The Hebrew, Greek and Latin that is translated as “idol(s)” in English is translated in Central Subanen as ledawan or “images” (source: Robert Brichoux in OPTAT 1988/2, p. 80ff. ) and in Cherokee “imaginary gods” (source: Bender / Belt 2025, p. 16).
In German, typically the term Götze is used. Originally this was used as a term of endearment for Gott (“God” — see here ), later for “icon” and “image, likeness.” Luther started to use it in the 16th century in the meaning of “false god, idol.” Other terms that are used in German include Götzenbild(er) (“image[s] of idols”) or Bildnis (“image” — Protestant) / Kultbild (“cultish image” — Catholic) (used for instance in Exodus 20:4 and Deuteronomy 5:8). The latest revision of the Catholic Einheitsübersetzung (publ. 2016) also uses the neologism Nichtse (“nothings”) in 1 Chron. 16:26 and Psalm 96:5. (Source: Zetzsche)
The Hebrew, Ge’ez, and Greek that is typically translated as “sin” in English has a wide variety of translations.
The Greek ἁμαρτάνω (hamartanō) carries the original verbatim meaning of “miss the mark” and likewise, many translations contain the “connotation of moral responsibility.”
Loma: “leaving the road” (which “implies a definite standard, the transgression of which is sin”)
Navajo (Dinė): “that which is off to the side” (source for this and above: Bratcher / Nida)
Toraja-Sa’dan: kasalan, originally meaning “transgression of a religious or moral rule” and in the context of the Bible “transgression of God’s commandments” (source: H. van der Veen in The Bible Translator 1950, p. 21ff. )
Bariai: “bad behavior” (source: Bariai Back Translation)
Sandawe: “miss the mark” (like the original meaning of the Greek term) (source for this and above: Ursula Wiesemann in Holzhausen / Riderer 2010, p. 36ff., 43)
Nias: horö, originally a term primarily used for sexual sin. (Source: Hummel / Telaumbanua 2007, p. 256)
In Shipibo-Conibo the term is hocha. Nida (1952, p. 149) tells the story of its choosing: “In some instances a native expression for sin includes many connotations, and its full meaning must be completely understood before one ever attempts to use it. This was true, for example, of the term hocha first proposed by Shipibo-Conibo natives as an equivalent for ‘sin.’ The term seemed quite all right until one day the translator heard a girl say after having broken a little pottery jar that she was guilty of ‘hocha.’ Breaking such a little jar scarcely seemed to be sin. However, the Shipibos insisted that hocha was really sin, and they explained more fully the meaning of the word. It could be used of breaking a jar, but only if the jar belonged to someone else. Hocha was nothing more nor less than destroying the possessions of another, but the meaning did not stop with purely material possessions. In their belief God owns the world and all that is in it. Anyone who destroys the work and plan of God is guilty of hocha. Hence the murderer is of all men most guilty of hocha, for he has destroyed God’s most important possession in the world, namely, man. Any destructive and malevolent spirit is hocha, for it is antagonistic and harmful to God’s creation. Rather than being a feeble word for some accidental event, this word for sin turned out to be exceedingly rich in meaning and laid a foundation for the full presentation of the redemptive act of God.”
Martin Ehrensvärd, one of the translators for the DanishBibelen 2020, comments on the translation of this term: “We would explain terms, such that e.g. sin often became ‘doing what God does not want’ or ‘breaking God’s law’, ‘letting God down’, ‘disrespecting God’, ‘doing evil’, ‘acting stupidly’, ‘becoming guilty’. Now why couldn’t we just use the word sin? Well, sin in contemporary Danish, outside of the church, is mostly used about things such as delicious but unhealthy foods. Exquisite cakes and chocolates are what a sin is today.” (Source: Ehrensvärd in HIPHIL Novum 8/2023, p. 81ff. )
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Hosea 13:2:
Kupsabiny: “The people of Israel continue to sin to this day shaping/creating for themselves idols of silver. People shape those things in their empty/futile wisdom/skill. They say that those idols of calves are made for sacrifices and then they are kissed.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “By making idols of metal they now sin more and more, they had craftsmen make idols of silver for themselves. The report of these people has been stated like this, "They offer human sacrifices and kiss the idol of the bull."” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “Now, you (plur.) who are-called Efraim continue doing-sin. For you (plur.) make images of little-gods/false-gods from your (plur.) silver so-that you (plur.) will-worship (them). But all these were only made by man and also according to just what he thought. You (plur.) still said that you (plur.) will-offer a person/man to these little-gods/false-gods which is a cow and kiss them.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “And now, they are making-worse their sin. Because those who are skilled metal-smiths, they are making their silver into false/imitation gods whose construction is carefully/well-done. They say, ‘Let’s sacrifice to them,’ while they kill those false/imitation gods of theirs that are imitation cows.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
English: “Now they sin more and more; they make idols for themselves and coat the idols with their silver. Those idols are statues that are very cleverly made, but those statues are made by mere humans. But the people are told, ‘Kiss those idols that resemble a calf, and offer sacrifices to them!’” (Source: Translation for Translators)
This verse contains some examples of Hebrew poetic style that are difficult to interpret and translate today. We can imagine that the prophet, as a poet, was intentionally putting words together that could be understood and applied in a variety of ways. Translators should not be surprised to find a wide variety of renderings here in major languages that are in use today. In addition to that, there is a textual problem in the last two lines of this verse, which is mentioned in the footnotes of Revised Standard Version, Good News Translation, and many other versions.
And now they sin more and more …: The Hebrew expression rendered And now is often used as a discourse marker that introduces a new topic or paragraph. In this case it shows that the prophet is no longer talking about the past and about one person or tribe, but about what all the people of Israel are doing now, despite what was stated in the preceding verse. It may be translated “Yet now” (Revised English Bible) or “Nevertheless.” The Hebrew text switches from third person singular pronouns in verse 1 to third person plural pronouns here (they, themselves, their, them). If in the preceding verse the translation refers to the leadership of Ephraim (as in the model translation), it would be helpful to identify the referents of they at this point, who are the people of Ephraim, that is, the northern kingdom of Israel.
They sin more and more is literally “they add to sin” or “they do more to sin.” New Living Translation says “they continue to sin,” and NET Bible has “they persist in sin.”
And make for themselves molten images means the Israelites make metal images to worship other gods. Good News Translation adds “to worship” to make clear the use for these images. Molten images renders one word in the Hebrew, derived from the root meaning “to pour.” Such a cast image was made by heating a metal until it became liquid and then could be poured into the shape that they wanted. The use of this term may imply that such an image could someday be melted away, thus proving that this kind of “god” was really not very solid or strong. Some scholars believe that the metal could also be beaten or hammered into shape. Good News Translation‘s “metal images” includes both possibilities. The golden calf made in the Sinai Desert (Exo 32) and the golden calves set up at Bethel and at Dan (1 Kgs 12.28-29; 2 Kgs 17.16) were such images, but other images of silver and bronze have been discovered in the land once occupied by the northern kingdom of Israel. Molten images may be made of any metal that can be melted. These were made of silver, which is not mentioned until the next line. Hebrew poetry often expresses a general statement in the first line, but follows with a more specific statement in the second line. The Hebrew word for molten images is actually singular (Traduction œcuménique de la Bible “a cast image”). This can best be understood as a collective singular, so Revised Standard Version and most other versions use the plural form.
Idols skilfully made of silver, all of them the work of craftsmen: The first two lines of this verse give a general statement. These next two lines are a further description with more detail. A literal translation of these two lines is as follows:
from their silver, according to their understanding [or, skill], [they make] idols,
the work of craftsmen, all of it [the idols]
For the Hebrew word rendered idols, see the comments on 4.17.
The Hebrew word for “understanding,” rendered skilfully in Revised Standard Version, clearly places the emphasis on human beings as the creators of these idols. Good News Translation has the same emphasis, but also makes clear that the Hebrew word can relate both to manual skills and mental capacity. Studies in the Hebrew dialect of northern Israel indicate that the word translated here as “according to their understanding” can be understood as “engraving.” Thus the first of these two lines can be “from their silver they engrave images.” In any case, the idea is that such “gods” are not strong enough to make themselves, but it is humans who do it.
All of them refers to the idols.
The work of craftsmen continues the idea of skilled workmen. The Hebrew for craftsmen can apply to artistic workers in wood, stone, or various kinds of metal.
Sacrifice to these, they say. Men kiss calves!: These two lines have a textual problem. Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation do not follow the Hebrew text. The Hebrew can be understood as referring to the sacrifice of human beings, which was a custom among some of the people living in Canaan. One way to translate the Hebrew literally is:
Of them they are saying,
“Those who sacrifice, humans, they kiss calf-idols.”
Does “humans” refer to people being sacrificed, or to the people offering the sacrifice? Revised English Bible follows the first interpretation, saying “It is said of Ephraim: ‘They offer human sacrifice and kiss calf-images’ ” (similarly New International Version, English Standard Version). However, Hebrew Old Testament Text Project prefers the second interpretation, giving a {B} rating to the Hebrew text. According to this interpretation, although humans sacrifice animals (including calves), they now turn around and kiss the images of calves as a sign of worship and devotion. Ritual kissing is not a common phenomenon in the Old Testament, but it is not unheard of (see 1 Kgs 19.18).
For idols of calves, see the comments on 8.5.
A translation model for this verse is:
• Yet the people of Ephraim keep on sinning.
They make idols out of silver, according to their skills.
All this is just the work of artisans.
It is said about them,
“They who sacrifice calves kiss idols of 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 .
These lines describe what the people did after their Baal worship resulted in the death of their nation. They increased their idolatry. Notice the parallel parts that are similar in meaning:
2a Now they sin more and more
2b and make for themselves cast images,
2c idolsskillfully made from their silver,
2d all of themthe work of craftsmen.
All four lines describe their sin. Line 2a is a general statement. Lines 2b–d describe their sin more specifically. The underlined parts all refer to the idols. The parts in bold print give further details about the idols.
13:2a
Now: This word indicates present time from Hosea’s perspective.
they sin more and more: The Hebrew words are more literally “they increase to sin.” The Hebrew word for “increase” means to do again or more.
Here are some other ways to translate this clause:
they go on sinning (Tanakh: The Holy Scriptures) -or-
they compound their sins (New Jerusalem Bible)
13:2b
and make for themselves cast images: This line describes the sin that the people do more and more. Some versions use a word such as “by” to make explicit that this is the sin to which the previous line refers. For example:
Now you continue to sin by designing and making idols of silver (Contemporary English Version)
for themselves: The people made the idols for their own benefit. This phrase along with 13:2c both emphasize the human origin and human purposes for the idols.
13:2c
idols: The word idols refers to objects that people made by melting metal and pouring it into a cast. These idols were made out of silver metal and possibly other precious metals. People worshipped them as gods but they were were false gods.
skillfully made: In Hebrew, this phrase is more literally “according to their understanding/skill.” It indicates that the craftsmen had a high level of skill and made idols that were artistically beautiful. Most versions leave “according to” implied.
from their silver: The Hebrew word for silver may refer here both to silver and to other precious metals.
13:2d
all of them the work of craftsmen: The word craftsmen here describes a person who cuts and engraves various materials. Here it refers to the skilled workers who made the idols.
13:2e
People say of them: In Hebrew, this phrase is more literally “to them they [are] saying.”
There are two interpretations concerning the referent of the pronoun “to them:”
(1) The pronoun refers to people, specifically the Israelites. For example:
People say this about the Israelites (God’s Word)
(2) The pronoun refers to the idols. For example:
Sacrifice to these, they say (New Revised Standard Version)
It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1). Most versions that support interpretation (2) regard the word “sacrifice” in the next line to be a command. However, a command requires a different form of the verb. Interpretation (1) makes good sense of the verb form in the Masoretic Text.
The words People say of them refer to what people in general are saying.
Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:
The people of Israel say to each other (New Century Version) -or-
they say (New American Bible)
They offer human sacrifice: In Hebrew this clause part is more literally “[those who] offer sacrifice of humankind.” There are two main interpretations of this clause part:
(1) It means “those among humankind that offer sacrifice.” It refers to the people who offer sacrifices to calf-idols. It does not specify what kind of sacrifice they offer. For example:
“Those who sacrifice to the calf idol are calf kissers!” (NET Bible)
(2) It means “those who offer human sacrifice.” It refers to people who offer human sacrifices to the calf-idols. For example:
“Those who offer human sacrifices kiss calves!” (English Standard Version)
It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1) along with most versions. There is no record in the Old Testament that human sacrifices were made to calf idols. People made such sacrifices only to Moloch.
and kiss the calves!: This gesture signifies the giving of honor or allegiance to the idol. See 1 Kings 19:18. There are three main ways to interpret the function of the Hebrew phrase kiss the calves :
(1) The phrase kiss the calves is a statement of fact. For example:
Men bestow kisses to calves! (New Jerusalem Bible)
(2) The phrase kiss the calves is a command. For example:
“kiss the calf idols!” (New Living Translation (2004))
(3) The phrase kiss the calves is an urging or wish. For example:
“Let the men who sacrifice kiss the calves!” (New American Standard Bible)
The Display will follow interpretation (1) along with most versions. However, all three interpretations are acceptable grammatically and fit the context.
Hosea probably intends to express condemnation and perhaps ridicule of this behavior. Follow the interpretation that best expresses condemnation and ridicule in your language.
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