HOS 8:3 Interlinear View

8:3 OSHB note: We agree with both BHS 1997 and BHQ on an unexpected reading.

SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 8:1–14: The Israelites will be punished for rejecting the LORD

In this section, the LORD warned the nation of Israel that enemies were ready to attack them, because they had rejected him and broken their agreement to obey his laws (8:1–3). They disobeyed him by choosing their own leaders (8:4a–b) and making idols (8:4c–6). Their alliance with Assyria failed, and they became weak agriculturally and also politically as a nation. Verse 8:10 predicts their future punishment as slaves in Assyria (8:7–10). The LORD did not accept the sacrifices they offered to him, because they continued to sin, so their cities faced total destruction (11–14).The TN analysis of this section follows the paragraph divisions used in a majority of English versions. The summary combines ideas from McComiskey (page 118), Davies (page 193), and Stuart (pages 126–127).

Here are some other examples of section headings:

The Lord Will Punish Israel for Its Rebellion (GW)

The LORD warned Israel that enemies would attack them

Warning that Israel will be Punished

Throughout this section, the LORD is the speaker. He referred to himself using first person pronouns (“I/me/my”) except for verse 13b–d, which has “he.” In this section, the Hebrew text almost always uses “they” or “he/it” to refer to the people or nation of Israel. The only exceptions are 8:1 and 8:5, which use the pronoun “your.” The CEV uses “you/your” consistently to refer to Israel. Most other versions use third person pronouns. The Display will follow the BSB pronoun choice in the first meaning line. It will often use “you/your” in the second meaning line.

Paragraph 8:1–3 and 8:4–6

TN will divide these verses into 8:1–3 and 8:4–6 along with many English versions. In the first paragraph, the LORD warns Israel that they will be punished, because they had rejected his covenant. In the second paragraph, he specifies two ways that Israel had rejected him. In other versions the first paragraph in this chapter is 8:1–6. You should follow a paragraph structure that is natural in your language.

8:3a

But Israel has rejected good;

But it is not true! The people of Israel have rejected what is good,
Yet you^(plur) have turned away from my good teachings and the good agreement/covenant that I made with you.

This verse repeats part of the warning given in Deut. 28:15–68. If the people disobey the LORD, he will cause them to be defeated by their enemies.McComiskey (page 121).

But: This word is not in the Hebrew text. The BSB and some other versions add it to make explicit the contrast between what the people said (8:2) and what the people did (8:3a).

Israel has rejected good: This clause probably refers back to 8:1. That verse says that the people had broken the covenant of the LORD and rebelled against his law. So here the word good probably refers specifically to his covenant and his law.McComiskey (page 121) says that the “good” includes fertile fields and national security and prosperity. Macintosh (page 295) agrees that such blessings are “attendant” on keeping the covenant. Most other commentaries define rejection of what is good as rejection of God’s covenant with his people. In other words, they have turned their backs on “knowing and serving God” (Wood, page 201) and their “basic relationship with God” (Kidner, page 76). See also Anderson and Freedman, Hubbard, and Carson. HALOT (electronic ed., page 371) defines “good” more broadly as “moral good.” The CEV makes this meaning explicit:

But your enemies will chase you for rejecting our good agreement. (CEV)

It also refers to the blessings that the LORD gave to people who kept them.Macintosh (page 296), Hubbard (page 145). Those blessings included fertile fields and a secure and prosperous nation.McComiskey (page 121). When the people rejected the covenant, they also caused those good blessings to be taken away.

8:3b

an enemy will pursue him.

so an enemy is coming to pursue them.
Because of this an enemy will chase you^(plur).

an enemy will pursue him: This clause gives the result of Israel rejecting what is good. Israel’s enemy will pursue them. Some versions make explicit that this is a result. For example:

They have rejected what is good. Because of this their enemies will pursue them. (GNT)

The word pursue implies here that Israel’s enemies will defeat them in battle. They will chase the survivors to capture or kill them or plunder their possessions.Stuart (page 131) comments that the enemy’s pursuit of Israel indicates that Israel is on the losing side. Macintosh (page 297) says that “pursue” indicates that Israel is a defeated foe that is “put to flight.”

Some versions, such as the GNT quoted above, use the pronoun “them” instead of him to refer to Israel. Use whatever is natural in your language to refer to a nation or the people of a nation.

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

8:3 OSHB note: We agree with both BHS 1997 and BHQ on an unexpected reading.

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 8:3

Hebrew word order

Section 8:1–14: The Israelites will be punished for rejecting the LORD

Paragraph 8:1–3 and 8:4–6

8:3a

8:3b

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