HOS 8:11 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.
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 Ὅτι ἐπλήθυνεν Ἐφραὶμ θυσιαστήρια, εἰς ἁμαρτίας ἐγένοντο αὐτῷ θυσιαστήρια ἠγαπημένα.
(Hoti eplaʸthunen Efraim thusiastaʸria, eis hamartias egenonto autōi thusiastaʸria aʸgapaʸmena. )

BrTr Because Ephraim has multiplied altars, his beloved altars are become sins to him.

ULT Since Ephraim has multiplied altars for sin offerings,
⇔  they have become altars for sinning for him.

UST The people of Ephraim have built many altars on which to offer sacrifices for their sins;
⇔ however, these altars have become places where the people commit terrible sins against me.

OEB ⇔ For as many altars as Ephraim has erected,
⇔ they are to him altars for sinning,

WEBBE Because Ephraim has multiplied altars for sinning,
⇔ they became for him altars for sinning.

WMBB (Same as above)

NET Although Ephraim has built many altars for sin offerings,
⇔ these have become altars for sinning!

LSV Because Ephraim multiplied altars to sin,
They have been to him altars to sin.

FBV Though Ephraim built many altars to make sin offerings, they instead became altars of sin!

T4T ⇔ Although the people of Israel built many altars to present offerings to their idols to take away their guilt for sinning,
⇔ those altars have become places where they commit more sins.

LEB • When Ephraim multiplied altars to expiate sins,
• they became to him altars to sin on.

BBE Because Ephraim has been increasing altars for sin, altars have become a cause of sin to him.

Moff ⇔ Many an altar has Ephraim raised,
⇔ altars that only serve for sin.

JPS For Ephraim hath multiplied altars to sin, yea, altars have been unto him to sin.

ASV Because Ephraim hath multiplied altars for sinning, altars have been unto him for sinning.

DRA Because Ephraim hath made many altars to sin: altars are become to him unto sin.

YLT Because Ephraim did multiply altars to sin, They have been to him altars to sin.

Drby Because Ephraim hath multiplied altars to sin, altars shall be unto him to sin.

RV Because Ephraim hath multiplied altars to sin, altars have been unto him to sin.
(Because Ephraim hath/has multiplied altars to sin, altars have been unto him to sin. )

SLT Because Ephraim multiplied altars to sin, altars were to him to sin.

Wbstr Because Ephraim hath made many altars to sin, altars shall be to him to sin.

KJB-1769 Because Ephraim hath made many altars to sin, altars shall be unto him to sin.
(Because Ephraim hath/has made many altars to sin, altars shall be unto him to sin. )

KJB-1611 Because Ephraim hath made many altars to sinne, altars shall be vnto him to sinne.
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above)

Bshps Ephraim hath made many aulters to do wickednesse, his aulters I say he had to his sinne.
(Ephraim hath/has made many altars to do wickedness, his altars I say he had to his sin.)

Gnva Because Ephraim hath made many altars to sinne, his altars shalbe to sinne.
(Because Ephraim hath/has made many altars to sin, his altars shall be to sin. )

Cvdl Ephraim hath made many aulters to do wickednes, therfore shal the aulters turne to his synne.
(Ephraim hath/has made many altars to do wickedness, therefore shall the altars turn to his sin.)

Wycl For Efraym multipliede auteris to do synne, auteris weren maad to hym in to trespas.
(For Ephraim multiplied altars to do sin, altars were made to him in to trespass.)

Luth Denn Ephraim hat der Altäre viel gemacht zu sündigen; so sollen auch die Altäre ihm zur Sünde geraten.
(Because Ephraim has the/of_the altars many made to/for sin(v); so should also the altars him to/for sin(n) advised.)

ClVg Quia multiplicavit Ephraim altaria ad peccandum; factæ sunt ei aræ in delictum.
(Because multiplied Ephraim altars to peccandum; done are to_him aræ in/into/on offence/crime. )

SOTN SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 8:1–14: The Israelites will be punished for rejecting the LORD

In this section, the LORD warned the nation of Israel that enemies were ready to attack them, because they had rejected him and broken their agreement to obey his laws (8:1–3). They disobeyed him by choosing their own leaders (8:4a–b) and making idols (8:4c–6). Their alliance with Assyria failed, and they became weak agriculturally and also politically as a nation. Verse 8:10 predicts their future punishment as slaves in Assyria (8:7–10). The LORD did not accept the sacrifices they offered to him, because they continued to sin, so their cities faced total destruction (11–14).The TN analysis of this section follows the paragraph divisions used in a majority of English versions. The summary combines ideas from McComiskey (page 118), Davies (page 193), and Stuart (pages 126–127).

Here are some other examples of section headings:

The Lord Will Punish Israel for Its Rebellion (GW)

The LORD warned Israel that enemies would attack them

Warning that Israel will be Punished

Throughout this section, the LORD is the speaker. He referred to himself using first person pronouns (“I/me/my”) except for verse 13b–d, which has “he.” In this section, the Hebrew text almost always uses “they” or “he/it” to refer to the people or nation of Israel. The only exceptions are 8:1 and 8:5, which use the pronoun “your.” The CEV uses “you/your” consistently to refer to Israel. Most other versions use third person pronouns. The Display will follow the BSB pronoun choice in the first meaning line. It will often use “you/your” in the second meaning line.

Paragraph 8:11–14

This paragraph describes how the people of Israel sinned when they offered sacrifices to the LORD. There is a contrast between the many altars that the people built for sinning (8:11) and the many teachings that the LORD wrote for the people’s good (8:12). In both situations, the people rejected what God wanted them to do. As a result, the LORD did not accept their sacrifices (8:13), so their cities faced total destruction (8:14).

8:11

Notice the parallel parts that are similar in meaning:

^11a“Though Ephraim multiplied the altars for sin,

^11b they became his altars for sinning.

In Hebrew, these clauses are more literally:

^11a…Ephraim has multiplied altars for sinning,

^11b they have become for him altars for sinning.

The same Hebrew word, “sinning,” is used in each line. However, in 11a, the word probably means “to sacrifice an animal as a sin offering.” In 11b, it probably means “to sin.”This interpretation assumes that the original Hebrew word form of the first occurrence of the word “sinning” was Piel. However, in the Masoretic Text the word form is Qal. These forms are distinguished by different vowels.

8:11a

Though Ephraim multiplied the altars for sin,

¶ “Even though the people of Israel built many altars for offering sacrifices to take away their sin,
¶ “Because/Since they sacrificed animals on many altars, they expected that I would forgive their sins.

8:11a–b

There are two main ways to interpret the relationship between 8:11a and 8:11b:

Verse 8:11a describes an existing situation that led to the unexpected result in 8:11b. The people built many altars as places to offer their sin offerings, so they expected the Lord to take away their sin. Instead, the altars became places where their sin increased.Davies, Dearman, Hubbard, and McComiskey are among the commentaries that imply a direct correlation between the increased number of altars and increased sin/sinning. For example:
^11a“Although Israel built more altars to remove sin, ^11bthey have become altars for sinning. (NCV) (BSB, CEV, GNT, GW, NAB, NCV, NET, NIV, NJB, NJPS, NLT, NRSV)
Verse 8:11a describes the situation that caused the result in 8:11b. There is no emphasis on whether the result was expected or not. For example:
^11aBecause Ephraim has multiplied altars for sinning, ^11bthey have become to him altars for sinning. (ESV) (ESV, KJV, NASB, RSV)

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

Here are some other ways to translate the relationship between 8:11a and 8:11b:

Emphasize the unexpected consequence in 8:11b. For example:
Although Ephraim has built many altars for sin offerings, these have become altars for sinning! (NET)
When Ephraim multiplied altars to expiate sin, they became to him altars for sinning. (NRSV)
Israel has built many altars to take away sin, but these very altars became places for sinning!
Emphasize the direct relation between the number of altars and the number of places for sinning. For example:
The more altars the people of Israel build for removing sin, the more places they have for sinning! (GNT)

Use a natural way in your language to indicate one of these options.

8:11b

they became his altars for sinning.

these same altars became places where their sin increased.
But they disobeyed what I commanded them, so whenever they offered sacrifices on their altars, they caused their sins to become more.

they became his altars for sinning: Here are some other ways to translate this line:

they became places where people’s sins increased when they offered sacrifices

they became altars where people committed various kinds of sin when they sacrificed

became: The word became indicates that the function of the altars changed. They were now places that violated God’s original command. In Deuteronomy 12, God repeatedly commanded that all twelve tribes worship him at one location with one altar. The people disobeyed God’s command in at least two ways: they built many altars, and they often sacrificed to false gods on these altars.Stuart, Keil, McComiskey, and Wood all draw attention to these two areas of disobedience.

In some languages, it may be helpful to make some of this information explicit. For example:

these altars became places where people increased their sins by disobeying God’s commands.

It may also be helpful to add a footnote that gives some of the OT context. Here is a suggested footnote:

See Deuteronomy 12:5–6, 11, 13–14. In these verses, God commanded that the people from all twelve tribes of Israel worship him in one location and offer sacrifices to him on one altar. He wanted them to be different from the Canaanite people around them who worshiped false gods at many different altars.