In the Hebrew Yahweh as speaker again refers to the priests in the third person plural. The first two lines of this verse are parallel, each one beginning with a brief accusation followed by a brief condemnation.

They shall eat, but not be satisfied refers to eating the sin offerings in 4.8. The Hebrew verb for eat is the same one rendered “feed on” in 4.8. If possible, the translator should use the same verb for “eating” in both verses to enable the reader to see the connection. Good News Translation makes the meaning of not be satisfied explicit by rendering this line as “You will eat your share of the sacrifices, but still be hungry.”

They shall play the harlot, but not multiply: For the Hebrew verb rendered play the harlot, see 2.5. The root of this verb occurs thirteen times in Hosea, so it is certainly a key term in this book. Here it is used in both a metaphorical and literal sense. Its metaphorical sense is made explicit by Good News Translation with “worship the fertility gods.” The purpose of worshiping these gods was to ensure fertility for plants, animals, and humans. But it will have an opposite effect as a judgment from God: they will not multiply, that is, they will “have no children” (Good News Translation). The verb play the harlot also has a literal meaning. Worship of fertility gods was part of the Baal cult in which the priests of Yahweh were apparently involved. This worship involved intercourse with sacred prostitutes in pagan places of worship. This is certainly included in the accusation against the priests. Bible en français courant translates this verb as “prostitute themselves,” and NET Bible has “engage in prostitution.” It is difficult to combine both senses in one translation, so a choice has to be made. A footnote to explain the practice may be helpful.

Because they have forsaken the LORD to cherish harlotry: This accusation serves as a summary of all the reasons for condemnation of the priests. They have forsaken the LORD is an accusation of apostasy. Since Yahweh is speaking, Good News Translation refers to him in the first person, saying “you have turned away from me.”

To cherish harlotry renders a Hebrew verb that normally expresses religious loyalty to Israel’s God. The verb for cherish means “to guard oneself to remain faithful” or “to devote oneself to something.” But here there is a certain irony, since prostitutes represent the opposite of faithful loyalty, and this the priests cherish! Good News Translation expresses the central meaning of the imagery here without the irony, saying “to follow other gods.”

The Hebrew word for harlotry is written as the first word in 4.11 in the Hebrew text, but it is widely agreed that it belongs to this verse, since the verb for cherish requires an object (so Revised Standard Version, Good News Translation, and many other translations). Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, however, places harlotry in 4.11 and translates the last two lines of this verse as “because they have broken their loyalty with me, the LORD.” De Nieuwe Bijbelvertaling combines the two verses and translates “They will eat but not be filled, commit adultery but not reproduce. For they have abandoned the LORD and now revere fornication and wine, obscuring their understanding.”

A translation model for this verse is:

• They will eat, but remain hungry.
They will practice prostitution, but have no children,
because they have abandoned me, the LORD
to devote themselves to harlotry instead.

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 .