And renders the Hebrew waw conjunction, which connects this narrative to the previous section. Most languages will not use such a conjunction. Good News Translation and many other translations omit it. New Living Translation has “Then.” Swahili Union Version has a narrative tense that is used here to mark the link with the preceding section. If such a tense exists in the receptor language, it can be used here.
The LORD said to me: See the comments on 1.2 and 1.4. The pronoun me refers to Hosea. This section differs from chapter 1 since it is written as a story told by Hosea rather than by someone else.
Go again: In the Hebrew text the adverb for again appears between the LORD said to me and Go, so it is difficult to determine whether it modifies said or Go. It may signify repetition of the action it describes, or it may signify that the action continues. Some translations agree with Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation by saying “Go again” (New English Bible; similarly Jerusalem Bible with “Go a second time”), meaning that Hosea should again take a wife as he did earlier. Others prefer the interpretation of the alternate translation given in the GNT footnote, which is “The LORD spoke to me again” (similarly New Revised Standard Version, Contemporary English Version, New American Bible). New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh stresses the continuity of God speaking to Hosea, as he had spoken earlier: “The LORD said to me further.” All these translations can be defended on the basis of the Hebrew text. But none of these renderings help us identify the woman. In any case, it is clear that Yahweh is “again” addressing Hosea, or that Hosea is to go “again” and love a woman (or, less likely, to “continue” to love his own wife), so translators are free to make either interpretation explicit, according to the demands of the receptor language. It is better still to leave both options implicit in order to maintain the broader scope of interpretation options.
Love a woman is in contrast with 1.2, where Hosea is told to marry a woman, not merely to love one. However, the Hebrew word for love can include not only sexual and emotional features as in courtship, but also the full range of faithful devotion that should be seen in a marriage. Marriage may be implied, whether the woman is Gomer or not. But we cannot say that the context implies that the woman is Gomer. In the Hebrew text the term for woman is introduced without the definite article, so this seems to be a woman not previously mentioned. New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh apparently opts for a woman other than Gomer and does not imply marriage, saying “befriend a woman.” NET Bible makes it explicit that Gomer is in view here with “show love to your wife again.” Such explicitness seems to go beyond the information offered by the text and context.
Who is beloved of a paramour: There is a textual problem here. We have here an example of how the Hebrew text, written in consonants only, can be supplied with various vowel markings so that the words can mean different things. Instead of who is beloved of a paramour, the Septuagint has “who loves evil,” which uses the same Hebrew consonants but with other vowels. However, the traditional Hebrew text followed by Revised Standard Version seems to be a better text than what the Septuagint suggests, and Hebrew Old Testament Text Project favors that text with a {B} decision, so we recommend it.
The Hebrew word translated paramour has the basic meanings of “neighbor, partner, companion” as well as “another” and even “husband” (as in Jer 3.20). New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh has “companion.” Hebrew Old Testament Text Project believes it means “husband” (so also Jerusalem Bible) in this context (a {B} decision). The comparison with God’s love for Israel in the second half of the verse led the Hebrew Old Testament Text Project committee to this opinion, since God’s love would be demonstrated by Hosea’s steadfast love for Gomer in spite of her unfaithfulness. This is a possible interpretation, which may be rendered as “who is beloved by her husband but is an adulteress” or “who, despite being loved by her husband, is an adulteress.” However, the parallel is still applicable if God’s love for his people relates to Hosea’s love for a woman who was loved by “another” as she was involved in adultery. No solution has proven to be the only possible correct one. For this reason we recommend that any translation is accompanied by a footnote with the alternative rendering.
And is an adulteress: In Hebrew culture a woman was called an adulteress if she was married but had sexual intercourse with a man not her husband. If she was unmarried she was called a “fornicator,” whether the man with whom she had intercourse was married or not. Since this woman is called an adulteress, she apparently is married, but the text does not identify her husband. Good News Translation combines the two clauses, who is beloved of a paramour and is an adulteress, saying “who is committing adultery with a lover.”
Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch (1982) interprets this verse to mean that Hosea should take Gomer once more, that he is the “husband” who still loves her even though she is an adulteress. Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch renders the first half of this verse as “The Lord commanded me: ‘Take your wife back again! You love her, although she leads the life of a prostitute.’ ” Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch may have had good reasons for translating in this manner, but a footnote should have been added to indicate the other alternative translation.
We assume this woman is probably not Gomer, Hosea’s first wife. This “second woman” refers to the southern kingdom, Judah, who had also worshiped Canaanite gods, as the northern kingdom had done. Thus Judah would be “loved by an illegitimate lover and is an adulteress.”
Even as the LORD loves the people of Israel …: The comparison here is between Hosea’s love and Yahweh’s love, since both love someone who turns away from such love. Since the LORD is speaking, some languages will have to follow Good News Translation and use a first person pronoun for him instead. Good News Translation renders this clause as “just as I still love the people of Israel,” and Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch (1982) is similar with “In the same way I love the Israelites.” Such translation solutions should be carried out consistently if it is required by the receptor language to use a first person pronoun.
Though they turn to other gods means they worship other gods than Yahweh and trust in them for help. No specific gods are mentioned.
And love cakes of raisins refers to a practice at sacrificial feasts. The Hebrew expression for cakes of raisins does not refer to baked cakes in the sense of sweet bread made of flour and raisins. Rather, dried, somewhat sticky raisins or figs were pressed together into a solid mass that could easily be carried as food, as on a trip through the wilderness. Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch says “cakes pressed from raisins.” Good News Translation avoids the misconception of “cakes” by saying simply “raisins.” A better model is “lumps of pressed raisins.” Apparently such lumps of raisins were part of the sacrificial worship to the fertility gods of Canaan, and David distributed them to the people as gifts after a sacrificial feast in Jerusalem (see 2 Sam 6.18-19; 1 Chr 16.2-3). To love such lumps of raisins implies the desire to offer them in such sacrificial feasts to the gods, and perhaps to receive and eat them as well. It may be necessary to add a footnote to explain the background to this practice, as in Good News Translation. It is also possible to make the function of this practice explicit in the text, since it is unknown in most cultures; for example, Good News Translation renders this clause as “and like to take offerings of raisins to idols,” New English Bible has “and love the raisin-cakes offered to their idols,” and NET Bible says “and love to offer raisin cakes to idols.” In any case, we do not recommend following New Living Translation here, which has “and love to worship them [that is, the idols].” This translation removes a significant cultural element from the translation that clearly marks the otherness of the source culture.
A translation model for this verse is:
• The LORD again said to me, “Go, and show your love for a woman who in spite of being loved by her husband is adulterous.* Similarly, I, the LORD, love the people of Israel, although they turn to other gods and love to offer lumps of pressed raisins to idols [of these gods].”
* who in spite of being loved by her husband is adulterous; or even though she is loved by another man.
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 .