HOS 14:3 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=none Clarity of original=clear Importance to us=normal (All still tentative.)

OET (OET-RV) Assyria can’t save us.
⇔ We won’t ride on war-horses.
⇔ Nor will we say, ‘Our god,’ again to anything that we’ve made ourselves
⇔ because this fatherless nation finds compassion in you.”

Key: khaki:verbs, red:negative, blue:Elohim.
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 Λάβετε μεθʼ ἑαυτῶν λόγους, καὶ ἐπιστράφητε πρὸς Κύριον τὸν Θεὸν ὑμῶν· εἴπατε αὐτῷ, ὅπως μὴ λάβητε ἀδικίαν, καὶ λάβητε ἀγαθὰ, καὶ ἀνταποδώσομεν καρπὸν χειλέων ἡμῶν.
(Labete methʼ heautōn logous, kai epistrafaʸte pros Kurion ton Theon humōn; eipate autōi, hopōs maʸ labaʸte adikian, kai labaʸte agatha, kai antapodōsomen karpon ⱪeileōn haʸmōn. )

BrTr Take with you words, and turn to the Lord your God: speak to him, that ye may not receive the reward of unrighteousness, but that ye may receive good things: and we will render in return the fruit of our lips.

ULT Assyria will not save us;
⇔ we will not ride on horses.
⇔ Neither will we say anymore to the work of our hands,
⇔ ‘Our God,’
⇔ for in you the fatherless finds compassion.”

UST Assyria cannot save us.
⇔ It is useless for us to ride horses into battle.
⇔ We will never again say, ‘You are our gods’
⇔ to the idols we have made with our own hands.
⇔ Even children with no fathers look to you, Yahweh, and they find that you are kind to them.”

BSB Assyria will not save us,
⇔ nor will we ride on horses.
⇔ We will never again say, ‘Our gods!’
⇔ to the work of our own hands.
⇔ For in You the fatherless find compassion.”

OEB Assyria will not save us,
⇔ nor Egyptian warhorses,
⇔ and we will no more call
⇔ the work of our hands our gods.
⇔ For in you orphan Israel finds mercy.

WEBBE Assyria can’t save us.
⇔ We won’t ride on horses;
⇔ neither will we say any more to the work of our hands, ‘Our gods!’
⇔ for in you the fatherless finds mercy.”

WMBB (Same as above)

NET Assyria cannot save us;
⇔ we will not ride warhorses.
⇔ We will never again say, ‘Our gods’
⇔ to what our own hands have made.
⇔ For only you will show compassion to Orphan Israel!”

LSV Asshur does not save us, we do not ride on a horse,
Nor do we say anymore, Our god, to the work of our hands,
For in You the fatherless find mercy.

FBV Assyria can't save us; we will not ride our warhorses; we will never again say ‘You are our gods’ to the idols we have made. For in you orphans find mercy.”

T4T We admit that Assyria will not save us,
⇔ and our war horses will not save us, either.
⇔ We will never again say, ‘You are our gods’
⇔ to the idols that we [SYN] have made.
⇔ You are the one who acts mercifully to orphans.”

LEB   • Assyria will not save us; we will not ride on horses,[fn]
• and we will say no more, “Our God,”
  • to the work of our hands
  • because in you the fatherless child finds mercy.

14:1 Hebrew “horse”

BBE Assyria will not be our salvation; we will not go on horses; we will not again say to the work of our hands, You are our gods; for in you there is mercy for the child who has no father.

Moff for in thee the forlorn finds pity.

JPS (14-4) Asshur shall not save us; we will not ride upon horses; neither will we call any more the work of our hands our gods; for in Thee the fatherless findeth mercy.'

ASV Assyria shall not save us; we will not ride upon horses; neither will we say any more to the work of our hands, Ye are our gods; for in thee the fatherless findeth mercy.

DRA Take with you words, and return to the Lord, and say to him: Take away all iniquity, and receive the good: and we will render the calves of our lips.

YLT Asshur doth not save us, on a horse we ride not, Nor do we say any more, Our God, to the work of our hands, For in Thee find mercy doth the fatherless.'

Drby Assyria shall not save us; we will not ride upon horses: neither will we say any more to the work of our hands, [Thou art] our [fn]God; because in thee the fatherless findeth mercy.

14.3 Elohim

RV Asshur shall not save us; we will not ride upon horses: neither will we say any more to the work of our hands, Ye are our gods: for in thee the fatherless findeth mercy.
(Asshur shall not save us; we will not ride upon horses: neither will we say anymore to the work of our hands, Ye/You_all are our gods: for in thee/you the fatherless findeth/finds mercy. )

SLT Assur will not save us; we will not ride upon a horse, and we will no more say, Our God, to the work of our hands, for in thee the orphan shall be compassionated.

Wbstr Ashur shall not save us; we will not ride upon horses: neither will we say any more to the work of our hands, Ye are our gods: for in thee the fatherless findeth mercy.

KJB-1769 Asshur shall not save us; we will not ride upon horses: neither will we say any more to the work of our hands, Ye are our gods: for in thee the fatherless findeth mercy.
(Asshur shall not save us; we will not ride upon horses: neither will we say anymore to the work of our hands, Ye/You_all are our gods: for in thee/you the fatherless findeth/finds mercy. )

KJB-1611 Asshur shall not saue vs, we will not ride vpon horses, neither will wee say any more to the work of our hands, Yee are our gods: for in thee the fatherlesse findeth mercie.
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from marking of added words (and possibly capitalisation and punctuation))

Bshps Asshur shalbe no more our helper, neither will we ride vpon horses any more, neither wyll we say any more to the worke of our handes, Ye are our gods: for in thee the fatherlesse findeth mercie.
(Asshur shall be no more our helper, neither will we ride upon horses anymore, neither will we say anymore to the work of our hands, Ye/You_all are our gods: for in thee/you the fatherless findeth/finds mercy.)

Gnva Take vnto you words, and turne to the Lord, and say vnto him, Take away all iniquitie, and receiue vs graciously: so wil we render the calues of our lippes.
(Take unto you words, and turn to the Lord, and say unto him, Take away all iniquity, and receive us graciously: so will we render the calves of our lips. )

Cvdl Assur shalbe no more oure helper, nether will we ryde vpon horses eny more. As for the workes of oure hondes, we wil nomore call vpon them: For it is thou that art oure God, thou shewest euer mercy vnto the fatherlesse.
(Assur shall be no more our helper, neither will we ride upon horses any more. As for the works of our hands, we will no more call upon them: For it is thou/you that art our God, thou/you shewest/show ever mercy unto the fatherless.)

Wycl Take ye wordis with you, and be ye conuertid to the Lord; and seie ye to hym, Do thou awei al wickidnesse, and take thou good; and we schulen yelde the caluys of oure lippis.
(Take ye/you_all words with you, and be ye/you_all converted to the Lord; and say ye/you_all to him, Do thou/you away all wickedness, and take thou/you good; and we should yield the calves of our lips.)

Luth Nehmet diese Worte mit euch und bekehret euch zum HErr’s und sprechet zu ihm: Vergib uns alle Sünde und tue uns wohl, so wollen wir opfern die Farren unserer Lippen!
(Nehmet this/these words with you and converted you for_the LORD’s and speaker to/for him: Forgive us/to_us/ourselves all sin(n) and do/act us/to_us/ourselves probably/well, so want we/us sacrifice(v) the bulls ours lips!)

ClVg Tollite vobiscum verba, et convertimini ad Dominum; et dicite ei: Omnem aufer iniquitatem, accipe bonum, et reddemus vitulos labiorum nostrorum.
(Take_it_away with_you(pl) words, and conversion to the_Master; and say to_him: Everything aufer iniquity, take_it good, and returnmus calves of_the_lips of_ours. )

SOTN SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 14:1–3: Hosea pleads with his fellow Israelites to return to the LORD

Hosea is the speaker in this section. He urges the people of Israel to acknowledge their sin and their need for the LORD. He gives them an example of a prayer that will express their repentance. Here are some other examples of section headings:

Hosea’s Plea to Israel (GNT)

Turn back to the Lord (CEV)

14:3

Hosea’s model prayer continues in this verse. It includes a list of three main sins that the people should confess and turn away from:

trust in foreign powers
trust in military strength
trust and worship of idols

They should stop depending on these things and depend instead on the LORD.Davies (page 303), Garrett (pages 271–272) and Stuart (page 213). They should acknowledge that the Lord is the one who cares for people like themselves, who have become like orphans.

14:3a

Assyria will not save us,

Assyria will not save us^(excl),
Foreign nations like Assyria will not rescue us,

Assyria will not save us: In this part of the prayer, the people admit to the LORD that the nation of Assyria will not save them from their enemies. Instead they promise to trust in the LORD to save them from danger.

Assyria may be a figure of speech that represents all foreign nations that Israel relied on to protect them.Stuart (page 213). Most versions leave the figurative meaning implicit.

save: This word means “deliver/save” from peril.BDB (#3467) Hiph. 1c.

14:3b

nor will we ride on horses.

we^(excl) will not ride on horses used for war,
we will not depend on our^(excl horses and chariots,

nor will we ride on horses: In this part of the prayer, the people promise to trust in the LORD to save them from danger. They will not trust in their own military strength.

At that time, armies used horses in battle to carry soldiers and to pull chariots.

Here, riding horses is probably a figure of speech that represents the armies and the military strength of the Israelites.Carroll (pages 301–302), Dearman (pages 338–339), McComiskey (page 230). This reference to horses may also refer in part to reliance on Egypt. See Keil (page 107) and Dearman (pages 338–339). Hosea refers to horses in a similar way in 1:7.

Some versions make it more explicit that the Hebrew words refer to using horses in war.

Here are some other ways to translate this promise:

we will not mount war-horses (NIV)

We will not ride warhorses (NET)

and war horses cannot protect us. (GNT)

horses: In Hebrew, this word is a collective singular “horse” that indicates horses.McComiskey (page 230). In many languages, it is more natural to use plural here, as in the BSB.

14:3c

We will never again say, ‘Our gods!’ to the work of our own hands.

and we will no longer say ‘Our^(excl) gods’ to objects our^(excl) hands have made.
and we^(excl) will never again regard idols that we have made to be gods,

We will never again say, ‘Our gods!’ to the work of our own hands: In this part of the prayer, the people acknowledge that idols are objects that humans have made. They are not gods, and the people promise to stop worshiping them.

In some languages, it may be more natural to use indirect speech here. For example:

We will never again say that the things our hands have made are our gods. (GW)

gods: In Hebrew, this word is plural. However, there are two interpretations of the intended meaning:

It means gods. The word refers to more than one idol. For example:
Never again will we say to the idols we have made, ‘You are our gods.’ (NLT) (BSB, GW, KJV, NCV, NET, NIV, NLT, REB)
It means god/God.Some versions capitalize the word as “God.” Perhaps this is meant to imply that the people confuse the idol with the true God of Israel. The Hebrew word is a plural of majesty that refers to one god.Macintosh (page 565). For example:
Nor will we say again, ‘Our god,’ (NASB) (ESV, GNT, NASB, NJB, NJPS, NRSV)

The Display will follow interpretation (1), but either interpretation is acceptable.Dearman (pages 338–339) and Davies (page 304) state that “Our God” and “our gods” are two possible ways to translate the Hebrew here. Follow the interpretation that is the most natural in your language in this context.

the work of our own hands: This phrase refers to “idols.”

14:3d

For in You the fatherless find compassion.”

For you^(sing) are the one who shows compassion to fatherless people.”
because it is you who loves and cares for orphans like us^(excl).”

For in You the fatherless find compassion: In this part of the prayer, the people acknowledge that the LORD shows compassion to orphans.

The first word in the clause introduces a reason.The Hebrew word is a relative particle. Most commentators and versions regard the particle here to function as a conjunction that introduces a reason. This function is mentioned in BHRG 6, 40, 40.6, 5. “indicates a cause (rare) (subordinating conjunction)” and Gesenius 158b. See also Macintosh (page 565), Davies (page 303) and Keil (page 107). The reason that the people should repent and return to the LORD is because he shows compassion to orphans. Some versions use a word such as For or “since” to introduce this reason. Some other versions leave it implied that this clause is a reason. For example:

In you the orphan finds mercy. (ESV)

Use a natural way in your language to indicate that this clause is a reason.

This part of the prayer implies that Israel is fatherless. The people have become orphans because of their rebellion against the LORD. The prayer is a request that the LORD will show compassion and restore his relationship with them as his children.Patterson and Hill (page 85), Hubbard (page 228) and Keil (page 107).

fatherless: The Hebrew word means “orphan, fatherless.”TWOT (#934a). Many versions translate the word as “orphan.” For example:

for you are the one in whom orphans find compassion. (NJB)

compassion: The Hebrew word for compassion means to “love deeply, have mercy, be compassionate.”TWOT (#2146).

The words compassion and “fatherless” link this last chapter of Hosea to the first two chapters of the book. Forms of the Hebrew word for compassion rhm occur in Hosea 1:6; 2:1, 19, 23. In those verses, the name of Hosea’s daughter was Lo-ruhamah “not loved” (or “not shown compassion”). The name indicated that the LORD no longer loved or had compassion for Israel.

The name of Hosea’s son, Lo-ammi “not my people” indicated that the LORD was no longer Israel’s father. In 2:23, however, the LORD promised that one day he would again love Israel and that the people would again become his own people. Here in 14:3d, this same promise is affirmed.Carroll (pages 301–302), Patterson and Hill (page 85), Keil (page 107), Garrett (pages 271–272), Andersen and Freedman (pages 645–646), Dearman (pages 338–339), Stuart (pages 213–214), Hubbard (page 228), Davies (page 303), McComiskey (page 230) and Macintosh (page 567).