ris3n's Apologetics Codex

Passage

Hosea 9.16

Book: Hosea · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

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ASV

14. Give them, O Jehovah,what wilt thou give? give them a miscarrying womb and dry breasts. 15. All their wickedness is in Gilgal; for there I hated them: because of the wickedness of their doings I will drive them out of my house; I will love them no more; all their princes are revolters.

16. 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.

  1. My God will cast them away, because they did not hearken unto him; and they shall be wanderers among the nations. (Hosea 9:14-17, ASV)
WEB

14. Give them, Yahweh what will you give? Give them a miscarrying womb and dry breasts. 15. “All their wickedness is in Gilgal; for there I hated them. Because of the wickedness of their deeds I will drive them out of my house! I will love them no more. All their princes are rebels.

16. 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.”

  1. My God will cast them away, because they did not listen to him; and they will be wanderers among the nations. (Hosea 9:14-17, WEB)
KJV

14. Give them, O LORD: what wilt thou give? give them a miscarrying womb and dry breasts. miscarrying: Heb. that casteth the fruit 15. All their wickedness is in Gilgal: for there I hated them: for the wickedness of their doings I will drive them out of mine house, I will love them no more: all their princes are revolters.

16. 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. the: Heb. the desires

  1. My God will cast them away, because they did not hearken unto him: and they shall be wanderers among the nations. (Hosea 9:14-17, KJV)
YLT

14. Give to them, Jehovah, what dost Thou give? Give to them miscarrying womb, and dry breasts. 15. All their evil [is] in Gilgal, Surely there I have hated them, Because of the evil of their doings, Out of My house I do drive them, I add not to love them, all their heads [are] apostates.

16. 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.

  1. Reject them doth my God, Because they have not hearkened to Him, And they are wanderers among nations! (Hosea 9:14-17, YLT)

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Setting

  • Speaker: YHWH, through Hosea
  • Audience: Ephraim
  • Location: the northern kingdom of Israel, repeatedly called Ephraim after its dominant tribe
  • Time period: c. 750-722 BC, from the last years of Jeroboam II through the dynastic chaos that followed to the eve of Samaria's fall to Assyria

Theological reading

The image trades on the name. Ephraim is connected in Genesis 41:52 with fruitfulness, so "Ephraim shall bear no fruit" pronounces sentence against the meaning of the name itself. Hosea uses this technique repeatedly, on Jezreel, on Bethel turned Beth-aven, and on the covenant formula in the sign-names of chapter 1.

The judgment reaches the root rather than the branches, which in agricultural terms is terminal instead of seasonal. The closing clause, the death of the children of the womb, follows the chapter's pattern of judgment falling precisely on the fertility that Baal worship had been undertaken to secure. What was sought by the false means is removed by the true God, which is the same logic as the withdrawal of grain, wine and oil in 2:8-9.

Key words

Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word.

Quoted in

Arguments and defeaters:

Notes

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Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

  • ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
  • WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
  • KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
  • YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.