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.)

OET (OET-RV) because I’ll be like a lion to Efrayim,
⇔ ≈ and like a young lion to Yehudah’s descendants.
⇔ I myself will tear them apart then go away.
⇔ ≈ I’ll carry them off and there’ll be no one to rescue them.

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 Διότι ἐγώ εἰμι ὡς πανθὴρ τῷ Ἐφραὶμ, καὶ ὡς λέων τῷ οἴκῳ Ἰούδα· καὶ ἐγὼ ἁρπῶμαι καὶ πορεύσομαι, καὶ λήψομαι, καὶ οὐκ ἔσται ὁ ἐξαιρούμενος.
(Dioti egō eimi hōs panthaʸr tōi Efraim, kai hōs leōn tōi oikōi Youda; kai egō harpōmai kai poreusomai, kai laʸpsomai, kai ouk estai ho exairoumenos. )

BrTr Wherefore I am as a panther to Ephraim, and as a lion to the house of Juda: and I will tear, and go away; and I will take, and there shall be none to deliver.

ULT For I will be like a lion to Ephraim,
⇔ and like a young lion to the house of Judah.
⇔ I, even I, will tear and go away;
⇔ I will carry off,
⇔ and there will be no one to rescue.

UST I will become like a lion to the people of Ephraim in Israel;
⇔ I will become like a young lion to the people of Judah.
⇔ I will destroy them and leave them;
⇔ I will carry them far away,
⇔ and no one will be able to rescue them.

OEB For I myself will be like a lion to Ephraim,
⇔ like a young lion to the house of Judah.
⇔ I, yes I, will rend and go my way,
⇔ I will carry off and none will rescue.

WEBBE For I will be to Ephraim like a lion,
⇔ and like a young lion to the house of Judah.
⇔ I myself will tear in pieces and go away.
⇔ I will carry off, and there will be no one to deliver.

WMBB (Same as above)

NET I will be like a lion to Ephraim,
⇔ like a young lion to the house of Judah.
⇔ I myself will tear them to pieces,
⇔ then I will carry them off, and no one will be able to rescue them!

LSV For I [am] as a lion to Ephraim,
And as a young lion to the house of Judah, I tear and go,
I carry away, and there is no deliverer.

FBV For I will be like a lion to Ephraim, like a fierce lion to the people of Judah. I will come and tear them to pieces, and carry them off, and no one will be able to rescue them.

T4T I will become like [SIM] a lion [DOU] to both nations;
⇔ I will attack them and tear them to pieces.
⇔ I will drag them away,
⇔ and no one will be able to rescue them.

LEB • Because I will be like a lion to Ephraim and like a fierce strong lion to the house of Judah.
• I myself will tear and I will go;
• I will carry off, and there is no one who delivers.

BBE For I will be to Ephraim as a lion, and as a young lion to the children of Judah; I, even I, will give him wounds and go away; I will take him away, and there will be no helper.

Moff for I am like a lion to Ephraim,
⇔ like a young lion to Judah,
⇔ I tear, I go my way,
⇔ and none can rescue my prey.

JPS For I will be unto Ephraim as a lion, and as a young lion to the house of Judah; I, even I, will tear and go away, I will take away, and there shall be none to deliver.

ASV For I will be unto Ephraim as a lion, and as a young lion to the house of Judah: I, even I, will tear and go away; I will carry off, and there shall be none to deliver.

DRA For I will be like a lioness to Ephraim, and like a lion’s whelp to the house of Juda: I, I will catch, and go: I will take away, and there is none that can rescue.

YLT For I [am] as a lion to Ephraim, And as a young lion to the house of Judah, I — I tear and go, I bear away, and there is no deliverer.

Drby For I will be unto Ephraim as a lion, and as a young lion to the house of Judah. I, I will tear and go away; I will carry off, and there shall be none to deliver.

RV For I will be unto Ephraim as a lion, and as a young lion to the house of Judah: I, even I, will tear and go away; I will carry off, and there shall be none to deliver.
(For I will be unto Ephraim as a lion, and as a young lion to the house of Yudah: I, even I, will tear and go away; I will carry off, and there shall be none to deliver. )

SLT For I as the lion to Ephraim, and as the young lion to the house of Judah I, I will rend and go away; I will take away and none delivering.

Wbstr For I will be to Ephraim as a lion, and as a young lion to the house of Judah: I, even I, will tear and go away; I will take away, and none shall rescue him .

KJB-1769 For I will be unto Ephraim as a lion, and as a young lion to the house of Judah: I, even I, will tear and go away; I will take away, and none shall rescue him.
(For I will be unto Ephraim as a lion, and as a young lion to the house of Yudah: I, even I, will tear and go away; I will take away, and none shall rescue him. )

KJB-1611 For I will bee vnto Ephraim as a Lion, and as a yong Lion to the house of Iudah: I, euen I wil teare and goe away: I will take away, and none shall rescue him.
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from marking of added words (and possibly capitalisation and punctuation))

Bshps I wyll be vnto Ephraim as a lion, and as a lions whelpe to the house of Iuda: I euen I wyll spoyle, and go my away: I wyll take away, and no man shall rescue.
(I will be unto Ephraim as a lion, and as a lions whelp/pup_or_cub to the house of Yuda: I even I will spoil, and go my away: I will take away, and no man shall rescue.)

Gnva For I will be vnto Ephraim as a lyon, and as a lyons whelpe to the house of Iudah: I, euen I will spoyle, and goe away: I will take away, and none shall rescue it.
(For I will be unto Ephraim as a lion, and as a lions whelp/pup_or_cub to the house of Yudah: I, even I will spoil, and go away: I will take away, and none shall rescue it. )

Cvdl I am vnto Ephraim as a lyon, and as a lyons whelpe to the house of Iuda. Euen I, I wil spoyle them, & go my waye. I wil take them with me, and no man shal rescue them.
(I am unto Ephraim as a lion, and as a lions whelp/pup_or_cub to the house of Yuda. Even I, I will spoil them, and go my way. I will take them with me, and no man shall rescue them.)

Wycl For Y am as a lionesse to Effraym, and as a whelp of a lioun to the hous of Juda.
(For I am as a lioness to Ephraim, and as a whelp/pup_or_cub of a lion to the house of Yuda.)

Luth Denn ich bin dem Ephraim wie ein Löwe, und dem Hause Juda wie ein junger Löwe. Ich, ich zerreiße sie und gehe davon und führe sie weg, und niemand kann sie retten.
(Because I am to_him Ephraim as/like a lion, and to_him house Yuda as/like a younger lion. I, I zerreiße they/she/them and go of_that and lead they/she/them away/gone, and no_one can they/she/them correct/straightn.)

ClVg Quoniam ego quasi leæna Ephraim, et quasi catulus leonis domui Juda. Ego, ego capiam, et vadam; tollam, et non est qui eruat.
(Since I as_if the_lioness Ephraim, and as_if catulus lion's home Yuda. Ego, I capiam, and I_will_go; tollam, and not/no it_is who/which rescue. )

SOTN SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 5:8–15: The LORD will judge the people by war

In 5:8–11, the LORD warned Israel and Judah that he would soon destroy them by means of the enemy that had come to wage war against them. He also accused them of various kinds of sin. In 5:12–15, the LORD compared his judgment to destructive things like a moth, wood rot, and a lion. He assured the people that they would be destroyed in spite of their attempt to get help from Assyria. We do not know with certainty the date and the details of the war. However, some scholars believe that this is the war that is mentioned in 2 Kings 16:5–9 and 2 Chronicles 28:5–23.This may be the Syro-Ephraimite war, 735–732 B.C.E. In that war the kingdoms of Israel and Syria united to fight against the kingdoms of Assyria and Judah. The war greatly harmed both Israel and Judah. Israel and Syria lost the war, and the king of Assyria took control of most of the land of Israel. See Andersen and Freedman (pages 402–403), Hubbard (pages 118–122), Stuart (page 101), and Macintosh (page 194) for more details.

Here are some other examples of section headings:

War between Judah and Israel (GNT)

The Lord warns Israel and Judah (CEV)

5:14a–b

(combined/reordered)

For I myself will attack the people/nations of Israel and Judah. I will be like a fearsome lion/panther that kills his prey.

Notice the parallel parts that are similar in meaning:

^14aFor I am like a lion to Ephraim,

^14band like a young lion to the house of Judah

These lines contain parallel similes. In these similes, the LORD compares himself to a lion that attacks and destroys his prey.

For: This word introduces the reason that the king of Assyria cannot heal Ephraim and Judah. It is because the LORD himself is the one who attacks and destroys them like a powerful animal. No one is able to rescue them from the LORD’s judgment.

I: In Hebrew, I is an emphatic pronoun. For example:

It is I who will be like a lion

Use a natural way in your language to indicate this emphasis on the LORD.

lion…young lion: In Hebrew, there is no clear difference in meaning between these parallel terms. The BSB translates the second word as young lion, but the word probably has nothing to do with the lion’s age.Hubbard (page 124). See also TWOT (#2363a) for the first term and TWOT (#1025a) for the second term.

There is no need to translate these two terms in different ways unless it is desirable for poetic style. In this context, the two terms function together to convey the idea of a dangerous and powerful animal that the Hebrew people greatly feared.

The word lion occurs figuratively in both the OT and NT, so it is recommended that you keep this figure of speech if possible. If lions are not known in your language group, you could substitute a similar animal that has the same figurative meaning and impact, such as a panther, leopard, or tiger.

General Comment on 5:14a–b

In some languages, it may be more natural to combine and/or reorder these parallel statements. For example:

For it is I who am like a fierce lion to Israel and Judah.

For I am the one that attacks Israel and Judah like a strong lion.

5:14a

For I am like a lion to Ephraim

That is because I am the one that attacks Israel like a lion.

5:14b

and like a young lion to the house of Judah.

I am like a fierce lion that pounces on Judah.

5:14a–d

(combined/reordered)

You^(plur) people of Israel and Judah, there is no one who can rescue you from my punishment, for I am like a lion who tears you into pieces and carries you away.

5:14c

I, even I, will tear them to pieces and then go away.

I myself will rip them apart and leave.
It is I who will tear them to pieces/shreds and go off.
I, yes I, will tear them apart!

5:14d

I will carry them off where no one can rescue them.

I will carry them off as I go, and no one will be able to rescue them.
They are my prey that I carry away, and there is no one who can save them.

5:14c–d

Notice the parallel parts that are similar in meaning:These lines form a chiasm. The first part of 5:14c is “I, even I, will tear them to pieces.” This is similar to the second part of 5:14d “no one can rescue them.” The second part of 5:14c is “[I will] go away.” This is similar to the first part of 5:14d “I will carry them off.”

^14cI, even I, will tear them to pieces and then go away.

^14dI will carry them off where no one can rescue them.

In these lines, the LORD continues to compare himself to a lion who kills and carries off his prey. As in 5:14a–b, he emphasizes that he is the one who will destroy them. Since he is in control, no one is able to rescue them from his judgment.

I: In Hebrew, the pronoun I is repeated, literally “I, I.” It also occurs in an emphatic position in the clause. These two factors give it very strong emphasis.

Here is another way to indicate this emphasis:

I myself will tear them to pieces and then leave them. (GNT)

Translate this emphasis in a natural way in your language.

tear them to pieces…no one can rescue them: The first phrase describes what a lion does to its prey. The next phrase continues this description. No one will be able to rescue them from the lion that tears them to pieces. A lion kills and destroys. Similarly, the LORD will cause the people of Israel and of Judah to suffer and die. He will do that by giving their enemies the power to defeat them in war.

go away…carry them off: The parallel phrases go away and carry them off describe the same event. If they imply two separate events in your language, here are some translation options:

General Comment on 5:14a–d

Make it clear that the two phrases refer to the same event. For example:
^14cI will tear them to pieces and go away,
^14d Yes, I will carry them off, with no one to rescue them.
^14cI, I will attack and stride away,
^14d Carrying the prey that no one can rescue (NJPS)
Do not translate the phrase go away. This idea is already implied in the phrase carry them off. For example:
^14cI will tear them to pieces!
^14dI will carry them off, and no one will be left to rescue them. (NLT)

In some languages, it may be more natural to combine and/or reorder these four verse parts. See 5:14a–d (combined/reordered) in the Display for an example.

UTN uW Translation Notes:

General Information:

Yahweh is talking about Judah and Israel.

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / simile

(Occurrence 0) So I will be like a lion to Ephraim

(Some words not found in UHB: that/for/because/then/when I [will,like_(the)_lion to,Ephraim and,like_(the),lion to,the_house_of Yehuda I I tear and,I_will_go carry_off and,there_[will]_not_[be] rescue )

Yahweh is going to pursue and attack Ephraim like a lion.

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / simile

(Occurrence 0) like a young lion to the house of Judah

Yahweh is going to treat Judah in a similar way. Yahweh is showing his displeasure with both the northern and the southern kingdoms.

(Occurrence 0) I, even I

Yahweh is emphasizing that he is the one that is bringing judgment on all of his people.

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

(Occurrence 0) will tear

As a lion tears apart the animal it is eating, so Yahweh will tear his people away from their homes and country.

Parallel HOS 5:14