This verse starts with the Hebrew waw conjunction, which is rendered And. New Revised Standard Version, Good News Translation, and New International Version omit it. In the described sequence of events this is a good solution. However, it is also possible that this conjunction introduces a contrast with the preceding verses, so NET Bible renders it “Yet,” and the New Century Version uses “But.”

She did not know that it was I who gave her …: A new accusation begins here, in which Yahweh says that Israel did not know that he was the source of agricultural products and of precious metals obtained through commerce. Israel in fact did know this as part of their tradition, but it is as if they carelessly forgot it, or they behaved as though they forgot it. Good News Translation renders know as “acknowledge,” which implies that Israel knew but would not admit openly that Yahweh provided for them. The Hebrew verb for know does not suggest anything other than ignorance of Yahweh’s help, but the historical context shows that they knew better, so “acknowledge” is a valid option. Alternative translations are “realize” (New Living Translation) and “understood” (Harper).

As in 2.2, she and I render independent pronouns in Hebrew. Unlike in 2.2, here these independent pronouns still occur even though the two verbs involved (know and gave) already give information about the person (third person and first person, respectively). It is for this reason that these independent pronouns are emphatic. In 2.2 Gomer and Hosea were in focus. Here the focus is on the people of Israel and the LORD.

The grain, the wine, and the oil: The Hebrew words for grain, wine, and oil refer to raw products. They do not refer to humanly processed products, but they come directly from the LORD, representing the wealth of the area. The word for grain includes the seed crop of both wheat and barley, before it is ground into flour. There is some debate about the exact meaning and origins of the Hebrew word for wine. It probably refers to freshly-squeezed grape juice. It may be a loan word from Hittite, which also occurred in Greek (as a loan from Hittite). The word mainly occurs in poetic passages. New International Version and New Jerusalem Bible say “new wine.” “Sweet wine” is also possible. The Hebrew word for oil refers to freshly squeezed olive oil, not yet processed for use. These raw products are not mentioned by these names in 2.5, where most of the things listed have gone through some process of preparation.

And who lavished upon her silver and gold: Lavished means “caused to be abundant.” Silver and gold are probably the result of trading the wealth that the land produced in an economically prosperous time during the reign of Jeroboam II and are therefore also considered as gifts of the LORD. Mining did not take place in Israel.

Which they used for Baal: The pronoun they refers to the people of Israel, so there is an unexpected change in the Hebrew text from speaking about a woman as a symbol of Israel, to speaking about the people of Israel directly. In some languages such an abrupt change may not be good style, and it may be better to retain the symbolic language, as in Good News Translation with the pronoun “she.” The Hebrew expression for used for Baal can also mean “made into Baal,” meaning that the silver and gold were used to make images for worshiping Baal, the Canaanite storm and fertility god (so Jerusalem Bible, Bible de Jérusalem, Wolff). Silver and gold were used to overlay wooden statues of this Canaanite god. Good News Translation renders this clause in a very general way, saying “that she used in the worship of Baal.” If translators follow this model, it would be helpful to add a footnote to indicate that the Hebrew text uses the pronoun “they” instead of “she.”

A translation model for this verse is:

• She herself did not understand
that I was the one who gave her
the grain, the wine and the oil,
and that I gave her silver and gold in abundance,
which she made into [idols of] Baal.

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 .