Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Hosea 9:12:
Kupsabiny: “Even if they rear children, I shall kill them all! How bad it will be for those people if/when I turn my back on them!” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “Even if they give birth to a child and it grows up, I will take that child, Alas! What sorrow for them when I turn away from them.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “Even if they can-give-birth, I will-take-away all their children and you (plur.) will-mourn. You (plur.) are very pitiful when I leave you (plur.) now.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “Even if their children are born and start to grow up, I will cause all of them to die while they are still young. Terrible things will happen to them when I abandon them!” (Source: Translation for Translators)
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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 first person singular and plural pronoun (“I” and “we” and its various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. The most commonly used watashi/watakushi (私) is typically used when the speaker is humble and asking for help. In these verses, where God / Jesus is referring to himself, watashi is also used but instead of the kanji writing system (私) the syllabary hiragana (わたし) is used to distinguish God from others.
Even if they bring up children, I will bereave them till none is left: The climax at the end of the previous verse is expanded here. The threatened judgment goes beyond denying new children to the wiping out of existing children. Even if renders a Hebrew marker of emphasis, which strengthens the threat, in case any parents would imagine they had escaped the childless condition threatened in the previous verse. Bring up children refers to raising children toward adulthood.
I will bereave them till none is left refers specifically to taking away all children through death. Till none is left is literally “from man.” The Hebrew preposition for “from” is the same one used in the last line of the previous verse. “From man” means no person will be left. There will remain not even one child as their next generation. Some interpret this phrase to mean “before they become adults” (so New Jerusalem Bible, Bible de Jérusalem, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, Andersen and Freedman), but in view of the above analysis, this is not recommended. Good News Translation has a clear model of this line: “I would take them away and not leave one alive.” Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch says “I will take them away from them until no one is left,” and New International Version has simply “I will bereave them of every one.”
Woe to them when I depart from them!: These two lines begin with an emphatic Hebrew expression that is similar to the one at the beginning of this verse. It is literally “Even also,” which has the sense of “Even worse” in this context. The thought of these lines is that for Yahweh to abandon the Israelites will be even worse than losing their children. Revised Standard Version‘s Woe to them loses the emphasis. Better models are “Woe to them indeed” (New Revised Standard Version), “Yes, woe also to them” (Zürcher Bibel), and “Yes, woe also to them personally” (Einheitsübersetzung). For Woe to them, see 7.13. In this context Good News Translation expresses it well with “terrible things will happen to them.”
When I depart from them makes clear when these terrible things will happen. They will occur when the LORD abandons the people. Some commentators take this line as a reference to the loss of Israel’s glory mentioned in the first line of 9.11 (see comments there).
A translation model for this verse is:
• Even if you raise children,
I will take them, no one will be left.
It will be even worse for you,
when I desert you!
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 .
Even if they raise their children, I will bereave them of each one: This clause continues the description of Israel’s punishment from 9:11b. This is a conditional clause. When the condition, they raise their children, is true, the result is that the LORD will bereave them of every one.
This clause is probably a figure of speech that adds emphasis to the previous statement in 9:11b. It indicates how complete and serious the punishment from the LORD will be. Verse 9:11b says that no more children will be born. This verse part, 9:12a, describes an imagined situation in which someone was still able to give birth to and raise children. Even if that could happen, the LORD would take them away.
I will bereave them of each one: In Hebrew, this clause is literally “and I will bereave them from everyone/man.” The words I will bereave them mean to make them childless or to make them miscarry. However, there are different interpretations of the meaning of the entire clause, “I will bereave them from everyone/man”:
(1) This clause means that every child will die. For example:
I will bereave them until no one is left. (New Revised Standard Version)
(2) This clause means that there will be no future generations. The population will dwindle until Israel ceases to be a nation. For example:
I will make them childless, without posterity. (Revised English Bible)
(3) This clause means that the children will never grow up to become adults. It refers to children that will die while still young. For example:
I shall take them away before they grow up! (New Jerusalem Bible)
(God’s Word, New Jerusalem Bible)
It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1) along with most versions and commentaries.
9:12b
Yes, woe be to them when I turn away from them!: In this clause, the LORD announces that the people will soon experience terrible sorrow. He will abandon them. This will fulfill the warning he gave them through Hosea in chapter 5:6, 15. He will no longer be their God. He will no longer protect and guide them.
woe be to them: See the note on this expression for 7:13a. Here the Hebrew clause begins with two particles that give strong emphasis to the clause. The Berean Standard Bible shows emphasis here by using an exclamation mark. The New Revised Standard Version does this also and adds an emphasis word: “Woe to them indeed…!.” Show this emphasis in a natural way in your language.
Some languages may not have a word similar to woe.
Here are some other ways to translate this warning:
Yes, how horrible it will be for them when I leave them. (God’s Word) -or-
It will be a terrible day when I turn away and leave you alone. (New Living Translation (2004))
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