The Hebrew word for ten thousands comes from the same root as the verb for “multiplied” in 8.11, thus linking the two verses through a poetic device. The multitude of God’s laws contrasts with the multitude of the Israelites’ altars.

Were I to write for him my laws by ten thousands: Revised Standard Version understands that God could personally write his laws if he decided to do so. The Hebrew tense here can be understood to say that it has not yet occurred (so Revised Standard Version, Jerusalem Bible, Bible en français courant, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, Einheitsübersetzung, Zürcher Bibel). However, this tense can also indicate that God already wrote many laws by the time of Hosea. Good News Translation seems to understand the text in this way, and this is the preferred interpretation: “I write down countless teachings for the people.” Some translators may want to leave open the possibility for the writing to be done through prophetic inspiration. However, it is important to retain God as the author of the laws, and as the writer as well, if this is possible in the receptor language. The Decalogue, for example, was known to be written by God himself (Exo 24.12; 34.1).

The Hebrew word for laws is torah, which can mean “command” or “teaching,” so Good News Translation says “teachings.” The word used in this context should reflect formal teachings that can be preserved in written form.

My laws by ten thousands, which is exaggerated speech, renders one form of the Hebrew text. Good News Translation is similar with “countless teachings.” Another form reads “the many things of my law” (New International Version) or “my many teachings” (similarly New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh). The difference between the two Hebrew texts will make little difference in many functional-equivalent translations. Another viable interpretation is that the Hebrew word for ten thousands qualifies the number of times the Torah has been written (so Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, De Nieuwe Bijbelvertaling).

They would be regarded as a strange thing: This line expresses the opinion or attitude the Israelites would have toward God’s teachings, if even that many were written or if they had been written that often. Good News Translation makes their response explicit: “but they reject them as strange and foreign.” In a poetic rendering a more figurative expression would be preferable.

The Hebrew word for a strange thing refers not merely to something unusual or queer, but to something foreign. The attitude of the Israelites toward Yahweh’s laws is especially wrong, since he is their own national God. Good News Translation‘s “strange and foreign” gives the correct sense. Other possible models are “those of a foreigner/stranger” (Jerusalem Bible, Bible de Jérusalem, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, Einheitsübersetzung, Zürcher Bibel; similarly New American Bible) and “something alien” (New International Version, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh; similarly New Jerusalem Bible).

A translation model for this verse is:

• I may have written my rules many times,
but for him [or, Israel] they are like strangers.

Quoted with permission from Dorn, Louis & van Steenbergen, Gerrit. A Handbook on Hosea. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2020. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .