Hosea 13
English Standard Version
The Lord's Relentless Judgment on Israel
13 When Ephraim spoke, there was trembling;
(A)he was exalted in Israel,
but he incurred guilt (B)through Baal and died.
2 And now they sin more and more,
and (C)make for themselves metal images,
idols skillfully made of their silver,
(D)all of them the work of craftsmen.
It is said of them,
“Those who offer human sacrifice (E)kiss calves!”
3 Therefore they shall be (F)like the morning mist
or (G)like the dew that goes early away,
(H)like the chaff that swirls from the threshing floor
or (I)like smoke from a window.
4 But (J)I am the Lord your God
from the land of Egypt;
(K)you know no God but me,
and (L)besides me there is no savior.
5 (M)It was I who knew you in the wilderness,
in the land of drought;
6 (N)but when they had grazed,[a] they became full,
(O)they were filled, and their heart was lifted up;
(P)therefore they forgot me.
7 So (Q)I am to them like a lion;
(R)like a leopard I will lurk beside the way.
8 I will fall upon them (S)like a bear robbed of her cubs;
I will tear open their breast,
and there I will devour them like a lion,
(T)as a wild beast would rip them open.
9 He destroys[b] you, O Israel,
for you are against me, against (U)your helper.
10 (V)Where now is your king, to save you in all your cities?
Where are all your rulers—
those of whom (W)you said,
“Give me a king and princes”?
11 (X)I gave you a king in my anger,
and (Y)I took him away in my wrath.
12 The iniquity of Ephraim is (Z)bound up;
his sin is (AA)kept in store.
13 (AB)The pangs of childbirth come for him,
but he is an unwise son,
for at the right time he does not present himself
(AC)at the opening of the womb.
14 (AD)I shall ransom them from the power of Sheol;
(AE)I shall redeem them from Death.[c]
(AF)O (AG)Death, where are your plagues?
(AH)O (AI)Sheol, where is your sting?
(AJ)Compassion is hidden from my eyes.
15 Though (AK)he may flourish among his brothers,
(AL)the east wind, the wind of the Lord, shall come,
rising from the wilderness,
(AM)and his fountain shall dry up;
his spring shall be parched;
it shall strip (AN)his treasury
of every precious thing.
16 [d] Samaria (AO)shall bear her guilt,
because (AP)she has rebelled against her God;
they shall fall by the sword;
(AQ)their little ones shall be dashed in pieces,
and their (AR)pregnant women ripped open.
Footnotes
- Hosea 13:6 Hebrew according to their pasture
- Hosea 13:9 Or I will destroy
- Hosea 13:14 Or Shall I ransom them from the power of Sheol? Shall I redeem them from Death?
- Hosea 13:16 Ch 14:1 in Hebrew
Hosea 13
New Living Translation
The Lord’s Anger against Israel
13 When the tribe of Ephraim spoke,
the people shook with fear,
for that tribe was important in Israel.
But the people of Ephraim sinned by worshiping Baal
and thus sealed their destruction.
2 Now they continue to sin by making silver idols,
images shaped skillfully with human hands.
“Sacrifice to these,” they cry,
“and kiss the calf idols!”
3 Therefore, they will disappear like the morning mist,
like dew in the morning sun,
like chaff blown by the wind,
like smoke from a chimney.
4 “I have been the Lord your God
ever since I brought you out of Egypt.
You must acknowledge no God but me,
for there is no other savior.
5 I took care of you in the wilderness,
in that dry and thirsty land.
6 But when you had eaten and were satisfied,
you became proud and forgot me.
7 So now I will attack you like a lion,
like a leopard that lurks along the road.
8 Like a bear whose cubs have been taken away,
I will tear out your heart.
I will devour you like a hungry lioness
and mangle you like a wild animal.
9 “You are about to be destroyed, O Israel—
yes, by me, your only helper.
10 Now where is[a] your king?
Let him save you!
Where are all the leaders of the land,
the king and the officials you demanded of me?
11 In my anger I gave you kings,
and in my fury I took them away.
12 “Ephraim’s guilt has been collected,
and his sin has been stored up for punishment.
13 Pain has come to the people
like the pain of childbirth,
but they are like a child
who resists being born.
The moment of birth has arrived,
but they stay in the womb!
14 “Should I ransom them from the grave[b]?
Should I redeem them from death?
O death, bring on your terrors!
O grave, bring on your plagues![c]
For I will not take pity on them.
15 Ephraim was the most fruitful of all his brothers,
but the east wind—a blast from the Lord—
will arise in the desert.
All their flowing springs will run dry,
and all their wells will disappear.
Every precious thing they own
will be plundered and carried away.
16 [d]The people of Samaria
must bear the consequences of their guilt
because they rebelled against their God.
They will be killed by an invading army,
their little ones dashed to death against the ground,
their pregnant women ripped open by swords.”
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
