Hosea 13:1–14:9
Yahweh’s Judgment on Idolatrous Israel
13 When Ephraim spoke,a there was terror;
he was exalted in Israel,
but he incurred guilt through Baal and died.
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.
sinceb the land of Egypt;
you know no god except me,
and no one saves besides me.
5 I fed youc in the desert,
in the land of drought.
6 When I fed them,d they were satisfied;
they were satisfied and their heart was lifted up;
therefore they forgot me.
7 And I will be like a lion to them;
I lie in wait beside the way, like a leopard.
8 I will attack them like a bear robbed of her offspring,
and I will tear open the covering of their heart;
there I will devour them like a lion,
like an animal of the field would mutilate them.
9 I will destroy you,e O Israel;
who will help you?f
10 Where now is your king that he may save you?
Where in all your cities are your judges,
of whom you said, “Give to
me a king and rulers?”
11 I gave you a king in my anger,
and I took him in my wrath.
12 The sin of Ephraim is wrapped up;
his sin is concealed.
13 The labor pains of childbirth come for him;
he is an unwise son
because at the proper time, he does not present himself
⌊at the mouth of the womb⌋.g
14 Should I redeem them from ⌊the power⌋h of Sheol? i
Should I deliver them from death?
Where are your plagues, O Death?
Where is your destruction, O Sheol?j
Compassion is hidden from my eyes.
15 Although he may flourish among reeds,k
the east wind will come, a wind of Yahweh
rising from the desert;
his fountain will dry up,
his spring will be parched.
It will plunder his treasury,l
every object of desire.
16m Samaria will be guilty,
because she has rebelled against her God;
they will fall by the sword,
their children will be dashed to pieces,
and their pregnant women will be ripped open.
14 Return to Yahweh your God, O Israel,
for you have stumbled because of your sin.
and return to Yahweh.
Say to him,
“Take away all guilt;
accept good, and we will offer
the fruita of our lips.
we will not ride on horses,b
and we will say no more, “Our God,”
to the work of our hands
because in you the fatherless child finds mercy.
4 I will heal their disloyalty;c
I will love them freely
because my anger has turned back
from them.d
5 I will be like the dew to Israel;
he will blossom like the lily plant,
and he will strike his roots like the trees of Lebanon.
6 His new plant shoots will spread out;
his splendor will be like the olive tree,
and his scent like the trees of Lebanon.
7 ⌊They will again dwell⌋e in myf shadow;
they will grow grain
and they will blossom like the plant vine;
his fame will be like the wine of Lebanon.
8 O Ephraim, ⌊what have I to do⌋g with idols?
I myself have answered and looked after you.h
I am like a luxuriant cypress;
your fruiti comes from me.
9 Who is wise that he can understand these things?
Who is discerning that he knows them?
The ways of Yahweh are right,
and the righteous walk in them;
but transgressors stumble in them.