Discovery BoxHosea 1:6 
Context1:6 She conceived again and gave birth to a daughter. Then the Lord 1 said to him, “Name her ‘No Pity’ (Lo-Ruhamah) because I will no longer have pity 2 on the nation 3 of Israel. For 4 I will certainly not forgive 5 their guilt. 6
Hosea 2:8
Context2:8 Yet 7 until now 8 she has refused to acknowledge 9 that I 10 was the one
who gave her the grain, the new wine, and the olive oil;
and that it was I who 11 lavished on her the silver and gold –
which they 12 used in worshiping Baal! 13
Hosea 2:12
Context2:12 I will destroy her vines and fig trees,
about which she said, “These are my wages for prostitution 14
that my lovers gave to me!”
I will turn her cultivated vines and fig trees 15 into an uncultivated thicket,
so that wild animals 16 will devour them.
Hosea 3:1
Context3:1 The Lord said to me, “Go, show love to 17 your wife 18 again, even though she loves 19 another man 20 and continually commits adultery. 21 Likewise, the Lord loves 22 the Israelites 23 although they turn to other gods and love to offer raisin cakes to idols.” 24
1 tn Heb “Then he said”; the referent (the
2 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.”
3 tn Heb “house”; cf. TEV, NLT “the people of Israel.”
4 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).
5 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.
6 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).
7 tn Or “For” (so KJV, NASB); or “But” (so NCV).
8 tn The phrase “until now” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity and smoothness.
9 tn Heb “she does not know” (so NASB, NCV); or “she does not acknowledge.”
10 tn The 1st person common singular independent personal pronoun אָנֹכִי (’anokhi, “I”) is emphatic, since the subject of this verbal clause is already explicit in the verb נָתַתִּי (natatti, Qal perfect 1st person common singular: “I gave”).
11 tn The phrase “that it was I who” does not appear in the Hebrew text here, but is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity.
12 sn The third person plural here is an obvious reference to the Israelites who had been unfaithful to the
13 tn Heb “for Baal” (so NAB, NIV, NRSV); cf. TEV “in the worship of Baal.”
14 tn Heb “my wages.” The words “for prostitution” are not in the Hebrew text but are supplied for clarity; cf. CEV “gave…as payment for sex.”
15 tn Heb “I will turn them”; the referents (vines and fig trees) have been specified in the translation for clarity.
16 tn Heb “the beasts of the field” (so KJV, NASB); the same expression also occurs in v. 18).
17 tn Heb “Go again! Love!” Cf. NAB “Give your love to.”
18 tn Heb “a woman.” The probable referent is Gomer. Some English translations (e.g., NIV, NLT) specify the referent as “your wife.”
19 tc The MT vocalizes אֲהֻבַת (’ahuvat) as a construct form of the Qal passive participle and takes רֵעַ (rea’) as a genitive of agent: “who is loved by רֵעַ.” However, the ancient versions (LXX, Syriac, Vulgate) all vocalize אֲהֻבַת as an absolute form of the Qal active participle, and take רֵעַ as the accusative direct object: “who loves רֵעַ.” The English translations consistently follow the MT. The editors of BHS suggest the revocalization but with some reservation. For discussion of the vocalization, see D. Barthélemy, ed., Preliminary and Interim Report on the Hebrew Old Testament Text Project, 5:230.
tn Heb “a woman who is loved by a companion” (אִשָּׁה אֲהֻבַת רֵעַ, ’ishah ’ahuvat rea’). The substantival participle אֲהֻבַת (“one who is loved”) is in apposition to אִשָּׁה (“a woman”). The genitive noun רֵעַ (“companion”) functions as the agent of the preceding construct noun: “who is loved by a companion” (אֲהֻבַת רֵעַ). Cf. NAB “a woman beloved of a paramour”; NRSV “a woman who has a lover.”
20 tn The meaning of the noun רֵעַ (rea’) is debated because it has a broad range of meanings: (1) “friend,” (2) “lover,” (3) “companion,” (4) “neighbor,” and (5) “another” (HALOT 1253-55 s.v. II רֵעַ; BDB 945-46 s.v. II רֵעַ). The Hebrew lexicons favor the nuance “lover; paramour” here (HALOT 1255 s.v. 2; BDB 946 s.v. 1). Most scholars adopt the same approach; however, a few suggest that רֵעַ does not refer to another man, but to her husband (Hosea). Both approaches are reflected in English translations: NASB “a woman who is loved by her husband”; NIV “though she is loved by another”; NAB “a woman beloved of a paramour”; KJV “a woman beloved of her friend”; NJPS “a woman who, while befriended by a companion”; TEV “a woman who is committing adultery with a lover”; CEV “an unfaithful woman who has a lover.”
21 tn Heb “love a woman who is loved of a lover and is an adulteress.”
22 tn Heb “like the love of the
23 tn Heb “sons of Israel” (so NASB); KJV “children of Israel”; NAB “people of Israel.”
24 tn Heb “they are lovers of cakes of raisins.” A number of English translations render this literally (e.g., ASV, NAB, NASB, NRSV).
