She shall pursue her lovers, but not overtake them is semantically parallel with and she shall seek them, but shall not find them. These four lines are two ways of saying the same thing, and some languages may prefer combining them into one statement; for example, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch (1982) says “Then she will no longer be able to find her lovers, no matter how much she may seek them.” However, if the translation aims at maintaining the poetic nature of the passage, appropriate literary devices have to be used in the receptor language. The allegorical nature of the text may require a more poetic or elevated style of language. The grammatical structure of lines one and two is identical to the grammatical structure of lines three and four. This repetitive element strengthens the point that the author wants to make. Translators should try to maintain this emphasis.

In this allegory Israel’s lovers are symbols of pagan gods (see 2.5). The verbs pursue and seek describe Israel’s eager worship of these gods. Pursue shows an eager chase and indicates again that Israel is like a woman taking the initiative. Similarly, the verb seek shows that the lovers definitely did not initiate this adulterous relationship. The Hebrew verb for seek appears in 5.6 and 5.15 as a technical term for visiting a shrine. The phrases not overtake them and not find them are figures indicating that Israel will fail to receive the prosperity she is seeking by worshiping the pagan gods. All this is the result of the thorny hedge and the wall of 2.6 that prevent Israel from going wherever she wishes.

Then she shall say: This quote frame introduces her thoughts; she does not necessarily say the following words aloud (compare the comments on “For she said” in 2.5).

I will go and return to my first husband: This expression implies repentance, although it may not be sincere. Go and return uses two verbs for one action. Good News Translation says “I am going back,” and New International Version has “I will go back.” My first husband is Yahweh. It was not legal for her to be remarried to her first husband if a second marriage had taken place (Deut 24.1-4). However, if no second marriage actually took place, it seems she could return to husband even if she had acted as a prostitute. Apart from that, it is not clear if Deuteronomy was known at the time this text was written. The context does not suggest that she was married for a second time. No divorce has been mentioned. The Hebrew word for first can also refer to the “original” husband.

For it was better with me then than now: Israel recognizes that she was “better off” (Good News Translation) when she was true to Yahweh. It was better refers to general well-being in life. Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch renders this line as “With him it was better for me!”

A translation model for this verse is:

• She will chase after her lovers, but not catch up with them.
She will look for them, but not find them.
She will say to herself, “I will go back to my own husband,
for then I was better off than I am now.”

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 .

This verse consists of two pairs of parallel lines. The first pair accuses the people of idol worship, while the second pair speaks of that idolatry as straying from God into harlotry.

My people inquire of a thing of wood: Scholars debate whether the Hebrew word rendered My people should end 4.11 or begin this verse (see comments on the previous verse). The Hebrew word for people is singular, so the verb for inquire in this line and the pronouns for their and them in the next line are singular by grammatical agreement. Other languages may need to use plural forms.

The Hebrew verb for inquire can mean “ask” or “request,” but in this context it means “consult a deity for advice or information about the future.” Good News Translation therefore has “ask for revelations.”

Of a thing of wood is literally “in/from his [the people’s] wood.” Wood refers to a wooden idol in this context. Although the possessive pronoun “his” is not used in many translations, it is suggested to keep it as an indication of the deliberate and intimate relationship that the people had developed with their idols.

And their staff gives them oracles means it guides them by revealing things to them. This line is parallel in meaning to the previous one. The Hebrew word for staff refers to a straight branch or stick from a tree that can be used as a walking stick. Some people used such a stick as a magic rod for telling the future or to indicate the proper course of action, for example, by observing the position of the rod after it was dropped (compare Ezek 21.21). This word may also refer to a small wooden idol, but the emphasis in either case is on the senselessness of seeking advice from a piece of wood. The Hebrew text uses personification in the first two lines of this verse. NET Bible renders them well with “They consult their wooden idols, and their diviner’s staff answers with an oracle.”

For a spirit of harlotry has led them astray, and they have left their God to play the harlot: This pair of lines is also parallel in meaning. Here the Hebrew word rendered For (ki) is an emphatic marker introducing the basic problem that caused the people to seek advice from wooden idols.

The Hebrew expression for a spirit of harlotry must be translated with care. Wolff believes it refers to a non-personal spirit, a general attitude or tendency of all the people to engage in harlotry (that is, unfaithfulness to God). Similarly, Stuart considers it either “their own traitorous attitude, or else the power of unfaithfulness.” In that sense it is possible to render the third line of this verse as “Harlotry has led them astray,” treating this expression as a community habit. The Hebrew word for spirit can also mean “wind,” a meaning that fits well in this context; for example, Bible en français courant renders this line as “A wind of prostitution has blown over them and has led them astray.” NET Bible is similar with “The wind of prostitution blows them astray.” Mays considers a spirit of harlotry to be a personal spirit, with of harlotry indicating the effect of the spirit when it influences someone. The Israelites at that time thought such spirits existed as individual creatures, but these spirits were not human and were not ghosts of the dead, nor were they related to any physical location such as rocks or trees (see 1 Kgs 22.19-23). There is no indication that Yahweh sent this spirit. Translators are free to consider this spirit to be either an impersonal force or a personal being, since scholars have not been able to come to a solid conclusion. See the comments on 1.2 for the significance of harlotry among the Israelites.

Led them astray shows the effect of the spirit. The people are like an animal that has strayed away (see Exo 23.4, where the Hebrew verb here is used), or like a drunkard who has lost his way (see Isa 28.7, where this verb is rendered “stagger”). In this case it is the spirit of harlotry that has caused them to lose their way. If the translator opts for the translation “wind of prostitution,” then this verb may be translated “blow away” to combine better with the subject (so NET Bible, Bible en français courant).

The next line shows the effect of this spirit: wandering away from Yahweh. They have left their God to play the harlot is literally “they have prostituted themselves from under their God.” For the Hebrew verb here, see 2.5. The phrase “from under their God” means the people got out from under their submission to God. The word “under” is used in Hebrew here to contrast with the way it is used in 4.13.

Good News Translation has greatly restructured the last half of this verse, saying “Like a woman who becomes a prostitute, they have given themselves to other gods.” Good News Translation makes it clear that harlotry is an image for idol worship. Good News Translation also avoids the issue of whether the spirit is personal or non-personal, by not making it explicit. Finally, Good News Translation is consistent in having Yahweh as the speaker refer to himself in the first person.

A translation model for this verse is:

• My people, they consult their piece of wood,
their divining rod responds with an oracle.
Indeed, a wind of prostitution blows them away,
prostituting themselves they abandon their God.

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 .

This verse moves on from describing the evils of specific towns to speaking of Israel in general. The sins mentioned are no longer against other people, but involve idolatry and therefore are against Yahweh.

In the house of Israel I have seen a horrible thing: Elsewhere the book of Hosea uses the phrase the house of Israel to mean the people of Israel (1.4, 6; 5.1; 11.12), so Good News Translation‘s “Israel” alone is justified. Some scholars think the house of Israel in this context refers to Israel’s sanctuary at Bethel, although this is not the meaning of the phrase in its four other occurrences in Hosea. However, the use of the locative there in the next line (as in 6.7) may suggest that the house of Israel refers to the sanctuary in Bethel and not to the people of Israel, so NET Bible says “the temple of Israel.” If this model is followed, a footnote is recommended. Most scholars assume that this phrase refers to the country or nation of Israel. This interpretation also fits well with the locative there. Some translations emend the Hebrew text to read “At Bethel” (Revised English Bible, New Jerusalem Bible), but this is not recommended.

The Hebrew term for horrible thing refers to something that is very detestable, disgusting, and unclean. It is most abominable if it interrupts proper ritual or is introduced into the ritual.

Ephraim’s harlotry is there, Israel is defiled: This line resembles 5.3. Many of the expressions used there can and should be repeated here, as needed.

The locative there refers to the house of Israel (see the comments above). Ephraim’s harlotry again is an image for “worshiping idols” (Good News Translation), a clear act of unfaithfulness to Yahweh.

Israel is defiled means that Israel is ritually unclean because of sin and should not be permitted to engage in sacred worship at the sanctuary.

Ephraim and Israel are again synonymous and parallel (see comments on 4.17), so Good News Translation combines them and uses “my people” to avoid repeating the name Israel.

A translation model for this verse is:

• In the temple of Israel* I have seen something disgusting:
the harlotry of Ephraim is there.
Israel makes itself unclean.
* “The temple of Israel” is literally “the house of Israel,” which can also be translated “the people of Israel” or “the land of Israel.”

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 .

Translators must decide whether to retain all the figurative language in this verse, as in Revised Standard Version, or to render all or some of it nonfiguratively, as in Good News Translation. If the figures are retained, the readers in many languages will understand that the people of Israel committed indecent sexual acts publicly, at the threshing floors, as part of their idolatrous worship of Baal. Many scholars feel that this is possible, although some are not certain. Translators should feel free to render the significance of the prophet’s words rather than their form, if that is preferred.

Rejoice not, O Israel! Exult not like the peoples: These are not two parallel lines in the Hebrew text, which is literally “Do not rejoice, Israel, unto exultation like the nations” (see Revised Standard Version footnote). King James Version follows the Hebrew with “Rejoice not, O Israel, for joy, as other people,” and so does Good News Translation with “People of Israel, stop celebrating your festivals like pagans.” NET Bible is similar: “O Israel, do not rejoice jubilantly like the nations.” Revised Standard Version follows the Septuagint, which emends the Hebrew (so also New International Version, English Standard Version, New English Bible, Jerusalem Bible, New American Bible). This reading produces better parallelism. It also makes good sense. A possible translation of this emendation in modern English is “Stop rejoicing, people of Israel. Stop celebrating your festivals like pagans.” Hebrew Old Testament Text Project prefers the Hebrew text, but only with a somewhat unsure {C} decision. Translators should feel free to follow either text. The meaning is approximately the same, regardless of the text that is followed.

The latter part of the verse supports the idea that the rejoicing condemned was at the Harvest Festival. This festival was celebrated fifty days after the Passover at the end of the wheat harvest (see Lev 23.15-22; Num 28.26-31). In this context the peoples refers to non-Israelites. Good News Translation makes this clear by saying “pagans.”

For you have played the harlot, forsaking your God: For Revised Standard Version the Hebrew word ki rendered for introduces why the Israelites should stop celebrating like pagans. Good News Translation leaves it implied, but it is helpful to make the logical connection explicit. It is also possible that ki is an emphatic particle here, so Parole de Vie renders it “Indeed.”

For the Hebrew verb translated played the harlot, see the comments on 1.2 and 4.10, where it has both a literal and metaphorical sense. The same may be true here. Good News Translation uses nonfigurative language, saying “You … have been unfaithful to him [God].” Forsaking your God is literally “from with your God,” which Good News Translation renders “You have turned away from your God.” Good News Translation reverses the two parts of this line, since “turning away from God” is the first step in “being unfaithful to him.” This line reminds us of the harlotry of Hosea’s wife, which was symbolic of the unfaithfulness of Israel, Yahweh’s beloved.

You have loved a harlot’s hire upon all threshing floors: The Israelites thought that by worshiping Baal they would have more abundant crops. They believed their unfaithfulness (“harlotry”) yielded the grain they threshed. Harlot’s hire is a figure for the crops that the idolaters thought came from Baal (see 2.12). The broad threshing floor was a flat, somewhat elevated area, where people would crush and loosen the covering from the grains of wheat or barley, and would throw it all into the air so that the chaff would be blown away by the wind, leaving only the grains. The Israelites are celebrating a bountiful harvest at the festival, but an enemy will take it from them. Since the food products of the threshing floor and winevat fed the people, and since the second line clearly refers to wine, Good News Translation translates the first two items as “grain and olive oil.” Since Good News Translation is based on functional equivalence translation principles, this is justified. If the translation has to reflect the form of the original text, Bible en français courant provides a good model: “But the wheat that one throws into the air and the oil that one gets from the press will not be for you.” Translators should consider whether the use of the metonyms Threshing floor and winevat communicates the intended meaning in the receptor language. New Living Translation‘s “So now your harvests will be too small to feed you” is not recommended. The issue here is not crop failure, but rather an inability to enjoy the harvest, because people from elsewhere will consume it (see 8.7). In addition to that, the call not to rejoice in 9.1 would not make sense: crop failure is no reason for rejoicing.

Shall not feed them renders the Hebrew literally. Good News Translation clarifies the situation by saying “you will not have enough.” New English Bible, with the support of the Septuagint, emends the Hebrew verb here to read “shall know them no more,” but this reading is difficult to understand. In this case, there seems to be once again evidence of Hosea using the dialect of northern Israel, in which the verb for feed means to “satisfy.” In other words, the products that come from both the wine press and the threshing floor will not be able to satisfy their hunger and thirst, because others will consume it.

And the new wine shall fail them: The Hebrew word for new wine refers to raw grape juice before it is made into wine (see comments on 2.8, where it is rendered “wine”). This is the grape juice as it comes from the field as the bounty of the harvest. Shall fail them means that the supply of wine will not last, or even that there may be none left at all to satisfy Israel’s needs. NET Bible says “and new wine only deceives them,” suggesting that it may initially look fine, but eventually it is not enough for them.

Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch (1982) restructures the entire verse for smooth prose: “But you will not be able to enjoy the produce of the harvest which you have anticipated—the wheat, the oil, and the wine.” Another possible model is:

• The threshing floor and oil press will not deliver for you,
and wine will not flow for you.

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 .

But the more I called to him, the more he turned away from me: There are two difficult textual problems in these lines. Instead of I and me, the Hebrew text has “they” and “them,” as shown in the Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation footnotes. The Hebrew of these lines is literally “They called to them, thus [or, so] they went from them.” The Hebrew text is difficult to understand. New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh avoids saying who did the calling by using a passive verb: “Thus they were called, But they went their own way” (similarly Contemporary English Version, English Standard Version, De Nieuwe Bijbelvertaling). If passives are common in the receptor language, a passive construction may be a good solution.

Revised Standard Version follows the Septuagint with the pronouns I and me, which seem to make more sense in this context (similarly Good News Translation, New International Version, New Living Translation, NET Bible, New English Bible, Bible en français courant). However, Hebrew Old Testament Text Project prefers the Hebrew text in both lines, with a {B} rating in the first line, but only a {C} rating in the second line. King James Version follows the Hebrew, saying “As they called them, so they went from them.” This reading may mean “As the prophets called the people, so the people went from the prophets,” but the prophets are not mentioned in the context. Hebrew Old Testament Text Project suggests that these two lines may recall a popular saying at that time, possibly a proverb. People would then automatically think of the prophets without mentioning them. Hebrew Old Testament Text Project suggests translating the lines from the Hebrew text as follows: “They turn away from those who call them” or “They call them, but at once those who are called turn away from them.” A possible way of forming this as a proverb in English may be “The more people call them [or, someone calls them], the more they turn away from them.” Contemporary English Version makes it clear that this is a proverb: “But as the saying goes, ‘The more they were called, the more they rebelled.’ ”

Instead of the plural pronouns them and they, which refer to the Israelites, Good News Translation has the singular pronouns “him” and “he” to agree with the singular reference to Israel in the previous verse. Some other languages may find this adjustment helpful.

They kept sacrificing to the Baals: The Hebrew verb for sacrificing refers to killing and burning animals as an offering (see 4.13). The plural word Baals indicates that the god Baal was worshiped in various places, each with its own statue and altar to Baal, and often with a special name known in each place (see comments on 2.13). Good News Translation chooses the singular word “Baal” to show that Baal was one god. The plural Baals is better, unless there is good reason in a language area to think of it as singular. Most modern translations keep the plural form, although Biblia Dios Habla Hoy and Tagalog common language version use the more generic “false gods.” Since Baals is a frequently occurring word in the Old Testament, there is no need to replace it with a generic term. NET Bible says “Baal idols,” which is a good model.

And burning incense to idols: For the Hebrew verb rendered burning incense, see the comments on 2.13. Idols translates a Hebrew term that refers to images of gods carved out of wood or stone. In this context idols of Baal are probably in view. Both sacrificing and burning incense were used by the Israelites to worship Yahweh, but instead they were doing these very things to worship Baal.

A translation model for this verse is:

• The more they were called,
the more they went away from me.
They sacrificed to Baal images,
and they burned incense to these idols.

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 .

In chiastic style the prophet has first spoken of the lion and leopard in verse 7, and now of the bear, then what the bear will do, and then in the rest of this verse, what the lion and the leopard (wild beast) will do.

I will fall upon them like a bear robbed of her cubs: Fall upon (Good News Translation “attack”) renders a Hebrew verb that can refer to simply meeting or encountering people in a neutral sense, but it often refers to a confrontation, such as an attack. In this context it clearly refers to a dangerous meeting, an encounter with an angry bear. So a neutral term for this verb is not recommended here.

Like a bear robbed of her cubs refers clearly to a female bear. Bears are known to be fiercely protective of their cubs, so this simile refers to a very fierce animal. If possible, a generic term for bear should be used instead of the name of a specific type, such as grizzly or brown bear. In any case, the reference should be to a fierce and dangerous animal. If bears are unknown in the receptor culture, a transliteration may be the best option, since there are no other animals that are similar to the bear. A footnote or glossary entry can be useful to provide a more elaborate description.

Robbed of her cubs renders a single Hebrew adjective (literally “bereaved”), which can refer to any loss of children. But in this context it is clear that the bear is fiercely angry because its cubs have been taken away or killed by someone. See also 2 Sam 17.8 and Pro 17.12, where this simile appears to be a common expression for fierce anger.

I will tear open their breast means Yahweh will do this like the bear, not the lion. This line is literally “and I will rip open the covering of their heart.” Languages will have their own natural expressions for “the covering of their heart.” De Nieuwe Bijbelvertaling says “their breast case,” New Jerusalem Bible has “the membrane of their heart,” and NET Bible translates “their chests.”

And there I will devour them like a lion: Here the illustration returns to the kind of thing a lion will do. Devour renders the common Hebrew verb for “eat.” In English and in many other languages there are special words for eating done in a violent way by wild animals. The adverb there refers to the place where the attack took place. A lion will not drag its victim away but will eat it “on the spot” (Good News Translation).

As a wild beast would rend them is literally “an animal of the field will tear them apart.” The comparative word as does not appear in the Hebrew text, but it is implied. God will tear apart the Israelites like a wild animal. Here a wild beast probably returns to the illustration of a leopard. Both lions and leopards attack and eat their prey in a similar manner. Wild beast renders the same Hebrew expression translated “beasts of the field” in 2.12 (see comments there).

Rend (Good News Translation “tear … to pieces”) renders a Hebrew verb that can mean “break,” “split,” or “smash.” Here it refers to a wild animal ripping its victim apart in order to eat the victim.

A translation model for this verse is:

• I will attack you like a bear robbed of her cubs,
and I will tear open your rib cage.
I will gobble you up on the spot like a lion,
like a wild animal I will rip you apart.

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 .