Hosea 13:13

13 "When birth pangs signaled it was time to be born, Ephraim was too stupid to come out of the womb. When the passage into life opened up, he didn't show.

Hosea 13:13 Meaning and Commentary

Hosea 13:13

The sorrows of a travailing woman shall come upon him
Upon Ephraim, or the ten tribes; that is, afflictions, distresses, and calamities, which are often in Scripture compared to the pains and sorrows of a woman in childbirth; and may denote the suddenness and inevitableness of them; see ( Isaiah 13:8 ) ( Jeremiah 30:6 Jeremiah 30:7 ) . So the Targum,

``distress and trouble shall come upon them, as pains on a woman with child;''

which may respect the invasion of their land, the siege of Samaria, and their captivity; he [is] an unwise son;
taking no warning by his ancestors, by their sins, and what befell them on account of them, but persisting in his sins, and in impenitence and hardness of heart: so the Targum,

``he is not wise to know my fear:''

for he should not stay long in [the place of] the breaking forth of
children:
that is, in the womb, as Kimchi and Ben Melech interpret it; though the Targum and Jarchi understand it of the stool or seat of women in travail. The sense is, either that he is foolish and unwise, that he does not endeavour to extricate himself from these troubles; or rather to prevent them by repentance, by leaving his idols, and returning to the Lord; or that, should he do so, be would soon be delivered from all his sorrows, and not stay a moment longer in them. Though the words may be better rendered, "for he stays not", or "would not stay, the time for the breaking forth of children" ^F16; now this time is the time of the Gospel dispensation, the time of the Messiah's birth, the fulness of time appointed for his coming, and the time of the church's ringing forth many children in a spiritual sense; see ( Isaiah 54:1 ) ( Galatians 4:26 Galatians 4:27 ) ; for which Ephraim or the ten tribes should have waited, but did not, which was their folly and their ruin; they did not "stand", or continue, in the belief and expectation of the Messiah, and in the true worship of God, but left that, and served idols; and so continued not to the times of the Messiah, when the blessings mentioned in the following verse would be obtained and enjoyed; so Schmidt.

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FOOTNOTES:

F16 (Mynb rbvmb dmey al te yk) "nam tempus non subsistet in partitudine filiorum", Cocceius; "quia tempus non stat in utero puerorum", Schmidt; "quia tempore non stetissent in raptura alvi filiorum", Montanus.

Hosea 13:13 In-Context

11 Well, long ago I gave you a king, but I wasn't happy about it. Now, fed up, I've gotten rid of him.

12 I have a detailed record of your infidelities - Ephraim's sin documented and stored in a safe-deposit box.

13 "When birth pangs signaled it was time to be born, Ephraim was too stupid to come out of the womb. When the passage into life opened up, he didn't show.

14 Shall I intervene and pull them into life? Shall I snatch them from a certain death? Who is afraid of you, Death? Who cares about your threats, Tomb? In the end I'm abolishing regret, banishing sorrow,

15 Even though Ephraim ran wild, the black sheep of the family. "God's tornado is on its way, roaring out of the desert. It will devastate the country, leaving a trail of ruin and wreckage. The cities will be gutted, dear possessions gone for good.