Hosea 13-14
Christian Standard Bible
13 When Ephraim spoke,(A) there was trembling;
he was exalted in Israel.(B)
But he incurred guilt through Baal(C) and died.
2 Now they continue to sin
and make themselves a cast image,(D)
idols skillfully made from their silver,(E)
all of them the work of craftsmen.(F)
People say about them,
“Let the men who sacrifice[a] kiss the calves.”(G)
3 Therefore, they will be like the morning mist,(H)
like the early dew that vanishes,
like chaff blown from a threshing floor,(I)
or like smoke from a window.(J)
Death and Resurrection
4 I have been the Lord your God(K)
ever since[b] the land of Egypt;
you know no God but me,(L)
and no Savior exists besides me.(M)
5 I knew[c] you in the wilderness,(N)
in the land of drought.
6 When they had pasture,
they became satisfied;(O)
they were satisfied,
and their hearts became proud.(P)
Therefore they forgot me.(Q)
7 So I will be like a lion(R) to them;
I will lurk like a leopard(S) on the path.
8 I will attack them
like a bear robbed of her cubs
and tear open the rib cage over their hearts.
I will devour them there like a lioness,(T)
like a wild beast that would rip them open.
9 I will destroy you, Israel;
you have no help but me.[d](U)
10 Where now is your king,[e](V)
that he may save you in all your cities,
and the[f] rulers[g](W) you demanded, saying,
“Give me a king and leaders”?
11 I give you a king in my anger(X)
and take away a king in my wrath.(Y)
12 Ephraim’s guilt is preserved;
his sin is stored up.(Z)
13 Labor pains come on him.(AA)
He is not a wise son;(AB)
when the time comes,
he will not be born.[h](AC)
14 I will ransom them from the power of Sheol.
I will redeem[i] them from death.(AD)
Death, where are your barbs?
Sheol, where is your sting?(AE)
Compassion is hidden from my eyes.(AF)
The Coming Judgment
15 Although he flourishes among his brothers,[j](AG)
an east wind will come,(AH)
a wind from the Lord rising up from the desert.
His water source will fail,
and his spring will run dry.(AI)
The wind[k] will plunder the treasury(AJ)
of every precious item.
16 Samaria(AK) will bear her guilt(AL)
because she has rebelled against her God.(AM)
They will fall by the sword;(AN)
their children will be dashed to pieces,(AO)
and their pregnant women ripped open.(AP)
A Plea to Repent
14 Israel, return to the Lord your God,(AQ)
for you have stumbled in your iniquity.(AR)
2 Take words of repentance with you(AS)
and return to the Lord.
Say to him, “Forgive all our iniquity
and accept what is good,
so that we may repay you
with praise[l] from our[m] lips.(AT)
3 Assyria will not save us,(AU)
we will not ride on horses,(AV)
and we will no longer proclaim, ‘Our gods!’ (AW)
to the work of our hands.(AX)
For the fatherless receives compassion in you.”(AY)
A Promise of Restoration
4 I will heal their apostasy;(AZ)
I will freely love them,(BA)
for my anger will have turned from him.(BB)
5 I will be like the dew to Israel;(BC)
he will blossom like the lily(BD)
and take root like the cedars of Lebanon.(BE)
6 His new branches will spread,
and his splendor will be like the olive tree,(BF)
his fragrance, like the forest of Lebanon.(BG)
7 The people will return and live beneath his shade.(BH)
They will grow grain(BI)
and blossom like the vine.
His renown will be like the wine of Lebanon.
8 Ephraim, why should I[n] have anything more
to do with idols?(BJ)
It is I who answer and watch over him.
I am like a flourishing pine tree;(BK)
your fruit comes from me.(BL)
9 Let whoever is wise(BM) understand these things,
and whoever is insightful recognize them.
For the ways of the Lord are right,(BN)
and the righteous walk in them,(BO)
but the rebellious stumble in them.(BP)
Footnotes
- 13:2 Or “Those who make human sacrifices
- 13:4 DSS, LXX read God who brought you out of
- 13:5 LXX, Syr read fed
- 13:9 LXX reads At your destruction, Israel, who will help you?
- 13:10 LXX, Syr, Vg; MT reads I will be your king
- 13:10 Lit your
- 13:10 Or judges
- 13:13 Lit he will not present himself at the opening of the womb for sons
- 13:14 Or Should I ransom...? Should I redeem...?
- 13:15 Or among reeds
- 13:15 Probably the Assyrian king
- 14:2 LXX reads with the fruit
- 14:2 Lit repay the bulls of our
- 14:8 LXX reads he
The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.
Bible Gateway Recommends
