The name that is transliterated as “Judah” or “Judea” in English (referring to the son of Jacob, the tribe, and the territory) is translated in Spanish Sign Language as “lion” (referring to Genesis 49:9 and Revelation 5:5). This sign for lion is reserved for regions and kingdoms. (Source: John Elwode in The Bible Translator 2008, p. 78ff. and Steve Parkhurst)
The Hebrew and Greek that is transliterated as “Ephraim” in English is translated in Spanish Sign Language with the sign for “palm tree” referring to the palm of Deborah in the land of Ephraim (see Judges 4:5. (Source: Steve Parkhurst)
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Hosea 5:13:
Kupsabiny: “When Israel saw how it suffered and also Judah saw how their wounds were many, they both went to seek help from the big king of Assyria. But that one was unable to save or cure them.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “‘When Ephraim saw his disease and when Judah saw his wound, Ephraim sent men to the great king of Assyria for help. But he was not able to heal you, he was not able to heal your wound.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “‘When Israel and Juda saw their not good situation, Israel asked-for help from a mighty king of Asiria. But he could- not -help them.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “When the leaders of Israel and Judah saw that the people were suffering because of what their enemies were doing to them , they sent messages to the great King of Assyria requesting his help. But he cannot help you; he cannot cause you to stop suffering, because I am the one who is punishing Israel and Judah.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
Some languages do not have a concept of kingship and therefore no immediate equivalent for the Greek, Hebrew, Aramaic, and Latin that is translated as “king” in English. Here are some (back-) translations:
Ninia Yali: “big brother with the uplifted name” (source: Daud Soesilio in Noss 2007, p. 175)
Nyamwezi: mutemi: generic word for ruler, by specifying the city or nation it becomes clear what kind of ruler (source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)
Ghomála’: Fo (“The word Fo refers to the paramount ruler in the kingdoms of West Cameroon. He holds administrative, political, and religious power over his own people, who are divided into two categories: princes (descendants of royalty) and servants (everyone else).” (Source: Michel Kenmogne in Theologizing in Context: An Example from the Study of a Ghomala’ Christian Hymn))
Faye Edgerton retells how the term in Navajo (Dinė) was determined:
“[This term was] easily expressed in the language of Biblical culture, which had kings and noblemen with their brilliant trappings and their position of honor and praise. But leadership among the Navajos is not accompanied by any such titles or distinctions of dress. Those most respected, especially in earlier days, were their headmen, who were the leaders in raids, and the shaman, who was able to serve the people by appealing for them to the gods, or by exorcising evil spirits. Neither of these made any outward show. Neither held his position by political intrigue or heredity. If the headman failed consistently in raids, he was superceded by a better warrior. If the shaman failed many times in his healing ceremonies, it was considered that he was making mistakes in the chants, or had lost favor with the gods, and another was sought. The term Navajos use for headman is derived from a verb meaning ‘to move the head from side to side as in making an oration.’ The headman must be a good orator, able to move the people to go to war, or to follow him in any important decision. This word is naat’áanii which now means ‘one who rules or bosses.’ It is employed now for a foreman or boss of any kind of labor, as well as for the chairman of the tribal council. So in order to show that the king is not just a common boss but the highest ruler, the word ‘aláahgo, which expresses the superlative degree, was put before naat’áanii, and so ‘aláahgo naat’áanii ‘anyone-more-than-being around-he-moves-his-head-the-one-who’ means ‘the highest ruler.’ Naat’áanii was used for governor as the context usually shows that the person was a ruler of a country or associated with kings.”
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Like a number of other East Asian languages, Japanese uses a complex system of honorifics, i.e. a system where a number of different levels of politeness are expressed in language via words, word forms or grammatical constructs. These can range from addressing someone or referring to someone with contempt (very informal) to expressing the highest level of reference (as used in addressing or referring to God) or any number of levels in-between.
One way Japanese shows different degree of politeness is through the choice of a formal plural suffix to the second person pronoun (“you” and its various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. In these verses, anata-gata (あなたがた) is used, combining the second person pronoun anata and the plural suffix -gata to create a formal plural pronoun (“you” [plural] in English).
When Ephraim saw his sickness, and Judah his wound: These two lines are parallel in form, showing that both the northern and southern kingdoms experienced similar problems, so Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch combines them, saying “When they both saw how badly they turned out.” Sickness is a generic term, wound is specific. The Hebrew word for wound implies a festering sore. It can also be translated as “ulcer” or “boil.” It is the kind of wound in which there is pus that must be squeezed out (as in Isa 1.6). These metaphors are somewhat different from the similes in 5.12 (“moth” and “dry rot”) but clearly related (see the comments there). These metaphors refer to the same political, social, and spiritual sickness as in 5.12, something that Assyria cannot cure (line five). Bible en français courant avoids changing from the figures in 5.12 to new figures by using some nonfigurative language here: “Ephraim recognized its malady and Judah the seriousness of its case.” Traduction œcuménique de la Bible is similar but interprets wound as an “ulcer” equivalent to the “dry rot” of 5.12. If the translation aims at maintaining the poetic structures of the source language, we recommend the use of the metaphors.
Then Ephraim went to Assyria and sent to the great king: These two parallel lines speak only of Ephraim, although the second person plural pronouns in the next two lines seem to imply that Judah looked for help in the same place, namely Assyria (see 2 Kgs 16.7, where Judah also looks for help from Assyria). Bijbel in Gewone Taal makes this explicit by saying “they asked for help from Assyria. They sent envoys to the great king.” Since Assyria and the great king are parallel counterparts, it may be assumed that they are nearly synonymous. Therefore the verbs went and sent probably refer to the same event, namely, sending government representatives with a request for help. Bible en français courant says “Then Ephraim turned to Assyria, he sent a mission to the Great King.”
The Hebrew expression for the great king is translated “king Jareb” by King James Version, but the name “Jareb” is otherwise unknown, so it is better not to render it as a proper noun. The Hebrew is literally as “a king that will contend” (Revised Standard Version footnote), but scholars point out that this is more likely an Aramaic expression that Hosea uses here, and the reference is then to the Assyrian emperor as the great king. It is, of course, possible that the author is using a play on words that would sound like a sarcastic reference to the oppressive emperor as one who contends. However, the primary meaning for translators should still be “the great king” (so Hebrew Old Testament Text Project).
But he is not able to cure you or heal your wound: These two lines continue the metaphors of sickness and wounds. The Assyrian emperor is unable to cure Ephraim and Judah. God has been speaking about Ephraim and Judah each in the third person singular in the previous four lines, but now he switches to the second person plural. The Hebrew pronouns for you and your are plural. Although in these two lines Ephraim and Judah are not mentioned, cure you refers to healing Ephraim’s problem, and heal your wound refers to Judah’s problem. Good News Translation uses the third person plural pronouns “them” and “their.” These pronouns in Good News Translation can be understood as referring to Ephraim (Israel), not including Judah, since Judah is not explicitly mentioned in lines three and four. However, mentioning the wound, which was Judah’s, implies that Judah is also in view here. The next verse also confirms Judah’s involvement.
A translation model for this verse is:
• Ephraim realized its sickness,
and Judah saw its festering wound.
They turned to Assyria
and asked the great king for help.
But he cannot cure them,
he cannot heal their wound.
Quoted with permission from Dorn, Louis & van Steenbergen, Gerrit. A Handbook on Hosea. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2020. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .
Notice the parallel parts that are similar in meaning:
13a When Ephraim saw his sickness
13b and Judahhis wound,
These lines contain parallel metaphors. In these metaphors the LORD compares the hardship of the people of Israel and Judah to the suffering caused by a sickness and a wound.
When: This word introduces what happened at that time, following the start of the LORD’s judgment. At that time, Ephraim and Judah realized their difficult situations. This word also introduces the reason that they turned to the king of Assyria for help in 5:13c–d.
Ephraim…Judah: Here these names probably refer particularly to the leaders of the kingdoms of Israel and Judah. The leaders are the ones who would turn to Assyria for help. If it will be clearer or more natural to make this information explicit in your language, you may do so. For example:
⌊ the leaders of⌋Israel…⌊the leaders of ⌋ Judah
saw: In this context, this word means “became aware of” or “realized.” For example:
when Ephraim became aware of his sickness (Tanakh: The Holy Scriptures) -or-
When ⌊the leaders of ⌋ Ephraim realized that their nation was sick
his sickness…his wound: The first of these parallel terms can refer to any illness or disease. The second term is more specific. It refers to an infected wound or to an oozing ulcer or boil. Here both terms are figurative. They probably refer to hardships or weakness that the people were experiencing as a result of war.
General Comment on 5:13a–b
In some languages, the metaphors in these parallel lines may be incorrectly understood as literal sickness or wounds.
If that is true in your language, here are some other ways to translate these metaphors:
• Change the metaphors to similes. If necessary, make explicit what is being compared. For example:
13a
⌊ The hardship that⌋⌊the people of ⌋ Israel ⌊were experiencing was like ⌋ a sickness.
13b
⌊ The people of⌋Judah ⌊were suffering like a person who has ⌋ infected/oozing sores/boils. When they saw this, -or-
13a When ⌊the leaders of ⌋ Israel realized that ⌊the hardship of ⌋ their people ⌊was like ⌋ a sickness,
13b and when ⌊the rulers of ⌋ Judah found out that the people were ⌊as if ⌋ covered with infected sores,
• Translate the meaning without using figures of speech. For example:
13a When the people of Israel noticed the troubles that they were facing,
13b when the people of Judah saw how weak their country had become,
In some languages, it may be more natural to reorder and/or combine these parallel statements. For example:
When Israel and Judah saw how sick they were (New Living Translation (2004)) -or-
⌊ The leaders of⌋Israel and Judah realized that their countries had become very weak and their people were undergoing great hardship.
5:13c–d
Notice the parallel parts that are similar in meaning:
13c then Ephraim turnedto Assyria,
13d and sentto the great king.
These lines give the result of the action described in 5:13a–b. There it says that Ephraim and Judah saw their sicknesses.
Ephraim turned to Assyria and sent to the great king: There are two ways to interpret the subject of the verb sent in these parallel verse parts:
(1) Both Ephraim and Judah turned to the king of Assyria for help. Judah is the implied subject of the verb sent in 5:13d. For example:
13c Ephraim went to Assyria,
13d and Judah sent to the great king. (New American Bible)
(New American Bible)
(2) Ephraim turned to the king of Assyria for help. Ephraim is the implied subject of the verb sent in the second line. For example:
13c then Ephraim went to Assyria,
13d and sent to the great king. (New Revised Standard Version)
It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1) along with a slight majority of commentaries. However, most versions follow interpretation (2). You may decide to follow (2) if it will be more acceptable to your readers.
The parallelism, pronoun use, and historical context all favor interpretation (1). To be more specific:
(a) Ephraim and Judah occur as a parallel pair in both the preceding and following contexts (5:5b–c, 5:12a–b, 5:13a–b, and 5:14a–b).
(b) The plural pronoun “you” in 5:13e–f suggests that both Ephraim and Judah are referred to here. Plural pronouns are also used in 5:6–7 and 5:15, where the context indicates both Ephraim and Judah.
(c) Historically, King Hoshea of Israel and King Ahaz of Judah both sought the help of Assyria in situations that fit the context of these verses.
turned to Assyria and sent to the great king: These two parallel phrases refer to the same event. They indicate that the leaders of Israel and Judah requested help from the king of Assyria. The king of Assyria was very powerful at that time.
In context, it is implied that the leaders sent for help. In some languages, it may be helpful to make this information explicit. For example:
and sent to the great king for help (New International Version)
It is implied that the leaders sent representatives to request this help. In some languages, it may be helpful to make this information explicit. For example:
sent messengers (New Jerusalem Bible)
General Comment on 5:13c–d
In some languages, it may be more natural to combine and/or reorder these parallel statements. For example:
they each asked the king of Assyria to help them
5:13e–f
Notice the parallel parts that are similar in meaning:
13e But he cannot cureyou
13f or healyour wound.
These lines continue to use the metaphors from 5:13a–b. Here the LORD compares the king’s inability to relieve the people’s hardships to a doctor’s inability to cure an illness or an infected wound.
But: This word introduces a negative conclusion to the leaders’ request for help in 5:13c–d. They hoped that the king of Assyria could help them, but he could not. Use a natural way in your language to introduce this kind of negative contrast.
he cannot cure you or heal your wound: These parallel lines both refer to the same situation. The king does not have the ability to cure their figurative sicknesses and wounds. He cannot deliver them from the hardships that result from the LORD’s judgment.
you or…your: In Hebrew, these pronouns are plural. They probably refer to both Israel and Judah.
General Comment on 5:13e–f
In some languages, it may be more natural to combine and/or reorder these parallel statements. For example:
But he is not able to rescue you from my punishment.
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