Hosea 1:7

1:7 But I will have pity on the nation of Judah. I will deliver them by the Lord their God; I will not deliver them by the warrior’s bow, by sword, by military victory, by chariot horses, or by chariots.”


tn Heb “house”; cf. NCV, TEV, NLT “the people of Judah.”

tn The word order in this line is rhetorical, emphasizing the divine decision to withhold pity from Israel but to bestow it on Judah. The accusative direct object, which is introduced by a disjunctive vav (to denote contrast), appears before the verb: וְאֶת־בֵּית יְהוּדָה אֲרַחֵם (et-bet yéhudaharakhem, “but upon the house of Judah I will show pity”).

tn Heb “by war” (so NAB, NRSV, TEV); KJV, NASB, NIV “battle.”

sn These military weapons are examples of the metonymy of adjunct (the specific weapons named) for subject (warfare).