Hosea 13
Living Bible
13 It used to be when Israel spoke, the nations shook with fear, for he was a mighty prince; but he worshiped Baal and sealed his doom.
2 And now the people disobey more and more. They melt their silver to mold into idols, formed with skill by the hands of men. “Sacrifice to these!” they say—men kissing calves! 3 They shall disappear like morning mist, like dew that quickly dries away, like chaff blown by the wind, like a cloud of smoke.
4 “I alone am God, your Lord, and have been ever since I brought you out from Egypt. You have 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, then you became proud and forgot me. 7 So I will come upon you like a lion, or a leopard lurking along the road. 8 I will rip you to pieces like a bear whose cubs have been taken away, and like a lion I will devour you.
9 “O Israel, if I destroy you, who can save you? 10 Where is your king? Why don’t you call on him for help? Where are all the leaders of the land? You asked for them, now let them save you! 11 I gave you kings in my anger, and I took them away[a] in my wrath. 12 Ephraim’s sins are harvested and stored away for punishment.
13 “New birth is offered him, but he is like a child resisting in the womb—how stubborn! how foolish! 14 Shall I ransom him from hell? Shall I redeem him from Death? O Death, bring forth your terrors for his tasting! O Grave, demonstrate your plagues! For I will not relent!
15 “He was called the most fruitful of all his brothers, but the east wind—a wind of the Lord from the desert—will blow hard upon him and dry up his land. All his flowing springs and green oases will dry away, and he will die of thirst. 16 Samaria must bear her guilt, for she rebelled against her God. Her people will be killed by the invading army, her babies dashed to death against the ground, her pregnant women ripped open with a sword.”
Footnotes
- Hosea 13:11 I gave you kings in my anger, and I took them away. Probably an allusion to the kings of Israel assassinated during her last tempestuous years: Zechariah, Shallum, Pekahiah.
Hosea 13
New Catholic Bible
Chapter 13
The Cult of Calves
1 When Ephraim spoke, the people trembled;
he was exalted in Israel,
but he incurred guilt by worshiping Baal, and died.
2 And now the people continue to sin even more
by casting images for themselves,
idols of silver fashioned after their own concept,
all of them the work of artisans.
They say, “Offer sacrifices to these,”
and people kiss the calf-idols.
3 Therefore, they will be like the morning mist
or like the dew that quickly fades away,
like chaff that a storm drives from the threshing floor,
or like smoke escaping through a window.
You Know No God but Me, Nor Any Savior Other than Me
4 I am the Lord, your God,
who brought you out of the land of Egypt.
You know no God but me,
nor any savior other than me.
5 I cared for you in the desert,
in the land of burning heat.
6 When I fed them, they were satisfied;
when they were satisfied, they became proud of heart
and quickly forgot me.
7 So now I will be like a lion to them;
like a leopard I will lurk beside the road.
8 Like a bear robbed of her cubs, I will attack them
and rip their hearts from their breasts.
Like a lion I will devour them;
like a wild beast I will tear them apart.
9 You are destroyed, O Israel;
who is there to help you?
10 Where now is your king
that he may save you?
Where in all your cities are your rulers,
about whom you said,
“Give me a king and rulers”?
11 I gave you a king in my anger,
and in my wrath I took him away.[a]
O Death, Where Are Your Plagues?
12 The guilt of Ephraim is stored up;
his sins are kept on record.
13 He experiences the pangs of childbirth,
but he is a child lacking in wisdom.
When his time for birth arrives,
he does not leave the womb.
14 Shall I deliver them from the power of the netherworld?[b]
Shall I redeem them from death?
O death, where are your plagues?
O netherworld, where is your sting?
Compassion will be banished from my sight.
15 Although Ephraim may be more fruitful than his brothers,
an east wind[c] from the Lord will come,
rising from the desert,
causing his springs to be arid
and his fountain to dry up.
His treasury will be plundered
of every precious thing.
Footnotes
- Hosea 13:11 I gave you a king in my anger, and in my wrath I took him away: the Lord chastises the people of the northern kingdom by sending them inept kings.
- Hosea 13:14 This verse affirms the Lord’s idea to destroy Israel. It is cited by St. Paul in a different sense (1 Cor 15:4f)—i.e., the sense of the final victory of life over death at the resurrection of the body on the last day achieved through the Passion and Resurrection of Christ.
- Hosea 13:15 East wind: an image of the Assyrian armies.
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
