9:5

Notice the parallel parts that are similar in meaning:

5a
What will you do on the appointed day,

5b
on the day of the LORD’s feast ?

In Hebrew, there is an ellipsis (deliberate omission) of the words “What will you do” in the second line. In some languages, it may be necessary to supply the missing words to make the meaning clearer. For example:

5b
What will you do on days of feasting in the Lord ‘s presence ? (New Living Translation (1996))

These lines warn the people that in Assyria they will no longer be able to celebrate special feast days.

9:5a

What will you do on the appointed day: In this verse, Hosea speaks directly to the people, using the pronoun you. He uses a rhetorical question with the implied negative answer “Nothing.” It means that the people will definitely not be able to celebrate the feasts.

This rhetorical question can also be expressed as a statement. For example:

You will no longer be able to celebrate the festival of the Lord. (Contemporary English Version)

the appointed day: This phrase refers to the regular times when the people celebrated feasts. The word day is not necessarily literal here, since some feasts lasted longer than a day.

Here is another way to translate this phrase:

when the time comes for the appointed festivals (Good News Translation)

These appointed feast days included Passover, The Feast of Unleavened Bread, The Feast of Weeks and The Feast of Tabernacles/Booths. See Leviticus 23.

9:5b

on the day of the LORD’s feast?: Since this phrase is parallel to “appointed day,” it probably refers to those same feasts. However, it is possible that this phrase refers especially to the feast of Tabernacles/Shelters/Booths, which was held each autumn. Some versions give this information in a footnote. For example, here is a footnote from the Contemporary English Version:

festival of the Lord : Probably the Festival of Shelters. (Contemporary English Version)

Consider adding a similar footnote if you think it will be helpful to your readers.

General Comment on 9:5a–b

In some languages, it may be more natural to reorder and/or combine these verse parts. For example:

5a–b And when the time comes for the appointed festivals in honor of the LORD, 5a what will you do then? (adapted from Good News Translation)

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