Hosea 7:3-7
New English Translation
Political Intrigue and Conspiracy in the Palace
3 The royal advisers delight the king with their evil schemes,
the princes make him glad with their lies.
4 They are all like bakers,[a]
they[b] are like a smoldering oven;
they are like a baker who does not stoke the fire
until the kneaded dough is ready for baking.
5 At the celebration[c] of their king,[d]
his princes become inflamed[e] with wine;
they conspire[f] with evildoers.
6 They approach him, all the while plotting against him.
Their hearts are like an oven;
their anger smolders all night long,
but in the morning it bursts into a flaming fire.
7 All of them are blazing like an oven;
they devour their rulers.
All their kings fall,
and none of them call on me!
Notas al pie
- Hosea 7:4 tc The MT reads מְנָאֲפִים (menaʾafim, “adulterers”; Piel participle masculine plural from נָאַף, naʾaf, “to commit adultery”), which does not seem to fit the context. The original reading was probably אוֹפִים (ʾofim, “bakers”; Qal participle masculine plural from אָפַה, ʾafah, “to bake”), which harmonizes well with the baker/oven/fire motif in 7:4-7. The textual deviation was caused by: (1) confusion of נ (nun) and ו (vav), (2) metathesis of נ/ו (nun/vav) and א (alef), and (3) dittography of מ (mem) from the preceding word. Original כֻּלָּם אוֹפִים (kullam ʾofim, “all of them are bakers”) was confused for כֻּלָּם מְנָאֲפִים (“all of them are adulterers”). In spite of this most English versions follow the reading of the MT here.
- Hosea 7:4 tc The MT preserves the enigmatic כְּמוֹ תַנּוּר בֹּעֵרָה מֵ (kemo tannur boʿerah me, “Like a burning oven, from…?”). The adjectival participle בֹּעֵרָה (“burning”) is feminine while the noun תַנּוּר (tannur, “oven”) that it modifies is masculine. The BHS editors solve this problem by simply redividing the words: כְּמוֹ תַנּוּר בֹּעֵר הֵם (kemo tannur boʿer hem, “they are like a burning oven”). This solution is followed by many English versions (e.g., NCV, NRSV, NLT).
- Hosea 7:5 tn Heb “the day of” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NRSV); cf. NIV “On the day of the festival of our king,” NLT “On royal holidays.”
- Hosea 7:5 tc The MT preserves the awkward first person common plural suffix reading מַלְכֵּנוּ (malakenu, “our king”). The BHS editors suggest reading the third person masculine plural suffix מַלְכָּם (malkam, “their king”; so CEV), as reflected in the Aramaic Targum.
- Hosea 7:5 tc The MT vocalizes the consonants החלו as הֶחֱלוּ a Hiphil perfect third person common plural from I חָלָה (“to become sick”). However, this is syntactically awkward. The BHS editors suggest revocalizing it as Hiphil infinitive construct + third person masculine singular suffix from חָלַל (khalal, “to begin”) or Hiphil perfect third person common plural from חָלַל. For a discussion of this textual problem, see D. Barthélemy, ed., Preliminary and Interim Report on the Hebrew Old Testament Text Project, 5:240.tn Heb “when their king began [to reign].”
- Hosea 7:5 tn Heb “he joined hands”; cf. NCV “make agreements.”
Hosea 7:3-7
Expanded Bible
Israel’s Evil Kings
3 “They make the king happy with their wickedness;
their ·rulers [princes] are glad with their lies.
4 But all of them are ·traitors [L adulterers].
They are like an oven heated by a baker.
·While he mixes the dough [L From the kneading of the dough until it is leavened],
he does not need to stir up the fire.
5 The kings get so drunk they get sick ·every day [or on the festival day; L on the day].
The ·rulers [princes] become ·crazy [inflamed] with wine;
they ·make agreements [conspire; L stretch out their hands] with ·those who do not know the true God [mockers; scoffers].
6 Their hearts burn like an oven;
as they plot [C an assassination] against him.
All night long their anger ·is low [smolders],
but when morning comes, it becomes a roaring fire.
7 All ·these people [L of them] are as hot as an oven;
they ·burn up [consume; devour] their rulers.
All their kings fall,
and no one calls on me.
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