Paragraph 8:11–14

This paragraph describes how the people of Israel sinned when they offered sacrifices to the LORD. There is a contrast between the many altars that the people built for sinning (8:11) and the many teachings that the LORD wrote for the people’s good (8:12). In both situations, the people rejected what God wanted them to do. As a result, the LORD did not accept their sacrifices (8:13), so their cities faced total destruction (8:14).

8:11

Notice the parallel parts that are similar in meaning:

11a “Though Ephraim multiplied the altars for sin,

11b
they became his altars for sinning.

In Hebrew, these clauses are more literally:

11a…Ephraim has multiplied altars for sinning,

11b
they have become for him altars for sinning.

The same Hebrew word, “sinning,” is used in each line. However, in 11a, the word probably means “to sacrifice an animal as a sin offering.” In 11b, it probably means “to sin.”

8:11a–b

There are two main ways to interpret the relationship between 8:11a and 8:11b:

(1) Verse 8:11a describes an existing situation that led to the unexpected result in 8:11b. The people built many altars as places to offer their sin offerings, so they expected the Lord to take away their sin. Instead, the altars became places where their sin increased. For example:

11a “Although Israel built more altars to remove sin, 11b they have become altars for sinning. (New Century Version)

(2) Verse 8:11a describes the situation that caused the result in 8:11b. There is no emphasis on whether the result was expected or not. For example:

11a Because Ephraim has multiplied altars for sinning, 11b they have become to him altars for sinning. (English Standard Version)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1) along with most versions.

Here are some other ways to translate the relationship between 8:11a and 8:11b:

• Emphasize the unexpected consequence in 8:11b. For example:

Although Ephraim has built many altars for sin offerings, these have become altars for sinning! (NET Bible)
-or-
When Ephraim multiplied altars to expiate sin, they became to him altars for sinning. (New Revised Standard Version)
-or-
Israel has built many altars to take away sin, but these very altars became places for sinning!

• Emphasize the direct relation between the number of altars and the number of places for sinning. For example:

The more altars the people of Israel build for removing sin, the more places they have for sinning! (Good News Translation)

Use a natural way in your language to indicate one of these options.

8:11b

they became his altars for sinning: Here are some other ways to translate this line:

they became places where people’s sins increased when they offered sacrifices
-or-
they became altars where people committed various kinds of sin when they sacrificed

became: The word became indicates that the function of the altars changed. They were now places that violated God’s original command. In Deuteronomy 12, God repeatedly commanded that all twelve tribes worship him at one location with one altar. The people disobeyed God’s command in at least two ways: they built many altars, and they often sacrificed to false gods on these altars.

In some languages, it may be helpful to make some of this information explicit. For example:

these altars became places where people increased their sins ⌊by disobeying God’s commands ⌋.

It may also be helpful to add a footnote that gives some of the OT context. Here is a suggested footnote:

See Deuteronomy 12:5–6, 11, 13–14. In these verses, God commanded that the people from all twelve tribes of Israel worship him in one location and offer sacrifices to him on one altar. He wanted them to be different from the Canaanite people around them who worshiped false gods at many different altars.

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