The Hebrew, Greek, Ge’ez, and Latin that are translated as “covenant” in English are translated in a variety of ways. Here are some (back-) translations:
Natügu: nzesz’tikr drtwr: “oneness of mind” (source: Brenda Boerger in Beerle-Moor / Voinov, p. 164)
Tagalog: tipan: mutual promising on the part of two persons agreeing to do something (also has a romantic touch and denotes something secretive) (source: G. Henry Waterman in The Bible Translator 1960, p. 24ff. )
Tagbanwa: “initiated-agreement” (source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Cherokee: “that which is told” (source: Bender / Belt 2025, p. 16)
Guhu-Samane: “The concept [in Mark 14:24 and Matthew 16:28] is not easy, but the ritual freeing of a fruit and nut preserve does afford some reference. Thus, ‘As they were drinking he said to them, ‘On behalf of many this poro provision [poro is the traditional religion] of my blood is released.’ (…) God is here seen as the great benefactor and man the grateful recipient.” (Source: Ernest Richert in The Bible Translator, 1965, p. 81ff. )
Chichewa: pangano. This word can also be translated as a contract, agreement, or a treaty between two parties. In Chewa culture, two people or groups enter into an agreement to help each other in times of need. When entering into an agreement, parties look at the mutual benefits which will be gained. The agreement terms are mostly kept as a secret between the parties and the witnesses involved. (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)
Law (2013, p. 95) writes about how the Ancient GreekSeptuagint‘s translation of the Hebrew berith was used by the New Testament writers as a bridge between the Old and New Testaments (click or tap here to read more):
“Right from the start we witness the influence of the Septuagint on the earliest expressions of the Christian faith. In the New Testament, Jesus speaks of his blood being a kaine diatheke, a ‘new covenant.’ The covenant is elucidated in Hebrews 8:8-12 and other texts, but it was preserved in the words of Jesus with this language in Luke 22:20 when at the Last Supper Jesus said, ‘This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.’ Jesus’s blood was to provide the grounds for the ‘new covenant,’ in contrast to the old one his disciples knew from the Jewish scriptures (e.g., Jeremiah 31:31-34). Thus, the earliest Christians accepted the Jewish Scriptures as prophecies about Jesus and in time began to call the collection the ‘Old Testament’ and the writings about Jesus and early Christianity the ‘New Testament,’ since ‘testament’ was another word for ‘covenant.’ The covenant promises of God (berith in Hebrew) were translated in the Septuagint with the word diatheke. In classical Greek diatheke had meant ‘last will, testament,’ but in the Septuagint it is the chosen equivalent for God’s covenant with his people. The author of Hebrews plays on the double meaning, and when Luke records Jesus’ announcement at the Last Supper that his blood was instituting a ‘new covenant,’ or a ‘new testament,’ he is using the language in an explicit contrast with the old covenant, found in the Jewish scriptures. Soon, the writings that would eventually be chosen to make up the texts about the life and teachings of Jesus and the earliest expression of the Christian faith would be called the New Testament. This very distinction between the Old and New Testaments is based on the Septuagint’s language.”
The different Hebrew, Ge’ez, and Greek terms that are translated as “(olive) oil” and “(animal) fat” in English are translated in Kwere with only one term: mavuta. (Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)
The Hebrew and Greek that is transliterated as “Ephraim” in English is translated in Spanish Sign Language with the sign for “palm tree” referring to the palm of Deborah in the land of Ephraim (see Judges 4:5. (Source: Steve Parkhurst)
According to Anne Garber Kompaoré (in Le Sycomore 3/2009, p. 34ff. ), there are 4 ways to identify cardinal directions:
1. celestial bodies, especially the sun and certain stars
2. geographical landmarks, for example a mountain, sea, or river (depending on its position or the direction in which the water flows) etc.
3. climatic phenomena, such as the wind and the direction from which rain comes
4. bodily reference points, especially front, back, left, and right, in relation to celestial bodies or geographical landmarks
Following are examples of how these are practically implemented by various languages: (click or tap here to see the rest of this insight)
Celestial Bodies
East and west are often translated by the rising and the setting of the sun (note that the origin of English and other Indo-European languages is “dawn” for “east” and “evening” [i.e. sun-down] for “west”):
Maan: “where the sun comes up” and “where the sun goes down” (source: Don Slager)
Kankanaey: “from the coming-out of the sun “and “going-away of the sun” (source: Kankanaey back-translation)
Northern Emberá: “from where the sun comes up” and “from where the sun falls” (source: Charles Mortensen)
Ejamat “the side where the sun comes from” and “the side where it sets” (source: David Frank in this blog post )
Tzeltal: “where the sun pours-out” (west) (source: Reiling / Swellengrebel)
Northern Ngbandi: “the sun behind the chief’s house” (east — the chief lives traditionally at the eastern side of the village, therefore he does not get the sunlight into his eyes) and “under the sun” (west)
Northwestern Dinka: “earth behind” (east — the place behind the earth, i.e. the area where the sun rises)
Jula: “salt village” (north — because salt comes from the north, from the Sahara Desert) and “kola village” (south — since kola comes from the coastal region to the south) (source: Garber Kompaoré)
Matumbi: “toward the beach” (East) (the coast is in the eastern direction in Matumbi-speaking areas), “north” and “south” can be defined as above or below another place (Source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific notes in Paratext)
Acoli: “right” (of the local White Nile) (north) and “left” (of the White Nile) (south)
Zande: “interior (dry) land” (east); “place-inside-country” (north / south) — Zande, like a number of other languages, including Matengo and Hehe, traditionally only has three cardinal directions.
Belanda Bor: “lower place” (north) and “higher place” (south)
Turkana: “(up)stream” (north) and (down)stream (south)
Mono (DRC): “water place” (south) (source for this and five above: Mietzner / Pasch)
Climatic Phenomena
Shilluk: “opening westwind” (north) and “opening eastwind” (south)
Swahili used to have six directions. In reducing them to four, kusini and kaskazini which used to refer to south-west and north east respectively (the directions from where the two monsoons blow) have become the terms for “south” and north.” (source for this and one above: Mietzner / Pasch)
Bodily Reference Points
Nuer / Burun: “face” and “sun face” respectively (both: east)
Kalenjin: “eye sun” (east) (this and the one above indicate that the sun is “facing” the spectator from its position in the east:
Shilluk: doesn’t use a fixed position of the speaker, instead it has “eye sun morning” for east and “eye sun evening” for west
Mono (DRC): “foot-sun” (east — the start of the sun’s journey)
Burun: “sun leg” (west — the end of the sun’s journey)
Bari: “back” (north — when people are facing south, north is at their back) (source for this and above: Mietzner / Pasch)
Northern Emberá “the looking [left] hand” (north) and “the real [right] hand” (south) (source: Charles Mortensen)
Morelos Nahuatl: “from above” (north) and “from below” (south) (source: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.)
When all four directions are mentioned, translators tend to avoid listing the four, sometimes verbose terms, and chose solutions like “all directions” (such as in Maan or Manya (source: Don Slager). Yakan has “from the four corners of the earth” (source: Yakan back-translation) and Western Bukidnon Manobo “from the four directions here on the earth” (source: Western Bukidnon Manobo back-translation).
The Hebrew text that gives instructions where to place items in the tabernacle with the help of cardinal directions (north and south) had to be approached in the Bambam translation specific to spacial concepts of that culture. Phil Campbell explains: “There are no words in Bambam for north and south. In Exodus 26:35, God instructs that the table is to be placed on the north side and the lamp on the south side inside the tabernacle. The team wants to use right and left to tell where the lamp and table are located. In many languages we would say that the table is on the right and the lampstand is on the left based on the view of someone entering the tabernacle. However, that is not how Bambam people view it. They view the placement of things and rooms in a building according to the orientation of someone standing inside the building facing the front of the building. So that means the table is on the left side and the lampstand is on the right side.”
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Hosea 12:1:
Kupsabiny: “Ephraim feeds himself on wind alone. (He) follows the wind of the East all day. He continues to tell/do lies and/with rebellion/arrogance. (He) made a covenant with Assyria and sent olive oil to Egypt.’” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “Ephraim is like an animal that eats wind instead of grass. All day long he chases after the wind that blows from the desert. He multiplies lies and violence. He makes an alliance with Assyria, and sells olive oil to the land of Egypt.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “‘Those (who) come-from-Israel trust on the things that have no value. What they chase/pursue all day long are the things which can-harm them. Their telling-lies and violence multiplies/increases. They make a treaty with Asiria and Egipto, that is why they bring oil to Egipto as gift.’” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “The leaders of Israel are constantly wavering about seeking help from other countries. Seeking their help is as useless as chasing the wind. They pile up their lies and violent acts. First, they make a treaty with Assyria, and then they send olive oil to the rulers of Egypt to seek their help.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
Ephraim herds the wind, and pursues the east wind all day long: Once again Good News Translation renders Ephraim as “Israel” for clarity (see comments on 4.17). There is a problem with the Hebrew verb rendered herds, which normally means “pasture,” “tend,” or “feed.” However, since Hosea uses the Hebrew dialect of northern Israel, the preferred sense of this verb is “desire” or “want.” And this meaning is synonymous with the parallel verb pursues. These two parallel lines use the figurative language of chasing the wind, which means that what the people do is “useless” (Good News Translation). The east wind refers to the hot wind that blows across Israel as it comes from the desert east of Israel.
Good News Translation renders these two parallel lines with nonfigurative language, saying “Everything that the people of Israel do from morning to night is useless and destructive.” The decision to maintain or abandon the poetic images fully depends on the type of translation one wants to produce, as well as on the expressive power of the images in the receptor culture. Changing the images certainly reduces the expressiveness of the translation. New American Bible maintains the imagery, saying “Ephraim chases the wind, ever pursuing the gale.” Contemporary English Version also keeps the imagery, but combines the two lines: “All day long Israel chases wind from the desert.”
They multiply falsehood and violence: This poetic line stands alone in the verse. It means the people of Israel are very deceitful and violent. The pronoun they is literally “he,” referring to Ephraim. As in Revised Standard Version, many languages may need to use a plural pronoun to refer to the people of this group. It is not clear whether falsehood and violence are what the people of Israel do to each other, or what they do to others, such as Assyria and Egypt. These two countries were to the north and the south of Israel, and they would often wage war with each other (see 7.11). And Israel was caught in the middle. However, since these two nations are not mentioned until the last two lines of this verse, it seems better to understand this line as referring to what the Israelites do to each other; for example, Good News Translation says “Treachery and acts of violence increase among them.” It may also be possible to leave it open in translation.
They make a bargain with Assyria, and oil is carried to Egypt: These two parallel lines show how Israel deals with the countries to the north and to the south. For they make a bargain, which is literally “they cut a covenant,” see the comments on 2.18. Good News Translation says “They make treaties,” but the Hebrew word for bargain is singular, and there is no compelling reason to deviate from this.
Good News Translation renders oil is carried to Egypt as “do business with Egypt,” which gives the general meaning of the specific expression in Hebrew. The oil would have been olive oil, not petroleum oil (see comments on 2.5b). Wolff understands the oil as sent to ratify a treaty with Egypt, to make it official. This understanding would show Israel to be making treaties with both Egypt and Assyria, and this is the preferred meaning of these lines. Revised English Bible says “he makes a treaty with Assyria and carries tribute of oil to Egypt.”
A translation model for this verse is:
• Ephraim chases the wind,
they pursue the desert wind all day.
They add deceit to violence.
They cut out a covenant with Assyria,
and take olive oil as a present to Egypt.
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 .
Notice the parallel parts that are similar in meaning:
1a Ephraim chasesthe wind
1b and pursuesthe east wind all day long;
These lines are metaphors that compare the people of Israel to an animal that attempts to catch and eat wind for its food.
Here are some ways to translate these figures of speech:
• Use a metaphor. Make the similarity explicit if it will be helpful. For example:
Ephraim ⌊is a foolish calf that tries to ⌋ eat wind.
• Use a simile. Make the similarity or topic explicit if it will be helpful. For example:
Ephraim ⌊is like an animal that ⌋ feeds on wind ⌊instead of pasture grass ⌋. -or-
Israel’s ⌊behavior is as useless as ⌋ feeding on wind.
• Translate the meaning without using a figure of speech. For example:
The people of Israel try to achieve worthless goals.
12:1a
Ephraim chases the wind: There are two main interpretations of the Hebrew word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as chases :
(1) The word means “feeds/graze.” It usually refers to an animal that grazes in a pasture. For example:
Ephraim feeds on the wind (English Standard Version)
(2) The word means “herd.” It usually refers to the herding of animals. For example:
Ephraim herds the wind (New Revised Standard Version)
(3) The word means “chase.” For example:
What Israel does is as useless as chasing the wind (New Century Version)
It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1) along with most versions.
wind: In this context, the word wind is used figuratively to mean “a vain or empty thing.” The metaphor “feeds on the wind” means to strive after what is worthless, meaningless, or futile.
12:1b
pursues the east wind all day long: This metaphor means to do something that is useless and potentially harmful.
east wind: This phrase probably refers to the strong wind in Israel that blows from the eastern desert. It is a hot, dry, destructive wind. Here the phrase may imply the destruction that will result from the foolish behavior of Israel, described in 12:1c–e.
all day long: There are two interpretations of the connection of this phrase to the surrounding context:
(1) The phrase all day is part of the previous clause. It indicates that Ephraim pursues the east wind all day. For example:
Ephraim feeds on the wind, and pursues the east wind all day long (English Standard Version)
(2) The phrase all day is part of the following clause. It indicates that Ephraim multiplies lies and violence all day. For example:
he daily increases lies and desolation (New King James Version)
It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1) along with most versions.
The phrase all day long is an expression that means continually. Some versions translate it that way. For example:
Ephraim feeds on wind, and pursues the east wind continually. (New American Standard Bible)
12:1c
he multiplies lies and violence: The Hebrew word for multiplies means “make numerous.” It indicates that lying and violence continued to increase.
violence: In Hebrew, this word means “violent action.” In this context, it may refer particularly to social wrongs such as oppression and other evil behavior.
12:1d–e
Notice the parallel parts that are similar in meaning:
1d he makes a covenantwith Assyria
1e and sends olive oilto Egypt.
These lines give examples of Israel’s attempts to gain favor with powerful nations. They are also examples of the kind of futile behavior that Hosea described as grazing on wind and pursuing the east wind. Here are some reasons this behavior was futile:
(a) It challenged Yahweh’s role as Israel’s one true savior.
(b) Israel’s covenant with Yahweh was exclusive. It did not allow them to make a covenant with Assyria.
(c) It was an act of disloyalty to God and of political foolishness.
(d) It gave a false sense of security.
12:1d
he makes a covenant with Assyria: This clause refers to a political alliance between Israel and Assyria. It may refer specifically to the promise of Israelite king Hoshea to make Israel a faithful subject of Assyria. See 2 Kings 17:3. Here are some other ways to translate this clause:
they make a covenant with Assyria (English Standard Version) -or-
they are making an alliance with Assyria (New Living Translation (2004)) -or-
They make agreements with Assyria (New Century Version)
12:1e
and sends olive oil to Egypt: This clause probably refers to a gift that Israel sent to Egypt to gain their help or to make a treaty. This action was foolish and dangerous for Israel. It caused Assyria to interpret it as disloyalty to them and invited their anger.
olive oil: The Hebrew word is literally oil. It refers to olive oil. Olive oil was abundant in Israel. It was valuable in that region, especially in Egypt where olives were not grown. Here are some other ways to translate this clause:
and send olive oil as tribute to Egypt (NET Bible) -or-
while sending olive oil to buy support from Egypt (New Living Translation (2004))
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