Following the accusation of lines three and four in 6.4, this verse states what God’s judgment has been. The conjunction Therefore introduces the judgment. Good News Translation is similar with “That is why.” Not all scholars assume a causal relationship here, because there is a shift from second person plural for the Israelites in the last half of 6.4 (“Your”) to third person plural here (them). This verse may refer to events in the distant past, even as far as Moses, who is also considered a prophet in the Old Testament (see, for example, Deut 34.10).

I have hewn them by the prophets, I have slain them by the words of my mouth: These two line are parallel and present a single message. The verbs hewn and slain are figures of God’s warnings, through the prophets, of punishments to come. The Hebrew perfect tense is used here, indicating completed action. God sent prophets in the past to tell about God’s message for the future. Alternatively, this verb tense may indicate the certainty of future events, as in NET Bible, which uses the future tense (“I will certainly cut … I will certainly kill…”). In the Old Testament the word of Yahweh, coming out of the mouth of a prophet, was considered an autonomous power, causing things to happen, both in a positive sense (as in Isa 55.11) and in a negative one (as in this context). The same is true in various other cultures: words are viewed as powers that can build or destroy. In such cases no translational adjustments are advised here.

The Hebrew word for hewn normally refers to cutting deep into something such as stone, using tools, as when engraving, or digging out a pit in the earth. Here it is used metaphorically to picture a violent slaughter of the people, as if in a battle, using weapons as cutting tools. Similarly, the Hebrew word for slain means killing the people with ruthless violence. Jerusalem Bible and Bible de Jérusalem use the verbs “torn … to pieces” and “slaughtered.”

Almost never does the Bible speak of a prophet slaughtering people (1 Kgs 18.40 is an exception). Their function was to speak the word of Yahweh, but that word was so powerful that it could kill or make alive. The parallel phrases hewn them by the prophets and slain them by the words of my mouth show that the weapon is the word of Yahweh spoken by his prophets. For prophets see 4.5. Words of my mouth may be rendered “my message” (Good News Translation) or “what I say.” Good News Translation combines and reconstructs these two lines, and changes the metaphors into nonfigurative language: “That is why I have sent my prophets to you with my message of judgment and destruction.” In Good News Translation the poetic flavor is lost here. However, if in the receptor language words are not viewed as autonomous powers, this is an acceptable model. Another example is Bible en français courant: “That is why I do battle with you through the message of the prophets, and I declare to you that you are going to the slaughter.”

And my judgment goes forth as the light: And renders the Hebrew waw conjunction, which may be omitted here (so Good News Translation). There is a textual problem in this line. The traditional Hebrew text is literally “and your judgments [are] a light [which] goes forth.” Revised Standard Version follows the Septuagint here, which was presumably translated from a more ancient Hebrew manuscript. As noted in the comments on 6.3, some translations transfer this line to that verse, where they believe the present Hebrew text makes more sense. However, there is no evidence in Hebrew manuscripts or in ancient versions for such a transfer. The opinion held by many scholars is that a scribe divided two Hebrew words after the wrong consonant, so that the text should be read as translated in the Septuagint and Revised Standard Version. The Hebrew Old Testament Text Project committee agrees with Revised Standard Version (a {C} decision).

What does my judgment refer to? The Hebrew word for judgment can refer to a legal decision by a judge, or to a statement or decree coming from a ruler. Most translations interpret my judgment as referring to God’s previous warnings of judgment. Good News Translation and Moffatt understand that it refers to the following statement in verse 6, what God wants from his people. Either interpretation is possible, since both the first two lines of this verse and verse 6 fit the definition of judgment. In fact, the writer could have intended this line to fulfill a kind of double duty, referring to both the preceding and the following context. However, it is better for my judgment to refer to the first two lines of this verse, as in Revised Standard Version, rather than to verse 6.

In what way is my judgment compared with the light? Is the comparison with the suddenness of light’s appearance, or is it with the clarity of light? If my judgment refers to the previous two lines, then the idea of sudden destruction, as with a flash of light, is appropriate. Wolff follows this interpretation, saying “(My) justice then breaks forth (like) light.” New International Version is similar: “my judgments flashed like lightning upon you.” If my judgment refers to verse 6, then the idea of clarity fits well with the simple, clear teaching of the will of Yahweh. Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch follows this sense, saying “What I demand of you is as clear as daylight.” Bible en français courant expresses both ideas: “My sentence is about to flash forth clear as the day.”

A translation model for this verse is:

• That is why I have cut them to pieces through the prophets,
I have finished them with the words of my mouth.
The full light of my judgment has appeared.

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 .