Hosea 12:13-14:9
Tree of Life Version
13 Now Jacob fled to the field of Aram,
when Israel served for a wife—
yes, he kept watch for a wife.
14 So by a prophet Adonai brought Israel up out of Egypt,
and by a prophet he was kept.
15 Ephraim has provoked bitter anger,
so his bloodguilt will remain on him—
his Lord will repay him for his contempt.
No Other Savior
13 When Ephraim spoke, there was trembling.
He exalted himself in Israel,
but he became guilty through Baal, and died.
2 But now, they sin more and more.
They made themselves molten images,
idols skillfully made from their silver,
all of them the work of the craftsmen.
They say about them:
“Let those who sacrifice kiss the calves.”
3 Therefore they will be like morning clouds,
like dew passing away early,
like chaff blown from the threshing-floor,
or like smoke from a chimney.
4 “Yet I have been Adonai your God
since the land of Egypt.
You should know no God but Me,
and there is no Savior apart from Me.[a]
5 I Myself knew you in the wilderness,
in a land of terrible drought.
6 While they were fed, they were satisfied.
Filled, their hearts became haughty.
Therefore they forgot Me.
7 So I became like a lion to them—
like a leopard lying in wait by the way.
8 I will meet them like a bear robbed of her cubs,
and I will tear open their chests.
There I will devour them like a lioness.
A beast of the field will rip them to shreds.
9 It has corrupted you, O Israel,
for you are against Me—against your Helper!
10 Where then is your king?
So, will he save you in all your cities?
Or your judges, to whom you said:
‘Give me a king and princes!’
11 I give you a king in My anger,
and take him away in My wrath.
12 Ephraim is bound by iniquity;
his sin is treasured up.
13 Pains of birth come on him.
He is not a wise son.
When the time comes,
he should not delay at the opening of the womb.
14 Should I ransom them from the hand of Sheol?
Should I redeem them from death?
O death, where are your plagues?
O Sheol, where is your sting?[b]
Comfort is hidden from My eyes.”
15 Because he is the son of kinsmen,
he should have been fruitful.
An east wind will come—the wind from Adonai,
coming up from the wilderness.
His spring will become dry,
and his fountain will dry up.
He will plunder the treasury
of every precious vessel.
Salvation Like Dew for Israel
14 Samaria will bear her guilt,[c]
for she has rebelled against her God.
They will fall by the sword,
their infants dashed to pieces,
their pregnant women ripped open.
2 Return O Israel, to Adonai your God,
for you have stumbled in your iniquity.
3 Take words with you and return to Adonai.
Say to Him: “Take away all iniquity,
and accept what is good,
so we may repay with offerings[d] of our lips:
4 ‘Assyria will not save us.
We will not ride on horses,
and we will never again say, “Our god,”
to the work of our hands,
for with You, orphans find mercy.’”
5 “I will heal their backsliding,
I will love them freely,
for My anger will turn away from him.
6 I will be like dew for Israel.
He will blossom like a lily,
and thrust out his roots like Lebanon.
7 His tender shoots will spread out.
His beauty will be like an olive tree
and his fragrance will be like Lebanon.
8 Those dwelling in his shadow will return.
They will grow grain and bud like a vine.
His renown will be like the wine of Lebanon.
9 Ephraim: “What more are idols to me?
I have responded and observed Him.
I will be like a luxuriant cypress tree.
From me will be found Your fruit.”
Footnotes
- Hosea 13:4 Cf. Acts 4:12; 1 Tim. 2:3-6.
- Hosea 13:14 cf. 1 Cor. 15:55.
- Hosea 14:1 Traditional Christian text numbers as 12:16 to 14:9.
- Hosea 14:3 Lit. bulls, or perhaps fruit.
Tree of Life (TLV) Translation of the Bible. Copyright © 2015 by The Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society.