This verse begins with the Hebrew waw conjunction (literally “And”), which Revised Standard Version, Good News Translation, and most other versions omit. Here it does not appear to introduce a specific semantic relationship, so it may be left untranslated.
Let us know, let us press on to know the LORD: There is a sense of urgency expressed in this line. As with “knowledge” in 4.1, the verb know implies more than mere information about Yahweh. It involves an intimate acquaintance with him and with all that he expects of his people. It includes results in a life that is in harmony with such knowledge. So New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh says “Let us pursue obedience to the LORD,” and Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch has “Come, let us give our all to know him and his will.” The first clause Let us know is incomplete, with no direct object of the verb, giving the impression that the speaker breaks off in order to rephrase his exhortation in stronger terms, let us press on to know the LORD. Press on renders the Hebrew verb meaning “pursue” (see 2.9), as when someone hotly pursues an enemy, except that here people hotly pursue knowledge of Yahweh. Good News Translation says “Let us try to know the LORD,” which loses some of this expressed eagerness. As shown in Revised Standard Version, this line shows every sign of a serious desire.
His going forth is sure as the dawn: The phrase his going forth means God will his leave his place to come to his people, since it is parallel with he will come to us. Good News Translation combines these two expressions, saying “He will come to us.” Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch makes the purpose explicit: “he comes in order to help us.”
Sure as the dawn uses the certainty of the sunrise as the measure of how certain it is that Yahweh will return to his people. Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch says “As certain as a morning follows the night.”
He will come to us as the showers, as the spring rains that water the earth: Here Yahweh’s coming is compared with the rain. But it is not clear what the point of similarity is. Some assume it is a continuation of the idea of certainty. NET Bible makes this explicit: “as certainly as the winter rain comes, as certainly as the spring rain that waters the land.” Good News Translation and New Living Translation also follow this interpretation. Others focus on the effect of the LORD’s coming: bringing life to the earth once more. Contemporary English Version makes this interpretation explicit: “he will refresh us like rain renewing the earth in the springtime.” Showers renders the general Hebrew word for “rain.” Spring rains in Palestine come in March and April and are important for the ripening of crops. Good News Translation combines these two expressions, saying only “spring rains.” The choice of suitable terminology depends on the conditions in the area were the receptor language is spoken. The words for showers and spring rains are collective singular in Hebrew, but each language will have its own system for expressing such collective nouns.
The Hebrew word translated that water can be interpreted as a noun, meaning “former rain” (King James Version), but then the Hebrew is somewhat strange. It is better to understand it as a verb meaning “to rain,” thus “the spring rains that rain on the earth.”
After the first line of this verse New English Bible inserts the line “whose justice dawns like morning light” from verse 5 (similarly New American Bible), but this transfer is not necessary for sense and lacks support in the Hebrew manuscripts and ancient versions.
A translation model for this verse is:
• Let us obey the LORD,
let us strive to obey him.
He will come as surely as daybreak.
He will come to us like showers,
like the first rains that refresh the earth.”
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 .