HOS 6:5 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.
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 Διὰ τοῦτο ἀπεθέρισα τοὺς προφήτας ὑμῶν· ἀπέκτεινα αὐτοὺς ἐν ῥήματι στόματός μου· καὶ τὸ κρίμα μου ὡς φῶς ἐξελεύσεται.
(Dia touto apetherisa tous profaʸtas humōn; apekteina autous en ɽaʸmati stomatos mou; kai to krima mou hōs fōs exeleusetai. )

BrTr Therefore have I mown down your prophets; I have slain them with the word of my mouth: and my judgment shall go forth as the light.

ULT Therefore I have cut them to pieces by the prophets,
⇔ I have killed them with the words of my mouth.
⇔ My judgments are like the light that goes forth.

UST I sent my prophets to you,
⇔ and it was as though I had cut you into pieces when they spoke the messages I gave them.
⇔ You were devastated by what they said to you.
⇔ It was as though I had killed you with the words I spoke to you.
⇔ I spoke about how I would punish you.
⇔ I told you by the prophets that I was angry with you, and they told you this.”
⇔ “Yahweh, you will punish them by commanding that it happen;
⇔ your words are like lightning bolts.”

OEB That is why I have hewn them by the prophets,
⇔ I have slain them by the words of my mouth.
⇔ My judgment is like the light that goes forth,

WEBBE Therefore I have cut them to pieces with the prophets;
⇔ I killed them with the words of my mouth.
⇔ Your judgements are like a flash of lightning.

WMBB (Same as above)

MSG ^(4-7)“What am I to do with you, Ephraim?
  What do I make of you, Judah?
Your declarations of love last no longer
  than morning mist and predawn dew.
That’s why I use prophets to shake you to attention,
  why my words cut you to the quick:
To wake you up to my judgment
  blazing like light.
I’m after love that lasts, not more religion.
  I want you to know God, not go to more prayer meetings.
You broke the covenant—just like Adam!
  You broke faith with me—ungrateful wretches!

NET Therefore, I will certainly cut you into pieces at the hands of the prophets;
⇔ I will certainly kill you in fulfillment of my oracles of judgment;
⇔ for my judgment will come forth like the light of the dawn.

LSV Therefore I have hewed by prophets,
I have slain them by sayings of My mouth,
And My judgments go forth to the light.

FBV So I cut you down through the prophets; I killed you with my words. My judgment shines out like a light.

T4T I warned [HYP] you by the messages that I gave to the prophets,
⇔ but you did not pay attention to my messages.
⇔ Therefore I will completely destroy you;
⇔ the punishment that I give you will strike you like lightning.

LEB • Therefore, I have hewn them by the prophets; I have killed them by the words of my mouth,
• and my judgment[fn] goes forth like the light.

6:? Hebrew “your judgments”

BBE So I have had it cut in stones; I gave them teaching by the words of my mouth;

Moff So I instruct them by my words,
⇔ this precept shines out plain:

JPS Therefore have I hewed them by the prophets, I have slain them by the words of My mouth; and thy judgment goeth forth as the light.

ASV Therefore have I hewed them by the prophets; I have slain them by the words of my mouth: and thy judgments are as the light that goeth forth.

DRA For this reason have I hewed them by the prophets, I have slain them by the words of my mouth: and thy judgments shall go forth as the light.

YLT Therefore I have hewed by prophets, I have slain them by sayings of My mouth, And My judgments to the light goeth forth.

Drby Therefore have I hewed [them] by the prophets; I have slain them by the words of my mouth: and my judgment goeth forth as the light.

RV Therefore have I hewed them by the prophets; I have slain them by the words of my mouth: and thy judgments are as the light that goeth forth.
(Therefore have I hewed them by the prophets; I have slain/killed them by the words of my mouth: and thy/your judgements are as the light that goeth/goes forth. )

SLT For this I cut off by the prophets; I slew them by the words of my mouth: and thy judgments the light going forth.

Wbstr Therefore have I hewed them by the prophets; I have slain them by the words of my mouth: and thy judgments are as the light that goeth forth.

KJB-1769 Therefore have I hewed them by the prophets; I have slain them by the words of my mouth: and thy judgments are as the light that goeth forth.[fn]
(Therefore have I hewed them by the prophets; I have slain/killed them by the words of my mouth: and thy/your judgements are as the light that goeth/goes forth. )

6.5 and…: or, that thy judgments might be, etc

KJB-1611 [fn]Therefore haue I shewed them by the Prophets: I haue slaine them by the wordes of my mouth, and thy iudgements are as the light that goeth foorth.
(Therefore have I showed them by the Prophets: I have slain/killed them by the words of my mouth, and thy/your judgements are as the light that goeth/goes forth.)

6:5 Or, that thy iudgements might be, &c.

Bshps Therfore haue I cut downe the prophetes, and let them be slayne for my wordes sake, so that thy punishment shall come to light.
(Therefore have I cut down the prophets, and let them be slain/killed for my words sake, so that thy/your punishment shall come to light.)

Gnva Therefore haue I cut downe by the Prophets: I haue slaine them by the wordes of my mouth, and thy iudgements were as the light that goeth forth.
(Therefore have I cut down by the Prophets: I have slain/killed them by the words of my mouth, and thy/your judgements were as the light that goeth/goes forth. )

Cvdl Therfore haue I cut downe the prophetes, & letten them be slayne for my wordes sake: so that thy punyshment shal come to light.
(Therefore have I cut down the prophets, and let them be slain/killed for my words sake: so that thy/your punishment shall come to light.)

Wycl For this thing Y hewide in profetis, Y killide hem in the wordis of my mouth;
(For this thing I hewide in prophets, I killed hem in the words of my mouth;)

Luth Darum schlage ich sie durch die Propheten und töte sie durch meines Mundes Rede, daß dein Recht ans Licht komme.
(Therefore hit/beat I they/she/them through the prophet(s) and kill they/she/them through my mouth speech, that your(s) law/right at/to light(n) come.)

ClVg Propter hoc dolavi in prophetis; occidi eos in verbis oris mei: et judicia tua quasi lux egredientur.
(Because this dolavi in/into/on prophets; to_be_killed them in/into/on with_words mouth my/mine: and judgements your as_if light they_will_come_out. )

SOTN SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 6:4–7:16: The people persisted in their sins

In this section, the LORD again spoke to the people of Israel and Judah. In contrast to the people’s future repentance (6:1–3), he gave examples of their current disloyalty and corruption, including their reliance on other nations instead of him. They continued to commit sins, and they refused to seek him. He announced that he would judge them, and he illustrated his coming judgment in various ways.

In this section, the Hebrew text sometimes uses second person pronouns (“you”) and sometimes third person pronouns (“they” or “he”) to refer to the people of Israel. The BSB follows the Hebrew pronoun usage. It uses “they” in 6:5–10, “you” in 6:4 & 11, and “they” or “he” in 7:1–16. Throughout these verses the LORD is the speaker, and he either addresses the people directly or speaks about them.

English versions all use “you” in 6:11 and “they” in chapter 7, but they differ in the way they use the pronouns in 6:5–10. You should use the most natural and least confusing way in your language to handle the pronouns in 6:5–10. In 6:7–10, the Display will follow the BSB pronoun choice in the first meaning line and give another pronoun choice in the second meaning line. See the note on “you” in 2:16b–c, where the pronoun changes are similar.

Here are some other examples of section headings:

Transitory Faithfulness and Imminent Judgment (NET)

Impenitence of Israel and Judah (NRSV)

Paragraph 6:4–6

This paragraph contrasts with the previous one (6:1–3). That paragraph described a time when the people would truly repent. Here in 6:4–6, the LORD told the people of Israel and Judah how unreliable their love was. He expressed his despair over the way that the people truly behaved. He also told them what he desired from them.

In some languages, it may be helpful to make explicit the contrast between this paragraph and 6:1–3. For example:

But you, Ephraim, What am I to do with you?

Yet you people of Ephraim do not seek to know me. What can I do with you?

6:5a–c

This verse describes the result of the people’s undependable love described in 6:4. Notice the parallel parts that are similar in meaning:

^5aTherefore I have hewn them by the prophets;

^5b I have slain them by the words of My mouth,

^5cand my judgments go forth like lightning.This shows one way that 6:5c may be parallel to 6:5a and 6:5b. Another possibility is that the phrase “My judgments” in 6:5c is parallel with “I have hewn them” in 6:5a and “I have slain them” in 6:5b.

In this verse, the LORD told the people how he responded to their lack of love. He disciplined them severely.

The historical context indicates that he disciplined the people many times over a period of many years. Some English versions use past tense verbs here to allow this understanding. However, the Hebrew verbs in this verse have imperfect tense/aspect, which commonly indicates a present or future time reference.

Translate this in a natural way in your language to indicate it happened regularly over a long period of time and will continue to happen.

Verse 6:4 used the second person pronoun “you” to refer to Ephraim and Judah. In that verse, the LORD addressed the people directly. Here in 6:5, the pronoun changes from “you” to “them.” See the summary of Section 6:4–7:16 above for more information.

6:5a

Therefore I have hewn them by the prophets;

So I caused you^(plur) to die through the words of my prophets.
That is why I have sent my prophets to say that I would punish you with death.

Therefore: In Hebrew and in some English versions, this verse begins with a word that indicates result. For example:

That’s why I slaughtered you with the words of my prophets. (CEV)

Some versions do not introduce the verse with a specific word here. Instead, they let the context imply the relationship between the previous verse and this one. For example:

I sent my prophets to cut you to pieces—to slaughter you with my words (NLT)

Use a natural way in your language to indicate that the LORD’s actions here in 6:5 are the result of the people’s undependable love in 6:4.

I have hewn them by the prophets: This clause is a figure of speech that compares the LORD’s prophets to instruments of death. It means that the words the LORD spoke through his prophets announced his judgment against the people. His judgment was a death sentence. The clause does not mean that the LORD used his prophets to literally cut people in pieces.

6:5a–b

(combined/reordered)

Because you^(plur) are like that, I repeatedly sent my prophets to tell you that I would judge and destroy you.

6:5b

I have slain them by the words of My mouth,

They spoke to you^(plur) my words of judgment that destroyed you.
They repeatedly warned you that I would destroy you.

I have slain them by the words of My mouth: The figure of speech in this clause is similar to the previous clause. It means that the words the LORD spoke through his prophets announced his judgment of death against the people. It is left implied that the phrase the words of My mouth are words that the LORD spoke through his prophets.

General Comment on 6:5a–b

In some languages, it may be more natural to combine the parallel lines. It may also be clearer to translate the nonfigurative meaning. For example:

I have sent my prophets to you with my message of judgment and destruction. (GNT)

I have warned you by my prophets that I will kill you and destroy you. (NCV)

6:5c

and My judgments go forth like lightning.

The arrival of my judgment will be like the light.
I will punish you^(plur) as certainly as the dawn comes.

and My judgments go forth like lightning: This clause is a simile.There is a textual issue here: (1) The LXX, Syriac Peshitta, and Aramaic Targum have "my judgment goes forth like light.“ (2) The Hebrew MT has ”and your judgments [are] light [which] goes forth.” It is recommended that you follow the LXX here along with HOTTP, most commentaries and English versions. The plural subject “your judgments” in the MT does not fit the singular verb “goes forth.” For more details, see Andersen and Freedman (page 429), Hubbard (page 127), Keil (page 99), McComiskey (pages 91–92), and the NET footnote. It compares the way that the LORD’s judgment goes forth to lightning.

In Hebrew, the word the BSB translates here as lightning can refer to the light of day, dawn, lightning, or a lamp, among other things. The way in which the LORD’s judgment is similar to light is not obvious. There are at least three interpretations:

The simile indicates that the LORD’s judgment will certainly occur. For example:
My judgment will strike you as surely as day follows night. (NLT96) (NET, NLT96, NLT)
The simile indicates that the LORD’s judgment/justice is clear and obvious for all to see. For example:
My justice comes out like bright light. (NCV) (GNT, NCV)It is possible that the NJB (“my sentence will blaze forth like the dawn”) and the CEV (“my judgments blazed like the dawning sun”) follow this interpretation, but the implication of these similes is not clear in English. Scholars who support interpretation (2) understand the point of similarity to be “brilliance and pervasiveness” (McComiskey, pages 91–92), “clear” (Pusey, page 66), or “public recognition” (Davies, page 168).
The simile indicates that the LORD’s judgment destroys people. For example:
My judgments flashed like lightning upon you. (NIV) (NIV)

Most versions leave the similarity between judgment and light implicit. For example:

and my judgment goes forth as the light (NRSV)

It is recommended that you translate in a way that allows your readers to understand more than one point of similarity. If you need to make the similarity between judgment and lightning/light explicit, it is recommended that you follow interpretation (1). This interpretation is similar to 6:3c, which compares the LORD’s coming to the certainty of dawn.

Here is another way to translate this interpretation:

I will punish you as certainly as the arrival of the dawn/daylight.

Parallel HOS 6:5