Hosea 12:13-14:9

New American Standard Bible 1995

¹³ But by a ^(A)prophet the Lord brought Israel from Egypt,
And by a prophet he was kept.
^14 (B)Ephraim has provoked to bitter anger;
So his Lord will leave his ^(C)bloodguilt on him
And bring back his ^(D)reproach to him.

⁴ Yet I have been the ^(O)Lord your God
Since the land of Egypt;
And you were not to know ^(P)any god except Me,
For there is no savior ^(Q)besides Me.
⁵ I ^[g](R)cared for you in the wilderness,
^(S)In the land of drought.
⁶ As they had their pasture, they became ^(T)satisfied,
And being satisfied, their ^(U)heart became proud;
Therefore they ^(V)forgot Me.
⁷ So I will be ^(W)like a lion to them;
Like a ^(X)leopard I will ^[h]lie in wait by the wayside.
⁸ I will encounter them ^(Y)like a bear robbed of her cubs,
And I will tear open ^[i]their chests;
There I will also ^(Z)devour them like a lioness,
As a wild beast would tear them.

⁹ It is your destruction, O Israel,
^[j]That you are ^(AA)against Me, against your ^(AB)help.
¹⁰ Where now is your ^(AC)king
That he may save you in all your cities,
And your ^(AD)judges of whom you ^[k]requested,
“Give me a king and princes”?
¹¹ I ^(AE)gave you a king in My anger
And ^(AF)took him away in My wrath.

¹² The iniquity of Ephraim is bound up;
His sin is ^(AG)stored up.
¹³ The pains of ^(AH)childbirth come upon him;
He is ^(AI)not a wise son,
For ^[l]it is not the time that he should ^(AJ)delay at the opening of the womb.
¹⁴ Shall I ^(AK)ransom them from the ^[m]power of Sheol?
Shall I redeem them from death?
^(AL)O Death, where are your thorns?
O Sheol, where is your sting?
^(AM)Compassion will be hidden from My sight.

¹⁵ Though he ^(AN)flourishes among the ^[n]reeds,
An ^(AO)east wind will come,
The wind of the Lord coming up from the wilderness;
And his fountain will ^(AP)become dry
And his spring will be dried up;
It will ^(AQ)plunder his treasury of every precious article.
^16 [o]Samaria will be held ^(AR)guilty,
For she has ^(AS)rebelled against her God.
^(AT)They will fall by the ^(AU)sword,
Their little ones will be ^(AV)dashed in pieces,
And their pregnant ^(AW)women will be ripped open.

⁴ I will ^(BF)heal their apostasy,
I will ^(BG)love them freely,
For My anger has ^(BH)turned away from them.
⁵ I will be like the ^(BI)dew to Israel;
He will blossom like the ^(BJ)lily,
And he will ^[u]take root like the cedars of ^(BK)Lebanon.
⁶ His shoots will ^[v]sprout,
And his ^[w]beauty will be like the ^(BL)olive tree
And his fragrance like the cedars of ^(BM)Lebanon.
⁷ Those who ^(BN)live in his shadow
Will ^[x]again raise ^(BO)grain,
And they will blossom like the vine.
His renown will be like the wine of Lebanon.

⁸ O Ephraim, what more have I to do with ^(BP)idols?
It is I who answer and look after ^[y]you.
I am like a luxuriant ^(BQ)cypress;
From ^(BR)Me comes your fruit.

^9 (BS)Whoever is wise, let him understand these things;
Whoever is discerning, let him know them.
For the ^(BT)ways of the Lord are right,
And the ^(BU)righteous will walk in them,
But ^(BV)transgressors will stumble in them.