Hosea 13 · Verse 13

Hosea 13:13

The sorrows of a travailing woman shall come upon him: he is an unwise son; for he should not stay long in the place of the breaking forth of children.

Hosea 13:13, King James Version

Hosea 13:13 in other translations

BSB	Labor pains come upon him, but he is an unwise son. When the time arrives, he fails to present himself at the opening of the womb.
WEB	The sorrows of a travailing woman will come on him. He is an unwise son, for when it is time, he doesn’t come to the opening of the womb.
ASV	The sorrows of a travailing woman shall come upon him: he is an unwise son; for it is time he should not tarry in the place of the breaking forth of children.
YLT	Pangs of a travailing woman come to him, He is a son not wise, For he remaineth not the time for the breaking forth of sons.
DARBY	The pangs of a woman in travail shall come upon him: he is a son not wise; for at the time of the breaking forth of children, he was not there.
BBE	The pains of a woman in childbirth will come on him: he is an unwise son, for at this time it is not right for him to keep his place when children come to birth.
Webster	The sorrows of a travailing woman shall come upon him: he is an unwise son; for he should not stay long in the place of the breaking forth of children.

What does Hosea 13:13 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown

13. sorrows of a travailing woman--calamities sudden and agonizing (Jr 30:6). unwise--in not foreseeing the impending judgment, and averting it by penitence (Pr 22:3). he should not stay long in the place of the breaking forth of children--When Israel might deliver himself from calamity by the pangs of penitence, he brings ruin on himself by so long deferring a new birth unto repentance, like a child whose mother has not strength to bring it forth, and which therefore remains so long in the passage from the womb as to run the risk of death (2Ki 19:3; Is 37:3; 66:9).

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary

Verse 13 The sorrows of a travailing woman - These judgments shall come suddenly and unavoidably. The place of the breaking forth of children - As there is a critical time in parturition in which the mother in hard labor may by skillful assistants be eased of her burden, which, if neglected, may endanger the life both of parent and child, so there was a time in which Ephraim might have returned to God, but they would not; therefore they are now in danger of being finally destroyed. And, speaking after the manner of men, he must be deemed an unwise son, who if he had power and consideration, would prolong his stay in the porch of life, where he must necessarily be suffocated; so is Ephraim, who, though warned of his danger, having yet power to escape, continued in his sin, and is now come to destruction. I could illustrate the allusion in the text farther, and show the accurate propriety of the original; but the subject forbids it.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Hosea 13:9-16

Israel had destroyed himself by his rebellion; but he could not save himself, his help was from the Lord only. This may well be applied to the case of spiritual redemption, from that lost state into which all have fallen by wilful sins. God often gives in displeasure what we sinfully desire. It is the happiness of the saints, that, whether God gives or takes away, all is in love. But it is the misery of the wicked…

Read the full comment on Hosea 13:9-16 →

Hosea 13:13 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

חֶבְלֵ֥יchev.Lei[the] pains ofH2256

יֽוֹלֵדָ֖הyo.le.Dah[one who] gives birthH3205

יָבֹ֣אוּya.Vo.'uthey will comeH935

ל֑וֹloto him

הוּא\־hu'-heH1931

בֵן֙ven[is] a sonH1121

לֹ֣אlo'notH3808

חָכָ֔םcha.KhamwiseH2450

כִּֽי\־ki-ifH3588

עֵ֥ת'eta timeH6256

לֹֽא\־lo'-notH3808

יַעֲמֹ֖דya.'a.Modhe will present himselfH5975

בְּמִשְׁבַּ֥רbe.mish.Barat birth ofH4866

בָּנִֽים\׃ba.NimchildrenH1121

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Hosea 13:13

Isaiah 37:3
And they said unto him, Thus saith Hezekiah, This day is a day of trouble, and of rebuke, and of blasphemy: for the children are come to the birth, and there is not strength to bring forth.
Isaiah 26:17
Like as a woman with child, that draweth near the time of her delivery, is in pain, and crieth out in her pangs; so have we been in thy sight, O Lord.
Isaiah 13:8
And they shall be afraid: pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them; they shall be in pain as a woman that travaileth: they shall be amazed one at another; their faces shall be as flames.
2 Kings 19:3
And they said unto him, Thus saith Hezekiah, This day is a day of trouble, and of rebuke, and blasphemy: for the children are come to the birth, and there is not strength to bring forth.
Micah 4:9-10
Now why dost thou cry out aloud? is there no king in thee? is thy counsellor perished? for pangs have taken thee as a woman in travail. Be in pain, and labour to bring forth, O daughter of Zion, like a woman in travail: for now shalt thou go forth out of the city, and thou shalt dwell in the field, and thou shalt go even to Babylon; there shalt thou be delivered; there the Lord shall redeem thee from the hand of thine enemies.
Psalms 48:6
Fear took hold upon them there, and pain, as of a woman in travail.
Proverbs 22:3
A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself: but the simple pass on, and are punished.
Jeremiah 4:31
For I have heard a voice as of a woman in travail, and the anguish as of her that bringeth forth her first child, the voice of the daughter of Zion, that bewaileth herself, that spreadeth her hands, saying, Woe is me now! for my soul is wearied because of murderers.
1 Thessalonians 5:3
For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.
Isaiah 66:9
Shall I bring to the birth, and not cause to bring forth? saith the Lord: shall I cause to bring forth, and shut the womb? saith thy God.
Jeremiah 22:23
O inhabitant of Lebanon, that makest thy nest in the cedars, how gracious shalt thou be when pangs come upon thee, the pain as of a woman in travail!
Jeremiah 49:24
Damascus is waxed feeble, and turneth herself to flee, and fear hath seized on her: anguish and sorrows have taken her, as a woman in travail.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

sorrows.
Ps 48:6; Isa 13:8; 21:3; Jer 4:31; 13:21; 22:23; 30:6; 49:24
Mic 4:9,10; 1Th 5:3
an.
Pr 22:3; Ac 24:25
for he.
2Ki 19:3; Isa 26:17; 37:3; Ac 16:29-34; 2Co 6:2; Heb 3:7,8
long. Heb. a time.

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

Hosea 13:12
The iniquity of Ephraim is bound up; his sin is hid.
Hosea 13:13
The sorrows of a travailing woman shall come upon him: he is an unwise son; for he should not stay long in the place of the breaking forth of children.
Hosea 13:14
I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death: O death, I will be thy plagues; O grave, I will be thy destruction: repentance shall be hid from mine eyes.

Read all of Hosea 13

Hosea 13:13 in other languages

Spanish Reina-Valera 1909	Dolores de mujer de parto le vendrán: es un hijo ignorante, que de otra manera no estuviera tanto tiempo en el rompimiento de los hijos.
French Bible J.N. Darby 1885	Les douleurs de celle qui enfante viendront sur lui. C’est un fils qui n’est pas sensé, car au temps de la sortie des enfants, il ne se tint pas là.
German Elberfelder 1871	Wehen einer Gebärenden werden ihn ankommen. Er ist ein unweiser Sohn; denn wenn es Zeit ist, tritt er nicht ein in den Durchbruch der Kinder.
Latin Clementine Vulgate	Dolores parturientis venient ei: ipse filius non sapiens: nunc enim non stabit in contritione filiorum.