Hosea 13

1 “When Ephraim speaks tremblingly, He has been lifted up in Israel, When he becomes guilty in Ba‘al he dies.

When Ephraim spoke, there was trembling; he was exalted in Israel. But he incurred guilt through Baal, and he died.

2 And now they sin, And make for themselves a molten image of their silver, By their own understanding—idols, A work of artisans—all of it, Of them they say, who [are] sacrificers among men, The calves let them kiss.

Now they sin more and more and make for themselves cast images, idols skillfully made from their silver, all of them the work of craftsmen. People say of them, “They offer human sacrifice and kiss the calves!”

3 Therefore they are as a cloud of the morning, And as dew, rising early, going away, As chaff tossed about out of a floor, And as smoke out of a window.

Therefore they will be like the morning mist, like the early dew that vanishes, like chaff blown from a threshing floor, like smoke through an open window.

4 And I [am] your God YHWH from the land of Egypt, And you do not know a God besides Me, And a Savior—there is none except Me.

Yet I am the LORD your God ever since the land of Egypt; you know no God but Me, for there is no Savior besides Me.

5 I have known you in a wilderness, In a land of droughts.

I knew you in the wilderness, in the land of drought.

6 They are satiated according to their feedings, They have been satiated, And their heart is lifted up, Therefore they have forgotten Me,

When they had pasture, they became satisfied; when they were satisfied, their hearts became proud, and as a result they forgot Me.

7 And I am to them as a lion, I look out as a leopard by the way.

So like a lion I will pounce on them; like a leopard I will lurk by the path.

8 I meet them as a bereaved bear, And I tear the enclosure of their heart, And I consume them there as a lioness, A beast of the field tears them.

Like a bear robbed of her cubs I will attack them, and I will tear open their chests. There I will devour them like a lion, like a wild beast would tear them apart.

9 You have destroyed yourself, O Israel, But in Me [is] your help;

You are destroyed, O Israel, because you are against Me— against your helper.

10 Where [is] your king now—And he saves you in all your cities? And your judges of whom you said, Give a king and heads to me?

Where is your king now to save you in all your cities, and the rulers to whom you said, “Give me a king and princes”?

11 I give to you a king in My anger, And I take away in My wrath.

So in My anger I gave you a king, and in My wrath I took him away.

12 Bound up [is] the iniquity of Ephraim, Hidden [is] his sin,

The iniquity of Ephraim is bound up; his sin is stored up.

13 Pangs of a travailing woman come to him, He [is] not a wise son, For he does not remain [at] the time for the breaking forth of sons.

Labor pains come upon him, but he is an unwise son. When the time arrives, he fails to present himself at the opening of the womb.

14 Will I ransom them from the hand of Sheol? Will I redeem them from death? Where [is] your plague, O death? Where your destruction, O Sheol? Comfort is hid from My eyes. (Sheol h7585)

I will ransom them from the power of Sheol; I will redeem them from Death. Where, O Death, are your plagues? Where, O Sheol, is your sting? Compassion is hidden from My eyes. (Sheol h7585)

15 Though he produces fruit among brothers, An east wind comes in, a wind of YHWH, From a wilderness it is coming up, And it dries up his fountain, And his spring becomes dry, It—it spoils a treasure—every desirable vessel.

Although he flourishes among his brothers, an east wind will come— a wind from the LORD rising up from the desert. His fountain will fail, and his spring will run dry. The wind will plunder his treasury of every precious article.

16 Samaria becomes desolate, Because she has been rebellious against her God, They fall by sword, Their sucklings are dashed in pieces, And its pregnant ones are ripped up!”

Samaria will bear her guilt because she has rebelled against her God. They will fall by the sword; their little ones will be dashed to pieces, and their pregnant women ripped open.