Discovery BoxHosea 1:4 
Context1:4 Then the Lord said to Hosea, 1 “Name him ‘Jezreel,’ because in a little while I will punish 2 the dynasty 3 of Jehu on account of the bloodshed 4 in the valley of Jezreel, 5 and I will put an end to the kingdom 6 of Israel. 7
Hosea 1:6
Context1:6 She conceived again and gave birth to a daughter. Then the Lord 8 said to him, “Name her ‘No Pity’ (Lo-Ruhamah) because I will no longer have pity 9 on the nation 10 of Israel. For 11 I will certainly not forgive 12 their guilt. 13
Hosea 2:23
Context2:23 Then I will plant her as my own 14 in the land.
I will have pity on ‘No Pity’ (Lo-Ruhamah).
I will say to ‘Not My People’ (Lo-Ammi), ‘You are my people!’
And he 15 will say, ‘You are 16 my God!’”
Hosea 9:10
Context9:10 When I found Israel, it was like finding grapes in the wilderness.
I viewed your ancestors 17 like an early fig on a fig tree in its first season.
Then they came to Baal-Peor and they dedicated themselves to shame –
they became as detestable as what they loved.
Hosea 10:8
Context10:8 The high places of the “House 18 of Wickedness” 19 will be destroyed;
it is the place where Israel sins.
Thorns and thistles will grow up over its altars.
Then they will say to the mountains, “Cover us!”
and to the hills, “Fall on us!”
1 tn Heb “to him.” The referent (Hosea) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
2 tn Heb “I will visit.” The verb פָּקַד (paqad, “to visit”) has a very broad range of meanings: (1) “to pay attention to; to look at” (a) favorably: to look after; to provide for; to care for; (b) unfavorably: to seek vengeance for; to punish for; (2) militarily: (a) “to muster; to enroll”; (b) “to inspect; to review”; (3) leadership: (a) “to rule over; to oversee”; (b) Hiphil: “to appoint an overseer” (see BDB 823 s.v. פָּקַד; HALOT 955-58 s.v. פקד). In this context, the nuance “to punish” or “to take vengeance” (see 1b above) is most appropriate. Cf. KJV, ASV “I will avenge”; NAB, NASB, NRSV “I will punish.”
3 tn Heb “house” (so NAB, NRSV); NCV “family”; CEV “descendants.”
4 tn The plural form of דָּם (dam, “blood”) refers to “bloodshed” (BDB 196 s.v. דָּם 2.f). This is an example of a plural of abnormal condition (GKC 400 §124.n). The plural is used to represent natural objects which are found in an unnatural or abnormal condition. The plural is used because the natural object is normally found as a whole or in one unit, but in the abnormal condition the object is found in many parts. Normally, blood is contained as a whole within the body. However, when a brutal murder occurs, blood is shed and literally spilled all over the place. Cf. NIV “the massacre”; TEV, CEV, NLT “the murders.”
5 tn Heb “I will visit the bloodshed of Jezreel upon the house of Jehu.”
6 tn Heb “the kingdom of the house of Israel” (so NAB, NASB, NRSV). This has been simplified in the translation for stylistic reasons.
7 sn The proper name יִזְרְעֶאל (yizré’e’l, “Jezreel”) sounds like יִשְׂרָאֵל (yisra’el, “Israel”). This phonetic wordplay associates the sin at Jezreel with the judgment on Israel, stressing poetic justice.
8 tn Heb “Then he said”; the referent (the
9 sn The negative particle לאֹ (lo’, “no, not”) and the root רָחַם (rakham, “compassion”) are repeated in 1:6, creating a wordplay between the name Lo-Ruhamah (literally “No-Pity”) and the announcement of divine judgment, “I will no longer have pity on the nation of Israel.”
10 tn Heb “house”; cf. TEV, NLT “the people of Israel.”
11 tn The particle כִּי (ki) probably denotes cause (so NCV, TEV, CEV) or result here (GKC 505 §166.b; BDB 473 s.v. כִּי 3.c).
12 tn The verb נָשָׂא (nasa’, “to take away”) frequently denotes “to forgive” meaning to take away sin (BDB 671 s.v. נָשָׂא 3.c). The construction נָשׂא אֶשָּׂא (naso’ ’esa’, “I will certainly take away,” infinitive absolute + imperfect of the same root) repeats the root נָשָׂא for rhetorical emphasis, stressing the divine resolution not to forgive Israel.
13 tn The phrase “their guilt” does not appear in Hebrew, but is supplied in the translation for clarification. The ellipsis of the accusative direct object of נָשׂא אֶשָּׂא (naso’ ’esa’, “I will certainly take away”) is an example of brachyology. The accusative “guilt” must be supplied frequently with נָשַׂא (see BDB 671 s.v. נָשָׂא 3.c; e.g., Num 14:19; Isa 2:9; Ps 99:8). Many recent English versions simplify this to “forgive them” (e.g., NASB, NIV, NCV, NRSV, TEV, NLT).
14 tn Heb “for myself.”
15 tn The Hebrew text, carrying out the reference to the son born in 1:8-9, uses the third person masculine singular pronoun here; some English translations use third person plural (“they,” so KJV, NASB, NIV, CEV) in keeping with the immediate context, which refers to reestablished Israel.
16 tn The words “You are” do not appear in the Hebrew text, but are implied. It is necessary to supply the phrase in the translation to prevent the reader from understanding the predicate “my God” as an exclamation (cf. NAB).
17 tn Heb “fathers”; a number of more recent English versions use the more general “ancestors” here.
18 tn Alternately, “Aven” (KJV, NAB, NRSV, NLT) for the city name “Beth Aven.” The term “Beth” (house) does not appear in the Hebrew text here, but is implied (e.g., Hos 4:15). It is supplied in the translation for clarity.
19 tc The MT reads בָּמוֹת אָוֶן (bamot ’aven, “high places of Aven”); however, several Hebrew
tn Heb “high places of wickedness” (בָּמוֹת אָוֶן, bamot ’aven); so NIV. The noun אָוֶן (“wickedness”) is an attributive genitive: “wicked high places.”
