4:14a–b
Notice the parallel parts that are similar in meaning:
14a I will not punish your daughters when they prostitute themselves,
14b nor your daughters-in-law when they commit adultery.
There is an ellipsis in 4:14b. In some languages, it will be necessary to supply the missing verb from 4:14a. For example:
14b nor ⌊will I punish ⌋ your daughters-in-law when they commit adultery,
In Hebrew, the parallel parts in these lines are identical to the parallel parts in 4:13d–e. In some languages, it is unnatural to repeat the same noun phrases two verses in a row. If that is true in your language, you could use one or more pronouns instead. For example:
Yet I will not punish them for this (Good News Translation)
I will not punish: In this clause the pronoun I refers to the LORD. Some versions introduce this phrase with a word that indicates that this result is unexpected. For example:
Yet I will not punish (Good News Translation)
-or-
But I won’t punish (New Century Version)
Use a natural way in your language to introduce this unexpected result.
when…when: The word when in these parallel lines introduces the behavior that the LORD will not punish. He will not punish them when they are immoral. Another way to express this relationship is to use the word “for.” For example:
But I will not punish your daughters for becoming prostitutes (New Century Version)
General Comment on 4:14a–b
In some languages, it may be more natural to combine these parallel statements into one line. For example:
But I won’t punish them. (Contemporary English Version)
Notice that the Contemporary English Version leaves the reason for the punishment (their immorality) implied in 4:14a–b. The Contemporary English Version states their immoral behavior explicitly in 4:13d–e (quoted above).
4:14c–d
Notice the parallel parts that are similar in meaning:
14c For the men themselves go off with prostitutes
14d and offer sacrifices with shrine prostitutes.
4:14c
For: This word introduces the reason that the LORD will not punish the young women for their immoral behavior. It is because he places the blame on the men of Israel. The men led the nation into idolatry, and their immoral behavior influenced the young women to become immoral.
the men themselves: The Hebrew pronoun that the Berean Standard Bible translates as the men themselves is literally “they(masc).” The pronoun refers to the men of Israel. The following examples show different ways to translate the pronoun. All are acceptable:
• “the men.” An example is the Berean Standard Bible above.
• “your men.” For example:
your men resort to whores (Revised English Bible)
• “you men” or “you.” For example:
You men are to blame (Contemporary English Version)
Many versions also give emphasis by adding a word such as themselves. The Berean Standard Bible above is an example. Another example is the Good News Translation:
you yourselves go off with temple prostitutes (Good News Translation)
Express this emphasis in a way that is natural in your language.
go off with prostitutes: This phrase probably means that each of the men separated from a larger group to be alone with a prostitute.
Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:
go aside with harlots (Revised Standard Version)
-or-
wandering off with whores (New Jerusalem Bible)
This phrase implies that the men had sexual relations with the prostitutes. Some versions make this explicit. For example:
have sexual relations with prostitutes (New Century Version)
4:14d
and offer sacrifices with shrine prostitutes: As part of the ritual, the worshiper offered an animal sacrifice at an altar and later ate some of the meat from the sacrificed animal. Shrine prostitutes were part of that ritual. She and the worshiper may have shared the sacrificial meal together. She also had sexual intercourse with him as part of the ritual.
shrine prostitutes: This term refers to prostitutes who worked at the shrines where people worshiped idols.
Here are some other ways to translate this term:
temple prostitutes (New Century Version)
-or-
prostitutes who work at the pagan shrines
General Comment on 4:14c–d
In some languages, it may be more natural to combine these parallel statements into one line. For example:
you men accompany temple prostitutes to offer pagan sacrifices.
4:14e
So a people without understanding will come to ruin: This is a statement of judgment against the people. It is very similar to the statement “My people are destroyed from lack of knowledge” in 4:6a, although the context here is different. See the note on that passage.
This expression may have been a proverb that was familiar to the people of that time. Some versions make this explicit. For example:
As the proverb says, ‘A people without sense will be ruined.’ (Good News Translation)
a people without understanding: This phrase refers here to people who do not have spiritual or moral understanding. Such people refuse to understand God and the way he acts. This lack of understanding is equivalent to moral or spiritual foolishness.
Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:
Your own foolishness… (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
O foolish people! You refuse to understand (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
A people without sense (Good News Translation)
will come to ruin: This phrase refers here to the destruction of the nation of Israel.
Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:
is doomed (New Jerusalem Bible)
-or-
will be destroyed (New Living Translation (2004))
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