Paragraph 11:10–11
In this paragraph, the LORD tells about a future time after the people of Israel are taken into exile. At that time, the Israelites will live in various countries outside of Israel. But the LORD will bring them back to their own land.
In most of this paragraph, the LORD uses the third person forms “Yahweh” and “he” to refer to himself. An exception is 11c, where he uses “I,” as in 11:1–9. In some languages, it will be more natural to use all first person forms, “I” or “I, Yahweh” instead of third person forms in this paragraph. The Display will follow the Berean Standard Bible pronoun choice in the first meaning line. It will use first person in the second meaning line.
11:10a–b
Notice the parallel parts that are similar in meaning:
10a
They will walk after the LORD; He will roar like a lion.
10b
When He roars, His children will come trembling from the west.
11:10a
They will walk after the LORD: This expression means that the people will obey the LORD. It implies that they will be faithful and loyal to him instead of worshiping idols.
He will roar like a lion: This line is a figure of speech (simile) that compares the action of the LORD calling his people to a lion roaring. The simile means that the LORD will summon/command his people to leave the foreign lands where they live to return to Israel. The comparison to a lion’s roar may imply that the summons is irresistible.
Chronologically, the lion’s roar will happen before the people follow. In some languages it may be more natural to reverse the order of these two clauses. For example:
He will roar like a lion, and they will follow the Lord. (NET Bible)
lion: The Hebrew word refers to an African lion with a large mane. The lion represents authority and majesty.
11:10b
When He roars: There are two main interpretations of the function of the Hebrew word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as When :
(1) It indicates time. For example:
when he roars (New Revised Standard Version)
(2) It indicates emphasis. For example:
Yea, he will roar (Revised Standard Version)
It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1) along with most versions.
His children will come trembling from the west: This clause is more literally “and they will tremble children from [the] west.” It describes the result of the roar of the LORD.
His children: The pronoun His is not in the Hebrew text, but it is implied from the context. The pronoun is supplied in the Berean Standard Bible and in many other versions.
The Hebrew word means either “sons” or children, both male and female. Here the word may refer specifically to future descendants of the Israelites. It could also refer more generally to the people of Israel, both adults and children. Either understanding is acceptable.
Some versions make the second understanding explicit. For example:
my people will return trembling from the west (New Living Translation (2004))
will come trembling: There are two main interpretations of the Hebrew word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as trembling :
(1) It means “tremble” or “shake.” For example:
and his sons shall come trembling from the west (Revised Standard Version)
(2) It means “quickly.” For example:
They will hurry to me from the west. (Good News Translation)
It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1). It is supported by most versions, Hebrew lexicons, and commentaries.
The reference to trembling in this context can be translated in any of the following ways:
• Translate the word trembling without additional explanation. For example:
his children will come trembling from the west. (NET Bible)
• Translate the word trembling as a reference to a person’s emotional state. Here it may indicate that a person is timid and fearful of offending the LORD. It may also indicate an attitude of humility. For example:
his sons shall come frightened from the west (New American Standard Bible)
• Translate the word trembling as a reference to the movement of birds that flutter their wings when they are startled. For example:
his children will come fluttering from the west (New Jerusalem Bible)
In Hebrew, the phrase will come trembling is more literally “and they will tremble.” The word come is not in the Hebrew text. It is supplied in the Berean Standard Bible and in many other versions. The meaning come is considered to be implied because of the following phrase “from the west.”
from the west: This phrase describes one of the directions from which the children come. The Hebrew word for west is literally “sea.” This word designates the coastlands and islands of the Mediterranean Sea. Since the Mediterranean is west of Israel, the Hebrew word “sea” is also the word for west.
This phrase implies that some of the people of Israel have relocated to the lands west of Israel.
General Comment on 11:10
In 11:10, the LORD continues to speak. However, there is a change from first person pronouns that refer to the LORD, such as “I” and “my,” to third person pronouns, such as “he” and “his.” This kind of change is typical of Hosea’s writing style.
In some languages, this change of pronouns may sound awkward and unnatural. If this is true in your language, you can continue to use first person pronouns here. For example:
My people will follow me when I roar like a lion at their enemies. They will hurry to me from the west. (Good News Translation)
In some languages, it may be more natural to combine some of the parallel parts. For example:
I, the LORD, will roar like a lion, and my children will return, trembling from the west. (Contemporary English Version)
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