The imagery of trees continues in this verse, using three new figures: (1) shoots that signify the abundance of new life; (2) olive trees that stand for beauty; and (3) fragrance of cedar trees representing feelings of pleasure and desirability.

In this verse Revised Standard Version continues to speak of Israel as a single person (his), as in the Hebrew text, while Good News Translation uses the plural pronoun “They.”

His shoots shall spread out: The Hebrew word for shoots refers to the new, green twigs that multiply and spread out to become the many branches of a tree. The Hebrew verb rendered spread out literally means “go” or “walk.” The receptor language may have another verb for this specific kind of movement. The Hebrew here refers to new branches appearing on a tree, not to new trees growing up from the roots next to the mother tree. The shoots can refer to growth of a vine or of a tree. The context suggests the latter. Good News Translation uses a more general image for this line: “They will be alive with new growth.”

His beauty shall be like the olive: The olive refers to the entire olive tree (Good News Translation “olive trees”). This tree is beautiful. People ate olive fruits, but also squeezed the oil from these fruits to use for cooking, for lamps, for medicine, and for other purposes. If the tree is unknown in the receptor language area, a local variant may be available. However, it is essential that edible fruit and oil are produced by the tree. Otherwise, a footnote for clarification may have to be added.

The Hebrew word for beauty does not refer to just ordinary beauty, but to “splendor” (New International Version, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible) and “majesty,” such as someone would look for in a king in full majestic splendor. Such is the majesty of the olive tree.

And his fragrance like Lebanon refers to the odor of the cedar trees on the mountains of Lebanon. Even today, cedar trees, such as grown in Lebanon, are known for a fragrance that lasts long after their wood has been cut and divided into boards. Good News Translation renders like Lebanon as “like the cedars of Lebanon” for clarity. “Cedars” are not specifically mentioned in the Hebrew text but are certainly understood. Many translations include the idea of “cedars.”

A translation model for this verse is:

• Their shoots will sprout abundantly,
their beauty will be like an olive tree,
and their fragrance will be like the cedar trees of Lebanon.

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 .