Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Hosea 2:10:
Kupsabiny: “I shall remove her clothes for her to stand naked before her lovers. There is no one who can saved her out of my hands.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “I will make her stark naked, undressing her before her lovers. No one will be able to rescue her from my power.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “And now I will-strip- her -naked in front of her lovers/[lit. men], and no one can-rescue her from my hand.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
Click or tap here to see the rest of this insight.
Like a number of other East Asian languages, Japanese uses a complex system of honorifics, i.e. a system where a number of different levels of politeness are expressed in language via words, word forms or grammatical constructs. These can range from addressing someone or referring to someone with contempt (very informal) to expressing the highest level of reference (as used in addressing or referring to God) or any number of levels in-between.
One way Japanese shows different degree of politeness is through the choice of a first person singular and plural pronoun (“I” and “we” and its various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. The most commonly used watashi/watakushi (私) is typically used when the speaker is humble and asking for help. In these verses, where God / Jesus is referring to himself, watashi is also used but instead of the kanji writing system (私) the syllabary hiragana (わたし) is used to distinguish God from others.
Now is literally “And now.” This expression interrupts the normal flow of events and adds emphasis. It indicates that what follows is the climax of Yahweh’s punishment on Israel (2.10-13), which contrasts with what he had done previously for her. Now does not mean “present time” in this context. Many languages do not have an equivalent for this connector and may have to allow the context to imply that the climax is in view here (so Good News Translation). Possible English equivalents for it are “So then,” “Now then,” and “So now” (New International Version).
I will uncover her lewdness in the sight of her lovers is a third way of referring to stripping the woman naked (see 2.3, 9). This Hebrew expression will not be clear in most languages if translated literally. In fact, it is not clear whether the general idea of lewdness is the meaning of the Hebrew, or whether it refers to the woman’s sexual organ as being uncovered. Here the emphasis is on exposing her so that people will know she has been lewd, immodest, and shameless. New Revised Standard Version renders uncover her lewdness as “uncover her shame,” which is somewhat helpful. New English Bible has “show her up for the lewd thing she is,” which makes her lewdness explicit but depends on the previous verse to supply the idea of nakedness. The receptor language may have a proper euphemism available to express the embarrassing situation of stripping someone naked.
In the sight of her lovers does not mean that the lovers will find out she is immodest. Instead, Yahweh shows he is bold enough to strip her naked in their presence, because he knows that no one can stop him from doing it. He is more powerful than her lovers, which are the helpless pagan idols Israel has been worshiping.
And no one shall rescue her out of my hand: The Hebrew verb for rescue is the same one rendered “take away” in 2.9 (see comments there). My hand refers to Yahweh’s power. Good News Translation makes this clear by rendering this clause as “and no one will be able to save her from my power” (similarly Jerusalem Bible, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch (1982)), and so does New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh with “And none shall save her from Me” (similarly Bible en français courant).
A translation model for this verse is:
• So then, I will fully expose her in disgrace
in the presence of her lovers.
No one will snatch her out of my hand.
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 .
And then: In Hebrew, the phrase And then connects the LORD’s action in 2:9c with the next action that he will take to punish Israel.
Here are some other ways to make this connection clear:
So now (New International Version) -or-
Soon (NET Bible)
Some versions, such as the Good News Translation and New Living Translation (2004) quoted below, leave the connection implied. Use a natural way in your language to introduce the next action that a person will take.
I will expose her lewdness in the sight of her lovers: The Hebrew word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as lewdness can refer specifically to a woman’s genitals. This figurative clause probably indicates here that the LORD (the husband) will remove Israel’s (his wife’s) clothing so that her lovers will see her naked body, specifically her private parts. The purpose of this punishment was to publicly shame the woman.
Here are some other ways to translate this clause:
I will strip her naked in front of her lovers (Good News Translation) -or-
I will strip her naked in public, while all her lovers look on. (New Living Translation (2004)) -or-
I will show her naked body to her lovers (God’s Word)
Translate this clause in a way that is appropriate in your culture and language.
her lovers: This phrase could refer to the Baal gods or other idols that Israel worshiped. It could also refer to other nations that were her allies. If possible, use a general word or phrase that could refer to either kind of lovers.
2:10b
no one will deliver her out of My hands: In Hebrew, the phrase deliver her out of means “rescue her from.” Here the term My hands is a figure of speech that represents the LORD (the husband) or his power. In some languages, it may be clearer to translate only the meaning and not keep the figure of speech. For example:
and no one will rescue her from me (Revised English Bible) -or-
and no one will be able to save her from my power (Good News Translation)
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.