Discovery BoxHosea 4:15 
Context4:15 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!”
Hosea 5:1
Context5:1 Hear this, you priests!
Pay attention, you Israelites! 2
For judgment is about to overtake you! 5
For you were like a trap 6 to Mizpah, 7
like a net 8 spread out to catch Tabor. 9
Hosea 9:1
Context9:1 O Israel, do not rejoice jubilantly 10 like the nations,
for you are unfaithful 11 to your God.
You love to receive a prostitute's wages 12
on all the floors where you thresh your grain.
Hosea 14:8
Context14:8 O Ephraim, I do not want to have anything to do 13 with idols anymore!
I will answer him and care for him.
I am like 14 a luxuriant cypress tree; 15
your fruitfulness comes from me! 16
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 “O house of Israel” (so NAB, NASB, NRSV); NLT “all of Israel’s leaders.”
3 tn Heb “Use the ear”; ASV “give ear.”
4 tn Heb “O house of the king” (so KJV); NIV “O royal house.”
5 tn Heb “for the judgment is to you”; or “For this accusation is against you.” Cf. NIV “This judgment is against you.”
6 sn The noun פַּח (pakh, “trap”) is used (1) literally of a bird-trap, used in similes and metaphors (Amos 3:5; Prov 7:23; Eccl 9:12), and (2) figuratively to refer to (a) calamities and plots (Job 18:9; 22:10; Pss 91:3; 119:110; 124:7; 140:6; 141:9; 142:4; Prov 22:5; Isa 24:17-18; Jer 18:22; 48:43-44; Hos 9:8) and (b) a source of calamity (Josh 23:13; Pss 11:6; 69:23; Isa 8:14; Hos 5:1; BDB 809 s.v. פַּח).
7 tn Heb “you were a trap to Mizpah.”
8 sn The noun רֶשֶׁת (reshet, “net”) is used (1) literally of a net used to catch birds (Prov 1:17) and (2) in figurative descriptions of the wicked plotting to ensnare their victims (Prov 29:5; Pss 9:16; 10:9; 25:15; 31:5; 35:7; 57:7; 140:6; Job 18:8; BDB 440 s.v. רֶשֶׁת).
9 tn Heb “and a net spread out over Tabor.”
10 tn Heb “do not rejoice unto jubilation”; KJV “Rejoice not…for joy”; NASB “Do not rejoice…with exultation.”
11 tn Heb “you have committed adultery”; NRSV “you have played the whore.”
12 tn Heb “you love the wages of the prostitute” (NIV similar); NAB “loving a harlot’s hire.”
13 tn The Hebrew expression מַה־לִּי עוֹד (mah-li ’od) is a formula of repudiation/emphatic denial that God has anything in common with idols: “I want to have nothing to do with […] any more!” Cf., e.g., Judg 11:12; 2 Sam 16:10; 19:23; 1 Kgs 17:18; 2 Kgs 3:13; 2 Chr 35:21; Jer 2:18; Ps 50:16; BDB 553 s.v. מָה 1.d.(c).
14 tn The term “like” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity, as in the majority of English versions (including KJV).
15 tn Cf. KJV “a green fir tree”; NIV, NCV “a green pine tree”; NRSV “an evergreen cypress.”
16 tn Heb “your fruit is found in me”; NRSV “your faithfulness comes from me.”
