At the beginning of this verse Good News Translation adds the quote frame “The LORD says” to make clear who is speaking (see the introductory comments on the previous section). Wolff believes the audience may have interrupted the prophet at this point, indicating that Judah was the guilty party with respect to the border towns just mentioned in verse 8, and that the first two lines of this verse may be the prophet repeating their accusation, thus agreeing that Judah bears guilt.

The princes of Judah have become …: Now the political leaders of the southern kingdom, Judah, are accused as well. For the Hebrew word rendered princes, see 3.4.

Like those who remove the landmark makes use of the figure of the sacred boundaries established by God for his people (Deut 19.14; 27.17). According to this simile, Judah has invaded Israel and captured some of its territory. Good News Translation makes this explicit by rendering the first two lines of this verse as “the leaders of Judah have invaded Israel and stolen land from her.” Since Judah did invade the territory of Benjamin and capture Gibeah, Ramah and Bethel, we would not expect a simile here, although most translations take it that way. However, the Hebrew prefix rendered like can also be an emphatic marker, so another possible model here is “The leaders of Judah are the ones who indeed moved the boundary markers.”

Upon them I will pour out my wrath like water: This figurative expression indicates that God is so angry that he will punish Judah very severely. Good News Translation expresses God’s wrath earlier in the verse as “I am angry,” and at this point Good News Translation uses the idea of “punishment,” since in English, anger remains within a person, while “punishment” can be “poured out,” especially when someone does something to another because of the anger that he feels. Pour out … like water uses the image of completely dumping a full bucket of water upon someone. Like water may be better rendered “like a flood” (Good News Translation) to preserve the effect of destructive punishment from God. Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch is similar with “like a cloudburst.”

A translation model for this verse is:

• The leaders of Judah are the ones
who indeed moved the boundary markers [of Israel].
I will pour my rage on them like water.

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 .