Translation commentary on Hosea 1:10

Yet renders well the Hebrew waw conjunction (literally “And”) at the beginning of this verse since there is a contrast between this paragraph and the previous one. Other translations use “But” (New Jerusalem Bible, De Nieuwe Bijbelvertaling, Chewa) or “However” ( NET Bible) for marking the contrast. Good News Translation simply makes the contrastive statement without such a marker. Biblia Dios Habla Hoy begins with “One day.” Translators should carefully consider whatever suitable expressions the discourse style of their language may require to reach the intended contrastive effect.

The number of the people of Israel shall be like the sand of the sea: This promise reflects those made by God to Abraham and to Jacob (Gen 22.17; 32.12). Their people will grow in number so they cannot be counted. However, the figure the sand of the sea also occurs in other contexts (for example, Josh 11.4; Jdg 7.12; Jer 15.8) and should therefore be treated consistently in translation. The people of Israel is literally “the sons [or, children] of Israel.” It may be helpful to translate this phrase as “the children of Israel” (English Standard Version) in order to link it visibly with “the children of God” at the end of this verse. It is also possible to interpret this paragraph as being addressed to the common people of Israel, while the preceding paragraphs were directed against the leadership of Israel.

Which can be neither measured nor numbered: Goods that cannot be counted are usually measured by weight or bulk, as is oil, rice, or sugar. The prophecy says that neither form of telling quantity will be useful for counting the people of Israel. Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch says “which one can neither count nor measure with a [dry] measure.” Local terms for measuring or weighing can also be considered.

And in the place where it was said to them: In the place where is a literal translation of the Hebrew. Many scholars (for example, Harper, Wolff) and translators understand that the Hebrew phrase here does not refer to a physical place but is an idiom meaning “instead of” or “whereas.” This meaning for the phrase does occur elsewhere in the Hebrew Bible (for example, Lev 4.29, 33). The translation of this whole clause can then be “and instead of saying to them.” Good News Translation follows this interpretation by beginning with “Now” to introduce a contrast. However, Mays believes this unnamed place is Jezreel. Andersen and Freedman believe it may refer to a sacred place where ceremonies were held for naming children. Other translations follow this interpretation; for example, New Jerusalem Bible says “In the very place where they were told,” and New International Version has “In the place where it was said to them.” Both interpretations are possible.

It was said to them is a passive construction, but the implied speaker is God (see 1.9). Good News Translation makes this explicit with “God says to them.” In the present context there is no compelling reason to be this explicit, but if the receptor language does not easily accommodate a passive form, this may be an acceptable alternative.

You are not my people: See 1.9.

It shall be said to them is another passive construction. Good News Translation uses an active expression here also by identifying God as the speaker, saying “he will say to them.” See the comments above.

Sons of the living God is a new name not given previously to one of Hosea’s children. The Hebrew word for Sons includes daughters as well, especially when it refers to an entire group of people. Here Sons means approximately the same thing as people but emphasizes a close relationship, as in a family. Good News Translation translates the name as a statement, saying “You are the children of the living God!” The inclusive word “children” is recommended in translation.

The phrase the living God contrasts Yahweh with lifeless idols who have no power. It also contrasts him with Baal, the Canaanite god of fertility, who was thought to die at the beginning of every dry season, leaving all the plants to die. In view of this, the living God can be interpreted as “the God who provides life.”

Translation models for this verse are:

• However, the children of Israel will become numerous like the sand of the sea that cannot be measured or counted. In the place where they were told, “You are not my people,” they will be told, “You are children of the living God.”

• But the children of Israel will be as many as the sands on the seashore, uncountable and immeasurable. It was said to them, “You are not my people.” Instead, it will be said to them, “You are children of the God who provides life.”

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 .

SIL Translator’s Notes on Hosea 1:10

Section 1:10–2:1

The LORD promised to make the people of Israel his own again

The Hebrew text has a chapter break here. It has different verse and chapter numbers from the majority of English translations. These Notes follow the system of most English versions (unlike the Tanakh: The Holy Scriptures and the New Jerusalem Bible, which follow the Hebrew numbering system). You need to decide which system you are going to follow and be consistent throughout your translation. Usually it is good to follow the same chapter and verse numbering that is used by most other translations in your area.

In the previous section, 1:2–9, the LORD said that he no longer considered the people of Israel to be his people. In this section, 1:10–2:1, the LORD continued to speak to the people of Israel. He told them that there was still hope. He would make them a great and mighty nation in the future.

The Berean Standard Bible does not start a new section here, but TN and some other versions do.

Here are some other possible headings for this section:

God’s Promise to Israel (New Century Version)
-or-
Hope for Israel (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
The Restoration of Israel (New Revised Standard Version)

Paragraph 1:10–2:1

The message of future hope for Israel in this paragraph contrasts with the messages of judgment that precede it. The Israelites had been unfaithful to the LORD. They had broken the covenant he made with them through Moses at Mt. Sinai. In spite of that, the LORD reminded them here that he still intended to keep the promise of the earlier covenant that he had made with their ancestor Abraham. In the future, he will once again bless the nation of Israel. He will increase their numbers and reunite the northern kingdom of Israel with the southern kingdom of Judah.

1:10

If you start a new section here, you may need to make explicit at the beginning of 1:10 that the LORD is still speaking. For example:

⌊ The Lord continued to speak. He said⌋…

1:10a

Yet: This verse contrasts strongly with the previous verses. You should translate it in a way that indicates this contrast. If this is a new section in your translation, you may have to make the link to the previous section explicit by repeating part of verse 9. For example:

⌊ Although I have said that you are no longer my people,⌋yet….

the Israelites: In Hebrew, this phrase is literally “the number of the sons of Israel.” It refers here to the entire nation.

Here is another way to translate this phrase:

the number of the people of Israel (New Revised Standard Version)

will be like the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured or counted: This is a figure of speech (simile) that the LORD first used in Genesis 22:17 and Genesis 32:12. Those verses expressed his covenant promise to Abraham. Here the simile compares the number of Israelites to the sand on the seashore. The point of similarity is that they will be so many that no one will be able to count them.

Hebrew and most English versions state the word “number” explicitly. For example:

the Israelites will become as numerous as the grains of sand on the seashore. No one will be able to measure them or count them. (God’s Word)
-or-
the number of the people of Israel will be like the sand of the sea which can be neither measured nor numbered. (NET Bible)

Translate in a natural way that makes the correct meaning of the simile clear.

cannot be measured or counted: The words measured and counted have almost the same meaning in this context. They are used together for the sake of emphasis. The word measured does not occur in either of the similar verses in Genesis. In this context, it refers to measuring the amount of something dry like sand, using a container whose size is known.

If your language has a word for measuring something like sand, you may use it here. If it is confusing to compare the number of people to sand that is measured, you may want to use only one expression, as some English versions have done. For example:

Someday it will be impossible to count the people of Israel, because there will be as many of them as there are grains of sand along the seashore. (Contemporary English Version)

You should translate this figure of speech in a way that is consistent with Genesis 22:17 and 32:12, so that readers can recognize that these words refer back to the LORD’s covenant with Abraham. At the same time, notice that there are some minor differences between these verses. If possible, you should maintain these differences in your translation. It is suggested that you refer to these Genesis verses in a footnote or in some other way.

1:10b

in the very place where it was said to them: There are two ways to interpret the Hebrew phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as in the very place where :

(1) It refers to a literal geographical place, either the land of Israel or the land where the people will be exiled. In this same place, the words that the LORD will say to the people will contrast with his previous words. For example:

at the place where they were told (New Living Translation (2004))

(2) It is a special use of the Hebrew phrase. Here it means “in place of ” or “instead of.” It does not refer here to a literal place. It simply introduces the contrasting words that the LORD will say to the people with his previous words. For example:

instead of being told (Tanakh: The Holy Scriptures)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1) along with almost all commentaries and lexicons. The Hebrew word for place normally refers to a location. It occurs with this meaning approximately five hundred times in the Old Testament. With this interpretation, the focus in this verse is still on the changed relationship between God and his people.

it was said to them: This is a passive clause. The implied speaker is the LORD.

If it is more natural in your language to use an active verb in this context, here is another way to translate it:

the LORD said to them

You are not My people: This is the same phrase as in 1:9b. Translate it the same way here.

1:10c

they will be called: This is a passive clause like the similar clause in 1:10b. See the General Comment on 1:10b–c for a way to translate this as an active clause.

sons of the living God: The Hebrew expression sons of can refer either to sons or to both sons and daughters. In this context, it refers to the entire nation, so a translation such as “children” is preferable to sons. For example:

they will be told they are ‘Children of the living God.’ (New Jerusalem Bible)

living God: The phrase living God is probably used here to contrast the true God with the false gods that the people worshiped. God was truly alive. The false gods had no life.

General Comment on 1:10b–c

Try to use similar expressions in 1:10b and 1:10c to show the contrast between what the LORD called the people in the past and what he will call them in the future. For example:

10b Wherever they were told, ‘You are not my people,’ 10c they will be told, ‘You are the children of the living God.’ (God’s Word)

© 2021 by SIL International®
Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.
All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.