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InterlinearVerse GEN EXO LEV NUM DEU JOB JOS JDG RUTH 1 SAM 2 SAM PSA AMOS HOS 1 KI 2 KI 1 CHR 2 CHR PROV ECC SNG JOEL MIC ISA ZEP HAB JER LAM YNA (JNA) NAH OBA DAN EZE EZRA EST NEH HAG ZEC MAL LAO GES LES ESG DNG 2 PS TOB JDT WIS SIR BAR LJE PAZ SUS BEL MAN 1 MAC 2 MAC 3 MAC 4 MAC YHN (JHN) MARK MAT LUKE ACTs YAC (JAM) GAL 1 TH 2 TH 1 COR 2 COR ROM COL PHM EPH PHP 1 TIM TIT 1 PET 2 PET 2 TIM HEB YUD (JUD) 1 YHN (1 JHN) 2 YHN (2 JHN) 3 YHN (3 JHN) REV
Hos C1 C2 C3 C4 C5 C6 C7 C8 C9 C10 C11 C12 C13 C14
Hos 12 V1 V3 V4 V5 V6 V7 V8 V9 V10 V11 V12 V13 V14
OET (OET-LV) [fn] ʼEfrayim is_feeding wind and_he_is_pursuing an_east_wind all_of the_day falsehood and_violence he_increases and_a_covenant with ʼAshshūr they_are_making and_oil to_Miʦrayim it_is_carried.
12:2 Note: KJB: Hos.12.1
OET (OET-RV) ⇔ Yahweh also has a dispute with Yehudah,
⇔ and will punish Yakov for what they’ve done.
⇔ He will repay them according to how they behaved.
In this section, the LORD accuses both Israel and Judah of wrongdoing, but then focuses on the wicked behavior of Israel (11:12–12:1). Hosea continues to describe Israel, giving examples from the life of their ancestor Jacob to show that Israel followed his bad behavior (12:2–8). The LORD then reminded the people how they had responded wickedly when he led them in the past (12:9–11). Hosea concludes this section by comparing Jacob’s care of sheep in Aram with the LORD’s care of his people through a prophet or prophets.
Here are some other examples of section headings:
Israel’s Sin (NIV)
Israel and Judah Are Condemned (GNT)
In this paragraph and also in 12:12, Hosea gives examples from the life of Jacob. Scholars do not agree on the purpose of the examples. There are two main views:
These examples show the similarity between Jacob and his descendants. Jacob set a bad example and his descendants followed it.
These examples show the contrast between Jacob and his descendants. Jacob set a good example but his descendants did not follow it.
It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1). Hosea 12:2 says that the LORD will punish Jacob according to his ways. Examples from Jacob’s life immediately follow in 12:3. It is reasonable to assume that these are examples of behavior or character traits that deserve punishment. Most versions and commentaries support this interpretation.A number of versions make interpretation (1) explicit, especially in 12:3. See the comments on that verse for examples. No versions make interpretation (2) explicit. Commentaries that favor interpretation (1) include Davies, Hubbard, Dearman, Garrett, Macintosh, and McComiskey. Some who favor interpretation (2) are Stuart, Keil, and Wood. For more details, see the following notes on these verses.
Notice the parallel parts that are similar in meaning:
2a The Lord also brings a charge against Judah.
2b He will punish Jacob according to his ways
2cand repay him according to his deeds.
There is an ellipsis in the third line. In some languages, it may be necessary to supply the missing words from the second line. For example:
2cand He will repay him according to his deeds
In these lines, Hosea tells the descendants of Jacob that the LORD will punish them. The first line is a general statement. The second and third lines give more detail. He includes the people of Judah and the people of Israel. He will punish them fairly, just as they deserve.
The LORD also brings a charge against Judah.
¶ Yahweh has a complaint/quarrel against the people of Judah,
¶ Yahweh accuses Judah of wickedness.
The LORD also brings a charge against Judah: Here Judah is parallel with “Jacob” in line 2b. This line is a figure of speech (synecdoche) in which Judah refers to all the descendants of Jacob. So the charge against the southern kingdom of Judah is also a charge against the northern kingdom of Israel.Stuart (page 190) suggests that this is an example of ascending parallelism in which a smaller subset of the whole (i.e. Judah) comes first in order. Although Judah is mentioned first, the charge is against the whole people. Others that agree both kingdoms are in view are Keil, Dearman, McComiskey, Hubbard, and Wood.
charge: The Hebrew word means “to fight with words,” as in a quarrel or a legal case. The same word is used in Hosea 4:1, where the BSB translates it as “case.” In both verses, some English versions use an expression that refers to an actual trial.Some who understand it as legal terminology describing a court case are Hubbard (page 202), McComiskey (page 200), Dearman (pages 299–302), and Stuart (page 190). For example:
The Lord also has a covenant lawsuit against Judah (NET)
But this verse may refer to an informal accusation. If possible, use a general expression that could be understood as either a formal or an informal accusation.Some who say that it may not describe a lawsuit or court case are Garrett (page 236) and Davies (page 272). For example:
The Lord has an accusation to bring against the people of Judah (GNT)
He will punish Jacob according to his ways
and he will punish Jacob for the evil he has done.
He will fairly judge all the descendants of Jacob for their crimes.
He will punish Jacob according to his ways: This clause means that the LORD will punish Jacob fairly. The expression punish…according to his ways indicates the degree or extent of punishment. The punishment will be exactly what people deserve. It will not be too much or too little. The expression his ways refers to his sinful conduct. Here are some other ways to translate this expression:
he will punish Jacob as his conduct merits (NJB)
He is about to punish Jacob for all his deceitful ways (NLT)
punishes Jacob because of the way their people act (GW)
Jacob: Jacob is the ancestor of the people of Israel and Judah. But here Jacob is a figure of speech (metonymy) in which the name represents all his descendants. Some versions make this meaning explicit. For example:
the descendants of Jacob (CEV)
and repay him according to his deeds.
He will give back to him exactly what he deserves.
He will pay them back based on what their deeds deserve.
and repay him according to his deeds: The meaning of this line is very similar to 2b. The Hebrew word for repay means “to give back.”HALOT (electronic edition, page 1432) 4b. Here the word deeds refers to wicked actions.Hubbard (page 202). This line describes the LORD’s punishment of the people of Israel. As in the previous line, the expression according to his deeds means that the extent of the LORD’s punishment will be exactly what the descendants of Jacob deserve. Here are some other ways to translate this line:
he will give them what they deserve (NCV)
he will repay him as his deeds deserve (NJB)
Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor
(Occurrence 0) Yahweh also has a lawsuit against Judah
(Some words not found in UHB: ʼEfrayim feeds_on wind and,[he_is]_pursuing east_wind all/each/any/every the=day lies and,violence multiplies and,a_covenant with ʼAshshūr makes and,oil to,Egypt Jubal )
Yahweh stating that the people of Judah have sinned against him and broken his covenant is spoken of as if Yahweh were accusing them in court. See how you translated a similar phrase in [Hosea 4:1](../04/01.md).
(Occurrence 0) lawsuit
(Some words not found in UHB: ʼEfrayim feeds_on wind and,[he_is]_pursuing east_wind all/each/any/every the=day lies and,violence multiplies and,a_covenant with ʼAshshūr makes and,oil to,Egypt Jubal )
This is a complaint by one person against another person in a court of law. See how you translated this in [Hosea 2:2](../02/02.md).
OET (OET-LV) [fn] ʼEfrayim is_feeding wind and_he_is_pursuing an_east_wind all_of the_day falsehood and_violence he_increases and_a_covenant with ʼAshshūr they_are_making and_oil to_Miʦrayim it_is_carried.
12:2 Note: KJB: Hos.12.1
OET (OET-RV) ⇔ Yahweh also has a dispute with Yehudah,
⇔ and will punish Yakov for what they’ve done.
⇔ He will repay them according to how they behaved.
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.
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