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 9:16:
Kupsabiny: “Ephraim shall be destroyed their roots shall dry up so they do not produce food. Even if they get children I shall kill those children quickly!’” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “The people of Ephraim have become like a tree that has withered from its roots and bears no fruit. Even if they give birth to sons and daughters, I will kill their beloved children."” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “They are like a plant whose root dried-up therefore not bearing-fruit. Even-if they will-give-birth-to-children, I will-kill their beloved children.’” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “Israel is like a grapevine that is dried up; like a vine 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.” (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.
Ephraim is stricken, their root is dried up, they shall bear no fruit: Once again, Good News Translation has “The people of Israel” instead of Ephraim for clarity (see comments on 4.17). Some languages may prefer second person references to Israel, depending on what has been done earlier (so Contemporary English Version; see model below).
Revised Standard Version, following the Hebrew, has three metaphors that describe Israel as a fruit tree (is stricken, root is dried up, bear no fruit). Good News Translation shifts from these metaphors to a simile: “like a plant whose roots have dried up and which bears no fruit.” Good News Translation rightly assumes that the second metaphor, root is dried up, tells how the tree is stricken, that is, attacked, so it combines these two metaphors into “a plant whose roots have dried up.” In most languages people will not first say that a plant has been “hit,” but they will simply state what happened to the plant.
Although it may be hard to express in translation, there is a touch of irony in the first three lines of this verse. The name Ephraim (ʾeprayim), which means fruitful, sounds like the Hebrew word for fruit (peri; compare Gen 41.52). The one who was fruitful will become completely fruitless. It may be helpful to add a footnote to explain the irony, for example, “The name Ephraim, which means fruitful, sounds like the Hebrew word for fruit.”
Good News Translation summarizes the meaning of the metaphors, saying “They will have no children,” which is implied in the context. In most receptor languages this addition may not be necessary, since the context provides sufficient clues to arrive at this meaning. Moreover, if translators aim at a good poetic rendering of the text, such explications may be redundant.
Even though they bring forth, I will slay their beloved children: These two lines replace the metaphors of the first three lines with a very blunt and harsh curse. This curse is very similar to the one in the first half of 9.12. Even if the Israelites bore children, the LORD would kill them. Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch emphasizes the bluntness of the curse by adding that the killing would be “merciless.” This addition makes the statement stronger than it already is, so it is not recommended. Their beloved children is literally “the precious ones of their womb.” Jerusalem Bible says “the darlings of their womb.” Good News Translation provides a good model: “the children so dear to them.”
A translation model for this verse is:
• Ephraim, you are finished,
your root has dried up,
you shall not bear fruit.
Even if you bore children,
I would kill them, your darlings.”
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:
16a Ephraimis stuck down;
16b their rootis withered;
16c theycannot 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.
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. The verb tense indicates certainty that this action will soon happen.
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. 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. 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 (New Century Version) -or-
The people of Ephraim are like sick plants. Their roots are dried up. They have no fruit. (God’s Word)
9:16d
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. 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.
slay: This word means “to cause to die, kill.”
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 (Revised Standard Version) -or-
dear children (God’s Word)
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