Hosea 14:7-9
New English Translation
7 People will reside again[a] in his shade;
they will plant and harvest grain in abundance.[b]
They will blossom like a vine,
and his fame will be like the wine from Lebanon.
8 O Ephraim, I do not want to have anything to do[c] with idols anymore!
I will answer him and care for him.
I am like[d] a luxuriant cypress tree;[e]
your fruitfulness comes from me!”[f]
Concluding Exhortation
9 Who is wise?
Let him discern[g] these things!
Who is discerning?
Let him understand them!
For the ways of the Lord are right;
the godly walk in them,
but in them the rebellious stumble.
Footnotes
- Hosea 14:7 tn Hosea uses the similar-sounding terms יָשֻׁבוּ יֹשְׁבֵי (yashuvu yosheve, “the dwellers will return”) to create a wordplay between the roots שׁוּב (shuv, “to return”) and יָשַׁב (yashav, “to dwell; to reside”).
- Hosea 14:7 tn Heb “they will cause the grain to live” or “they will revive the grain.” Some English versions treat this as a comparison: “they shall revive as the corn,” (KJV) and “will flourish like the grain” (NIV).
- Hosea 14:8 tn The Hebrew expression מַה־לִּי עוֹד (mah-lli ʿod) is a formula of repudiation/emphatic denial that God has anything in common with idols: “I want to have nothing to do with […] any more!” (cf., e.g., Judg 11:12; 2 Sam 16:10; 19:23; 1 Kgs 17:18; 2 Kgs 3:13; 2 Chr 35:21; Jer 2:18; Ps 50:16; BDB 553 s.v. מָה 1.d.[c]).
- Hosea 14:8 tn The term “like” does not appear in the Hebrew text but is supplied in the translation for clarity, as in the majority of English versions (including KJV).
- Hosea 14:8 tn Cf. KJV “a green fir tree,” NIV, NCV “a green pine tree,” NRSV “an evergreen cypress.”
- Hosea 14:8 tn Heb “your fruit is found in me”; cf. NRSV “your faithfulness comes from me.”
- Hosea 14:9 tn The shortened form of the prefix-conjugation verb וְיָבֵן (veyaven) indicates that it is a jussive rather than an imperfect. When a jussive comes from a superior to an inferior, it may connote exhortation and instruction or advice and counsel. For the functions of the jussive, see IBHS 568-70 §34.3.
Hosea 14:7-9
New International Version
7 People will dwell again in his shade;(A)
they will flourish like the grain,
they will blossom(B) like the vine—
Israel’s fame will be like the wine(C) of Lebanon.(D)
8 Ephraim, what more have I[a] to do with idols?(E)
I will answer him and care for him.
I am like a flourishing juniper;(F)
your fruitfulness comes from me.”
Footnotes
- Hosea 14:8 Or Hebrew; Septuagint What more has Ephraim
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