My Textual Criticism for Hosea 13:2
I think one of the reasons why extreme KJV Onlyism has to go is with some renditions. I admit that I was shocked to find Charles H. Spurgeon was not KJV Only. Maybe, some KJV Only pastors can even acknowledge that some of their peers reject KJV Onlyism while still embracing them as family. Now, another textual criticism to think about is how the KJV renders Hosea 13:2 concerning human sacrifices and idolatry. This would be a good comparison between versions.
And now they sin more and more, and have made them molten images of their silver, and idols according to their own understanding, all of it the work of the craftsmen: they say of them, Let the men that sacrifice kiss the calves. (KJV)
Using the Tecarta Bible, I decided to check the KJV footnotes and discovered that sacrifices refer to human sacrifices. I was thinking that these calves were probably symbolic to Moloch after getting through the footnote. Other renditions render Hosea 13:2 as follows:
And now they sin more and more, and make for themselves metal images, idols skillfully made of their silver, all of them the work of craftsmen. It is said of them, “Those who offer human sacrifice kiss calves!” (ESV)
Now they sin more and more; they make idols for themselves from their silver, cleverly fashioned images, all of them the work of craftsmen. It is said of these people, “They offer human sacrifices! They kiss calf-idols!” (NIV)
The KJV only says "let the men that sacrifice" but what are they sacrificing? The footnotes did put human sacrifices. I think the KJV translators probably missed a mark and I think they could've put in italics that the men who kiss the calves were offering human sacrifices. What's interesting is that the Geneva Bible by John Calvin (an important forerunner of the KJV) has a footnote or marginal note that "let the men that sacrifice" can be rendered as "while they sacrifice men". The KJV could've gotten a bit of a revision by following Calvin's footnote rendition saying, "While they sacrifice men." in the place of "Let the men that sacrifice." Though "let the men that sacrifice" can be easily understood as the pagan priests who perform the evil rituals of human sacrifice.
The ESV rendition does somehow point to a bit clearer rendition than the KJV. The earlier version (the RSV) on Spurgeon's day renders it as:
And now they sin more and more, and make for themselves molten images, idols skilfully made of their silver, all of them the work of craftsmen. Sacrifice to these, they say. Men kiss calves!
The ESV focuses on a very literal translation of the text and is based on the RSV. I think the ESV's very literal translation reveals the heinousness of the ritual. Kissing the calves probably refers to Jeroboam I's abominable temple. Over time, the same evil temple was soon getting more corrupted. I believe Ahab and Jezebel used the same time not just to worship Baal but also Moloch. Baal's worship involved human sacrifice as much as Moloch. I think the sacrifices were more than just infants to be offered into the fire. I think some enemies were probably also offered to the calf idols.
The ESV's more literal rendition would make it easier to understand. I think the NIV's translation (which aims to balance readability with word for word) can get a little bit confusing. The KJV could've said, "Let those who offer human sacrifices kiss the calves." instead of "Let the men that sacrifice kiss the calves." I still think the ESV seems to have the easiest translation. Maybe, the whole extreme KJV Only movement is a house of cards. True, the KJV is a masterpiece, I still recommend having a KJV Bible but it can get confusing for some not to have a reliable secondary reference. Spurgeon would later use the RSV as a secondary reference. I don't see any reason why I can't use the ESV as a secondary reference too even when I'm a KJV default.
See also: