HOS 3:2 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 Καὶ ἐμισθωσάμην ἐμαυτῷ πεντεκαίδεκα ἀργυρίου, καὶ γομὸρ κριθῶν, καὶ νέβελ οἴνου.
(Kai emisthōsamaʸn emautōi pentekaideka arguriou, kai gomor krithōn, kai nebel oinou. )

BrTr So I hired her to myself for fifteen pieces of silver, and a homer of barley, and a flagon of wine.

ULT So I bought her for myself for fifteen pieces of silver and a homer and a lethek of barley.

UST Even though she was a slave, owned by another person, I bought her for 170 grams of silver, and 330 liters of barley grain.

3:2 15 shekels is approximately 6 ounces or 171 grams of silver.

3:2 Or a homer and a half of barley; that is, a total of approximately 9.36 bushels or 330 liters (probably about 436 pounds or 198 kilograms of barley); LXX a homer of barley and a wineskin full of wine

OEB So I redeemed her for fifteen pieces of silver and a homer and a lethek of barley.

WEBBE So I bought her for myself for fifteen pieces of silver and a homer[fn] and a half of barley.

3:2 1 homer is about 220 litres or 6 bushels

WMBB (Same as above including footnotes)

NET So I paid fifteen shekels of silver and about seven bushels of barley to purchase her.

LSV And I buy her for myself for fifteen pieces of silver, and a homer and a lethech of barley;

FBV So I bought her back for fifteen shekels of silver and one and half homer of barley.[fn]

3:2 About the cost of an ordinary slave. Why Hosea had to buy her back is unclear; in some way she had become someone's “property.”

T4T My wife had become a slave, but I bought her for ◄6 ounces/179 grams► of silver and ten bushels of barley.

LEB • So I bought her for fifteen shekels of silver and a homer of barely and a measure of wine.[fn]

3:? Hebrew “a measure of barley”; the LXX has “a nebel of wine,” although some modern translations, e.g. NASB, have “a homer and a half of barley”

BBE So I got her for myself for fifteen shekels of silver and a homer and a half of barley;

Moff So I bought her for fifteen florins and eighteen bushels of barley,

JPS So I bought her to me for fifteen pieces of silver and a homer of barley, and a half-homer of barley;

ASV So I bought her to me for fifteen pieces of silver, and a homer of barley, and a half-homer of barley;

DRA And I bought her to me for fifteen pieces of silver, and for a core of barley, and for half a core of barley.

YLT And I buy her to me for fifteen silverlings, and a homer and a letech of barley;

Drby So I bought her to me for fifteen silver [pieces], and for a homer of barley, and a half-homer of barley.

RV So I bought her to me for fifteen pieces of silver, and an homer of barley, and an half homer of barley:

SLT And I shall buy her to me for fifteen of silver, and an homer of barley, and a measure of barley:

Wbstr So I bought her to me for fifteen pieces of silver, and for a homer of barley, and a half homer of barley:

KJB-1769 So I bought her to me for fifteen pieces of silver, and for an homer of barley, and an half homer of barley:[fn]

3.2 half…: Heb. lethech

KJB-1611 [fn]So I bought her to me for fifteene pieces of siluer, and for an homer of barley and an halfe homer of barley.
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from punctuation and footnotes)

3:2 Heb. lethech.

Bshps So I gat her for fifteene siluerlinges, and for an homer and an halfe of barley.
(So I gat her for fifteen silverlings/silver_coins, and for an homer and an half of barley.)

Gnva So I bought her to me for fifteene pieces of siluer, and for an homer of barlie and an halfe homer of barlie.
(So I bought her to me for fifteen pieces of silver, and for an homer of barley and an half homer of barley. )

Cvdl So I gat her for xv. syluerlinges, and for an Homer and an half of barlye,
(So I gat her for xv. silverlings/silver_coins, and for an Homer and an half of barley,)

Wycl And Y dalf it to me bi fiftene pens, and bi a corus of barli, and bi half a corus of barli.
(And I dalf it to me by fifteen pens, and by a corus of barley, and by half a corus of barley.)

Luth Und ich ward mit ihr eins um fünfzehn Silberlinge und anderthalb Homer Gerste.
(And I what/which with you(pl)/their/her one around/by/for fifteen silver_coins and one_and_a_half Homer barley.)

ClVg Et fodi eam mihi quindecim argenteis, et coro hordei, et dimidio coro hordæi.
(And fodi her to_me fifteen silver, and coro barley, and half coro hordæi. )

SOTN SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 3:1–5: Hosea redeemed Gomer as the LORD will redeem Israel

In this section, the LORD commanded Hosea to take Gomer back as his wife. This probably occurred later in their marriage after Gomer had left Hosea and became an adulteress.There are two main views about how the events of chapters 1 and 2 relate to those of chapter 3. One view is that the events described in chapter 3 follow those described in chapters 1 and 2. (This is the view taken by this Translators Notes publication.) Another view is that in chapter 3, Hosea is describing most of the same events but from a different perspective and for a different purpose. Once more Hosea communicated the LORD’s message by his action as well as his words. His action was an illustration of the LORD’s unfailing love for the nation of Israel. Israel had been unfaithful to the LORD and had been worshiping other gods. In the same way, Gomer had been unfaithful to Hosea and had left him for other lovers. And just as Hosea was commanded to take Gomer back as his wife, so the LORD planned to restore Israel to himself.

Here are some other possible headings for this section:

An Illustration of God’s Love for Idolatrous Israel (NET)

Hosea Redeems His Wife (ESV)

Hosea’s Reconciliation With His Wife (NIV)

Paragraph 3:2–3

In this paragraph, Hosea bought Gomer. Although they were still married, he told her that they would not be intimate with each other, nor would she be intimate with anyone else. This situation was probably a symbol that the LORD would restore his relationship with Israel and purify her.

3:2

So I bought her for fifteen shekels of silver and a homer and a lethech of barley.

¶ So I went and bought her. I paid fifteen pieces of silver and 330 liters of barley.
¶ After Yahweh said that, I went and redeemed her with fifteen silver coins and ten bushels/measures of grain.

So I bought her for fifteen shekels of silver and a homer and a lethech of barley: Some scholars say that the value of the barley added to the fifteen shekels of silver made Hosea’s total expense approximately thirty shekels. It is not clear why Hosea paid this specific amount. He may have redeemed her from a debt that she could not pay.IVP Bible Background Commentary. This price was equal to the value of a slave in Exodus 21:32, so it is possible that Gomer had sold herself into slavery to be someone’s mistress.Wood (page 182) and Macintosh (page 99).

Here are some other ways to translate this idea:

I paid…to buy her (GNT)

I redeemed her with…

fifteen shekels of silver: In Hebrew, this phrase is literally “fifteen silver.” The word shekels is not in the Hebrew text.

Here are some ways to translate this amount of money:

Add the word “shekels” for clarity. The shekel was the standard unit of measure for silver, so it is implied. For example:
fifteen shekels of silver (NJB)
Add the word “pieces” for clarity instead of shekels. For example:
fifteen pieces of silver (GNT)
Some versions give the total weight in the text. They do not translate fifteen or add the word shekels or “pieces.” For example:
six ounces of silver (NCV)

Any of these translation options are acceptable. It is recommended that you add a footnote that gives the equivalent weight in units of measurement that the readers will understand. For example:

The Hebrew literally says “fifteen silver.” This amount of silver money weighed about 6 ounces or 170 grams.

a homer and a lethech of barley: There is a textual issue here:

The Masoretic Text has “a homer of barley and a lethech of barley.” For example:
a homer and a half of barley (NASB) (BSB, CEV, ESV, GNT, GW, KJV, NASB, NCV, NET, NIV, NJPS, RSV)
The LXX has “a homer of barley and a measure of wine.” For example:
a homer of barley and a skin of wine (NJB) (NJB, NLT, NRSV, REB)

It is recommended that you follow option (1) along with most versions.

Both homer and lethech were units of dry measure. According to tradition, a lethech equaled half a homer.Andersen and Freedman (page 300). Scholars disagree on the size of a homer. Estimates vary from 100 liters to 394 liters.HALOT (#2994) suggests 394 liters. NIDOTTE (#2818) suggests 100 liters. Other sources suggest amounts in between these two. As a result, versions disagree on the amount of barley that is equivalent to a homer and a lethech. Some versions have “seven bushels” (GNT and NET). Others have “ten bushels” (CEV, NCV, NIV, and GW). You may want to use an amount that agrees with a major language translation used in your area.

There are two main options for translating this amount of barley:

Transliterate the Hebrew words homer and lethech. An example is the BSB above. You can also include a footnote that gives the equivalent amount, using the unit of measurement that is most common in your area for measuring grain. For example:
That is, probably about 10 bushels (about 330 liters) (NIV footnote)
Do not transliterate the Hebrew words homer and lethech in the text of the translation. Instead, state the equivalent amount using the unit of measurement that is most common in your area for measuring grain. For example, a bushel is a common English unit of measure, so the CEV has “ten bushels.”

barley: If barley is unknown in your area, here are some ways to translate it:

Use a more general term. For example:
grain (CEV)
If there is no general term, you may use a specific kind of grain that is known in your area. For example:
rice

Parallel HOS 3:2

Section 3:1–5: Hosea redeemed Gomer as the LORD will redeem Israel

Paragraph 3:2–3

3:2