HOS 4:5 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 ἀσθενήσει ἡμέρας, καὶ ἀσθενήσει ὁ προφήτης μετὰ σοῦ· νυκτὶ ὡμοίωσα τὴν μητέρα σου.
(Kai asthenaʸsei haʸmeras, kai asthenaʸsei ho profaʸtaʸs meta sou; nukti hōmoiōsa taʸn maʸtera sou. )

BrTr Therefore they shall fall by day, and the prophet with thee shall fall: I have compared thy mother unto night.

ULT You will stumble by day;
⇔ the prophets will also stumble with you by night,
⇔ and I will destroy your mother.

UST You priests sin during the day
⇔ and the prophets with you sin at night.
⇔ I promise you, I will destroy Israel, who is like a mother to you.

OEB You stumble by day,
⇔ and the prophet stumbles with you by night,
⇔ and I will destroy your mother.

CSB You will stumble by day; the prophet will also stumble with you by night. And I will destroy your mother.

NLT So you will stumble in broad daylight, and your false prophets will fall with you in the night. And I will destroy Israel, your mother.

NIV You stumble day and night, and the prophets stumble with you. So I will destroy your mother—

CEV You and the prophets will stumble day and night; I'll silence your mothers.

ESV You shall stumble by day; the prophet also shall stumble with you by night; and I will destroy your mother.

NASB So you will stumble by day, And the prophet also will stumble with you by night; And I will destroy your mother.

LSB So you will stumble by day, And the prophet also will stumble with you by night; And I will destroy your mother.

WEBBE You will stumble in the day,
⇔ and the prophet will also stumble with you in the night;
⇔ and I will destroy your mother.

WMBB (Same as above)

MSG ^(4-10)“But don’t look for someone to blame.
  No finger pointing!
You, priest, are the one in the dock.
  You stumble around in broad daylight,
And then the prophets take over and stumble all night.
  Your mother is as bad as you.
My people are ruined
  because they don’t know what’s right or true.
Because you’ve turned your back on knowledge,
  I’ve turned my back on you priests.
Because you refuse to recognize the revelation of God,
  I’m no longer recognizing your children.
The more priests, the more sin.
  They traded in their glory for shame.
They pig out on my people’s sins.
  They can’t wait for the latest in evil.
The result: You can’t tell the people from the priests,
  the priests from the people.
I’m on my way to make them both pay
  and take the consequences of the bad lives they’ve lived.
They’ll eat and be as hungry as ever,
  have sex and get no satisfaction.
They walked out on me, their God,
  for a life of rutting with whores.

NET You stumble day and night,
⇔ and the false prophets stumble with you;
⇔ You have destroyed your own people!

LSV And you have stumbled in the day,
And a prophet has also stumbled with you in the night,
And I have cut off your mother.

FBV Consequently you will stumble in daylight, and the prophet[fn] will stumble together with you in the night, and I will destroy your mother.[fn]

4:5 Presumably false prophets.

4:5 Mother—meaning the nation of Israel.

T4T So I will punish [MTY] you priests, night and day,
⇔ and I will punish the prophets with you.
⇔ I am going to destroy Israel, the nation that is like [MET] a mother to you.

LEB • You will stumble by day, and the priest also will stumble
• with you at night.
• And I will destroy your mother;

NRSV You shall stumble by day; the prophet also shall stumble with you by night, and I will destroy your mother.

NKJV Therefore you shall stumble in the day; The prophet also shall stumble with you in the night; And I will destroy your mother.

NAB You will stumble in the day, and the prophet will stumble with you at night; I will make an end of your mother.

BBE You will not be able to keep on your feet by day, and by night the prophet will be falling down with you, and I will give your mother to destruction.

Moff You priests! You shall stumble by broad daylight;
⇔ your day will I turn into night.

JPS Therefore shalt thou stumble in the day, and the prophet also shall stumble with thee in the night; and I will destroy thy mother.

ASV And thou shalt stumble in the day, and the prophet also shall stumble with thee in the night; and I will destroy thy mother.

DRA And thou shalt fall today, and the prophet also shall fall with thee: in the night I have made thy mother to be silent.

YLT And thou hast stumbled in the day, And stumbled hath also a prophet with thee in the night, And I have cut off thy mother.

Drby And thou shalt stumble by day; and the prophet also shall stumble with thee by night: and I will destroy thy mother.

RV And thou shalt stumble in the day, and the prophet also shall stumble with thee in the night; and I will destroy thy mother.
(And thou/you shalt/shall stumble in the day, and the prophet also shall stumble with thee/you in the night; and I will destroy thy/your mother. )

SLT And thou wert weak in the day, and the prophet also was weak with thee by night, and I destroyed thy mother.

Wbstr Therefore shalt thou fall in the day, and the prophet also shall fall with thee in the night, and I will destroy thy mother.

KJB-1769 Therefore shalt thou fall in the day, and the prophet also shall fall with thee in the night, and I will destroy thy mother.[fn]
(Therefore shalt/shall thou/you fall in the day, and the prophet also shall fall with thee/you in the night, and I will destroy thy/your mother. )

4.5 destroy: Heb. cut off

KJB-1611 [fn]Therefore shalt thou fall in the day, and the prophet also shall fall with thee in the night, and I will destroy thy mother.
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above apart from footnotes)

4:5 Heb. cut off

Bshps Therefore shalt thou fall in the day tyme, and the prophete with thee in the night, and I wyll bryng thy mother to destruction.
(Therefore shalt/shall thou/you fall in the day time, and the prophet with thee/you in the night, and I will bring thy/your mother to destruction.)

Gnva Therefore shalt thou fall in the day, and the Prophet shall fall with thee in the night, and I will destroy thy mother.
(Therefore shalt/shall thou/you fall in the day, and the Prophet shall fall with thee/you in the night, and I will destroy thy/your mother. )

Cvdl Therfore stomblest thou in ye daye tyme &, the prophet with the in the night. I wil bringe thy mother to sylence, & why?
(Therefore stumblest/stumble thou/you in ye/you_all daytime &, the prophet with the in the night. I will bring thy/your mother to silence, and why?)

Wycl And thou schalt falle to dai, and the profete also schal falle with thee; in the niyt Y made thi modir to be stille.
(And thou/you shalt/shall fall today, and the prophet also shall fall with thee/you; in the night I made thy/your mother to be still.)

Luth Darum sollst du bei Tage fallen, und der Prophet des Nachts neben dir fallen; also will ich deine Mutter hinrichten.
(Therefore should you(sg) at/in days fall/drop, and the/of_the Prophet the night next_to you/to_you(sg) fall/drop; also will I your mother execute.)

ClVg Et corrues hodie, et corruet etiam propheta tecum. Nocte tacere feci matrem tuam.
(And you_will_fall today/at_this_time, and will_collapse also a_prophet with_you. Nocte to_be_silent I_did mother your(sg). )

SOTN SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 4:4–11a: The Sinful Priests

In this section, the LORD promised to punish the priests more severely than anyone else, because they were the ones who led the people to worship false gods.

Here are some other examples of section headings:

The Lord Accuses the Priests (GNT)

Against the Priests (NJB)

Paragraph 4:4–6

In this paragraph, the LORD, speaking through Hosea, told the people not to blame one another, because the priests were responsible for leading the people astray.

4:5a

You will stumble by day, and the prophet will stumble with you by night;

Day and night I will punish you. You will be like people who stumble and fall, and the prophets will stumble and fall with you^(plur).
Throughout the day and the night I will punish/destroy you^(plur) along with the false prophets.

You will stumble: The word stumble is used here as a figure of speech (metaphor). There are two ways to interpret the meaning of this metaphor:

stumble refers to punishment. The LORD will destroy the priests and prophets. Their punishment is compared to stumbling and falling.Hubbard (page 100), Keil (page 77), Andersen and Freedman (page 351), Stuart (page 77), and Macintosh (page 137). For example:
As a sentence for your crimes, you will stumble in broad daylight, just as you might at night, and so will your false prophets. (NLT96) (BSB, CEV, ESV, KJV, NAB, NASB, NCV, NJB, NJPS, NLT96, NRSV)
stumble refers to sin. The priests and prophets figuratively stumble by failing to teach the people correctly.Wood (page 185). For example:
Night and day you blunder on, and the prophets do no better than you. (GNT) (GNT, GW, NET, NIV, REB)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1) along with most versionsSome versions that use the word “stumble” have been listed under interpretation (1), others under interpretation (2). If a version uses the future tense “will/shall stumble” (e.g., BSB, CEV, ESV, NJB, RSV) or specifies a future consequence of sin by using the word “so,” (e.g., NASB, NJPS), it has been listed under interpretation (1). If a version uses the present tense (e.g., GW, NET, NIV), it has been listed under interpretation (2). and commentaries.

The figurative meaning of stumble is that the priests and prophets will be punished by the LORD. Specifically, they will be destroyed.

If the metaphor of stumbling does not clearly express this meaning in your translation, here are some other ways to translate it:

Change the metaphor to a simile and make it explicit that stumble refers to punishment. For example:
I will punish you day and night. You will be like a person who stumbles and falls.
Omit the figure of stumbling, and translate the meaning directly. For example:
You will be ruined in the day, and your prophets will be ruined with you in the night. (NCV)

by day…by night: In this context, the contrasting words day and night are probably a figure of speech that means “all the time.” The time includes the night, when people might be expected to stumble, and also the day when people should be able to see.Keil (page 77) and Hubbard (page 100).

the prophet: In Hebrew, the word prophet is singular. However, it follows the same pattern as “priest” in 4:4b. Use a natural way in your language to indicate the LORD is speaking to prophets as a group.

The context of judgment suggests that these are false prophets. Some versions make this explicit. For example:

your false prophets (NLT)

4:5b

so I will destroy your mother—

And I will destroy Israel your^(plur) mother.
I will also destroy your mother, the nation of Israel.

so: There are two ways to interpret the Hebrew word that the BSB translates as so:

It introduces another group of people that will be punished by the LORD. The LORD will cause the priests and prophets to stumble (punishment). In addition to that, he will destroy their mother. For example:
and I will destroy… (ESV) (ESV, KJV, NASB, NCV, NJB, NJPS, NLT, NRSV)Versions that are not listed under either interpretation leave the connection implied.
It introduces a result. The priests and prophets will stumble (sin), so the LORD will punish their mother. For example:
So I will destroy… (NIV, BSB) (GW, NIV)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1) along with most versions. This interpretation fits the recommended interpretation in 4:5a.

I will destroy your mother: The phrase your mother is a figure of speech that represents the entire nation of Israel.Lange (page 52) and Wood (page 185). See the note on 2:2a.

Some versions make the meaning explicit. For example:

I am going to destroy Israel, your mother. (GNT)

Some versions explain the meaning in a footnote. For example:

Here “mother” refers to the nation of Israel. (NCV footnote)

These are both good options to help your readers better understand the meaning.

Parallel HOS 4:5

Section 4:4–11a: The Sinful Priests

Paragraph 4:4–6

4:5a

4:5b