HOS 4:1 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.)

Key: khaki:verbs, red:negative, blue:Elohim, green:YHWH.
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 Ἀκούσατε λόγον Κυρίου υἱοὶ Ἰσραὴλ, ὅτι κρίσις τῷ Κυρίῳ πρὸς τοὺς κατοικοῦντας τὴν γῆν, διότι οὐκ ἔστιν ἀλήθεια, οὐδὲ ἔλεος, οὐδὲ ἐπίγνωσις Θεοῦ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς.
(Akousate logon Kuriou huioi Israaʸl, hoti krisis tōi Kuriōi pros tous katoikountas taʸn gaʸn, dioti ouk estin alaʸtheia, oude eleos, oude epignōsis Theou epi taʸs gaʸs. )

BrTr Hear the word of the Lord, ye children of Israel: for the Lord has a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land.

ULT Hear the word of Yahweh, O sons of Israel.
⇔ For Yahweh has a lawsuit against the inhabitants of the land,
⇔ because there is no faithfulness or steadfast love, no knowledge of God in the land.

UST Listen to the message Yahweh has for you.
⇔ “You people of Israel, Yahweh is accusing you, you who live in this place.”
⇔ He says, “I cannot find anyone here who tells the truth.
⇔ I cannot see anyone who loves me.
⇔ None of you can honestly say that he knows me.

OEB Hear the Lord’s message, Israelites,
⇔ for the Lord has brought charges against the inhabitants of the land,
⇔ for there is no fidelity, nor true love,
⇔ nor knowledge of God in the land,

WEBBE Hear the LORD’s word, you children of Israel,
⇔ for the LORD has a charge against the inhabitants of the land:
⇔ “Indeed there is no truth, nor goodness,
⇔ nor knowledge of God in the land.

WMBB (Same as above)

NET Hear the word of the Lord, you Israelites!
⇔ For the Lord has a covenant lawsuit against the people of Israel.
⇔ For there is neither faithfulness nor loyalty in the land,
⇔ nor do they acknowledge God.

LSV “Hear a word of YHWH, sons of Israel,
For a strife [is] to YHWH with inhabitants of the land,
For there is no truth, nor kindness,
Nor knowledge of God in the land;

FBV Hear the word of the Lord, people of Israel, for the Lord has an accusation against the inhabitants of the land! “There is no faithfulness, no loyalty, and no knowledge of God in the land.

T4T You Israeli people, listen to this message from Yahweh!
⇔ He is accusing you people who live in this country,
⇔ saying “The people are not faithfully doing what pleases me,
⇔ they are not kind to others,
⇔ and they do not even know me!

LEB No LEB HOS 4:1 verse available

BBE Give ear to the word of the Lord, O children of Israel; for the Lord has a cause against the people of this land, because there is no good faith in it, and no mercy and no knowledge of God in the land.

Moff Israel, hear the word of the Eternal, for the Eternal has a charge to bring against the dwellers in the land:
⇔ No fidelity, no kindness,
⇔ no knowledge of God in the land,

JPS Hear the word of the LORD, ye children of Israel! for the LORD hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land.

ASV Hear the word of Jehovah, ye children of Israel; for Jehovah hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth, nor goodness, nor knowledge of God in the land.

DRA Hear the word of the Lord, ye children of Israel, for the Lord shall enter into judgment with the inhabitants of the land: for there is no truth, and there is no mercy, and there is no knowledge of God in the land.

YLT 'Hear a word of Jehovah, sons of Israel, For a strife [is] to Jehovah with inhabitants of the land, For there is no truth, nor kindness, Nor knowledge of God, in the land,

Drby Hear the word of Jehovah, ye children of Israel; for Jehovah hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land; for there is no truth, nor goodness, nor knowledge of [fn]God in the land.

4.1 Elohim

RV Hear the word of the LORD, ye children of Israel: for the LORD hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land.
(Hear the word of the LORD, ye/you_all children of Israel: for the LORD hath/has a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land. )

SLT Hear the word of Jehovah, ye sons of Israel: for a contention to Jehovah with the inhabitants of the land, for no truth and no kindness and no knowledge of God in the land.

Wbstr Hear the word of the LORD, ye children of Israel: for the LORD hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land.

KJB-1769 Hear the word of the LORD, ye children of Israel: for the LORD hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land.
(Hear the word of the LORD, ye/you_all children of Israel: for the LORD hath/has a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land. )

KJB-1611 ¶ Heare the worde of the LORD, yee children of Israel: for the LORD hath a controuersie with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no trueth, nor mercie, nor knowledge of God in the land.
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from punctuation)

Bshps Heare the worde of the Lorde O ye chyldren of Israel, for the Lord hath a controuersie with the inhabitauntes of the lande: for there is no trueth, there is no mercy, there is no knowledge of God in the lande.
(Hear the word of the Lord Oh ye/you_all children of Israel, for the Lord hath/has a controversy with the inhabitants of the land: for there is no truth, there is no mercy, there is no knowledge of God in the land.)

Gnva Heare the worde of the Lord, ye children of Israel: for the Lord hath a controuersie with the inhabitants of the lande, because there is no trueth nor mercie nor knowledge of God in the lande.
(Hear the word of the Lord, ye/you_all children of Israel: for the Lord hath/has a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth nor mercy nor knowledge of God in the land. )

Cvdl Heare ye worde of the LORDE, o ye children of Israel: For the LORDE must punysh the, yt dwel in the londe. And why? There is no faithfulnesse, there is no mercy, there is no knowlege of God in the lode:
(Hear ye/you_all word of the LORD, o ye/you_all children of Israel: For the LORD must punish them, it dwell in the land. And why? There is no faithfulness, there is no mercy, there is no knowledge of God in the lode:)

Wycl Sones of Israel, here ye the word of the Lord, for whi doom is to the Lord with the dwelleris of erthe; for whi trewthe is not, and merci is not, and kunnyng of the Lord is not in erthe.
(Sons of Israel, here ye/you_all the word of the Lord, for why judgement is to the Lord with the dwellers of earth; for why truth is not, and mercy is not, and cunning of the Lord is not in earth.)

Luth Höret, ihr Kinder Israel, des HErr’s Wort; denn der HErr hat Ursach, zu schelten, die im Lande wohnen. Denn es ist keine Treue, keine Liebe, kein Wort Gottes im Lande,
(Hear, you(pl)/their/her children Israel, the LORD’s word; because/than the/of_the LORD has Ursach, to/for scold, the in_the land live/reside. Because it is no loyalty/faithfulness, no love(n), no/not word God’s in_the land,)

ClVg [Audite verbum Domini, filii Israël, quia judicium Domino cum habitatoribus terræ: non est enim veritas, et non est misericordia, et non est scientia Dei in terra.
([Listen the_word/saying Master, children Israel, because judgement Master when/with to_the_inhabitants of_the_earth/land: not/no it_is because the_truth, and not/no it_is mercy, and not/no it_is knowledge/skill of_God in/into/on earth/land. )

SOTN SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 4:1–3: The LORD brought a charge against the people of Israel

The words “Hear the word of the LORD” in 4:1 indicate the beginning of a new prophecy. In 4:1–3, the LORD brought an accusation or charge against the people of Israel. The charge consisted of three parts. First, the LORD stated their crimes (4:1). Second, he presented the evidence of their crimes (4:2). Third, he announced the resulting judgment (4:3). The charge serves as a general introduction to the messages that follow in the remainder of chapter 4.

Here are some other examples of section headings:

The Lord’s Legal Case Against Israel (GW)

The Lord Accuses Israel (ESV)

4:1a

Hear the word of the LORD, O children of Israel,

¶ People of Israel, hear these words from Yahweh,
¶ You^(plur) Israelites, listen to what Yahweh has to say!

Hear the word of the LORD: In the Old Testament, this command was a standard way to introduce a prophetic message or warning of judgment. It emphasized that the message that followed was important because it was from the LORD. Hosea told the message to the people, but the LORD was the source of the message.

Here is another way to translate this command:

hear what Yahweh says (NJB)

O children of Israel: See the note on “the Israelites” in 3:1c. The same phrase also occurs in 3:4a. Hosea used this phrase here to address the Israelites directly.

Here is another way to translate this vocative:

O people of Israel (NRSV)

Use a term of address (vocative) that is natural in your language when a person speaks to a group of people.

4:1b

for the LORD has a case against the people of the land:

because he has a serious accusation/charge to make against you^(plur) who live in this land/country:
Yahweh/He has accused all of you who live here in the land of Israel.

for the LORD has a case against the people of the land: In Hebrew, the word for probably introduces the reason or motivation for the Israelites to listen carefully to the LORD’s message.According to McComiskey (page 56), Macintosh (page 56), and Wood (page 184), the Hebrew word ki here introduces the reason for the command to listen. Keil’s translation (page 50) supports this view. Follingstad disagrees with this traditional causal interpretation of ki. According to his analysis in Deictic Viewpoint of Biblical Hebrew Text (on TW), which focuses on passages that are not analogous to Hosea and does not comment on this or other passages in Hosea, the primary function of ki is to shift the listener’s viewpoint to the content of the following proposition. However, Follingstad admits that “there often is a causal connection between the semantic contents of the clauses” (10.2.3). For example:

Israel, hear the word of the LORD; for the Lord has a charge to bring against the inhabitants of the land: (REB)

Hear the word of the LORD, O people of Israel; for the Lord has an indictment against the inhabitants of the land. (NRSV)

Some versions leave this connection implied. For example:

Listen to the word of the LORD, you Israelites. The Lord has brought these charges against those who live in the land: (GW)

Use a natural way in your language to translate the relationship between 4:1a and 4:1b.

for the LORD has a case against the people of the land: This statement indicates that the LORD was making a very serious accusation against the people of Israel.

case: This is the same word that the BSB translated as “rebuke” in 2:2. In Hebrew, it means “to fight with words,” as in a quarrel or a legal case.

Some English versions use an expression that refers to an actual trial. For example:

The Lord has filed a lawsuit against you (NLT96)

But this verse may also refer to an informal accusation, so it is better to use a more general expression. For example:

The Lord has an accusation to bring against the people who live in this land.The GNT translation could refer either to a legal accusation as part of a court case or to a non-trial setting. (GNT)

the people of the land: This phrase refers to the inhabitants of the land of Israel.

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

citizens of the country (NJB)

you (NLT)

The NLT probably left the rest of the phrase implied because it is clear from both the preceding and following context.

General Comment on 4:1a–b

In some languages, it may be more natural to reorder these two clauses. For example:

^1bThe Lord has an accusation to bring against the people who live in this land. ^1aListen, Israel, to what he says: (GNT)

4:1c–d

There is no truth, no loving devotion, and no knowledge of God in the land: In 4:1c–d, the LORD stated his charge. The people of Israel were guilty of these three crimes.

In some languages, it may be more natural to make explicit a human subject here. For example:

No one is faithful or loyal or truly cares about God. (CEV)

4:1c

“There is no truth, no loving devotion,

“There is not one faithful/dependable person here, no one who shows love,
This is what he says: “In this entire nation, none of you Israelites are trustworthy in your dealings with your fellowmen. You^(plur) have no kindness or love for others

There is no truth, no loving devotion: In Hebrew and in most versions, the object of no truth and no loving devotion is left implied. Two possible objects are other people and God:

There is no truth and no love towards other people.
There is no truth and no love towards God.

If possible, you should translate in a way that allows either or both objects to be understood. If you need to make an object explicit in your language, it is recommended that you specify other people.Macintosh (page 127). This better fits the context of 4:2 that lists cursing, lying, murder, stealing, and adultery. These are sins that the people committed against other people.Hubbard (page 97).

truth: In Hebrew, this word describes a person who is honest and dependable in what he says and does. Some languages may have a single expression that has these meanings. In other languages, it may be appropriate to use more than one expression.

Here are some other ways to translate the statement “There is no truth”:

No one is faithful (CEV)

There are no trustworthy people

No one tells the truth or can be trusted

loving devotion: The Hebrew word that the BSB translates as loving devotion has several aspects of meaning:

steadfastness, loyalty
love
kindness, mercy

A number of versions translate one aspect of the meaning. For example:

love (GNT)

loyalty (NET)

kindness (NLT)

Some versions have two aspects. For example:

faithful love (NJB)

steadfast love (ESV)

In some languages, it may be possible to express all three aspects. For example:

consistent/unchanging love and kindness

Translate this term in a way that fits naturally in the context. Here it may refer particularly to showing a concern for the needs of others. The LORD’s covenant with Israel required them to have this concern in response to the love that the LORD had shown to them.Hubbard (page 97). TWOT (#698a) says God was obviously in a covenant relationship with Israel, and he expressed this relationship in eternal ḥesed, but ḥesed does not necessarily involve a covenant nor does it mean loyalty to a covenant. Rather, it is a kind of love, including mercy, close to the KJV rendering “lovingkindness.” Vine (page 142) insists that three basic meanings of the word always interact: kindness, steadfastness, and love. He says that ḥesed is not only a matter of obligation within a relationship; it is also generosity. It is not only a matter of loyalty, but also of mercy.

4:1d

and no knowledge of God in the land!

no one who knows and obeys God anywhere in your^(plur) land/country.
and no one knows me or acknowledges my authority as God.

no knowledge of God: The phrase knowledge of God means that a person knows God and has a relationship with him. He also knows who God is and what God wants his people to do. It is implied that a person who knows God will obey him. He will acknowledge God’s authority by his actions.

In verses such as 2:20b, there is a difference of interpretation between “know” and “acknowledge.” Here (4:1d), both senses fit the context. Most English versions choose one sense or the other. For example:

no knowledge of God (ESV)

people do not acknowledge me as God (GNT)

If possible, translate in a way that allows or includes both senses of meaning. See the meaning lines in the Display for 4:1d for two examples.

God: The Hebrew word here is ʾelohim and not Yahweh. Versions indicate this by translating this word as God and not as “LORD.”

in the land: This phrase also occurs in 4:1b. In some languages, it may be natural to translate this phrase explicitly both here and in 4:1b, as in the BSB. In other languages, it may be better to translate this phrase explicitly in only one of these places. For example, the CEV makes this phrase explicit only in 4:1b:

^1bthe Lord accuses everyone in the land! ^1cNo one is faithful or loyal ^1dor truly cares about God. (CEV)

The NLT makes this phrase explicit only in 4:1d:

^1bThe Lord has brought charges against you, ^1csaying: There is no faithfulness, no kindness, ^1dno knowledge of God in your land. (NLT)

With any of these options, make sure that the meaning is clear in the context.

Parallel HOS 4:1