Hosea 13-14
Holman Christian Standard Bible
13 When Ephraim spoke,(A) there was trembling;
he was exalted in Israel.(B)
But he incurred guilt through Baal(C) and died.
2 Now they continue to sin
and make themselves a cast image,(D)
idols skillfully made from their silver,(E)
all of them the work of craftsmen.(F)
People say about them,
“Let the men who sacrifice[a] kiss the calves.”(G)
3 Therefore, they will be like the morning mist,(H)
like the early dew that vanishes,
like chaff blown from a threshing floor,(I)
or like smoke from a window.(J)
Death and Resurrection
4 I have been Yahweh your God(K)
ever since[b] the land of Egypt;
you know no God but Me,(L)
and no Savior exists besides Me.(M)
5 I knew[c] you in the wilderness,(N)
in the land of drought.
6 When they had pasture,
they became satisfied;(O)
they were satisfied,
and their hearts became proud.(P)
Therefore they forgot Me.(Q)
7 So I will be like a lion(R) to them;
I will lurk like a leopard(S) on the path.
8 I will attack them
like a bear robbed of her cubs
and tear open the rib cage over their hearts.
I will devour them there like a lioness,(T)
like a wild beast that would rip them open.
9 I will destroy you, Israel;
you have no help but Me.[d](U)
10 Where now is your king,[e](V)
that he may save you in all your cities,
and the[f] rulers[g](W) you demanded, saying,
“Give me a king and leaders”?
11 I give you a king in My anger(X)
and take away a king in My wrath.(Y)
12 Ephraim’s guilt is preserved;
his sin is stored up.(Z)
13 Labor pains come on him.(AA)
He is not a wise son;(AB)
when the time comes,
he will not be born.[h](AC)
14 I will ransom them from the power of Sheol.
I will redeem[i] them from death.(AD)
Death, where are your barbs?
Sheol, where is your sting?(AE)
Compassion is hidden from My eyes.(AF)
The Coming Judgment
15 Although he flourishes among his brothers,[j](AG)
an east wind will come,(AH)
a wind from the Lord rising up from the desert.
His water source will fail,
and his spring will run dry.(AI)
The wind[k] will plunder the treasury(AJ)
of every precious item.
16 [l]Samaria(AK) will bear her guilt(AL)
because she has rebelled against her God.(AM)
They will fall by the sword;(AN)
their little ones will be dashed to pieces,(AO)
and their pregnant women ripped open.(AP)
A Plea to Repent
14 Israel, return to Yahweh your God,(AQ)
for you have stumbled in your sin.(AR)
2 Take words of repentance with you(AS)
and return to the Lord.
Say to Him: “Forgive all our sin
and accept what is good,
so that we may repay You
with praise[m] from our[n] lips.(AT)
3 Assyria will not save us,(AU)
we will not ride on horses,(AV)
and we will no longer proclaim, ‘Our gods!’(AW)
to the work of our hands.(AX)
For the fatherless receives compassion in You.”(AY)
A Promise of Restoration
4 I will heal their apostasy;(AZ)
I will freely love them,(BA)
for My anger will have turned from him.(BB)
5 I will be like the dew to Israel;(BC)
he will blossom like the lily(BD)
and take root like the cedars of Lebanon.(BE)
6 His new branches will spread,
and his splendor will be like the olive tree,(BF)
his fragrance, like the forest of Lebanon.(BG)
7 The people will return and live beneath his shade.(BH)
They will grow grain(BI)
and blossom like the vine.
His renown will be like the wine of Lebanon.
8 Ephraim, why should I[o] have anything more
to do with idols?(BJ)
It is I who answer and watch over him.
I am like a flourishing pine tree;(BK)
your fruit comes from Me.(BL)
9 Let whoever is wise(BM) understand these things,
and whoever is insightful recognize them.
For the ways of the Lord are right,(BN)
and the righteous walk in them,(BO)
but the rebellious stumble in them.(BP)
Footnotes
- Hosea 13:2 Or Those who make human sacrifices
- Hosea 13:4 DSS, LXX read God who brought you out of
- Hosea 13:5 LXX, Syr read fed
- Hosea 13:9 LXX reads At your destruction, Israel, who will help you?
- Hosea 13:10 LXX, Syr, Vg; MT reads I will be your king
- Hosea 13:10 Lit your
- Hosea 13:10 Or judges
- Hosea 13:13 Lit he will not present himself at the opening of the womb for sons
- Hosea 13:14 Or Should I ransom . . . Should I redeem . . . ?
- Hosea 13:15 Or among reeds
- Hosea 13:15 Probably the Assyrian king
- Hosea 13:16 Hs 14:1 in Hb
- Hosea 14:2 LXX reads with the fruit
- Hosea 14:2 Lit repay the bulls of our
- Hosea 14:8 LXX reads he
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