See D. Barthélemy, ed., Preliminary and Interim Report on the Hebrew Old Testament Text Project, 5:238.

[6:5]  ⁷ tn The noun אוֹר (’or, “light”) is used here in reference to the morning light or dawn (e.g., Judg 16:2; 19:26; 1 Sam 14:36; 25:34, 36; 2 Sam 17:22; 23:4; 2 Kgs 7:9; Neh 8:3; Job 24:14; Prov 4:18; Mic 2:1; cf. CEV, NLT) rather than lightning (cf. NIV). This continues the early morning imagery used throughout 6:2-5.

[6:5]  sn In 6:3 unrepentant Israel uttered an over-confident boast that the Lord would rescue the nation from calamity as certainly as the “light of the dawn” (שַׁחַר, shakhar) “comes forth” (יֵצֵא, yetse’) every morning. Playing upon the early morning imagery, the Lord responded in 6:4 that Israel’s prerequisite repentance was as fleeting as the early morning dew. Now in 6:5, the Lord announces that he will indeed appear as certainly as the morning; however, it will not be to rescue but to punish Israel: punishment will “come forth” (יֵצֵא) like the “light of the dawn” (אוֹר).

[8:1]  ⁸ tn Heb “A horn unto your gums!”; NAB “A trumpet to your lips!”

[8:1]  ⁹ tn Or perhaps “A vulture.” Some identify the species indicated by the Hebrew term נֶשֶׁר (nesher) as the griffon vulture (cf. NEB, NRSV).

[8:1]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “my covenant” (so NAB, NIV, NRSV); TEV “the covenant I made with them.”

[10:10]  ¹¹ tn Heb “in my desire”; ASV, NASB “When it is my desire”; NCV “When I am ready.”

[10:10]  ¹² tc The MT reads וְאֶסֳּרֵם (vÿ’essorem, vav conjunction + Niphal imperfect 1st person common singular + 3rd person masculine plural suffix from אָסַר, ’asar, “to bind”). The LXX reads παιδεῦσαι αὐτούς (paideusai autous, “to discipline them”) which reflects a Vorlage of אִיסַּרֶם (’issarem, Qal imperfect 1st person common singular + 3rd person masculine plural suffix from יָסַר, yasar, “to discipline”; BDB 416 s.v. יָסַר 3). The textual variant was caused by orthographic confusion between ו (vav) and י (yod) with metathesis of the two letters.

[10:10]  ¹³ tn Heb “Nations will be gathered together against them.”

[10:10]  ¹⁴ tn The verb אָסַר (’asar, “to bind”) often refers to conquered peoples being bound as prisoners (BDB 63 s.v. אָסַר). Here it is used figuratively to describe the Israelites being taken into exile. Cf. NIV “to put them in bonds.”

[10:10]  ¹⁵ tc The Kethib is לִשְׁתֵּי עֵינֹתָם (lishte ’enotam, “for their two eyes”), while the Qere reads לִשְׁתֵּי עוֹנֹתָם (lishte ’onotam, “for their two sins”). The phrase “two sins” could refer to (1) the sinful episode at Gibeah and the subsequent war between the tribe of Benjamin and the other tribes (Judges 19-21), or (2) the entire Gibeah incident (Judges 19-21) and Israel’s subsequent failure to repent up to the time of Hosea: “the time of Gibeah” (first sin) and “there you have remained” (second sin).

[12:2]  ¹⁶ tn The noun רִיב (riv, “dispute”) is used in two contexts: (1) nonlegal contexts: (a) “dispute” between individuals (e.g., Gen 13:7; Isa 58:1; Jer 15:10) or (b) “brawl, quarrel” between people (e.g., Exod 17:7; Deut 25:1); and (2) legal contexts: (a) “lawsuit, legal process” (e.g., Exod 23:3-6; Deut 19:17; 21:5; Ezek 44:24; Ps 35:23), (b) “lawsuit, legal case” (e.g., Deut 1:12; 17:8; Prov 18:17; 25:9), and (c) God’s “lawsuit” on behalf of a person or against his own people (Hos 4:1; 12:3; Mic 6:2; HALOT 1225-26 s.v. רִיב). The term in Hosea refers to a covenant lawsuit in which Yahweh, the suzerain, lodges a legal case against his disobedient vassal, accusing Israel and Judah of breach of covenant which will elicit the covenant curses. Cf. NLT “is bringing a lawsuit.”

[12:14]  ¹⁷ tn The noun תַּמְרוּרִים (tamrurim, “bitter things”) functions as an adverbial accusative of manner, modifying the finite verb: “He bitterly provoked Him to anger” (GKC 375 §118.q). The plural form of the noun functions as a plural of intensity: “very bitterly.” For the adverbial function of the accusative, see IBHS 172-73 §10.2.2e.

[12:14]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “He will leave his blood upon him”; NIV “will leave upon him the guilt of his bloodshed.”

[12:14]  ¹⁹ tn The Hebrew term translated “Lord” here is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).

[12:14]  ²⁰ tn Heb “for his contempt” (so NIV); NRSV “for his insults”; NAB “for his outrage.”