Hosea 14:4-8
New English Translation
Divine Promise to Relent from Judgment and to Restore Blessings
4 “I will heal their waywardness[a]
and love them freely,[b]
for my anger will turn away[c] from them.
5 I will be like the dew to Israel;
he will blossom like a lily,
he will send down his roots like a cedar of[d] Lebanon.
6 His young shoots will grow;
his splendor will be like an olive tree,
his fragrance like a cedar of Lebanon.
7 People will reside again[e] in his shade;
they will plant and harvest grain in abundance.[f]
They will blossom like a vine,
and his fame will be like the wine from Lebanon.
8 O Ephraim, I do not want to have anything to do[g] with idols anymore!
I will answer him and care for him.
I am like[h] a luxuriant cypress tree;[i]
your fruitfulness comes from me!”[j]
Footnotes
- Hosea 14:4 sn The noun מְשׁוּבָתָה (meshuvatah, “waywardness”; cf. KJV “backsliding”) is from the same root as שׁוּבָה (shuvah, “return!”) in 14:1 [14:2 HT]. This repetition of שׁוּב (shuv) creates a wordplay that emphasizes reciprocity: if Israel will return (שׁוּבָה, shuvah) to the Lord, he will cure her of the tendency to turn away (מְשׁוּבָתָה) from him.
- Hosea 14:4 tn The noun נְדָבָה (nedavah, “voluntariness; free-will offering”) is an adverbial accusative of manner: “freely, voluntarily” (BDB 621 s.v. נְדָבָה 1). Cf. CEV “without limit,” TEV “with all my heart,” NLT “my love will know no bounds.”
- Hosea 14:4 sn The verb שָׁב, shav, “will turn” (Qal perfect third person masculine singular from שׁוּב, shuv, “to turn”), continues the wordplay on שׁוּב in 14:1-4 [14:2-5 HT]. If Israel will “return” (שׁוּב) to the Lord, he will heal Israel’s tendency to “turn away” (מְשׁוּבָתָה, meshuvatah) and “turn” (שָׁב) from his anger.
- Hosea 14:5 tn Heb “like Lebanon” (so KJV; also in the following verse). The phrase “a cedar of” does not appear in the Hebrew text; it is supplied in translation for clarity (cf. TEV “the trees of Lebanon,” NRSV “the forests of Lebanon”).
- Hosea 14:7 tn Hosea uses the similar-sounding terms יָשֻׁבוּ יֹשְׁבֵי (yashuvu yosheve, “the dwellers will return”) to create a wordplay between the roots שׁוּב (shuv, “to return”) and יָשַׁב (yashav, “to dwell; to reside”).
- Hosea 14:7 tn Heb “they will cause the grain to live” or “they will revive the grain.” Some English versions treat this as a comparison: “they shall revive as the corn,” (KJV) and “will flourish like the grain” (NIV).
- Hosea 14:8 tn The Hebrew expression מַה־לִּי עוֹד (mah-lli ʿod) is a formula of repudiation/emphatic denial that God has anything in common with idols: “I want to have nothing to do with […] any more!” (cf., e.g., Judg 11:12; 2 Sam 16:10; 19:23; 1 Kgs 17:18; 2 Kgs 3:13; 2 Chr 35:21; Jer 2:18; Ps 50:16; BDB 553 s.v. מָה 1.d.[c]).
- Hosea 14:8 tn The term “like” does not appear in the Hebrew text but is supplied in the translation for clarity, as in the majority of English versions (including KJV).
- Hosea 14:8 tn Cf. KJV “a green fir tree,” NIV, NCV “a green pine tree,” NRSV “an evergreen cypress.”
- Hosea 14:8 tn Heb “your fruit is found in me”; cf. NRSV “your faithfulness comes from me.”
Hosea 14:4-8
International Standard Version
4 “I will correct their apostasy,
loving them freely,
since my anger will have turned away from them.[a]
5 I will be like the dew to Israel;
Israel[b] will blossom like a lily,
growing roots like the cedars of[c] Lebanon.
6 Israel’s[d] branches will spread out,
and its beauty will be like an olive tree,
with its scent like that of Lebanon.
7 Those who live under its protection[e] will surely return.
Their grain will flourish;
they will blossom like a vine,
and Israel’s[f] scent will be like wine from Lebanon.
8 “Ephraim, what have I in common with idols?
I have listened and will pay attention to him.
I am like a flourishing cypress;
in me will your fruit be found.”
Footnotes
- Hosea 14:4 Lit. him
- Hosea 14:5 Lit. he
- Hosea 14:5 The Heb. lacks the cedars of
- Hosea 14:6 Lit. His
- Hosea 14:7 Lit. shadow
- Hosea 14:7 Lit. His
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