OET interlinear HOS 4:3

4:3a

Therefore: In Hebrew, this phrase introduces the result of something that was said previously. The meaning here is that because of all the sins mentioned in 4:1–2, the land mourns.

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

And so (GNT)

This is why (NJB)

Therefore (NASB)

the land mourns: There are two ways to interpret this clause:

1. The land of Israel is undergoing drought. The word land is literal and refers to the land of Israel. The word “mourn” is figurative and refers to drought. For example:

   And so the land will dry up (GNT) (CEV, GNT, GW, NCV, NJPS, REB)

2. The people of Israel are mourning. The word land is figurative and refers to the people living in the land of Israel. The word “mourn” is literal and refers to people mourning. For example:

   This is why the country is in mourningHere the term “country is in mourning” is assumed to refer to the people of the country. (NJB) (NJB)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1) along with most versions. It better fits the following context that describes animals dying. Drought is a logical cause of their death.

The Hebrew form of the verb “mourn” (the imperfect) can indicate either present or future. So there are two ways to interpret this verse:

1. It refers to the future. This is an announcement of future judgment. The imperfect tense indicates that the mourning had not yet begun. For example:

   And so the land will dry up (GNT) (GNT, NET, REB)

2. It refers to the present. The imperfect tense indicates that the mourning was already occurring at that time. For example:

   Therefore the land mourns (NRSV) (BSB, GW, NCV, NIV, NJB,The NJB translates “mourns” as present tense but translates the final verb in the sentence as future, “the fish in the sea will disappear.” NLT, NRSV)

The majority of versions use present tense here. However, interpretation (1) is recommended. This interpretation is supported by the occurrence of the same pattern elsewhere.For example, in Amos 3:2 as well as here, the word “therefore” is followed by an imperfect tense verb. In the Amos passage it is clear that the reference is to future judgment. Wood (page 184) supports a present judgment. Davies (page 116–117), McComiskey (page 58), Andersen and Freedman (page 340), and Macintosh (page 132–133) support the idea of a future judgment, though Andersen and Freedman do not exclude the idea of an actual drought.

In some languages, the verbs have either past or nonpast tense. Nonpast verbs refer to either present or future, as in Hebrew. If that is true in your language, a nonpast verb would be appropriate here.

4:3b

and all who dwell in it will waste away: In Hebrew, a preposition that is attached to each group of animals in 4:3c indicates that all the animals will waste away along with the people.Van der Merwe (Biblical Hebrew Reference Grammar, 39.6 3iii beth comitantiae) and Waltke and O’Connor (Introduction to Biblical Hebrew Syntax. “The Subordination of Nouns to the Verb by means of Prepositions,” page 119). English versions make this clear in different ways:

• Use a word or phrase such as “with,” “together with,” or “even.” The BSB and others do this. For example:

  all who live in it languish; together with the wild animals… (NRSV)

  …everyone is wasting away. Even the wild animals…are disappearing. (NLT)

• Use the same word, such as “die” for both people and animals. For example:

  …everything that lives on it will die. All the animals…will die. (GNT)

• Combine the terms in 4:3b–c. For example:

  Every living creature is dying—people and wild animals, birds and fish. (CEV)

Use a natural way in your language to make it clear that both people and animals are included in this judgment.

waste away: Versions translate this term in two main ways:

• To become weak and exhausted. This is the literal meaning of the term. For example:

  will languish (REB)

• To die. This Hebrew term probably refers to weakness that results in death.TWOT (#140) and Macintosh (page 133). Some versions make this result explicit. For example:

  will die (GNT)

Either option is acceptable.

4:3c

with the beasts of the field and the birds of the air; even the fish of the sea disappear: These three types of animals, beasts, birds, and fish, are listed together to emphasize the animals that live in the three large regions of the earth—the land, the air, and the water.Andersen and Freedman (pages 340–341). This list of three types of animals is probably a figure of speech (synecdoche) that represents all animals.

the beasts of the field: This phrase usually refers to untamed animals. However, in this context, it may refer to all animals that live on the land.

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

wild animals (NJB)

animals (GNT)

the birds of the air: As in 2:18a the phrase of the air may be redundant. So some English versions leave the words of the air implied. For example:

birds (GW)

the fish of the sea: In Hebrew, a word that some versions translate as “even” precedes the phrase fish of the sea. This word emphasizes the great extent of the drought. It will be so severe that even bodies of water will dry up. As a result, the fish in them will die. Some versions do not include this emphasis. Others do include it. For example:

even the fish in the sea will perish. (NET)

It is recommended that you include this emphasis in your translation.

The Hebrew word translated as sea sometimes refers to the Mediterranean Sea, which forms the western boundary of the land of Israel. However, it can also refer to rivers and lakes as well as the sea. Here it probably means that the drought will affect the fish that live in the rivers and lakes within the land of Israel.Macintosh (page 133).

In English, the words of the sea are redundant, because the word fish implies this idea. So some English versions leave the words of the sea implied. For example:

fish (CEV)

disappear: In Hebrew, the word that the BSB translates as disappear can mean to perish or be removed.BART interlinear.

Here is another way to translate it:

and the fish of the sea are dying (NIV)

In this verse, “to die” or disappear are different ways of saying the same thing. The way in which the animals disappear is through death. Use a natural expression in your language to translate the idea of death in this context.