Hosea 13
World English Bible
13 When Ephraim spoke, there was trembling.
He exalted himself in Israel,
but when he became guilty in Baal, he died.
2 Now they sin more and more,
and have made themselves molten images of their silver,
even idols according to their own understanding,
all of them the work of the craftsmen.
They say of them, ‘They offer human sacrifice and kiss the calves.’
3 Therefore they will be like the morning mist,
and like the dew that passes away early,
like the chaff that is driven with the whirlwind out of the threshing floor,
and like the smoke out of the chimney.
4 “Yet I am Yahweh your God from the land of Egypt;
and you shall acknowledge no god but me,
and besides me there is no savior.
5 I knew you in the wilderness,
in the land of great drought.
6 According to their pasture, so were they filled;
they were filled, and their heart was exalted.
Therefore they have forgotten me.
7 Therefore I am like a lion to them.
Like a leopard, I will lurk by the path.
8 I will meet them like a bear that is bereaved of her cubs,
and will tear the covering of their heart.
There I will devour them like a lioness.
The wild animal will tear them.
9 You are destroyed, Israel, because you are against me,
against your help.
10 Where is your king now, that he may save you in all your cities?
And your judges, of whom you said, ‘Give me a king and princes’?
11 I have given you a king in my anger,
and have taken him away in my wrath.
12 The guilt of Ephraim is stored up.
His sin is stored up.
13 The sorrows of a travailing woman will come on him.
He is an unwise son;
for when it is time, he doesn’t come to the opening of the womb.
14 I will ransom them from the power of Sheol.[a]
I will redeem them from death!
Death, where are your plagues?
Sheol, where is your destruction?
“Compassion will be hidden from my eyes.
15 Though he is fruitful among his brothers, an east wind will come,
the breath of Yahweh coming up from the wilderness;
and his spring will become dry,
and his fountain will be dried up.
He will plunder the storehouse of treasure.
16 Samaria will bear her guilt;
for she has rebelled against her God.
They will fall by the sword.
Their infants will be dashed in pieces,
and their pregnant women will be ripped open.”
Footnotes
- 13:14 Sheol is the place of the dead.
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.”
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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.
