Hosea 13
1 WHEN EPHRAIM spoke with trembling, he exalted himself in Israel; but when he offended and became guilty in Baal worship, he died [spiritually, and then outward ruin came also, sealing Israel’s doom as a nation].2 And now they sin more and more and have made for themselves molten images of their silver, even idols according to their own understanding [as it pleased them], all of them the work of the craftsmen. To these [very works of their hands] they speak or pray who sacrifice to them; they kiss and show homage to the calves [as if they were alive]!3 Therefore they shall be like the morning mist or like the dew that passes early away, like the chaff that swirls with the whirlwind from the threshing floor and as the smoke out of the chimney or through the window.4 Yet I am the Lord your God from [the time you became a nation in] the land of Egypt, and you shall know or recognize no God but Me, for there is no Savior besides Me.5 I knew (recognized, understood, and had regard for) you in the wilderness, in the land of great drought.6 According to their pasture, so were they filled [when they fed, they grew full], and their heart was lifted up; therefore have they forgotten Me.7 Therefore I have become to them like a lion; like a leopard I will lurk by the way [to Assyria] and watch them.8 I will meet them like a bear that is robbed of her cubs, and I will rend the covering of their heart, and there will I devour them like a lioness, as a wild beast would tear them.9 It is your destruction, O Israel, that you have been against Me, for in Me is your help.10 Where now is your king that he may save you in all your cities? And your judges of whom you said, Give me a king and princes?11 I have given you a king in My anger, and I have taken him away in My wrath.12 The iniquity of Ephraim [not fully punished yet] is bound up [as in a bag]; his sin is laid up in store [for judgment and destruction].13 The pains of a woman in childbirth are coming on for him [to be born]; but he is an unwise son, for now when it is time [to be born], he comes not to the place where [unborn] children break forth [he needs new birth but makes no effort to acquire it].14 Should I ransom them from the power of Sheol (the place of the dead)? Should I redeem them from death? O death, where are your plagues? O Sheol, where is your destruction? Relenting and compassion are hidden from My eyes. 15 For though among his brethren [his fellow tribes] he may be fruitful, an east wind [Assyria] will come, the breath of the Lord rising from the desert; and Ephraim’s spring shall become dry and his fountain be dried up. [Assyria] shall plunder his treasury of every precious vessel.16 Samaria shall bear her guilt and become desolate, for she rebelled against her God; they shall fall by the sword, their infants shall be dashed in pieces, and their pregnant women shall be ripped up.
Hosea 13
Chapter 13
The LORD’s Anger against Israel
1 When the tribe of Ephraim spoke,
the people shook with fear,
for that tribe was important in Israel.
But the people of Ephraim sinned by worshiping Baal
and thus sealed their destruction.2 Now they continue to sin by making silver idols,
images shaped skillfully with human hands.
“Sacrifice to these,” they cry,
“and kiss the calf idols!”3 Therefore, they will disappear like the morning mist,
like dew in the morning sun,
like chaff blown by the wind,
like smoke from a chimney.4 “I have been the LORD your God
ever since I brought you out of Egypt.
You must acknowledge no God but me,
for there is no other savior.5 I took care of you in the wilderness,
in that dry and thirsty land.6 But when you had eaten and were satisfied,
you became proud and forgot me.7 So now I will attack you like a lion,
like a leopard that lurks along the road.8 Like a bear whose cubs have been taken away,
I will tear out your heart.
I will devour you like a hungry lioness
and mangle you like a wild animal.9 “You are about to be destroyed, O Israel—
yes, by me, your only helper.10 Now where ist your king?
Let him save you!
Where are all the leaders of the land,
the king and the officials you demanded of me?11 In my anger I gave you kings,
and in my fury I took them away.12 “Ephraim’s guilt has been collected,
and his sin has been stored up for punishment.13 Pain has come to the people
like the pain of childbirth,
but they are like a child
who resists being born.
The moment of birth has arrived,
but they stay in the womb!14 “Should I ransom them from the gravet?
Should I redeem them from death?
O death, bring on your terrors!
O grave, bring on your plagues!t
For I will not take pity on them.15 Ephraim was the most fruitful of all his brothers,
but the east wind—a blast from the LORD—
will arise in the desert.
All their flowing springs will run dry,
and all their wells will disappear.
Every precious thing they own
will be plundered and carried away.16 tThe people of Samaria
must bear the consequences of their guilt
because they rebelled against their God.
They will be killed by an invading army,
their little ones dashed to death against the ground,
their pregnant women ripped open by swords.”