Hosea 9:11-17
New English Translation
The Fertility Worshipers Will Become Infertile
11 Ephraim will be like a bird;
what they value[a] will fly away.
They will not bear children—
they will not enjoy pregnancy—
they will not even conceive![b]
12 Even if they raise their children,
I will take away every last one of them.[c]
Woe to them!
For I will turn away from them.
13 Ephraim, as I have seen, has given their children for prey;[d]
Ephraim will bear his sons for slaughter.
14 Give them, O Lord—
what will you give them?
Give them wombs that miscarry,
and breasts that cannot nurse![e]
15 Because of all their evil in Gilgal,
I hate them there.
On account of their evil deeds,
I will drive them out of my land.[f]
I will no longer love them;
all their rulers are rebels.
16 Ephraim will be struck down[g]—
their root will be dried up;
they will not yield any fruit.
Even if they do bear children,
I will kill their precious offspring.
17 My God will reject them,
for they have not obeyed him;
so they will be fugitives among the nations.
Footnotes
- Hosea 9:11 tn Heb “their glory” (so NASB); cf. TEV “Israel’s greatness.”
- Hosea 9:11 tn Heb “no childbearing, no pregnancy, no conception.” The preposition מִן (min) prefixed to the three parallel nouns functions in a privative sense, indicating deprivation (BDB 583 s.v. מִן 7).
- Hosea 9:12 tn Heb “I will bereave them from a man”; cf. NRSV “I will bereave them until no one is left.”
- Hosea 9:13 tc The MT is difficult here. The first line of the MT reads, “Ephraim as I have seen like Tyre is planted in a meadow.” The verse may suggest that as Tyre had a pleasant location but will be judged (cf. Isa 23:1-18; Amos 1:9-10), so now also Ephraim will be. The BHS editors suggest emending the text of 13a to follow the LXX reading, which substantially follows the MT consonantal text and is given above. See D. Barthélemy, ed., Preliminary and Interim Report on the Hebrew Old Testament Text Project, 5:250-51.
- Hosea 9:14 tn Heb “breasts that shrivel up dry”; cf. KJV, NAB, NASB, NRSV “dry breasts.”
- Hosea 9:15 tn Heb “out of my house” (so NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV); TEV, NCV, and NLT have “my land.”
- Hosea 9:16 tn Or perhaps, following the plant metaphor: “will be blighted” (the NIV is similar).
Hosea 9:11-17
Amplified Bible
11
As for Ephraim, their glory will fly away like a bird;
No birth, no pregnancy, and [because of their impurity] no conception.
12
Even though they bring up their children,
Yet I will bereave them until not one is left.
Indeed, woe (judgment is coming) to them when I look away and withdraw [My blessing] from them!
13
Ephraim, as I have seen,
Is planted in a pleasant [and prosperous] meadow like Tyre;
But Ephraim will bring out his children to the executioner [for slaughter].
14
Give them [the punishment they deserve], O Lord! What will You give?
Give them a miscarrying womb and dry breasts.
15
All their wickedness [says the Lord] is focused in Gilgal;
Indeed, I came to hate them there!
Because of the wickedness of their [idolatrous] practices
I will drive them out of My house (the land of Israel)!
I will love them no longer;
All their princes are rebels.(A)
16
Ephraim is stricken, their root is dried up,
They will bear no fruit.
Even though they give birth,
I will slay the precious children of their womb.
17
My God will reject them and cast them away
Because they did not listen to Him;
And they will be wanderers (fugitives) among the nations.
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