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Israel Is Doomed

The Lord said:

13 When your leaders[a] spoke,
everyone in Israel trembled
    and showed great respect.
But you sinned by worshiping Baal,
    and you were destroyed.
Now you continue to sin
    by designing and making
idols of silver
    in the shape of calves.
You are told to sacrifice
to these idols[b]
    yes, even to kiss them.
And so, all of you will vanish
like the mist or the dew
    of early morning,
or husks of grain in the wind
    or smoke from a chimney.

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Footnotes

  1. 13.1 your leaders: The Hebrew text has “Ephraim,” here meaning Mount Ephraim, where the royal palace of Samaria (capital of the northern kingdom of Israel) was located.
  2. 13.2 You are told … idols: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.

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.

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Footnotes

  1. Hosea 13:2 Or “Men who sacrifice / kiss