HOS 9:16 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 Bible-translators and others 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 early looks into the drafted texts of the Open English Translation of the Bible—please double-check these texts in advance before using in public.

Text critical issues=small word differences Clarity of original=clear Importance to us=normal (All still tentative.)

9:16 OSHB variant note: בלי: (x-qere) ’בַֽל’: lemma_1077 morph_HTn id_28mPM בַֽל

Key: khaki:verbs.
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 Ἐπόνεσεν Ἐφραίμ· τὰς ῥίζας αὐτοῦ ἐξηράνθη, καρπὸν οὐκ ἔτι μὴ ἐνέγκῃ· διότι καὶ ἐὰν γεννήσωσιν, ἀποκτενῶ τὰ ἐπιθυμήματα κοιλίας αὐτῶν.
(Eponesen Efraim; tas ɽizas autou exaʸranthaʸ, karpon ouk eti maʸ enegkaʸ; dioti kai ean gennaʸsōsin, apoktenō ta epithumaʸmata koilias autōn.)

BrTr Ephraim is sick, he is dried up at his roots, he shall in no wise any more bear fruit: wherefore even if they should beget children, I will kill the desired fruit of their womb.

ULT Ephraim is struck;
⇔ their root has dried up;
⇔ they will not produce fruit.
⇔ Even if they do give birth,
⇔ then I will kill the precious ones of their womb.

UST I have struck the people of Ephraim
⇔ so that they are as infertile as grapevines that have shriveled roots and cannot produce fruit.
⇔ Even if the women do give birth,
⇔ I will kill the children whom they love.”

BSB Ephraim is struck down;
⇔ their root is withered;
⇔ they cannot bear fruit.
⇔ Even if they bear children,
⇔ I will slay the darlings of their wombs.

MSB (Same as BSB above)

OEB Ephraim is blighted,
⇔ their root withered.
⇔ If they do bear children,
⇔ I will slay the darlings of their womb,

WEBBE Ephraim is struck.
⇔ Their root has dried up.
⇔ They will bear no fruit.
⇔ Even though they give birth, yet I will kill the beloved ones of their womb.”

WMBB (Same as above)

NET Ephraim will be struck down –
⇔ their root will be dried up;
⇔ they will not yield any fruit.
⇔ Even if they do bear children,
⇔ I will kill their precious offspring.

LSV Ephraim has been struck,
Their root has dried up, they do not yield fruit,
Indeed, though they bring forth,
I have put to death the desired of their womb.

FBV Ephraim, you are blighted, dried up from the roots. You shall bear no fruit. Even if you have children, I will slaughter your beloved offspring.

T4T Israel is like [MET] a grapevine that is dried up;
⇔ like a vine [MET] whose roots are withered
⇔ and that produces no fruit.
⇔ Even if the women of Israel give birth to more children,
⇔ I will cause those children, whom they love, to die.

LEB • Ephraim is stricken,
  • their root is dried up,
   • they shall not bear fruit.
• Even if they give birth,
  • I will kill the cherished offspring of their womb.

BBE The rod has come on Ephraim, their root is dry, let them have no fruit; even though they give birth, I will put to death the dearest fruit of their bodies.

Moff Ephraim is blighted,
⇔ withered at the root;
⇔ Ephraim the Fruitful bears no fruit.

JPS Ephraim is smitten, their root is dried up, they shall bear no fruit; yea, though they bring forth, yet will I slay the beloved fruit of their womb.

ASV Ephraim is smitten, their root is dried up, they shall bear no fruit: yea, though they bring forth, yet will I slay the beloved fruit of their womb.

DRA Ephraim is struck, their root is dried up, they shall yield no fruit. And if they should have issue, I will slay the best beloved fruit of their womb.

YLT Ephraim hath been smitten, Their root hath dried up, fruit they yield not, Yea, though they bring forth, I have put to death the desired of their womb.

Drby Ephraim is smitten: their root is dried up, they shall bear no fruit; yea, though they should bring forth, yet will I slay the beloved [fruit] of their womb.

RV Ephraim is smitten, their root is dried up, they shall bear no fruit: yea, though they bring forth, yet will I slay the beloved fruit of their womb.

SLT Ephraim was smitten, their root was dried up, they shall not make fruit: also if they shall bring forth, and I destroyed the desires of their womb.

Wbstr Ephraim is smitten, their root is dried up, they shall bear no fruit: yes, though they bring forth, yet will I slay even the beloved fruit of their womb.

KJB-1769 Ephraim is smitten, their root is dried up, they shall bear no fruit: yea, though they bring forth, yet will I slay even the beloved fruit of their womb.[fn]

9.16 the…: Heb. the desires

KJB-1611 [fn]Ephraim is smitten, their roote is dried vp, they shall beare no fruite: yea though they bring foorth, yet wil I slay euen the beloued fruite of their wombe.
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from marking of added words (and possibly capitalisation and punctuation and footnotes))

9:16 Heb. the desires.

Bshps Ephraim is hewen downe, their roote is dried vp, so that they shall bryng no more fruite: yea and though they bryng foorth any, yet wyll I slay euen the best beloued of their body.
(Ephraim is hewn/chopped down, their root is dried up, so that they shall bring no more fruit: yea and though they bring forth any, yet will I slay even the best beloved of their body.)

Gnva Ephraim is smitten, their roote is dried vp: they can bring no fruite: yea, though they bring foorth, yet will I slaie euen the dearest of their bodie.
(Ephraim is smitten, their root is dried up: they can bring no fruit: yea, though they bring forth, yet will I slay/kill even the dearest of their body.)

Cvdl Ephraim is hewen downe, their rote is dryed vp, so yt they shal bringe nomore frute: yee and though they bringe forth eny, yet wil I slaye euen the best beloued frute of their body.
(Ephraim is hewn/chopped down, their root is dried up, so it they shall bring no more fruit: ye/you_all and though they bring forth any, yet will I slay/kill even the best beloved fruit of their body.)

Wycl Effraym is smyten, the roote of hem is dried vp; thei schulen not make fruyt. That thouy thei gendren, Y schal sle the moost louyd thingis of her wombe.
(Ephraim is smitten/struck, the root of hem is dried up; they should not make fruit. That though they gendren, I shall slay/kill the most loved things of her womb.)

Luth Ephraim ist geschlagen; ihre Wurzel ist verdorret, daß sie keine Frucht mehr bringen können. Und ob sie gebären würden, will ich doch die liebe Frucht ihres Leibes töten.
(Ephraim is beaten; their/her root(n) is withered, that they/she/them no fruit more bring/get can. And if/whether they/she/them give_birth would, will I though/but the love(v) fruit theirs/hers body kill.)

ClVg Percussus est Ephraim; radix eorum exsiccata est: fructum nequaquam facient, quod etsi genuerint, interficiam amantissima uteri eorum.
(Percussus it_is Ephraim; root their exsiccata it_is: fruit by_no_means they_will_do, that even_though kneeerint, I_will_kill they_loveissima uteri their.)

SOTN SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 9:10–17: The sins of the Israelites and the response of the LORD

This section describes the joyful beginning of the LORD’s relationship with the people of Israel and the shocking way that they responded by betraying him. Because of their sin and betrayal, it is necessary for the LORD to judge them.

Here are some other examples of section headings:

Israel’s Sin and Its Consequences (GNT)

Sin’s Terrible Results (CEV)

Paragraph 9:15–16 and 9:17

In the BSB and some other versions, 9:15–17 are one paragraph. TN will divide these verses into two paragraphs. In the first paragraph, the LORD is the speaker. He describes his punishment against Israel. In the second paragraph, Hosea is the speaker. He prophesies about Israel’s future situation.

9:16a

Ephraim is struck down;

Ephraim is like a dying plant
The people of Israel are like diseased/injured plants.

9:16b

their root is withered;

that has withered all the way down to its root.
Even their roots have dried up.

9:16c

they cannot bear fruit.

It does not produce any fruit.
They cannot bear fruit.

9:16a–c

Notice the parallel parts that are similar in meaning:

^16a Ephraim is stuck down;

^16b their root is withered;

^16c they cannot bear fruit.

These lines describe the northern kingdom of Israel in its final years as a nation. The description is a metaphor that compares Israel to an injured or diseased plant that cannot reproduce.Wood (page 206), Dearman (page 257), Stuart (page 154), McComiskey (page 156), and Macintosh (page 378).

Ephraim is struck down: In the context of this plant metaphor, struck down probably means that a disease or a pest, such as a wood rot or a worm, has injured it.Macintosh (page 278) and McComiskey (page 156). The verb tense indicates certainty that this action will soon happen.The verbs “struck” and “withered” are prophetic perfects. Keil (page 127) says that “the perfects are a prophetic expression, indicating the certain execution of the threat.”

their root is withered: The root of the plant is dried up. The injury to the plant is so severe that the root has died or begun to die.

they cannot bear fruit: In this blighted and withered condition, the plant is unable to bear fruit.TOTC (page 168), Wood (page 207), and Davies (page 231). This line of the metaphor indicates that the people of Israel will not be able to have children.

General Comment on 9:16a–c

In this metaphor, the Hebrew text uses a combination of singular and plural forms to refer to the plant and its root.The referent of the singular forms is to the nation of Israel as a whole. The referent of the plural forms is to the individual people of Israel. This use of both singular and plural forms to refer to a plant may be unnatural in some languages.

If that is true in your language, here are some other ways to translate this verse part:

Israel is beaten down; its root is dying and it has no fruit (NCV)

The people of Ephraim are like sick plants. Their roots are dried up. They have no fruit. (GW)

9:16d

Even if they bear children, I will slay the darlings of their wombs.

Even if they could have children, I would kill those children whom they love so much.”
But if they do somehow give birth, I will take their precious/dear children from their mothers and fathers.”

Even if they bear children, I will slay the darlings of their wombs: This part of the verse adds to the previous statement in 9:16c that “they cannot bear fruit.” This clause is very similar to Hosea 9:12a that has “Even if they raise their children, I will bereave them of each one.” This clause in 9:16d is probably another instance of the same figure of speech that is used there.The figure of speech here is probably a “pseudosorities” as in 9:12a. It indicates how complete and serious the punishment from the LORD will be. See the note on 9:12a for more details.

they…their: In the Hebrew phrases “they bear children” and “the darlings of their wombs,” the pronouns they and their are masculine. The masculine form indicates that these phrases refer to both the men and women of Israel, not just the mothers.Andersen and Freedman (page 546).

slay: This word means “to cause to die, kill.”TWOT (#1169).

the darlings of their wombs: The Hebrew phrase here is more literally “the precious things of their womb.” It refers to newly born babies that are precious to the people of Israel.

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

beloved children (RSV)

dear children (GW)

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / possession

מַחֲמַדֵּ֥י בִטְנָֽ⁠ם

cherished_of their_[masc]_womb_of,their

Yahweh is using this possessive form to mean the precious ones who came from their womb, that is, their beloved children. It may be helpful to clarify this for your readers. Alternate translation: [the precious children born from their womb]

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

שָׁרְשָׁ֥⁠ם יָבֵ֖שׁ פְּרִ֣י בַֽל יַעֲשׂ֑וּ⁠ן

root_of,their dried_up fruit(sg) (Some words not found in UHB: stricken ʼEfrayim root_of,their dried_up fruit(sg) no they,will_produce also/yet that/for/because/then/when they_[masc],will_give_birth and,I_will_put_to_death cherished_of their_[masc]_womb_of,their )

Yahweh is speaking of the people of Ephraim as if they were a plant whose root has dried up and that will not produce fruit. He means they will have no children or prosperity. Your language may have a comparable expression that you can use in your translation, or you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [they will no longer have children or prosperity]

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / activepassive

הֻכָּ֣ה אֶפְרַ֔יִם

stricken ʼEfrayim

The expression Ephraim is struck is a passive verbal form. If it would be unnatural to use that form, you could express the idea in active form or in another way that is natural in your language. If you need to say who does the action, the context indicates that it is God. Alternate translation: [I will strike Ephraim]

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / metonymy