enemy / foe

The Greek, Hebrew, Aramaic, Ge’ez, and Latin that is translated as “enemy” or “foe” in English is translated in the Hausa Common Language Bible as “friends of front,” i.e., the person standing opposite you in a battle. (Source: Andy Warren-Rothlin)

In North Alaskan Inupiatun it is translated with a term that implies that it’s not just someone who hates you, but one who wants to do you harm (Source: Robert Bascom), in Tarok as ukpa ìkum or “companion in war/fighting,” and in Ikwere as nye irno m or “person who hates me” (source for this and one above: Chuck and Karen Tessaro in this newsletter ).

In Cherokee it is either translated as “the one(s) who reprimand(s) you” or “the one(s) feared.” (Source: Bender / Belt 2025, p. 47)

complete verse (Hosea 8:3)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Hosea 8:3:

  • Kupsabiny: “But Israel refused what was good
    so an enemy shall chase them.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “But whatever is good, that, Israel has rejected.
    An enemy will pursue him.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “But they rejected what (is) right/[lit. good], so their enemy will-pursue them.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “But because the Israeli people have rejected what is good,
    their enemies will pursue them.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Hosea 8:3

If 8.2 is interpreted as ironic, it is helpful to start this verse with a contrastive conjunction, such as “But” (Contemporary English Version, New International Version, NET Bible, Revised English Bible).

Israel has spurned the good: The name Israel appears again, and in the Hebrew text this repetition emphasizes that the very people who claim to take pride in that name have spurned the good (Good News Translation “rejected what is good”). The good can refer to good behavior, but it also includes the good things that come from God, such as peace, prosperity, and health. By rejecting good conduct, they also reject good things. Some scholars propose a different interpretation of the good: “the Good One” (Andersen and Freedman, Stuart), referring to the LORD. Although no major translations follow this interpretation, it is certainly a viable option.

The enemy shall pursue him: Good News Translation introduces this logical result with the phrase “Because of this.” The singular word enemy and the singular pronoun him (referring to Israel) have a collective sense here, so Good News Translation says “their enemies will pursue them.” The enemy probably refers to the Assyrians, who defeated Israel in 722 B.C.

Translation models for this verse are:

• But Israel has rejected what is good,
so an enemy will pursue him.

• But the Israelites have cut ties with the Good One,
so their enemies will pursue 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 .

SIL Translator’s Notes on Hosea 8:3

8:3a

This verse repeats part of the warning given in Deut. 28:15–68. If the people disobey the LORD, he will cause them to be defeated by their enemies.

But: This word is not in the Hebrew text. The Berean Standard Bible and some other versions add it to make explicit the contrast between what the people said (8:2) and what the people did (8:3a).

Israel has rejected good: This clause probably refers back to 8:1. That verse says that the people had broken the covenant of the LORD and rebelled against his law. So here the word good probably refers specifically to his covenant and his law. The Contemporary English Version makes this meaning explicit:

But your enemies will chase you for rejecting our good agreement. (Contemporary English Version)

It also refers to the blessings that the LORD gave to people who kept them. Those blessings included fertile fields and a secure and prosperous nation. When the people rejected the covenant, they also caused those good blessings to be taken away.

8:3b

an enemy will pursue him: This clause gives the result of Israel rejecting what is good. Israel’s enemy will pursue them. Some versions make explicit that this is a result. For example:

They have rejected what is good. Because of this their enemies will pursue them. (Good News Translation)

The word pursue implies here that Israel’s enemies will defeat them in battle. They will chase the survivors to capture or kill them or plunder their possessions.

Some versions, such as the Good News Translation quoted above, use the pronoun “them” instead of him to refer to Israel. Use whatever is natural in your language to refer to a nation or the people of a nation.

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