Ephraim’s Idolatry
13 When Ephraim [a]spoke, there was trembling.
He exalted himself in Israel,
But through Baal he incurred guilt and died.
2 And now they sin more and more,
And make for themselves cast metal images,
Idols [b]skillfully made from their silver,
All of them the work of craftsmen.
They say of them, “Let the [c]people who sacrifice kiss the calves!”
3 Therefore they will be like the morning cloud
And like dew which [d]soon disappears,
Like chaff which is blown away from the threshing floor,
And like smoke from a chimney.
4 Yet I have been the Lord your God
Since the land of Egypt;
And you were not to know any god except Me,
For there is no savior besides Me.
5 I [e]cared for you in the wilderness,
In the land of drought.
6 As they had their pasture, they became satisfied,
And as they became satisfied, their heart became proud;
Therefore they forgot Me.
7 So I will be like a lion to them;
Like a leopard I will [f]lie in wait by the wayside.
8 I will confront them like a bear deprived of her cubs,
And I will tear open [g]their chests;
I will also devour them there like a lioness,
As a wild animal would tear them to pieces.
9 [h]It is to your own destruction, Israel,
That you are against Me, against your help.
10 Where then is your king,
That he might save you in all your cities;
And your judges, to whom you said,
“Give me a king and princes”?
11 I gave you a king in My anger,
And took him away in My wrath.
12 The guilt of Ephraim is wrapped up;
His sin is stored up.
13 The pains of childbirth come on him;
He is not a wise son,
For [i]it is not the time that he should delay at the opening of the womb.
14 Shall I ransom them from the [j]power of Sheol?
Shall I redeem them from death?
Death, where are your [k]thorns?
Sheol, where is your sting?
Compassion will be hidden from My sight.
15 Though he flourishes among the [l]reeds,
An east wind will come,
The wind of the Lord coming up from the wilderness;
And his fountain will become dry
And his spring will dry up;
It will plunder his treasury of every precious article.
16 [m]Samaria will pay the penalty for her guilt,
Because she has rebelled against her God.
They will fall by the sword,
Their children will be [n]slaughtered,
And their pregnant women will be ripped open.
Footnotes
- Hosea 13:1 Or spoke with trembling, he exalted
- Hosea 13:2 Or according to their skill
- Hosea 13:2 Lit sacrificers of; or among mankind
- Hosea 13:3 Lit goes away early
- Hosea 13:5 Or knew
- Hosea 13:7 Or watch
- Hosea 13:8 Lit the enclosure of their heart
- Hosea 13:9 Lit It has destroyed you
- Hosea 13:13 Lit it is the time that he should not remain at the opening of children
- Hosea 13:14 Lit hand
- Hosea 13:14 Or stings
- Hosea 13:15 Another reading is brothers
- Hosea 13:16 Ch 14:1 in Heb
- Hosea 13:16 Lit shattered