Logos Bible Study

Hosea 2:5–9

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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

The Lord’s Discipline Will Bring Israel Back

2:6Therefore, I will soon15 fence her in16 with thorns;

I will wall her in17 so that18 she cannot find her way.19

2:7Then she will pursue her lovers, but she will not catch20 them;

she will seek them, but she will not find them.21

Then she will say,

“I will go back22 to my husband,23

because I was better off then than I am now.”24

Agricultural Fertility Withdrawn from Israel

2:8Yet25 until now26 she has refused to acknowledge27 that I28 was the one

who gave her the grain, the new wine, and the olive oil;

and that it was I who29 lavished on her the silver and gold—

which they30 used in worshiping Baal!31

2:9Therefore, I will take back32 my grain during the harvest time33

and my new wine when it ripens;34

I will take away my wool and my flax

which I had provided35 in order to clothe her.36

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Footnotes

  1. 12 Heb “I will go after” (so , , , ).
  2. 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).
  3. 14 Heb “my drinks.” Many English versions use the singular “drink” here, but cf. , , “wine.”
  4. 15 The deictic particle הִנְנִי (hinni, “Behold!”) introduces a future-time reference participle that refers to imminent future action: “I am about to” ( “I am going to”).
  5. 16 Heb “I will hedge up her way”; “block her path.”
  6. 17 Heb “I will wall in her wall.” The cognate accusative construction וְגָדַרְתִּי אֶת־גְּדֵרָהּ (végadarti ’et-géderah, “I will wall in her wall”) is an emphatic literary device. The 3rd person feminine singular suffix on the noun functions as a dative of disadvantage: “as a wall against her” (A. B. Davidson, Hebrew Syntax, 3, remark 2). The expression means “I will build a wall to bar her way.” Cf. “I will make a wall”; “I will build a wall”; , , “I will build a wall against her”; “I will fence her in.”
  7. 18 The disjunctive clause (object followed by negated verb) introduces a clause which can be understood as either purpose or result.
  8. 19 Heb “her paths” (so , ).
  9. 20 Heb “overtake” (so , , , ); “be able to catch up with.”
  10. 21 In the Hebrew text the accusative direct object pronoun אֹתָם (’otam, “them”) is omitted/elided for balanced poetic parallelism. The supplies αὐτους (autous, “them”); but it is not necessary to emend the because this is a poetic literary convention rather than a textual problem.
  11. 22 Heb “I will go and return” (so ). The two verbs joined with vav form a verbal hendiadys. Normally, the first verb functions adverbially and the second retains its full verbal sense ( §120.d, h). The Hebrew phrase אֵלְכָה וְאָשׁוּבָה (’elkhah vé’ashuvah, “I will go and I will return”) connotes, “I will return again.” As cohortatives, both verbs emphasize the resolution of the speaker.
  12. 23 Heb “to my man, the first.” Many English translations (e.g., , , , ) take this as “my first husband,” although this implies that there was more than one husband involved. The text refers to multiple lovers, but these were not necessarily husbands.
  13. 24 Or “because it was better for me then than now” (cf. ).
  14. 25 Or “For” (so , ); or “But” (so ).
  15. 26 The phrase “until now” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity and smoothness.
  16. 27 Heb “she does not know” (so , ); or “she does not acknowledge.”
  17. 28 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”).
  18. 29 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.
  19. 30 The third person plural here is an obvious reference to the Israelites who had been unfaithful to the Lord in spite of all that he had done for them. To maintain the imagery of Israel as the prostitute, a third person feminine singular would be called for; in the interest of literary consistency this has been supplied in some English translations (e.g., , , , ).
  20. 31 Heb “for Baal” (so , , ); cf. “in the worship of Baal.”
  21. 32 Heb “I will return and I will take.” The two verbs joined with vav conjunction form a verbal hendiadys in which the first verb functions adverbially and the second retains its full verbal sense ( §120.d, h): אָשׁוּב וְלָקַחְתִּי (’ashuv vélaqakhti) means “I will take back.”
  22. 33 Heb “in its time” (so , ).
  23. 34 Heb “in its season” (so , , ).
  24. 35 The words “which I had provided” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons; cf. “intended to cover.”
  25. 36 Heb “to cover her nakedness” (so and many other English versions); “for clothing.” This announcement of judgment is extremely ironic and forcefully communicates poetic justice: The punishment will fit the crime. The Israelites were literally uncovering their nakedness in temple prostitution in the Baal fertility cult rituals. Yahweh will, in effect, give them what they wanted (nakedness) but not in the way they wanted it: Yahweh will withhold the agricultural fertility they sought from Baal which would lead to nakedness caused by impoverishment.

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

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

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.’

Therefore I will hedge up her way with thorns,

and I will build a wall against her,

so that she cannot find her paths.

She shall pursue her lovers

but not overtake them,

and she shall seek them

but shall not find them.

Then she shall say,

‘I will go and return to my first husband,

for it was better for me then than now.’

And she did not know

that it was I who gave her

the grain, the wine, and the oil,

and who lavished on her silver and gold,

which they used for Baal.

Therefore I will take back

my grain in its time,

and my wine in its season,

and I will take away my wool and my flax,

which were to cover her nakedness.

Copyright 2001 Crossway Bibles

NIVNew International Version (2011)

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.’

Therefore I will block her path with thornbushes;

I will wall her in so that she cannot find her way.

She will chase after her lovers but not catch them;

she will look for them but not find them.

Then she will say,

‘I will go back to my husband as at first,

for then I was better off than now.’

She has not acknowledged that I was the one

who gave her the grain, the new wine and oil,

who lavished on her the silver and gold—

which they used for Baal.

“Therefore I will take away my grain when it ripens,

and my new wine when it is ready.

I will take back my wool and my linen,

intended to cover her naked body.

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

CSBChristian Standard Bible

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.”

Therefore, this is what I will do:

I will block her way with thorns;

I will enclose her with a wall,

so that she cannot find her paths.

She will pursue her lovers but not catch them;

she will look for them but not find them.

Then she will think,

“I will go back to my former husband,

for then it was better for me than now.”

She does not recognize

that it is I who gave her the grain,

the new wine, and the fresh oil.

I lavished silver and gold on her,

which they used for Baal.

Therefore, I will take back my grain in its time

and my new wine in its season;

I will take away my wool and linen,

which were to cover her nakedness.

Copyright 2017 Holman Bible Publishers

NLTNew Living Translation

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.’

“For this reason I will fence her in with thornbushes.

I will block her path with a wall

to make her lose her way.

When she runs after her lovers,

she won’t be able to catch them.

She will search for them

but not find them.

Then she will think,

‘I might as well return to my husband,

for I was better off with him than I am now.’

She doesn’t realize it was I who gave her everything she has—

the grain, the new wine, the olive oil;

I even gave her silver and gold.

But she gave all my gifts to Baal.

“But now I will take back the ripened grain and new wine

I generously provided each harvest season.

I will take away the wool and linen clothing

I gave her to cover her nakedness.

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

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.”

Therefore, Look!

I am going to hedge her path with thorns,

and I will build a stone wall, a stone wall against her,

and she will not find her paths.

Then she will pursue her lovers,

but she will not overtake them;

she will seek them and not find them;

and she will say, “I will go

and return to my first husband

because it was better for me then than now.”

But she did not know

that it was I who gave her

grain, new wine, and oil,

and who gave her silver in abundance,

and gold which they made into a Baal.

Therefore I will take again

my grain in its time,

and my wine in its season;

and I will take away my wool and my flax,

which were to cover her nakedness.

Copyright 2012 Lexham Press

KJV 1900King James Version

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.

Therefore, behold, I will hedge up thy way with thorns,

And make a wall, that she shall not find her paths.

And she shall follow after her lovers, but she shall not overtake them;

And she shall seek them, but shall not find them:

Then shall she say, I will go and return to my first husband;

For then was it better with me than now.

For she did not know that I gave her corn, and wine, and oil,

And multiplied her silver and gold,

Which they prepared for Baal.

Therefore will I return, and take away my corn in the time thereof,

And my wine in the season thereof,

And will recover my wool and my flax given to cover her nakedness.

Public Domain