4:1 Listen to this message, you cows of Bashan 1 who live on Mount Samaria!
You 2 oppress the poor;
you crush the needy.
You say to your 3 husbands,
“Bring us more to drink!” 4
4:5 Burn a thank offering of bread made with yeast! 5
Make a public display of your voluntary offerings! 6
For you love to do this, you Israelites.”
The sovereign Lord is speaking!
4:6 “But surely I gave 7 you no food to eat in any of your cities;
you lacked food everywhere you live. 8
Still you did not come back to me.”
The Lord is speaking!
1 sn The expression cows of Bashan is used by the prophet to address the wealthy women of Samaria, who demand that their husbands satisfy their cravings. The derogatory language perhaps suggests that they, like the livestock of Bashan, were well fed, ironically in preparation for the coming slaughter. This phrase is sometimes cited to critique the book’s view of women.
2 tn Heb “the ones who” (three times in this verse).
3 tn Heb “their.”
4 sn Some commentators relate this scene to the description of the marzeah feast of 6:3-6, in which drinking played a prominent part (see the note at 6:6).
5 sn For the background of the thank offering of bread made with yeast, see Lev 7:13.
6 tn Heb “proclaim voluntary offerings, announce.”
7 tn The Hebrew construction is emphatic (pronoun + verb). It underscores the stark contrast between the judgments that the Lord had been sending with the God of blessing Israel was celebrating in its worship (4:4-5).
8 tn Heb “But I gave to you cleanness of teeth in all your cities, and lack of food in all your places.” The phrase “cleanness of teeth” is a vivid way of picturing the famine Israel experienced.