4:15 Although you, O Israel, commit adultery,
do not let Judah become guilty!
Do not journey to Gilgal!
Do not go up to Beth Aven! 1
Do not swear, “As surely as the Lord lives!”
8:7 They sow the wind,
and so they will reap the whirlwind!
The stalk does not have any standing grain;
it will not produce any flour.
Even if it were to yield grain,
foreigners would swallow it all up.
8:13 They offer up sacrificial gifts to me,
and eat the meat,
but the Lord does not accept their sacrifices. 2
Soon he will remember their wrongdoing,
he will punish their sins,
and they will return to Egypt.
9:16 Ephraim will be struck down 3 –
their root will be dried up;
they will not yield any fruit.
Even if they do bear children,
I will kill their precious offspring.
10:11 Ephraim was a well-trained heifer who loved to thresh grain;
I myself put a fine yoke 4 on her neck.
I will harness Ephraim.
Let Judah plow! 5
Let Jacob break up 6 the unplowed ground for himself!
10:12 Sow righteousness for yourselves,
reap unfailing love.
Break up the unplowed ground for yourselves,
for it is time to seek the Lord,
until he comes and showers deliverance 7 on you.
12:11 Is there idolatry 8 in Gilead? 9
Certainly its inhabitants 10 will come to nothing! 11
Do they sacrifice bulls in Gilgal?
Surely their altars will be like stones heaped up on a plowed field!
1 sn Beth Aven means “house of wickedness” in Hebrew; it is a polemic reference to “Bethel,” which means “house of God.” Cf. CEV “at sinful Bethel.”
2 tn Heb “does not accept them”; the referent (their sacrifices) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
3 tn Or perhaps, following the plant metaphor, “will be blighted” (NIV similar).
4 tc The MT is unintelligible: עַל־טוּב (’al-tuv, “upon a fine [thing]”?). Cf. KJV “I passed over upon her fair neck”; NRSV “I spared her fair neck.” The BHS editors suggest the revocalization עֹל־טוּב (’ol-tuv, “a fine yoke”), followed by many modern English versions (e.g., NAB, NASB, NIV, NCV, TEV, NLT). The noun עֹל (’ol, “yoke”) also appears in 11:4 in a metaphor which compares Israel to a young heifer as well.
5 tn Or “Judah will plow” (so NASB); NIV, NRSV, CEV “Judah must plow.”
6 tn Or “Jacob will break up.”
7 tn Or “righteousness” (so KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT); NAB “justice.”
8 tn The noun אָוֶן (’aven) has a broad range of meanings which includes: (1) “wickedness, sin, injustice” (2) “deception, nothingness,” and (3) “idolatry, idolatrous cult” (HALOT 22 s.v. אָוֶן; BDB 19 s.v. אָוֶן). While any of these meanings would fit the present context, the second-half of the verse refers to cultic sins, suggesting that Hosea is denouncing Gilead for its idolatry. Cf. NLT “Gilead is filled with sinners who worship idols.”
9 tn The introductory deictic particle אִם (’im) functions as an interrogative and introduces an interrogative clause: “Is there…?” (see HALOT 60 s.v. אִם 5; BDB 50 s.v. אִם 2). The LXX assumed that אִם was being used in its more common function as a conditional particle: “If there….”
10 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the inhabitants of Gilead) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
11 tn The noun שָׁוְא (shav’, “emptiness, nothing”), which describes the imminent judgment of the people of Gilead, creates a wordplay in Hebrew with the noun אָוֶן (’aven, “nothingness” = idolatry). Because Gilead worshiped “nothingness” (idols), it would become “nothing” (i.e., be destroyed).