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The Final Word Against Israel

13 People used to fear the tribe of Ephraim;
    they were important people in Israel.
But they sinned by worshiping Baal,
    so they must die.
But they still keep on sinning more and more.
    They make idols of their silver,
idols that are cleverly made,
    the work of a craftsman.
Yet the people of Israel say to each other,
    “Kiss those calf idols and sacrifice to them.”
So those people will be like the morning mist;
    they will disappear like the morning dew.
They will be like chaff blown from the threshing floor,
    like smoke going out a window.

“I, the Lord, have been your God
    since you were in the land of Egypt.
You should have known no other God except me.
    I am the only one who saves.
I cared for them in the desert
    where it was hot and dry.
I gave them food, and they became full and satisfied.
    But then they became too proud and forgot me.
That is why I will be like a lion to them,
    like a leopard waiting by the road.
I will attack like a bear robbed of her cubs,
    ripping their bodies open.
I will devour them like a lion
    and tear them apart like a wild animal.

“Israel, I will destroy you.
    Who will be your helper then?
10 What good is your king?
    Can he save you in any of your towns?
What good are your leaders?
    You said, ‘Give us a king and leaders.’
11 So I gave you a king, but only in anger,
    and I took him away in my great anger.
12 The sins of Israel are on record,
    stored away, waiting for punishment.
13 The pain of birth will come for him,
    but he is like a foolish baby
    who won’t come out of its mother’s womb.
14 Will I save them from the place of the dead?
    Will I rescue them from death?
Where is your sickness, death?
    Where is your pain, place of death?
    I will show them no mercy.
15 Israel is doing well among the nations,
    but the Lord will send a wind from the east,
coming from the desert,
    that will dry up his springs and wells of water.
He will destroy from their treasure houses everything of value.
16 The nation of Israel will be ruined,
    because it fought against God.
The people of Israel will die in war;
    their children will be torn to pieces,
    and their pregnant women will be ripped open.”

The Lord’s Anger Against Israel

13 When Ephraim spoke, people trembled;(A)
    he was exalted(B) in Israel.
    But he became guilty of Baal worship(C) and died.
Now they sin more and more;
    they make(D) idols for themselves from their silver,(E)
cleverly fashioned images,
    all of them the work of craftsmen.(F)
It is said of these people,
    “They offer human sacrifices!
    They kiss[a](G) calf-idols!(H)
Therefore they will be like the morning mist,
    like the early dew that disappears,(I)
    like chaff(J) swirling from a threshing floor,(K)
    like smoke(L) escaping through a window.

“But I have been the Lord your God
    ever since you came out of Egypt.(M)
You shall acknowledge(N) no God but me,(O)
    no Savior(P) except me.
I cared for you in the wilderness,(Q)
    in the land of burning heat.
When I fed them, they were satisfied;
    when they were satisfied, they became proud;(R)
    then they forgot(S) me.(T)
So I will be like a lion(U) to them,
    like a leopard I will lurk by the path.
Like a bear robbed of her cubs,(V)
    I will attack them and rip them open;
like a lion(W) I will devour them—
    a wild animal will tear them apart.(X)

“You are destroyed, Israel,
    because you are against me,(Y) against your helper.(Z)
10 Where is your king,(AA) that he may save you?
    Where are your rulers in all your towns,
of whom you said,
    ‘Give me a king and princes’?(AB)
11 So in my anger I gave you a king,(AC)
    and in my wrath I took him away.(AD)
12 The guilt of Ephraim is stored up,
    his sins are kept on record.(AE)
13 Pains as of a woman in childbirth(AF) come to him,
    but he is a child without wisdom;
when the time(AG) arrives,
    he doesn’t have the sense to come out of the womb.(AH)

14 “I will deliver this people from the power of the grave;(AI)
    I will redeem them from death.(AJ)
Where, O death, are your plagues?
    Where, O grave, is your destruction?(AK)

“I will have no compassion,
15     even though he thrives(AL) among his brothers.
An east wind(AM) from the Lord will come,
    blowing in from the desert;
his spring will fail
    and his well dry up.(AN)
His storehouse will be plundered(AO)
    of all its treasures.
16 The people of Samaria(AP) must bear their guilt,(AQ)
    because they have rebelled(AR) against their God.
They will fall by the sword;(AS)
    their little ones will be dashed(AT) to the ground,
    their pregnant women(AU) ripped open.”[b]

Footnotes

  1. Hosea 13:2 Or “Men who sacrifice / kiss
  2. Hosea 13:16 In Hebrew texts this verse (13:16) is numbered 14:1.

13 When Ephraim spake trembling, he exalted himself in Israel; but when he offended in Baal, he died.

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.

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.

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.

I did know thee in the wilderness, in the land of great drought.

According to their pasture, so were they filled; they were filled, and their heart was exalted; therefore have they forgotten me.

Therefore I will be unto them as a lion: as a leopard by the way will I observe them:

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.

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.