Hosea

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  10. 10
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  12. 12
  13. 13
  14. 14

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

  1. Hosea 13:1 Or spoke with trembling, he exalted
  2. Hosea 13:2 Or according to their skill
  3. Hosea 13:2 Lit sacrificers of; or among mankind
  4. Hosea 13:3 Lit goes away early
  5. Hosea 13:5 Or knew
  6. Hosea 13:7 Or watch
  7. Hosea 13:8 Lit the enclosure of their heart
  8. Hosea 13:9 Lit It has destroyed you
  9. Hosea 13:13 Lit it is the time that he should not remain at the opening of children
  10. Hosea 13:14 Lit hand
  11. Hosea 13:14 Or stings
  12. Hosea 13:15 Another reading is brothers
  13. Hosea 13:16 Ch 14:1 in Heb
  14. Hosea 13:16 Lit shattered