HOS 13:13 Parallel Verse View

Note: This view shows ‘verses’ which are not natural language units and hence sometimes only part of a sentence will be visible—click on any Bible version abbreviation down the left-hand side to see the verse in more of its context. Normally the OET discourages the reading of individual ‘verses’, but this view is only designed as a tool for doing comparisons of different translations—the older translations are further down the page (so you can read up from the bottom to trace the English translation history). The OET segments on this page are still very early looks into the unfinished texts of the Open English Translation of the Bible—please double-check these texts in advance before using in public.

Text critical issues=none Clarity of original=clear Importance to us=normal (All still tentative.)

Key: khaki:verbs, red:negative.
Note: Automatic aligning of the OET-RV to the LV is done by some temporary software, hence the OET-RV alignments are incomplete (and may occasionally be wrong).

BrLXX ὠδῖνες ὡς τικτούσης ἥξουσιν αὐτῷ· οὗτος ὁ υἱός σου ὁ φρόνιμος, διότι οὐ μὴ ὑποστῇ ἐν συντριβῇ τέκνων.
(ōdines hōs tiktousaʸs haʸxousin autōi; houtos ho huios sou ho fronimos, dioti ou maʸ hupostaʸ en suntribaʸ teknōn. )

BrTr Pains as of a woman in travail shall come upon him: he is thy wise son, because he shall not stay in the destruction of thy children.

ULT Pains of childbirth will come on him,
⇔ but he is an unwise son,
⇔ for at the right time he does not present himself at the opening of the womb.

UST You are like a baby ready to be born,
⇔ but you are foolish,
⇔ because you are like a child who refuses to be born.

OEB The pangs of childbirth come upon him,
⇔ but he is an unwise child.
⇔ For this is no time to refuse to leave the womb!

WEBBE The sorrows of a travailing woman will come on him.
⇔ He is an unwise son,
⇔ for when it is time, he doesn’t come to the opening of the womb.

WMBB (Same as above)

NET The labor pains of a woman will overtake him,
⇔ but the baby will lack wisdom;
⇔ when the time arrives,
⇔ he will not come out of the womb!

LSV Pangs of a travailing woman come to him,
He [is] not a wise son,
For he does not remain [at] the time for the breaking forth of sons.

FBV The pain of childbirth has come to them, trying to give birth to a son who is not “wise” because he is not in the right position when the time comes.[fn]

13:13 This could refer to the problems of a breech baby delivery in which both mother and baby could potentially die.

T4T ⇔ You people are not wise;
⇔ and now you are helpless.
⇔ You are like [MET] a woman who is having birth pains
⇔ but who is unable to give birth to the baby.

LEB • The labor pains of childbirth come for him; he is an unwise son
• because at the proper time, he does not present himself
• at the mouth of the womb .[fn]

13:? Literally “the place where the sons burst forth”

BBE The pains of a woman in childbirth will come on him: he is an unwise son, for at this time it is not right for him to keep his place when children come to birth.

Moff The pangs of childbirth are here,
⇔ but a senseless babe is he,
⇔ he will not come to the womb’s mouth
⇔ at the right moment.

JPS The throes of a travailing woman shall come upon him; he is an unwise son; for it is time he should not tarry in the place of the breaking forth of children.

ASV The sorrows of a travailing woman shall come upon him: he is an unwise son; for it is time he should not tarry in the place of the breaking forth of children.

DRA The sorrows of a woman in labour snail come upon him, he is an unwise son: for now he shall not stand in the breach of the children.

YLT Pangs of a travailing woman come to him, He [is] a son not wise, For he remaineth not the time for the breaking forth of sons.

Drby The pangs of a woman in travail shall come upon him: he is a son not wise; for at the time of the breaking forth of children, he was not there.

RV The sorrows of a travailing woman shall come upon him: he is an unwise son; for it is time he should not tarry in the place of the breaking forth of children.
(The sorrows of a travailing woman shall come upon him: he is an unwise son; for it is time he should not tarry/wait in the place of the breaking forth of children. )

SLT The pains of her bringing forth shall come to him: he a son not wise; for now he shall not stand in the breaking forth of sons.

Wbstr The sorrows of a travailing woman shall come upon him: he is an unwise son; for he should not stay long in the place of the breaking forth of children.

KJB-1769 The sorrows of a travailing woman shall come upon him: he is an unwise son; for he should not stay long in the place of the breaking forth of children.[fn]

13.13 long: Heb. a time

KJB-1611 [fn]The sorrowes of a traueiling woman shall come vpon him, he is an vnwise sonne, for he should not stay long in the place of the breaking foorth of children.
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from punctuation and footnotes)

13:13 Hebr. a time.

Bshps Therfore shall sorowes come vpon him as vpon a woman that trauayleth: an vndiscrete sonne is he, els woulde he not stande styll at the tyme of birth of children.
(Therefore shall sorrows come upon him as upon a woman that travaileth/travails: an indiscrete son is he, else would he not stand still at the time of birth of children.)

Gnva The sorowes of a trauailing woman shall come vpon him: he is an vnwise sonne, els would he not stande still at the time, euen at the breaking forth of the children.
(The sorrows of a travailing woman shall come upon him: he is an unwise son, else would he not stand still at the time, even at the breaking forth of the children. )

Cvdl Therfore shall sorowes come vpon him, as vpon a woman that traualeth. An vndiscrete sonne is he: for he considreth not, that he shulde not haue bene able to haue endured in the tyme of his byrth,
(Therefore shall sorrows come upon him, as upon a woman that travaileth/travails. An indiscrete son is he: for he considereth/considers not, that he should not have been able to have endured in the time of his birth,)

Wycl The sorewis of a womman trauelynge of child schulen come to hym; he is a sone not wijs. For now he schal not stonde in the defoulyng of sones.
(The sorrows of a woman travailing of child should come to him; he is a son not wise. For now he shall not stand in the defouling of sons.)

Luth Denn es soll ihnen wehe werden wie einer Gebärerin; denn es sind unvorsichtige Kinder. Es wird die Zeit kommen, daß sie nicht bleiben werden vor dem Jammer der Kinder.
(Because it should to_them woe become as/like one/a Gebärerin; because/than it are uncautiouse children. It becomes the time/period coming, that they/she/them not remain/stay become before/in_front_of to_him misery the/of_the children.)

ClVg Dolores parturientis venient ei: ipse filius non sapiens: nunc enim non stabit in contritione filiorum.
(Dolores giving_birth they_will_come to_him: exactly_that/himself son not/no wise: now because not/no will_stand in/into/on breaking of_children. )

SOTN SIL Open Translation Notes:

Section 13:1–16: The LORD’s anger against Israel

In this section, the LORD gives reasons for his anger against Israel. It was necessary to judge them because they continued to rebel against him.

Here are some other possible headings for this section:

Final Judgment on Israel (GNT)

The Lord’s Relentless Judgment on Israel (ESV)

Ephraim’s Idolatry (NASB)

Paragraph 13:12–16

In this paragraph, the LORD expresses his anger against Israel and describes his coming judgment. He compares Israel’s situation to a painful childbirth and to a child who resists being born (13:13). He describes his coming judgment figuratively as a taunt to the grave (Sheol) and death to come and destroy (13:14) and as a desert wind that dries up springs and fountains (13:15). He also describes it nonfiguratively by citing horrible acts of war (13:16).

13:13a

Labor pains come upon him,

Ephraim is in pain like a woman about to give birth.
Labor pains of childbirth come to the people of Ephraim.

Labor pains come upon him: This line is a figure of speech that describes the pain that Israel experiences. The pain is like the pain a mother feels when she gives birth to a child.

There are two main interpretations of the time reference in this clause.

Present. It refers to Israel at the time of Hosea. For example:
Pangs of childbirth assail him (NJPS) (BSB, ESV, NASB, NIV, NJB, NJPS, NRSV)
Future. It refers to Israel at a time yet to come. For example:
The labor pains of a woman will overtake him (NET) (KJV, NET, NCV)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1) along with a majority of versions. The verse makes good sense as a description of Israel at that time.

There are at least two possible aspects of this pain:

It is severe. The nation of Israel suffers terribly as a result of sin.Macintosh (page 534) mentions that the consequences of Ephraim’s record of guilt are terrible, like the excruciating pain of a woman in labor.
It signals a time for birth. The nation of Israel has the opportunity to be reborn, by repenting and returning to the LORD.Hubbard (pages 220, 221) states that the birth pangs connote not so much anguish as timing. It is time for the son to be born. It is time for Israel to reject his haughty independence and to declare his total commitment to Yahweh.

Both aspects may be intended here. Some versions make the second aspect explicit. For example:

They have the opportunity to live again (GW)

13:13b

but he is an unwise son.

He is like an unwise infant.
But the people are as unwise as babies

but: In Hebrew, there is no explicit contrast. However, many versions regard 13b to contrast with 13a. They supply a word such as but to indicate that contrast. Some versions do not indicate it. Indicate the connection of 13b to 13a in a natural way in your language.

he is an unwise son: This is a new figure of speech that compares Israel to an unwise child. Wisdom in the Old Testament means to live according to the LORD’s standards of right and wrong.TWOT (#647). In this figure of speech, Israel, like the infant, is described as being capable of such wisdom, but he does not use it.

13:13c

When the time arrives, he fails to present himself at the opening of the womb.

For when it is time to be born, he will not come out of his mother’s womb.
who refuse to be born when the right time comes.

When the time arrives, he fails to present himself at the opening of the womb: This clause gives the reason for the previous line. The child has no wisdom, because he chooses not to be born.

The Hebrew clause begins with a word that introduces this clause as a reason. Some versions use a word such as “for” to indicate it. For example:

…for at the right time he does not present himself at the opening of the womb. (ESV)

Many other versions, such as the BSB above, allow the context to indicate that this is a reason. Indicate that this is a reason in a natural way in your language.

Some versions make it explicit that the child chooses not to be born. For example:

like a child about to be born, who refuses to come out of the womb. (GNT)

they are like a child who resists being born. (NLT)

When the time arrives: In Hebrew, this phrase is a single word meaning time. The context indicates that here time refers to the time to be born.

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

at the right time (ESV)

his time is due (NJB)

like a child about to be born (GNT)

he fails to present himself at the opening of the womb: The phrase he fails to present himselfDCH (page 464). refers to the infant failing to move into the birth position.

The phrase at the opening of the womb is more literally “at the breaking forth of children.” It refers to the part of a woman’s body through which an infant is born.HALOT (electronic edition, page 642).

Here are some other ways to translate this clause:

he does not leave the womb (NJB)

but won’t come out of its mother’s womb (GW)

Parallel HOS 13:13

Section 13:1–16: The LORD’s anger against Israel

Paragraph 13:12–16

13:13a

13:13b

13:13c