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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 6 V1 V2 V3 V4 V5 V6 V7 V8 V10 V11
OET (OET-LV) And_as_wait a_person marauding_bands an_association_of priests the_way they_murder to_Shəkem if/because wickedness they_have_done.
OET (OET-RV) Just like a band of raiders lie in wait for a man,
⇔ so the priests band together to commit murder on the way to Shekem.
⇔ Surely they’ve committed shameful crimes.
In this section, the LORD again spoke to the people of Israel and Judah. In contrast to the people’s future repentance (6:1–3), he gave examples of their current disloyalty and corruption, including their reliance on other nations instead of him. They continued to commit sins, and they refused to seek him. He announced that he would judge them, and he illustrated his coming judgment in various ways.
In this section, the Hebrew text sometimes uses second person pronouns (“you”) and sometimes third person pronouns (“they” or “he”) to refer to the people of Israel. The BSB follows the Hebrew pronoun usage. It uses “they” in 6:5–10, “you” in 6:4 & 11, and “they” or “he” in 7:1–16. Throughout these verses the LORD is the speaker, and he either addresses the people directly or speaks about them.
English versions all use “you” in 6:11 and “they” in chapter 7, but they differ in the way they use the pronouns in 6:5–10. You should use the most natural and least confusing way in your language to handle the pronouns in 6:5–10. In 6:7–10, the Display will follow the BSB pronoun choice in the first meaning line and give another pronoun choice in the second meaning line. See the note on “you” in 2:16b–c, where the pronoun changes are similar.
Here are some other examples of section headings:
Transitory Faithfulness and Imminent Judgment (NET)
Impenitence of Israel and Judah (NRSV)
In this paragraph, the LORD gave examples of how the people of Israel had failed to know him and had failed to show love to him and others.
This verse gives an example of the wicked behavior of the priests. Groups of priests murdered people who were traveling to a place of worship.
Like raiders who lie in ambush, so does a band of priests;
Like robbers who ambush their victims, bands/groups of priests do the same.
You(plur) priests are like gangs of thieves who wait in a hiding place to ambush others.
Like raiders who lie in ambush, so does a band of priests: This verse part is a simile. It compares the actions of groups of priests to the actions of raiders who ambush and kill their victims.
Here are some other ways to translate this simile:
The priests are like gangs of robbers who lie in ambush for a person. (GW)
The priests are like robbers waiting to attack people (NCV)
raiders: In Hebrew, this word refers to groups of robbers who stole from people and often murdered them.
a band of priests: In Hebrew, this phrase is literally “association of priests.” It refers to priests of Israel who gathered into groups to do evil things.
they murder on the way to Shechem; surely they have committed atrocities.
They commit murder on the road to Shechem. Their crimes are truly shameful.
You(plur) kill people on the road that leads/goes to Shechem. How terrible are the crimes you commit!
they murder: This phrase refers to the groups of priests who killed people deliberately. The form of the Hebrew verb indicates that they murdered people regularly or repeatedly.
on the way to Shechem: Shechem was located on an important road that many people used. The road led from Samaria, the capital of the northern kingdom of Israel, to Bethel, an important place of worship. The location of the murders was on this road, not within the city of Shechem.Scholars have different views regarding the significance of this particular location. Some versions (for example, the NCV) include a footnote indicating that the city of Shechem was one of the cities of refuge where people could go to be safe, if they had accidentally killed someone (see Joshua 20.1–9). However, it is not clear how or if that is connected to the murders. Several commentators suggest that Hosea 6:8–9 may be referring to Pekah's assassination of King Pekahiah spoken of in 2 Kings 15:25. That passage speaks of a group of 50 men from Gilead who participated in the assassination. For more discussion see IVP Bible Background Commentary: 6:8–9, Hubbard (page 129), and Macintosh (page 243). Another possibility is simply that this well-travelled road offered many victims for robbers.
surely they have committed atrocities: In Hebrew, this phrase is literally “they have done wickedness.” The word “wickedness” is a strong word for sin of various kinds. Try to express the severity of this evil in your translation. For example:
they commit a monstrous crime (NRSV)
their behaviour is an outrage (REB)
In Hebrew, this phrase begins with a word the word that the BSB translates as surely to give emphasis. Some versions leave this word implied.
Here are some other ways to translate it explicitly:
Certainly, they have committed a crime. (GW)
How terrible is the evil they have done!
In some languages, it may be more natural to reorder some of the parts within these two lines. For example:
Like so many robbers in ambush, a gang of priests commits murder on the road to Shechem—what infamous behavior!
The priests are like a gang of robbers who wait in ambush for someone. Even on the road to the holy place at Shechem they commit murder. And they do all this evil deliberately! (GNT)
(Occurrence 0) the priests band together to commit murder on the way to Shechem
(Some words not found in UHB: and,as,wait (a)_man robbers band_of priests road/way_of murder to,Shechem that/for/because/then/when monstrous_crime they_had_acquired )
We do not know what this refers to. Were priests actually guilty of attacking people on their way to Shechem, which was an important religious and political center? Or is the prophet saying that the priests have “killed” true knowledge and worship of Yahweh? It is best to translate this expression as plainly as possible.
6:9 Priests form bands of robbers: Hosea again condemns the religious leaders for their crimes (see 4:4-8).
OET (OET-LV) And_as_wait a_person marauding_bands an_association_of priests the_way they_murder to_Shəkem if/because wickedness they_have_done.
OET (OET-RV) Just like a band of raiders lie in wait for a man,
⇔ so the priests band together to commit murder on the way to Shekem.
⇔ Surely they’ve committed shameful crimes.
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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