Hosea 9 · Verse 14

Hosea 9:14

Give them, O Lord: what wilt thou give? give them a miscarrying womb and dry breasts.
Hosea 9:14, King James Version

Hosea 9:14 in other translations

BSBGive them, O LORD— what will You give? Give them wombs that miscarry and breasts that dry up!
WEBGive them—LORD what will you give? Give them a miscarrying womb and dry breasts.
ASVGive them, O Jehovah—what wilt thou give? give them a miscarrying womb and dry breasts.
YLTGive to them, Jehovah--what dost Thou give? Give to them miscarrying womb, and dry breasts.
DARBYGive them, Jehovah — what wilt thou give? — give them a miscarrying womb and dry breasts.
BBEO Lord, what will you give them? Give them bodies which may not give birth and breasts without milk.
WebsterGive them, O LORD: what wilt thou give? give them a miscarrying womb and dry breasts.

What does Hosea 9:14 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
14. what wilt thou give?--As if overwhelmed by feeling, he deliberates with God what is most desirable. give ... a miscarrying womb--Of two evils he chooses the least. So great will be the calamity, that barrenness will be a blessing, though usually counted a great misfortune (Job 3:3; Jr 20:14; Lu 23:29).

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

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 14 Give them, O Lord: what wilt thou give? - There is an uncommon beauty in these words. The prophet, seeing the evils that were likely to fall upon his countrymen, begins to make intercession for them; but when he had formed the first part of his petition, "Give them, O Lord!" the prophetic light discovered to him that the petition would not be answered and that God was about to give them something widely different. Then changing his petition, which the Divine Spirit had interrupted, by signifying that he must not proceed in his request, he asks the question, then, "What wilt thou give them?" and the answer is, "Give them a miscarrying womb, and dry breasts." And this he is commanded to announce. It is probable that the Israelites had prided themselves in the fruitfulness of their families, and the numerous population of their country. God now tells them that this shall be no more; their wives shall be barren, and their land cursed.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Hosea 9:11-17

. God departs from a people, or from a person, when he withdraws his goodness and mercy from them; and when the Lord is departed, what can the creature do? Even though, for the present, good things seem to remain, yet the blessing is gone if God is gone. Even the children should perish with the parents. The Divine wrath dries up the root, and withers the fruit of all comforts; and the scattered Jews daily warn us to…

Read the full comment on Hosea 9:11-17 →

Hosea 9:14 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.

תֵּן\־ten-giveH5414
לָהֶ֥םla.Hemto them
יְהוָ֖הYah.wehO YahwehH3068
מַה\־mah-what?H4100
תִּתֵּ֑ןti.Tenwill you giveH5414
תֵּן\־ten-giveH5414
לָהֶם֙la.Hemto them
רֶ֣חֶםRe.chema wombH7358
מַשְׁכִּ֔ילmash.Kil[which] miscarryH7921
וְשָׁדַ֖יִםve.sha.Da.yimand breastsH7699
צֹמְקִֽים\׃tzo.me.Kim[which] dry upH6784

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

Cross references for Hosea 9:14

  • Luke 23:29

    For, behold, the days are coming, in the which they shall say, Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bare, and the paps which never gave suck.

  • Luke 21:23

    But woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck, in those days! for there shall be great distress in the land, and wrath upon this people.

  • 1 Corinthians 7:26

    I suppose therefore that this is good for the present distress, I say, that it is good for a man so to be.

  • Mark 13:17

    But woe to them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days!

  • Job 21:10

    Their bull gendereth, and faileth not; their cow calveth, and casteth not her calf.

  • Hosea 9:13

    Ephraim, as I saw Tyrus, is planted in a pleasant place: but Ephraim shall bring forth his children to the murderer.

  • Hosea 9:16

    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.

  • Hosea 9:11

    As for Ephraim, their glory shall fly away like a bird, from the birth, and from the womb, and from the conception.

  • Matthew 24:19

    And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days!

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

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
what.
13,16; Mt 24:19; Mr 13:17; Lu 21:23; 23:29; 1Co 7:26
a miscarrying womb. Heb. a womb that casteth the fruit.
Job 21:10

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

Context

  • Hosea 9:13

    Ephraim, as I saw Tyrus, is planted in a pleasant place: but Ephraim shall bring forth his children to the murderer.

  • Hosea 9:14

    Give them, O Lord: what wilt thou give? give them a miscarrying womb and dry breasts.

  • Hosea 9:15

    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.

Read all of Hosea 9

Hosea 9:14 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Dales, oh Jehová, lo que les has de dar: dales matriz expeliente, y enjutos pechos.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Donne-leur, Éternel! Que donneras-tu? Donne-leur un sein qui avorte et des mamelles desséchées.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Gib ihnen, Jehova; was wirst du ihnen geben? Gib ihnen einen unfruchtbaren Mutterleib und trockene Brüste!
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Da eis, Domine. Quid dabis eis? da eis vulvam sine liberis, et ubera arentia.