# General Information:

Hosea the prophet is speaking about Israel.

# The merchants have deceitful scales in their hands

The phrase "deceitful scales" is a metonym for the merchants who use scales that do not accurately measure the weight of the money or products they are buying or selling so that they can get higher prices for what they sell and lower prices for what they buy. Alternate translation: "These deceitful merchants use the scales in their hands to deceive people" (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/jit/figs-metonymy]])

# they love to defraud

The merchants cheat their customers by lying to them and taking more money than they should.

