2.0 KiB
General Information:
Yahweh is speaking to Hosea.
lawsuit
This is a complaint by one person against another person in a court of law.
your mother
Here "mother" refers to the nation of Israel. (See: rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor)
for she is not my wife
Yahweh is stating that Israel, spoken of here as a woman, is no longer acting like a wife to Yahweh. Instead Israel has turned away from following and worshiping him. (See: rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor)
neither am I her husband
Yahweh can no longer be in relationship with the nation of Israel as a husband would be to his wife. (See: rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor)
her acts of adultery
A wife who is adulterous leaves her husband to sleep with another man. This is how Israel was acting toward Yahweh. (See: rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor)
from between her breasts
This imagery suggests that Israel is relying on the idols and not Yahweh. (See: rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor)
I will strip her naked and show her nakedness as on the day that she was born
Yahweh will no longer protect and provide for Israel because the nation has turned away from him. In Israel, husbands were obliged by law to provide clothes for their wives. Not to do so was a sign that a man was rejecting his wife. The full meaning of this may be made clear. (See: rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor and rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-explicit)
I will make her like the wilderness
Yahweh will change Israel to resemble the wilderness, which is a region that is bare and unproductive. (See: rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-simile)
I will make her die from thirst
Here "thirst" refers to the need to worship and rely on Yahweh, not idols, or Israel will not be able to survive as a nation. (See: rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor)