Hosea 13–14

Chapter 13

Ephraim’s Idolatry

^1aWhen Ephraim ¹spoke, there was trembling.

He ^bexalted himself in Israel,

But through ^cBaal he ²did wrong and died.

²And now they sin more and more,

And make for themselves ^amolten images,

Idols ^1bskillfully made from their silver,

All of them the ^cwork of craftsmen.

They say of them, “Let the ²men who sacrifice kiss the ^dcalves!”

³Therefore they will be like the ^amorning cloud

And like dew which ¹soon disappears,

Like ^bchaff which is blown away from the threshing floor

And like ^csmoke from a ²chimney.

⁴Yet I have been the ^aLord your God

Since the land of Egypt;

And you were not to know ^bany god except Me,

For there is no savior ^cbesides Me.

⁵I ^1acared for you in the wilderness,

^bIn the land of drought.

⁶As they had their pasture, they became ^asatisfied,

And being satisfied, their ^bheart became proud;

Therefore they ^cforgot Me.

⁷So I will be ^alike a lion to them;

Like a ^bleopard I will ¹lie in wait by the wayside.

⁸I will encounter them ^alike a bear robbed of her cubs,

And I will tear open ¹their chests;

There I will also ^bdevour them like a lioness,

As a wild beast would tear them.

⁹It is your destruction, O Israel,

¹That you are ^aagainst Me, against your ^bhelp.

¹⁰Where now is your ^aking

That he may save you in all your cities,

And your ^bjudges of whom you ¹requested,

“Give me a king and princes”?

¹¹I ^agave you a king in My anger

And ^btook him away in My wrath.

¹²The iniquity of Ephraim is bound up;

His sin is ^astored up.

¹³The pains of ^achildbirth come upon him;

He is ^bnot a wise son,

For ¹it is not the time that he should ^cdelay at the opening of the womb.

¹⁴Shall I ^aransom them from the ¹power of Sheol?

Shall I redeem them from death?

^bO Death, where are your thorns?

O Sheol, where is your sting?

^cCompassion will be hidden from My sight.

¹⁵Though he ^aflourishes among the ¹reeds,

An ^beast wind will come,

The wind of the Lord coming up from the wilderness;

And his fountain will ^cbecome dry

And his spring will be dried up;

It will ^dplunder his treasury of every precious article.

¹⁶¹Samaria will be held ^aguilty,

For she has ^brebelled against her God.

^cThey will fall by the ^dsword,

Their little ones will be ^edashed in pieces,

And their pregnant ^fwomen will be ripped open.

Chapter 14

Israel’s Future Blessing

^11aReturn, O Israel, to the Lord your God,

For you have stumbled ²because of your ^biniquity.

²Take words with you and return to the Lord.

Say to Him, “^aTake away all iniquity

And ¹receive us graciously,

That we may ^bpresent ²the fruit of our lips.

³“Assyria will not save us,

We will ^anot ride on horses;

Nor will we say again, ‘^bOur god,’

To the ^cwork of our hands;

For in ^dYou the ¹orphan finds mercy.”

⁴I will ^aheal their apostasy,

I will ^blove them freely,

For My anger has ^cturned away from them.

⁵I will be like the ^adew to Israel;

He will blossom like the ^blily,

And he will ¹take root like the cedars of ^cLebanon.

⁶His shoots will ¹sprout,

And his ²beauty will be like the ^aolive tree

And his fragrance like the cedars of ^bLebanon.

⁷Those who ^alive in his shadow

Will ¹again raise ^bgrain,

And they will blossom like the vine.

His renown will be like the wine of Lebanon.

⁸O Ephraim, what more have I to do with ^aidols?

It is I who answer and look after ¹you.

I am like a luxuriant ^bcypress;

From ^cMe comes your fruit.

^9aWhoever is wise, let him understand these things;

Whoever is discerning, let him know them.

For the ^bways of the Lord are right,

And the ^crighteous will walk in them,

But ^dtransgressors will stumble in them.