Logos Bible Study

Hosea 2:2–5

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Idolatrous Israel Will Be Punished Like a Prostitute

2:2Plead earnestly3 with your4 mother

(for5 she is not my wife, and I am not her husband),

so that6 she might put an end to her adulterous lifestyle,7

and turn away from her sexually immoral behavior.8

2:3Otherwise, I will strip her naked,

and expose her like she was when she was born.

I will turn her land into a wilderness

and make her country a parched land,

so that I might kill9 her with thirst.

2:4I will have no pity on her children,10

because they are children conceived in adultery.11

2:5For their mother has committed adultery;

she who conceived them has acted shamefully.

For she said, “I will seek out12 my lovers;13

they are the ones who give me my bread and my water,

my wool, my flax, my olive oil, and my wine.14

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Footnotes

  1. 3 Heb “Plead with your mother, plead!” The imperative רִיבוּ (rivu, “plead!”) is repeated twice in this line for emphasis. This rhetorical expression is handled in a woodenly literal sense by most English translations: “Contend … contend”; “Protest … protest!”; “Rebuke … rebuke”; “Plead … plead”; “Accuse! Accuse your mother!”
  2. 4 The suffix on the noun אִמְּכֶם (’immékhem, “your mother”) is a plural form (2nd person masculine). The children of Gomer represent the “children” (i.e., people) of Israel; Gomer represents the nation as a whole.
  3. 5 The particle כִּי (ki) introduces a parenthetical explanatory clause (however, cf. “because”). The reason that Hosea (representing the Lord) calls upon his children (representing the children of Israel) to plead with Gomer (representing the nation as a whole), rather than pleading directly with her himself, is because Hosea (the Lord) has turned his back on his unfaithful wife (Israel). He no longer has a relationship with her (“for she is not my wife, and I am not her husband”) because she abandoned him for her lovers.
  4. 6 The dependent volitive sequence of imperative followed by vav + jussive (רִיבוּ, rivu followed by וְתָסֵר, vétaser) creates a purpose clause: “so that she might turn away from” (= “put an end to”); cf. “that she put away”; “let her therefore put away.” Many English translations begin a new sentence here, presumably to improve the English style (so , , , ), but this obscures the connection with the preceding clause.
  5. 7 Heb “put away her adulteries from her face.” The plural noun זְנוּנֶיהָ (zénuneha, “adulteries”) is an example of the plural of repeated (or habitual) action: she has had multiple adulterous affairs.
  6. 8 Heb “[put away] her immoral behavior from between her breasts.” Cf. “her adulteries”; “the unfaithfulness.”
  7. 9 Heb “and kill her with thirst.” The vav prefixed to the verb (וַהֲמִתִּיהָ, vahamittiha) introduces a purpose/result clause: “in order to make her die of thirst” (purpose) or “and thus make her die of thirst” (result).
  8. 10 Heb “her sons.” English versions have long translated this as “children,” however; cf. , , , , , , . The word order is rhetorical: the accusative וְאֶת־בָּנֶיהָ (vé’et-baneha, “her sons”) is moved forward for emphasis.
  9. 11 Heb “sons of adulteries”; “children of whoredoms.” The word order is rhetorical: the construct clause בְנֵי זְנוּנִים (véne zénunim, “sons of adulteries”), which functions as the predicate nominative, is moved forward, before the independent personal pronoun הֵמָּה (hemma, “they”) which functions as the subject, to focus on the immoral character of her children.
  10. 12 Heb “I will go after” (so , , , ).
  11. 13 This statement alludes to the practice of sexual rites in the Canaanite fertility cult which attempted to secure agricultural fertility from the Canaanite gods (note the following reference to wool, flax, olive oil, and wine).
  12. 14 Heb “my drinks.” Many English versions use the singular “drink” here, but cf. , , “wine.”

The NET Bible First Edition, Copyright 1996-2005 by Biblical Studies Press

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

“Plead with your mother, plead—

for she is not my wife,

and I am not her husband—

that she put away her whoring from her face,

and her adultery from between her breasts;

lest I strip her naked

and make her as in the day she was born,

and make her like a wilderness,

and make her like a parched land,

and kill her with thirst.

Upon her children also I will have no mercy,

because they are children of whoredom.

For their mother has played the whore;

she who conceived them has acted shamefully.

For she said, ‘I will go after my lovers,

who give me my bread and my water,

my wool and my flax, my oil and my drink.’

Copyright 2001 Crossway Bibles

NIVNew International Version (2011)

“Rebuke your mother, rebuke her,

for she is not my wife,

and I am not her husband.

Let her remove the adulterous look from her face

and the unfaithfulness from between her breasts.

Otherwise I will strip her naked

and make her as bare as on the day she was born;

I will make her like a desert,

turn her into a parched land,

and slay her with thirst.

I will not show my love to her children,

because they are the children of adultery.

Their mother has been unfaithful

and has conceived them in disgrace.

She said, ‘I will go after my lovers,

who give me my food and my water,

my wool and my linen, my olive oil and my drink.’

Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 Biblica, Inc.

CSBChristian Standard Bible

Rebuke your mother; rebuke her.

For she is not my wife and I am not her husband.

Let her remove the promiscuous look from her face

and her adultery from between her breasts.

Otherwise, I will strip her naked

and expose her as she was on the day of her birth.

I will make her like a desert

and like a parched land,

and I will let her die of thirst.

I will have no compassion on her children

because they are the children of promiscuity.

Yes, their mother is promiscuous;

she conceived them and acted shamefully.

For she thought, “I will follow my lovers,

the men who give me my food and water,

my wool and flax, my oil and drink.”

Copyright 2017 Holman Bible Publishers

NLTNew Living Translation

“But now bring charges against Israel—your mother—

for she is no longer my wife,

and I am no longer her husband.

Tell her to remove the prostitute’s makeup from her face

and the clothing that exposes her breasts.

Otherwise, I will strip her as naked

as she was on the day she was born.

I will leave her to die of thirst,

as in a dry and barren wilderness.

And I will not love her children,

for they were conceived in prostitution.

Their mother is a shameless prostitute

and became pregnant in a shameful way.

She said, ‘I’ll run after other lovers

and sell myself to them for food and water,

for clothing of wool and linen,

and for olive oil and drinks.’

Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers. All rights reserved.

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

Plead with your mother, plead—

because she is not my wife,

and I am not her husband.

Let her put away her whoring from before her,

and her adultery from between her breasts.

Lest I strip her naked

and expose her like the day when she was born;

I will make her like the desert

and turn her into parched land;

I will kill her with thirst.

And I will not have pity on her children,

because they are children of whoredom.

Because their mother was unfaithful;

she who conceived them has acted shamefully,

for she said:

“I will go after my lovers,

the ones who give me my bread, my water,

my wool, and my flax,

my oil, and my drink.”

Copyright 2012 Lexham Press

KJV 1900King James Version

Plead with your mother, plead:

For she is not my wife, neither am I her husband:

Let her therefore put away her whoredoms out of her sight,

And her adulteries from between her breasts;

Lest I strip her naked, and set her as in the day that she was born,

And make her as a wilderness, and set her like a dry land,

And slay her with thirst.

And I will not have mercy upon her children;

For they be the children of whoredoms.

For their mother hath played the harlot:

She that conceived them hath done shamefully:

For she said, I will go after my lovers,

That give me my bread and my water,

My wool and my flax, mine oil and my drink.

Public Domain