Hosea 13:1–3

1 When Ephraim spoke, people trembled;

he was exalted in Israel.

But he became guilty of Baal worship and died.

2 Now they sin more and more;

they make idols for themselves from their silver,

cleverly fashioned images,

all of them the work of craftsmen.

It is said of these people,

“They offer human sacrifices!

They kiss calf-idols!”

3 Therefore they will be like the morning mist,

like the early dew that disappears,

like chaff swirling from a threshing floor,

like smoke escaping through a window.

1 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.

1 When the tribe of Ephraim spoke,

the people shook with fear,

for that tribe was important in Israel.

But the people of Ephraim sinned by worshiping Baal

and thus sealed their destruction.

2 Now they continue to sin by making silver idols,

images shaped skillfully with human hands.

“Sacrifice to these,” they cry,

“and kiss the calf idols!”

3 Therefore, they will disappear like the morning mist,

like dew in the morning sun,

like chaff blown by the wind,

like smoke from a chimney.

1 When Ephraim spoke, trembling,

He exalted himself in Israel;

But when he offended through Baal worship, he died.

2 Now they sin more and more,

And have made for themselves molded images,

Idols of their silver, according to their skill;

All of it is the work of craftsmen.

They say of them,

“Let the men who sacrifice kiss the calves!”

3 Therefore they shall be like the morning cloud

And like the early dew that passes away,

Like chaff blown off from a threshing floor

And like smoke from a chimney.

1 People used to fear the tribe of Ephraim;

they were important people in Israel.

But they sinned by worshiping Baal,

so they must die.

2 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.”

3 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.

1 When Ephraim spake, there was 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, even idols according to their own understanding, all of them 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 dew that passeth early away, as the chaff that is driven with the whirlwind out of the threshing-floor, and as the smoke out of the chimney.

1 When Ephraim spoke, there was trembling; he exalted himself in Israel: but he trespassed through Baal, and he died. 2 And now they sin more and more, and have made them molten images of their silver, 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 driven with the whirlwind out of the threshing-floor, and as the smoke out of the lattice.

1 When the tribe of Ephraim spoke, people trembled. 

The people of Ephraim were important in Israel. 

Then they became guilty of worshiping Baal, 

so they must die. 

2 They keep on sinning more and more. 

They make idols from silver for themselves. 

These idols are skillfully made. 

All of them are the work of craftsmen. 

People say this about the Israelites: “They offer human sacrifices 

and kiss calf-shaped idols.” 

3 That is why they will be like fog in the morning 

and like morning dew that disappears quickly. 

They will be like straw blown away from threshing floors.

They will be like smoke rising from chimneys. 

1 When Ephraim spoke, there was trembling;

he was exalted in Israel.

But he incurred guilt through Baal and died.

2 Now they continue to sin

and make themselves a cast image,

idols skillfully made from their silver,

all of them the work of craftsmen.

People say about them,

“Let the men who sacrifice kiss the calves.”

3 Therefore, they will be like the morning mist,

like the early dew that vanishes,

like chaff blown from a threshing floor,

or like smoke from a window.

1 When Ephraim spoke, there was trembling;

he was exalted in Israel,

but he incurred guilt through Baal and died.

2 And now they keep on sinning

and make a cast image for themselves,

idols of silver made according to their understanding,

all of them the work of artisans.

“Sacrifice to these,” they say.

People are kissing calves!

3 Therefore they shall be like the morning mist

or like the dew that goes away early,

like chaff that swirls from the threshing floor

or like smoke from a window.

1 When Ephraim spoke, there was terror;

he was exalted in Israel,

but he incurred guilt through Baal and died.

2 And now they sin again,

and they make for themselves a molten idol,

idols from their silver metal according to their understanding,

all of them the work of skilled craftsmen.

To these they say, “Sacrifice!”

People are kissing bull calves.

3 Therefore, they will be like the morning cloud,

and like the dew of early morning going away,

like chaff swirling from the threshing floor,

or like smoke from a window.

1 When the tribe of Ephraim spoke,

the other tribes trembled with fear.

Ephraim was honored in Israel.

But its people sinned by worshiping Baal.

So they were as good as dead.

2 Now they sin more and more.

They use their silver

to make statues of gods for themselves.

The statues come from their own clever ideas.

Skilled workers make all of them.

The people pray to those gods.

They offer human sacrifices to them.

They kiss the gods that look like calves.

3 So those people will vanish like the morning mist.

They will soon disappear like the early dew.

They will be like straw

that the wind blows around on a threshing floor.

They will be like smoke

that escapes through a window.

1 When Ephraim spoke, there was trembling.

He exalted himself in Israel,

But through Baal he did wrong and died.

2 And now they sin more and more,

And make for themselves molten images,

Idols skillfully made from their silver,

All of them the work of craftsmen.

They say of them, “Let the men who sacrifice kiss the calves!”

3 Therefore they will be like the morning cloud

And like dew which soon disappears,

Like chaff which is blown away from the threshing floor

And like smoke from a chimney.