Hosea 1:7
Context1:7 But I will have pity on the nation 1 of Judah. 2 I will deliver them by the Lord their God; I will not deliver them by the warrior’s bow, by sword, by military victory, 3 by chariot horses, or by chariots.” 4
Hosea 2:18
Context2:18 “At that time 5 I will make a covenant for them with the wild animals,
the birds of the air, and the creatures that crawl on the ground.
I will abolish 6 the warrior’s bow and sword
– that is, every weapon of warfare 7 – from the land,
and I will allow them to live securely.” 8
1 tn Heb “house”; cf. NCV, TEV, NLT “the people of Judah.”
2 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 (vé’et-bet yéhudah ’arakhem, “but upon the house of Judah I will show pity”).
3 tn Heb “by war” (so NAB, NRSV, TEV); KJV, NASB, NIV “battle.”
4 sn These military weapons are examples of the metonymy of adjunct (the specific weapons named) for subject (warfare).
5 tn Heb “And in that day” (so KJV, ASV).
6 tn Heb “I will break”; NAB “I will destroy”; NCV “I will smash”; NLT “I will remove.”
7 tn Heb “bow and sword and warfare.” The first two terms in the triad וְקֶשֶׁת וְחֶרֶב וּמִלְחָמָה (vÿqeshet vÿkherev umilkhamah, literally, “bow and sword and warfare”) are examples of synecdoche of specific (bow and sword) for general (weapons of war, so CEV). However, they might be examples of metonymy (bow and sword) of association (warfare).
8 tn Heb “and I will cause them to lie down in safety.” The causative nuance (“will make them”) is retained in several English versions (e.g., KJV, ASV, NASB, NRSV).