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
New Living Translation
11 The glory of Israel will fly away like a bird,
for your children will not be born
or grow in the womb
or even be conceived.
12 Even if you do have children who grow up,
I will take them from you.
It will be a terrible day when I turn away
and leave you alone.
13 I have watched Israel become as beautiful as Tyre.
But now Israel will bring out her children for slaughter.”
14 O Lord, what should I request for your people?
I will ask for wombs that don’t give birth
and breasts that give no milk.
15 The Lord says, “All their wickedness began at Gilgal;
there I began to hate them.
I will drive them from my land
because of their evil actions.
I will love them no more
because all their leaders are rebels.
16 The people of Israel are struck down.
Their roots are dried up,
and they will bear no more fruit.
And if they give birth,
I will slaughter their beloved children.”
17 My God will reject the people of Israel
because they will not listen or obey.
They will be wanderers,
homeless among the nations.
NET Bible® copyright ©1996-2017 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com All rights reserved.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
