They sacrifice on the tops of the mountains, and make offerings upon the hills: These two lines are parallel, with sacrifice corresponding to make offerings, and on the tops of the mountains matching upon the hills. The Hebrew verbs for sacrifice and make offerings are synonymous, with the second verb having the added element of smoke arising from the sacrifice as it burns. Good News Translation translates this verb as “burn incense” (see comments on 2.13). However, in this context a food offering that goes up in smoke is more likely. Bible en français courant makes this explicit by rendering the second line as “On the hills, they cause the smoke of their sacrifices to go up.”

The tops of the mountains and the hills were frequently used for the worship of Baal, and also for many years after the Temple was built, worshipers of Yahweh continued to worship him there, using them as local shrines. In 10.8 there is an explicit reference to these “high places,” using the standard Hebrew term for it. In this context of altars and trees Canaanite shrines for Baal are in view, as in Deut 12.2. Good News Translation translates on the tops of the mountains as “At sacred places on the mountaintops” in order to make the religious character of these places explicit.

Under oak, poplar, and terebinth, because their shade is good: These two lines further specify where the sacrifices occur and why. The various trees mentioned here had religious significance for Baal worshipers, and the Israelites were now coming under their shade instead of remaining “under their God” (4.12). The Hebrew words for both oak and terebinth are sometimes used in a generic sense for large trees. The Hebrew word for poplar usually refers to a tall, narrow tree with broad leaves, similar to that of Europe and America, but the term is used of the styrax tree as well. Good News Translation considers the generic meaning of these trees to be more important than identifying them specifically, so it has “tall, spreading trees.” In view of the context these trees may also be described as “sacred” trees.

Because their shade is good indicates that under these trees was a good place to have sacrificial meals. Good News Translation says “because the shade is so pleasant!” This statement may include sarcasm, both because such pagan worship is not really good, and because this location could have been used for sexual purposes as well in the fertility cult.

Therefore your daughters play the harlot, and your brides commit adultery: These accusations turn to what the women do. The conjunction Therefore introduces the result of the bad example that the men were setting when they consorted with temple prostitutes at the shrines. These two parallel lines refer to two similar sins. Your daughters play the harlot probably means that they served as prostitutes at the shrines. The Hebrew word for your brides may mean “your daughters,” but more likely means “your daughters-in-law” (Good News Translation), that is, the brides of their sons. Some ancient descriptions indicate that brides would first surrender their virginity at such shrines as part of the worship in the fertility cult.

The Hebrew pronouns rendered your are masculine plural. Do these second person pronouns imply that Yahweh is now speaking to the people or to the priests? It is not clear. A satisfactory solution is to suppose he is now speaking to the priests again, since in the next verse he talks about the men in the third person. This means that the daughters of priests are involved, making the situation even more evil.

We recommend a stanza break (Revised Standard Version) or a paragraph break (Good News Translation) before the last two lines of this verse. The conjunction Therefore and the change in pronouns mark this break. These lines are also closely linked with what follows.

A translation model for this verse is:

• On mountaintops they sacrifice,
on the hills they burn sacrifices
under large sacred trees
in their pleasant shade.

So your daughters behave as prostitutes,
your daughters-in-law commit adultery.

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 .