Hosea 13
EasyEnglish Bible
The Lord is angry with Israel
13 In past times, when the leaders of Israel spoke, the people were afraid.[a]
The people respected their leaders.
But the people became guilty when they worshipped Baal.
Because of that, they died.
2 Now the Israelites continue to do more and more sins.
They use metal to make idols for themselves.
They use clever skills to make idols from silver.
All their idols are only things that people have made themselves.
People offer sacrifices to the image of a calf.
They say, ‘Kiss the calf!’
3 So those people will soon disappear!
They will quickly disappear like mist or dew in the morning.
They will be like chaff that the wind blows away from a threshing floor.
They will be like smoke that disappears out of an open window.[b]
4 The Lord says,
‘I am the Lord your God.
I brought you out from Egypt.
You must not serve any other God.
No one else can save you except me.
5 I took care of you in the wilderness,
where it was very hot and dry.
6 I gave food to my people, so that they were not hungry.
But when they had enough to eat, they became proud.
As a result, they forgot about me.[c]
7 So I will attack them like a lion.
I will be like a leopard that waits beside the road.
It is ready to catch anything that goes that way.
8 I will attack them like an angry bear that has lost her children.
I will tear them into pieces.
I will eat them like a hungry lion.
I will attack them and kill them, like a wild animal.
9 I will destroy you, Israel.
There will be nobody to help you.
10 What has happened to your king?
He cannot save you!
Where are your rulers?
You asked me to give you rulers like the other nations have.
You said, “Give us a king and rulers.”
11 I was angry, but I agreed to give you a king.
Now I am even more angry and I will take your king away!
12 I have a record of Ephraim's sin.
Ephraim's people will certainly receive their punishment.
13 They will be in pain like a woman who is giving birth.
Her child is foolish. He refuses to be born!
14 Will I save these people from the power of death?
Will I rescue them from their graves?
Death, what diseases can you bring?
What can you do to hurt my people?[d]
I will not be kind to my people and forgive them.’
15 Among the other nations, Israel has been successful.
It has been like a plant that grows well.
But now the Lord will send trouble.
It will be like a strong east wind that comes from the desert.
Israel's wells and springs of water will become dry.
All the valuable things that Israel has stored will disappear.
16 Samaria's people are guilty and they will receive their punishment.[e]
They have turned against their God.
They will die in war.
Cruel enemies will kill their young children.
Soldiers will cut open their pregnant women.
Footnotes
- 13:1 Ephraim was the Israelite kingdom in the north. Judah was the Israelite kingdom in the south.
- 13:3 Mist is like a cloud near the ground. It makes small drops of water on the ground, called dew. These usually come early in the morning and they do not stay for a long time. Chaff and smoke also quickly disappear.
- 13:6 God gave the Israelites everything that they needed in the wilderness. See Exodus 16. It was God who fed them and gave them water. But they turned away from him.
- 13:14 Hosea says that God will bring trouble and death to his people because of their sins. Paul uses these words in 1 Corinthians 15:55. Because of Jesus' death, Paul says that the power of death can no longer hurt believers.
- 13:16 Samaria was another name for the northern kingdom, Israel. It was the capital city of Israel.
Hosea 13
King James Version
13 When Ephraim spake trembling, he exalted himself in Israel; but when he offended in Baal, he died.
2 And now they sin more and more, and have made them molten images of their silver, and idols according to their own understanding, all of it the work of the craftsmen: they say of them, Let the men that sacrifice kiss the calves.
3 Therefore they shall be as the morning cloud and as the early dew that passeth away, as the chaff that is driven with the whirlwind out of the floor, and as the smoke out of the chimney.
4 Yet I am the Lord thy God from the land of Egypt, and thou shalt know no god but me: for there is no saviour beside me.
5 I did know thee 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 have they forgotten me.
7 Therefore I will be unto them as a lion: as a leopard by the way will I observe them:
8 I will meet them as a bear that is bereaved of her whelps, and will rend the caul of their heart, and there will I devour them like a lion: the wild beast shall tear them.
9 O Israel, thou hast destroyed thyself; but in me is thine help.
10 I will be thy king: where is any other that may save thee in all thy cities? and thy judges of whom thou saidst, Give me a king and princes?
11 I gave thee a king in mine anger, and took him away in my wrath.
12 The iniquity of Ephraim is bound up; his sin is hid.
13 The sorrows of a travailing woman shall come upon him: he is an unwise son; for he should not stay long in the place of the breaking forth of children.
14 I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death: O death, I will be thy plagues; O grave, I will be thy destruction: repentance shall be hid from mine eyes.
15 Though he be fruitful among his brethren, an east wind shall come, the wind of the Lord shall come up from the wilderness, and his spring shall become dry, and his fountain shall be dried up: he shall spoil the treasure of all pleasant vessels.
16 Samaria shall become desolate; for she hath rebelled against her God: they shall fall by the sword: their infants shall be dashed in pieces, and their women with child shall be ripped up.
Hosea 13
English Standard Version
The Lord's Relentless Judgment on Israel
13 When Ephraim spoke, there was trembling;
(A)he was exalted in Israel,
but he incurred guilt (B)through Baal and died.
2 And now they sin more and more,
and (C)make for themselves metal images,
idols skillfully made of their silver,
(D)all of them the work of craftsmen.
It is said of them,
“Those who offer human sacrifice (E)kiss calves!”
3 Therefore they shall be (F)like the morning mist
or (G)like the dew that goes early away,
(H)like the chaff that swirls from the threshing floor
or (I)like smoke from a window.
4 But (J)I am the Lord your God
from the land of Egypt;
(K)you know no God but me,
and (L)besides me there is no savior.
5 (M)It was I who knew you in the wilderness,
in the land of drought;
6 (N)but when they had grazed,[a] they became full,
(O)they were filled, and their heart was lifted up;
(P)therefore they forgot me.
7 So (Q)I am to them like a lion;
(R)like a leopard I will lurk beside the way.
8 I will fall upon them (S)like a bear robbed of her cubs;
I will tear open their breast,
and there I will devour them like a lion,
(T)as a wild beast would rip them open.
9 He destroys[b] you, O Israel,
for you are against me, against (U)your helper.
10 (V)Where now is your king, to save you in all your cities?
Where are all your rulers—
those of whom (W)you said,
“Give me a king and princes”?
11 (X)I gave you a king in my anger,
and (Y)I took him away in my wrath.
12 The iniquity of Ephraim is (Z)bound up;
his sin is (AA)kept in store.
13 (AB)The pangs of childbirth come for him,
but he is an unwise son,
for at the right time he does not present himself
(AC)at the opening of the womb.
14 (AD)I shall ransom them from the power of Sheol;
(AE)I shall redeem them from Death.[c]
(AF)O (AG)Death, where are your plagues?
(AH)O (AI)Sheol, where is your sting?
(AJ)Compassion is hidden from my eyes.
15 Though (AK)he may flourish among his brothers,
(AL)the east wind, the wind of the Lord, shall come,
rising from the wilderness,
(AM)and his fountain shall dry up;
his spring shall be parched;
it shall strip (AN)his treasury
of every precious thing.
16 [d] Samaria (AO)shall bear her guilt,
because (AP)she has rebelled against her God;
they shall fall by the sword;
(AQ)their little ones shall be dashed in pieces,
and their (AR)pregnant women ripped open.
Footnotes
- Hosea 13:6 Hebrew according to their pasture
- Hosea 13:9 Or I will destroy
- Hosea 13:14 Or Shall I ransom them from the power of Sheol? Shall I redeem them from Death?
- Hosea 13:16 Ch 14:1 in Hebrew
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