Although Good News Translation begins a new paragraph here (similarly New Revised Standard Version and New Living Translation with a stanza break), some languages may prefer not to insert a break since the first two lines of verse 7 continue the threat of the previous verses.

The days of punishment have come, the days of recompense have come: These two parallel lines contain a warning, repeated for emphasis, that the time of punishment for Israel has come. It is possible that the repetition is in response to remarks being made by the people as they begin to disrupt Hosea’s speech. The Hebrew word for recompense has the idea of punishment that serves as appropriate repayment by someone who takes revenge. The use of The days of punishment and the days of recompense stands in sharp contrast with “the day of appointed festival” and “the day of the feast of the LORD” in 9.5.

A translation model for verse 7a-b is:

• The days of punishment will arrive,
the days of reckoning will come.

Israel shall know it: At the beginning of this clause Good News Translation adds “When that happens” to show that Israel has not been punished yet. What Israel shall know is the fact of punishment (it). Know renders the usual meaning of the Hebrew verb here. This meaning fits the context and is followed by many translations and commentators. New English Bible‘s “be humbled” follows the meaning of a similar Arabic verb, but there is no textual support for this reading. Jerusalem Bible emends the Hebrew verb for know to read “protests,” but this reading is not supported by any ancient translations, and the emendation is not necessary to make sense of the Hebrew text. However, a proposal that makes good sense is made by Wolff and other commentators and followed by New Revised Standard Version. In that proposal the surface form of the Hebrew verb is based on a root that means “to cry,” leading to the translation “Israel cries.” This reading suits the context well. The next two lines then clearly represent the response of the hearers of Hosea’s prophecies. If this reading is followed, we recommend a paragraph or stanza break before this line.

The prophet is a fool, the man of the spirit is mad: By adding the quote frame “you say,” Good News Translation makes it clear that the Israelites are speaking about Hosea here. If the previous line is rendered as a quote frame (for example, “Israel, you cry”), Good News Translation‘s addition is not needed. The singular expressions the prophet and the man of the spirit, and the quotation of the peoples’ words in 6.1-3, favor this interpretation that Hosea is quoting the people. Several versions depend upon quotation marks only to show that this is a saying of the people (so New Jerusalem Bible), but those who hear the text being read will not understand it that way.

Revised Standard Version‘s rendering of these two lines seems to refer to the prophets in general, but in the Hebrew text we would expect plural nouns with this interpretation. Good News Translation makes it clear that the people are speaking about Hosea by using demonstrative pronouns, saying “This prophet … is a fool. This inspired man is insane.”

The Hebrew word for prophet is the usual term for such a person (see comments on 4.5), but instead of the normal expression “man of God” in the next line (compare 2 Kgs 5.8), they say man of the spirit. This appears to be a disparaging expression for people who were so ecstatic when possessed by God’s spirit that they would speak and act in strange ways (see 1 Sam 10.6, 10-12). The Hebrew words for fool and mad occur first in each line, marking them as emphatic: “A fool [is] the prophet, mad [is] the man of the spirit.” A fool is a foolish talker (Pro 10.8), and the Hebrew word for mad carries with it the idea of a person who constantly talks nonsense to himself, sounding like the cooing of a dove. So these two terms are related to uncontrolled speech. Jerusalem Bible says “The prophet is mad … this inspired fellow is raving.”

Because of your great iniquity and great hatred: The connection of these two lines with the rest of the verse is disputed. Some translate them in a way that indicates the prophets in general have become madmen who are useless to Israel, as divine retribution for Israel’s sins; for example, Jerusalem Bible says “Ah yes, but only because your iniquity is so great, your apostasy so grave,” and Bible en français courant has “Alright, yes, but that is the result of your countless crimes and the violent hostility that you manifest to him.” However, if we assume that the people are responding directly to Hosea and are calling him specifically a madman, it is not likely that he would accept their accusation as valid, even as retribution for sin. It is morally and psychologically questionable to see the sin and hostility of the people as the cause of Hosea’s foolishness. It is more likely that these two lines give the reasons for the people calling him a madman. It is because of their numerous sins and their hostility toward him. A model that expresses this sense is “You say this because your sins are so many and your hostility toward me is so great” (similarly New International Version).

For the Hebrew word rendered iniquity, see 8.13. The Hebrew word for hatred refers to deeply-felt hostility, as in a grudge. It is only used twice in the Old Testament, here and in the next verse.

A translation model for 9.7c-g is:

• Israel, you cry:
“This prophet is crazy!
The inspired man has gone mad!”
You say this because of your many offenses,
because of your great hostility.

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 .