Hosea 14:2

2. The Israelites were all familiar with the command, “None shall appear before me empty” (Exodus 23:15; Exodus 34:20), and they brought to Jehovah manifold gifts and offerings (Hosea 5:6; Amos 5:21 ff.; Isaiah 1:11 ff.), but for these Jehovah did not care. This Hosea had already made plain (see on Hosea 6:6); now he proceeds to give instruction concerning the things which will be acceptable to Jehovah.

Words Not meaningless phrases, but words expressing sincere repentance, such as he puts into their mouths in Hosea 14:2-3.

Take away It is natural that the prayer should begin with a petition for forgiveness (compare Micah 7:18-19; Psalms 51:9). Hebrew, “Do thou completely take away,” so that it shall be remembered no more.

Receive us graciously R.V., “accept that which is good.” Literally, take good; which may mean either, “Take and use that which is good,” that is, thy mercy, “and receive us again into thy favor” (so A.V.), or “Do thou take (accept) from us the only good we can offer, namely, words of supplication and repentance” (so R.V.). The expression is peculiar. If the text is correct, the second is a more natural interpretation of the Hebrew, though the first would seem to give a more acceptable sense.

So will we render the calves of our lips R.V., “So will we render as bullocks the offering of our lips.” The translation of A.V. disregards Hebrew grammar. R.V., as the italics indicate, attempts to remove the difficulty by giving a paraphrase rather than a translation. The thought implied in the latter is that the Hebrews, having learned their bitter lesson, will offer no longer bullocks of the herd, which are not acceptable (Hosea 6:6), but will substitute, as sacrificial animals, words of penitence and prayer (Psalm 2:16, 17; Psalms 69:30-31). The expression itself is so peculiar, however, that many doubt the correctness of the text. LXX. reads, “We will render the fruit of our lips,” and this is generally accepted as the original (compare Isaiah 57:19). The “fruit of the lips” are the confessions, petitions, and promises of loyalty contained in Hosea 14:3. The whole prayer in Hosea 14:2 b may be rendered, “If thou wilt completely take away iniquity, and if thou wilt receive the (only) good (we can offer), then we will render the fruit of our lips.” Following these words Harper reads the last, clause of Hosea 14:3, “For in thee the fatherless findeth mercy,” as supplying the ground for the confidence underlying the promise in the last clause of Hosea 14:2. This transposition is proposed not so much because it improves the thought as because the strophic arrangement demands it.