Translations
F.O.G.MPrimary
F.O.G MessageHe turned and looked at them, and called down a curse on them in the name of Yahweh. Then two female bears came out of the forest and mauled forty-two of the young men.
F.O.GSecondary
The F.O.GHe turned around, looked at them, and called down a curse upon them in the name of YHWH. Then two she-bears came out of the forest and mauled forty-two of the lads.
KJV
King James VersionAnd he turned back, and looked on them, and cursed them in the name of the LORD. And there came forth two she bears out of the wood, and tare forty and two children of them.
BSB
Berean Standard BibleThen he turned around, looked at them, and called down a curse on them in the name of the LORD. Suddenly two female bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the boys.
Footnotes
This passage has troubled interpreters for centuries and demands honest contextualisation. First, *ne'arim* can mean young men of considerable age — the forty-two involved points to an organised, substantial mob rather than a gaggle of toddlers. Second, in ancient Israelite theology, mocking a prophet was not mere rudeness: it was a theological act — the public rejection and shaming of YHWH's appointed representative and word (cf. 2 Chronicles 36:16, where the same pattern ends in national catastrophe). Third, *vayeqalel* (וַיְקַלֵּל) — 'he cursed' — shares its root with *qalal*, 'to treat as light or worthless': the gravity of YHWH's response precisely mirrors the gravity of what the crowd dismissed. FOG and FOG Message render this identically, allowing the text's shock to stand without mitigation or exaggeration.