HOLY BIBLE: Hosea 9 (original) (raw)

10 ὡς σταφυλὴν ἐν ἐρήμῳ εὗρον τὸν Ισραηλ καὶ ὡς σκοπὸν ἐν συκῇ πρόιμον εἶδον πατέρας αὐτῶν αὐτοὶ εἰσῆλθον πρὸς τὸν Βεελφεγωρ καὶ ἀπηλλοτριώθησαν εἰς αἰσχύνην καὶ ἐγένοντο οἱ ἠγαπημένοι ὡς οἱ ἐβδελυγμένοι 11 Εφραιμ ὡς ὄρνεον ἐξεπετάσθη αἱ δόξαι αὐτῶν ἐκ τόκων καὶ ὠδίνων καὶ συλλήμψεων 12 διότι καὶ ἐὰν ἐκθρέψωσιν τὰ τέκνα αὐτῶν ἀτεκνωθήσονται ἐξ ἀνθρώπων διότι καὶ οὐαὶ αὐτοῖς ἐστιν σάρξ μου ἐξ αὐτῶν 13 Εφραιμ ὃν τρόπον εἶδον εἰς θήραν παρέστησαν τὰ τέκνα αὐτῶν καὶ Εφραιμ τοῦ ἐξαγαγεῖν εἰς ἀποκέντησιν τὰ τέκνα αὐτοῦ 14 δὸς αὐτοῖς κύριε τί δώσεις αὐτοῖς δὸς αὐτοῖς μήτραν ἀτεκνοῦσαν καὶ μαστοὺς ξηρούς 15 πᾶσαι αἱ κακίαι αὐτῶν εἰς Γαλγαλ ὅτι ἐκεῖ αὐτοὺς ἐμίσησα διὰ τὰς κακίας τῶν ἐπιτηδευμάτων αὐτῶν ἐκ τοῦ οἴκου μου ἐκβαλῶ αὐτούς οὐ μὴ προσθήσω τοῦ ἀγαπῆσαι αὐτούς πάντες οἱ ἄρχοντες αὐτῶν ἀπειθοῦντες 16 ἐπόνεσεν Εφραιμ τὰς ῥίζας αὐτοῦ ἐξηράνθη καρπὸν οὐκέτι μὴ ἐνέγκῃ διότι καὶ ἐὰν γεννήσωσιν ἀποκτενῶ τὰ ἐπιθυμήματα κοιλίας αὐτῶν 17 ἀπώσεται αὐτοὺς ὁ θεός ὅτι οὐκ εἰσήκουσαν αὐτοῦ καὶ ἔσονται πλανῆται ἐν τοῖς ἔθνεσιν

10 When I kept tryst with Israel long ago, rare the encounter, as of grapes out in the desert, of spring figs a-ripening high up on the tree. And all at once to Beelphegor they betook themselves, sold honour for shame, caught foul contagion from the things they loved! 11 Light as bird on bough, Ephraim’s glory has come and gone; womb is none that breeds, or, breeding, bears; 12 ay, though they should bring sons to manhood, childless their race shall be, nameless among men.

Woe betide them indeed, when I withdraw my presence from them! 13 Ephraim’s land, so fair a garden, as I look out over it towards Tyre! And must Ephraim rear her sons for the slaughter-house?[3] 14 Thy gift to them, Lord, what is the best gift they can have of thee? A womb, assuredly, that miscarries, and dried-up breasts! 15 See where, at Galgal, their offence comes to a head; there it is they have made an enemy of me. They shall dwell in my domain no longer, claim love from me no longer; chieftains of theirs are no vassals of mine. 16 On Ephraim blight has fallen; withered the root now, wizened the fruit; beget they, doom of death is on their offspring, so dearly loved. 17 Cast away, my God, from thy presence, because heed thee they would not, cast away to wander homeless through the world!

10
Quasi uvas in deserto inveni Israël,
quasi prima poma ficulneæ in cacumine ejus vidi patres eorum:
ipsi autem intraverunt ad Beelphegor,
et abalienati sunt in confusionem,
et facti sunt abominabiles sicut ea quæ dilexerunt. 11
Ephraim quasi avis avolavit;
gloria eorum a partu, et ab utero, et a conceptu. 12
Quod etsi enutrierint filios suos,
absque liberis eos faciam in hominibus;
sed et væ eis cum recessero ab eis! 13
Ephraim, ut vidi, Tyrus erat fundata in pulchritudine;
et Ephraim educet ad interfectorem filios suos. 14
Da eis, Domine. Quid dabis eis?
da eis vulvam sine liberis, et ubera arentia. 15
Omnes nequitiæ eorum in Galgal,
quia ibi exosos habui eos.
Propter malitiam adinventionum eorum,
de domo mea ejiciam eos;
non addam ut diligam eos:
omnes principes eorum recedentes. 16
Percussus est Ephraim;
radix eorum exsiccata est:
fructum nequaquam facient,
quod etsi genuerint,
interficiam amantissima uteri eorum. 17
Abjiciet eos Deus meus, quia non audierunt eum,
et erunt vagi in nationibus.

[1] Literally, ‘loving hire upon all the threshing-floors of wheat’. There can be little doubt that the reference is to the worship of the countryside gods, or Baalim, who were supposed to have a special influence over the harvest.

[2] The sense of verses 7-9 can only be guessed at, and most modern editors suspect the text of corruption. In verse 8, ‘God’s decree’ is ‘my God’s decree’, and ‘God’s house’ is ‘his God’s house’ in the original. The mention of Gabaa in verse 9 is explained by some as a reference to Jg. 19 and 20, but there can be no certainty on the point.

[3] The use of language here is strained, and once more suggests the possibility of corruption in the text. ‘The slaughter-house’ may refer to the worship of Moloch (Jer. 32.35), or simply to the massacres that will accompany the capture of Samaria.

Knox Translation Copyright © 2013 Westminster Diocese
Nihil Obstat. Father Anton Cowan, Censor.
Imprimatur. +Most Rev. Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Westminster. 8th January 2012.
Re-typeset and published in 2012 by Baronius Press Ltd