Hosea 13–14

The Final Word Against Israel

13People used to fear the tribe of Ephraim;

they were important people in Israel.

But they sinned by worshiping Baal,

so they must die.

²But 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.”

³So 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.

⁴“I, the Lord, have been your God

since you were in the land of Egypt.

You should have known no other God except me.

I am the only one who saves.

⁵I cared for them in the desert

where it was hot and dry.

⁶I gave them food, and they became full and satisfied.

But then they became too proud and forgot me.

⁷That is why I will be like a lion to them,

like a leopard waiting by the road.

⁸I will attack like a bear robbed of her cubs,

ripping their bodies open.

I will devour them like a lion

and tear them apart like a wild animal.

⁹“Israel, I will destroy you.

Who will be your helper then?

¹⁰What good is your king?

Can he save you in any of your towns?

What good are your leaders?

You said, ‘Give us a king and leaders.’

¹¹So I gave you a king, but only in anger,

and I took him away in my great anger.

¹²The sins of Israel are on record,

stored away, waiting for punishment.

¹³The pain of birth will come for him,

but he is like a foolish baby

who won’t come out of its mother’s womb.

¹⁴Will I save them from the place of the dead?

Will I rescue them from death?

Where is your sickness, death?

Where is your pain, place of death?

I will show them no mercy.

¹⁵Israel is doing well among the nations,

but the Lord will send a wind from the east,

coming from the desert,

that will dry up his springs and wells of water.

He will destroy from their treasure houses everything of value.

¹⁶The nation of Israel will be ruined,

because it fought against God.

The people of Israel will die in war;

their children will be torn to pieces,

and their pregnant women will be ripped open.”

Israel Returns to God

14Israel, return to the Lord your God,

because your sins have made you fall.

²Come back to the Lord

and say these words to him:

“Take away all our sin

and kindly receive us,

and we will keep the promises we made to you.

³Assyria cannot save us,

nor will we trust in our horses.

We will not say again, ‘Our gods,’

to the things our hands have made.

You show mercy to orphans.”

⁴The Lord says,

“I will forgive them for leaving me

and will love them freely,

because I am not angry with them anymore.

⁵I will be like the dew to Israel,

and they will blossom like a lily.

Like the cedar trees in Lebanon,

their roots will be firm.

⁶They will be like spreading branches,

like the beautiful olive trees

and the sweet-smelling cedars in Lebanon.

⁷The people of Israel will again live under my protection.

They will grow like the grain,

they will bloom like a vine,

and they will be as famous as the wine of Lebanon.

⁸Israel, have nothing to do with idols.

I, the Lord, am the one who answers your prayers and watches over you.

I am like a green pine tree;

your blessings come from me.”

⁹A wise person will know these things,

and an understanding person will take them to heart.

The Lord’s ways are right.

Good people live by following them,

but those who turn against God die because of them.