The Aramaic Bible

The Aramaic Bible · the Prophets

Targum Jonathan on the Prophets Hosea · chapter 14

Aramaic public domain · English where it exists, else the Bible (BSB)
What is the Aramaic Bible?

After the exile, most Jews spoke Aramaic, not Hebrew, so in the synagogue each Scripture reading was followed by an Aramaic translation read aloud, so ordinary people could follow. Those translations are the Aramaic Bible. Scholars call them the Targums.

Why it’s worth reading: a Targum doesn’t just translate, it quietly explains as it goes. So it’s a window into how the first Jewish readers actually understood a passage. Famously, the Aramaic of Isaiah 53 names the servant “the Messiah” outright.

Hebrew, Greek & the Aramaic Bible, when to use each →

Tap any Aramaic word to trace it to its Jastrow dictionary entry.

  1. :

    Return, O Israel, to the LORD your God, for you have stumbled by your iniquity.

  2. :

    Bring your confessions and return to the LORD. Say to Him: “Take away all our iniquity and receive us graciously, that we may present the fruit of our lips.

  3. :

    Assyria will not save us, nor will we ride on horses. We will never again say, ‘Our gods!’ to the work of our own hands. For in You the fatherless find compassion.”

  4. :

    I will heal their apostasy; I will freely love them, for My anger has turned away from them.

  5. :

    I will be like the dew to Israel; he will blossom like the lily and take root like the cedars of Lebanon.

  6. :

    His shoots will sprout, and his splendor will be like the olive tree, his fragrance like the cedars of Lebanon.

  7. :

    They will return and dwell in his shade; they will grow grain and blossom like the vine. His renown will be like the wine of Lebanon.

  8. :

    O Ephraim, what have I to do anymore with idols? It is I who answer and watch over him. I am like a flourishing cypress; your fruit comes from Me.

  9. :

    Whoever is wise, let him understand these things; whoever is discerning, let him know them. For the ways of the LORD are right, and the righteous walk in them but the rebellious stumble in them.

  10. :

Aramaic. Targum Jonathan to the Prophets, Aramaic: 'Mikraot Gedolot' (public domain), served by the Sefaria v3 API (sefaria.org)

English. The Masoretic verse (Berean Standard Bible, public domain), shown for reference, Targum Jonathan is the ancient Aramaic rendering of this verse.

We show the license-cleared original Aramaic and an established English translation, each Aramaic word traceable to a public-domain lexicon. We never machine-translate a primary text.

Targum Jonathan Hosea 14: word by word · Bubble Bible