HOS 7:1 Interlinear View

SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 6:4–7:16: The people persisted in their sins

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)

Paragraph 6:7–7:2

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.

7:1a

When I heal Israel,

when I want to restore Israel’s health and strength,
I want to heal their relationship with me, but

When I heal Israel: For the phrase When I, see the note on the parallel phrase in 6:11b. The phrase I heal Israel is a metaphor. It refers to the LORD’s desire to restore Israel’s relationship with him and restore their prosperity as a nation. It is implied from 7:1b–c that the LORD is unable to fulfill this desire due to the wickedness of the people.

Here are some ways to make explicit the idea of unfulfilled desire:

whenever I want to heal Israel… (NET)

at the same time as I desire to heal Israel…

General Comment on 6:11b–7:1a

In some languages, it may be more natural to reorder and/or combine the parallel parts. For example:

Whenever I want to heal my people Israel and make them prosperous again, (GNT)

I, the Lord, would like to make my nation prosperous again and to heal its wounds. (CEV)

See the following notes on 7:1b–c for more details on how these two versions express the connection with the following verse parts.

7:1b–c

(combined/reordered)

that is when I see the wickedness throughout the land of Israel.

Notice the parallel parts that are similar in meaning:

^1b the iniquity of Ephraim will be exposed

^1cas well as the crimes of Samaria.

There is an ellipsis in 7:1c. In some languages, it may be necessary to supply the missing verb from 7:1b. For example:

^1c the crimes of Samaria will also be exposed.

Following the recommended interpretation, these lines conclude the sentence that starts in 6:11b. They express the reason that God’s desire to bless and heal Israel is not fulfilled. It is because the sins of the people are clearly seen.

the iniquity…the crimes: In Hebrew, the word iniquity is a general word for sin and guilt. The word crimes is literally “evils.” It refers to actions that are against God’s will, such as dishonest or immoral behavior. In this context, these parallel words are used for poetic effect. These words draw attention to the people’s disobedience of God’s laws and the harm the people cause.

Here are some other ways to translate these words:

the corruption…the wicked deeds (NRSV)

the guilt…the wickedness (REB)

their wickedness…the evil they do (GNT)

Ephraim…Samaria: Ephraim, the main tribe of Israel, is used as a figure of speech to represent the entire nation of Israel. Samaria, the capital of Israel, is also a figure of speech that represents all the people of the nation. Since both names refer to Israel, some versions make only the name “Israel” explicit. For example:

Whenever I want to heal my people Israel and make them prosperous again, all I can see is their wickedness and the evil they do. (GNT)

7:1b

the iniquity of Ephraim will be exposed,

that is when the sin/guilt of the people of Ephraim becomes known
I cannot do it, because I can clearly see their evil way of life throughout Israel
the guilt of the people of Israel is obvious,

will be exposed: The Hebrew word that the BSB translates as exposed is a form of the same word that describes exposing the lewdness of Gomer in 2:10a. It means to be uncovered or exposed.

This is a passive clause. In some languages, it may be necessary to use an active verb and to make the agent explicit. Probably the agent here is the sins themselves. Sinful actions show themselves through their own harmful results. For example:

When I would heal Israel,

The guilt of Ephraim reveals itself (NJPS)

Another way to translate this idea using active verbs is to express who sees the sins instead of expressing what agent exposed them. For example:

Whenever I want to heal Israel, all I can see is Ephraim’s sin and Samaria’s wickedness. (GW)

General Comment on 7:1b–c

In some languages, it may be more natural to reorder and/or combine the parallel parts. For example, the CEV combines “sins” with “crimes”:

but then I see the crimes in Israel and Samaria. (CEV)

General Comment on 6:11b–7:1c

In some languages, it may be more natural to combine and/or reorder some of the parts in these clauses. It may also be more natural to express the relationships between the parts in a different way. For example:

Although I long to heal my people and make them prosperous again, I cannot. That is because their sins and evil deeds are so obvious.

I want to restore the prosperity of my people. I want to heal Israel. But then I see before me the corruption of Ephraim and the wickedness of Samaria. It is too much!

7:1c

as well as the crimes of Samaria.

and the crimes of Samaria can be clearly seen.
and in their capital city of Samaria.
and the wicked things that the people of Samaria do, clearly show that they strongly desire to continue sinning.

7:1d–f

These verse parts further explain the statements in 7:1b–c by giving examples of the sins that are clearly seen. In Hebrew and in some English versions, these examples are introduced with a conjunction as in the BSB.

Many versions do not have a conjunction here. Instead they let the context imply the relationship of these verse parts to the previous clauses. For example:

People cheat each other. (GW)

Use a natural way in your language to introduce explanatory examples.

7:1d

For they practice deceit

For the people deceive each other.
Yes, people tell lies and cheat one another.

they practice deceit: In Hebrew, this clause is literally “they do [a] falsehood/lie.” It refers to words and actions that are false. It includes telling lies, giving false testimony in court, and cheating, or deceiving others.TWOT (#2461), NIDOTTE (#9214), and Keil (page 104).

Here are some other ways to translate this clause:

they deceive one another

People cheat each other. (GW)

7:1e–f

combined/reordered

Groups of thieves rob people everywhere and even murder them.

Notice the parallel parts that are similar in meaning:

^1eand thieves break in;

^1f bandits raid in the streets.

The contrasting locations, inside and outside, are probably a figure of speech (merism). This figure of speech uses the contrast of inside and outside to mean “everywhere.” It means that people commit these crimes everywhere in the nation of Israel.Stuart (page 118). Some versions make the contrast more explicit. For example:

Thieves are on the inside and bandits on the outside! (NLT)

thieves…bandits: In Hebrew, the word that the BSB translates here as bandits describes a group of robbers who steal from people and often murder them. It is a different form of the same word that the BSB translates as “raiders” in 6:9a.

Here are some other ways to translate these words:

Thieves…robbers (NCV)

break in…raid in the streets: The Hebrew word that the BSB translates as break in is literally “enters.” The idea of breaking into houses to steal from people is implied in the context.

The Hebrew word that the BSB translates as raid in the streets is literally “attacks…outside.” The word “attacks” means to assault or even murder someone and take their clothing and possessions.HALOT (#7788, sense #2) and Andersen and Freedman (page 445).

7:1e

and thieves break in;

They enter houses to steal,
Inside people’s houses thieves steal.

7:1f

bandits raid in the streets.

and they rob people in the streets.
Outside in the streets, gangs of robbers attack.

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 7:1

Hebrew word order