In this section the discourse continues moving back and forth rapidly between the figures in the allegory (the prostitute, lovers, and payment) and the reality of Israel’s festivals, vineyards, and fig trees. The translator should make sure that the translation accommodates the multiple layers of interpretation that the text offers, so that the reader can make these switches and is not restricted to one single interpretation. Depending on the receptor language, specific stylistic or literary devices may have to be employed to ensure that the allegorical nature here can be recognized.

And I will lay waste her vines and her fig trees …: This verse describes the destruction of vegetation, which Yahweh hinted at earlier (2.3, 9). The Hebrew verb for lay waste is a general term for willful destruction, as in war. It has connotations of desolation. It only occurs here in Hosea. Translators should use a verb that fits the complete destruction of a vineyard or a grove of fig trees, such as “ruin” (New International Version) or “ravage” (Revised English Bible). The repeated and emphatic use of the possessive pronoun her continues in this verse.

Vines are the plants on which grapes grow for making wine. Farmers prune them and tend them carefully. Fig trees bear brown, sweet fruit, which is round but tapering to the stem. If fig trees are unknown in the receptor language, a more generic expression is acceptable, such as “fruit trees.” Both grapes and figs were harvested at the same time. They were important ingredients for one of the annual festivals.

Of which she said: As in 2.5 and 2.7, this quote frame probably introduces what the woman thought, not what she actually said. New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh makes this clear by rendering this line and the next two as “Which she thinks are a fee she received from her lovers.”

These are my hire, which my lovers have given me are the thoughts of the woman. Hire translates a Hebrew word used for payment made to a prostitute. New Revised Standard Version says “pay,” and New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh has “fee,” which is an even clearer hint at her payment as a prostitute. In any case, a term should be used that indicates that the payment is in exchange for services rendered. My lovers refers to the pagan gods (see 2.5). Israel thought that her grapevines and fig trees were gifts from those gods in response to her pagan sacrifices. In the allegory, Israel is the prostitute who thought these things were her payment (see 2.8). Like New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh, Good News Translation uses an indirect quote here by rendering these two lines and the previous one as “which she said her lovers gave her for serving them.” Other languages may prefer doing this if direct speech would give the impression that the first person singular pronouns my and me refer to Yahweh instead of the woman.

I will make them a forest: God will cause the vineyards and fig trees to be overgrown with weeds, bushes, and even trees. They will become like a jungle infested with wild animals. The pronoun them refers to the vineyards and fig trees, which Good News Translation makes clear by saying “her vineyards and orchards.” Good News Translation translates forest as “wilderness,” which should not be understood as a desert. Bible en français courant is better with “bushy area,” and so is New Jerusalem Bible with “jungle.”

And the beasts of the field shall devour them: The beasts of the field refers to “the wild animals” (New Revised Standard Version, Good News Translation). They will eat whatever remains of the grapes and figs. Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch renders this line as “what still grows will be eaten up by wild animals.”

A translation model for this verse is:

• I will ruin her vines and fig trees
of which she thought
these were her fees
received from her lovers.
I will turn the vines and fig trees into a jungle,
and wild animals will eat them.

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 .

Verses 17-19 present a pessimistic picture of Israel. It seems that the people have become so corrupt that there is no hope for them. Are they under a magic spell? Has their adulterous love so blinded them that they can no longer recognize their error? It seems that Yahweh must abandon them to their foolishness. Some translators may wish to begin a new stanza or paragraph at this point (so Revised Standard Version).

Ephraim is joined to idols: Ephraim was Israel’s leading tribe, and its name is often used to designate all of Israel, the northern kingdom. “Israel” and Ephraim are often used in parallelism (see, for example, 5.3; 11.8). Good News Translation regularly changes Ephraim to “Israel” to make the referent clear. Translators should decide which policy to follow in their work on this prophet (and other Old Testament prophets as well), and follow that decision consistently. It may be better to follow Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch (1982), which keeps Ephraim but adds this footnote: “Ephraim here stands for the northern kingdom of Israel, as it does in the entire book of Hosea.” Depending on the translation of the two preceding verses, it may be necessary to add a second person plural pronoun, saying “You people of Ephraim.”

Is joined to (also New International Version; similarly New English Bible, New American Bible) expresses the usual meaning of the Hebrew verb here. It can also be translated “has associated with” (Revised English Bible) or “has a partnership with.” A rare meaning of this verb is “put a spell on.” Good News Translation follows this meaning with “are under the spell of,” which is also appropriate in this context. The Hebrew word for idols refers to them in a negative way, since this word means literally “grief” or “pain”.

Let them alone or “Let them go their own way” (Good News Translation) can mean that Yahweh commands the prophet not to interfere with what Israel is doing. It is as if the situation is hopeless, and there is nothing anyone can do to stop Israel from its sinful way of life. On the basis of the Septuagint, Wolff translates “Let him do as he likes!” This is also a clear expression of the hopelessness of Israel’s situation. If second person plural is used for Israel, another possible model is “Do whatever you like!”

A translation model for this verse is:

• Ephraim, you have made an alliance with idols.
Do whatever you like!

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 .

They are all adulterers: The pronoun They refers to the Israelite people in general. If this pronoun causes ambiguity (with possible reference to the king and his officials), it may have to be made explicit by saying “the people.” Calling them adulterers is undoubtedly meant in a figurative sense. Good News Translation uses nonfigurative language, saying “They are all treacherous and disloyal.” Adultery is frequently used as a picture of religious disloyalty to Yahweh, especially in the book of Hosea. But political disloyalty was also disloyalty to Yahweh. In this context political unfaithfulness is probably in focus. New American Bible emends the Hebrew text to read “They are all kindled to wrath,” but this emendation is not supported by any ancient version and is unnecessary. NET Bible proposes another emendation, saying “They are all like bakers.” This too is not recommended, since there is no evidence or support for it elsewhere in reliable sources.

They are like a heated oven… uses heat as a figure for anger or hatred, so Good News Translation makes the comparison clear with “Their hatred smolders like the fire in an oven….” The figure of an oven continues through 7.7. Ovens in Palestine were usually made of clay, shaped like cylinders about 1 meter (3 feet) high, with one opening at the top and another on one side at the bottom. A wood fire inside the oven made it hot. Dough that was formed to make loaves but was not yet leavened was placed on the inner wall of the oven. At first the fire was kept low until the dough was leavened. Then the walls were fully heated until the bread was fully baked.

Good News Translation introduces the verb “smolders” at the beginning of the comparison to keep the idea clear that hatred is kept under cover for a long time until the proper moment for the plot to be put into action. This may be the intended meaning behind whose baker ceases to stir the fire, that is, he allows the fire to smolder at a low heat from the kneading of the dough until it is leavened. Good News Translation says “which is not stirred by the baker until the dough is ready to bake.” Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch is similar by rendering this whole comparison as “their passion glows like an oven, which the baker has so carefully fired that he does not have to add anything while he kneads the dough and lets it rise.” De Nieuwe Bijbelvertaling takes a different approach, saying “Their passion resembles an oven that has been heated up so high by a baker that he no longer needs to see it as he kneads the dough and makes it rise.” The Hebrew verb for heated usually means “burn” or “scorch,” so “smolders” seems to be chosen by Good News Translation to fit the context.

Kneading is the process of mixing the flour, water, and other ingredients to make the dough. It is then kept at a low heat at first. When the yeast produces the small bubbles of gas in the dough to make it swell to a larger size, it has been leavened and is ready to be baked. It would be senseless to prepare a roaring fire before the dough is ready.

Since the meaning of this simile may not be clear in some languages, a translation with the simile and its meaning may be necessary, such as “Their anger is like a heated oven, not stirred by the baker, who first kneads the dough and lets the yeast work in the dough; that is, they wait until their plot is ready to be carried out.”

A translation model for this verse is:

• All the people are unfaithful to the king and his officials,
their anger burns like an oven.
It has been stoked so hot,
that the baker does not have to attend to it again
while kneading the dough until it rises.

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 .

Although Good News Translation begins a new paragraph here (similarly New Revised Standard Version and New Living Translation with a stanza break), some languages may prefer not to insert a break since the first two lines of verse 7 continue the threat of the previous verses.

The days of punishment have come, the days of recompense have come: These two parallel lines contain a warning, repeated for emphasis, that the time of punishment for Israel has come. It is possible that the repetition is in response to remarks being made by the people as they begin to disrupt Hosea’s speech. The Hebrew word for recompense has the idea of punishment that serves as appropriate repayment by someone who takes revenge. The use of The days of punishment and the days of recompense stands in sharp contrast with “the day of appointed festival” and “the day of the feast of the LORD” in 9.5.

A translation model for verse 7a-b is:

• The days of punishment will arrive,
the days of reckoning will come.

Israel shall know it: At the beginning of this clause Good News Translation adds “When that happens” to show that Israel has not been punished yet. What Israel shall know is the fact of punishment (it). Know renders the usual meaning of the Hebrew verb here. This meaning fits the context and is followed by many translations and commentators. New English Bible‘s “be humbled” follows the meaning of a similar Arabic verb, but there is no textual support for this reading. Jerusalem Bible emends the Hebrew verb for know to read “protests,” but this reading is not supported by any ancient translations, and the emendation is not necessary to make sense of the Hebrew text. However, a proposal that makes good sense is made by Wolff and other commentators and followed by New Revised Standard Version. In that proposal the surface form of the Hebrew verb is based on a root that means “to cry,” leading to the translation “Israel cries.” This reading suits the context well. The next two lines then clearly represent the response of the hearers of Hosea’s prophecies. If this reading is followed, we recommend a paragraph or stanza break before this line.

The prophet is a fool, the man of the spirit is mad: By adding the quote frame “you say,” Good News Translation makes it clear that the Israelites are speaking about Hosea here. If the previous line is rendered as a quote frame (for example, “Israel, you cry”), Good News Translation‘s addition is not needed. The singular expressions the prophet and the man of the spirit, and the quotation of the peoples’ words in 6.1-3, favor this interpretation that Hosea is quoting the people. Several versions depend upon quotation marks only to show that this is a saying of the people (so New Jerusalem Bible), but those who hear the text being read will not understand it that way.

Revised Standard Version‘s rendering of these two lines seems to refer to the prophets in general, but in the Hebrew text we would expect plural nouns with this interpretation. Good News Translation makes it clear that the people are speaking about Hosea by using demonstrative pronouns, saying “This prophet … is a fool. This inspired man is insane.”

The Hebrew word for prophet is the usual term for such a person (see comments on 4.5), but instead of the normal expression “man of God” in the next line (compare 2 Kgs 5.8), they say man of the spirit. This appears to be a disparaging expression for people who were so ecstatic when possessed by God’s spirit that they would speak and act in strange ways (see 1 Sam 10.6, 10-12). The Hebrew words for fool and mad occur first in each line, marking them as emphatic: “A fool [is] the prophet, mad [is] the man of the spirit.” A fool is a foolish talker (Pro 10.8), and the Hebrew word for mad carries with it the idea of a person who constantly talks nonsense to himself, sounding like the cooing of a dove. So these two terms are related to uncontrolled speech. Jerusalem Bible says “The prophet is mad … this inspired fellow is raving.”

Because of your great iniquity and great hatred: The connection of these two lines with the rest of the verse is disputed. Some translate them in a way that indicates the prophets in general have become madmen who are useless to Israel, as divine retribution for Israel’s sins; for example, Jerusalem Bible says “Ah yes, but only because your iniquity is so great, your apostasy so grave,” and Bible en français courant has “Alright, yes, but that is the result of your countless crimes and the violent hostility that you manifest to him.” However, if we assume that the people are responding directly to Hosea and are calling him specifically a madman, it is not likely that he would accept their accusation as valid, even as retribution for sin. It is morally and psychologically questionable to see the sin and hostility of the people as the cause of Hosea’s foolishness. It is more likely that these two lines give the reasons for the people calling him a madman. It is because of their numerous sins and their hostility toward him. A model that expresses this sense is “You say this because your sins are so many and your hostility toward me is so great” (similarly New International Version).

For the Hebrew word rendered iniquity, see 8.13. The Hebrew word for hatred refers to deeply-felt hostility, as in a grudge. It is only used twice in the Old Testament, here and in the next verse.

A translation model for 9.7c-g is:

• Israel, you cry:
“This prophet is crazy!
The inspired man has gone mad!”
You say this because of your many offenses,
because of your great hostility.

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 .

As the Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation footnotes indicate, the meaning of this verse in Hebrew is uncertain. Many translations have a similar footnote. Zürcher Bibel, in fact, uses only an ellipsis (…), with the footnote “This verse in untranslatable.” A literal translation of the Hebrew text is:

And my people are hanging to turning away from me,
and to a height [or, Baal/Most High] they call to him.
Altogether he will not exalt them.

This verse begins with the Hebrew waw conjunction (literally “And” [King James Version]), which Revised Standard Version, Good News Translation, and most other versions leave untranslated. Here it introduces the grounds for the punishment of the Israelites in the previous two verses, so it may be translated “For” (New Living Translation, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh).

My people are bent on turning away from me: The meaning of this line is fairly certain. Here the Hebrew verb rendered are bent (literally “are hanging”) seems to mean insisting on an opinion or an action, although its literal meaning refers to the hanging or impaling of a criminal. Most translations follow the interpretation in Revised Standard Version. Wolff supports this translation. Studies in the dialect of northern Israel also support this interpretation. Some translations that are similar to the one in Revised Standard Version are “They insist on turning away from me” (Good News Translation), “My people are determined to turn from me” (New International Version), and “For My people persists in its defection from Me” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh).

So they are appointed to the yoke: The main problem for this verse is the interpretation of this line. As noted above, the Hebrew is literally “and to a height [or, Al/Baal/Most High] they call to him.” There are three major interpretations:

1. It can be understood as the Israelites calling to their God as the “High” one; for example, New International Version says “Even if they call to the Most High,” and English Standard Version has “and though they call out to the Most High.”

2. An alternative interpretation is to understand the Hebrew words for “to a height” (ʾel ʿal) to be the name “El-Al,” which is the name of a god known in northwest Semitic languages just north of Israel. Since the name “El-Al” is similar to the name “Baal,” some versions refer to the god Baal here; for example, Revised English Bible says “but though they call in unison to Baal,” and NET Bible has “they call to Baal.” The literal phrase “call to him” can be understood as to mean “name him.” So another possible model for this line that follows this second interpretation is “and they call [or, name] him El-Al.”

3. Finally, since vowel marks were added only centuries later to the Hebrew text, the word ʿal can be read as the word ʿol, which means “yoke.” Revised Standard Version follows this reading, and so does Good News Translation with “They will cry out because of the yoke that is on them.”

Even though Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation both refer to the image of a yoke (referring to captivity), their interpretations of this line are not the same because of their differing understandings of the Hebrew verb here. This verb may be interpreted to mean they are appointed (similarly New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh “it is summoned”). A variant of this interpretation is King James Version‘s “they called them,” in which the pronoun “they” refers to the prophets and the pronoun “them” to the Israelites. But such a reference to the prophets is not clear from the context. Another equally possible interpretation of this verb is “They will cry out” (Good News Translation) or “they call” (New Revised Standard Version). This interpretation of crying out fits well with Hosea’s vivid and emotional style.

And none shall remove it: Good News Translation is similar with “but no one will lift it from them.” The pronoun it refers to the yoke. As noted above, the Hebrew for this line is literally “Altogether he will not exalt them.” New Revised Standard Version reflects the Hebrew better with “but he does not raise them up at all,” and so does New International Version with “he will by no means exalt them.” Some versions place the Hebrew word meaning “Altogether” in the previous line, giving it the sense of “together” or “in unison” (Revised English Bible), which is a possibility.

According to the interpretation of Good News Translation for this verse, Israel keeps turning away from God, and they cry out because of the yoke of a foreign conqueror, but no one will be able to remove that yoke. Revised Standard Version has a similar interpretation. However, by following the Hebrew dialect of northern Israel, we see the following interpretation for this verse:

My people are determined to turn away from me,
and they call together to Baal,
but he will not lift them up.

“Lift them up” can have a variety of meanings, depending upon the context. It can refer to restoration, healing, honor, and other things. In this context we can assume that it refers to whatever the Israelites requested in their prayer to Baal. Baal will not help them!

Translation models for this verse are:

• My people are fixed on turning away from me.
Together they call on Baal,
but he will not lift them up.

• My people insist on being unfaithful to me.
When they call on me, the Most High,
I will not restore them at all.

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 .

Here we have an unusual and surprising metaphor about childbirth and its problems. Instead approaching it from the perspective of the mother, here God focuses on the child who does not want to be born and thus misses the opportunity to have life. The Israelites could have life but refuse it. Good News Translation radically revises the order and presentation of the text to ensure clarity of understanding. Translators will have to determine whether something similar to this is necessary and useful for their own project, but they should always keep in mind that the use of imagery makes the translation more vivid and appealing. Most meaning-based translations opt for changing the metaphor into a simile and adding some explicit notes to enhance the reader’s understanding, as in Contemporary English Version (“You are like a senseless child who refuses to be born at the proper time”) and New Living Translation (“Pain has come to the people like the pain of childbirth, but they are like a child who resists being born. The moment of birth has arrived, but they stay in the womb!”).

Many languages have interesting ways of speaking about childbirth and the body of the mother. Sometimes these are quite poetic. The Hebrew expressions here are no exception.

The pangs of childbirth have come for him: All languages will have a way of expressing the idea of childbirth pain. Normally we think of a woman experiencing such pain, but here the normal expression is used in a surprising way, namely, that the pain is a signal to the child in the womb. This line is literally “The pains of the one who gives birth come to him.” What is important here is not the pain itself, nor does this line mean that the child experiences pain, but the child gets the signal from the pain that it is now time to be born.

But he is an unwise son: The conjunction but is not in the Hebrew text, but in many languages it will be helpful to add a contrastive connector here. He is an unwise son is literally “he a son not wise.” He lacks the awareness and cleverness to correctly interpret the sign of the times and make the right choices, risking his own life.

For now he does not present himself at the mouth of the womb: The conjunction for introduces why the son is not wise. It is because he refuses to be born at the proper time. Now renders a Hebrew expression that shows that it is time, the right moment has come.

He does not present himself at the mouth of the womb is literally “he does not take a stand at the breach of children,” which means he does not move into the proper position for being born when the womb is open.

A translation model for this verse is:

• Labor pains come to him,
but he is like a foolish child.
At the right time he is unwilling
to find the way out of the womb.

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 .