When or “After” (Good News Translation) renders well the Hebrew waw conjunction (literally “And”) in this context. Here it introduces the next event.

She had weaned Not pitied: It was customary for Israelite mothers to nurse babies for two or three years before weaning them, and there may have been a family celebration at that time (see, for example, Gen 21.8). As indicated in this verse, a mother usually became pregnant again only after she stopped nursing the baby. It may be necessary to translate the pronoun she as “Gomer” (Good News Translation) for clarity. For the name Not pitied, see 1.6. Not pitied is referred to as “her daughter” in Good News Translation. The way to handle this name in translation depends on the receptor language. Which solution is clearer or more natural? It also depends on the type of translation. Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch has “her daughter ‘No mercy.’ ” We do not recommend this double reference.

She conceived and bore a son: Compare 1.3 and 1.6 for the style of narrating these births. As in 1.6, the pronoun “him” (referring to Hosea) is not present in the text.

Quoted with permission from Dorn, Louis & van Steenbergen, Gerrit. A Handbook on Hosea. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2020. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

And the LORD said: The Hebrew is literally “And he said,” but most translators will need to make the LORD explicit. Good News Translation also identifies the prophet explicitly by adding “to Hosea.” The conjunction And may be translated “Then” (New International Version) in this context.

Call his name Not my people, for …: For the construction of this sentence, see 1.4 and 1.6. The third symbolic name, Not my people, is a sign that God no longer regards Israel as his people. New Revised Standard Version, Contemporary English Version, and New International Version transliterate this name, saying “Lo-Ammi,” but we also do not recommend this (see comments on 1.6). The Hebrew word for people refers to a group of people that can be identified, such as a clan or a nation. Bible en français courant avoids the use of a negative particle by translating the name as “Foreigner,” but the contrast with “My people” in 2.1 then becomes less obvious in most languages. So this rendering is not recommended.

You are not my people and I am not your God: This statement resembles a decree of divorce. In this case God cancels the covenant relationship between himself and Israel (see Exo 6.7). The Hebrew pronouns for you and your are both plural. Since God is speaking to Hosea, not to Israel, Good News Translation restructures this statement as follows: “the people of Israel are not my people and I am not their God.” Stylistically the repetition of “people” within one sentence may not be acceptable to everybody. An alternative is “Israel is not my people, and I am not their God” (New Living Translation). Many languages distinguish between you (singular) and you (plural). In that case the problem does not arise. The change from second to third person plural pronouns (for example, from your to “their”) seems to exclude Hosea. The Hebrew text does not support this. An alternative rendering that includes Hosea is “You, Israelites, are not my people and I am not your God.”

In Hebrew I am not your God is literally “I [am] not I AM for you.” This is a clear reference to Exo 3.14, where God revealed his name to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM” (see the comments on “LORD” at 1.1). It is as if God cancels his covenant with Israel, saying “I am not Yahweh for you,” “I am not effectively present for you,” or “I am not available for you.” The Hebrew can also be translated “I do not exist for you” (New Jerusalem Bible, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible). It is difficult to render the full impact of this statement. Most translations only provide the broad meaning, as in Good News Translation with “I am not their God” (similarly Revised Standard Version, King James Version, Jerusalem Bible, New American Bible, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh, An American Translation, Zürcher Bibel). This rendering does make it easier to coordinate the translation of this verse with that of 2.23, which reverses the idea of this verse and clearly expresses “my God.” If the actual Hebrew reading (literally “I [am] not I AM for you”) is preferred, translators can follow Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch and De Nieuwe Bijbelvertaling by saying “I am no longer there for you.” It may also be helpful to add a footnote explaining that this statement is an allusion to the divine name in Exo 3.14 (so Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch).

Translation models for this verse are:

• Then the LORD said, “You should name him Not-My-People, because you are not my people and I do not exist for you.”

• The LORD told Hosea, “Call him Not My People, for you, Israelites, are not my people and I am not your God.”

Quoted with permission from Dorn, Louis & van Steenbergen, Gerrit. A Handbook on Hosea. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2020. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

Yet renders well the Hebrew waw conjunction (literally “And”) at the beginning of this verse since there is a contrast between this paragraph and the previous one. Other translations use “But” (New Jerusalem Bible, De Nieuwe Bijbelvertaling, Chewa) or “However” ( NET Bible) for marking the contrast. Good News Translation simply makes the contrastive statement without such a marker. Biblia Dios Habla Hoy begins with “One day.” Translators should carefully consider whatever suitable expressions the discourse style of their language may require to reach the intended contrastive effect.

The number of the people of Israel shall be like the sand of the sea: This promise reflects those made by God to Abraham and to Jacob (Gen 22.17; 32.12). Their people will grow in number so they cannot be counted. However, the figure the sand of the sea also occurs in other contexts (for example, Josh 11.4; Jdg 7.12; Jer 15.8) and should therefore be treated consistently in translation. The people of Israel is literally “the sons [or, children] of Israel.” It may be helpful to translate this phrase as “the children of Israel” (English Standard Version) in order to link it visibly with “the children of God” at the end of this verse. It is also possible to interpret this paragraph as being addressed to the common people of Israel, while the preceding paragraphs were directed against the leadership of Israel.

Which can be neither measured nor numbered: Goods that cannot be counted are usually measured by weight or bulk, as is oil, rice, or sugar. The prophecy says that neither form of telling quantity will be useful for counting the people of Israel. Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch says “which one can neither count nor measure with a [dry] measure.” Local terms for measuring or weighing can also be considered.

And in the place where it was said to them: In the place where is a literal translation of the Hebrew. Many scholars (for example, Harper, Wolff) and translators understand that the Hebrew phrase here does not refer to a physical place but is an idiom meaning “instead of” or “whereas.” This meaning for the phrase does occur elsewhere in the Hebrew Bible (for example, Lev 4.29, 33). The translation of this whole clause can then be “and instead of saying to them.” Good News Translation follows this interpretation by beginning with “Now” to introduce a contrast. However, Mays believes this unnamed place is Jezreel. Andersen and Freedman believe it may refer to a sacred place where ceremonies were held for naming children. Other translations follow this interpretation; for example, New Jerusalem Bible says “In the very place where they were told,” and New International Version has “In the place where it was said to them.” Both interpretations are possible.

It was said to them is a passive construction, but the implied speaker is God (see 1.9). Good News Translation makes this explicit with “God says to them.” In the present context there is no compelling reason to be this explicit, but if the receptor language does not easily accommodate a passive form, this may be an acceptable alternative.

You are not my people: See 1.9.

It shall be said to them is another passive construction. Good News Translation uses an active expression here also by identifying God as the speaker, saying “he will say to them.” See the comments above.

Sons of the living God is a new name not given previously to one of Hosea’s children. The Hebrew word for Sons includes daughters as well, especially when it refers to an entire group of people. Here Sons means approximately the same thing as people but emphasizes a close relationship, as in a family. Good News Translation translates the name as a statement, saying “You are the children of the living God!” The inclusive word “children” is recommended in translation.

The phrase the living God contrasts Yahweh with lifeless idols who have no power. It also contrasts him with Baal, the Canaanite god of fertility, who was thought to die at the beginning of every dry season, leaving all the plants to die. In view of this, the living God can be interpreted as “the God who provides life.”

Translation models for this verse are:

• However, the children of Israel will become numerous like the sand of the sea that cannot be measured or counted. In the place where they were told, “You are not my people,” they will be told, “You are children of the living God.”

• But the children of Israel will be as many as the sands on the seashore, uncountable and immeasurable. It was said to them, “You are not my people.” Instead, it will be said to them, “You are children of the God who provides life.”

Quoted with permission from Dorn, Louis & van Steenbergen, Gerrit. A Handbook on Hosea. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2020. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

And the people of Judah and the people of Israel shall be gathered together: The people of Judah and the people of Israel refers to the people of the southern and northern kingdoms. Both times people is literally “sons [or, children]” as in 1.10 (see comments there). Since they will choose a common leader, be gathered together means being politically united as a single nation. Good News Translation says “be reunited,” Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch has “come together from out of the whole land,” and Bible en français courant translates “find their unity again.”

And they shall appoint for themselves one head: This clause reflects the manner in which the tribes formerly selected a leader (compare Jdg 11.8). Hosea seems to be avoiding the term “king” here, perhaps because he normally condemns kings (see 1.4-5). Therefore translators should avoid the word “king” also. A more generic term such as “leader” (New International Version, NET Bible, Revised English Bible [Revised English Bible]) is a good rendering for head. A local term that designates a generic type of leadership is also acceptable. Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch renders this clause as “and select for themselves a common chief.”

And they shall go up from the land is a clause that is difficult to explain. Some translations interpret it as a promise of return from exile (so New American Bible, Segond). This is unlikely, since no exile has been mentioned. This clause most likely views God’s people to be like seeds and plants that go up from the earth, so Good News Translation understands it to refer to Israel inhabiting and filling the land that the Assyrians had taken: “and once again they will grow and prosper in their land.” This interpretation fits the meaning of Jezreel, which is “God sows [seed]” (see the GNT footnote). Wolff suggests “and take possession of the land.” New Revised Standard Version is similar with “and they shall take possession of the land,” and so is New English Bible with “and they shall become masters of the earth” (similarly Einheitsübersetzung, NJPSV footnote). Such translations move away from the basic meaning of the Hebrew words here (see the following comments on the day of Jezreel). Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch successfully combines both the figure here and its meaning: “They will cover the land like grass that sprouts out of the ground.”

For great shall be the day of Jezreel: Important things are going to happen some day (or, time) in Jezreel (see 1.4). In this verse and the next one, all three names of Hosea’s children are referred to symbolically. It is not his son Jezreel who will have a great day, but the place called Jezreel. Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch provides the meaning of this name in the text: “That will be a great day, when what the name Jezreel means will happen: ‘God sows.’ ”

Some scholars relate the day of Jezreel to the similar phrase “the day of Midian” in Isa 9.4, which was a day of defeat for Midian in battle. On this basis they believe go up from the land refers to gaining control of the valley of Jezreel once more in the future. However, if 1.10-11 is seen as an address to the common people of Israel and Judah (see comments on previous verse), the day of Jezreel may well refer to the defeat of the kingship of Israel (1.4-5) in the past. The Hebrew Bible frequently talks about “the day of…” to refer to a military defeat, as in “the day of Midian” (Isa 9.3), “the day of Jerusalem” (Psa 137.7), and “the day of Egypt’s doom” (Ezek 30.9). So different interpretations are possible and acceptable here.

Translation models for this verse are:

• The children of Israel and the children of Judah will be united again. They will choose for themselves a chief, and they will shoot up everywhere in the land, for great was the day of the defeat at Jezreel.

• The people of Israel and the people of Judah will be reunited. They will appoint a leader and control the land. The day of Jezreel will be a great day.

Quoted with permission from Dorn, Louis & van Steenbergen, Gerrit. A Handbook on Hosea. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2020. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

Revised Standard Version prints this verse as a separate paragraph. Good News Translation and most modern translations print this verse and the two verses before it as one paragraph, and that decision follows the poetic form of the Hebrew text, which keeps this verse together with the verses before it. However, Dorsey has shown that the content of this verse in section A-b fits well with the content of 2.23 in section A-b′.

Say to your brother … and to your sister …: The imperative Hebrew verb rendered Say is plural. The addressees are most likely the people of Judah and Israel who have to speak the names here to one another. In English the verb Say normally introduces a statement rather than a name, so Good News Translation begins this verse with “So call your fellow Israelites….” Bijbel in Gewone Taal has “Address your brothers with … and greet your sisters with….”

There is a textual problem here. Revised Standard Version has the singular expressions brother and sister, which follows the Septuagint. This reading refers more directly to Hosea’s children. The Hebrew text has the plural words “brothers” and “sisters,” which fits the preceding references to the people of Judah and Israel (1.11). Good News Translation combines the two sexes with “fellow Israelites.” However, this rendering loses the specific connection with the brother named “Not my people” and the sister named “Not pitied.” In addition to that it also loses the Hebrew text’s poetic flavor. Hebrew Old Testament Text Project favors the plural reading with only a {C} decision, meaning there is some serious doubt, but the committee decided for the plural as the more reliable text. That decision fits well as we see this verse together with its matching references to Israel in section A-b′.

My people and She has obtained pity translate the names literally. They are the same names used in 1.6 and 1.9 (see comments there), but without the negative particle. Whose people are they, and from whom has she obtained pity? Some understand these names to be the way the people of Judah and Israel are to greet each other, after they are reconciled. Then they would consider each other as My people, that is, they would all belong to each other. But it is possible to continue the idea that they are Yahweh’s people and are loved by him. See 1.10, which also refers to God as the one rejecting and accepting his people. Good News Translation reflects this interpretation with “God’s People” and “Loved-by-the-Lord.” This interpretation can apply even if one relates it to a time of reconciliation between the two Israelite kingdoms. The disadvantage of this solution may be that the contrast with the names “Not my people” and “Not pitied” is less pronounced, while this is clearly intended in the original text.

Since this verse also applies to Hosea’s broken marriage, these names can be understood as Hosea’s efforts to accept these children so that they will be able and willing to confront their mother on his behalf. It is often the case, in the prophetic books, that what is said is intended to have more than one meaning, and this may be the case in this verse.

The following translation of this verse in Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch (1982) is noteworthy:

• You people of Judah, announce to your brothers and sisters in Israel:
“The Lord says to you ‘My people!’ and ‘Mercy is granted to you!’ ”

Another translation model is:

• Call your brothers, “My-people,”
and say to your sisters, “Pity.”

Quoted with permission from Dorn, Louis & van Steenbergen, Gerrit. A Handbook on Hosea. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2020. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

Plead with your mother, plead: Yahweh speaks to the people of Israel as if Hosea were speaking to his three children. The Hebrew pronoun for your is plural. Good News Translation has made the addressees explicit by beginning with “My children.” The suggested context here is that of a court case in which the mother is on trial. The children represent the people of Israel. The mother represents the nation of Israel in this allegory. However, we do not recommend making this explicit in the translation. Biblia Dios Habla Hoy and Bijbel in Gewone Taal make it explicit that Yahweh is speaking by beginning this verse with “The Lord says.” In 2.1-13 the wife is spoken to directly only in 2.6 in the Hebrew.

Plead translates a Hebrew word usually associated with a legal trial. In the present context this verb denotes a confrontation in the setting of a court case, so it is better rendered “Accuse” (Contemporary English Version) or “Make complaint against.” The father is asking his children to confront their mother by taking legal action against her in court. Traduction œcuménique de la Bible renders this line as “Take legal action against your mother, take legal action against her,” and New Jerusalem Bible has “To court, take your mother to court!” The repetition of the imperative Hebrew verb here makes the appeal to the children to accuse their mother more compelling. It is not stated whether the children are to do so together with their father or independently. Most commentators assume that they are to join their father’s action. However, this is not likely if the parents are divorced (see the comments below).

For she is not my wife, and I am not her husband: These two lines are usually interpreted as a statement of divorce. It is placed within the larger sentence as a parenthetical statement. So it seems to be a statement of what has already occurred, not a statement that the divorce is taking place at this moment. Moreover, the issue of divorce is not the main topic of the allegory. The statement symbolizes that the covenant between God and Israel has been broken by Israel’s unfaithfulness. If they are no longer husband and wife, this may be the reason Hosea (representing Yahweh) asks the children, the people of Israel, to bring the formal accusation against their mother, the morally decayed nation of Israel. The former husband would no longer do so, for he is no longer legally related to the woman. Instead, Hosea now represents the one who executes punishment in 2.3. Some scholars believe a divorce has not occurred, since Gomer would then not be permitted to return to her husband (see 2.7). Thus Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch (1982) translates these lines as “For she acts as if she were not my wife and I were not her husband.” The Hebrew text does not support this rendering, so it is not recommended. Hosea and Gomer were definitely separated and most likely divorced, according to this formal statement of divorce. It must be remembered that, just as Hosea and Gomer were divorced, so also God eventually rejected Israel. They were taken into captivity in Assyria, and they never returned. The “divorce” was final, in that case.

Instead of the conjunction for, Good News Translation uses the connector “though” to render the Hebrew particle ki. For expresses a causal relationship, while “though” indicates a contra-expectation. Depending on the context, the Hebrew word can be translated both ways, but in view of the explanation in the preceding paragraph, we recommend a causal connector, such as for or “because.”

The Hebrew text uses independent pronouns for she and I to sharpen the contrast between the husband and the wife. The Hebrew phrases for not my wife and not her husband clearly resemble the combination of negatives in 1.9. They are grammatically identical. We suggest choosing a translation that visualizes this resemblance.

That she put away her harlotry from her face and her adultery from between her breasts: Even though they are divorced, the husband continues to try to change what his wife is doing, and this is the reason for the courtroom scene. The purpose for confronting her is expressed in these two lines, which are parallel lines of poetry. The Hebrew verb form rendered that she put away may be translated “And let her put away” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh), which introduces an independent clause. Revised Standard Version understands it as introducing a purpose clause, which is also possible. The main problem with this solution is the fact that the purpose clause should be linked with the first line in this verse. Because of the parenthetical statement in between, it may be difficult to see the connection. A slight rearrangement of clauses can resolve this problem (see the second translation model below). Since these two lines are parallel in Hebrew, the verb put away is implied in the second line (a case of ellipsis). If ellipsis is a poetic device in the receptor language, it should be kept here.

Her harlotry from her face possibly refers to cosmetics, decorations, or jewelry that would advertise her as a prostitute. Her adultery from between her breasts is a way of referring to the physical position of the men with whom she commits adultery; she should stop accepting them. Some translations interpret this expression to refer to the same kinds of jewelry or signs as those on her forehead, assuming that it adds no further information as a parallel expression. Thus Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch (1982) renders these two lines as “She should remove from her face and from her breast the decoration, which is a reminder that she has broken her faithfulness with me.” Either interpretation is valid. The Hebrew poet may have implied both of them.

Good News Translation avoids the details of these two lines, in which the figures of speech may be unclear, and gives the basic meaning: “Plead with her to stop her adultery and prostitution.” What is gained in clarity is lost in poetic and stylistic artistry. We advise translators to weigh such issues in deciding the various translation options.

Translation models for this verse are:

• To court! Take your mother to court!
For she is not my wife,
I am not her husband.
Let her remove the symbols of prostitution from her face,
the signs of adultery from between her breasts.

• Accuse your mother!
She is not my wife
and I am not her husband.
Accuse her,
so that she removes her whorish looks
and her harlotry between her breasts.

Quoted with permission from Dorn, Louis & van Steenbergen, Gerrit. A Handbook on Hosea. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2020. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

God warns of the punishment for Israel, symbolized by the punishment for an unfaithful wife. Normally adultery was punished by fire or by stoning (see, for example, Lev 21.9; Deut 22.23-24), but in this allegory the land is punished by a killing drought.

Lest I strip her naked: Part of the punishment of an adulterous woman was the removal of her clothes, described in Ezek 16.39. Moreover, Exo 21.10 lists providing clothing for his wife as one of the duties of the husband. Stripping her naked showed that the husband no longer provided for her. Stripping naked was considered a curse and shame in the culture of the Ancient Near East. Depending on the receptor culture, this point may have to be clarified, either in translation or in a footnote. Lest is a somewhat archaic conjunction, meaning “so that not.” This conjunction applies to all five lines in this verse. Possible models for this clause are “so that I will not strip her naked” and “Or else I will strip her naked.”

And make her as in the day she was born is parallel in meaning to the previous line. Good News Translation combines these two lines since it changes the text from poetry to prose: “If she does not, I will strip her as naked as she was on the day she was born.” Translators should choose a stylistically and poetically appropriate way for rendering these parallel lines. A repetition of identical grammatical structures in consecutive lines may generate a poetic effect. In the prose translation of Good News Translation this effect is no longer present.

And make her like a wilderness and set her like a parched land: In this allegory the features of the woman are sometimes emphasized in one statement, with the next statement emphasizing features of the land. These two parallel lines speak more directly of God’s punishment of the land. Wilderness and parched land are two ways of saying the same thing. A wilderness is an uninhabited place with little vegetation because there is little rainfall. In both expressions there is the notion of infertility, possibly an allusion to Baal who is supposed to bring fertility. Good News Translation combines them in a single statement, saying “dry and barren land.” Translators should again consider the option of a more poetic rendering.

Set her like a parched land is a literal rendering of the Hebrew. New Revised Standard Version provides a more natural translation in English with “turn her into a parched land.”

And slay her with thirst: Here the allegory returns to the figure of the woman. In this threat Israel is compared both with a dry land and with a woman who dies of thirst in that dry land. If it is difficult to change the figures that quickly, it may be better to retain one of them, as in Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch (1982), which renders the last three lines of this verse as “I will let it happen to her as in the desert, where there is no water; I will let her die of thirst.” Bible en français courant has “I will change her land into a desert, into an arid land; I will make her die of thirst.”

A translation model for this verse is:

• If not, I will strip her naked in humiliation,
expose her as on the day of her birth.
I will make her like a wilderness,
turn her into barren land.
I will kill her with thirst.

Quoted with permission from Dorn, Louis & van Steenbergen, Gerrit. A Handbook on Hosea. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2020. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .