Add parallel Print Page Options

13 When Ephraim [a]spake, there was trembling; he exalted himself in Israel; but when he [b]offended in Baal, he died. And now they sin more and more, and have made them molten images of their silver, even idols according to their own understanding, all of them the work of the craftsmen: they say of them, Let [c]the men that sacrifice kiss the calves. Therefore they shall be as the morning cloud, and as the dew that passeth early away, as the chaff that is driven with the whirlwind out of the threshing-floor, and as the smoke out of the chimney.

Yet I am Jehovah thy God from the land of Egypt; and thou [d]shalt know no god but me, and besides me there is no saviour. I did know thee in the wilderness, in the land of great drought. According to their pasture, so were they filled; they were filled, and their heart was exalted: therefore have they forgotten me. Therefore am I unto them as a lion; as a leopard will I watch by the way; I will meet them as a bear that is bereaved of her whelps, and will rend the caul of their heart; and there will I devour them like a lioness; the wild beast shall tear them.

[e]It is thy destruction, O Israel, [f]that thou art against me, against thy help. 10 Where now is thy king, that he may save thee in all thy cities? and thy judges, of whom thou saidst, Give me a king and princes? 11 I have given thee a king in mine anger, and have taken him away in my wrath. 12 The iniquity of Ephraim is bound up; his sin is laid up in store. 13 The sorrows of a travailing woman shall come upon him: he is an unwise son; [g]for it is time he should not tarry in the place of the breaking forth of children. 14 I will ransom them from the [h]power of Sheol; I will redeem them from death: O death, [i]where are thy plagues? O Sheol, [j]where is thy destruction? repentance shall be hid from mine eyes.

15 Though he be fruitful among his brethren, an east wind shall come, the [k]breath of Jehovah coming up from the wilderness; and his spring shall become dry, and his fountain shall be dried up: [l]he shall make spoil of the treasure of all goodly vessels. 16 Samaria shall [m]bear her guilt; for she hath rebelled against her God: they shall fall by the sword; their infants shall be dashed in pieces, and their women with child shall be ripped up.

Footnotes

  1. Hosea 13:1 Or, spake with trembling etc.
  2. Hosea 13:1 Or, became guilty
  3. Hosea 13:2 Or, the sacrificers of men
  4. Hosea 13:4 Or, knowest
  5. Hosea 13:9 Or, Thou art destroyed, O Israel; for thou etc.
  6. Hosea 13:9 Or, for in me, in thy help—Or, but in me is thy help
  7. Hosea 13:13 Or, when it is time, he standeth not in etc.
  8. Hosea 13:14 Hebrew hand.
  9. Hosea 13:14 Or, I will be
  10. Hosea 13:14 Or, I will be
  11. Hosea 13:15 Or, wind
  12. Hosea 13:15 Or, it
  13. Hosea 13:16 Or, become desolate

The Lord’s Anger Against Israel

13 When Ephraim spoke, people trembled;(A)
    he was exalted(B) in Israel.
    But he became guilty of Baal worship(C) and died.
Now they sin more and more;
    they make(D) idols for themselves from their silver,(E)
cleverly fashioned images,
    all of them the work of craftsmen.(F)
It is said of these people,
    “They offer human sacrifices!
    They kiss[a](G) calf-idols!(H)
Therefore they will be like the morning mist,
    like the early dew that disappears,(I)
    like chaff(J) swirling from a threshing floor,(K)
    like smoke(L) escaping through a window.

“But I have been the Lord your God
    ever since you came out of Egypt.(M)
You shall acknowledge(N) no God but me,(O)
    no Savior(P) except me.
I cared for you in the wilderness,(Q)
    in the land of burning heat.
When I fed them, they were satisfied;
    when they were satisfied, they became proud;(R)
    then they forgot(S) me.(T)
So I will be like a lion(U) to them,
    like a leopard I will lurk by the path.
Like a bear robbed of her cubs,(V)
    I will attack them and rip them open;
like a lion(W) I will devour them—
    a wild animal will tear them apart.(X)

“You are destroyed, Israel,
    because you are against me,(Y) against your helper.(Z)
10 Where is your king,(AA) that he may save you?
    Where are your rulers in all your towns,
of whom you said,
    ‘Give me a king and princes’?(AB)
11 So in my anger I gave you a king,(AC)
    and in my wrath I took him away.(AD)
12 The guilt of Ephraim is stored up,
    his sins are kept on record.(AE)
13 Pains as of a woman in childbirth(AF) come to him,
    but he is a child without wisdom;
when the time(AG) arrives,
    he doesn’t have the sense to come out of the womb.(AH)

14 “I will deliver this people from the power of the grave;(AI)
    I will redeem them from death.(AJ)
Where, O death, are your plagues?
    Where, O grave, is your destruction?(AK)

“I will have no compassion,
15     even though he thrives(AL) among his brothers.
An east wind(AM) from the Lord will come,
    blowing in from the desert;
his spring will fail
    and his well dry up.(AN)
His storehouse will be plundered(AO)
    of all its treasures.
16 The people of Samaria(AP) must bear their guilt,(AQ)
    because they have rebelled(AR) against their God.
They will fall by the sword;(AS)
    their little ones will be dashed(AT) to the ground,
    their pregnant women(AU) ripped open.”[b]

Footnotes

  1. Hosea 13:2 Or “Men who sacrifice / kiss
  2. Hosea 13:16 In Hebrew texts this verse (13:16) is numbered 14:1.