1When Ephraim spoke, people trembled; he was exalted in Israel. But he became guilty of Baal worship and died.2Now they sin more and more; they make idols for themselves from their silver, cleverly fashioned images, all of them the work of craftsmen. It is said of these people, ‘They offer human sacrifices! They kiss[1] calf-idols!’3Therefore they will be like the morning mist, like the early dew that disappears, like chaff swirling from a threshing-floor, like smoke escaping through a window.4‘But I have been the Lord your God ever since you came out of Egypt. You shall acknowledge no God but me, no Saviour except me.5I cared for you in the wilderness, in the land of burning heat.6When I fed them, they were satisfied; when they were satisfied, they became proud; then they forgot me.7So I will be like a lion to them, like a leopard I will lurk by the path.8Like a bear robbed of her cubs, I will attack them and rip them open; like a lion I will devour them – a wild animal will tear them apart.9‘You are destroyed, Israel, because you are against me, against your helper.10Where is your king, that he may save you? Where are your rulers in all your towns, of whom you said, “Give me a king and princes”?11So in my anger I gave you a king, and in my wrath I took him away.12The guilt of Ephraim is stored up, his sins are kept on record.13Pains as of a woman in childbirth come to him, but he is a child without wisdom; when the time arrives, he doesn’t have the sense to come out of the womb.14‘I will deliver this people from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death. Where, O death, are your plagues? Where, O grave, is your destruction? ‘I will have no compassion,15even though he thrives among his brothers. An east wind from the Lord will come, blowing in from the desert; his spring will fail and his well dry up. His storehouse will be plundered of all its treasures.16The people of Samaria must bear their guilt, because they have rebelled against their God. They will fall by the sword; their little ones will be dashed to the ground, their pregnant women ripped open.’[2]
Hosea 13
English Standard Version
The Lord’s Relentless Judgment on Israel
1When Ephraim spoke, there was trembling; he was exalted in Israel, but he incurred guilt through Baal and died. (Ho 11:2; Am 6:13)2And now they sin more and more, and make for themselves metal images, idols skillfully made of their silver, all of them the work of craftsmen. It is said of them, “Those who offer human sacrifice kiss calves!” (1Ki 19:18; Job 31:26; Ps 115:4; Isa 40:19; Ho 2:8)3Therefore they shall be like the morning mist or like the dew that goes early away, like the chaff that swirls from the threshing floor or like smoke from a window. (Ps 1:4; Ps 68:2; Ho 6:4)4But I am the Lord your God from the land of Egypt; you know no God but me, and besides me there is no savior. (Ex 20:3; Isa 43:11; Isa 45:21; Ho 12:9)5It was I who knew you in the wilderness, in the land of drought; (De 2:7; Am 3:2)6but when they had grazed,[1] they became full, they were filled, and their heart was lifted up; therefore they forgot me. (De 8:12; De 8:14; De 32:15; Ho 4:7)7So I am to them like a lion; like a leopard I will lurk beside the way. (Jer 5:6; Ho 5:14)8I will fall upon them like a bear robbed of her cubs; I will tear open their breast, and there I will devour them like a lion, as a wild beast would rip them open. (2Sa 17:8; Pr 17:12; Ho 2:12)9He destroys[2] you, O Israel, for you are against me, against your helper. (De 33:26)10Where now is your king, to save you in all your cities? Where are all your rulers— those of whom you said, “Give me a king and princes”? (1Sa 8:5; 1Sa 8:19; Ho 8:4; Ho 10:3)11I gave you a king in my anger, and I took him away in my wrath. (1Sa 8:22; 1Sa 15:23)12The iniquity of Ephraim is bound up; his sin is kept in store. (Job 14:17)13The pangs of childbirth come for him, but he is an unwise son, for at the right time he does not present himself at the opening of the womb. (2Ki 19:3; Isa 13:8; 1Th 5:3)14I shall ransom them from the power of Sheol; I shall redeem them from Death.[3] O Death, where are your plagues? O Sheol, where is your sting? Compassion is hidden from my eyes. (Isa 25:8; Isa 26:19; Eze 9:10; Eze 14:21; Eze 37:12; 1Co 15:55)15Though he may flourish among his brothers, the east wind, the wind of the Lord, shall come, rising from the wilderness, and his fountain shall dry up; his spring shall be parched; it shall strip his treasury of every precious thing. (Ge 41:52; Eze 17:10; Eze 19:12; Ho 12:8; Jon 4:8; Hab 1:9)16[4] Samaria shall bear her guilt, because she has rebelled against her God; they shall fall by the sword; their little ones shall be dashed in pieces, and their pregnant women ripped open. (2Ki 8:12; 2Ki 15:16; 2Ki 18:12; Ho 9:12; Ho 10:14; Am 1:13; Hab 1:11)