HOS 10:4 Parallel Verse View

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Text critical issues=small word differences Clarity of original=clear Importance to us=normal (All still tentative.)

Key: khaki:verbs.
Note: Automatic aligning of the OET-RV to the LV is done by some temporary software, hence the OET-RV alignments are incomplete (and may occasionally be wrong).

BrLXX λαλῶν ῥήματα προφάσεις ψευδεῖς; διαθήσεται διαθήκην, ἀνατελεῖ ὡς ἄγρωστις κρίμα ἐπὶ χέρσον ἀγροῦ.
(lalōn ɽaʸmata profaseis pseudeis; diathaʸsetai diathaʸkaʸn, anatelei hōs agrōstis krima epi ⱪerson agrou. )

BrTr and what should a king do for us, speaking false professions as his words? he will make a covenant: judgment shall spring up as a weed on the soil of the field.

ULT They speak mere words,
⇔ they make covenants with worthless oaths.
⇔ So judgment springs up
⇔ like poisonous weeds in the furrows of a field.

UST The people of Israel make lying promises and false covenants;
⇔ and because their promises are not kept,
⇔ their sort of justice kills people, as poisonous weeds in a field would do.

OEB ⇔ Speaking words, perjuring themselves, making agreements,
⇔ and litigation springs up like a poisonous weed in a ploughed field.

WEBBE They make promises, swearing falsely in making covenants.
⇔ Therefore judgement springs up like poisonous weeds in the furrows of the field.

WMBB (Same as above)

NET They utter empty words,
⇔ taking false oaths and making empty agreements.
⇔ Therefore legal disputes sprout up
⇔ like poisonous weeds in the furrows of a plowed field.

LSV They have spoken words,
To swear falsehood in making a covenant,
And flourished as a poisonous herb has judgment, on the furrows of a field.

FBV They speak empty words, swearing false promises to make a covenant.[fn] Their “justice” flourishes like poisonous weeds in the furrows of a field.

10:4 The context is making false promises to God of agreements they do not intend to keep.

T4T They falsely promise that they will do many things;
⇔ they solemnly promise and make agreements,
⇔ but they do not do what they promise.
⇔ So people accuse and sue each other in the courts;
⇔ they are like [SIM] poisonous weeds that grow in a plowed field.

LEB • They utter words of vain oaths when making covenants ,[fn]
• and judgment blossoms like a poisonous plant
• on the furrows of the field.

10:? Literally “cutting covenant”

BBE Their words are foolish; they make agreements with false oaths, so punishment will come up like a poison-plant in a ploughed field.

Moff Empty words, perjuries, treaties, what do they yield?
⇔ Punishing judgment like poisonous weeds
⇔ in a furrowed field.

JPS They speak words, they swear falsely, they make covenants; thus judgment springeth up as hemlock in the furrows of the field.

ASV They speak vain words, swearing falsely in making covenants: therefore judgment springeth up as hemlock in the furrows of the field.

DRA You speak words of an unprofitable vision, and you shall make a covenant: and judgment shall spring up as bitterness in the furrows of the field.

YLT They have spoken words, To swear falsehood in making a covenant, And flourished as a poisonous herb hath judgment, on the furrows of a field.

Drby They speak [mere] words, swearing falsely in making a covenant; therefore shall judgment spring up as hemlock in the furrows of the fields.

RV They speak vain words, swearing falsely in making covenants: therefore judgment springeth up as hemlock in the furrows of the field.
(They speak vain words, swearing falsely in making covenants: therefore judgement springeth/springs up as hemlock in the furrows of the field. )

SLT They spake words swearing falsehood, cutting out a covenant: and judgment broke forth as the head upon the furrows of the field.

Wbstr They have spoken words, swearing falsely in making a covenant: thus judgment springeth up as hemlock in the furrows of the field.

KJB-1769 They have spoken words, swearing falsely in making a covenant: thus judgment springeth up as hemlock in the furrows of the field.
(They have spoken words, swearing falsely in making a covenant: thus judgement springeth/springs up as hemlock in the furrows of the field. )

KJB-1611 They haue spoken words, swearing falsely in making a couenant: thus iudgement springeth vp as hemlocke in the furrowes of the field.
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above)

Bshps They haue spoken wordes, swearyng falslye in makyng a couenaunt: thus iudgement groweth as wormewood in the furrowes of the fielde.
(They have spoken words, swearing falsely in making a covenant: thus judgement groweth as wormwood in the furrows of the field.)

Gnva They haue spoken woordes, swearing falsly in making a couenant: thus iudgement groweth as wormewoode in the furrowes of the fielde.
(They have spoken words, swearing falsely in making a covenant: thus judgement groweth as wormwood in the furrows of the field. )

Cvdl They comon together, and sweare vayne oothes: they be cofederate together, therfore groweth their punyshment, as the wedes in the forowes of the londe.
(They common together, and swear vain oaths: they be confederate together, therefore groweth their punishment, as the weeds in the furrows of the land.)

Wycl Speke ye wordis of vnprofitable visioun, and ye schulen smyte boond of pees with leesyng; and doom as bittirnesse schal burioune on the forewis of the feeld.
(Speak ye/you_all words of unprofitable vision, and ye/you_all should smite/strike bond of peace with falsehood; and judgement as bitterness shall burioune on the furrows of the field.)

Luth Sie schwuren vergeblich und machten einen Bund; und solcher Rat grünete auf allen Furchen im Felde wie Galle.
(They/She swore vain and make a federation/agreement; and such advice green on/in/to all/everyone furrows in_the field as/like bile.)

ClVg Loquimini verba visionis inutilis, et ferietis fœdus; et germinabit quasi amaritudo judicium super sulcos agri.
(Loquimini words vision useless, and ferietis covenant; and will_sprout as_if bitterness judgement over furrows fields. )

SOTN SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 10:1–8: Why Israel should be punished

In this section, Hosea gives examples of the sins of Israel. The examples show why it is fair for the LORD to judge them. This section has a similar pattern to section 9:10–17. Both sections give examples from agriculture to illustrate the joyful beginning of the relationship between the LORD and the people of Israel and their shocking response of betrayal against him. In this section, Hosea is the speaker.

Here are some other examples of section headings:

Retribution for Israel’s Sin (NASB)

The Lord’s judgment against Israel (NLT)

Hosea warns Israel that it will be punished

Paragraph 10:3–4

In this paragraph, Hosea describes the people’s response to the loss of their king.

10:4a

They speak mere words; with false oaths they make covenants.

They make promises that they do not keep. They tell lies and then swear that they are telling the truth. They make agreements/covenants that they do not plan to fulfill/keep.
They speak many words, but they do not mean what they say. Even when they make/swear an oath to keep their promises and their agreements, they break them.

They speak mere words; with false oaths they make covenants: There are two main ways to interpret the referent of the pronoun They:

They refers to the people of Israel. Versions that follow this interpretation describe the last phrase in terms of the “agreements” or covenants that they make mainly with each other. For example:
They utter empty words, taking false oaths and making empty agreements. (NET) (BSB, CEV, ESV, GW, NASB, NCV, NET, NIV, NJPS, NLT, NRSV)
They refers to the king/kings of Israel. Versions that follow this interpretation describe the last phrase in terms of the “treaties” or “alliances” that they make with other nations. For example:
They utter empty words and make false promises and useless treaties. (GNT) (GNT, NAB, REB)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1) along with most versions. However, a slight majority of commentaries favor interpretation (2).The plural word forms in 10:3–5 support the understanding that the pronoun “they” in v.4 refers to the people. Most English versions also end the quote of what the people say about the king at the end of 3b. But Hosea is the speaker throughout these verses, and Hosea could be referring to either people or kings in general. Commentaries that support interpretation (1) include McComiskey, Wood, and Hubbard. Commentaries that support (2) include Stuart, Macintosh, Keil, Lange, and possibly Dearman. See Dearman (pages 263–265) for discussion of both points of view and the ambiguities involved. Both the people of Israel and their kings break their promises and fail to keep their agreements, so if possible, translate in a way that will allow either interpretation. The meaning lines in the Display will follow this approach.

Hosea uses three phrases to describe the behavior of the people of Israel. These phrases are more literally “They speak words, swearing falsehood, making covenant[s].” The wording in some versions implies that there are three separate actions. It is not stated explicitly whether these actions are part of the same event. The wording in other versions implies one main action with further details in the next two phrases. These actions may or may not be part of the same event. For example:

They utter mere words; with empty oaths they make covenants (ESV)

You may arrange these phrases either way in your translation. There is no significant difference in meaning. The meaning lines in the Display will give an example of each.

They speak mere words: This is a Hebrew idiom. It means that the people do not intend to do what their words say.See McComiskey (page 164) and the NET footnote on “utter empty words.”

Here are some other ways to translate it:

They make many promises (NIV)

they utter empty words (NET)

with false oaths: In Hebrew, this phrase means that a person makes a very serious promise that he or she does not intend to keep.The oath in this context probably refers to any serious promise. Alternatively, some versions understand this phrase to refer specifically to an oath sworn as part of making a covenant. For example, the RSV has, “with empty oaths they make covenants.”

Here are some other ways to translate it:

make false promises (GNT)

they lie when they take oaths (GW)

they make covenants: In Hebrew, the word “covenant” refers to a formal agreement that has mutual obligations.Commentaries that favor limiting the referent to an international treaty are Stuart, Keil, Macintosh, and Andersen and Freedman. Commentaries that favor a wider application of the term that perhaps may include international treaties but also other kinds of agreements are: Dearman, Hubbard, Wood, McComiskey, and Davies.

Here are four things this word can refer to in different contexts:

Agreements that the people of Israel make with one another.
An agreement that a king makes with the people.
A treaty or alliance that Israel makes with another nation.
A covenant that God makes with a person or a nation.

In this context, it refers mainly to agreements that the people of Israel make with one another. This phrase implies that the people do not keep their agreements.

Here are some other ways to translate it:

making empty agreements (NET)

make covenants they don’t intend to keep (NLT)

10:4b

So judgment springs up like poisonous weeds in the furrows of a field.

Therefore/So their lack of justice keeps increasing like poisonous weeds that grow/sprout in a plowed field.
The unfair/unjust way people treat one another is like poisonous weeds that spread in the furrows of a farmer’s field.
Because of these things that they do, there are more and more unfair decisions in court. The situation is like harmful/poisonous weeds that grow where good crops should be.
Unfair/Harmful lawsuits and other court cases continually increase. They are like poisonous weeds that cover/overgrow people’s gardens.

So judgment springs up like poisonous weeds in the furrows of a field: This clause is a simile. It compares the increasing injustice (see below) and other bitter disputes to poisonous weeds.

This clause gives the consequence of the people’s many promises that they do not keep, their false oaths, and broken covenants. The consequence is injustice.Andersen and Freedman (page 554), McComiskey (page 164) and Keil (page 84). Some versions express this relationship with a specific word such as so or “therefore.” Other versions leave it implied. Translate the connection between 10:4a and 10:4b in a natural way in your language.

judgment: The Hebrew word for judgment here is literally “justice.” It has a broad range of meanings related to what is right and just, including laws, lawsuits, legal decisions, and judgment.TWOT (#2443c). Wood (page 208) says the term refers to lawsuits that arise due to denial of people’s legal rights. Macintosh (page 395) concludes that Rashi’s interpretation of justice” as “litigation” is the most likely. The BART interlinear suggests that the appropriate sense in BDB (page 1048b, sense 1.c) is “litigation before judges.” It also mentions HALOT sense 2, “probably dispute, case, litigation.” NIDOTTE (#5477) says that mišpat refers most frequently “to a judicial decision or verdict…as well as the execution of the sentence in punishment.” It can involve the government, the courts, and any legal transactions between people in general.According to Hubbard (page 173), justice involves regulating the rights of the citizens. McComiskey (page 165) says there was a lack of fairness in the “legal transactions of Hosea’s day.” He further comments that in the Prophets, “justice is not limited only to kings or other judicial officials…The prophets most frequently apply it to the people.”

In the context of “justice” growing “like poisonous weeds,” it is clear that “justice” should be understood in the sense of injustice or justice that has degenerated into decisions or transactions that are unfair.Pusey (page 100) calls it “injustice.” Dearman (page 265) refers to it as a “lack of justice.”

There are three ways to interpret this word in this context:

It refers to any kind of injustice. For example:
Justice has become injustice, growing like poisonous weeds in a plowed field. (GNT)
and so-called justice spreads like a poisonous weed along the furrows of the fields (NJB) (CEV, GNT, NJB, NJPS, NLT)
It refers more specifically to legal disputes, lawsuits, and other legal transactions. It implies that these legal transactions are unjust or harmful. For example:
and litigation spreads like a poisonous weed along the furrows of the fields (REB)
Therefore legal disputes sprout up like poisonous weeds in the furrows of a plowed field. (NET) (GW, NCV, NET, NIV, NRSV, REB)
It refers specifically to judgment, probably meaning a sentence of punishment.Hosea has many references to the LORD’s judgment of the nation of Israel. These references describe the many different ways he will punish the nation. For two examples of the identification of judgment with punishment, see the paragraph summary for 9:6–9 and the Section summary for 10:9–15. It implies that the judgment is unfair. For example:
so judgment springs up like poisonous weeds in the furrows of the field (ESV) (BSB, ESV, KJV, NASB, RSV)

It is recommended that you follow interpretations (1) or (2). Both these interpretations have good commentary support. The first interpretation is more general, so it may apply to more situations. The second interpretation is supported by more lexicons. If possible, choose terms in your language that will fit either interpretation. The Display will give two examples of each.

poisonous weeds: This phrase refers to a poisonous plant that grows in place of a desirable plant.

in the furrows of a field: The furrows of a field are shallow trenches or hollows that farmers dig in the places where they plant their crops.

In areas that are not familiar with plowed fields, here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

in a farmer’s field (NLT)

where good plants/crops should grow

in their gardens

Parallel HOS 10:4

Section 10:1–8: Why Israel should be punished

Paragraph 10:3–4

10:4a

10:4b