The Aramaic Bible

The Aramaic Bible · the Prophets

Targum Jonathan on the Prophets Hosea · chapter 5

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. :

    “Hear this, O priests! Take heed, O house of Israel! Give ear, O royal house! For this judgment is against you because you have been a snare at Mizpah, a net spread out on Tabor.

  2. :

    The rebels are deep in slaughter; but I will chastise them all.

  3. :

    I know all about Ephraim, and Israel is not hidden from Me. For now, O Ephraim, you have turned to prostitution; Israel is defiled.

  4. :

    Their deeds do not permit them to return to their God, for a spirit of prostitution is within them, and they do not know the LORD.

  5. :

    Israel’s arrogance testifies against them; Israel and Ephraim stumble in their iniquity; even Judah stumbles with them.

  6. :

    They go with their flocks and herds to seek the LORD, but they do not find Him; He has withdrawn Himself from them.

  7. :

    They have been unfaithful to the LORD; for they have borne illegitimate children. Now the New Moon will devour them along with their land.

  8. :

    Blow the ram’s horn in Gibeah, the trumpet in Ramah; raise the battle cry in Beth-aven: Lead on, O Benjamin!

  9. :

    Ephraim will be laid waste on the day of rebuke. Among the tribes of Israel I proclaim what is certain.

  10. :

    The princes of Judah are like those who move boundary stones; I will pour out My fury upon them like water.

  11. :

    Ephraim is oppressed, crushed in judgment, for he is determined to follow worthless idols.

  12. :

    So I am like a moth to Ephraim, and like decay to the house of Judah.

  13. :

    When Ephraim saw his sickness and Judah his wound, then Ephraim turned to Assyria and sent to the great king. But he cannot cure you or heal your wound.

  14. :

    For I am like a lion to Ephraim and like a young lion to the house of Judah. I, even I, will tear them to pieces and then go away. I will carry them off where no one can rescue them.

  15. :

    Then I will return to My place until they admit their guilt and seek My face; in their affliction they will earnestly seek Me.”

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 5: word by word · Bubble Bible