HOS 11:5 Parallel Verse View

Note: This view shows ‘verses’ which are not natural language units and hence sometimes only part of a sentence will be visible—click on any Bible version abbreviation down the left-hand side to see the verse in more of its context. Normally the OET discourages the reading of individual ‘verses’, but this view is only designed as a tool for doing comparisons of different translations—the older translations are further down the page (so you can read up from the bottom to trace the English translation history). The OET segments on this page are still very early looks into the unfinished texts of the Open English Translation of the Bible—please double-check these texts in advance before using in public.

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

Key: khaki:verbs, red:negative.
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 Κατῴκησεν Ἐφραὶμ ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ, καὶ Ἀσσοὺρ αὐτὸς βασιλεὺς αὐτοῦ· ὅτι οὐκ ἠθέλησεν ἐπιστρέψαι,
(Katōkaʸsen Efraim en Aiguptōi, kai Assour autos basileus autou; hoti ouk aʸthelaʸsen epistrepsai, )

BrTr Ephraim dwelt in Egypt; and as for the Assyrian, he was his king, because he would not return.

ULT They will not return to the land of Egypt;
⇔ but Assyria--he will be their king,
⇔ because they refused to return to me.

UST But Israel will certainly return to Egypt,
⇔ and Assyria will certainly rule over them,
⇔ because they refused to turn back to me and worship me as their God.

OEB ⇔ No! They return to the land of Egypt,
⇔ Assyria will be their king,
⇔ for they have refused to return to me.

WEBBE ⇔ “They won’t return into the land of Egypt;
⇔ but the Assyrian will be their king,
⇔ because they refused to repent.

WMBB (Same as above)

MSG ^(1-9)“When Israel was only a child, I loved him.
  I called out, ‘My son!’—called him out of Egypt.
But when others called him,
  he ran off and left me.
He worshiped the popular sex gods,
  he played at religion with toy gods.
Still, I stuck with him. I led Ephraim.
  I rescued him from human bondage,
But he never acknowledged my help,
  never admitted that I was the one pulling his wagon,
That I lifted him, like a baby, to my cheek,
  that I bent down to feed him.
Now he wants to go back to Egypt or go over to Assyria—
  anything but return to me!
That’s why his cities are unsafe—the murder rate skyrockets
  and every plan to improve things falls to pieces.
My people are hell-bent on leaving me.
  They pray to god Baal for help.
  He doesn’t lift a finger to help them.
But how can I give up on you, Ephraim?
  How can I turn you loose, Israel?
How can I leave you to be ruined like Admah,
  devastated like luckless Zeboim?
I can’t bear to even think such thoughts.
  My insides churn in protest.
And so I’m not going to act on my anger.
  I’m not going to destroy Ephraim.
And why? Because I am God and not a human.
  I’m The Holy One and I’m here—in your very midst.

NET They will return to Egypt!
⇔ Assyria will rule over them
⇔ because they refuse to repent!

LSV He does not return to the land of Egypt,
And Asshur—he [is] his king,
For they have refused to return.

FBV However, because my people refuse to return to me, they will not return to the land of Egypt[fn] but Assyria shall be their king.

11:5 Even though they are not taken into captivity to Egypt, they are still led away in bondage—this time to Assyria.

T4T ⇔ But the people of Israel will become slaves again,
⇔ like they were in Egypt,
⇔ and the people of Assyria will [RHQ] rule over them,
⇔ because the people of Israel refused to repent.

LEB • He will return[fn] to the land of Egypt, and Assyria will be his king,[fn]
• because they refused to return.

11:? Or “They will not return”

11:? That is “Israel’s king”

BBE He will go back to the land of Egypt and the Assyrian will be his king, because they would not come back to me.

Moff They must go back tot eh land of Egypt,
⇔ or Assyria must be their king;

JPS He shall not return into the land of Egypt, but the Assyrian shall be his king, because they refused to return.

ASV They shall not return into the land of Egypt; but the Assyrian shall be their king, because they refused to return to me.

DRA He shall not return into the land of Egypt, but the Assyrian shall be his king: because they would not be converted.

YLT He turneth not back unto the land of Egypt, And Asshur — he [is] his king, For they have refused to return.

Drby He shall not return into the land of Egypt, but the Assyrian shall be his king; for they refused to return [to me];

RV He shall not return into the land of Egypt; but the Assyrian shall be his king, because they refused to return.

SLT He shall not turn back to the land of Egypt, and Assur shall be his king, for they refused to turn back.

Wbstr He shall not return into the land of Egypt, but the Assyrian shall be his king, because they refused to return.

KJB-1769 ¶ He shall not return into the land of Egypt, but the Assyrian shall be his king, because they refused to return.

KJB-1611 ¶ He shall not returne into the land of Egypt; but the Assyrian shall be his king, because they refused to returne
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from punctuation)

Bshps He shall no more returne into Egypt, but Asshur shalbe his king, because he refused to conuert.
(He shall no more return into Egypt, but Asshur shall be his king, because he refused to convert.)

Gnva He shall no more returne into the lande of Egypt: but Asshur shalbe his King, because they refused to conuert.
(He shall no more return into the land of Egypt: but Asshur shall be his King, because they refused to convert. )

Cvdl yt they shulde not go agayne in to Egipte: And now is Assur their kinge: For they wolde not turne vnto me.
(it they should not go again in to Egypt: And now is Assur their king: For they would not turn unto me.)

Wycl He schal not turne ayen in to the lond of Egipt. And Assur, he schal be kyng of hym, for thei nolden turne.
(He shall not turn again in to the land of Egypt. And Assur, he shall be king of him, for they wouldn’t turn.)

Luth daß er sich ja nicht wieder sollte nach Ägyptenland kehren. So ist nun Assur ihr König worden; denn sie wollen sich nicht bekehren.
(that he itself/yourself/themselves ya not again should after country_of_Egypt sweep/bother. So is now Assur you(pl)/their/her king been; because/than they/she/them want itself/yourself/themselves not convert.)

ClVg Non revertetur in terram Ægypti, et Assur ipse rex ejus, quoniam noluerunt converti.
(Not/No will_return in/into/on the_earth/land of_Egypt, and Assur exactly_that/himself king his, since/because they_didn't_want converti. )

SOTN SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 11:1–11 The LORD’s love for his people

This section refers back to Israel’s history, as do Section 9:10–17 and Section 10:1–8. In all three sections, the LORD describes the joyful beginning of his relationship with the people of Israel and their response of betrayal against him. The earlier sections focus more on the LORD’s punishment. The people will be taken into exile. This section focuses more on his love.

The LORD speaks of his love for Israel in the past (11:1–4), warns them of their future exile and destruction (11:5–7), and assures them that in the future he will turn from his anger and show them compassion. Because of his love for them, he promises that he will bring the people back to the land of Israel (11:8–11).

Here are some other examples of section headings:

The Lord’s Love for Israel (ESV)

Israel Is Like a Bad Son (GW)

Throughout this section, the LORD is the speaker. When he refers to himself, he uses first person pronouns (“I/me/my”) except for verse 10, which has “Yahweh” and “he.” When he refers to the people or nation of Israel, he uses “Ephraim,” “they/them,” or “he/it.” The only exceptions are in 11:8–9. There the LORD uses the pronoun “you(sg)” to speak directly to Ephraim and to Judah.

Paragraph 11:5–7

In this paragraph, the LORD warns that Assyria will take the people of Israel into exile, because they continue to turn away from him.

11:5a–b

Notice the parallel parts that are similar in meaning:

^5a Will they not return to the land Egypt

^5band be ruled by Assyria

In Hebrew, these lines are more literally “not he will return to the land of Egypt and Assyria it [will be] his king.” The interpretation of these lines depends on the function of the Hebrew word “not.” This word has two main functions here:

The word “not” introduces either a rhetorical question that implies a “yes” answer or a positive statement.This is one way to arrive at this interpretation. Three alternative ways are: (1) Follow the LXX, which apparently regarded the Hebrew word lô to be the Hebrew word for “to-him” at the end of 11:4, rather than the word “not” at the start of 11:5. See Davis (page 258). (2) Regard the lô to function as emphasis (“surely”). See Andersen and Freedman (page 584). (3) Regard the lô to function as an exclamation (“No!”). See NJPS. The BSB above translates it as a rhetorical question. An example of a positive statement is the NET:
“They will return to Egypt! Assyria will rule over them because they refuse to repent! (NET) (BSB, GNT, NIV, NCV, NET, NJPS, NLT, NRSV, REBThe GNT, NCV, NET, NJPS, NLT, NRSV, and REB all translate this interpretation as a positive statement instead of a rhetorical question.)
The word “not” introduces a negative statement. For example:
“They will not return to Egypt. Instead, Assyria will rule them because they have refused to return to me. (GW) (ESV, GW, KJV, NASB, NJB)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1) along with a majority of versions.The LXX “dwelt Ephraim in Egypt” seems to support interpretation (1). Wood, Davies and Stuart also support this interpretation. It is similar to statements about the people returning to Egypt in 8:13 and 9:3.

11:5a

Will they not return to the land of Egypt

¶ “Will they not become slaves again, just as they were in Egypt?
¶ “It will be as if they return to slavery in Egypt.

Will they not return to the land of Egypt: This clause is the first line of the rhetorical question. The expected answer to this question is “Yes, they will return to Egypt.” This line is a figure of speech in which Egypt represents slavery. It means that the people will return to slavery. This slavery will be similar to their slavery in Egypt in Israel’s past. Also see the note “They will return to Egypt” under 8:13e.

Most versions translate this rhetorical question as a statement. For example:

They shall return to the land of Egypt (NRSV)

Translate this clause in a natural way in your language.

11:5b

and be ruled by Assyria

And will not the Assyrians take them captive and rule over them? Indeed, they will do so!
But this time Assyria will be the nation to rule them.

and be ruled by Assyria: This clause is literally “and Assyria it [will be] his king.” It means that the people of Israel will become slaves in the nation of Assyria. They will no longer rule themselves.

In Hebrew, the word Assyria is emphasized here.The Hebrew clause has the independent pronoun “it”: “and Assyria it [will be] his king.” For example:

and it is Assyria, no one else, that will be his king

If possible, indicate this emphasis in a natural way in your language.

A king is normally a person, not a nation. For that reason, it may not be natural in some languages to say that Assyria will be their king.

Here are some other ways to say this:

and will not those from Assyria be the ones to rule over them

and it will be the Assyrians whom they must serve

11:5c

because they refused to repent?

This will happen because they refuse to turn away from their sins.
Why? Because they refuse to turn away from their sins and return to me.

because they refused to repent?: There are two interpretations of the relationship of this line to those that come before and after it:

This line relates to the two lines that precede it. It gives the reason that the people will become slaves in Assyria. It is because they refuse to repent. For example:
The Israelites will become captives again, as they were in Egypt, and Assyria will become their king, because they refuse to turn back to God. (NCV) (BSB, GNT, NIV, NCV, NET, NLT, NRSV, REB)
This line relates to the lines that follow it in 11:6. It gives the reason that the sword will flash in their cities and cause destruction. It is because they refuse to repent. For example:
They return to the land of Egypt, and Assyria is their king. Because they refuse to repent, 6 a sword shall descend upon their towns… (NJPS) (NAB, NJB, NJPS)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1) along with a majority of versions and commentaries. It is supported by both the Masoretic Text and the early versions.

repent: In Hebrew, this word is literally to “turn” or “return.” The same Hebrew word is used in 11:5a, where it refers to the people’s return to Egypt. Hosea probably used the same word here as a wordplay. The wordplay draws attention to the reason that the people will return to slavery. It is because they refuse to return to the LORD.See Dearman (pages 285–286), Garrett (pages 225–226), Macintosh (page 452) and Davies (page 258).

In some languages, it is possible to translate the wordplay directly by using the same word in 5a and 5c, as in Hebrew. For example:

They shall return to the land of Egypt, and Assyria shall be their king, because they have refused to return to me. (NRSV)

In some languages, it may not be possible to use the same word in both places. Translate this line in a natural way in your language.