HOS 11:8 Interlinear View

SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 11:1–11 The LORD’s love for his people

This section refers back to Israel’s history, as do Section 9:10–17 and Section 10:1–8. In all three sections, the LORD describes the joyful beginning of his relationship with the people of Israel and their response of betrayal against him. The earlier sections focus more on the LORD’s punishment. The people will be taken into exile. This section focuses more on his love.

The LORD speaks of his love for Israel in the past (11:1–4), warns them of their future exile and destruction (11:5–7), and assures them that in the future he will turn from his anger and show them compassion. Because of his love for them, he promises that he will bring the people back to the land of Israel (11:8–11).

Here are some other examples of section headings:

The Lord’s Love for Israel (ESV)

Israel Is Like a Bad Son (GW)

Throughout this section, the LORD is the speaker. When he refers to himself, he uses first person pronouns (“I/me/my”) except for verse 10, which has “Yahweh” and “he.” When he refers to the people or nation of Israel, he uses “Ephraim,” “they/them,” or “he/it.” The only exceptions are in 11:8–9. There the LORD uses the pronoun “you(sg)” to speak directly to Ephraim and to Judah.

Paragraph 11:8–11

This paragraph contrasts with the previous one. The previous paragraph promises that the nation of Israel will be taken into exile in Assyria. This paragraph tells about the time after that exile. In these verses, the LORD promises that he will not completely destroy them. Rather, in the future he will bring them back to their land.McComiskey (page 191).

11:8a–d

Notice the parallel parts that are similar in meaning:

^8a How could I give you up, O Ephraim?

^8b How could I surrender you, O Israel?

^8c How could I make you like Admah?

^8d How could I treat you like Zeboiim?

These lines show the LORD’s emotional anguish due to the coming destruction and captivity of Israel.Garrett (page 227) compares the anguish to “a father at wit’s end over what to do with a wayward child.” They also indicate that the LORD is the one who decides the fate of Israel.

The lines are probably rhetorical questions with an implied answer of, “I cannot!”Some commentators do not classify these lines as rhetorical questions. Hubbard (page 192) refers to them as “self-cautioning questions.” Macintosh (page 191) calls them expressions of bewilderment and grief. Dearman (pages 287–289) calls them statements in interrogative form. He classifies the form of verse 8 as “soliloquy.” See the general comment for other ways to translate these lines.

11:8a

How could I give you up, O Ephraim?

¶ But I, Yahweh, say, “how can I give you^(sing/plur) up, Israel?
¶ O Ephraim! In spite of all this, I can not abandon you^(sing/plur).

11:8b

How could I surrender you, O Israel?

Can I endure handing you^(plur), my people, over to your enemies?
O Israel, I can not put you^(sing/plur) in the hands of your enemies.

11:8a–b

How: In rhetorical questions, this Hebrew question word can indicate emotions such as despair, amazement, or horror.TWOT (#75b) and BDB (#349) 2. Here it is an exclamation that indicates grief or anguish.Davies (page 261) and McComiskey (page 191) suggest that the question word “How” is an exclamation rather than an interrogative here. Hubbard (page 192) regards “How” to be a word of lamentation.

could I give you up…could I surrender you: In both these phrases, the LORD asks himself if he can give Israel to their enemy, Assyria, to destroy them.

Ephraim…Israel: Both names refer to the people of Israel.

11:8c–d

(combined/reordered)

Can I utterly destroy you, like what happened at Admah and Zeboiim?
I could not make you cease to exist as I did to Admah and Zeboiim.

How could I make you like Admah? How could I treat you like Zeboiim?: In both questions, the LORD asks himself if he can destroy Israel as he destroyed these two cities. In some languages, it may be helpful to make explicit that these two clauses are about destruction. For example:

How can I destroy you like Admah or demolish you like Zeboiim? (NLT)

How: See comment above on How.

could I make you like…could I treat you like: In this context, the Hebrew words for make you and treat you have similar meanings. Here they both mean “do to you.”

Admah…Zeboiim: The LORD completely destroyed these two cities along with Sodom and Gomorrah because of their extreme wickedness.Andersen and Freedman (page 588) suggest that the cities represented the ultimate in wickedness and are a reminder of how devastating Yahweh’s wrath and anger can be. See Deuteronomy 29:23.

General Comment on 11:8a–d

In some languages, it may be more natural to use statements instead of rhetorical questions or use some of each. It also may be more natural to combine some of the parallel parts. For example, the CEV has statements for the first two parallel lines. It has kept the third and fourth lines as rhetorical questions but has combined them.

Israel, I can’t let you go. I can’t give you up. How could I possibly destroy you as I did the towns of Admah and Zeboiim?

11:8c

How could I make you like Admah?

How can I destroy you^(plur) like the town of Admah?
I can not utterly destroy/kill you, as I destroyed the people of Admah.

11:8d

How could I treat you like Zeboiim?

Can I truly bring you to an end like the people of Zeboiim?
I can not wipe you from the earth, like I did to Zeboiim.

11:8e–f

Notice the parallel parts that are similar in meaning:

^8e My heart is turned within Me;

^8f My compassion is stirred!

11:8e

My heart is turned within Me;

I have changed my mind. (GW)
My heart/thoughts have changed.

My heart: The Hebrews considered the heart to be the center of thought and knowledge. Some languages use a different body organ, such as the liver, to signify attitudes and thoughts. Use an expression that is natural in your language for this purpose.

is turned: In Hebrew, there are two main interpretations of this phrase:

The phrase means “to change one’s mind/plan.”HALOT (electronic edition, page 253) Niphal 3. This view is favored by Davies and Stuart (page 181). For example:
I have changed my mind (GW) (BSB, CEV, GNT, GW, KJV, NASB, NET, NIV, NJPS, REB)
The word means “to be in distress.”BDB (#2015) Niphal 1b. McComiskey (page 191) notes the similar use of hapak here to Lamentations 1:20. There the word “connotes the turmoil of deep, wrenching feelings.” This view is also favored by Hubbard. For example:
My heart is torn within me (NLT) (ESV, NCV, NLT, NJB, NRSV)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1). It fits better with following context of 11:9 in which the LORD describes what he no longer plans to do. It also allows the second interpretation. His change of heart is based on his strong compassion for his people.McComiskey (page 191) notes that the people would indeed go into captivity, but God would not invalidate the promise of the land.

Here are some other ways to translate this verse part:

My heart will not let me do it! (GNT)

A change of heart moves me (REB)

within Me: In this context, the Hebrew word indicates the location where the decisions/emotions take place.

11:8f

My compassion is stirred!

I am completely overwhelmed by feelings of pity.
I love you too much to destroy you like that.

There Hebrew is a word here which means “together.” Here it gives emphasis to the intensity of the emotion that the LORD feels. Some versions leave this word implicit. Some others indicate this intensity in a different way. The BSB indicates the intensity with the exclamation point at the end of the sentence. For example:

I am deeply moved. (GW)

Indicate the intensity of emotion in a natural way in your language.

compassion: The Hebrew word refers to an emotion of compassion and pity. It describes a desire to bring comfort.McComiskey (page 191), Dearman (pages 287–289) and Andersen and Freedman (page 589).

stirred!: In Hebrew, this word is literally “grow warm.” Hebrew uses the word “warm” or “hot” to describe strong feelings. For example:

my compassion grows warm and tender (NRSV)

Here are some other ways to translate this word:

My compassion overflows (NLT)

my love for you stirs up my pity (NCV)

OET-LV English word order (‘Reverse’ interlinear)

Note: The OET-RV is still only a first draft, and so far only a few words have been (mostly automatically) matched to the Hebrew or Greek words that they’re translated from.

Acknowledgements: The Hebrew text, lemmas, and morphology are all thanks to the OSHB and some of the glosses are from Macula Hebrew.

OET interlinear HOS 11:8

Hebrew word order