Hosea 5
New English Translation
Announcement of Sin and Judgment
5 Hear this, you priests!
Pay attention, you Israelites![a]
Listen closely,[b] O king![c]
For judgment is about to overtake you.[d]
For you were like a trap[e] to Mizpah,[f]
like a net[g] spread out to catch Tabor.[h]
2 Those who revolt are knee-deep in slaughter,[i]
but I will discipline them all.[j]
3 I know Ephraim all too well;[k]
the evil of[l] Israel is not hidden from me.
For you have engaged in prostitution, O Ephraim;
Israel has defiled itself.[m]
4 Their wicked deeds do not allow them to return to their God;
for a spirit of idolatry[n] is in them,
and they do not acknowledge the Lord.
5 The arrogance of Israel testifies against it;
Israel and Ephraim will be overthrown[o] because[p] of their iniquity.
Even Judah will be brought down[q] with them.
The Futility of Sacrificial Ritual without Moral Obedience
6 Although they bring their flocks and herds[r]
to seek[s] the favor of the Lord,[t]
They will not find him—
he has withdrawn himself from them!
7 They have committed treason[u] against the Lord,
because they bore illegitimate children.
Soon[v] the new moon festival will devour them and their fields.
The Prophet’s Declaration of Judgment
8 Blow the ram’s horn in Gibeah!
Sound the trumpet in Ramah!
Sound the alarm in Beth Aven;[w]
tremble in fear,[x] O Benjamin!
9 Ephraim will be ruined in the day of judgment.[y]
What I am declaring[z] to the tribes of Israel will certainly take place![aa]
The Oppressors of the Helpless Will Be Oppressed
10 The princes of Judah are like those who move boundary markers.
I will pour out my rage on them like a torrential flood.[ab]
11 Ephraim will be oppressed,[ac] crushed[ad] under judgment,[ae]
because he was determined to pursue worthless idols.[af]
The Curse of the Incurable Wound
12 I will be like a moth to Ephraim,
like wood rot[ag] to the house of Judah.
13 When Ephraim saw[ah] his sickness
and Judah saw his wound,
then Ephraim turned[ai] to Assyria,
and begged[aj] its great king[ak] for help.
But he will not be able to heal you.
He cannot cure your wound![al]
The Lion Will Carry Israel Off Into Exile
14 I will be like a lion to Ephraim,
like a young lion to the house of Judah.
I myself will tear them to pieces,
then I will carry them off, and no one will be able to rescue them!
15 Then I will return again to my lair
until they have suffered their punishment.[am]
Then they will seek me;[an]
in their distress they will earnestly seek me.
Footnotes
- Hosea 5:1 tn Heb “O house of Israel” (so NAB, NASB, NRSV); cf. NLT “all of Israel’s leaders.”
- Hosea 5:1 tn Heb “Use the ear”; cf. ASV “give ear.”
- Hosea 5:1 tn Heb “O house of the king” (so KJV); cf. NIV “O royal house.”
- Hosea 5:1 tn Heb “for the judgment is to you”; or “For this accusation is against you” (cf. NIV “This judgment is against you”).
- Hosea 5:1 sn The noun פַּח (pakh, “trap”) is used (1) literally of a bird-trap, often in similes and metaphors (Amos 3:5; Prov 7:23; Eccl 9:12), and (2) figuratively of (a) calamities and plots (Job 18:9; 22:10; Pss 91:3; 119:110; 124:7; 140:6; 141:9; 142:4; Prov 22:5; Isa 24:17-18; Jer 18:22; 48:43-44; Hos 9:8) and (b) a source of calamity (Josh 23:13; Pss 11:6; 69:23; Isa 8:14; Hos 5:1; BDB 809 s.v. פַּח).
- Hosea 5:1 tn Heb “you were a trap to Mizpah.”
- Hosea 5:1 sn The noun רֶשֶׁת (reshet, “net”) is used (1) literally of a net used to catch birds (Prov 1:17) and (2) figuratively to describe the wicked plotting to ensnare their victims (Prov 29:5; Pss 9:16; 10:9; 25:15; 31:5; 35:7; 57:7; 140:6; Job 18:8; BDB 440 s.v. רֶשֶׁת).
- Hosea 5:1 tn Heb “and a net spread out over Tabor.”
- Hosea 5:2 tc The MT reads וְשַׁחֲטָה שֵׂטִים הֶעְמִיקוּ (veshakhatah setim heʿmiqu), “and rebels have made deep the slaughter.” The BHS editors propose וְשַׁחַת הַשִּׁטִּים הֶעְמִיקוּ (veshakhat hashittim heʿmiqu), “they have made the pit of Shittim [place of idolatry] deep” (cf. NRSV, TEV, NLT; see BDB 1006 s.v. שַׁחֲטָה). This involves: (1) phonological confusion between the similar sounding consonants ת (tav) and ט (tet), (2) redivision of words to take ה (hey) as the article with הַשִּׁטִּים rather than as a feminine noun ending of וְשַׁחֲטָה, and (3) revocalization of הַשִּׁטִּים with the two dagesh forte’s. Retaining the reading of the MT is preferable here.tn Heb “and those who revolt have gone deep into slaughter” (similar KJV, NIV); cf. NASB “deep in depravity.”
- Hosea 5:2 tn Heb “but I am discipline to all of them”; cf. ASV “but I am a rebuker of them all.”
- Hosea 5:3 tn The phrase “all too well” does not appear in the Hebrew text but is supplied in the translation for clarity and stylistic reasons.
- Hosea 5:3 tn The phrase “the evil of” does not appear in the Hebrew text here but is implied by the metonymical (cause-effect) use of the term “Israel.” It is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity. Cf. NCV “what they have done is not hidden from me.”
- Hosea 5:3 tn Or “Israel has become corrupt”; cf. NCV “has made itself unclean,” and TEV “are unfit to worship me.”
- Hosea 5:4 tn Heb “a spirit of harlotries”; cf. NIV “a spirit of prostitution,” and TEV “Idolatry has a powerful hold on them.” However, CEV takes this literally: “your constant craving for sex keeps you from knowing me.”
- Hosea 5:5 tn Heb “will stumble” (so NCV, NLT). The verb כָּשַׁל (kashal, “to stumble; to stagger; to totter”) is used figuratively to describe distress (Isa 59:10; Ps 107:12), the debilitating effects of misfortune and calamity (Isa 5:27), and toil in exile (Lam 5:13). It is often used figuratively to describe the overthrow of a people or nation through divine judgment (Isa 8:15; Jer 6:21; 50:32; Hos 4:5; 5:5; 14:2). The Niphal stem used here is also frequently used in reference to divine judgment: “be overthrown,” of nations and armies (Jer 6:15; 8:12; Dan 11:19, 33, 34, 41; BDB 505 s.v. כָּשַׁל 1.b). This figurative use of כָּשַׁל is often used in collocation with נָפַל (nafal, “to fall”; Isa 3:8; 31:3; 8:15; Jer 6:15; Dan 11:19).
- Hosea 5:5 tn Or “in” (so NAB, NIV, NRSV).
- Hosea 5:5 tn Heb “will stumble” (so NCV). The term כָּשַׁל (kashal) appeared in the preceding line (Niphal “be overthrown”) and now appears here (Qal “will stumble”). The repetition of כָּשַׁל emphasizes that a similar fate will befall Judah because it failed to learn its lesson from God’s judgment on Israel. The verb כָּשַׁל (“to stumble”) does not describe the moral stumbling of Judah but the effect of God’s judgment (Isa 8:15; Jer 6:21; 50:32; Hos 4:5; 5:5; 14:2) and the toil of exile (Lam 5:13).
- Hosea 5:6 sn The terms flocks and herds are used figuratively for animal sacrifices (metonymy of association). Hosea describes the futility of seeking God’s favor with mere ritual sacrifice without the prerequisite moral obedience (e.g., 1 Sam 15:24; Pss 50:6-8; 51:17-18; Isa 1:12; Mic 6:6-8).
- Hosea 5:6 tn Heb “they go out to seek the Lord”; cf. NCV “to worship the Lord,” NLT “to offer sacrifices to the Lord.”
- Hosea 5:6 tn Heb “the Lord”; the phrase “the favor of” does not appear in Hebrew here but is supplied for the sake of clarity. It is implied by the metonymical (cause-effect) reference to the Lord, the source of favor and forgiveness.
- Hosea 5:7 tn Heb “dealt treacherously against” (so KJV, NASB); cf. NRSV “dealt faithlessly,” NLT “betrayed the honor of.”
- Hosea 5:7 tn The particle עַתָּה (ʿattah) often refers to the imminent or the impending future: “very soon” (BDB 774 s.v. עַתָּה 1.b). In Hosea it normally introduces imminent judgment (Hos 2:12; 4:16; 5:7; 8:8, 13; 10:2).
- Hosea 5:8 sn See the note on the place name Beth Aven in 4:15.
- Hosea 5:8 tc The MT reads the anomalous אַחֲרֶיךָ בִּנְיָמִין (ʾakharekha binyamin, “behind you, O Benjamin”), a reading followed by many English versions. The LXX reads ἐξέστη (exestē) which might reflect an alternate textual tradition of הַחֲרִדוּ בִּנְיָמִין (hakharidu binyamin, “Tremble in fear, O Benjamin”); the verb form would be a Hiphil imperative second person masculine plural from חָרַד (kharad, “to tremble, be terrified”; BDB 353 s.v. חָרַד). For discussion of this textual problem, see D. Barthélemy, ed., Preliminary and Interim Report on the Hebrew Old Testament Text Project, 5:236.
- Hosea 5:9 tn Heb “day of rebuke” (so KJV, NASB); cf. NCV, NRSV, TEV, NLT “day of punishment.”
- Hosea 5:9 tn The verb הוֹדַעְתִּי (hodaʿti, Hiphil perfect first person common singular from יָדַע, yadaʿ; Qal: “to know,” Hiphil: “to make known, declare”) here functions as (1) an instantaneous perfect, representing an action being performed at the same instant that the speaker utters the statement (e.g., Gen 14:22; Deut 8:19; 26:3; 2 Sam 17:11; 19:30; Ps 143:6); or (2) an epistolary perfect, representing a situation in past time from the viewpoint of the recipient of the message but in present time from the viewpoint of the writer (e.g., 1 Kgs 15:19; 2 Chr 2:12). For functions of the perfect tense (suffix-conjugation), see IBHS 486-90 §30.5.1.
- Hosea 5:9 tn The substantival use of the Niphal participle נֶאֱמָנָה (neʾemanah, “that which is sure”) refers to an event that will occur in the future (BDB 52 s.v. אָמַן 2).
- Hosea 5:10 tn Heb “like water” (so KJV, NAB, NRSV); cf. NLT “like a waterfall.” The term מַיִם (mayim, “water”) often refers to literal floodwater (Gen 7:7, 10; 8:3, 7-9; Isa 54:9) and figuratively describes the Lord’s judgment that totally destroys the wicked (BDB 566 s.v. מַי 4.k).
- Hosea 5:11 tn The verb עָשַׁק (ʿashaq, “to oppress”) may refer to (1) oppressing the poor and defenseless (BDB 798 s.v. עָשַׁק 1), or more likely to (2) oppression of one nation by another as the judgment of God (Deut 28:29, 33; 1 Chr 16:21; Pss 105:14; 119:121, 122; Isa 52:4; Jer 50:33; Hos 5:11; BDB 798 s.v. 2). The Qal passive participles עָשׁוּק (ʿashuq, “oppressed”) and רְצוּץ (retsuts, “crushed”) might refer to a present situation (so KJV, RSV, NASB, NIV, NRSV); however, the context suggests that they refer to a future situation (so NLT). When a participle is used in reference to the future, it often denotes an imminent future situation and may be rendered, “about to” (e.g., Gen 6:17; 15:14; 20:3; 37:30; 41:25; 49:29; Exod 9:17-18; Deut 28:31; 1 Sam 3:11; 1 Kgs 2:2; 20:22; 2 Kgs 7:2). For functions of the participle, see IBHS 627-28 §37.6f.
- Hosea 5:11 sn The term רְצוּץ (retsuts, “crushed”) is a metaphor for weakness (e.g., 2 Kgs 18:21; Isa 36:6; 42:3) and oppression (e.g., Deut 28:33; 1 Sam 12:3, 4; Amos 4:1; Isa 58:6). Here it is used as a figure to describe the devastating effects of the Lord’s judgment.
- Hosea 5:11 tn Heb “crushed of judgment” (רְצוּץ מִשְׁפָּט, retsuts mishpat). The second term is a genitive of cause (“crushed because of judgment” or “crushed under judgment”) rather than respect (“crushed in judgment,” as in many English versions).
- Hosea 5:11 tn The meaning of the Hebrew term translated “worthless idols” is uncertain; cf. KJV “the commandment,” NASB “man’s command,” NAB “filth,” and NRSV “vanity.”
- Hosea 5:12 tn The noun רָקָב (raqav, “rottenness, decay”) refers to wood rot caused by the ravages of worms (BDB 955 s.v. רָקָב); cf. NLT “dry rot.” The related noun רִקָּבוֹן (riqqavon) refers to “rotten wood” (Job 41:27).
- Hosea 5:13 tn Hosea employs three preterites (vayyiqtol forms) in verse 13a-b to describe a past-time situation.
- Hosea 5:13 tn Heb “went to” (so NAB, NRSV, TEV); cf. CEV “asked help from.”
- Hosea 5:13 tn Heb “sent to” (so KJV, NIV, NRSV).
- Hosea 5:13 tc The MT reads מֶלֶךְ יָרֵב (melekh yarev, “a contentious king”). This is translated as a proper name (“king Jareb”) by KJV, ASV, and NASB. However, the stative adjective יָרֵב (“contentious”) is somewhat awkward. The words should be redivided as an archaic genitive-construct מַלְכִּי רָב (malki rav, “great king”; cf. NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT), which preserves the old genitive hireq yod ending. This is the equivalent of the Assyrian royal epithet sarru rabbu (“the great king”). See also the tc note on the same phrase in 10:6.
- Hosea 5:13 tn Heb “your wound will not depart from you.”sn Hosea personifies Ephraim’s “wound” as if it could depart from the sickly Ephraim (see the formal equivalent rendering in the preceding tn). Ephraim’s sinful action in relying upon an Assyrian treaty for protection will not dispense with its problems.
- Hosea 5:15 tn The verb יֶאְשְׁמוּ (yeʾshemu, Qal imperfect third person masculine plural from אָשַׁם, ʾasham, “to be guilty”) means “to bear their punishment” (Ps 34:22, 23 HT [34:21, 22 ET]; Prov 30:10; Isa 24:6; Jer 2:3; Hos 5:15; 10:2; 14:1; Zech 11:5; Ezek 6:6; BDB 79 s.v. אָשַׁם 3). Many English versions translate this as “admit their guilt” (NIV, NLT) or “acknowledge their guilt” (NASB, NRSV), but cf. NAB “pay for their guilt,” and TEV “have suffered enough for their sins.”
- Hosea 5:15 tn Heb “seek my face” (so KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV); cf. NAB “seek my presence.”
Hosea 5
English Standard Version
Punishment Coming for Israel and Judah
5 (A)Hear this, O priests!
Pay attention, O house of Israel!
Give ear, O house of the king!
For the judgment is for you;
for (B)you have been a snare at Mizpah
and a net spread upon (C)Tabor.
2 And (D)the revolters (E)have gone deep into slaughter,
but (F)I will discipline all of them.
3 (G)I know Ephraim,
and Israel is not hidden from me;
for now, O Ephraim, you have played the whore;
Israel is defiled.
4 (H)Their deeds do not permit them
to return to their God.
For (I)the spirit of whoredom is within them,
and they know not the Lord.
5 (J)The pride of Israel testifies to his face;[a]
Israel and (K)Ephraim shall stumble in his guilt;
(L)Judah also shall stumble with them.
6 (M)With their flocks and herds they shall go
to seek the Lord,
(N)but they will not find him;
(O)he has withdrawn from them.
7 (P)They have dealt faithlessly with the Lord;
for they have borne alien children.
Now the new moon shall devour them with their fields.
8 (Q)Blow the horn in (R)Gibeah,
the trumpet in (S)Ramah.
Sound the alarm at (T)Beth-aven;
we follow you,[b] O Benjamin!
9 Ephraim shall become a desolation
in the day of punishment;
among the tribes of Israel
I make known what is sure.
10 The princes of Judah have become
like (U)those who move the landmark;
upon them I will pour out
my wrath like water.
11 Ephraim is (V)oppressed, crushed in judgment,
because he was determined to go after filth.[c]
12 But I am (W)like a moth to Ephraim,
and (X)like dry rot to the house of Judah.
13 When Ephraim saw his sickness,
and Judah (Y)his wound,
then Ephraim went (Z)to Assyria,
and sent to the great king.[d]
(AA)But he is not able to cure you
or heal (AB)your wound.
14 For I will be (AC)like a lion to (AD)Ephraim,
and like a young lion to the house of (AE)Judah.
(AF)I, even I, will tear and go away;
I will carry off, and no one shall rescue.
15 (AG)I will return again to my place,
until they acknowledge their guilt and seek my face,
and (AH)in their distress earnestly seek me.
Footnotes
- Hosea 5:5 Or in his presence
- Hosea 5:8 Or after you
- Hosea 5:11 Or to follow human precepts
- Hosea 5:13 Or to King Jareb
Hosea 5
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 5
Guilt of the Religious and Political Leaders
1 Hear this, priests,
Pay attention, house of Israel,
Household of the king, give ear!(A)
For you are responsible for judgment.[a]
But you have been a snare at Mizpah,[b]
a net spread upon Tabor,
2 a pit dug deep in Shittim.
Now I will discipline them all.
3 I know Ephraim,
and Israel is not hidden from me:
Now, Ephraim, you have practiced prostitution,
Israel is defiled.
4 Their deeds do not allow them
to return to their God;(B)
For the spirit of prostitution is in them,
and they do not know the Lord.
5 The arrogance of Israel bears witness against him;
Israel and Ephraim stumble because of their iniquity,
and Judah stumbles with them.
6 With their flocks and herds they will go
to seek the Lord, but will not find him;(C)
he has withdrawn from them.
7 They have betrayed the Lord,
for they have borne illegitimate children;
Now the new moon[c] will devour them
together with their fields.
Political Upheavals[d]
8 Blow the ram’s horn in Gibeah,
the trumpet in Ramah!
Sound the alarm in Beth-aven:(D)
“Look behind you, Benjamin!”[e]
9 Ephraim shall become a wasteland
on the day of punishment:
Among the tribes of Israel
I announce what is sure to be.
10 The princes of Judah have become
like those who move a boundary line;[f](E)
Upon them I will pour out
my wrath like water.
11 Ephraim is oppressed, crushed by judgment,
for he has willingly gone after filth![g]
12 I am like a moth for Ephraim,(F)
like rot for the house of Judah.
13 When Ephraim saw his infirmity,
and Judah his sore,
Ephraim went to Assyria,
and sent to the great king.[h](G)
But he cannot heal you,
nor take away your sore.
14 For I am like a lion to Ephraim,
like a young lion to the house of Judah;(H)
It is I who tear the prey and depart,
I carry it away and no one can save it.(I)
Insincere Conversion
15 I will go back to my place
until they make reparation
and seek my presence.
In their affliction, they shall look for me.(J)
Footnotes
- 5:1 For you…judgment: possibly “for you are called to judgment.”
- 5:1–2 Mizpah: several places bear this name; the best known is in Benjamin (1 Sm 7:6, 16; 10:17). Perhaps this is a wordplay on mishpat, “justice,” “judgment.” Tabor: the mountain that dominates the valley of Jezreel. Shittim: in Transjordan, where Israel committed its first act of idolatry with the Baal of Peor (9:10; cf. Nm 25). At these three places the leaders had misled the people by an idolatrous cult or by an abuse of justice.
- 5:7 New moon: normally a feast day of joy (2:13), but, because of infidelity, it will be a day of destruction.
- 5:8–14 This passage describes political and military conflict between Judah and Israel. Perhaps some allusion is made to the Syro-Ephraimite war of 735–734 B.C., when a coalition of Arameans and Israelites attempted to dethrone the king of Judah (2 Kgs 16:5; Is 7:1–9). Judah repulsed the attempt with the aid of Assyria, and the latter devastated both Aram and Israel.
- 5:8 A vision of invasion, from Gibeah and Ramah in northern Judah, into Israel.
- 5:10 Move a boundary line: invasion by Judah (v. 8) is compared to a case of social injustice (Dt 19:14; 27:17; Prv 23:10–11).
- 5:11 Filth: Ephraim’s reliance on foreign nations and their gods.
- 5:13 Ephraim went…king: in 738 the Israelite king Menahem had to pay tribute to the Assyrian king Tiglath-pileser III, whose vassal he became (2 Kgs 15:19–20). Under the threat of the Syro-Ephraimite invasion King Ahaz of Judah also submitted to Tiglath-pileser (2 Kgs 16:7–9). Great king: Heb. melek-yarev; may be a proper name: King Yarev, but unknown; or “the defender king”: irony about the great king of Assyria (see note on 10:6).
Hosea 5
King James Version
5 Hear ye this, O priests; and hearken, ye house of Israel; and give ye ear, O house of the king; for judgment is toward you, because ye have been a snare on Mizpah, and a net spread upon Tabor.
2 And the revolters are profound to make slaughter, though I have been a rebuker of them all.
3 I know Ephraim, and Israel is not hid from me: for now, O Ephraim, thou committest whoredom, and Israel is defiled.
4 They will not frame their doings to turn unto their God: for the spirit of whoredoms is in the midst of them, and they have not known the Lord.
5 And the pride of Israel doth testify to his face: therefore shall Israel and Ephraim fall in their iniquity: Judah also shall fall with them.
6 They shall go with their flocks and with their herds to seek the Lord; but they shall not find him; he hath withdrawn himself from them.
7 They have dealt treacherously against the Lord: for they have begotten strange children: now shall a month devour them with their portions.
8 Blow ye the cornet in Gibeah, and the trumpet in Ramah: cry aloud at Bethaven, after thee, O Benjamin.
9 Ephraim shall be desolate in the day of rebuke: among the tribes of Israel have I made known that which shall surely be.
10 The princes of Judah were like them that remove the bound: therefore I will pour out my wrath upon them like water.
11 Ephraim is oppressed and broken in judgment, because he willingly walked after the commandment.
12 Therefore will I be unto Ephraim as a moth, and to the house of Judah as rottenness.
13 When Ephraim saw his sickness, and Judah saw his wound, then went Ephraim to the Assyrian, and sent to king Jareb: yet could he not heal you, nor cure you of your wound.
14 For I will be unto Ephraim as a lion, and as a young lion to the house of Judah: I, even I, will tear and go away; I will take away, and none shall rescue him.
15 I will go and return to my place, till they acknowledge their offence, and seek my face: in their affliction they will seek me early.
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