God's anger, wrath of God

The Hebrew and Greek What is translated into English as “the wrath of God” (Good News Translation: “God’s anger”) has to be referred to in Bengali as judgment, punishment or whatever fits the context. In Bengali culture, anger is by definition bad and can never be predicated of God. (Source: David Clark)

In Kikuyu the whole phrase that is translated in English as “storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath” or similar is translated as “you are increasing for yourself God’s wrath.” (Source: Jan Sterk)

In Quetzaltepec Mixe it is translated with a term “that not only expresses anger, but also punishment” (source: Robert Bascom), in Western Bukidnon Manobo as “the coming punishment of God on mankind” (source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation), in Kankanaey as “God’s fearful/terrible future punishing of people” (source: Kankanaey Back Translation), in Tagbanwa as “the coming anger/hatred of God” (source: Tagbanwa Back Translation), and in Tenango Otomi as “the punishment which will come” (source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation).

See also anger.

Translation commentary on Hosea 14:4

Although our recommended outline shows 14.1-8 as a unit, Good News Translation inserts the following heading here: “The LORD Promises New Life for Israel.” Several other versions have similar titles, for example, “Assurance of Forgiveness” (New Revised Standard Version) and “The LORD Promises To Forgive” (Contemporary English Version). There is a major shift in perspective at this point. It changes from the Israelites repenting in the preceding verses, to the LORD responding to their words of repentance with promises. Good News Translation and New Living Translation make it clear that he is the speaker here by beginning with the quote frame “The LORD says,” which is not in the Hebrew text. Other translations mark the shift by inserting a blank line and using quotation marks (so New International Version, Bible en français courant). Translators should use a solution that suits their general translation approach.

I will heal their faithlessness: This line follows immediately after the previous verse and its word of motherly “mercy.” For God “healing” the Israelites, see 6.1; 7.1; and 11.3. Here what he heals is the habit of their faithlessness, which is portrayed as a disease that eventually leads to death. The Hebrew noun for faithlessness comes from a root meaning “turn,” and here it refers to the habit of turning away from Yahweh. It forms a wordplay with the Hebrew verb for “return” in verses 1-2, which has the same root. This kind of wordplay is obviously hard to express in most languages. Other renderings for faithlessness are “disloyalty” (New Jerusalem Bible), “infidelity” (Bible en français courant, Bible de Jérusalem), “apostasy” (Revised English Bible, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible), “waywardness” (New International Version), and “defection” (New American Bible). Good News Translation‘s “I will bring my people back to me” moves quite far away from the actual wording of the text and somehow misses the notion of the people’s unfaithfulness.

I will love them freely is perhaps the best way to translate the Hebrew. However, the word for freely is also the word for “freewill offering” (as in Exo 35.29; 36.3). So the image of the “sacrifice of words” in verse 2 continues here in poetic style. It is as if Yahweh will be with them in love as they share that sacrificial meal of words. New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh reflects some of this idea of freely, saying “Generously will I take them back in love.” Most translators will need to follow either Revised Standard Version or New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh, since it is usually impossible to capture such wordplay in translation.

For my anger has turned from them summarizes the result of Israel’s repentance and their peace offering of words. The Hebrew word ki rendered for is most likely a logical connector here. Good News Translation leaves it implied. The verb turned renders the same Hebrew root as the noun for faithlessness, so there is another wordplay. Good News Translation‘s “no longer am I angry with them” (similarly Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch) uses nonfigurative language, but most translations follow the form of the Hebrew.

A translation model for this verse is:

• The LORD says,
“I will heal them of their infidelity,
I will love them voluntarily.
My anger has turned away from them.

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 .