Hosea 4:2

4:2 There is only cursing, lying, murder, stealing, and adultery.

They resort to violence and bloodshed.

Hosea 9:2

9:2 Threshing floors and wine vats will not feed the people,

and new wine only deceives them.


tn Heb “they break out and bloodshed touches bloodshed.” The Hebrew term פָּרַץ (parats, “to break out”) refers to violent and wicked actions (BDB 829 s.v. פָּרַץ 7; HALOT 972 s.v. פרץ 6.c). It is used elsewhere in a concrete sense to describe breaking through physical barriers. Here it is used figuratively to describe breaking moral barriers and restraints (cf. TEV “Crimes increase, and there is one murder after another”).

tn Heb “them”; the referent (the people) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

tn Heb “her” (so KJV, ASV). This is taken as a collective singular (so also most modern English versions).