Oséias 9:14

14 Dá-lhes, ó Senhor; mas que lhes darás? dá-lhes uma madre que aborte e seios ressecados.

Oséias 9:14 Meaning and Commentary

Hosea 9:14

Give them, O Lord: what wilt thou give them?
&c.] The prophet foreseeing the butchery and destruction of their children, his heart ached for them; and, to show his tender affection for this people, was desirous of putting up a supplication for them; but was at a loss what to ask, their sins were so many, and so aggravated, and the decree gone forth for their destruction: or, "give them what thou wilt give them" {l}; so Jarchi, Kimchi, and Abarbinel, what thou hast threatened before to give them, ( Hosea 9:11 ) ; do not give them to be butchered and murdered before the eyes of their parents by their enemies; but rather let them die in the womb, or as soon as born; so it follows: give them a miscarrying womb and dry breasts;
the latter being a sign of the former, as physicians observe; or the words may be rendered disjunctively, give them one, or the other; that is, to the wives of the people of Israel, if they conceive, let them miscarry, prove abortive, rather than bring forth children to be destroyed in such a cruel manner by murderers; or if they bear them to the birth, and bring them forth, let their breasts be dried up, and afford no milk for their nourishment; and so die for lack of it, rather than fall into the hands of their merciless enemies: thus, of two evils, the prophet chooses and prays for the least. Some interpret this as a prediction of what would be, or an imprecation of it; but it rather seems a pathetic wish, flowing from the tender affection of the prophet, judging such a case to be preferable to the former; see ( Luke 23:29 ) ; though the other sense seems best to agree with what follows, and which is favoured by the Targum,

``give thou, O Lord, the recompence of their works; give them a miscarrying womb and dry breasts.''

---

FOOTNOTES:

F12 (Ntt hm Mhl Nt) "da eis quod daturus es", Junius & Tremellius, Vatablus, Grotius; "da illis id quod dabis", Schmidt.

Oséias 9:14 In-Context

12 Ainda que venham criar seus filhos, eu os privarei deles, para que não fique nenhum homem. Ai deles, quando deles eu me apartar!

13 Efraim, assim como vi a Tiro, está plantado num lugar aprazível; mas Efraim levará seus filhos ao matador.

14 Dá-lhes, ó Senhor; mas que lhes darás? dá-lhes uma madre que aborte e seios ressecados.

15 Toda a sua malícia se acha em Gilgal; pois ali é que lhes concebi ódio; por causa da maldade das suas obras lançá-los-ei fora de minha casa. Não os amarei mais; todos os seus príncipes são rebeldes.

16 Efraim foi ferido, secou-se a sua raiz; eles não darão fruto; sim, ainda que gerem, eu matarei os frutos desejáveis do seu ventre.