Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Hosea 3:4:
Kupsabiny: “That is how it is with the people of Israel. They shall stay for many days not having a king or leader. They shall stay without sacrifices or a place where sacrifices can be made, or ceremonial clothes, or idols to be worshipped.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “In this way the Israelites will live for many days without a king or prince, without sacrifices or worship stone pillars, without ephod or houshold gods.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “For this means that for a long time the people of Israel will-live without a king, officer, offering, remembrance stone, special cloth which is-used for guessing/practice divination, and little-gods/false-gods.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “This is what will show that for-a-long-time in-the-future there-will-be-no king or leader of the Israelita. For-a-long-time also they will stop sacrificing/offering and the stones that they repeatedly-set-up-vertically as- their -place-of-worship will-cease-to-exist. What they use to predict/divine and images/idols in their houses will also cease-to-exist.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
English: “Our doing that will show that in the same way, the people of Israel will not have a king and other leaders for many years. They will not offer sacrifices or have sacred stone pillars, no sacred vest for the Supreme Priest, and no idols!” (Source: Translation for Translators)
Some languages do not have a concept of kingship and therefore no immediate equivalent for the Greek, Hebrew, Aramaic, and Latin that is translated as “king” in English. Here are some (back-) translations:
Ninia Yali: “big brother with the uplifted name” (source: Daud Soesilio in Noss 2007, p. 175)
Nyamwezi: mutemi: generic word for ruler, by specifying the city or nation it becomes clear what kind of ruler (source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)
Ghomála’: Fo (“The word Fo refers to the paramount ruler in the kingdoms of West Cameroon. He holds administrative, political, and religious power over his own people, who are divided into two categories: princes (descendants of royalty) and servants (everyone else).” (Source: Michel Kenmogne in Theologizing in Context: An Example from the Study of a Ghomala’ Christian Hymn))
Faye Edgerton retells how the term in Navajo (Dinė) was determined:
“[This term was] easily expressed in the language of Biblical culture, which had kings and noblemen with their brilliant trappings and their position of honor and praise. But leadership among the Navajos is not accompanied by any such titles or distinctions of dress. Those most respected, especially in earlier days, were their headmen, who were the leaders in raids, and the shaman, who was able to serve the people by appealing for them to the gods, or by exorcising evil spirits. Neither of these made any outward show. Neither held his position by political intrigue or heredity. If the headman failed consistently in raids, he was superceded by a better warrior. If the shaman failed many times in his healing ceremonies, it was considered that he was making mistakes in the chants, or had lost favor with the gods, and another was sought. The term Navajos use for headman is derived from a verb meaning ‘to move the head from side to side as in making an oration.’ The headman must be a good orator, able to move the people to go to war, or to follow him in any important decision. This word is naat’áanii which now means ‘one who rules or bosses.’ It is employed now for a foreman or boss of any kind of labor, as well as for the chairman of the tribal council. So in order to show that the king is not just a common boss but the highest ruler, the word ‘aláahgo, which expresses the superlative degree, was put before naat’áanii, and so ‘aláahgo naat’áanii ‘anyone-more-than-being around-he-moves-his-head-the-one-who’ means ‘the highest ruler.’ Naat’áanii was used for governor as the context usually shows that the person was a ruler of a country or associated with kings.”
This verse is parallel to the previous one in which Hosea gives commands to ensure isolation of the woman he “possesses” from all kinds of sexual temptations. Here the text describes the commands of Yahweh aimed at isolating his people from a variety of temptations. Some of the terminology of the previous verse is repeated, such as the verb dwell and the qualifier many days. The translator should make sure that these terms are translated consistently, so that the reader can identify the symbolic similarity between the verses.
The conjunction For introduces the interpretation of the symbolic action. Good News Translation renders it “In just this way.” Just as Hosea’s wife had to go through a time of discipline, so the Israelites must go through a period of discipline and deprivation.
The children of Israel shall dwell many days …: The children of Israel may be rendered “the people of Israel” (Good News Translation), “the Israelites” (New International Version), or simply “Israel” (Contemporary English Version). They were the descendants of Israel, that is, Jacob, who have formed the nation.
Without king or prince, without sacrifice or pillar, without ephod or teraphim is a list of things God will take away from Israel. The items are arranged in three pairs: political leaders, outward forms of religion, and the means of foretelling the future. Both pagan and legitimate items are mentioned, corresponding to the figure of the woman “owned” by Hosea being deprived of both her illegitimate lovers and her legitimate owner. The Hebrew mentions the items in the singular, as in Revised Standard Version. In English this makes good poetic form, but the normal prose form is plural, as in Good News Translation. The translator has to find the most natural solution for the receptor language. It is not specified whether Israel will experience this deprivation while living in the land (2.6), while driven out to live in the wilderness (2.14), or while in exile (9.3; 11.5).
Without king or prince: The king was the monarch, of the royal line of David. The Hebrew word for prince does not necessarily refer to the son of a king, but to a political leader, an administrative official in the kingdom.
Without sacrifice or pillar: The Hebrew word for sacrifice is a generic term. Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch says “places for sacrifice” for a better parallel with pillar. A pillar was a stone erected in a local place of worship. Jacob erected one at Bethel (Gen 28.18). Good News Translation makes its function explicit by saying “sacred stone pillars.” Similar models are “sacred pillar” (New English Bible), “cult pillars” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh), and “consecrated stone monuments” (Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch). Later, in the southern kingdom of Judah, the use of such stones was condemned as part of pagan worship, and the local shrines, or “high places,” were outlawed in the days of King Josiah (2 Kgs 23.8-9). Initially they were accepted for the worship of Yahweh (Isa 19.19).
Without ephod or teraphim: Two types of ephod seem to have been used in Israel. One was a vestment worn by the High Priest, in which was a pocket holding the divining stones called Urim and Thummim (so Biblia Dios Habla Hoy with “priestly robes”). Another was an image, or a garment placed on an image; for example, Gideon used one when he turned the worship of Yahweh into pagan worship (Jdg 8.24-27). Teraphim is a transliterated Hebrew noun referring to “household idols” (New American Bible), which were definitely considered pagan. They could vary in size from a few centimeters (inches) to about 1.5 meters (5 feet). Since both were used in divination, we may suppose that the two are mentioned together because of their common function. Divination is the attempt to determine the future or to get answers to specific problems by supernatural means. Good News Translation assumes that the ephod is an idol, and retains both the form and the function of both by saying “without idols or images to use for divination.” Bible en français courant renders the function alone: “deprived also of that which serves in consulting God.” Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch has simply “and no oracle.” If the preceding combinations have been translated as pairs, it is recommended for stylistic reasons to do the same here.
A translation model for this verse is:
• In the same way the people of Israel will have to stay for a long time without kings or officials, without sacrifices or sacred pillars, without divining stones and family idols.
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 .
In this paragraph, Hosea’s words predicted that the LORD will judge/punish the nation of Israel (3:4). But after the LORD punishes them, they will seek him again (3:5).
Verse 4 gives details of the LORD’s punishment. He will punish Israel by keeping them from having three things: its own government, worship, and supernatural guidance. These things are arranged in three pairs. In Hebrew, the first five items in these pairs are introduced with a negative existential “there is no/not” (“without” in English versions):
4a without king and without prince
4b without sacrifice and without pillar
4c without ephod and idols
3:4a
For: In Hebrew, this word introduces the reason that the LORD told Hosea to stop having sexual relations with Gomer in 3:3. The reason was to illustrate that the LORD will refrain from closeness to Israel. Some versions use a phrase that makes this connection between 3:3 and 3:4 more explicit. For example:
This shows that…. (New Living Translation (2004)) -or-
In just this way…. (Good News Translation)
Use a natural way in your language to introduce this connection.
the Israelites: See the note on the same phrase in 3:1c.
must live many days: This is the same phrase as in 3:3a. You should translate this phrase in a way that shows the parallel between Gomer and Israel. For example, the Good News Translation has “for a long time” in both verses.
without king or prince: During the time that the people of Israel are in exile, the Assyrians will rule them. They will not be able to govern themselves anymore. In Hebrew, the word prince refers here to any leader, chief, or official who serves in the government of the king, the highest ruler.
Here are some other ways to translate these terms:
without kings or leaders (Good News Translation) -or-
without king and without officials (Tanakh: The Holy Scriptures)
3:4b
without sacrifice: When the people are in exile, they will no longer be able to make animal sacrifices. This term can refer to sacrifices to the LORD or sacrifices to idols. At that time, the people worshiped both the LORD and idols, so if possible, translate it so that it can refer to either kind of sacrifice. For example:
there will be no ⌊animal ⌋ sacrifices -or-
they will not be able to make sacrifices
If you need to specify the LORD or idols, you should specify the LORD. This gives a better contrast with the pagan worship indicated by the next term.
sacred pillar: In Hebrew, this word is literally “a pillar.” It refers to a tall, thin pillar or column made of stone that was placed vertically in the ground. Some scholars think that these pillars were statues or idols of pagan gods that the people used in their worship.
Here are some other ways to translate this word:
sacred stone pillars (Good News Translation) -or-
stones that they set up for worshiping idols
3:4c
without ephod: The ephod that is mentioned here was probably used by the High Priest. It was an embroidered sleeveless vest to which was attached a breast piece that contained the Urim and Thummim. The High Priest used these objects to ask the LORD for guidance (Exodus 28:6–15, 28–30).
Here are some ways to translate this term:
•Transliterate the Hebrew term ephod. The Berean Standard Bible and many other versions do not add any details that describe the ephod or its intended function.
•Translate a brief description of an ephod along with its function. For example:
without any embroidered garment that has objects to use to get answers from the LORD.
•Translate the function of an ephod or the High Priest in obtaining guidance from the LORD. For example:
without anything to use to contact the LORD -or-
without a High Priest to ask the LORD for guidance
With any of these options, consider adding a footnote that gives more information. Here is a suggested footnote:
In Hebrew, the word ephod refers here to an embroidered vest/garment that the High Priest wore. In a pocket/pouch attached to this garment were two small objects called Urim and Thummim. (Exodus 28:6–15, 28–30). He used them to find out what the LORD wanted the nation of Israel to do.
idol: The Hebrew word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as idol is literally “teraphim.” It refers to small household idols that represented pagan gods or the spirits of dead ancestors. The people consulted them for guidance.
Here are some other ways to translate this term:
•Transliterate the Hebrew term teraphim, as in the Revised English Bible.
•Translate a brief description of teraphim. For example:
family idols (God’s Word) -or-
household gods (English Standard Version)
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