Hosea 13:7-9 New English Translation

⁷So^[a] I will pounce on them like a lion;^[b]
like a leopard I will lurk by the path.
⁸I will attack them like a bear robbed of her cubs—
I will rip open their chests.
I will devour them there like a lion—
like a wild animal would tear them apart.

Israel’s King Unable to Deliver the Nation

⁹I will destroy you,^[c] O Israel!
Who^[d] is there to help you?

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Footnotes

Hosea 13:7 tn The vav consecutive + preterite form וָאֱהִי (vaʾehi) introduces a consequential or result clause; cf. NAB “Therefore,” NCV “That is why.”
Hosea 13:7 tn Heb “So I will be like a lion to them” (so NASB); cf. NIV “I will come upon them like a lion.”
Hosea 13:9 tc The MT reads שִׁחֶתְךָ (shikhet^ekha, “he destroyed you”; Piel perfect third person masculine singular from שָׁחַת, shakhat, “to destroy” + second person masculine singular suffix). The BHS editors suggest שׁחתיךָ (“I will destroy you”; Piel perfect first person common singular + second person masculine singular suffix). Contextually, this fits: If the Lord is intent on destroying Israel, there is no one who will be able to rescue her from him. This reading is also followed by NCV, NRSV, and TEV.
Hosea 13:9 tc The MT reads כִּי־בִי בְעֶזְרֶךָ (ki vi veʿezrekha, “but in me is your help”); cf. KJV, NIV, and NLT. The LXX and Syriac reflect an underlying Hebrew text of כִּי־מִי בְעֶזְרֶךָ (ki mi veʿezrekha, “For who will help you?”). The interrogative מִי (“Who?”) harmonizes well with the interrogatives in 13:9-10 and should be adopted, as the BHS editors suggest; the reading is also followed by NAB, NCV, NRSV, and TEV.

New English Translation (NET)